Facts 7 to 12
7 Alec Guinness Hates Star Wars
Did you know that Alec Guinness hated Star Wars? Well it appears to be true. But it’s what he claims that he did that really showed his distaste for the movie. According to him, he was the inspiration for killing off Obi-Wan Kenobi. He claims that it was his idea and a way of getting out of the film. Lucas disputed this claim, and several others by Guinness. Lucas said that he enjoyed working on the movie and was clearly upset that his character met an early demise. So who’s version of events do yo believe? I’m personally going with Sir Alec’s, and the reasons are below.
Yep, we’ve all been there. Had a job that wasn’t right, didn’t suit us, and we just hated it. For most of us we will either throw in the towel or persevere with it until something better comes along. This is how Sir Alec Guinness felt during the making of one of the greatest movies of the twentieth century.
True fans of the movies already know that Guinness portrayed the elder Obi-Wan Kenobi. He bought to the movie a certain class that no other actor at the time could match. He was after all one of the biggest and most respected acting names in the industry. To have him play one of the most respected men in the universe was a fantastic achievement for George Lucas. But there was only one problem. Alec Guinness hated Star Wars.
There were several problems that Sir Alec had with the movie that would go onto massive success. First of all, he says he hated the dialogue. It was difficult to understand, and to him it made absolutely no sense. He also regarded the film as some “fairytale rubbish.” He took to the film with very little enthusiasm.
…new rubbish dialogue reaches me every other day on wadges of pink paper – and none of it makes my character clear or even bearable…. But Oh God, God, they make me feel ninety – and treat me as if I was 106. – Oh, Harrison Ford – ever heard of him?
Sir Alec Guinness on his time filming Star Wars
If Alec Guinness hated Star Wars why did he star in it?
There were several reasons why he took on a role that he wasn’t overly joyed to take. One was that he wanted something to tie him over and make him enough money until he could get to work on a play called Yahoo. Another reason was that George Lucas was directing it. Lucas had already received acclaim for directing American Graffiti, but that didn’t stop Guinness getting his name wrong in a letter to a friend, calling him Paul.
Even though Alec Guinness hated Star Wars he still had some kind words for the film that made him a fortune, among other things. Oh, did we forget to mention that? The film earned him about $93 million in royalties. Not only did it make him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, it also earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. Not bad considering that he hated it so much. But despite his hatred for the film, it was his reaction to the fans that is really questionable.
Alec Guinness hated Star Wars so much that he also claimed to never open any Star Wars fan mail, and threw it out whenever he received any. When he met a young fan who told him that he had watched the film over one hundred times, Guinness responded with, “Well, do you think you could promise never to see Star Wars again?” I know, 100 times is a bit much, but such a response is clearly uncalled for.
8 Luke Skywalker Was Nearly A Dwarf
When a movie script is undergoing a rough draft, sometimes it can contain some extremely different descriptions, ideas and even characters. The final draft copy, the one that we get to see, has these changes and we are none the wiser for them. One great example is Star Wars. It underwent several changes and experienced quite an evolution before it was released onto cinema screens. Perhaps one of the biggest changes was that of Luke Skywalker who was going to be a dwarf in the original draft.
How do you think this would have affected the movie? The penultimate hero of the space saga, Luke Skywalker was going to be a dwarf. While being a dwarf isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I for one can not perceive him being a dwarf. But Luke Skywalker wasn’t going to be the only character in the movie that was a dwarf. According to reports, George Lucas intended for his aunts and uncles to be dwarfs too.
I don’t really know why, but when I try to picture Luke Skywalker as a dwarf I instantly picture Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) from Game of Thrones in the lead role. I somehow think if this were to be the case, and Luke was indeed short in stature, Peter DInklage would have pulled off the performance better than anyone else. It’s a pity that he wasn’t old enough for the role at the time.
9 Star Wars Nearly Had Chewbacca Wearing Pants
Wowsers. Star Wars nearly had Chewbacca wearing pants. You know Chewy, the hairy, big foot looking dude that accompanied Han Solo just about everywhere. Yeah, it turns out that Star wars nearly featured Chewbacca wearing pants. But why would such a hairy fellow, alien or not, have to wear pants? In short, it was the big guys in suits that made the order.
The studio executives of Star Wars wanted Chewbacca wearing pants, shorts at the very least. It turns out that they were uncomfortable with him being naked. Say what? He is an alien with nearly as much body hair as Robin Williams. It wasn’t like people were going to be looking at his wang just hanging there for all to see. It was completely covered up. Funny that isn’t it? Can’t have a nude alien on screen, but its OK to blow up an entire world, spaceships and even the Death Star with the loss of presumably billions of lives. Hmm, strange line of thinking in my books.
Thankfully their fears were eventually allayed. The movie was allowed to be shot with a nude Chewbacca not wearing pants, and cinema goers appeared not to be concerned in the slightest. But this wasn’t the only problem the executives had with the movie.
It turns out that they were also unhappy with the title of Star Wars. They ordered the cast and crew to try and choose a new one. This is despite the original working title being “The Adventures of Luke Starkiller.” Thankfully nothing else stuck.
Can you think of another name for Star Wars? Share them with us in the comments
10 No Cinemas Wanted To Show Star Wars
Would you believe that no cinemas wanted to show Star Wars? Fewer than 40 cinemas agreed to show Star Wars when it was released. When you think of it, only 40 cinemas around the US is such a small number it would have assured its failure. Thankfully a solution to this mammoth problem was devised.
To get around this troublesome snubbing of what would go onto become a massive blockbuster, 20th Century Fox threatened any cinema that refused to show the movie any right to show their other potential blockbuster, The Other Side of Midnight. With a threat like that, and possible massive losses, cinemas around the country quickly changed their stance and started to show the movie.
For the record, The Other Side Of Midnight took less than 10% of what Star Wars Took! It looks like 20th Century Fox knew what they were doing.
11 The George Lucas Steven Spielberg Star Wars Bet
The George Lucas, Steven Spielberg Star Wars bet has gone down in the history books as one of the largest wagers between individuals that was upheld without any animosity between the betting parties. So what exactly was it all about, who won the bet, and most importantly, what was it about?
Illegal gambling. You can have a love hate relationship with it. The benefits are obviously tax avoidance, the ability to make your own rules and it’s much more personal. The downside is that it is, well, illegal, and the rules can be broken at any time without any recourse. Plus, if it was between friends it can really mess things up. But just because the rules aren’t exactly set in concrete doesn’t mean that you must abide by them. In fact, the George Lucas, Steven Spielberg Star Wars bet was one of them, in which both parties upheld the wager.
In the mid 1970’s, both Lucas and Spielberg were in the throws of making sci-fi movies. Lucas with Star Wars, Spielberg with Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Even though both were successful directors, Spielberg had already earned the distinction of directing Jaws, a massive hit at the time, so had a slight edge over Lucas. They were friends, and it was during a break during filming of Star Wars that Lucas decided to pay a visit to the set of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This visit was to form the basis of the Lucas, Spielberg Star Wars bet.
When Lucas arrived on the set he was astounded. According to Spielberg, Lucas was surprised by what he saw. Everything, as far as he was concerned, was better on that set. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He even went as far as saying that Close Encounters of the Third Kind was going to be the biggest movie ever made. But Spielberg wasn’t convinced. So they made a bet.
What was the basis of the George Lucas, Steven Spielberg Star Wars bet?
Between the men they wagered 2.5 percent of their respective films. Lucas turned out to be right is some regards. Spielberg’s movie went on to become a big hit, but Spielberg proved to be the better gambler. Although he didn’t direct Star Wars, he placed his money on the right horse. Close encounters generated $304 million at the global box office, but Star Wars left it lurking in its shadow. It drew a massive $775 million worldwide, becoming the benchmark for all future sci-fi films.
So would a bet gone wrong be honored? Surprisingly it was. Lucas kept his word and Spielberg pocketed a massive $40 million for the wager. The pair remain close friends to this day.
12 Obi Wan Kenobi Never Says May The Force Be With You
OK Star Wars fans. How observant have you been? There is without a doubt some of you that will be able to remember the entire script, word for word. But how many of you know the lines by Obi-Wan Kenobi? What about his most famous line, a line that is synonymous with the Jedi? Did you know that Obi-Wan Kenobi never utters may the force be with you? Never once in all three of the original movies (OK, we know he died in movie one, but he made a couple of guest appearances as a spooky ghost or poltergeist to haunt whoever was left behind, and he didn’t utter the lines then either).
We know that there are going to be readers out there that will question what we are saying here. Sure he did. He did it many times, we heard him. But the truth be told, he didn’t. But even though Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t say may the force be with you, he always said a close variation to it.
Alright, I know that we are drawing at straws here, but Obi-Wan Kenobi never says may the force be with you. If you doubt us you can look for yourself. What he will say is a close variation to the line, but never the exact line. For example he would say, “the force is with you, always,” or “the force is strong with this one.” Close, I know, but not close enough.
Here’s the oddity with the Jedi line. The first to utter the sentence in the original movie was General Dodonna while he was addressing the troops about the attack on the Death Star. It was later also said by Han Solo. As for Luke Skywalker, he finally utters the famous line at the end of the second film, The Empire Strikes Back. So it seems less of a Jedi line more of a general quote for just about any intergalactic citizen to say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hFWz145aJc
