J. W. Rinzler (1962–2021)

For the Star Wars fans, this is packed with terrific titbits and explanations: more generally it's one of the best accounts I've read of how you actually go about making a blockbuster movie. Not just screenwriting and handling on-set tiffs, but the deep stuff like financing and licensing. The book drags a bit in places - mainly because the production it's describing was dragging - but overall it's a fascinating insight into the making of a cinematic colossus. A must for movie fans.

This is the official adaptation of the original rough draft screenplay by George Lucas for what would become Star Wars. I’m glad this version never got filmed. This incarnation of the Star Wars universe was a like entering a hall of mirrors. You see things that look familiar but are twisted. An R2D2 that speaking in English. The Jedi now called The Jedi Bendu. Anakin Skywalker, now Anakin Starkiller, son of Kane Starkiller. Darth Vader not Luke’s father and not in a survival suit. May show more the force be with you now May the force of others be with you. All these changes and more show you the value of great editing. You see in this story the kernel of what would become the Star Wars we now know and love. This story gives the reader a clear idea of what could have been and with few exceptions are fortunate never would be. show less

I found the first hundred pages more interesting than the actual filming of Star Wars, maybe because George Lucas’s thought process in designing the world and iconic characters so much more fascinating. How do you think of the name Han Solo or Luke Skywalker (Starkiller) out of nowhere? He seems to be an instinctual filmmaker, operating from ideas not out of a logical continuity but an iterative one.

How do you rate something based on the version of a film that was never made? It's reasonable to assume that the reason it was never made—the reason it was changed before filming—is because there are some significant lapses in storytelling or characterization or world-building...or all of the above. So your expectations for any of that can't be too high.

Even with those managed expectations, though, The Star Wars is far, far away from an excellent story. What is excellent is the interior show more art and the extensive work Rinzler and his crew did to bring the design of this Star Wars-that-could've-been to life. And while I'm deeply appreciative that the Star Wars I know is the Star Wars we got, reading the original, intended tale explains a lot, at least for me, about why the prequels went the way they did. show less