Star Wars Producer Gary Kurtz Speaks Out 30 Years After Leaving Franchise 

Lucas Dictated By Merchandising, Not Story, He Says

As a genre, Science Fiction draws its primary credibility from being a perspective media that allows us to examine the fundamentals of our society. But what ever happened to the good old-fashioned adventure story about good and evil with no ulterior motives save entertainment and delight?  That’s exactly what George Lucas and Gary Kurtz were wondering in 1972, five years before their collaborative film, “Star Wars.” In the photos above, which have been scanned to digital for preservation, Kurtz is shown lending his artistic vision and expertise to the making of Star Wars.

But a quick reference to the credits of the original Star Wars trilogy will reveal that Lucas and Kurtz only worked together on “Star Wars: A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” Over fifteen years after having started the Star Wars saga, the two visionaries could not compromise on their ideas, resulting in Kurtz’s absence from “Return of the Jedi.”

Last weekend, Kurtz stepped back into that galaxy far, far away, as a special guest at Star Wars Celebration V, a massive Lucasfilm-organized convention in Orlando. The event attracts thousands of fans eager for autographs from their favorite cast members, purchasing or trading memorabilia, and attending panels on a variety of topics in the Star Wars universe.

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of “The Empire Strikes Back,” a movie many consider to be the best of the trilogy (or of any of the subsequent movies, for that matter). But this year also means that three decades have passed since Kurtz’s departure.

While fans may be excited about the return of the wayward producer, not everyone at Lucasfilm is thrilled to have him back. His creative contributions to the Star Wars universe (for instance, having come up with the title to “Empire”) stand in contrast to his quite public and quite contrasting view of what the saga should have been.

According to Kurtz, the original plan for “Return of the Jedi” included recovering Han Solo early in the film and having the character die in the middle of a raid on an Imperial base. This type of tragedy was exactly what Lucas wanted to avoid, insisting on none of the main characters dying and that the ending be … well … full of dancing Ewoks. Kurtz explains this kindergarten maneuver as being motivated by the sales of Star Wars merchandise, rather than the telling of a compelling story.

While merchandise was never unimportant for Kurtz, he felt that creating a quality movie had to take priority over creating a market for quality toys. This sentiment is mirrored in the opinions of many Star Wars fans who, after having been witness to the second Star Wars trilogy, were left feeling dissatisfied.  And while the second trilogy has captured the hearts of a new generation of Star Wars fans and generated thrice as much profit in merchandise as ticket sales, many fans would have preferred a slightly less juvenile and more complex approach to the latest installments in the Star Wars universe.

So what did Kurtz have to say after been absent from the Star Wars scene for thirty years?  Well, at least we can be sure it wasn’t an idea for a clumsy Gungan that sells more in merchandise than I make in a year. To find out more about the Star Wars Celebration, and to see more photos and artwork that have been scanned to digital, visit http://www.starwarscelebration.com/.

Tags: Gary Kurtz, scan to digital, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Photo Scanning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.