A short introduction before we get started:
My name is Vee, and my first attempt at a timeline was an adject failure by virtually all standards. I entered into it with little preparation and quickly felt overwhelmed and abandoned it, but I never stopped thinking about what it could have been. My second attempt at a timeline was little better, it endured longer but I was combative with those who offered me genuine feedback. With hindsight, I attest that sad reaction to my drug use at the time. I am now sober, in fact in five days it will be my 4 month anniversary, for what it’s worth. So without further ado, it is my upmost pleasure to share with you all the first part of our story…
To jump ahead to the rebooted Part 1, please click here.
My name is Vee, and my first attempt at a timeline was an adject failure by virtually all standards. I entered into it with little preparation and quickly felt overwhelmed and abandoned it, but I never stopped thinking about what it could have been. My second attempt at a timeline was little better, it endured longer but I was combative with those who offered me genuine feedback. With hindsight, I attest that sad reaction to my drug use at the time. I am now sober, in fact in five days it will be my 4 month anniversary, for what it’s worth. So without further ado, it is my upmost pleasure to share with you all the first part of our story…
To jump ahead to the rebooted Part 1, please click here.
Chapter I
The story doesn’t start here, but on a winding road in the hills of San Francisco, during an uncharacteristic rainstorm in the early morning hours of April 1st, 1981, it took a dramatic turn. George Lucas, responsible in his lifetime for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and credited posthumously for the stories behind Willow and Academy Award-winning Radioland Murders, went for a twilight drive after a particularly nasty argument between himself and his wife, Marcia Lucas. He watched the sunset from the passenger’s side window as his drove south from their home in San Anselmo, noting the storm clouds that replaced the sunset. Speeding for perhaps the entirety of this fateful trip, he was, in fact, pulled over by an officer of the California Highway Patrol on Route 101, after exiting the Waldo Tunnel.
Officer Ervin Casey later reported, “Mr. Lucas was speeding in excess of 20 miles per hour, but he did not seem as if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Mr. Lucas assured me he would resume his trip obeying the posted speed limits. I let him off with a warning.”
The exact particulars of Lucas’ trip that night is unknown, but what is known, according to receipts that were found on his person, is that he stopped at 10:48 PM for snacks, a bottle of whiskey, and to refuel at a gas station, and then attended a midnight showing of Michael Mann’s recently released Thief. Finally, just before three o’clock in the morning, he found himself at the entrance of Lombard Street’s famous eight switchbacks. The worst of the storm showers had come and went while he sat in the theater, so perhaps Lucas didn’t realize just how wet the roads were, perhaps the light drizzle tricked him into a false sense of security.
He blew through the intersection speeding once more, the aforementioned bottle of whiskey empty, rolling back and forth on the floor in front of the passenger seat. He took the first two switchbacks with exceeding speed, but coming out of the third and into the fourth he slammed on the breaks hard. The onetime drag racer, drunk and fatigued from hours of driving, hit the curb at a bad angle, which caused his sports car to jump and roll over the guardrail. It rolled four more times, finally landing on its roof at the bottom of the switchbacks.
Nearby residents were awoken by the crashes, and 911 received several calls about the accident. First responders arrived on scene soon after, who then rushed Lucas to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. Despite a valiant effort by their staff, George Lucas was declared dead at 4:08 AM.
Fans of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back awoke on April 1st to the news of George Lucas’ accident and subsequent passing in disbelief. News stations across the country were flooded with calls asking whether or not the news was a sick April Fools joke, so much so the story was reported again the following day, confirming to the world the tragic truth. Back in San Anselmo, Marcia Lucas herself was in disbelief…
Some six hours south, David Lynch reacted to the news of George Lucas’ passing with a fright. You see, not even a week ago Lynch and Lucas had a meeting concerning the possibility of Lynch directing the third installment in the Star Wars franchise, Return of the Jedi. Years later Lynch recalled the entire experience to have been a rather sordid affair, sharing that Lucas personally picked him up in the very same sports car he would ultimately crash, and that Lucas paraded him through the Lucasfilm offices. Rather than discussing the narrative for the film, Lucas displayed prototype action figures for him. Lynch elaborated that he left the meeting with a splitting migraine, thanking Lucas for the opportunity, but telling him that he should be the one to direct the picture, as it was his vision.
Now, in Lynch’s words, here was the universe telling him that was not an option after all. For many years afterwards, he found a lingering question popping up in the back of his mind, often as he laid down to sleep at night: whether or not, in some cosmic way, he was responsible for Lucas’ death. Suddenly he felt a surprisingly deep yearning to direct the picture.
He made a call to his agent, who informed Lynch that they thought the production team was currently having discussions with David Cronenberg about directing, but was otherwise excited about the possibility. If his agent were to have asked, Lynch wasn’t sure how to explain his change of heart, but thankfully they did not, perhaps not wanting Lynch to change his mind. There was a deep pit in his stomach, which would remain in the coming months, somehow feeling as if he had something to atone for.
Lynch’s agent then asked him about another project they had been in discussions about, Frances, with the same team that had produced The Elephant Man. Lynch had been intrigued by the script, and thought there was some real potential in the story, but he had been considering signing a production deal with Paramount which would exclude him from participation in the project. Now truly intrigued by Return of the Jedi, he would not be signing with Paramount.
There was a possibility he could direct both, and if he angled his cards right, perhaps even get his passion project, Ronnie Rocket, greenlit. It had been shopped around through Hollywood, and had even gotten him the Elephant Man job, but every executive said it would cost too much. Lucasfilm could be his saving grace after all the rejections…
Naturally, the days that followed were an incredibly tough time for Marcia Lucas, as they would be for any wife. Despite all their problems, George was the love of her life. In fact, for years they had tried to conceive and failed, certainly a source of conflict in any marriage, and they had been on the verge of adopting a baby. Now, she wasn’t quite sure what to do about that, she wasn’t sure she could raise a child without George, or whether or not she even wanted to.
The funeral arrangements were the worst out of all the bad decisions to be made. Ultimately it was decided to host public services at the Marin County Civic Center, with seats that were not reserved for friends and family being filled by a first come, first serve telephone reservation system. An interfaith service, there were speakers from the Buddhist and Methodist communities both. Other notable speakers included Stephen Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and Ron Howard. Despite misgivings from Marcia, the service was televised nationally, convinced by Spielberg telling her it would be nice to give every fan of Star Wars the opportunity to say goodbye.
Private services, attended by family, friends, and any staff that wished from Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Sprocket Systems, were held at Skywalker Ranch. Finally, George Lucas was interred at a plot set aside on the ranch. Getting permission for the private plot in a quick enough time took some favors from the county offices, but once certain officials were promised choice seats at the public services, everything went smoothly.
Despite it all, Marcia immediately took to the business of running Lucasfilm. She had been reading First Blood at the suggestion of a friend, and was enthralled by it. All of a sudden running a film studio, she was taken by the idea of producing the novel into a motion picture. After a discussion with Spielberg about the idea, they brought on Frank Marshall to produce and help guide her through the process.
A call was made to Warner Bros. and by the end of that business day, the rights to adapt First Blood and all 32 previous scripts were purchased for $500,000 by Lucasfilm. Financing for a $12 million budget was secured primarily through an international distribution deal with Manson International, personal funds from Marcia herself, and relatively small bank loans. So when they brought the project to Universal to secure domestic distribution and the remaining necessary funding, they presented the project with having as little risk as possible, not wanting to be denied in the face of George’s death, which understandably could have led to serious loss of faith in Lucasfilm. Despite that, or perhaps indeed in light of their efforts, Lucasfilm managed to negotiate a very favorable deal, including sequel rights (after all, the main character dies at the end), merchandise rights, and an unclear percentage of gross profits for Marcia herself.
The team grew to include producer Gary Kurtz, whom Marcia liked despite having been replaced halfway through Empire Strike Back’s production, and executive producer Howard Kazanjian, as well as a writers room consisting of Lucasfilm alumna Lawrence Kasdan, Diane Thomas after Spielberg’s initial suggestion Robert Zemekis suggested her, and finally the one actor everyone agreed was the obvious choice for the leading role of Rambo: Sylvester Stallone. He had read the script originally written for Warner Bros. by Michael Kozoll and William Sackheim in a weekend and immediately agreed to star, and despite moving ahead with their script as the basis, everyone involved agreed there was room for improvement. The most notable departure from the novel, and the working script in particular, being the removal of Rambo killing sixteen people, the desire being to make the character as sympathetic to audiences as possible. Stallone pushed to remove Rambo dying at the end, which was agreed upon. The hunt for director included a litany of names, with the team finally settling on making an offer to George Miller, the then still relatively unknown director of Mad Max. But it was uncertain whether he would agree, so they put feelers out to John Flynn, Walter Hill, and Ted Kotcheff, who had actually been involved in the project in 1976.
On the Star Wars front, there too Marcia hit the ground running. The original film, itself simply titled Star Wars, was scheduled to be rereleased in the coming months. George had decided to retitle it "A New Hope," but Marcia never did like it very much personally, although she couldn’t ever come up with a good enough alternative in George’s eyes. After collaborating with Kasdan, the two of them ultimately settled on the full title of Star Wars: Episode 4 - The Force Awakens (based on the naming convention designed by George). Even that, she wasn’t too sure of, but she did feel it was better. Marcia offered to pay the costs of recutting the film, but executives at Fox agreed the new title worked better, and reach a cost-splitting deal.
And so began Marcia’s long and storied stewardship of the Star Wars franchise…
- Excerpt from Squirrels to the Nuts: The Star Wars Story (2022)
The story doesn’t start here, but on a winding road in the hills of San Francisco, during an uncharacteristic rainstorm in the early morning hours of April 1st, 1981, it took a dramatic turn. George Lucas, responsible in his lifetime for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and credited posthumously for the stories behind Willow and Academy Award-winning Radioland Murders, went for a twilight drive after a particularly nasty argument between himself and his wife, Marcia Lucas. He watched the sunset from the passenger’s side window as his drove south from their home in San Anselmo, noting the storm clouds that replaced the sunset. Speeding for perhaps the entirety of this fateful trip, he was, in fact, pulled over by an officer of the California Highway Patrol on Route 101, after exiting the Waldo Tunnel.
Officer Ervin Casey later reported, “Mr. Lucas was speeding in excess of 20 miles per hour, but he did not seem as if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Mr. Lucas assured me he would resume his trip obeying the posted speed limits. I let him off with a warning.”
The exact particulars of Lucas’ trip that night is unknown, but what is known, according to receipts that were found on his person, is that he stopped at 10:48 PM for snacks, a bottle of whiskey, and to refuel at a gas station, and then attended a midnight showing of Michael Mann’s recently released Thief. Finally, just before three o’clock in the morning, he found himself at the entrance of Lombard Street’s famous eight switchbacks. The worst of the storm showers had come and went while he sat in the theater, so perhaps Lucas didn’t realize just how wet the roads were, perhaps the light drizzle tricked him into a false sense of security.
He blew through the intersection speeding once more, the aforementioned bottle of whiskey empty, rolling back and forth on the floor in front of the passenger seat. He took the first two switchbacks with exceeding speed, but coming out of the third and into the fourth he slammed on the breaks hard. The onetime drag racer, drunk and fatigued from hours of driving, hit the curb at a bad angle, which caused his sports car to jump and roll over the guardrail. It rolled four more times, finally landing on its roof at the bottom of the switchbacks.
Nearby residents were awoken by the crashes, and 911 received several calls about the accident. First responders arrived on scene soon after, who then rushed Lucas to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. Despite a valiant effort by their staff, George Lucas was declared dead at 4:08 AM.
Fans of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back awoke on April 1st to the news of George Lucas’ accident and subsequent passing in disbelief. News stations across the country were flooded with calls asking whether or not the news was a sick April Fools joke, so much so the story was reported again the following day, confirming to the world the tragic truth. Back in San Anselmo, Marcia Lucas herself was in disbelief…
########
Some six hours south, David Lynch reacted to the news of George Lucas’ passing with a fright. You see, not even a week ago Lynch and Lucas had a meeting concerning the possibility of Lynch directing the third installment in the Star Wars franchise, Return of the Jedi. Years later Lynch recalled the entire experience to have been a rather sordid affair, sharing that Lucas personally picked him up in the very same sports car he would ultimately crash, and that Lucas paraded him through the Lucasfilm offices. Rather than discussing the narrative for the film, Lucas displayed prototype action figures for him. Lynch elaborated that he left the meeting with a splitting migraine, thanking Lucas for the opportunity, but telling him that he should be the one to direct the picture, as it was his vision.
Now, in Lynch’s words, here was the universe telling him that was not an option after all. For many years afterwards, he found a lingering question popping up in the back of his mind, often as he laid down to sleep at night: whether or not, in some cosmic way, he was responsible for Lucas’ death. Suddenly he felt a surprisingly deep yearning to direct the picture.
He made a call to his agent, who informed Lynch that they thought the production team was currently having discussions with David Cronenberg about directing, but was otherwise excited about the possibility. If his agent were to have asked, Lynch wasn’t sure how to explain his change of heart, but thankfully they did not, perhaps not wanting Lynch to change his mind. There was a deep pit in his stomach, which would remain in the coming months, somehow feeling as if he had something to atone for.
Lynch’s agent then asked him about another project they had been in discussions about, Frances, with the same team that had produced The Elephant Man. Lynch had been intrigued by the script, and thought there was some real potential in the story, but he had been considering signing a production deal with Paramount which would exclude him from participation in the project. Now truly intrigued by Return of the Jedi, he would not be signing with Paramount.
There was a possibility he could direct both, and if he angled his cards right, perhaps even get his passion project, Ronnie Rocket, greenlit. It had been shopped around through Hollywood, and had even gotten him the Elephant Man job, but every executive said it would cost too much. Lucasfilm could be his saving grace after all the rejections…
########
Naturally, the days that followed were an incredibly tough time for Marcia Lucas, as they would be for any wife. Despite all their problems, George was the love of her life. In fact, for years they had tried to conceive and failed, certainly a source of conflict in any marriage, and they had been on the verge of adopting a baby. Now, she wasn’t quite sure what to do about that, she wasn’t sure she could raise a child without George, or whether or not she even wanted to.
The funeral arrangements were the worst out of all the bad decisions to be made. Ultimately it was decided to host public services at the Marin County Civic Center, with seats that were not reserved for friends and family being filled by a first come, first serve telephone reservation system. An interfaith service, there were speakers from the Buddhist and Methodist communities both. Other notable speakers included Stephen Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and Ron Howard. Despite misgivings from Marcia, the service was televised nationally, convinced by Spielberg telling her it would be nice to give every fan of Star Wars the opportunity to say goodbye.
Private services, attended by family, friends, and any staff that wished from Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Sprocket Systems, were held at Skywalker Ranch. Finally, George Lucas was interred at a plot set aside on the ranch. Getting permission for the private plot in a quick enough time took some favors from the county offices, but once certain officials were promised choice seats at the public services, everything went smoothly.
Despite it all, Marcia immediately took to the business of running Lucasfilm. She had been reading First Blood at the suggestion of a friend, and was enthralled by it. All of a sudden running a film studio, she was taken by the idea of producing the novel into a motion picture. After a discussion with Spielberg about the idea, they brought on Frank Marshall to produce and help guide her through the process.
A call was made to Warner Bros. and by the end of that business day, the rights to adapt First Blood and all 32 previous scripts were purchased for $500,000 by Lucasfilm. Financing for a $12 million budget was secured primarily through an international distribution deal with Manson International, personal funds from Marcia herself, and relatively small bank loans. So when they brought the project to Universal to secure domestic distribution and the remaining necessary funding, they presented the project with having as little risk as possible, not wanting to be denied in the face of George’s death, which understandably could have led to serious loss of faith in Lucasfilm. Despite that, or perhaps indeed in light of their efforts, Lucasfilm managed to negotiate a very favorable deal, including sequel rights (after all, the main character dies at the end), merchandise rights, and an unclear percentage of gross profits for Marcia herself.
The team grew to include producer Gary Kurtz, whom Marcia liked despite having been replaced halfway through Empire Strike Back’s production, and executive producer Howard Kazanjian, as well as a writers room consisting of Lucasfilm alumna Lawrence Kasdan, Diane Thomas after Spielberg’s initial suggestion Robert Zemekis suggested her, and finally the one actor everyone agreed was the obvious choice for the leading role of Rambo: Sylvester Stallone. He had read the script originally written for Warner Bros. by Michael Kozoll and William Sackheim in a weekend and immediately agreed to star, and despite moving ahead with their script as the basis, everyone involved agreed there was room for improvement. The most notable departure from the novel, and the working script in particular, being the removal of Rambo killing sixteen people, the desire being to make the character as sympathetic to audiences as possible. Stallone pushed to remove Rambo dying at the end, which was agreed upon. The hunt for director included a litany of names, with the team finally settling on making an offer to George Miller, the then still relatively unknown director of Mad Max. But it was uncertain whether he would agree, so they put feelers out to John Flynn, Walter Hill, and Ted Kotcheff, who had actually been involved in the project in 1976.
On the Star Wars front, there too Marcia hit the ground running. The original film, itself simply titled Star Wars, was scheduled to be rereleased in the coming months. George had decided to retitle it "A New Hope," but Marcia never did like it very much personally, although she couldn’t ever come up with a good enough alternative in George’s eyes. After collaborating with Kasdan, the two of them ultimately settled on the full title of Star Wars: Episode 4 - The Force Awakens (based on the naming convention designed by George). Even that, she wasn’t too sure of, but she did feel it was better. Marcia offered to pay the costs of recutting the film, but executives at Fox agreed the new title worked better, and reach a cost-splitting deal.
And so began Marcia’s long and storied stewardship of the Star Wars franchise…
- Excerpt from Squirrels to the Nuts: The Star Wars Story (2022)
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