The most revolutionary thing about "Star Wars" was probably its demonstration of several "paradigm-shifting" business principles in the movie industry: 1. After decades of banking on marquee names, it proved you could have a blockbuster hit withno stars -- except for the ILM-generated ones. (Guest starAlec Guinness does not qualify, because he was hardly a marquee name by 1977.) The actors were good in their roles (and became indelibly identified with them), but none had ever sold a ticket before. (Or do you recall rushing out to see that newHarrison Ford picture, "The Conversation"?) 2. It created the modern "franchise picture" -- a series of "event" films (usually with numerals in their titles) that either continued a particular story with some or all of the same characters, or repeated the concept with new characters (so the actors wouldn't have to receive star salaries from the start, unless the pictures became successful). Yes, that pre-"Jaws" blockbuster, "The Godfather," directed by Lucas' pal and "American Graffiti" patronFrancis Ford Coppola, had already generated a "Part II" sequel/prequel in 1974 (only two years after the first!) that was superior to the original. But what was exceptional about the "Star Wars" series was that each installment became essential viewing -- unlike, say, "Jaws 2," "Jaws 3-D" and "Jaws: The Revenge" ("This time ... it's personal!"), all of which illustrated the common law of diminishing returns. Each episode of the first "Star Wars" trilogy took in more than $200 million -- astonishing, record-breaking figures in the 1970s and early 1980s. 3. It created the model for the modern major movie trilogy. From the beginning (or, OK, the middle), Lucas said that he envisioned the "Star Wars" saga as a "nonology," or a trilogy of trilogies, so the sequels didn't just dribble out endlessly -- as would later become the custom with spotty horror series such as "Halloween," "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Today, popular tent-pole pictures tend to come in groups of three: "Back to the Future," "The Matrix," "The Terminator" and "Spider-Man" (well, so far). Franchises such as the "Alien" and "Rambo" movies felt like they'd played themselves out after three installments and were only extended after a gap of five to 20 years as rather desperate afterthoughts. If these later offspring were children, they'd be considered "mistakes." (Although "Alien: Resurrection" wasn't terrible -- at least not compared with "Alien vs. Predator.") 4. Perhaps most significant of all, "Star Wars" showed that you could make even more from the merchandising rights on a movie than you could from the movie itself.Lucas negotiated a deal with 20th Century Fox that gave him not only final cut and 40 percent of the net but also ownership of all sequels and merchandising.That's what made Lucas a billionaire and built the ILM Empire. By the time of the late 1990s prequels, Lucas made an unprecedented tie-in deal with Pepsico (including Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC and Frito-Lay) estimated to be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 billion -- almost twice the North American domestic gross of Episodes I, II and III combined. To see "Star Wars" in 1977 was to experience a moment in pop culture that seemed universal. This may have been the last such unifying landmark for the boomer generation -- with the Beatles at one end and "Star Wars" at the other. Unless you remember what it was like in the summer of 1967 -- the so-called "Summer of Love," when "Sgt. Pepper" was simply in the air, everywhere, or the summer of 1977, when lines for "Star Wars" seemed to last for months (and people waited in lawn chairs with coolers full of beverages) -- it's hard to describe the feeling, because it's not likely to happen again. Yes, "E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial" would galvanize American popular culture again five years later, but the experience (the phenomenon, not the movie) already felt a little second-hand. Since then, we've seen "Batman" and "ID4" (Anybody remember the actual title of that movie?) and "Titanic," the top-grossing movie of all time and now "Spider-Man 3"... and yet they don't approach the intensity of the impact "Star Wars" had. That, it now seems, happened a long time ago in ... I don't have to finish that sentence, do I? What are your thoughts about "Star Wars"? Write us atheymsn@microsoft.com In addition to his regular contributions to MSN Movies, Jim Emerson is the former editor of Microsoft's online/CD-ROM movie encyclopedia, Cinemania. He has written a lot over the years, mostly about movies, for many publications and Web sites, and is now the editor of RogerEbert.com, where he also publishes his blog, Scanners (blogs.suntimes.com/scanners). Sound off:Comment on this story | Also:Features archive Back |
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