20th Century Fox wasn’t sure what it had in Star Wars, and apparently, neither did George Lucas. The director was building up his company, Lucasfilm, and unleashed his secret weapon: Charley Lippincott. He whipped people into a previously unknown frenzy by working the fans at science fiction and comics conventions. He saw to it DelRey had the novelization out months before the film, as well as three of the six-issue comics adaptation from Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin at Marvel. These people were lined up for day one, and the word of the month spread so fast that it endured throughout the summer of 1977.
Before the Special came the finale from The Donny and Marie Show, which Donny discusses on the documentary.
As we learn in the wonderfully entertaining A Disturbance in the Force, a 90-minute documentary from directors Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak, despite all his statements saying he had everything planned out,...
Before the Special came the finale from The Donny and Marie Show, which Donny discusses on the documentary.
As we learn in the wonderfully entertaining A Disturbance in the Force, a 90-minute documentary from directors Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak, despite all his statements saying he had everything planned out,...
- 12/18/2023
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
For almost 50 years, John Williams' music has been virtually synonymous with the films of Steven Spielberg (and vice versa), and for nearly as long, Williams' compositions have formed the emotional backbone of the Skywalker Saga from "Star Wars." However, 20 years before the cinematic musical maestro become known for either of those things, Williams was merely a whipper-snapper fresh out of Julliard and eager to leave his mark on the worlds of concert and film music.
Williams' pre-Spielberg run would have made for an incredible career all by itself. It was an era that saw the composer collaborating with numerous giants among the old guard of Hollywood directors, including Robert Altman, Don Siegel, William Wyler, Irwin Allen, Frank Sinatra, and Norman Jewison. In 1974, Williams worked with Spielberg for the first time on the filmmaker's theatrical feature debut, "The Sugarland Express." Appearing with Williams at the American Cinematheque event "50 Years of...
Williams' pre-Spielberg run would have made for an incredible career all by itself. It was an era that saw the composer collaborating with numerous giants among the old guard of Hollywood directors, including Robert Altman, Don Siegel, William Wyler, Irwin Allen, Frank Sinatra, and Norman Jewison. In 1974, Williams worked with Spielberg for the first time on the filmmaker's theatrical feature debut, "The Sugarland Express." Appearing with Williams at the American Cinematheque event "50 Years of...
- 9/24/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
The question asked back in the ’80s and ’90s was never, “Have you seen The Star Wars Holiday Special?” It was always, “Have you heard of The Star Wars Holiday Special?”
We’re talking about a 1978 air date, after all. Someone must have owned a Vcr, since bootleg copies of the maligned variety show do exist on the Internet (George Lucas has vehemently denounced the project and even Disney has refused to release a “clean” copy beyond putting the animated segment “The Story of the Faithful Wookiee” on Disney+.) But its existence was akin to legend back then. Just knowing was enough to be cool with details being learned rather than experienced.
So it’s shocking that it’s taken until 2023 to finally receive a “definitive” look at its creation and eventual lambasting. Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak’s A Disturbance in the Force thus seems almost like a miracle...
We’re talking about a 1978 air date, after all. Someone must have owned a Vcr, since bootleg copies of the maligned variety show do exist on the Internet (George Lucas has vehemently denounced the project and even Disney has refused to release a “clean” copy beyond putting the animated segment “The Story of the Faithful Wookiee” on Disney+.) But its existence was akin to legend back then. Just knowing was enough to be cool with details being learned rather than experienced.
So it’s shocking that it’s taken until 2023 to finally receive a “definitive” look at its creation and eventual lambasting. Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak’s A Disturbance in the Force thus seems almost like a miracle...
- 7/30/2023
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
“Star Wars” could stand to come off its high horse a little bit. Other than the recent “Andor,” which actually did break new ground, the franchise has become stunningly obsessed with itself, regurgitating obscure lore, planting callbacks and cameos everywhere, and generally living in the past.
One of the bits of “Star Wars” arcana that especially pops up? The “Star Wars Holiday Special,” the 1978 CBS catastrophe that’s the ultimate example of exploiting franchise IP into oblivion. The definitive “so bad it’s good” fetish object, the two-hour special introduced Boba Fett as a character to the saga and continues to influence stories to this day — the prong-like rifle sometimes used by Mando on “The Mandalorian” came from the special — even as George Lucas and Lucasfilm famously suppressed it. Lucasfilm even produced its own “Lego Star Wars Holiday Special” in 2020.
The most shocking thing about Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak...
One of the bits of “Star Wars” arcana that especially pops up? The “Star Wars Holiday Special,” the 1978 CBS catastrophe that’s the ultimate example of exploiting franchise IP into oblivion. The definitive “so bad it’s good” fetish object, the two-hour special introduced Boba Fett as a character to the saga and continues to influence stories to this day — the prong-like rifle sometimes used by Mando on “The Mandalorian” came from the special — even as George Lucas and Lucasfilm famously suppressed it. Lucasfilm even produced its own “Lego Star Wars Holiday Special” in 2020.
The most shocking thing about Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak...
- 3/12/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
There's random, and then there is stumbling across Richard Pryor bartending in the "Star Wars" universe. If you spend enough time searching "Star Wars" on YouTube, that's exactly what you'll uncover. Unfortunately, we only get a brief glimpse of the colorful Mos Eisley Cantina in "Star Wars: A New Hope," because once Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi affirm that "you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy," they meet up with Han Solo and get down to business in a dark corner of the tavern.
However, we have Richard Pryor to thank for imagining what it might be like if we had stuck around a while at the Mos Eisley Cantina. A long-forgotten skit on the short-lived NBC variety show dubbed "The Richard Pryor Show" hilariously imagines life as an employee at the "Star Wars Bar."
The sketch is classic Pryor, where he vigorously argues with...
However, we have Richard Pryor to thank for imagining what it might be like if we had stuck around a while at the Mos Eisley Cantina. A long-forgotten skit on the short-lived NBC variety show dubbed "The Richard Pryor Show" hilariously imagines life as an employee at the "Star Wars Bar."
The sketch is classic Pryor, where he vigorously argues with...
- 12/2/2022
- by Travis Yates
- Slash Film
Jane Alsobrook, an influential film executive, producer and publicist whose marketing work led to the success of numerous films in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, died Dec. 13 at her home in Sedona, Ariz. of breast cancer. She was 78.
Alsobrook’s career in movies began in 1971. She was recruited to help organize the Los Angeles Film Exposition, or Filmex and soon became part of what is now known as “New Hollywood” — a group that included Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, George Lucas and more. While working for Roger Corman, she also supervised the 1975 Academy Award campaign for “Amarcord,” resulting in four nominations and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
In 1975, Alsobrook entered the music industry as national publicity director for ABC Records, working alongside legends such as The Pointer Sisters, Steely Dan, Crosby and Nash and Chaka Khan. She then moved back to the world of film in...
Alsobrook’s career in movies began in 1971. She was recruited to help organize the Los Angeles Film Exposition, or Filmex and soon became part of what is now known as “New Hollywood” — a group that included Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, George Lucas and more. While working for Roger Corman, she also supervised the 1975 Academy Award campaign for “Amarcord,” resulting in four nominations and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
In 1975, Alsobrook entered the music industry as national publicity director for ABC Records, working alongside legends such as The Pointer Sisters, Steely Dan, Crosby and Nash and Chaka Khan. She then moved back to the world of film in...
- 1/10/2022
- by Wyatte Grantham-Philips
- Variety Film + TV
Jane Alsobrook, a marketing and publicity specialist who coordinated the U.S. campaigns for numerous successful independent and foreign films in the 1970s and 1980s, has died. She was 78.
It was revealed today that Alsobrook died December 13 at her home in Sedona, Az on after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
While doing post-graduate work at USC in the early 1970s, Alsobrook joined Gary Essert and Gary Abrahams to help launch the Los Angeles Film Exposition, aka Filmex, the city’s first film festival.
She then joined Roger Corman’s New World Pictures to handle marketing and publicity, notably for Fellini’s Amarcord, which won the Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1975. The following year she shifted gears to become national publicity director for ABC Records, and in the late ’70s she helped engineer the launch of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, starring The Ramones, which Corman released.
In the early 1980s,...
It was revealed today that Alsobrook died December 13 at her home in Sedona, Az on after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
While doing post-graduate work at USC in the early 1970s, Alsobrook joined Gary Essert and Gary Abrahams to help launch the Los Angeles Film Exposition, aka Filmex, the city’s first film festival.
She then joined Roger Corman’s New World Pictures to handle marketing and publicity, notably for Fellini’s Amarcord, which won the Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1975. The following year she shifted gears to become national publicity director for ABC Records, and in the late ’70s she helped engineer the launch of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, starring The Ramones, which Corman released.
In the early 1980s,...
- 1/10/2022
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
This Star Wars: The Clone Wars article contains spoilers.
The villain asking the hero to cross over to their side is a classic trope. In the lightsaber duel between Maul and Ahsoka Tano in “The Phantom Apprentice,” the penultimate episode of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka comes as close as she ever has to joining the dark side. The similarities between her and Maul at this moment make the invitation especially compelling. But she refuses for deeply ironic reasons, introducing another twist to the classic Star Wars story of good versus evil.
In the course of The Clone Wars, both Ahsoka and Maul discover that the orders they grew up in are fallible. The philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith don’t work as well when their frameworks are removed. On the eve of the Empire’s victory, everything is being rearranged, and the two outcasts have a lot to work out.
The villain asking the hero to cross over to their side is a classic trope. In the lightsaber duel between Maul and Ahsoka Tano in “The Phantom Apprentice,” the penultimate episode of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka comes as close as she ever has to joining the dark side. The similarities between her and Maul at this moment make the invitation especially compelling. But she refuses for deeply ironic reasons, introducing another twist to the classic Star Wars story of good versus evil.
In the course of The Clone Wars, both Ahsoka and Maul discover that the orders they grew up in are fallible. The philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith don’t work as well when their frameworks are removed. On the eve of the Empire’s victory, everything is being rearranged, and the two outcasts have a lot to work out.
- 5/26/2020
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
Blockbuster movies, as we think of them now, were defined in the ‘70s. Arguably, the first Hollywood blockbuster was Jaws, but the first blockbuster that was strategically planned was Star Wars.
Have you ever asked yourself why countless people lined up to see Star Wars in 1977 on the day it came out? There was no internet and TV advertising was expensive. George Lucas was not yet a multi-billionaire. How did they do it? How did Star Wars find its audience? More importantly, how did Star Wars find its audience before it became a massive hit?
The answer is the late Charles Lippincott. Lippincott, who died this week at the age of 80, was a publicist who worked for Lucasfilm in 1976. Most famously, he was also the guy who secured merchandising tie-in deals with Marvel Comics and Kenner toys. If you’ve ever read a Star Wars comic or played with a Star Wars toy,...
Have you ever asked yourself why countless people lined up to see Star Wars in 1977 on the day it came out? There was no internet and TV advertising was expensive. George Lucas was not yet a multi-billionaire. How did they do it? How did Star Wars find its audience? More importantly, how did Star Wars find its audience before it became a massive hit?
The answer is the late Charles Lippincott. Lippincott, who died this week at the age of 80, was a publicist who worked for Lucasfilm in 1976. Most famously, he was also the guy who secured merchandising tie-in deals with Marvel Comics and Kenner toys. If you’ve ever read a Star Wars comic or played with a Star Wars toy,...
- 5/22/2020
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
Veteran film publicist Charles Lippincott, best known for handling the marketing campaign for George Lucas’ “Star Wars: A New Hope,” died Tuesday after being hospitalized in Vermont last week for a heart attack. He was 80.
Lippincott’s wife, Bumpy, shared the news on social media.
Lippincott joined Lucasfilm in 1975 as vice president of advertising, publicity, promotion and merchandising. He’s credited with organizing extensive promotion of the first “Star Wars” movie prior to its release in 1977 with a grass-roots campaign aimed at science-fiction fans and younger moviegoers. Those moves included publicizing the then-unknown star Mark Hamill, who accompanied Lippincott on a promotional tour starting in 1976.
The marketing guru also brought “Star Wars: A New Hope” to the San Diego Comic Con, a formerly small convention that soon became a destination for Hollywood blockbusters and fandoms.
“Charley was one of the founding pillars of the “Star Wars” films and phenomenon,” said Lucas in a statement.
Lippincott’s wife, Bumpy, shared the news on social media.
Lippincott joined Lucasfilm in 1975 as vice president of advertising, publicity, promotion and merchandising. He’s credited with organizing extensive promotion of the first “Star Wars” movie prior to its release in 1977 with a grass-roots campaign aimed at science-fiction fans and younger moviegoers. Those moves included publicizing the then-unknown star Mark Hamill, who accompanied Lippincott on a promotional tour starting in 1976.
The marketing guru also brought “Star Wars: A New Hope” to the San Diego Comic Con, a formerly small convention that soon became a destination for Hollywood blockbusters and fandoms.
“Charley was one of the founding pillars of the “Star Wars” films and phenomenon,” said Lucas in a statement.
- 5/21/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Charles Lippincott, the veteran film publicist who masterminded the campaign for George Lucas' first Star Wars movie, died Tuesday night after being hospitalized last week following a heart attack. He was 80.
Lippincott had been living in Vermont, where he'd retired years ago with his wife, Bumpy, who shared the news on social media.
Lippincott worked on campaigns for a number of groundbreaking films, including Michael Crichton's Westworld (1973); Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot (1976); Ridley Scott's Alien (1979); and Flash Gordon (1980). But it was his work on Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) that left the biggest ...
Lippincott had been living in Vermont, where he'd retired years ago with his wife, Bumpy, who shared the news on social media.
Lippincott worked on campaigns for a number of groundbreaking films, including Michael Crichton's Westworld (1973); Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot (1976); Ridley Scott's Alien (1979); and Flash Gordon (1980). But it was his work on Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) that left the biggest ...
- 5/20/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Charles Lippincott, the veteran film publicist who masterminded the campaign for George Lucas' first Star Wars movie, died Tuesday night after being hospitalized last week following a heart attack. He was 80.
Lippincott had been living in Vermont, where he'd retired years ago with his wife, Bumpy, who shared the news on social media.
Lippincott worked on campaigns for a number of groundbreaking films, including Michael Crichton's Westworld (1973); Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot (1976); Ridley Scott's Alien (1979); and Flash Gordon (1980). But it was his work on Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) that left the biggest ...
Lippincott had been living in Vermont, where he'd retired years ago with his wife, Bumpy, who shared the news on social media.
Lippincott worked on campaigns for a number of groundbreaking films, including Michael Crichton's Westworld (1973); Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot (1976); Ridley Scott's Alien (1979); and Flash Gordon (1980). But it was his work on Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) that left the biggest ...
- 5/20/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Though it’s synonymous with blockbusters now, “Star Wars” was far from a guaranteed success. Anyone who’s ever doubted that would do well to avail themselves of a half-hour Q&A session about “Star Wars” between Mark Hamill, producer Gary Kurtz, and marketing director Charles Lippincott held six months before George Lucas’ space opera changed movies forever. Watch the full conversation below.
Read More:‘Star Wars’ Spinoff: Obi-Wan Kenobi Film In Works, Stephen Daldry in Talks to Direct — Report
It took place at MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention, which was held in Kansas City in 1976. Among the topics of discussion: the idea of model-makers and other special-effects technicians going the way of the dodo — there wasn’t much work for them at the time, says Kurtz, and so some of them “may get out and become encyclopedia salesman.” Suffice to say they were wrong about which career ended up lasting much longer,...
Read More:‘Star Wars’ Spinoff: Obi-Wan Kenobi Film In Works, Stephen Daldry in Talks to Direct — Report
It took place at MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention, which was held in Kansas City in 1976. Among the topics of discussion: the idea of model-makers and other special-effects technicians going the way of the dodo — there wasn’t much work for them at the time, says Kurtz, and so some of them “may get out and become encyclopedia salesman.” Suffice to say they were wrong about which career ended up lasting much longer,...
- 9/3/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Celebrate the April 10th digital release of the Star Wars saga with this collection of fun facts and interstellar statistics. For the first time ever, all six epic films in the Saga, from The Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi, will be available on Digital HD.
Want more behind-the-scenes revelations? Then check out the extras on Star Wars: The Digital Collection.
http://www.starwars.com/the-star-wars-digital-movie-collection
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn rescue Queen Amidala, ruler of a peaceful planet invaded by dark forces. On their escape, they discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a child prodigy who is unusually strong in the Force.
Anakin Skywalker’s Podracer in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was created from an interesting collection of vehicles and props. The front of the shuttle, in which Anakin sits, was made from the shell of a 1960’s racing car called a Maserati Birdcage.
Want more behind-the-scenes revelations? Then check out the extras on Star Wars: The Digital Collection.
http://www.starwars.com/the-star-wars-digital-movie-collection
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn rescue Queen Amidala, ruler of a peaceful planet invaded by dark forces. On their escape, they discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a child prodigy who is unusually strong in the Force.
Anakin Skywalker’s Podracer in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was created from an interesting collection of vehicles and props. The front of the shuttle, in which Anakin sits, was made from the shell of a 1960’s racing car called a Maserati Birdcage.
- 4/9/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
My geek overdrive continues to overwhelm me. But I’m not the only one.
Less than a week away from this year’s San Diego ComicCon (which opens its doors this Thursday, July 24th, and closes them on Sunday, July 27th) Entertainment Weekly joins the national geek fest that is summertime with a bang-up double-size issue featuring a cover shot of Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Evans as Captain America with Ultron looming behind them. The issue is a stuffed-to-the-gills San Diego Comic Con preview…
And I read every single page. Including the adverts.
Now I know how those fans at the 1976 Sdcc felt when Charles Lippincott (then head of Lucasfilm’s marketing, advertising and publicity department) showed some of the first production slides of Star Wars, and (writer) Roy Thomas and (artist) Howard Chaykin previewed their Marvel Comics adaptation of the film, because the cover story,...
Less than a week away from this year’s San Diego ComicCon (which opens its doors this Thursday, July 24th, and closes them on Sunday, July 27th) Entertainment Weekly joins the national geek fest that is summertime with a bang-up double-size issue featuring a cover shot of Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Evans as Captain America with Ultron looming behind them. The issue is a stuffed-to-the-gills San Diego Comic Con preview…
And I read every single page. Including the adverts.
Now I know how those fans at the 1976 Sdcc felt when Charles Lippincott (then head of Lucasfilm’s marketing, advertising and publicity department) showed some of the first production slides of Star Wars, and (writer) Roy Thomas and (artist) Howard Chaykin previewed their Marvel Comics adaptation of the film, because the cover story,...
- 7/21/2014
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ... those words opened not only "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope," but began a cultural phenomenon that is still going strong 35 years after the film opened. There aren't many artistic properties that can say that. Know someone who's never seen "Star Wars?" You're shocked when you meet someone who hasn't. Who doesn't know what a lightsaber is? Darth Vader? Luke Skywalker? Princess Leia?
It's almost beyond belief to hear that when the film opened, it did so to mostly empty theaters. The film opened on May 25, 1977 and only in 32 venues. They didn't even have a premiere. The Daily News reports, "Theaters didn't want the movie. We were lucky to get thirty theaters to open it," according to Charles Lippincott, former Lucasfilm promotions chief."
The reviews, however, were good. Fans who saw it once were so enthralled that they went...
It's almost beyond belief to hear that when the film opened, it did so to mostly empty theaters. The film opened on May 25, 1977 and only in 32 venues. They didn't even have a premiere. The Daily News reports, "Theaters didn't want the movie. We were lucky to get thirty theaters to open it," according to Charles Lippincott, former Lucasfilm promotions chief."
The reviews, however, were good. Fans who saw it once were so enthralled that they went...
- 5/25/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Helping him break through this barrier of debilitating resistance was Charles Lippincott, then Vice President of Advertising, Publicity, Promotion and Merchandising for the Star Wars Corporation, whose task it was to build an awareness for the film prior to its release. "The reason I had this long title at the time is that nobody in the movie business really used marketing as a term to incorporate advertising. They still talked about departments with all three titles," reflects Lippincott. "I really conceived marketing as a different way of handling science fiction. In a sense, it was like pre-advertising." Remember, these were the days before the Internet made "pre-advertising" the norm. In the early '70s, Lippincott noted with fascination the growing interest in science fiction and comic book conventions, as well as the proliferation of genre-centric stores which indicated that Something was happening. "My thinking," he says, "was that we should...
- 9/12/2011
- ComicBookMovie.com
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