(uptempo music)
- May the 24th be with you.
Folks, today isn't just the 150th episode
of my show, holy crap.
- But it wasn't.
- But it also marks the eve of the 40th anniversary
of a little film called Star Wars.
On May 25th, 1977, a young filmmaker
named George Lucas unleashed his space fantasy
that was steeped in mythic storytelling traditions
on an unsuspecting public.
That public in turn went hog wild for it.
They bought the merchandise,
they dressed up as the characters,
they learned all these terms
that never actually appear in the movie,
ewok, and they never turned back.
Now four decades later, the influence
of Star Wars is stronger than ever,
and specifically Episode IV: A New Hope.
It can be seen practically everywhere in pop culture.
So to celebrate this auspicious anniversary,
today's episode of The Dan Cave
is all about little known A New Hope facts
that only die hard Star Wars fans already know.
Star Wars is the reason you have to leave
the movie theater when the movie's done playing.
It's not so they can just clean up
the gummy bears you spilled, Jess.
On May 25th, 1977, Star Wars opened
in 32 theaters across the country.
That movie went on to gross $255,000 in its opening day,
and word of mouth spread like wildfire.
It only got crazier and more profitable from there,
but that money didn't necessarily come from repeat viewers,
at least not at first.
A lot of people saw it multiple times,
but back then, most theaters had a policy
where you could just stay in the theater
as long as you liked if you bought a single ticket.
Now, the runaway success of Star Wars
actually made them change that policy,
forcing you to leave the theater and buy a new ticket.
That is, if you weren't sneaky enough
to loiter around the lobby and pretend
to play Cruis'n USA until you could
weasel your way into a second film.
Not that I did that.
You probably--
Anyway, just blame Star Wars.
The title used to be dumb as hell.
It turns out there's a really good reason
that scripts go through multiple revisions.
- I may have gone too far in a few places.
- Before it was simply called Star Wars,
George Lucas envisioned a much longer title.
The second draft of the script was entitled
Adventures of the Starkiller as taken
from the Journal of the Whills Saga I: The Star Wars.
Jesus.
It's kind of like how my show used to be called
Cave Quest: The Danacavens
Recollections from the Secret Diary of John Wilkes Booth
Compendium 4: That Old Chestnut.
The studio was afraid of Chewbacca's downstairs mix up.
Now, many of you know that Han Solo's fuzzball
of a copilot Chewbacca was actually inspired
by George Lucas' real life dog,
this giant Alaskan Malamute named Indiana.
- I got a lot of fond memories of that dog.
- But studio execs were still worried
that audiences would be scandalized by the fact
that he was essentially a nudist wearing a bandolier
and nothing else except just (bleep) tons of fur.
- I see your point, sir.
- Now apparently, studio execs wanted Chewie
to wear everything from lederhosen to culottes,
according to Mark Hamill and they even drew up
concept art of what that would look like.
But eventually, George's original vision
of a pantsless Wookiee won out,
and I think I speak for everyone when I say--
- Let the Wookiee win.
- R2-D2 wasn't always a little
bleeping and blooping sass bot.
Everyone's favorite astromech originally had
actual lines of dialog, in which he would chastise
his gibbering golden compatriot, C-3PO.
The dialog, though, was removed in post-production
and replaced with the iconic beeps and bloops
we know and love today,
and honestly, it's ultimately for the best
because it actually makes C-3PO seem like
this sort of anxiety-addled lunatic,
rather than just the victim of Droid rage.
- Don't you call me a mindless philosopher,
you overweight glob of grease.
- Darth Vader didn't kill Obi-Wan Kenobi.
George Lucas' ex wife did.
Though Darth Vader struck the killing blow,
old Ben Kenobi's blood is actually on Marcia Lucas' hands.
Now, not only did Marcia win an Oscar for editing Star Wars,
but she was actually the one who suggested
that Obi-Wan bite the bullet, or snarf the saber, I guess.
I don't know the term.
At first she suggested that 3PO get shot
when Lucas was struggling with how to end the movie,
but Lucas said no because he wanted
to start and end the film with Droids,
so Marcia then turned her sights on old Ben.
- No!
- It turned out to be exactly the emotional pathos
the film needed, and as a bonus,
it freed a cranky Sir Alec Guinness
from having to spend one more day
in uncomfortable robes in the Tahitian heat,
because honestly, that's so hard when you're making,
I don't know, something like $88 million off this movie.
Get over it, dude.
The Millennium Falcon didn't always
look as cool as it does now.
The original concept model for the Falcon
was this long cylindrical spacecraft
that was ultimately nixed because it looked too similar
to the ship on the British TV show, Space 1999.
Now, a version of that ship actually made it
into the final version of Star Wars
as the Rebel blockade runner you see
at the very beginning of the movie.
As for the Falcon itself,
well, legend has it that George Lucas
was eating a hamburger with an olive on the side
when he looked down at his plate
and realized it wasn't a beefwich at all,
but rather it was the blueprint
for the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
Now, some online conspiracy theorists
don't exactly buy this theory.
They think it's actually created
from Austrian architect Otto Wagner's
1880 design for a never built office building,
but I think that just sounds like
they have beef with the original story.
Ralph McQuarrie gave Darth Vader space asthma.
Do you ever wonder why Darth Vader
had such an intense suit of armor
complete with a breathing apparatus
that puts iron lungs to shame?
Well, sure it's because he didn't have the high ground
back when he faced Obi-Wan back on Mustafar,
but really, it's because of concept artist Ralph McQuarrie.
Now, Lucas originally wanted a Samurai influence.
After all, he was obsessed with the films of Akira Kurosawa.
But McQuarrie felt that something was missing
from Vader's original design.
In the original script, it called for Vader
to travel between spaceships,
exposing himself to the infinite blackness of space.
So Ralph McQuarrie thought that he needed
some sort of specialized space suit
to help him breathe and survive the void.
So, McQuarrie drew a mask on him and the rest, as they say,
(imitating Darth Vader) is history.
I hate sand.
The force originated in Canada.
I know, I know, you thought it was this weird bacteria
that turns pod racing phenoms
into murderous sand-hating asthmatics,
but the force can actually trace its origins
all the way back a 1963 short film
by Montreal filmmaker Arthur Lipsett called 21-87.
After a traumatic car accident,
Lucas found himself with a budding interest in film
and spent a lot of time in art house cinemas.
Now, during one such trip to the movies,
he saw 21-87 and it left a major impression on him.
About three minutes into this movie,
there's a conversation between
artificial intelligence scientist Warren S. McCulloch
and cinematographer Roman Kroiter in which Kroiter says,
"Many people feel that in the contemplation of nature
and in communication with other living things,
they become aware of some kind of force
or something behind this apparent mask
which we see in front of us and they call it God."
- Its energy surrounds us and binds us.
- While it's not the only thing to influence the force,
it's definitely one of the earliest.
And let's just be grateful that Infinite Jest
hadn't been written yet or George Lucas
might have been really insufferable.
Star Wars almost featured some very different stars.
Now, I've done an entire episode about this before,
but there are tons of super famous actors
that auditioned for Star Wars,
only to turn down a part in the galaxy far, far away
or they just couldn't stay on target in the audition room.
Now, before the carpenter turned world's handsomest grump
Harrison Ford got the role,
Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Robert Englund,
Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Bill Murray,
Nick Nolte, Jack Nicholson, Steve Martin,
Chevy Chase, and James Caan all auditioned for this part.
- Over my dead body.
- And speaking of weird casting ideas,
George Lucas himself had some very,
shall we say impulses regarding casting.
As Ernest Hemingway once allegedly said,
"It's easy to write.
You just sit in front of your typewriter and bleed."
Well, with Star Wars, Lucas didn't just bleed,
he straight up hemorrhaged,
and that led to some, shall we say,
impulsive decision-making during the pre-production process.
At various points during the movie's production,
Lucas considered making Star Wars with an all black cast,
an all Japanese cast, including Akira Kurosawa
staple Shimura Mifune as Obi-Wan Kenobi,
and a cast comprised entirely of little people,
which Lucas chocked up to being influenced
by Lord of the Rings.
Now, that's fine, that's all well and good,
but I just have one question.
Where the hell are those special editions, George?
Or Kathleen? Or Robert Iger?
Or whoever can make this happen?
And those, my friends, are some weird but true facts
about Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Happy 40th anniversary, Star Wars.
But tell me, which is your favorite?
What would you add to this list?
Let me know in the comments below
and give me a thumbs up from a long time ago
in a galaxy far, far away while you're there.
Now, be sure to like and subscribe
or else you might miss next week's show
about the story of two warrior monks who were sent
to deal with a blockade of a planet by a trade federation
only to uncover a unit of psychic soldiers
that can murder barnyard animals with a single stare
in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Men Who Stare at Goats.
Until next time, keep on diggin'.
Let's open up the old mailbag, shall we?
@JetpackPauls asks, "If you could Face/Off with anyone,
who would you choose and what would you do?
Also, are those chestnut pins still happening?"
That's a great question, Paul.
Well, if I could have a Nick Cage John Travolta style
Face/Off with anyone, I'd wanna do it with Mr. Bean,
because that dude looks positively bonkers
and makes some seriously silly faces.
I just think it'd be a really fun time,
and also, it would make for like a really memorable
speed boat fight slash chase at the end of our adventure.
Anyway, also yes, those chestnut pins are still happening.
If you wanna make them happen faster,
just tweet #ThatOldChestnut to @Nerdist
and let them know.
But tell me, who would you want to have a Face/Off with?
Let me know in the comments below
and I'll see you guys next time.