Gary Kurtz: Self - Producer
Photos
Quotes
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Narrator : Lucas' decision to hire unknowns went against the advice of his friend Francis Ford Coppola, who had cast "The Godfather" with stage and screen stars. 20th Century Fox was also concerned about Lucas' choice of actors.
Alan Ladd Jr. - Former Studio Chief, 20th Century Fox : He came and said "These are the three unknown people I want to go with." I figured we've gone down this far in the road, he knows what he's doing. I'd be lying if I said "Oh, my god. Harrison's perfect, Carrie is perfect, and Mark is fantastic." No, I was very nervous about the cast.
Narrator : For the important role of aged Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lucas recognized that he needed an established star. Sir Alec Guinness was a veteran of over forty films and had won an Oscar in 1958 for his performance in "The Bridge on the River Kwai". The knighted actor had the pedigree and the persona.
Gary Kurtz - Producer : The Alec Guinness role required a certain stability and gravitas as a character, which meant we needed a very, very strong character actor to play that part.
Narrator : Signing Guinness was a major coup. But more casting would be done in London, where "Star Wars" would be principally produced. Unlike Lucas' home base of Northern California, London provided access to the kind of massive soundstages needed for "Star Wars"'s ambitious sets. The location also gave Lucas access to Britain's top production talents.
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Gary Kurtz - Producer : I kept going on their phone, to the production department, 'this is insane, if we put on a second crew to do this, it costs us more than to go for an extra week. And they said, it doesn't matter, the studio's opinion is that the day deadline is more important than the money you spend.
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Gary Kurtz - Producer : George didn't really like being in London, I suppose, is the best way to say it. He doesn't like being away from home. He's not the most gregarious person in the world. He had some clashes with the cameraman. Gil Taylor was a very old-school cameraman; very crotchety. George, coming out of low-budget filmmaking, was used to, um, doing a lot of things himself. So George would say things like "Well, put a light here." And Gil took offense at that kind of thing. He says "That's not your job, son. You tell me what you want to see and I'll do it the way I think is best to create what you want to see." It was a clash of style of working.
