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So You Thought You Knew Everything About Star Wars?

This is a list of certain facts about the Star Wars saga and people that had anything to do with the films we all know and love. You might know a lot about Star Wars but I bet there is at least one thing here you might not know. Enjoy the list and stump your friends!!!




  1. Early in George Lucas' career he entered into a short lived partnership with Francis Ford Coppola.

  2. George Lucas' first script for Star Wars featured the adventures of two andriods.

  3. When 20th Century-Fox executives started losing interest in Star Wars, the colorful paintings of former NASA illustrator Ralph McQuarrie revived their enthusiasim

  4. Lucas' first movie was THX 1138, a sci-fi thriller about a futuristic police state filmed in 1971

  5. When THX 1138 was shown at the Cannes Film Festival George Lucas had to sneak into his own screening because he didnt have a pass.

  6. Supplies for the Star Wars movies models and special effects were often purchased from a nearby govenrment supply store.

  7. Before his role as Han Solo, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.

  8. After filming Star Wars, 7'2" Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) returned to his job as a London hospital porter.

  9. "Star Wars: The Cantina Band" by the band Meco stayed at the top of the pop single charts all summer in 1977.

  10. Star Wars earned over four times as much as 1977's #2 hit movie, Smokey & the Bandit.

  11. After returning from filming in England, Lucas suffered from hypertension and exhaustion, bringing on a heart attack.

  12. While heading to a hamburger joint in Hollywood, Lucas was astounded when he saw the long lines and general commotion at a nearby theater where Star Wars had just opened.

  13. After working for more than a year and spending over $1 million, the visual effects group had only three useable shots out of hundreds.

  14. Because the technology did not exist for what Lucas envisioned, he created his own special effects unit which later became "Industrial Light and Magic."

  15. Skywalker Ranch in California is home to Lucasfilm Ltd. offices, production facilities and archives.

  16. Crews filmed in the Tunisian desert for Luke's home planet of Tatooine despite sandstorms and temperatures of 110 degrees.

  17. Since Star Wars, Mark Hamill has starred in eight Broadway plays and several movies and has provided voices for more than 400 cartoons.

  18. Given the choice of being either Lord Darth Vader or Chewbacca, former professional weightlifter David Prowse joined the Dark Side of the Force.

  19. Many workers in the special effects unit were only in their 20's and had never worked in movies before.

  20. Illustrator Ralph McQuarrie's vision of Lord Darth Vader was based on a medieval Japanese samurai warrior.

  21. The title "Return of the Jedi" was changed from "Revenge of the Jedi" after Lucas read a thesis by a college student explaining why the moral code of a Jedi Knight excludes revenge.

  22. Less than $10 million was invested in the creation of the trilogy; to date, the return has been more than $4 billion

  23. Upon Star Wars' opening, national movie critics wrote"...the cast is unmemorable..."; another offered,"...as exciting as last years weather reports..."; and yet another,"...entertaining, but a long way from being a classic."

  24. David Prowse (Darth Vader) was also in A Clockwork Orange has played Frankenstein and owns his own weightlifting gym which is frequented by the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwartzenegger.

  25. The map location of Steven Speilberg's local post office (C3-P0) provided a name for one of the androids.

  26. The Trilogy's music was composed by John Williams, who also wrote music for Superman, E.T., Hook, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, all of the Indiana Jones movies, and many others.

  27. Released six months before Star Wars, the novelization sold out.

  28. Following Star Wars, Jack Purvis (Head Jawa, and Chief Chirpa) and Kenny Baker (R2-D2) had a musical/comedy act for almost 20 years, and also appeared in Time Bandits together.

  29. Before the 20th anniverary edition of the trilogy could be released, the original films required a chemical bath to remove the years of accumulated dirt and grim.

  30. Nicknamed The Country Club, the special effects unit worked without a dress code or time clock.

  31. Several Models of the Millenium Falcon were bult for the movie, ranging in size from a silver dollar to life-size.

  32. Star Wars utilized discarded technology such as Vista-Vision, which was used for The Ten Commandments and later abandoned because of technical demands.

  33. The Lightsaber props were actually part of an old camera that was widely used by newspaper photographers called a Graflex.

  34. The 29 (and counting) films Harrison Ford has made since Star Wars have put him at the top of international top-grossing actors, passing even Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

  35. The footprints of C-3PO and R2-D2 were added to those of the other stars on the sidewalk outside Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood,

  36. A full-sized replica of the Rebel X-wing fighter was auctioned off by Neiman Marcus last December; bidding started at $35,000. Only 9 of these exist.

  37. In 1977, a special run of 1,000 posters was made available at $1 each; today this collectible brings more than $400.

  38. When restoring the trilogy, some missing recordings of dialogue were found in a 20th Century-fox underground vault in Kansas.

  39. Illustrator Ralph McQuarrie has also worked on E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Cocoon.

  40. The only characters that will appear in all nine of the Star Wars movies will be C-3P0 and R2-D2.

  41. Lando Calrissian was originally scripted to die at the end of Return of the Jedi.

  42. In 1989 Star Wars was selected as one of the first 25 films placed in the National Film Registry, an act of Congress to preserve American movies of significance.

  43. A monument to George Lucas will be erected in his hometown of Modesto, California, in honor of the hit movie American Grafitti.

  44. In the early 1980's opponents to then-President Ronald Reagan's controversial space-based missle defense plan dubbed it "Star Wars."

  45. Several model kits of the various starships were so realistic that they were used in The Empire Strikes Back.

  46. Although Star Wars was branded "science fiction" Lucas considered it a space fantasy in the style of Edger Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan.

  47. Donated by Lucasfilm for a charity auction, an original script signed by George Lucas brought $3500 and a C-3PO hand sold for $5000.

  48. Two cartoon series,"Ewoks" and "Droids" were seen for a short time on TV.

  49. One young man saw Star Wars 40 times, and a theater projectionist sat through 600 showings.

  50. Several overseas publishers now produce licensed Star Wars magazines in England, France, Germany, and Australia.

  51. The sultan of Brunei purchase two life-sized Stormtroopers on display for a Star Wars promotion at a Singapore department store.

  52. During the filming of the Dagobah scenes in The Empire Strikes Back, Mark Hamill spoke his lines in utter silence because the voice of Yoda was later added to the scenes after filming.

  53. An alblum of Christmas music featuring the talents of C-3PO and R2-D2 is available.

  54. All the shots showing close-ups of the Rebel pilots were filmer using a single X-Wing fighter cockpit.

  55. The actor playing Rebel pilot Janson also played an Imperial Tie-fighter pilot battling Rebels in the very same scene.

  56. The creators of Yoda, wanting a wise and old look, modeled his face after Albert Einstein.

  57. Most of the cast of Star Wars seemed to the public to be "unknowns" but were professional stage and screen actors that were gathered from all over England.

  58. Actor Peter Mayhew wore a body suit of knitted mohair and yak hair as the Wookie Chewbacca.

  59. Because of weather conditions during the filming in the Tunisian desert, the mechanized Dewback standing outside of the cantina was totally inoperable and consequently stands motionless in the first movie.

  60. In the Star Wars storybook, a childrens version of the movie with photos of various scenes which was published just before the movie was released, shows and tells the story of Luke's friend on Biggs Darklighter on his home planet of Tatooine. This scene was still not restored into the Special Edition of Star Wars.

  61. The Banth, a large pack animal used by the Tatooine Sand People, was an Asian elephant dressed up with long hair and huge ram's horns.

  62. George Lucas, relaxing on Hawaiian beaches wiith Steven Speilberg after the wrapping up of Star Wars, struck a deal with his good friens for a series of films about an adventurous archeologist named Indiana Jones.

  63. Garrick Hagon (Rebel Fighter Biggs) also appeared with Alec Guinness as the young Prince of Wales in a production of Richard the III.

  64. Harrison Ford asked that Han Solo die at the end of Return of the Jedi but his request was denied by Lucas.

  65. Peter Mayhew finally received his deserved medal which he didnt receive at the end of Star Wars. "Chewbacca" was given a special lifetime achievment award at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards and was presented a medal by Carrie Fisher similar to the ones given to Luke and Han. Peter Mayhew accepted the medal wearing the Chewbacca costume he is known for.

  66. The only Rebel pilot to survive all three films besides Luke was Wedge Antilles, also the only pilot to help destroy both Death Stars. he is often times called, Lucas' good luck charm.

  67. Work has already started on a new trilogy of three prequels, which will include up to 1,500 shots of visial effects.

  68. The voice of Yoda was provided by Frank Oz, who is also the voice of the Muppets' Miss Piggy, and Fozie Bear.

  69. In Japan one could buy rice snacks which included Star Wars premiums.

  70. By 1985 the line of licensed Star Wars figures had grown to over 115 characters.

  71. Carrie Fisher is now a best-selling writer and is in demand as one of Hollywood's best script re-writers.

  72. There are more than 25 official Star Wars sites on the Web, not including the hundreds of fan sites.

  73. No other film series in history has ever produce more licsensed products in the history of films, including everything from cereal, bathroom soap, cookie jars, erasers, and toys.

  74. The films of Lucasfilm Ltd. have won 44 Academy Award nominations and 17 Oscars.

  75. Six of the top 20 box-office hits of all time are from Lucasfilms Ltd.

  76. When Luke returned to the Rebel base after destroying the Death Star, he called Princess Leia "Carrie" by mistake.

  77. While filming Return of the Jedi in Tunsia, the crew said they were working on a horror film called, "Blue Harvest" to avoid crowds and publicity. Even going as far as to wear hats with the fake title on them.

  78. R2-D2 and C-3PO promoted children's immunization programs in the U.S. and Australia as well as savings campaigns for the German post office and an Australian bank.

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