Without a doubt, director George Lucas’ influence is quite strong on the entertainment industry. Many agree with the fact that he managed to shape the future of cinema with his blockbuster hits. Thanks to his contribution to the Star Wars franchise, he became a well-known name around the world.
Not only Lucas but the stars of the Star Wars movies became famous thanks to the franchise’s popularity. In Lucas’ original Star Wars, the role of Han Solo was played by actor Harrison Ford. The star once praised Lucas’ vision and approach to filmmaking, adding that he can bend other people’s “will” to his desire in order to get work done.
Harrison Ford talked about George Lucas’ vision
Actor Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo in 5 Star Wars movies, once praised director George Lucas, the man responsible for the success of the franchise. Ford said,
“There is a wonderful trick that good directors have, which is maintaining the fiction that the actors are making an important contribution and George did that. It’s mostly about having a very clear idea of what it is that he wants.”
Lucas’ 1977 Star Wars was a surprise hit, as it became the highest-grossing film at the time, and won six Academy Awards. The first film laid the foundation of the billion-dollar franchise.
Harrison Ford said George Lucas is able to bend other people’s will
Further in the interview, Harrison explained that Lucas was able to get what he wanted as he had the ability to bend other people’s will for his vision,
“I’m not sure George ever gets what he wants but he gets close enough so that when he gets in the editing room, he can pull together something that may well more closely resemble his ambition. It is amazing what you can do when you have a vision when you have an ambition, and when you can bend other people’s will to your desire and, despite the enormous difficulties of the production of Star Wars, the king that kept it focused and directed towards the ambition was George’s vision and his passion for the idea.”
After becoming one of the most influential directors in the world, Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012 and took a semi-retirement. Since then, he has been focusing on smaller, independently budgeted features.
George Lucas almost sidelined Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford’s work as Han Solo in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), The Force Awakens (2015), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019) was so remarkable that it became one of the memorable parts of those movies. However, all this could’ve been lost as Lucas almost rejected Ford’s casting because he worked with him in the past.
Lucas had this rule where he didn’t cast actors that had worked with him in the past and Ford appeared in 1973’s American Graffiti, however, Lucas had to make an exception as Ford’s audition and screen test for the role was quite impressive.
Source: YouTube
