SECRETS OF THE FORCE

Everything you ever wanted to know—and then some—about the Star Wars film franchise.

Having teamed up for an oral history of both the Star Trek and James Bond film series, among other projects, Altman and Gross head back to the Hollywood well to discuss how George Lucas’ culture-transforming Star Wars and its sequels came into being. It wasn’t an easy victory: Lucas had failed terribly with his first effort at science fiction, the “experimental” THX 1138, and though he redeemed himself with “the massive smash that was American Graffiti,” Universal Pictures still wouldn’t bankroll his Joseph Campbell–inspired tale of a boy and his father battling through deep space. Alan Ladd Jr., the head of production for 20th Century Fox, saw something in the premise, and “almost five decades later, Star Wars continues to dominate the pop culture landscape.” Some of those films are cinematic gold, including the first. Some are much despised, especially the turgid Phantom Menace. Altman and Gross consult with some of the principal players, from first to last, and if the business side of the enterprise occupies too much space, the best parts of the book are when the actors and writers reflect on their work. Adam Driver, the Kylo Ren of the most recent epic film, reveals his struggle to make his on-paper evil character more morally complex, “because that to me…seemed more dangerous and more unpredictable,” while writer and filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan pegs it more succinctly: “He hasn’t got his shit all together.” Mark Hamill recalls asking the distinguished actor Alec Guinness why he would deign to appear in “a movie like this” and in a role that Lucas had originally slated for Toshiro Mifune. A bonus: Hayden Christensen, who played the petulant, pouty, pre-aqualung Darth Vader, reveals just why he was so whiny.

A trove for hardcore fans. If you’re obsessive about the films, there’s no end to the fun.