"Star Wars" is 30
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R2-D2On May 25th, 1977, a little movie with no chance of success opened in a mere 32 theaters across the US. That movie was "Star Wars" - and, wow, look at it now. Check out these facts from the New York Daily News:
The movie that 20th Century Fox nearly abandoned in midproduction ended up earning $460 million at the box office in the U.S. alone, boosted by the release of a special edition in 1997. The film is the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, behind Titanic.There is no competition, however, in the world of toys and other tie-ins. The Star Wars franchise has raked in $13.5 billion in merchandising alone since 1977, according to Lucasfilm.
To celebrate the 30th aniversary of this glorious event, the world has gone mad! There is a full-fledged "Celebration IV" going on (details can be found at StarWars.com). "R2-D2" stamps have been released. G4TV (tonight at 7:00 PM EST) is doing a dedicated "Attack of the Show", which is worth seeing just for Olivia Munn in the infamous metal bikini. X-Play (still the best thing on G4) is doing a tribute to all of the "Star Wars" video games, including a rumored announcement of a brand new game. Finally, there are rumors of a new animated show (almost certainly "Attack of the Clones"), a new live action show and even rumors of a 7th movie!
But, the real power of "Star Wars" is in the effect it had on our generation. I found some great personal remembrances over at SFSignal and one 'review' from some guy at "Wired" who says he never saw the movie (yeah...riiiggghhttt).
For my part, I loved the first trilogy. Loved it! However, I never really was sold on the second trilogy - I hated "Jar Jar" instantly and thought they never were able to duplicate the magic of the original. Honestly, the best thing that has been produced for the "Star Wars" franchise in the last 15 years was the "Lego Star Wars" video games.
Still on a day like this, I'll put my petty criticisms aside, and just enjoy the legacy of these great movies. Heck, maybe I'll even rent Episode 1 again and see if it can win me over. It is certain, though, even after 30 years - the Force is still strong in this one.
