Thirty five years ago today, the original Star Wars was released.  It opened in the U.S. on a Wednesday, in just 38 theaters.  The studio chose the pre-Memorial Day slot in the hope of getting a jump on the other, bigger movies coming out that summer.  George Lucas, the film’s director, was worn out after a long, frustrating shoot, and was not convinced that his movie would be a success.  He’d even gone so far as to trade 2.5% of the film’s profits as a bet with his friend Steven Spielberg in the belief that Close Encounters of the Third Kind would out-gross Star Wars. 

Read the rest of this entry »