Edward Gross - Secrets of the Force: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Wars

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DEDICATIONS

From EDWARD GROSS

To my wife, Eileen. Our love story may have begun a long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, but it feels like only yesterday. Thirty-four years on, theres no question the Force will be with us. Always.

To our sons, Teddy, Dennis, and Kevin, all three Star Warriors in their own right, Teddy and Dennis loving the original trilogy and Kevin the sequel trilogy. They bring balance to the Force with their feelings for the prequel trilogy.

To our daughter-in-law Lindsay. Amazingly, Star Wars played no small role in making her a part of the family.

To our daughter-in-law Yumi, who joyfully embraces all of this pop culture stuff, from Star Wars to Back to the Future and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sorry, youre definitely one of us now!

To our future daughter-in-law Nicole, who doesnt know the difference between a Wookiee and Jawa, but we love her anyway.

To Kevin Oldham, my fellow Jedi with whom Ive seen every Star Wars movie since the beginning. It wouldnt have been the same without you.

To Mark A. Altman, my cowriter and friend. How incredible that we still get to do this thing we love so much.

To Everyoneno, not in the world, but those who have labored to bring Star Wars to life in all its incarnations. I may not love it all, but I genuinely appreciate the effort.

From MARK A. ALTMAN

To Isaac & Ella Altman, the biggest rebels (and Star Wars) fans I knowand the aspiring authors who coined our books title. May the Force be with you always.

To Naomi, my princess.

To my parents, Gail & Michael, who first introduced me to a galaxy far, far away (and Farrells ice cream) in 1977. Which I liked more is still a toss-up.

To Steven A. Simak, for your help with this book and your friendship, I will be indebted to you for both forever.

To Fredrick C. Clarke, the scruffy-looking nerf herder who started it all. Without Cinefantastique, I doubt Id have gotten so many of the amazing opportunities to visit all the galaxies far, far away from Wars to Trek and a few not so far away as well.

To Edward Gross, I was honored that you would join me.

To George Lucas, thank you for sharing your worlds with us. You are a visionary, a genius, a master filmmaker, and, on rare occasions, maclunkey.

Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Star Wars (later retitled Episode IV: A New Hope) (1977)

Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Star Wars, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars, Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Star Wars: Rogue One (2016)

Star Wars: Solo (2018)

Star Wars: Kenobi (2022)

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (TBA)

The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

Caravan of Courage: The Ewok Adventure (1984)

The Battle for Endor (1985)

Star Wars: Droids (1985)

Star Wars: Ewoks (1985)

Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

Star Wars: Rebels (2014)

Star Wars: Resistance (2018)

The Mandalorian (2019)

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021)

Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett (2021)

Star Wars: Ahsoka (2022)

Star Wars: Andor (2022)

Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic (TBA)

Star Wars: Acolyte (TBA)

Star Wars: Visions (TBA)

Star Wars: Lando (TBA)

Star Wars: Detours (TBA)

Star Wars: Underworld (unproduced)

By Mark A. Altman

Youve never heard his name and I have no idea whatever became of him, but in my mind he is as evil as any Sith Lord, vile bounty hunter, or gangrenous gangster Hutt. A Dark Lord whose evil machinations know no bounds. Who am I talking about? Well, in 1980, he was a cherubic young student at Roy H. Mann junior high school and in early May, this unassuming young marshmallow of evil, Lance Schulman, slid the Marvel Super Special adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back across my desk in Mr. Rubins science class and told me to read the panel he had gently placed in front of me. I glanced down at the comic and read the words that would shatter my young mind: No I am your father. I looked up aghast with burning hate in my eyes. Had I possessed a lightsaber at the time, not realizing yet that anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering, I would have probably driven it through his hard, cold heart, assuming he had one, but alas I did not. What I actually did and said has been lost to the sands of time, but I do know for certain to this day I still loathe that m@$*#$#r.

But what I do love is Star Wars. The first time I ever heard of it was in the pages of Starlog magazine, and shortly thereafter, I picked up the paperback novelization at a local Waldenbooks (remember those!). I was a big fan of the Fantastic Four at the time, so the Dr. Doomlike visage of Darth Vader immediately caught my interest, but as a die-hard Star Trek fan, I was immediately inclined to patronize anything that had Star in the title.

Of course, when Star Wars did finally come out, seeing it proved more challenging than I expected. Unlike today, when wide releases play on a plethora of screens in multiplexes across every city, Star Wars was harder to find in its initial release. Not to mention, I wanted to see it on the biggest screen possible with the best sound. Even as a ten-year-old, I had impeccable taste. As friends of mine would see it multiple times and the buzz continued to grow, May ticked into June and I still hadnt seen the movie everyone was talking abouteven though I had amassed a vast collection of reviews and articles from The New York Times to Rolling Stone to the New York Daily News. It was bad enough my parents hadnt let me see Jaws because they considered it too violent for my young, impressionable mind, but now I was missing out on a movie I knew I had already grown obsessed with before even seeing it. I was clipping every article I could from the newspaper including Molly Haskells review in The Village Voice. Then one day, my parents suggested we go on a road trip. I wasnt sure where we were going, but it was a sweltering summer day and I was looking forward to getting out of the house. We drove over the Verrazzano Bridge through Staten Island and on to New Jersey. I didnt know where we were going, but I didnt think it would be so far. As our long journey into night continued, I spotted out of the corner of my eye a movie marquee at the Paramus Park Mall that read Star Wars & The Other Side of Midnight. I excitedly pointed and jumped up and down as the car continued to cruise past the mall, dejectedly realizing that was not our destination. Instead, we found ourselves at Farrells, an ice cream parlor, a few miles past the mall. We had a delicious lunch, some amazing ice cream, and then began our long trip back home. It was only then I realized this had all been a calculated and cunning plan from my parents to surprise my brother and me to go see