If you’re interested in learning more about this, watch Netflix’s series The Toys That Made Us – there’s a great Star Wars episode featured. Anyone born after the launch of Star Wars will remember playing with an action figure of their favourite movie character, whether that’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, Spiderman, Batman or the Ninja Turtles. Fast forward to 2011, and Star Wars toys generated more than $3bn, despite no new film being launched that year. In 1978, Star Wars toys generated more than $100m in sales. Star Wars was the first film to prove that merchandising rights on a film can be just as valuable as the film itself. Movie tie-ins weren’t really a thing before Star Wars, and neither were cross promotional items like toys. It started the whole movie-franchise thing Industrial Life and Magic would go on to pioneer CGI, which later featured in films such as Jurassic Park. Star Wars also pioneered sound effects – the eternal lightsaber swoosh being just one example. ILM made all of the robots and big set pieces themselves, and characters such as Chewbacca and C-3PO were played by real actors rather than being computer-generated. CGI hadn’t yet been invented, so George Lucas and his team at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) fashioned incredibly-detailed models of spaceships and used clever camera tricks and backdrops to bring the film to life. Star Wars was launched, somewhat ironically, in a time before computers and SFX (the 70s haircuts give the game away).
You can’t talk about how Star Wars changed the film industry without mentioning special effects. It’s been used at the beginning of every Star Wars film, and has been parodied a thousand times over, serving up video inspiration decades after its conception. The opening credits, “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”, followed by the Star Wars logo and the crawl text, has to be the most recognisable opening credits to any film ever made. Name a more iconic film opening…we’ll wait. In honour of Star Wars and Mayhew, the TopLine Film team has taken a look at how Star Wars changed the film industry. Add to this the sad news that the actor who played Chewbacca, Peter Mayhew, passed away this week. Star Wars Day is celebrated every May 4 th (because, well, May the 4 th be with you), which serves up a good excuse to reminisce about the franchise. His favorite games include Marvel's Spider-Man, The Last of Us, God of War, and Hades.As a video production agency and sci-fi boffins to boot, we love a bit of Star Wars. Outside of Screen Rant, Chris enjoys watching his favorite sports teams (Giants, Yankees, and Knicks) and playing video games. Chris' favorite directors include Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino (among several others). He now has a wide range of cinematic tastes, enjoying the latest Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar contenders, and everything in between. Chris has attended several events for Screen Rant, including San Diego Comic-Con and Star Wars Celebration.Ĭhris credits Toy Story and Star Wars with launching a lifelong fascination with movies that led him on the path to his career. He was hired by Screen Rant in 2013 to write box office prediction posts in conjunction with the Screen Rant Underground's Box Office Battle game, and his role at the site grew from there. He is a graduate of Wesley College's Bachelor of Media Arts and Master of Sport Leadership programs. Chris Agar is a senior movie/TV news editor for Screen Rant and one of Screen Rant's Rotten Tomatoes approved critics.
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