1. Marcia Lucas Is The Secret Genius Behind It All
Not only was George Lucas not the most important person in making Star Wars great, he wasn't even the most important Lucas. Put simply, the first edit of Star Wars was a mess. And that's not retroactive hyperbole on my part - George Lucas described it as a "complete disaster", with John Jympson having stubbornly constructed an incredibly standard film with glacial pacing that lacked any of the wonderment that would lead to the series' success (for reference, that unnecessary Anchorhead deleted scene was included in its entirety). In stepped Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew and Marcia Lucas. Together these three transformed the film, tightening the whole thing up and reigning the at points Tolkien-esque story structure into a more suitable three-act narrative. Things were so bad that pretty much every frame of usable footage was included (to the point where the Tusken Raider's iconic battle cry was one clip reversed and looped), but it clearly worked; the trio won the Oscar for Best Editing. It's testament to how crucial to the filmmaking process editing is, but also shows how uncertain Star Wars' greatness was. Marcia's influence didn't stop there, however. Being married to the director, she had also been on hand throughout the development process to bounce ideas off her husband and suggest key story beats, adding a more emotional side to the film; she's the one suggested Obi-Wan die on the Death Star and edged in more of the romance elements. Not that she gets any credit for all that. Following the Lucas' divorce in 1983, Marcia's part in defining the saga was conspicuously downplayed, to the point where she barely qualifies as a footnote in more recent stories told by George. You're left to wonder if all the Special Edition tinkering was really just a cover to get the film to a point where he could wipe Marcia's name off the credits. Who else defined Star Wars more than George Lucas? Shout out anybody we missed down in the comments.
