Speaker 1: Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Patrick Woodwood.
Speaker 2: And I'm Megan Nolette. Spotlight uses a special English method
Speaker 2: of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no
Speaker 2: matter where in the world they live.
Speaker 1: It is difficult to imagine a time when no one
Speaker 1: in the world had heard of the film Star Wars.
Speaker 1: No one recognized the names Luke Skywalker, Han Solo or
Speaker 1: Darth Vader. No one had heard the term Jedi. No
Speaker 1: one had heard the expression may the be with you.
Speaker 1: But all that changed nearly half a century ago. The
Speaker 1: world has never been the same.
Speaker 2: On today's Spotlight, we look at the impact Star Wars
Speaker 2: made on the world. We discuss how it changed the
Speaker 2: film industry. We look at how it expanded opportunities for
Speaker 2: films to make money. We examine why the Star Wars
Speaker 2: series has remained popular for so long.
Speaker 1: A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away,
Speaker 1: these words introduce every Star Wars film. The first Star
Speaker 1: Wars film was made in nineteen seventy seven. It is
Speaker 1: a science fiction film. This is a kind of story
Speaker 1: that involves futuristic technology. It is about a group of
Speaker 1: fighters battling for freedom. They are called the Rebel Alliance.
Speaker 1: They want to stop the evil Galactic Empire's new weapon,
Speaker 1: the Death Star. It can destroy an entire planet. Luke
Speaker 1: Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance steel design plans of the
Speaker 1: Death Star. Princess Layer, leader of the Rebel Alliance, is
Speaker 1: captured by the Galactic Empire. They try to rescue Princess
Speaker 1: Laya while destroying the Death Star.
Speaker 2: George Lucas wrote and directed the film. Lucas knew that
Speaker 2: he needed the best special effects to create a believable
Speaker 2: film about a battle in space. He started his own
Speaker 2: company to create new camera and lighting techniques. Lucas hired
Speaker 2: talented artists and engineers. These artists made detailed models of spaceships,
Speaker 2: fighter planes, planets, and alien creatures. They used special equipment
Speaker 2: to control the movement of the spaceship models during filming.
Speaker 2: This special equipment made the ships look more realistic. They
Speaker 2: did similar things for places in the galaxy. They filmed
Speaker 2: small versions of locations in ways that made them look bigger.
Speaker 1: Lucas was still worried people would not like Star Wars
Speaker 1: despite all the new techniques. He said, I did not
Speaker 1: think the film was going to be successful.
Speaker 2: The film studio did not have any faith in it.
Speaker 2: Lucas flew to Hawaii when the film was released. He
Speaker 2: did not want to be near the film studio when
Speaker 2: Star Wars failed. But after the first weekend, he saw
Speaker 2: a news story on television. It said everyone loved Star Wars.
Speaker 2: Lines of people waited outside theaters to see the film
Speaker 2: film it was very successful. Lucas finally believed people liked
Speaker 2: his film.
Speaker 1: They did not just like Star Wars, they loved it.
Speaker 1: The film made seven hundred and seventy five million dollars
Speaker 1: in ticket sales. It was the most money a film
Speaker 1: had ever made up to that time.
Speaker 2: Lucas was a great filmmaker, but he was also a
Speaker 2: smart businessman. He made a deal with the film studio
Speaker 2: before Star Wars was released. He agreed to get a
Speaker 2: smaller salary. In exchange, he received all merchandising rights. This
Speaker 2: meant he would earn all the money from sales of toys, clothing,
Speaker 2: video games, posters, and more. Fellow directors did not think
Speaker 2: this was wise. They believed that merchandise connected to films
Speaker 2: did not sell well. But Lucas thought that even if
Speaker 2: the film did not sell many tickets, children might want
Speaker 2: to buy Star Wars toys.
Speaker 1: Lucas was right. He made much more money from merchandise sales.
Speaker 1: Children who saw the film wanted to own toy figures
Speaker 1: of characters like Luke Skywalker, Hand Solo, Chewbacca, R two
Speaker 1: D two, and Darth Vader. Children were able to buy
Speaker 1: these toys, they could recreate the film in their homes.
Speaker 2: Lucas and the film studio wanted to make another Star
Speaker 2: Wars film after their great success. Lucas continued writing the
Speaker 2: story of the Rebel Alliance fighting the Galactic Empire. The
Speaker 2: new film was another big success. The Star Wars films
Speaker 2: quickly turned into a franchise. A franchise is a collection
Speaker 2: of creative works that all relate to the same story.
Speaker 1: Many Star Wars movies and television series were made. People
Speaker 1: also wrote Star Wars books, comic books, and sticker books.
Speaker 1: They created hundreds of Star Wars video games. Star Wars
Speaker 1: toy sales have earned billions of dollars.
Speaker 2: Currently, the Star Wars franchise has made more than forty
Speaker 2: six billion dollars. It is one of the most successful
Speaker 2: film franchises in history.
Speaker 1: But why why has the Star Wars franchise remained so
Speaker 1: popular for so long? Many Star Wars followers today were
Speaker 1: not even born when the first film came out. How
Speaker 1: did Lucas do it? How did he interest people? For
Speaker 1: so many years?
Speaker 2: Lucas filled the world of Star Wars with interesting characters
Speaker 2: and stories. The Rebel alliance struggle against the Galactic Empire
Speaker 2: was exciting. New character and filming techniques were added to
Speaker 2: later films. Lucas took his time telling the entire story.
Speaker 2: He spread it out over many films. He was excellent
Speaker 2: at creating something people could look forward to. He decided
Speaker 2: to call his second Star Wars film star Wars Episode five.
Speaker 2: The third film was called Star Wars Episode six. He
Speaker 2: also changed the name of the first film to Star
Speaker 2: Wars Episode four. This way of numbering the film lms
Speaker 2: told followers that they were part of a larger series.
Speaker 2: It kept the followers interested while waiting for the next film.
Speaker 2: It also meant Lucas would have to write the series beginning.
Speaker 2: He would have to make the first three episodes because
Speaker 2: he started with the fourth. This was a unique idea
Speaker 2: that worked perfectly. Writer Nathaniel Rourke said.
Speaker 1: Lucas wanted Star Wars to feel like a story.
Speaker 3: People were coming into the middle.
Speaker 1: Of Lucas made episodes four, five, and six in the
Speaker 1: Star Wars series. He directed the first three films. Many
Speaker 1: years later. People were incredibly excited to see these films,
Speaker 1: sometimes called the prequel trilogy. Lucas wisely waited twenty two
Speaker 1: years before making these episodes. This made people even more
Speaker 1: interested in what stories he would tell. It gave followers
Speaker 1: the chance to rewatch episodes four, five, and six. Many times,
Speaker 1: young followers grew up, they started families. They showed episodes four,
Speaker 1: five and six to their children. They passed down their
Speaker 1: love of the Star Wars franchise.
Speaker 2: Other filmmakers released episodes seven, eight, and nine ten years
Speaker 2: after episode three. These were the final episodes of the story.
Speaker 2: These films introduced a new generation to the Star Wars franchise.
Speaker 2: These new followers could then go back and watch the
Speaker 2: first six films.
Speaker 1: One of the central storylines in Star Wars films is
Speaker 1: the relationship between fathers and their children. In the first
Speaker 1: few Star Wars films, viewers learn that Darth Vader, one
Speaker 1: of the leaders of the Galactic Empire, is actually the
Speaker 1: father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. In later films,
Speaker 1: viewers discover that Han Solo's son now fights against him
Speaker 1: and the Rebel alliance.
Speaker 2: Cass Sunstein wrote a book about people's fascination with Star Wars.
Speaker 2: He said.
Speaker 3: That Star Wars films are all about father's and how
Speaker 3: much their children need them. Any struggling father can be
Speaker 3: saved so long as his child loves him.
Speaker 1: Star Wars films have brought parents and children together for
Speaker 1: many years. A father sits with his son. They watch
Speaker 1: Luke Skywalker swing his glowing blue light sword at Darth
Speaker 1: Vader Vada blocks him with his red light sword. The
Speaker 1: father wraps his arm around his son. He smiles seeing
Speaker 1: his son so excited. The father reacted the same way
Speaker 1: his son was reacting. He had reacted this way when
Speaker 1: he first watched the film at a younger age with
Speaker 1: his own father.
Speaker 2: Have you ever seen any of the Star Wars films?
Speaker 2: Which is your favorite? Do you have a favorite character?
Speaker 2: You can leave a comment on our website at www
Speaker 2: dot Spotlight English dot com. You can also find us
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Speaker 1: The writer of this program was Peter Anderson. The producer
Speaker 1: was mitchyo Ozarki. The voices you heard were from the
Speaker 1: United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted
Speaker 1: for this program and voiced by Spotlight. No AI or
Speaker 1: artificial intelligence was used in this program. Spotlight programs are written, voiced,
Speaker 1: and produced by real people for real people, no matter
Speaker 1: where in the world they live. This program is called
Speaker 1: Star Wars.
Speaker 2: We hope you can join us again for the next
Speaker 2: Spotlight program. Good Bye er