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Post #1384177

Author
Hoop28
Parent topic
Richard Marquand's effect on Return of the Jedi
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1384177/action/topic#1384177
Date created
4-Nov-2020, 4:34 PM

Darth Dougal said:

Marquand had plenty of input. Check out J.W. Rinzler’s book on the making of the film.

Perhaps the most important decisions he made were to cast Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine and to bring back Yoda. He also had his choice of Director of Photography and editor - hopefully the different look and pacing of ROTJ compared to the previous two films is apparent.

One of the highlights of Rinzler’s book is a transcript of a conversation between Lucas, Marquand and Larry Kasdan. Most of it comprises an argument between Lucas and Kasdan - you get the impression Marquand is listening patiently and then suddenly he cuts in and chides them for their behaviour. No mere servant.

It’s clear that Marquand was ‘inexperienced’ (being kind) or ‘out of his depth’ (being harsh) regarding the Star Wars shooting method, which in the early 80s was still unusual and more technically demanding than other franchises like Bond or Star Trek. But he was not inexperienced when it came to dealing with actors, as he had been one himself. He also knew how to shoot quickly and economically - that, plus his willingness to relcoate to the US - made him an easy choice for director in Lucas’ eyes.

While I do believe all of this info, the Rinzler books have quite a bit of historical revisionism, especially to make Lucas look like he had all of the films planned out back in the 70s and that he was responsible for making the OT work more than he actually was. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Making of Jedi was missing some information about the production or had some revised history.