The book publishes Tuesday and isavailable for pre-order.
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By the time we had locked the cut ofCarrie, George Lucas had finished shootingStar Wars.
George was a bit demoralized.
Lucasfilm
They turned out to be only anxiety attacks, but they took their toll on him emotionally.
In addition, he was unhappy with his UK editor, a solid and experienced pro.
He never got the spirit of the piece and apparently made his scorn for the project known.
Chicago Review Press
George was very unhappy with the first cut and decided to replace him at the end of principal photography.
Brian screenedCarriefor him and Marcia.
About two weeks later, I got a phone call from Marcia.
Paul, I know you are just about finished withCarrie.
How would you like to come out and help us editStar Warswhen you are done?
My wife Jane had just become pregnant with our first child.
I have to talk to my wife and get her OK.
I was thrilled, but a little apprehensive too.
How would Jane take this news?
I told Brian about my conversation with Marcia.
He grabbed the phone and called Marcia right back.
He told her how much I was making onCarrie.
Can you pay him that?
OK, then, its all set.
He hung up and turned to me.
You dont tell her your problems.
She doesnt need that.
Just work it out.
I raced home to tell Jane.
Honey, Ive gotten a great job offer, but it means having to go away.
Do you remember that book of stills we saw at Jay and Vernas?
Well, George Lucas wants me to come on the film.
Jane gazed at me and without hesitating said, Do it!
We set about finishing our film.
While I was staying at the Chateau, George Lucas had a copy of his script sent to me.
It was the revised fourth draft.
I read it and frankly didnt quite know what to make of it.
ILM was located in an industrial warehouse in Van Nuys.
When I got there, George greeted me and gave me a tour.
He showed me the motion control camera and the tracks on which it traveled.
I had never seen such a thing before.
This was necessary to photograph different models and combine them into a single shot.
He showed me the star field that was used as background in all the space shots.
Then we went through a glass-paneled door into a small air lock.
To counter this, George had decided to shoot all the effects in a larger film format called VistaVision.
It had been developed in the 1950s, when movie studios were competing for audiences with television.
The result is that each frame of a VistaVision negative is much sharper.
The studios had abandoned the format some years before due to the high cost of shooting pictures this way.
The Moviola was the workhorse standard editing tool of the industry even before sound came in.
Originally intended as a home movie projector, it was named after the Victrola, the early record player.
Too expensive for home use, it caught on with film editors.
George wanted to revive VistaVision, only to discover that there were no surviving compatible optical printers.
I was awed by the high-techness and cutting edgeness of it all.
I had been cutting 16 mm just a couple of years earlier!
This was a whole new ball game for me.
George suggested we go get something to eat at the nearby Hamburger Hamlet on Van Nuys Boulevard.
After a while, I felt compelled to say something that was weighing on me a bit.
You know, George, I began, I have a confession to make to you.
Oh, dont worry about that, he said.
No one ever has.
(c) Copyright 2019.
