“You must unlearn what you have learned.”
Irvin Kershner initially turned down the chance to direct this film but took the job after his agent convinced him he shouldn’t pass on making a sequel to one of the most popular films of all time, Star Wars (1977). Alec Guinness either demanded that Obi-Wan Kenobi be killed-off so he wouldn’t have to appear in any sequels or Lucas did it on his own. But Guinness was bitter and wasn’t lured back into the role of Obi-Wan until he was offered more money. Thus creating “the force” spirit idea that became integral to the Star Wars saga. To preserve the dramatic opening scroll George Lucas insisted on moving all the credits to the end. The Writers’ Guild and Directors’ Guild begrudgingly allowed it on the first Star Wars as it wasn’t expected to be such a big hit. But they balked at allowing it on this film. First they tried to block its release. Then they fined Lucas heavily, and tried to fine director Kershner. Lucas paid all the fines himself (nearly $250,000), then bitterly dropped his membership from the Writers’ Guild, the Directors’ Guild, and the MPAA– a move that has limited his hiring choices on later films. To avoid sharing creative control, Lucas didn’t use a major studio to finance this film. He bankrolled the entire $33 million production using his profits from Star Wars and a bank loan. Considered very risky at the time, it paid off several times over. Empire was the biggest grossing film of 1980. Lucas showed his gratitude far beyond the Hollywood norm by sharing the profits with his employees – paying nearly $5 million in bonuses.
