Gary Kurtz (born July 27, 1940 in Los Angeles, California) is a two time Academy Award nominated film producer whose list of credits include American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He later produced The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz after departing from the Star Wars series. Kurtz also co-produced the 1989 low-budget science fiction film Slipstream, which reunited him with Star Wars star Mark Hamill.
Kurtz and Lucas first collab...
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Gary Kurtz (born July 27, 1940 in Los Angeles, California) is a two time Academy Award nominated film producer whose list of credits include American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He later produced The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz after departing from the Star Wars series. Kurtz also co-produced the 1989 low-budget science fiction film Slipstream, which reunited him with Star Wars star Mark Hamill.
Kurtz and Lucas first collaborated on the 1973 film American Graffiti, which became a huge box office hit. Kurtz then became producer of Star Wars, released in 1977, and its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back released in 1980.
Kurtz has claimed that he and George Lucas clashed over how to progress the Star Wars series. Kurtz recalled after Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, Lucas became convinced that audiences no longer cared about the story; they were simply there for thrills and entertainment, and he began to deviate from the original nine-episode bible starting with...
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