I loved Rinzler's MAKING OF STAR WARS book, especially the numerous never-before-published photos, BUT...why does the book have so many errors?
The book's final chapter, in particular, is riddled with errors! Many of the dates, locations, number of bookings, sound mix info, etc. are simply not accurate. What's the deal here? I mean, the book is promoted as the definitive account of the making of STAR WARS. Was Rinzler misled by faulty sources? Did Rinzler run out of steam at the end of the project? Was a box of documents dumped on his desk and he didn't know quite how to interpret the data?
The most ridiculous and embarrassing mistake is the STAR WARS vs CLOSE ENCOUNTERS San Francisco court battle (page 304). Perhaps misled by a faulty recollection from producer Gary Kurtz, whom is quoted, Rinzler claims CE3K played at the Northpoint Theatre so that STAR WARS could stay at the Coronet Theatre. Absolutely not true! This was a well-publicized court case where by court order STAR WARS was pulled from the Coronet so that CE3K could play there. STAR WARS was then re-bid and turned up a week later at a different theater. Rinzler's claim that CE3K played at the Northpoint is absolutely false.
On page 297, Rinzler claims STAR WARS had by July 27, 1977 grossed $18 million in a mere 48 theatres. Get real! The gross is correct, but by that point in time the movie was playing in close to 1,000 theatres.
And what was the point of indicating places like Waterloo, Iowa and Danbury, Connecticut played the movie for 18 weeks when numerous other cities played the movie for well over one year? And why wasn't the single, longest, most-successful engagement of STAR WARS cited?
So...what are your thoughts on the book? And can we assume the development and production chapters of the book are accurate?
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