“I could see where things were headed,” Kurtz said. “The toy business began to drive the [Lucasfilm] empire. It’s a shame. They make three times as much on toys as they do on films. It’s natural to make decisions that protect the toy business, but that’s not the best thing for making quality films.”

That’s Gary Kurtz, producer and second-unit director of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, describing the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Star Wars film franchise way back in 1980. The L.A. Times article is a pretty lengthy read, but is worth the time as it gives the reader an insight to the way the Star Wars universe we know and love took shape back in the day.

The article may not be directly relevant to the site, and a few things aren’t exactly earth-shattering breaking news (Lucasfilm Licensing is all about making money off it’s toys? REALLY?), but I found it quite a good read as I found out some things that I didn’t know before, such as the original vision of how ROTJ ends; so, with that, I thought I’d share.

Thanks to chief for the link.

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