Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible

Book excerpt: The three films of the Star Wars sagaStar Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and the Return of the Jedirank among the most popular of the modern era, with ticket and merchandise sales in excess of three billion dollars. Today, collecting Star Wars memorabilia has become one of the hottest hobbies around. The first illustrated Star Wars book to feature the multitude of merchandising spin-offs generated by the filmand the only one that traces the transformation of the movie's fabulous characters, creatures, and vehicles from original concepts and prototypes into toys, clothing, and dozens of other objectsthis spectacular volume is a veritable Star Wars fan's bible. A complete overview of a modern marketing extravaganza, featuring more than 150 full-color images of collectible items, the book takes readers behind the scenes and includes many never-before-published sketches and photographs from the Lucasfilm and Kenner toy archives. A lively text featuring recent interviews with George Lucas, among others connected with the film, completes this intriguing and fascinating glimpse into one of popular culture's most engaging phenomena.