# How did George Lucas land Alec Guiness for the first "Star Wars"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759 "2007-06-20T19:58:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/81 "2007-06-27T08:21:44Z")
I was at a WorldCon a few years back (the one in San Jose) and Stewart gave a talk. He was enthusiastic about the latest film and gave a heartfelt thanks to the fans for letting him have so much fun over the years. Yeah, he’s a good actor, and yeah, he could have been bs’ing but I got the feeling that he knew how lucky he was. In other appearances he has stated how great it was to work on the show, and how it had opened up so many opportunities for him. So Stewart, at least, seems to understand that having a wider audience is a good thing for an actor. Obi-Wan’s death seems too integral to the story to have been cooked up at the last minute. It introduces the concept of Jedi immortality with a single line “If you strike me down…” and the idea that dead Jedi can lend a hand once in a while “run, Luke, run”. Why would Luke turn of the battle computer if not for Obi-Wan’s suggestion from beyond the grave? This allows Luke to demonstrate that he really is becoming a jedi and not just “good against remotes”, Luke’s key character development for the entire film! Furthermore, the line “Use the force, Luke” is perhaps the peak moment in the entire climax of the film. It is the one that sends shivers down your spine. It is indispensable. Plus there is the fact that movies are shot out of sequence. It is harder to cut out a character if you haven’t planned to do it. I can see the editor now: “Damn, Guiness is in this angle too! I’m sorry George, I just can’t cut this scene the way you shot it. There isn’t one master shot without Alec. You’ll have to bring everyone back for pick-ups. What do you mean they already destroyed the set?” Remember, Star Wars was a damn cheap movie, even for it’s day, and was incredibly complex to make. That they pulled it off is a minor miracle. The saying goes, “Quick, cheap or good, pick any two.” In Lucas’ case he had to go for all three at once. That means everything HAD to be planned extensively. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/82 "2007-06-28T17:20:00Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] [I Am Not Spock](http://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Spock-Leonard-Nimoy/dp/1568496915/ref=sr_1_1/103-5101961-4735810?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182540616&sr=1-1), originally published in 1977. [I Am Spock](http://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Spock-Leonard-Nimoy/dp/0786889101/ref=sr_1_2/103-5101961-4735810?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182540616&sr=1-2), originally published in 1995. [/QUOTE] Didn’t the Simpsons have a joke about that? I am not Spock By Leonard Nemoy I am Spock by Leonard Nemoy I am also Scotty by Leonard Nemoy ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/83 "2007-06-28T17:42:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Didn’t the Simpsons have a joke about that? > > I am not Spock By Leonard Nemoy > I am Spock by Leonard Nemoy > I am also Scotty by Leonard Nemoy I don’t know about that, but I do know that after **I am not Spock** came out, James Doohan said that he’d be writing a book entitled **I Am Not Spock, Either**. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/84 "2007-06-28T22:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I don’t know about that, but I do know that after **I am not Spock** came out, James Doohan said that he’d be writing a book entitled **I Am Not Spock, Either**. [/QUOTE] He never did. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/85 "2007-09-21T04:41:50Z")
Just saw the 1976 comedy, _Murder by Death_, in which Guiness played the butler, Jamesir Bensonmum. The DVD includes a short interview with playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon. He said he noticed Guiness reading a screenplay during filming; its title was _Star Wars_. He asked Guiness what it was about, and the actor said, “The future. Could be good. We’ll see!” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/86 "2007-09-21T06:38:37Z")
The future? Boy was he ever off base! BTW, what was the line in _Hitler: The Last Ten Days_ that Letterman wanted to hear? Does anybody know? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/87 "2007-09-21T19:53:49Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] I’ve heard this before and I still can’t grasp it. Without Happy Gilmore, Christopher MacDonald is nothing more “somebody’s dad” in like 90% of those movies. And nobody remembers “somebody’s dad.” [/QUOTE] To me, he’s more random. He’s the weatherman who names “The Perfect Storm.” And wasn’t he on that lawyer show with Julie Warner? I think I learned his name about then. Weirdly, I guess I saw him on _North Shore_, but had forgotten that. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/88 "2007-09-21T20:01:02Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] His wiki page has this: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec\_Guinness#Star\_Wars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Guinness#Star_Wars) That seems to have a much smaller degree of people pulling things out of their butts than the rest of this thread. [/QUOTE] Oh, I don’t know. After all, that Wiki section concludes: > [@](#): > > Guinness grew so tired of modern audiences seeming to remember him only for his role of Obi-Wan Kenobi that he would throw away the fan mail he received from Star Wars fans, without reading it. :dubious: I mean, you gotta read it to know it’s from a Star Wars fan… right? (Except for all those envelopes addressed to “Obi Wan”, of course. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/89 "2007-09-21T20:03:37Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] I think his general attitude was “I’m Alec Guiness. I’ve done Shakespearean theater with Gielgud and **Olivier**.” [/QUOTE] Wasn’t that the guy who played Zeus in _Clash of the Titans_? He was **awesome**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/90 "2007-09-21T20:15:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember, Star Wars was a damn cheap movie, even for it’s day, and was incredibly complex to make. That they pulled it off is a minor miracle. The saying goes, “Quick, cheap or good, pick any two.” In Lucas’ case he had to go for all three at once. That means everything HAD to be planned extensively. Actually, it cost $11,000,000. Other films made in that era include _The Spy Who Loved Me_, which cost $14m, _Grease_ which cost $6m, _The Omen_ @ 2.8m, and _The Towering Inferno_ which cost $14 million and had star power (Newman and McQueen) + F/X. So it wasn’t “cheap” by any measure. Cite: [http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/records/allbudgets.php](http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/records/allbudgets.php) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759/91 "2007-09-21T20:18:23Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] One thing you have to remember about **Star Wars** is that _nobody_ thought it would become the **highest grossest movie of all time** [/QUOTE] Don’t you think this honor still belongs to _Pink Flamingos_? 😃😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-george-lucas-land-alec-guiness-for-the-first-star-wars/408759.md?page=4)