Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (Del Rey, 1977), George Lucas Autographed Hardcover Book (183 Pages, ...

Description

Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (Del Rey, 1977), George Lucas Autographed Hardcover Book (183 Pages, 6" X 8.5"). The Force is certainly strong with this fantastic piece, which includes George Lucas's signature on its frontispiece. Inscribed to his collaborator Fred Roos, Lucas has inscribed: "for Fred/ May the force be with you/ George". Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker is the novelization of the 1977 film Star Wars, ghostwritten by American author Alan Dean Foster, but credited to director George Lucas. It was first published on November 12, 1976, by Ballantine Books, several months before the release of the film. In place of how the film uses its famous opening crawl to describe the events that had just happened when the film starts, the novelization includes a prologue explaining the political backstory called "From the First Saga: Journal of the Whills" (referencing the title of Lucas' first story outline for the saga). It contains the first reference to the Emperor's name, Palpatine, though his description is somewhat at odds with his depiction as a Sith Master in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and the prequel trilogy. Lucas later explained that the first film was written in the era of Richard Nixon, when the story was intended to explore "how a democracy turns itself over to a dictator-not how a dictator takes over a democracy." An amazing addition to any serious Star Wars collection, this book has only extremely light handling wear to the dust jacket, and very minor corner bumps, with owner's association ink stamp on free front endpaper. View the expanded description for this lot online at HA.com/7433. Full LOA from Beckett Authentication Services. From the Estate of Fred Roos.

More Information: The Force is certainly strong with this fantastic piece! This novelization by George Lucas of his ground breaking film, Star Wars, is in fantastic condition. Included on the frontispiece page is the signature of George Lucas, inscribed "for Fred/ May the force be with you/ George". Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker is the novelization of the 1977 film Star Wars, ghostwritten by American author Alan Dean Foster, but credited to director George Lucas. It was first published on November 12, 1976, by Ballantine Books, several months before the release of the film. The prologue includes references to Palpatine and his rise to power, setting up the backstory for future films. The book also contains some differences from the film. The book was written by Foster and based upon Lucas' screenplay for the first Star Wars film. On how he got the job, Foster said: "My agent got a call from Lucas's lawyer of the time, Tom Pollock (now one of the most powerful men in Hollywood). Someone had read a book of mine, Icerigger, knew that I had already done novelizations, and thought I might be the writer to do the novelization of Lucas' new film. I already knew his work through THX 1138 and American Graffiti. I accepted the offer to meet with George, and did so at Industrial Light and Magic, then in a small warehouse in Van Nuys, California (part of greater Los Angeles, and conveniently near my family home). We hit it off well, I got the assignment (for two books), and that's how it happened." Foster not only adapted the film's events, but also fleshed out the backstory of time, place, physics, planets, races, languages, history, and technology. When asked whether it was difficult for him to see Lucas get all the credit for the novelization, Foster said: "Not at all. It was George's story idea. I was merely expanding upon it. Not having my name on the cover didn't bother me in the least. It would be akin to a contractor demanding to have his name on a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Lucas, for his part, has been open about the fact that Foster ghostwrote the novel, noting this fact in his introduction to later editions of the book. The book was first published as a paperback in the US as Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker in November 1976 by Ballantine Books, six months before the theatrical release of the film, and this first hardback edition was published in October, 1977 after release of the film. The jacket (dated 11/77 on flyleaf) displays art by Star Wars conceptual artist John Berkey, who was responsible for the film's soundtrack album poster, plus other comic and trading card designs for the franchise in succeeding years. On the back of the jacket was written, "The Year's Best Movie!" and "Appointment at the Death Star". The words that open each Star Wars film, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." are absent from the novelization opening, substituted by the similar "Another galaxy, another time." In place of how the film uses its famous opening crawl to describe the events that had just happened when the film starts, the novelization includes a prologue explaining the political backstory called "From the First Saga: Journal of the Whills" (referencing the title of Lucas' first story outline for the saga). It contains the first reference to the Emperor's name, Palpatine, though his description is somewhat at odds with his depiction as a Sith Master in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and the prequel trilogy. Lucas later explained that the first film was written in the era of Richard Nixon, when the story was intended to explore "how a democracy turns itself over to a dictator—not how a dictator takes over a democracy." The book also features 16 pages of full-color photos from the film, and artwork on the cover by John Berkey. An amazing addition to any serious Star Wars collection, this book has only extremely light handling wear to the dust jacket, and very minor corner bumps, with owner's association ink stamp on free front endpaper. Provenance: Obtained directly from the Estate of Fred Roos. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.


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