The film that most historians consider worst ever made includes flying saucers hanging from strings, wiggling tombstones, and day scenes suddenly turning into night. It was originally called "Grave Robbers From Outer Space" but Baptist ministers who financed it objected to that title, so director Ed Wood changed it to Plan Nine From Outer Space (1959), never explaining what first eight plans were. Four days before shooting began film's intended star, morphine addicted Bela Lugosi passed away due to a heart attack. He was replaced by Wood's wife's chiropractor, who was considerably taller and disguised his appearance by holding a cape over his face. Being mistaken for others was nothing new for temperamental Hungarian thespian. Forgotten by Hollywood producers (some who thought he had died years before) Lugosi had scraped by in early fifties by doing one man shows as Dracula. One night he was strolling through a small town when a young boy eagerly approached him with an autograph pad. "You see," he told a companion. "They know me everywhere." He took pad from boy then hesitated before signing. "And what is my name young man?" Without missing a beat kid said," Boris Karloff."

Special effects in low budget horror films often take very creative turns. In The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) director Jack Arnold was stumped as how to show effect of giant rain drops falling around his protagonist, played by Grant Williams. Then he remembered as a kid dropping water balloons out of his third story apartment building window and impact they made when missed their intended target and hit sidewalk. Arnold gathered crew around and said,"Anybody here got a condom?" There was nervous laughter. "It's for an experiment for movie. Come on you guys." Reluctantly, one of men reached into his pocket. Filling contraceptive with water and dropping it worked perfectly on film. A few days later a female bean counter from Universal's front office approached Arnold. "I was looking over budget and was struck by all contraceptives you purchased. That's an unusual expense." Arnold said," Well everyone on film has done such a great job I thought I would reward them with a big party." "Oh I- I see," replied flustered woman. "Well. Carry on then."

The now beloved film got off to a rocky start. It was previewed in San Francisco to young crowd who adored it. After show Lucas and Coppola waited for Universal executives to come and congratulate them. Instead they were shocked by angry accusations that they had planted their friends in crowd and American Graffiti was not releasable. True to their personas Coppola argued and Lucas stood quiet. Once again George saw his film taken away and cut up by what was in his view an interfering, know nothing studio. But there was one difference between THX-1138 and Graffiti; Graffiti was a hit, a highly profitable film that made Lucas a millionaire.

Now Lucas decided to return to science fiction, this time wanting to do a more positive story than THX. After failing to acquire rights to Flash Gordon, he sat down to write his own screenplay. Influenced by writings of Carlos Castaneda and mythology of King Arthur, he based characters on familiar figures. Luke Skywalker's personality came from George Lucas himself, young, adventurous, and quiet from a small town, with a love of racing cars, or in this case space pods. Han Solo was based on . . . Francis Ford Coppola. He was loud, cocky, reckless, always in debt, going through a love-hate relationship with younger Skywalker. And empire was actually Hollywood studios. George Lucas striving for his creative freedom as a filmmaker would parallel Luke Skywalker's journey to win liberty from empire, and both would achieve it thanks to Star Wars.