Inside Star Wars

Wondery
  • 4.4 (1.3K)
  • FILM HISTORY
  • COMPLETE SERIES
Inside Star Wars

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From the creators of Inside Psycho, Inside the Exorcist, and Inside Jaws, comes a new immersive audio biopic about the making of the original 1977 Star Wars. It was a movie made on a shoestring and dumped into a handful of movie theaters. And then it changed the world. This is the story of George Lucas and his dream. We take you inside the stories of the people who struggled to make the original classic and the people who did their very best to stop it dead. Now playing in all galaxies. Binge all episodes of Inside Star Wars exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/inside-star-wars/ now.

  1. EPISODE 1

    Two Suns Setting

    A torturous first day of shooting Star Wars in the Tunisian desert. Including a one-time “carpenter to the stars,” an actor named Harrison Ford. Cut to: A young George Lucas captivated and thrilled by a new gadget called “television” and the thrilling, swashbuckling serials of Flash Gordon. Later, Lucas falls for fast cars. More speeding tickets than baseball cards. Fights at home with his father over work and school and career. “I’m gonna be a millionaire before I’m 30,” he shouts at his dad. But he’s failing classes and his best hopes are for a life as an auto mechanic. Then, one fateful day he’s in his tiny Fiat turning left across traffic. That’s when a car smashes into him - an accident that nearly kills him. And an experience that will change his life forever. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    24 min

  2. EPISODE 2 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Dreams of Star Wars

    A young Carrie Fisher meets the paparazzi in the arms of her celebrity mother, Debbie Reynolds. It doesn’t take Carrie long to decide that acting’s not for her. So naturally, an actor is exactly what she becomes. Carrie models tops for Warren Beatty - with and without a bra. Meanwhile, George Lucas has decided to study film. Even though no film school graduate had ever gotten a job in the industry. He quickly becomes a star at USC, determined to make his movies his way, no matter what the rules are. He works day and night on a diet of coffee and chocolate bars. He graduates just as movie attendance is cratering and Hollywood is shutting down. He meets another young cinematic firebrand, Francis Coppola, and they join forces on his first movie, THX1138. Warner Brothers hates the movie and takes it back to cut it themselves. It limps into theaters where one young film buff is left awestruck. His name is Steven Spielberg. Meanwhile Lucas dreams of a movie with heroes and villains, ray guns and spaceships, thrills and adventure beyond the stars. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    18 min

  3. EPISODE 3 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Bleeding on the Page

    Francis Coppola urges a struggling and dirt poor George Lucas to write something human and stop being “so weird.” The result is American Graffiti, the classic coming of age movie. United Artists agrees to pick up the project along with one other idea, something vague about wars in space. But the deal falls apart in part because “nobody knows what American Graffiti means.” Universal comes to the rescue but retains final cut. The screenings are great, but Universal is convinced it will be a disaster, so they cut the film - because they can. A resentful and hungry Lucas scribbles a two-page treatment for something called “The Star Wars.” Everyone in town rejects the project, except for Fox exec Alan Ladd Jr, who buys the idea for a paltry sum and offers a thin vote of confidence for George Lucas. Then, American Graffiti is released and becomes a hit. Lucas renegotiates not for more money but for sequel and merchandising rights, both worthless at the time. Now he spends every day for the next three years writing the script. Grueling days. Bleeding on the page. Pulling teeth would be easier and more pleasant. We meet Lucas’s dog, an Alaskan malamute named “Indiana” who inspires a certain Wookiee named “Chewbacca.” We discover the inspiration for “R2D2.” Meanwhile, it’s clear that Fox is dragging their feet - that many at the studio wish Star Wars would simply…go away.  Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    25 min

  4. EPISODE 4 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    I am Princess Leia!

    Casting begins for Star Wars. Carrie Fisher wins a role, runs into the rain, and shouts to the heavens: “I am Princess Leia!” George Lucas doesn’t want Harrison Ford in the cast, but it just so happens Harrison's building a door all week and is in the right place at the right time. Mark Hamill awakens on Robert Englund’s couch just in time to find out about “the perfect role” for him - with dialogue that is absolutely befuddling. The men inside R2D2 and C3PO come to terms with the extraordinary discomfort of their costumes - and their dislike for each other. Alec Guinness hates science fiction “fairy-tale rubbish” and considers Lucas to be “a touch boring.” Meanwhile Lucas is plowing his own money into Star Wars and still has no green light from Fox. That’s when he faces a choice: Either make the movie for half of what he needs or Star Wars will be shut down. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    28 min

  5. EPISODE 5 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Days and Nights of the Force

    Carrie Fisher auditions hairstyles and the “Buns of Navarone” are born. Star Wars begins shooting. Carrie is smitten by her handsome co-star, Harrison Ford. Greedo nearly suffocates during the Cantina sequence. George Lucas breaks the news to Alec Guinness that his character will be killed off - without a satisfying death scene, and Guinness is furious. Luke and Leia swing across a dangerous chasm, but first someone has to tape down Carrie Fisher’s breasts. Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin is a horror legend - where does he go on his bicycle every day during the shooting of Star Wars? Shooting nears its end and George Lucas falls into depression and despair. Strife with the studio continues, and now Lucas is suffering chest pains. Star Wars is literally going to kill him. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    23 min

  6. EPISODE 6 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Star Wars Will Be a Bomb

    Shooting on Star Wars wraps, but the troubles are far from over. Lucas has to “crack the whip” at ILM, which is way behind on FX shots. Lucas discovers the perfect voice for Darth Vader. The John Williams score is finished and Lucas is moved to tears. He screens the film for his movie friends and the reception is ugly. The FOX sales team loves the movie, but the studio board is convinced they’re wrong - Star Wars will be an enormous bomb, they believe. So they move the release date early and dump it into a small number of theaters before it’s forgotten forever. And then, Star Wars premieres and is a phenomenon. Lines around the block everywhere. Lucas vacations with Spielberg and tosses out an idea for another movie, one led by a character named “Indiana Smith.” Lucas negotiates the sequels, then takes a long vacation from Star Wars until a new series of prequels. And that’s when the backlash begins.  Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    26 min

  7. EPISODE 7 • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Goodbyes

    Alec Guinness tells a child to stop watching Star Wars and drives him to tears. Kenny Baker - the man inside R2D2 - dies, but not before meeting the son he never knew. After great emotional struggle, George Lucas sells Star Wars to Disney. After a lifetime of total control, now he has to say “goodbye.” Carrie Fisher boards a plane at Heathrow Airport in London in 2016 and stops breathing before reaching Los Angeles. The world says goodbye to Princess Leia. Lucas acknowledges the fact that Star Wars used to be his, and now it’s ours. He used to live only for movies - and then he had children. Finally, a wide-eyed return to a movie theater in 1977 and the first time anyone ever saw Star Wars. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    28 min

  8. EPISODE 8 BONUS • WONDERY+ ONLY

    Talking Star Wars with George Lucas Biographer Brian Jay Jones

    In this special BONUS episode, INSIDE STAR WARS creator and host Mark Ramsey interviews Brian Jay Jones, the author of the recent best-selling biography “George Lucas: A Life.” We talk about our shared love of the original film and how the franchise shaped our youths. We discuss what it’s like to chase down the details of a living legend who has contributed so much to modern pop culture. And Brian reveals the one question he would most like to ask Lucas today: “Are you happy?” It’s a fascinating conversation about the man at the center of Star Wars. Brian Jay Jones also wrote a wonderful biography of Muppet creator Jim Henson, and his current best-seller is this great book: “Becoming Dr. Seuss - Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination.” Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    43 min

  9. 05/02/2019

    Introducing Inside Star Wars

    Premiering in all galaxies on Wednesday, May 29, 2019.

    2 min

  10. 3 DAYS AGO

    Listen Now: Scam Factory

    You know those messages that you get all the time, the ones that pop up out of nowhere? They could be real, but something about them seems fishy. You likely dismiss these texts and emails as mere annoyances, thinking you’ve stopped some random stranger from ripping you off. But the shocking truth is, the person behind that message might be trapped inside a “scam factory” on the other side of the world and forced to scam others against their will. From Wondery, comes a new series about the brutal reality behind these operations, where one family discovers a horrifying truth: the only way out is to scam their way out. Listen Now: Wondery.fm/Scam_Factory  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    7 min

  11. BONUS

    Where to find Episodes 2-7 of Inside Star Wars

    In the first episode of Inside Star Wars, a young George Lucas cared about just two things: television and fast cars.Struggling in school, he fought with his dad about the trajectory of his life. Until one fateful day when his tiny Fiat was smashed by a speeding car. The brush with death changed the course of his life, and set him on a path to creating the most legendary film series in cinematic history. If you want to hear the rest of Inside Star Wars you can binge all seven episodes exclusively on Wondery Plus. On Wondery Plus, you can listen to all your favorite podcasts early and ad-free. With a library featuring over 50 #1 Apple Podcast hits and 40,000 binge worthy episodes, there’s something for everyone. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or an Apple Podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    1 min
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4.4
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1,347 Ratings

About

From the creators of Inside Psycho, Inside the Exorcist, and Inside Jaws, comes a new immersive audio biopic about the making of the original 1977 Star Wars. It was a movie made on a shoestring and dumped into a handful of movie theaters. And then it changed the world. This is the story of George Lucas and his dream. We take you inside the stories of the people who struggled to make the original classic and the people who did their very best to stop it dead. Now playing in all galaxies. Binge all episodes of Inside Star Wars exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/inside-star-wars/ now.

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