Can You Imagine 'Star Wars' With Disco Music and Kurt Russell?

Back in the 1970s, George Lucas brilliantly fought an uphill battle to make the first Star Wars movie. In honor of Star Wars Day, Glenn and his co-hosts revisited the fascinating story surrounding the first project in the epic series --- including casting and music decisions that changed everything.

Listen to this segment beginning at mark 21:30 from The Glenn Beck Program:

GLENN: I don't know if you know this, but it is May the 4th. May the 4th be with you. I'm just saying.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: And huge star war fans, and we were talking in the break about May the 4th. And if you look at what George Lucas did at that time, it was crazy. 1970s, you have to put yourself back into that. 56,000 people just died in Vietnam, and then you have Watergate, you have the communist, Marxist, radicals, it felt very much like today. Except, I think in some ways worse. You had the complete collapse of faith in America. You had the collapse of the faith in the dollar, in the military, Watergate was happening, inflation, gas shortages. And then if you look at the -- if you look at the movies, it was One Who Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver. Good heavens, man.

PAT: Not exactly Disney movies.

GLENN: No. French Connection, Dog Day Afternoon. Here was the happy point in the 1970s in the movie theater. It sounded a little like this:

[Jaws music]

That was, oh, what a relatable movie. I see ourselves in that getting eaten by a shark. So when he came out in the mid-'70s, and he decided to do Star Wars, nobody was interested in this. Here he is in California, he grew up in Modesto, California, George Lucas. And his childhood hero in the movie theater was Flash Gordon. And so when he heads off into Southern California to go to film school to USC, he has this Flash Gordon kind of thing. He produces a film called THX 1138. And I don't know if you guys have seen -- have you ever seen clips of it? It's actually not so bad.

PAT: It's a little weird.

GLENN: It's a little weird. But he -- you know, he develops it into a full length feature, it wins in college, and then he develops a full link feature and everybody in the movie studio hates it. And they actually demand their $300,000 back that he put up -- or that they put up front.

STU: Does that work? Are you --

GLENN: Yeah, no, I don't know. But they're, like, that's so bad, we want our money back. So he's friends with Francis Coppola.

PAT: He's the only one who liked the movie.

GLENN: Right. It's Coppola. But before Coppola is Coppola. But he's, like, dude, you've got something. You just have to go for it. But break out of your darkness and the darkness that's around, and he challenges him to do something lighthearted and something pure American and relatable to the American people. So he comes up with American Graffiti.

VOICE: The film was shot in just 28 days for under a million dollars.

PAT: Wow.

GLENN: 28 days. A million dollars.

PAT: Unbelievable.

GLENN: And I don't think people really understand -- I don't think people really understand what that -- I mean, that turned into Happy Days.

JEFFY: Yeah, that was a classic.

GLENN: That changed the 1970s.

JEFFY: Sure did.

GLENN: American Graffiti all of a sudden Ron Howard is huge.

VOICE: Most successful science fiction at that point was 2001. And successful then was that it made about $24 million or something like that. Most hit science fiction films would make about $16 million, which was the planet of the Aprils films and that sort of thing. But most science fiction films would make under $10 million. There's no reason to think that it would do something different.

PAT: Totally different time.

GLENN: So, American Graffiti is released, and he had already been talking to the movie companies, universal studios, united artist, and they looked at his space opera Star Wars, and they all said nNo, thank you. And so they pass. The American Graffiti goes out, it's the third highest grossing movie of the year. It brought in over $100 million, which was very rare in the 1970s. Remember, cost him -- what was it? A million dollars?

PAT: Less than a million.

GLENN: Less than a million. Brings in $100 million. All of a sudden he is -- he's knowing now that his passion project is up next.

VOICE: Undaunted. Lucas presented Star Wars to Allen Ladd Jr. the new head of creative affairs at 20th Century Fox. Ladd, a former producer, was able to recognize potential in the filmmaker, if not necessarily the film.

LADD: We had a meeting and George said, well, I didn't think about this thing called Star Wars and told me about it. And I said that sounds terrific. I mean, the technology part of the whole thing was completely over my head. But I just believed in him and his genius. I recognized American Graffiti that he really was a genius, so I just flew with it.

GLENN: And doing some research on Star Wars, it's amazing how much work he put into it. I mean, he met with really brilliant people about mythology. 1974 comes along, and he gets a deal for this space fantasy, this space opera, and he begins to write the screenplay.

VOICE: The filmmaker was able to distill his idea down to its essence. An epic battle between a heroic alliance and a evil galactic empire. The chief villain Darth Vader was there practically from the start. But it took time to come up with Star Wars three main heroes. A plucky young princess, the Korean smuggler and most important the boy whose name was Luke Star killer. He becomes a Jedi knight deriving his energy known as the force. But along the way, the script went through radical changes. At one point, Luke was a 60-year-old general and Han Solo had green skin and gills.

GLENN: It's amazing. He goes back, and he's meeting with these philosophy professors and these professors that study cultures and religion, and they are -- I mean, he's studying the Iliad, and he's looking for what are the mythical stories...he's scouring the world. What do they all have in common? So he starts writing this thing, and it goes way past one movie. And he realizes he has at least three movies in this. And so he decides to -- he doesn't tell anybody. He just takes and cuts them up into three movies, doesn't tell the movie studio I've got two other movies, and he decides I'm just going to make this one movie. So he goes to the Fox studio executives, and before he goes, he gets this really expensive artist to do all of the art work, so it's all in storyboard form. Because he knows nobody has the imagination to see this. Now, in a world where movies now are, you know, $200 million to make, this was, like, $8.5 million to make.

That back in the mid-1970s was a fortune, especially for a guy who had one hit. And $8.5 million, and they didn't have the technology to be able to make any of these scenes. I mean, they're still flying by wire. It would have looked like an old -- a Godzilla movie. So they're, like -- they couldn't -- they knew they couldn't -- that -- he knew the movie executives wouldn't be able to see it. But because he has the success of American Graffiti, he says "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do this. If there's any sequels, doesn't tell him that he's got three already written, if there's any sequels, you know, we'll talk about that later and negotiate. And I tell you what. I'll take less, but I want all of the merchandising. This is before everybody was merchandising. It's like Desi Arnaz saying I want all the reruns. So nobody is merchandising and they're, like, this kid's a moron. All right. We'll do your deal.

VOICE: I was very careful to say I don't want more money, I don't want more points, I don't want anything financial, but I do want the right to make these sequels. I was on the assumption that every filmmaker was that the film would be a disaster and it would die a horrible death, and it would be very hard to get these next two movies made.

LADD: George said I would like a big slice of the merchandising. Up until that time, merchandising had been relatively unknown.

LUCAS: When I took over the licensing, I simply said I'm going to be able to make T-shirts, I'm going to be able to make posters, and I'm going to be able to sell this movie, even though the studio won't. So I managed to take everything that was left over that the studio really didn't care about.

GLENN: So now here's the amazing thing. He doesn't have any money, he barely has anybody's trust, he doesn't have the technology, he starts something called industrial light and magic, he's got no money, he just gets a bunch of people and says get some milk cartons. Can you cut them up and look like a planet? Doing crazy things in the studio. They have to build their own computers. They didn't have stop animation. When we did stop animation here in these studios, you rent these computers that tell -- they track every single shot, so you can go back and look. They didn't have that. They had to build their own computers to be able to do all the tracking shots. I mean, this is crazy to attempt. What I didn't know is there was an argument internally. The movie company said. okay, we're going to let you do this, but you're an unknown. You have to have famous people in it. And he's, like, no, I don't want any famous people in it. The guy the movie studio -- and even George Lucas thought, the guy who tried out, and they thought the whole time was going to be Luke Skywalker -- was it Luke Skywalker or Han Solo?

PAT: Han Solo.

GLENN: Yeah, the guy that was going to be Han Solo was going to be Kurt Russell.

LUCAS: I was very careful to say I don't want more money.

GLENN: Here's the audition.

RUSSELL: I found it. It's just not there.

STU: Oh, my gosh. So weird.

GLENN: It's crazy. We're looking at all of these original tapes. Do you know who's going to play Princess Leia. It was going to be Cindy Williams from LaVerne and Shirley.

PAT: How weird is that?

GLENN: Crazy. Just crazy.

PAT: Before Mark Hamell, they were talking about -- does anybody remember even the Greatest American Hero?

GLENN: Yes.

PAT: The guy who played the Greatest American Hero was going to be Luke.

STU: Oh, my gosh.

PAT: That would have been bizarre.

GLENN: So they start filming this thing, they go to north Africa to film all the equipment, the sand, the equipment, everything. This thing is headed for absolute disaster. And he finally has enough film, and he brings it to California to Frances Coppola, Brian DePalma and a few others --- all but one of them hated it. The guy who said you've got something is Steven Spielberg. He said even unfinished, this thing is going to be a monster. You're good. The problem was the score. If you remember, set yourself back in this time, the movie companies were looking for anything that would relate to the time period and to be a fad and everything else. And he knew this is a timeless story. This is the Iliad. I don't want a fad. I don't want -- that's why I didn't want stars in it. I don't want any of that. I want it to be classical. And that is why John Williams was hired to do the entire score.

VOICE: Fortunately, Lucas was able to recruit one of the industry's most accomplished composers. John Williams.

PAT: Yeah, otherwise, it would have been, like, a disco soundtrack. That's what they wanted. Disco.

GLENN: Cindy Williams, Kurt Russell in disco. Do you know what that is? Quite honestly, do you know what that is? The movie that opens today, Galaxy.

PAT: Guardians of the Galaxy.

GLENN: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II. That's what it is, except they would have been doing it seriously.

STU: Wow. Pat, you told me when you're going through all of this research how Harrison Ford actually became Han Solo.

PAT: Yeah, he just read the lines to the actors.

GLENN: He was --

PAT: Because he had been in American Graffiti.

STU: Right.

PAT: Lucas didn't want him in the movie because he was already known.

GLENN: He was, like, I don't want you. But I'm going to hire you just to be the line reader.

PAT: To help these guys who are actually going to be in the movie.

GLENN: So these guys would come in that were reading for it. And he would be, like, okay, listen, here's some things that I learned about this character. He's really like this, like that. So he's coaching and none of them could get it right and finally Lucas was, like, play the role. And that's how he got it.

STU: Wow.

PAT: Because he was just better than the Kurt Russells and everybody else they brought in.

STU: And after that movie, Lucas retired and never did anything of value for the rest of his life.

GLENN: No, that's only half true. He didn't retire. But maybe he should have. He didn't do anything of value after that.

[laughter]

Biggest takeaways from Trump's HISTORIC election

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"Too big to rig" was the 2024 Trump strategy, and it was proven true on election day.

President Trump declared victory early in the morning on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, after securing the required 270 electoral college votes, marking an exciting end to a historic campaign. Since then, more electoral college votes have trickled in for Trump and he has secured 51 percent of the popular vote. There is no space for the Democrats to contest his election.

Trump's victory is just the beginning! Here are the top takeaways from election night:

Trump sweeps the swing states

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Seven swing states were poised to make or break the election: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada. At the time of this article's publication, Trump had won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina and was poised to win Arizona and Nevada in what could be a total sweep of the swing states. The "swing state sweep" is a stunning victory for Trump.

The GOP takes the Senate

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The presidential race wasn't the only important election yesterday. Approximately one-third of the Senate was up for re-election. At the time of this article's publication, Republicans had officially clinched a majority in the Senate, flipping three seats from the Democrats in Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia, giving the GOP 52 of the 100 Senate seats. In addition, Republicans are poised to win a seat in Pennsylvania and Nevada, which would further cement their lead.

Republicans lead in the House

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Seats in the House of Representatives were also up for grabs as Republicans fought to keep control of the House. The race is currently too close to call, but at the moment, the GOP is holding the lead with 201 seats — only 17 seats away from a majority. This means there is a real possibility that the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate could all be held by Republicans.

What Trump's victory means for America

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Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential election!

This is a victory for the Republic, America has the chance to be great again! This is a reminder that you can make a difference and that your opinion and vote matter. Take a moment to celebrateit's been a long four years, and light is finally at the end of the tunnel.

But the work isn't done yet. We still have two months until the inauguration, and after that, it will be time for President Trump's real work to begin. It is going to take time and hard work to "Make America Great Again," and there will be opposition and setbacks along the way. Here are three things to keep in mind going into this new era of American politics:

1. Look to the future.

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Under the Biden administration, Donald Trump, and conservatives in general, have faced censorship, lawfare, and even imprisonment. It can be tempting to jump on this opportunity to seek revenge against those who twisted the system against us. But that would only stoke the fire and further divide Americans. It is time to move forward, forgive, and remain humble. It is time to "Make America Great Again" for both Democrats and Republicans.

2. Get involved.

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While Trump's victory in the White House is a huge step forward, it's crucial to remember that change starts locally. Your state and local politicians play a huge role in your day-to-day lives. Get involved with your state government, run to serve on your local school board, and vote for your mayor. Many of these local offices go uncontested, and the Left knows this and will exploit them as a way to push back against the Trump administration unless you stand up against them.

3. Have realistic expectations.

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One of the most exciting promises of Trump's campaign is his pledge to to shrink the federal government, shrink the administrative state, and reduce government spending. Trump will bring on Elon Musk to help trim the fat off of our massive bloated government, and he has even floated the idea of repealing the income tax and replacing it with tariffs. However, this is a massive undertaking and is bound to experience pushback from the Left. It's important to have realistic expectations that this won't be done overnight. We can help expedite the process by getting involved. Call your representative. Call your senator. Demand dramatic cuts from federal spending that go towards woke programs and funding federal agencies that don't have the American people's best interests in mind.

As Glenn said on radio today, another hero has fallen in the cause of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: P'nut the Squirrel.

The internet blew up over the weekend after the beloved social media sensation with over half a million followers was euthanized by New York state authorities after being seized from his owner's home.

P'nut was rescued seven years ago by Mark Longo, a Connecticut resident, who witnessed the young squirrel's mother being struck by a car. Longo nursed the squirrel back to health, and the two were inseparable ever since. Their relationship blossomed into a social media sensation, amassing over half a million followers. Proceeds from P'nut's social media success helped support Longo's animal sanctuary, P'Nut's Freedom Farm.

All that would end on October 30, 2024. After receiving an anonymous call warning P'nut may be carrying rabies, officers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) raided Longo's home in Pine City, New York, in a SWAT-style fashion, and seized Peanut, along with a raccoon named Fred. Tragically, both animals were euthanized to test for rabies after an officer was bitten during the raid.

Glenn showed Longo tearfully describing the event to TMZ during his radio show this morning:

Officers raided my house as if I was a drug dealer. I was sat outside my house for five hours. I had to get a police escort to my bathroom," shared Longo online. “I wasn't even allowed to feed my rescue horses breakfast or lunch. I was sit, sat there like a criminal after they interrogated my wife to check out her immigration status. Then proceeded to ask me if I had cameras in my house. Then proceeded to go through every cabinet, nook and cranny of my house for a squirrel and raccoon. They got a search warrant for departments, and a judge signed off on a search warrant for a squirrel in a raccoon. And then they took them and k*lled them.

P'nut's euthanization and the raid on Longo's home have sparked a public outcry against taxpayer-funded federal agencies, not only for allocating so much time, money, and resources to a minor case but also for their gross abuse of power. How does a federal agency think it's justified to raid a man's home, treat him like a criminal, take his pet, and euthanize it without giving the owner a chance to contest? Stu hit the nail on the head during Glenn's show today: "It is also one of the most egregious abuses of government power I can ever remember."

It didn't take long for the Left to make this a partisan issue. Washington Post author & MSNBC Commentator Jen Rubin posted on X, "The MAGA Squirrel deserved to die." The post has since been deleted, but screenshots won't let her get away with that comment easily.

How did this become a partisan issue? It's not even clear if Longo is a Trump supporter. Even if he were, what does that have to do with P'nut? Did Longo deserve to have his home raided simply because there's public backlash from right-leaning sources questioning the gross overreach of federal agencies? If the Left believes that questioning federal abuse of power justifies euthanizing a beloved internet sensation, perhaps their twisted partisanship will help push Trump over the finish line tomorrow.

Glenn wants to hear what you think. Let us know in the poll below:

Was the raid of Longo's home an abuse of federal power?

Was the DEC justified in euthanizing P'nut?

Should P'nut's death be a partisan issue?

Unlike Harris, Trump offers hope for the nation

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The election just a day away, and the contrast between Donald Trump's and Kamala Harris's campaigns is as stark as ever.

In the last few weeks, Trump has successfully demonstrated the incredible range of his campaign, from his McDonald's and garbage truck events to electric rallies like the recent one held at Madison Square Garden to impressive back-to-back interviews of both Trump and Vance on Joe Rogannot to mention the broad spectrum of people in his corner, such as Elon Musk, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and many more who bring top-class expertise to his campaign. For those on the "Trump train," it's hard not to feel hopeful for the future, something America has been dearly lacking the past four years.

On the other hand, Harris's campaign is built on hate. In her few interviews, she has offered little to no policy vision. She hasn't proposed anything unique to change our nation's current tide. Her campaign is simply based on hate against Trump, and we can expect nothing more than the continuation of the status quo.

Trump's Positivity

Donald Trump's campaign is defined by positivity and hope. The iconic slogan "Make America Great Again" promises a better tomorrow, and Trump brings the vision, expertise, and drive to make it possible. Despite being nearly twenty years Kamala Harris's senior, Trump seems to have infinitely more energy than she does. For the past four years, Trump has been constantly on the road, doing interviews, rallies, and political stunts while Harris has been noticeably absent for much of her campaign. Trump offers constructive solutions to the problems our country faces and promises to prioritize the American people. His campaign projects infectious positivity and hope in our nation's future. All reports from Trump's rallies indicate that the attendees are freedom-loving Americans, who are full of life and optimism. Even Elon Musk was seized by the excitement of the Trump campaign, literally jumping with joy when Trump invited him up on stage during his return to Butler, Pennsylvania.

Harris's Negativity

In stark contrast, Kamala Harris's campaign has been built on nothing but hatred towards Trump. As illustrated in the social experiment above, there's a big difference in how Harris supporters treat Trump supporters and vice versa. If you watch any of her interviews, Harris's word-salad answers inevitably shift to blaming Trump for the policy failures of her administration with Joe Biden. Her entire campaign hinges on the media successfully villainizing Trump. She is simply betting that people are going to vote for her simply because she isn't Trump. Though Trump has survived at least two assassination attempts, that hasn't stopped Harris from comparing the former president to Hitler. This anger and hate has permitted Harris's supporters, who, despite their rhetoric of "tolerance," are marked by their extreme intolerance for anyone who doesn't tow the party line.