Unsung Heroes

From The Star Wars Minute Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This page celebrates the behind-the-scenes people that made the Star Wars saga awesome. For the list of Patreon supporters that Pete reads each week, see Roll Call of Heroes.
This list is obviously far from exhaustive, but it is meant to feature those highlighted on the show.

Leigh Brackett

Screenwriter extraordinaire, Leigh Brackett authored the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back. Pete occasionally sprinkled in excerpts from it during their coverage of the movie with humorous results. Alex became so attached to these little vignettes that he brings her up whenever an early draft is mentioned, even for movies that were filmed after her death.

Ben Burtt

The "Savant of Sound Design"[1] is a nickname that we should probably start using when talking about Ben Burtt. On all the Star Wars Movies, up to an including The Force Awakens, Burtt always found the perfect sound to elevate the level of the production. He also appears on screen in Return of the Jedi (playing Colonel Dyer) and in The Phantom Menace (as EQ3, who has an extremely elaborate backstory written by Burtt himself). If only he could come up with a sound for the silent 't' at the end of his name.

Lawrence Kasdan

Another "force for good" in the Star Wars Universe. Lawrence Kasdan completed the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back after the sad death of Leigh Brackett and wrote the screenplay for Return of the Jedi. We can only assume that Lucas made Luke and Leia siblings while Kasdan was at lunch. He was also a writing consultant for Episode VII.

Irvin Kershner

Gary Kurtz

Behind every successful, visionary auteur, there is a man to say, "No, George, that's a bad idea." That man is Gary Kurtz. He was producer on Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Many cite the dissolution of the Lucas-Kurtz partnership as being responsible for a decrease in film quality starting with Return of the Jedi.

Ralph McQuarrie

Joe Viskocil

If you needed something blown up, Joe Visckocil was the guy to make that happen. He was head pyrotechnics on the Star Wars movies, and engineered the explosions of Death Stars I and II. Next to Luke Skywalker, he was the greatest killer of innocent Imperial Officers. Sadly, he was taken from us too soon.

John Williams

Not a week goes by that one of the hosts or guests fails to compliment Mr. Williams. He is the Maestro behind all the music in Star Wars, and his choices helped transform Star Wars from a movie into a Saga.



1. That's trademarked, buddy![2]
2. Well, no, not actually. Somebody get on that.