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USA Associate Professor Talks 鈥淪tar Wars鈥�

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Posted on December 12, 2015

Alice Jackson

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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away 鈥� May 25, 1977 to be exact 鈥� Dr. Richard Ward, a recent film grad from the prestigious University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, declined to join friends to watch the new movie 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� opening at Grauman鈥檚 Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

He was unaware that his friends would be watching a movie that ended up changing Hollywood forever. 

Ward knew the work of the movie鈥檚 executive producer, producer, director and writer because George Lucas had graduated from the USC film school nearly a decade earlier, and Ward鈥檚 professors mentioned Lucas frequently for his first two films 鈥� 鈥淭HX 1138,鈥� a dystopian science fiction film, and 鈥淎merican Graffitti,鈥� a coming of age comedy-drama.

鈥淢y friends came back raving about 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� and I finally did go see it within a few days and enjoyed it,鈥� said Ward, now a USA associate professor of communications.

On Friday, 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens,鈥� became the seventh movie in Lucas鈥� futuristic galactic tale of good vs. evil, and it will be the first that the legendary producer hasn鈥檛 supervised. The movie is the latest incarnation of a series that has delighted generations since the 1970s, and it remains the industry鈥檚 greatest merchandising success story. Now owned by the Walt Disney Co. and with new producer and director J.J. Abrams at the helm, millions of fans around the world are anxious to see if the multi-billion dollar franchise will be magical enough to re-boot the franchise for yet another generation.

As a film student, Ward recognized how Lucas had borrowed techniques from older Hollywood classics popular before 1970s Hollywood churned out 鈥渄epressing movies like 鈥楨asy Rider.鈥欌��

鈥淭he scene where Luke Skywalker returned to his family鈥檚 burned out space ranch is straight out of a 1950s John Wayne movie called 'The Searchers,' and the aerial combat sequences owe an awful lot to the old World War II combat movies,鈥� Ward said.

He said some film critics cite this as a weakness common to films by Lucas and fellow mega-producer Steve Spielberg of 鈥淛aws鈥� fame.

鈥淭he frame of reference for these young filmmakers wasn鈥檛 life experiences like you saw with older producers like John Ford, who went out and lived life before he became a filmmaker,鈥� Ward explained. 鈥淎 lot of what we saw from Lucas and Spielberg in the early days was because they had grown up watching and loving the older films.鈥�

Ward said 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� excited American moviegoers because it debuted during Hollywood鈥檚 worst economic slump and on the heels of Vietnam and Watergate.

鈥淚n a lot of ways, it was a simplistic combat movie that spoke to its time,鈥� Ward said. 鈥淗ollywood had been turning out really depressing films, such as 鈥楨asy Rider,鈥� and 鈥楽tar Wars鈥� took moviegoers back to the more classic esthetic with a cohesive narrative with good guys and bad guys, and there was something comforting about that.鈥�

By the mid-1980s, Ward had finished his Bachelor of Arts at USC, he had earned a master鈥檚 degree and was working at Universal Studios in the post-editorial department, transferring film to video. It was the days of VHS, and Hollywood was on the rise again.

One night shortly before Christmas, Universal sent Ward to Lucas鈥� home with an unreleased copy of the movie 鈥淥ut of Africa鈥� for his holiday party guests. Ward鈥檚 mission was to be a bodyguard for the movie, ensuring no bootleg VHS copies would be made.

鈥淕eorge Lucas had all these celebrities at his house, and here I was sitting in the projection booth, looking at the film can,鈥� Ward recalled. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 join the party because I鈥檇 been warned not to leave the film alone for a second.鈥�

However, Lucas was concerned about Ward working while everyone else was enjoying themselves.

鈥淗e tried to get me to join the party, and when I told him I couldn鈥檛, he sent up a plate of food for me,鈥� Ward said. 鈥淎fter the movie ended, he came up and thanked me for having brought the film and handling the projector. He was a very courteous man.鈥�

Within months, Ward realized he would rather teach than work in Hollywood. He earned his doctorate at the University of Texas and joined the USA faculty a short time later.

Today, he loves teaching both television and field-based production as well as courses on television history and genres. He鈥檚 written two books about film 鈥� 鈥淭he History of the Hal Roach Studio鈥� in 2005 and 鈥淲hen the Cock Crows: A History of the Path茅 Exchange,鈥� due for release in 2016.

Ward doesn鈥檛 teach 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� in any of his classes, opting to spend most of the semester on 鈥渢he silent era, because that鈥檚 when all the ground rules of film and the economics of the industry were invented one piece at the time and were kinda set in stone. I guess in one way, that is linked to 'Star Wars' for my students because they call the first film 鈥榓 classic.鈥� You have to remember that most of them were born in the 1990s.鈥欌��

鈥淭oday, my students laugh when I tell them I left Universal to teach,鈥� Ward said. 鈥淏ut, when I explain to them what a huge bureaucracy a film studio can be rather than a creative think tank as we like to imagine it is, I think they get an idea that happiness isn鈥檛 always about money and glamour.鈥�

Ward said he wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if Lucas sold the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� franchise to Disney, one of Hollywood鈥檚 most successful studios, because of the response to his last film, 鈥淪tar Wars: Episode III 鈥� Revenge of the Sith.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 a strange irony in the fact that George Lucas鈥� last trilogy was hugely successful at the box office, yet some of his most devoted fans and critics just raked him over the coals unmercifully,鈥� Ward said. 鈥淚 think that really soured him on it because he felt some of it was simply unnecessary.鈥�

Ward intends to see the new 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� but he won鈥檛 be among the fans camping out in theatre parking lots to be one of the first to see the latest movie.

鈥淚鈥檒l let the crowds thin out first,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a patient man.鈥�

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