| Gary Kurtz | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1940 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouse |
Clare Gabriel (2003–) |
Gary Kurtz (born July 27, 1940 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film producer whose list of credits include American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He later produced The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz after departing from the Star Wars series. Kurtz also co-produced the 1989 science fiction adventure film Slipstream, which reunited him with Star Wars star Mark Hamill.
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Kurtz and Lucas first collaborated on the 1973 film American Graffiti, which became a huge box office hit. Kurtz then became producer of Star Wars, released in 1977, and its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back released in 1980. Many of the more mystical and spiritual elements of Star Wars were influenced by Kurtz, who had extensively studied comparative religion. Kurtz was a Quaker at the time and is currently Buddhist.
Kurtz has claimed that he and George Lucas clashed over how to progress the Star Wars series. Kurtz recalled after Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, Lucas became convinced that audiences no longer cared about the story; they were simply there for thrills and entertainment, and he began to deviate from the original planned plotlines for Return of the Jedi, at which point Kurtz quit the series. Kurtz has also claimed that Lucas changed the emphasis from storytelling to one that prioritized toy merchandising.[1] Kurtz has expressed his dissatisfaction with Return of the Jedi and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.[2] Kurtz was particularly displeased with Lucas' decisions in Return of the Jedi to resurrect the Death Star and to change the plot outline from one that ended on a "bittersweet and poignant" note to one having a "euphoric ending where everyone was happy".[1]
Mr. Kurtz accepted the Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Award for Star Wars at IguanaCon in 1978. [1]
Kurtz's final collaboration with Lucas, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, was an expensive and difficult production. Records at Elstree indicate that the movie took 175 shooting days having been budgeted at 100, which forced Lucas to borrow $10 million to complete the film. Kurtz had to help direct[3] along with David Tomblin, Irvin Kershner, Harley Cokeliss and John Barry (who died of meningitis during production) to bring the film in on even this revised schedule and budget. Lucas visited the set in London only a couple of times.[3] There are photos published of Lucas on the "bog" set consulting the production, but Kershner directed all the scenes on that set.
Kurtz's wife, Meredith, planned the film's 'wrap party' in late August 1979 and the Kurtzes hosted the affair. The actual completion of photography was a month later.[3] Kurtz did not leave the movie before its completion and was actively involved from post production through its release in theatres in the U.S. and the UK. He was replaced by Howard Kazanjian for Return of the Jedi.
Kurtz is currently prepping an ambitious independent movie, which marks a return for him to the fantasy genre. Kurtz discussed his involvement with Panzer 88 in a Los Angeles Times piece in August 2010, saying “It’s a good, good project, you haven’t seen anything like it for a while.” In the same article, it was formally revealed that Weta Workshop and Richard Taylor were involved in the production. Taylor was quoted as saying; “It has been fantastic being involved in the early stages of a project that has already had such a significant body of preparatory production work done. It seems that Gary and Peter have explored all production scenarios and analyzed all and every film-making option in an effort to produce an epic film on a respectable budget.” [4]