Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible [Paperback]

Stephen J. Sansweet (Author), Steve Essig (Photographer), David Tucker (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

The three films of the Star Wars sagaStar Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and the Return of the Jedirank among the most popular of the modern era, with ticket and merchandise sales in excess of three billion dollars. Today, collecting Star Wars memorabilia has become one of the hottest hobbies around. The first illustrated Star Wars book to feature the multitude of merchandising spin-offs generated by the filmand the only one that traces the transformation of the movie's fabulous characters, creatures, and vehicles from original concepts and prototypes into toys, clothing, and dozens of other objectsthis spectacular volume is a veritable Star Wars fan's bible. A complete overview of a modern marketing extravaganza, featuring more than 150 full-color images of collectible items, the book takes readers behind the scenes and includes many never-before-published sketches and photographs from the Lucasfilm and Kenner toy archives. A lively text featuring recent interviews with George Lucas, among others connected with the film, completes this intriguing and fascinating glimpse into one of popular culture's most engaging phenomena.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Nowadays nearly everything linked with the original Star Wars trilogy is valuable, from bottle caps to shoelaces to posters. This beautiful volume, published by Chronicle Books, follows the design and development of these items--and the development of George Lucas from filmmaker into "merchandiser par excellence." Even casual fans will be delighted by dozens of photos of toys they wanted, toys they had, and toys they wish had been made. Models of some of these never-produced toys provide tantalizing glimpses of what might have been, for better or worse. Thankfully Leia wasn't turned into a Barbie clone, but what child wouldn't have loved a Boba Fett's Bounty Set? Many familiar characters and vehicles are accompanied by concept sketches marked by Lucas's rubber stamps, from "O.K." (translation: try again) to "WONDERFUL." The marketing blitz may be off-putting, but it is fascinating to look back over the wide range of licensed products: linens, shoes, watches, and, of course, food. You might remember C-3POs and the ice-cream bars, but did you know that English fans were offered Star Wars Yogurts with flavors such as Luke Skywalker raspberry, Darth Vader black cherry, and tasty Jabba the Hutt peach melba? A photograph of a tiny, vinyl-caped Jawa action figure, now selling for several hundred dollars, reminds us of the true lesson of Star Wars: You should have held on to those toys! --C.B. Delaney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

1998 Lucasfilm Ltd. STAR WARS , THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK , RETURN OF THE JEDI (TM) and THX and associated elements and logos are property of Lucasfilm Ltd. All content (e.g., clips, stills, designs, artwork, etc.) is protected by intellectual property laws and any use other than for private, non-commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.

STAR WARS 1977, 1998 Lucasfilm Ltd.; The Empire Strikes Back 1980, 1998 Lucasfilm Ltd.; Return of the Jedi 1983, 1998 Lucasfilm Ltd. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 131 pages
• Publisher: Diane Pub Co (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756762618
• ISBN-13: 978-0756762612
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,377,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book put Star Wars collecting on the map, July 1, 2000

By 

Gus Lopez (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible (Paperback)

Arguably, the most significant impact of Star Wars on popular culture was the merchandising of the movie into toys and collectibles with product far outgrossing the record levels the saga achieved in box office sales. Movie merchandise, and toys in particular, with long development times and short public attention spans were rarely seen as lucrative ventures throughout movie history. But in 1977, Star Wars changed all that. Steve Sansweet's book traces the development of the film into the most lucrative movie license in history, showing rare and unproduced toy concepts that were considered but abandoned. With beautiful photos from Steve's personal collection and rare photography from the Kenner archives, the reader sees and learns about the development of the property. When this book was released in 1992, it shook the Star Wars collecting world and still remains timeless today. I keep referring to and pouring through Steve's "Concept" book over and over again. Every Star Wars collector needs to own this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great history of Star Wars & Star Wars collectables, August 22, 2004

By 

tonythetoyman (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars - From Concept to Screen to Collectible (Hardcover)

If I were to teach a class on the history Star Wars and Star Wars collectables, I would definitely use this as one of the textbooks. It is a very well written and interesting book. It contains lots of great pictures, including early drawings of movie characters made before the movies were ever created, as well as pictures of a variety of collectables (including both prototypes and finished products). Also contains lots of interesting factoids. This is not a price guide or a comprehensive guide to Star Wars collectables (so if that's what you are looking for, this is not the book for you). But if you want to learn about the Star Wars universe (literally from concept to screen to collectable), this will be a great addition to your library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sweet book by Sansweet!, December 1, 2004

By 

T. Bailey "TJ Bailey" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible (Paperback)

A must own for fans of the collectibles spawned from the greatest space fantasy of all time. Sansweet takes you through the entire process that brought about the Star Wars experience and gives details about little known information surrounding the film's creation, collectibles and magicians who brought it to life. A nostalgic trip into the past to relive three great films accompanied by crisp, clear photos. Check it out.