EW Celebrates Empire Strikes Back

Okay, let's just say it: Empire Strikes Back is the best of the Star Wars series because it's the one film that George Lucas neither wrote nor directed...And if you're feeling the impulse to rush to Lucas' defense, just remember for a moment that when presenting PR maven Sid Ganis with an award back in 2007, Lucas publicly stated, "Sid is the reason why The Empire Strikes Back is always written about as the best of the films, when it actually was the worst one."

How anybody allowed Lucas to leave that room alive is beyond me...

That said, it's almost hard to believe that the classic sequel is now thirty years old, but Lucas - never one to miss a chance to capitalize on our nostalgia - would like to remind us of that very fact. Entertainment Weekly is currently teasing their upcoming issue devoted to Empire and the publication of Star Wars: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, a newly published look at a production now three decades old.

According to EW the issue will feature "several rare and never-before-seen photos and quotes from the cast and crew on the Empire set, as well as an original script page (with revisions and notes from director Irvin Kershner), and early sketches of key new characters Yoda and Boba Fett." And in a quote that should branded backwards on Lucas' forehead (so that he can read it in the mirror every morning), EW quotes Dalton Ross on why Empire is so damned good...

"What makes The Empire Strikes Back the greatest and grandest of all Star Wars films is its emotional resonance. This is no feel-good popcorn film, as the Rebel Alliance is on the receiving end of a pretty much continuous loop of butt kickings, starting from the very first line of the opening crawl: 'It is a dark time for the rebellion.'"

For much, much more, check out the latest issue of EW when it hits stands on April 9, 2010...