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By 1977 National Public Radio (NPR) was in trouble, plagued by too little funding and small audiences. The phenomenal success of its adaptation of Star Wars as a radio drama in 1981 gave NPR the needed ratings, publicity, and boost in donations that kept it afloat at exactly the time it was threatened the most. Most importantly, Star Wars brought a new audience to NPR. As it did in theaters, where George Lucas's films redefined movie making, so too did NPR's Star Wars forever change the artistic world of radio drama.
That a radio network, dependent exclusively on audio, would find a lifeline in one of the most visually dynamic movies ever released is the stuff of irony. Utilizing new interviews with creatives such as Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Ann Sachs (Princess Leia), Perry King (Han Solo), and director John Madden, and archival research, this book details how an unlikely alliance of academics, radio executives, Lucasfilm employees, actors, and behind-the-scenes artists banded together, despite the obstacles, to create a unique and consequential work. It is also the story of how writer Brian Daley was the fulcrum who made it all possible.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments viii
Preface
Prelude
1.¿The Opening Crawl
2.¿Giants Marking Time
3.¿The Deal
4.¿The Brian Daley Solution
5.¿The Winds That Shook the Stars: The Script, the Director and the Sound Engineer
6.¿Purest Acting
7.¿The Nexus
8.¿Sound Advice
9.¿Clear Receptions
10.¿A Rebellion Reunites for The Empire Strikes Back on Radio
11.¿Our Own Little World: Recording at A&R
12.¿Some Herb Stew and a Side Mission to Ord Mantell
13.¿The Rise and Return of the Jedi
14.¿An Incomplete Family Reunion at Westlake
15.¿Losing Brian
16.¿Audio Drama That Was, Audio Drama to Be
Appendix A: Related Star Wars Audio Projects
Appendix B: NPR Affiliates
Chapter Notes
References
Index
About the author
Professor of sociology Maria Jose Tenuto was named the 2019 Outstanding Illinois Adjunct Faculty of the Year by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association. She lives in Altoona, Iowa.
