unhistorical:

May 25, 1977: Star Wars is released.

George Lucas’s landmark space opera was produced on a budget of $11 million and debuted on opening day to only thirty-two theatres, but by the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed nearly $800 million worldwide. Today, it is (domestically) the second-highest grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation, and the franchise it spawned is as deeply ingrained in American culture as a piece of fiction can be. Star Wars, along with Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, helped inaugurate a new era in filmmaking - the era of the blockbuster. Roger Ebert called it “a technical watershed”, and this was true as well, for films intending to copy Star Wars’s model (and its success) relied more on special effects than any generation of films before it. And, for better or for worse, George Lucas’s genre-defying epic demonstrated the potential commercial viability of a well-marketed franchise.

Fun facts about the planning, production, and early versions of Star Wars:

• “Luke Skywalker” was originally an elderly General, a Ben Kenobi-type character, and the young protagonist was named “Annikin Starkiller”.
• Though the movie was created to stand alone (separate from any series) Lucas said that he soon “began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell”.
• During production, Star Wars was titled The Star Wars, and Luke Skywalker was called Luke Starkiller. 
• Before 1978, the idea that Darth Vader was (spoiler!) Luke’s father had probably not even been seriously considered - leading to some discrepancies between the first and second films. 
• George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made a bet on whether Star Wars or Spielberg’s film Close Encounters of the Third Kind would become the bigger hit. Lucas won.
• The subtitles Episode IV and A New Hope were not added until 1981, after The Empire Strikes Back was released. 
• Han Solo was originally written as a green alien, but that honor ultimately went to Greedo. 
• George Lucas originally wanted Orson Welles to voice Darth Vader. 

Pictured above is concept art by the late Ralph McQuarrie, who himself later said that he “didn’t think the film would ever get made” because “it was too expensive. There wouldn’t be enough of an audience. It’s just too complicated.”

(со страницы homoerotics)

[x]

(Источник: halestilinski из блога bisho-s)

notyoda:

Sheldon Cooper, putting the Q in Quirky.

(Season 5 edition)

(со страницы fyeahbigbangtheorygifs)

keenpeach:

25 abandoned Yugoslavia monuments that look like they’re from the future

“These structures were commissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place or where concentration camps stood. They were designed by different sculptors and architects, conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic. In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year, especially young pioneers for their ‘patriotic education.’ After the Republic dissolved in early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost. From 2006 to 2009, Kempenaers toured around the ex-Yugoslavia region with the help of a 1975 map of memorials, bringing before our eyes a series of melancholy yet striking images.”

(со страницы pollums)

(Источник: black-nata из блога phobs-heh)

swing-set-in-december:

dylansobriens:

(x)

Oh god, my vid is being gif’d

Shall we play, doctor?

(Источник: widowsting из блога geothebio)