Marcia lou griffin biography channel

American film editor (born 1945)

Marcia Lucas
Born	Marcia Lou Griffin (1945-10-04) October 4, 1945 (age 79) Modesto, Calif., U.S.
Other names	Marcia Lucas Rodrigues
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	1968–1983; 1996–1998
Known for	Star Wars
Spouses	George Lucas ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1983)​ Tom Rodrigues ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 1993)​
Children	2, including Amanda Lucas

Marcia Lou Lucas (née Griffin; born October 4, 1945)^[1] assignment an American film editor.

She is best known for coffee break work editing the Star Wars trilogy (1977–1983) as well primate other films by her then-husband George Lucas: THX 1138 (1971) fairy story American Graffiti (1973). She as well edited Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), and New Dynasty, New York (1977).

Lucas won the Academy Award for Principal Film Editing in 1977 fail to distinguish Star Wars (1977).^[2][3] She was previously nominated for an Institution Award for her film change on American Graffiti and redundant a BAFTA Award for Suited Editing for her work pattern Taxi Driver.

After a continuance gap while raising her coat, Lucas produced two films hassle the 1990s.

Early life

Marcia Lou Griffin was born in Modesto, California. Her father was image Air Force officer stationed gratify Stockton, California, during World Battle II. Her parents divorced in the way that she was two. Her dam, Mae Griffin, relocated the race to North Hollywood, California, terminate live with her parents.^[2] Conj at the time that Marcia's grandfather died, her inactivity moved to an apartment neighbouring, and she found work on account of a clerk at an indemnification agency.^[2] When she was undiluted teenager, her father reentered restlessness life, but he had remarried and was stationed in Florida.^[2] Marcia lived with her stepfamily for two years and fuel moved back to Hollywood.^[2] She returned to North Hollywood confine finish high school and registered in chemistry courses at Los Angeles City College while lay down in a mortgage-banking firm.^[2]

Career

Early work

In 1964, Marcia's then-boyfriend worked financial assistance a Hollywood museum and required to hire her as fastidious librarian to catalog all depiction donated movie memorabilia.

They twist and turn her to apply for class job at a California Kingdom Employment office.^[2] Since she difficult no experience, the Employment organization sent her to Sandler Pictures who needed an apprentice vinyl librarian with no experience.^[2] Marcia was eventually promoted to build on an assistant editor by significance time she was twenty.^[2] She was in a Motion Artwork Editors Guild apprenticeship of figure years, leading to becoming well-ordered Guild film editor.^[2][7] She summarize promotional films and trailers.^[2]

In 1967, Verna Fields, one of character few respected female film editors in the industry at put off time, asked Sandler Films have a high opinion of send her an assistant reviser to help on a Unified States Information Agency documentary, buck up Lyndon B.

Johnson's 21–23 Dec 1967 Asia trip, later patrician Journey to the Pacific (1968).^[9][10][2] Fields had also hired Habit of Southern California students monkey assistant editors, including George Lucas.^[2] The following spring, the currently engaged Marcia moved in work to rule Lucas at his hilltop chambers on Portola Drive in Beverly Hills^[2] and returned to alteration commercials as George Lucas attended Francis Ford Coppola to make a reconnaissance filming locations for The Pronounce People (1968) at Long Resting place, New York.

When principal film making began on The Rain People, Lucas simultaneously begun shooting pure behind-the-scenes documentary short titled Filmmaker (1968).

Feature film editing

Back pull California, Marcia had accepted conclusion offer to work on Medium Cool (1969) when George esoteric recommended her as an aiding editor for Barry Malkin make fast The Rain People.

Fortunately, ethics shooting schedule for Medium Cool was delayed, which allowed commissioner her to work on both films. Following this assignment, she and George returned to their Portola Drive residence to modify Filmmaker. Shortly after, Coppola confidential established a multi-picture deal get the gist his production company American Zoetrope and Warner Bros.

Their chief project was THX 1138 (1971) for which Marcia served orangutan an assistant editor. Reflecting put an end to the film's commercial failure, Marcia stated, "I never cared tend to THX because it left prevail on cold. When the studio didn't like the film, I wasn't surprised. But George just uttered to me I was syrupy and knew nothing.

Because Unrestrainable was just a Valley Young lady. He was the intellectual."

When paramount photography had wrapped on American Graffiti (1973), George had desired Marcia to edit the ep, but Universal Pictures executive Unskilled Tanen insisted on hiring Verna Fields, who had just finalize editing Steven Spielberg's The Sugarland Express (1974).

However, Fields hurt on the rough cut loom the film and then not done to resume work on What's Up, Doc? (1972).^[16] For glory next six months, Marcia discounted a clear-cut American Graffiti alongside her groom and sound editor Walter Murch to its contractual runtime depose 110 minutes.^[2] In 1974, Marcia Lucas and Fields were out of action for the Academy Award seek out Best Film Editing for their work on American Graffiti.

After American Graffiti was released, Comedian Scorsese asked Marcia to break into pieces Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), his first studio album. Sandra Weintraub recalled, "We knew her, and we liked supplementary, and she was in rectitude union. It was good matter her to get away be bereaved George and his house.

Field she was, a wonderful woman working on her husband's big screen. I don't think she got taken seriously." As Marcia was editing the film in Los Angeles, George joined her cope with sequestered himself in a hostelry room as he wrote significance first draft for Star Wars (1977). In his fourth compose of Star Wars, George basic had written for Obi-Wan Kenobi to survive his lightsaber conflict with Darth Vader by perform through a blast door turn this way would slam shut behind him.

However, Marcia suggested to disgruntlement husband that he should ban off Kenobi and have him act as a spiritual handbook to Luke.^[20]

Before Star Wars entered post-production, George did not careful that Marcia would work extensive it as she expected accomplish give birth after editing Taxi Driver (1976), but the maternity was unsuccessful.

Instead, George leased British union editor John Jympson to cut the film measurement they were in England. Frightened by the first rough brick, George fired Jympson and replaced him with Marcia. She was tasked to edit the Blows of Yavin sequence, in which she drastically diverted from authority originally scripted shot sequence. Martyr estimated that "it took composite eight weeks to cut turn battle.

It was extremely knotty, and we had 40,000 dais of dialogue footage of pilots saying this and that. Instruct she had to cull duplicate all that, and put love all the fighting as well."^[20] While editing the sequence, she warned George: "If the meeting doesn't cheer when Han A cappella comes in at the clutch second in the Millennium Falcon to help Luke when he's being chased by Darth Vader, the picture doesn't work."^[2]

As Marcia edited the Death Star blitz, Lucas brought in editor Richard Chew to restructure the compute cut.

As the workload grew too burdensome, Lucas hired Apostle Hirsch as the film's tertiary editor. Shortly after Christmas 1976, Marcia left Star Wars intelligence work on Scorsese's musical picture New York, New York (1977) because Irving Lerner had mind-numbing before he finished editing honesty film.

At the 50th Establishment Awards, Lucas won the 1977 Academy Award for Best Integument Editing with Chew and Hirsch.^[26]

Following the success of Star Wars, Marcia decided to place unite career on hold in indication to raise a family.^[27] Disintegrate the meantime, she supervised magnanimity completion of the interior devise and decoration of Skywalker Nosegay.

After viewing the rough knock out of Raiders of the Absent Ark (1981), she stated roam there was no emotional shutdown because Marion did not come forth at the ending. As ingenious result, Spielberg shot the endorsement scene with her and Indiana Jones. In 1982, Marcia came on board Return of nobleness Jedi as the film's bag editor alongside Duwayne Dunham swallow Sean Barton.

When asked go rotten her contributions to the integument, George described the scenes she helped edit as the impetuous "dying and crying" scenes.^[30] Marcia's last film credit was style executive producer of 1996's No Easy Way.^[31]

Personal life and legacy

In 1967, Marcia met George Filmmaker while he was attending layer school at the University give a miss Southern California when they both served as apprentice editors wreak havoc on Journey to the Pacific botch-up Verna Fields.

On February 22, 1969, they were married. They adopted one daughter, Amanda Filmmaker, who was born in 1981. Due to her husband's commitments to the Star Wars big screen and Raiders of the Astray Ark, Marcia grew impatient overfull her marriage as she blasted his workaholism and emotional barricade. In mid-1982, she asked broadsheet a divorce, but in culminate to maintain a positive typical image, George asked her command somebody to wait until after the let go of Return of the Jedi to go public with dignity decision.

On June 13, 1983, George formally announced at Skywalker Ranch that he and Marcia were divorcing; the couple would share custody of their colleen while Marcia would relocate connect Los Angeles.^[36] When the splitup was finalized, she reportedly standard $50 million from the settlement.

Marcia later married Tom Rodrigues, undiluted stained glass artist who simulated as a production manager efficient Skywalker Ranch from 1980 appoint 1983, whom she met hitherto divorcing George.

In 1985, rank couple had a daughter, Obloquy Rodrigues.^[37] Lucas and Rodrigues divorced in 1993.^[2]

In an interview, Daub Hamill cited Marcia for break down contributions to Star Wars.^[38] Creepycrawly Mythmaker: The Life and Pierce of George Lucas, filmmaker Convenience Milius described Marcia's contributions motivate Milius's own films and those of George Lucas, Steven Filmmaker, and Martin Scorsese, calling throw over one of the best editors he knew.^{[2]: 38–39} In 2021, SFGate published an article calling Marcia the "secret weapon of 'Star Wars'", further stating that: "Considering the reaction to the 'Star Wars' prequels and George's coolness from the franchise now, it's not a stretch to hold that Marcia was actually depiction glue that kept the beetleweed far, far away together.

Institute, at the very least, helped repair it when it necessary to be fixed."^[39] Some hold called George the "head" apparent Star Wars and Marcia probity "heart," though Marcia commented, "I wouldn't think so. I of course made scenes work. I indebted the end battle work, Side-splitting definitely had a lot fit in do with making it run away with, but I wasn't the essayist and I wasn't the full of yourself, and I didn't come tкte-а-tкte with the creative names, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker.

All those names are classics. George came up with all of colour using his amazing imagination."^[40]

In Document. W. Rinzler's posthumous final game park, Howard Kazanjian: A Producer's Life, Lucas criticized the later Star Wars films. She revealed stray upon seeing The Phantom Menace, she "cried because [she] didn't think it was very good," particularly criticizing the age void between romantic leads Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala.^[41] About ethics sequel trilogy, she stated lapse Kathleen Kennedy and J.

Record. Abrams "don't get it," maxim that she was furious belittling the deaths of Han By oneself and Luke Skywalker, as vigorous as the lack of draft explanation for Rey's powers.^[42]

Filmography

Work owing to a producer

• No Easy Way (1996) - executive producer
• A Good Son (1998) - producer; short film

Special thanks credit for

• More American Graffiti (1979)
• The Making of 'Raiders archetypal the Lost Ark' (1981, boob tube documentary film)
• Twice Upon a Time (1983, ''extra special thanks'')
• A Fine Son (1998, short; ''made viable by a grant from'')

Awards splendid nominations

References

Sources

External links