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Empire Interview: Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan

Do you think you would have a hard time getting The Big Chill made today?

Yeah, I think so. I had a hard, terrible time getting it made then.

Is there any movie you’ve originated yourself that you haven’t had a tough time getting made?

Body Heat was pretty easy. I had just written Raiders and Empire, and Alan Ladd, Jr. said he would let me direct my movie. So that was not that hard. I’ve had easy times, hard times — you never know.

You recently produced Home Fries. Why produce a movie that you’re not directing?

I produced The Bodyguard, too, which I wrote. It was enormously successful, but I wasn’t happy with the movie. It’s very frustrating — producing and not liking what you do exactly. It’s harder for a director-producer than it is for other people because you don’t want to step on the toes of the director. It’s a mixed bag, producing. I’m very reluctant to do it.

You’ve started acting now, too.

Yeah, I have. I just can’t get hired as much as I want. Acting’s a great scam!

Sure is. How did you end up playing Jack Nicholson’s therapist in As Good As It Gets?

I’ve known [writer-director] James L. Brooks for years. He just called me up and said that he saw me doing it. I think someone must have dropped out. But it was fun to find myself acting alone with Jack Nicholson. I’d do it any day.

How did you like the next two Indiana Jones films after Raiders?

I like ours the best. The spirit of it is the best. It’s the most original. I’m proud of it.

Raiders is coming up on a 20th anniversary as well.

Yeah — everything is. Both my kids are more than 20 now, and that’s shocking to me.

What did you think of the latest Star Wars film?

I thought it was exactly what it should have been — it was all George. Since THX he’s really been interested in the same things, and when other people come into the mix, those things are there, but they’re diluted. That’s sometimes for the best — Empire is a really good movie because Kershner’s a really good director. Having me write those three movies had a big effect on them. But having George do the whole thing on Phantom Menace is great because you get to see all his stuff — the hot rods, the thing about parents, everything. I dug it. I’d been dying for him to direct again.

Did you ever have any desire to direct a Star Wars movie yourself?

I really feel what I said, which is that I think George should make Star Wars movies — and no one else.

Twenty years later, what strikes you most about The Empire Strikes Back?

It has a quality that I think Kersh gave it. Kersh is so odd, and so wonderful. It’s just not like any of the others. I really loved Richard Marquand. But he didn’t put as distinctive a stamp — Jedi was a much tougher movie to pull off, because everything has to work out so hunky-dory. But I think Kersh just directed Empire great. He loosened up George in a lot of ways. George wanted the movie to be his, the way he wanted, but he knew how to use Kersh and trust him — even though it scared George at times. I thought Kersh just did a great job, and it’s not like the other three movies.

What makes it unique from the other episodes?

It’s the fun part of the story. When George made Star Wars, he didn’t know if he’d ever make another. When he got the chance, he was in the good part of the story, and he was very free. He’d had the biggest success in history. This movie was going to be gigantic, and it was. So everybody sort of loosened up. And that’s where all the fun comes from. It’s gritty — Kershner had a huge impact on the way it looked. It looked better than Star Wars: it’s shot better, it’s lit better, the effects are better. George can tell you. So it has a much better look, and you’re letting the characters do much more interesting stuff.

Why do you think it’s so satisfying to see the heroes get their butts kicked?

Because you’re worried about them. You know at that point that you already like them a lot. You already had a movie where you liked them. You know how most movies work, how the hero’s going to be all right. But with Empire everything’s going to hell.

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This article originally appeared in Star Wars Insider #49, published in May 2000. It was reprinted on StarWars.com in March 2010.