Technology Slice Blog

Empire Strikes Back 30th Anniversary 2010 - May the Force be with Irvin Kershner. The director of 1980’s “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back”, who died over the weekend at age 87 after a long illness, will be long remembered for helming what many consider to be the finest film in the “Star Wars” franchise. Beyond propelling George Lucas’ phenomenal space fantasy forward with darker edges and more complex shadings, Kershner elevated the artistry expected of blockbuster sequels. “Empire,” like “The Godfather 2” before it, proved that rather than existing as a mere money-making knock-off, a sequel could set the storytelling bar even higher than the original. “He was a wonderful person to work with,” Harrison Ford said of Kershner earlier this year at a 30th anniversary screening of Kershner’s most memorable film. “He’s very sympathetic to actors, and really a generous man, a lovely man.” When PopcornBiz asked Billy Dee Williams at the same event why he thought “Empire” end...