Why George Lucas Took His Name Off Thriller Directed By Empire Strikes Back Writer With 96% RT Score

Summary George Lucas removed his name from Lawrence Kasdan's directorial debut Body Heat.

Lucas prioritized preserving his family-friendly brand over potentially boosting the film's success.

Despite its critical acclaim and success, Lucas wanted Kasdan to receive full credit for the movie.

George Lucas explains why he had his name taken off a sultry erotic thriller with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score, directed by an Empire Strikes Back writer. Lucas was in a position to make others' careers after the blockbuster success of Star Wars, so he was happy to aid frequent collaborator Lawrence Kasdan by helping set up Kasdan’s directorial debut, the 1981 thriller Body Heat. Lucas kept his involvement in the film strictly hush-hush, however, not taking an on-screen producer credit.

Now over forty years after Body Heat steamed up the screen, Lucas has explained that he took his name off the movie not just to avoid overshadowing Kasdan, but to protect his own growing brand. Check out his remarks at a recent Cannes Film Festival event below (via Collider):

"I actually helped [Lawrence] Kasdan get his first movie off the ground, but I didn't put my name on it. I didn't put my name on a bunch of movies. That one was 'Body Heat.' I said, 'Larry, if I put my name on that movie, it's all gonna be about me. It's all gonna be about me making these kinds of movies, and we don't want that. I want it to be you making this movie.'"

Lucas Didn’t Want His Family-Friendly Brand Tainted By Association With The R-Rated Body Heat

Starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, the latter in a star-making turn as a noir-style femme fatale, Body Heat was a fair-sized hit, grossing $24 million on a budget of $9 million. How big a hit the film might have been with Lucas’ valuable name directly attached to it can never be known, as Lucas makes it plain he was more interested in protecting his own brand than potentially boosting his collaborator and friend’s career.

Kasdan may not have needed the boost, as he went on to become an acclaimed and successful director in his own right, but the point is moot, as Lucas had his own image to protect. Known for directing the massive Star Wars, producing the sequel Empire Strikes Back and the Steven Spielberg-directed Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lucas was focused on making movies for the whole family, and was not interested in being publicly associated with a steamy, R-rated neo-noir.

Body Heat is available to watch via Amazon Prime Video

Lucas knew that by attaching his name to Body Heat, it would become his movie, at least in the public eye, and at that point he was focused on joining his friend Spielberg in dominating the Hollywood blockbuster scene, not on wowing critics or pushing boundaries of content. Body Heat is Kasdan’s movie anyway, and it’s an acclaimed one, as reflected in its 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Source: Collider