7. The E.T. Connection
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were buddies and each other’s biggest fans. If you pay attention you’ll find little homages in both of their iconic sci-fi masterpieces. There’s the trick-or-treater dressed as Yoda in E.T., prompting him to yell “Home!”. George Lucas was paying attention because years later, The Phantom Menace featured three aliens of E.T.’s species occupying their own pod in the Senate.
8. The ISIS Connection
The sets for Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine, are still standing in the Tunisian dessert. In 2013, photographer Ra Di Martino made a pilgrimage to capture the remains of the set and, amazingly, it looks almost exactly as it did in the original movie. Unfortunately, in March CNN reported that ISIS militants are actually using the town as a way-station between Tunisia and Libya.
9. First is Best
George Lucas was nominated for Best Director at the 1978 Academy Awards and Star Wars was nominated for Best Picture. Although they didn’t win, it has the distinction of being the first science fiction movie to receive a Best Picture nomination.
10. Stormtroopers are Lefties
One of the more obscure Star Wars facts is that the Stormtroopers appear to be left-handed. This is because their weapons are based on a gun, the Sterling L2A3 9mm SMG, whose magazine is on the left.
