Yesterday, The Empire Strikes Back director, Irvin Kershner, died at the age of 87. George Lucas has been paying tribute…
It's been said plenty of times since the sad news came through about the death of director Irvin Kershner yesterday, at the age of 87. But that doesn't make it not true. For Kershner is the man who directed the finest Star Wars movie of the lot, The Empire Strikes Back, and while his career had some less successful movies in there, it's hardly a bad life to look back and have made a film like Empire.
Fittingly, George Lucas has now written his own tribute to the man, which was posted over at StarWars.com. Here's the statement that went live on the site:
"The world has lost a great director and one of the most genuine people I've had the pleasure of knowing," says Lucas. "Irvin Kershner was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. When I think of Kersh, I think of his warmth, his thoughtfulness and his talent. I knew him from USC - I attended his lectures and he was actually on the festival panel that gave the prize to my THX short. I considered him a mentor.
Following Star Wars, I knew one thing for sure: I didn't want to direct the second movie myself. I needed someone I could trust, someone I really admired and whose work had maturity and humor. That was Kersh all over. I didn't want Empire to turn into just another sequel, another episode in a series of space adventures. I was trying to build something, and I knew Kersh was the guy to help me do it. He brought so much to the table. I am truly grateful to him. He was a friend as well as a colleague. He will be missed."
You can read more memories of Irvin Kershner at StarWars.com, right here.
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