Wire report

Marcia Lucas obituary

Film editor who won an Oscar for her work on Star Wars, which she nevertheless referred to as ‘a kids’ movie’ In February 1977, George Lucas screened a rough cut of his science-fiction fantasy Star Wars, devoid of any music or special effects, to a select audience at his home in northern California. Among those in attendance, reported Peter Biskind in his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, were studio executives from 20th Century Fox, colleagues such as the screenwriter Gloria Katz and the director Brian De Palma. Katz recalled that the screening was greeted by “stunned silence”. De Palma was heard asking: “What is this shit?” Lucas’s wife Marcia, who had edited Star Wars with Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch, was in tears, convinced the film was doomed. Katz advised her: “Don’t cry when there are people from the studio there.” Continue reading...

Source-feed image associated with Marcia Lucas obituary
Source-feed image associated with the linked report: Marcia Lucas obituary.Credit: The Guardian Source-feed thumbnail displayed with attribution and outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the third-party article body. Image source Cached source-feed image shown for continuity with attribution and an outbound source link; VINI does not claim third-party image authorship or republish the third-party article body.
Reading time2 min

coverage / Wire report

Reader toolsFollow the reporting.

Get updates, read source context, send useful records, share the story, or support the reporting work from the reading page.

FollowGet story updatesBriefs and topic returnsContextOpen background1 public sourceContributeSend recordsDocuments, dates, photosSupportFund reportingReader-backed workShareCopy story URLvininews.com
Why it mattersCulture

Film editor who won an Oscar for her work on Star Wars, which she nevertheless referred to as ‘a kids’ movie’ In February 1977, George Lucas screened a rough cut of his science-fiction fantasy Star Wars, devoid of any music or special effects, to a select audience at his home in northern California. Among those in attendance, reported Peter Biskind in his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, were studio executives from 20th Century Fox, colleagues such as the screenwriter Gloria Katz and the director Brian De Palma. Katz recalled that the screening was greeted by “stunned silence”. De Palma was heard asking: “What is this shit?” Lucas’s wife Marcia, who had edited Star Wars with Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch, was in tears, convinced the film was doomed. Katz advised her: “Don’t cry when there are people from the studio there.” Continue reading...

What to know1 source

Check the original link, updates, and responses when a detail is contested.

Keep readingfilm

Open topic or search related wording such as records, sources, agencies, dates, and locations.

What happened

According to The Guardian’s linked item, Marcia Lucas obituary, Film editor who won an Oscar for her work on Star Wars, which she nevertheless referred to as ‘a kids’ movie’ In February 1977, George Lucas screened a rough cut of his science-fiction fantasy Star Wars, devoid of any music or special effects, to a select audience at his home in northern California. Among those in attendance, reported Peter Biskind in his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, were studio executives from 20th Century Fox, colleagues such as the screenwriter Gloria Katz and the director Brian De Palma. Katz recalled that the screening was greeted by “stunned silence”. De Palma was heard asking: “What is this shit?” Lucas’s wife Marcia, who had edited Star Wars with Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch, was in tears, convinced the film was doomed. Katz advised her: “Don’t cry when there are people from the studio there.” Continue reading…

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked item is dated 2026-06-03T16:02:25+00:00.

What to watch

Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.

Source

Primary source: Marcia Lucas obituary via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

Keep following

This file can keep developing

vininews.com uses reader tips, public records, right-of-reply requests, corrections, and follow-up reporting to keep important stories current.

SubscribeGet the next updateSend recordsShare documents or leadsRespondRequest comment or replyDonateSupport reporting costs

Support and subscriptions never buy coverage, placement, suppression, or corrections.

This VINI report keeps the original publisher link available and does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 reference listed.

Source links

Reader comments

Moderated discussion

Account access

Comments are open to authenticated approved accounts, screened for spam and abuse, and published only after newsroom moderation unless editors change the story control.

Loading comments.

No approved comments yet.

Substantive, civil comments can be submitted by approved account holders.