On this episode of Our American Stories before he brought us to a galaxy far far away George Lucas made two other often forgotten movies His first film THX - - - was produced by friend and Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola but despite the talent behind it was anything but a box office success His second film American Graffiti was a surprise success and led to the opportunity to begin his third film Star Wars Chris Taylor author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe The Past Present and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise brings us the story [... more]

On this episode of Our American Stories The Nostalgia Awakens is an exhibit featuring EVERY action figure toy made by Kenner from - based on the original three Star Wars movies The Star Wars toys on display are from Jarrod Roll enthusiast and museum curator from Wisconsin and he's here to share the story of how Star Wars toys revolutionized movie merchandising licensing and even how kids play Support the show https www ouramericanstories com donate See omnystudio com listener for privacy information [... more]

This week's Extra Is an extender version of Ben Mankiewicz's conversation with Richard DreyfussSee Privacy Policy at https art com privacy and California Privacy Notice at https art com privacy do-not-sell-my-info [... more]