We can point to fandom having many godparents, but only one man can legitimately be called the godfather of Star Wars fandom. Decades ago, Craig Miller worked with George Lucas to start the official Star Wars Fan Club, which connected the burgeoning franchise to the fans who catapulted it to wild success. That may seem de rigeur now, but in the 1970s, before the internet, we didn’t have a lot of ways to connect and share. Miller changed all that, and a few years ago shared some of his experiences in a fun book called Star Wars Memories.
Sure, that was great and all, but what was his second act?
Miller proves that in Hollywood and real life, you can’t stand still. After leaving Lucasfilm, he went freelance as a publicist and worked on some of the best regarded science fiction and fantasy films of the 1980s. Then he reinvented himself as an animation writer and teacher, working on shows well-known and maybe not so well-known. But he’s pulled it all together in a new book launching at Comic-Con: More Movie Memories.
As he spent some of the past couple of years cleaning out his files and storage spaces, long-lost photos and memorabilia reignited some old Lucasfilm memories, too. Part of the book revisits those days, moments in his past that were overlooked because Miller seemed to have been everywhere. It’s understandable that he forgot some of it for the first book.
The bulk of the book, however, covers what happened afterward, first working on films like Superman II, The Dark Crystal, and The Last Starfighter. For fans of Jim Henson, though the stories Miller tells of the legendary genius are few, they’re beautiful quick insights into the man.
Miller pivoted to writing animation scripts, and for aspiring writers, it’s gold. Not because he worked on some fondly remembered shows — and some you’ve never heard of — but because he’s honest about the trials and tribulations of getting past “educational advisors” and network censors. It’s not easy to sell a series, though Miller did co-create and sell one with Marv Wolfman (who also provides the foreword). He worked on plenty that didn’t sell, and plenty that have never been seen in the U.S.
What it all really goes to show is that you have to keep reinventing yourself, and Craig Miller did it well. The business has changed, but he’s still here. And if you go to Comic-Con this week, you can buy the book at his Small Press Table K-13, and talk with him about his memories. He has a few panels as well, and from previous convention appearances I’ll also guess he’ll have plenty of fun memorabilia he may be selling.
Check out the book, share the memories, and learn the lessons that he assiduously tries not to hit you over the head with. Because I know Craig — he’s too smart to lecture (though he often teaches classes in Writing for Animation).
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