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Star Wars (Advanced Program) · Spotlight English: Advanced

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Patrick Woodward.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: And I'm Megan Nolette. Spotlight uses a special English method
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: matter where in the world they live.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: It's difficult to imagine a time when no one in
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the world had heard of the film Star Wars. No
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: one recognized the names Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo or Darth Vader.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: No one had heard the term Jedi. No one had
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: heard the expression May the Force be with you. But
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: all that changed nearly half a century ago. The world
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: has never been the same.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: On today's Spotlight, we look at the impact Star Wars
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: made on the world. We discuss how it changed the
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: film industry. We look at how it expanded opportunities for
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: films to make money. We examine why the Star Wars
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: series has remained popular for so long.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away,
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  Speaker 1: these words introduce every Star Wars film. The first Star
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Wars film was made in nineteen seventy seven. It's a
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: science fiction film. This is a kind of story that
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: involves futuristic technology. It is about a group of fighters
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: battling for freedom. They're called the Rebel Alliance. They want
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  Speaker 1: to stop the evil Galactic Empire's new weapon, the Death Star.
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  Speaker 1: It can destroy an entire planet. Luke Skywalker and the
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Rebel Alliance steel design plans of the Death Star. Princess Leiah,
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  Speaker 1: leader of the Rebel Alliance, is captured by the Galactic Empire.
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  Speaker 1: They try to rescue Princess Leah while destroying the Death Star.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: George Lucas wrote and directed the film. Lucas knew that
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: he needed the best special effects to create a believable
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: film about a battle in space. He started his own
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: company to create new camera and lighting techniques. Lucas hired
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: talented artists and engineers. These artists made detailed models of spaceships,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: fighter planes, planets, and alien creatures. They used special equipment
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: to control the movement of the spaceship models during filming.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: This special equipment made the ships look more realistic. They
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: did similar things for places in the galaxy. They filmed
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: small versions of locations in ways that made them look bigger.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Lucas was still worried people would not like Star Wars
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: despite all the new techniques.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: He said, I did not think the film was going
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: to be successful. The film studio did not have any
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: faith in it. Lucas flew to Hawaii when the film
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: was released. He did not want to be near the
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: film studio when Star Wars failed. But after the first weekend,
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: he saw a news story on television. It said everyone
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: loved Star Wars. Lines of people waited outside theaters to
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: see the film. It was very successful. Lucas finally believed
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: people liked his film.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: They did not just like Star Wars, they loved it.
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  Speaker 1: The film made seven hundred and seventy five million dollars
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  Speaker 1: in ticket sales. It was the most money a film
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  Speaker 1: had ever made up to that time.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: Lucas was a great filmmaker, but he was also a
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: smart businessman. He made a deal with the film studio
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: before Star Wars was released. He agreed to get a
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: smaller salary. In exchange, he received all merchandising rights. This
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: meant he would earn all the money from sales of toys, clothing,
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  Speaker 2: video games, posters, and more. Fellow directors did not think
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: this was wise. They believed that merchandise connected to films
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: did not sell well. But Lucas thought that even if
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: the film did not sell many tickets, children might want
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: to buy Star Wars toys.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Lucas was right. He made much more money from merchandise sales.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Children who saw the film wanted to own figures of
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  Speaker 1: characters like Luke Skywalker, hand Solo, Chewbacca, R two D two,
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  Speaker 1: and Darth Vader. Children were able to buy these toys,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: they could rec create the film in their homes.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Lucas and the film studio wanted to make another Star
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Wars film after their great success. Lucas continued writing the
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: story of the Rebel Alliance fighting the Galactic Empire. The
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: new film was another big success. The Star Wars films
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  Speaker 2: quickly turned into a franchise. A franchise is a collection
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  Speaker 2: of creative works that all relate to the same story.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Many Star Wars movies and television series were made. People
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  Speaker 1: also wrote Star Wars books, comic books, and sticker books.
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  Speaker 1: They created hundreds of Star Wars video games. Star Wars
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  Speaker 1: toy sales have earned billions of dollars.
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  Speaker 2: Currently, the Star Wars franchise has made more than forty
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  Speaker 2: six billion dollars. It is one of the most successful
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  Speaker 2: film franchises in history.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: But why why has the Star Wars franchise remained so
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: popular for so long. Many Star Wars followers today were
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: not even born when the first film came out. How
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: did Lucas do it? How did he interest people? For
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: so many years?
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Lucas filled the world of Star Wars with interesting characters
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  Speaker 2: and stories. The Rebel alliance struggle against the Galactic Empire
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  Speaker 2: was exciting. New characters and filming techniques were added to
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: later films. Lucas took his time telling the entire story.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: He spread it out over many films. He was excellent
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  Speaker 2: at creating something people could look forward to. He decided
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: to call his second Star Wars film star Wars Episode five.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: The third film was called Star Wars Episode six. He
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: also changed the name of the first film to Star
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Wars Episode four. This way of numbering the films told
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: followers that they were part of a larger series. It
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: kept the followers interested while waiting for the next film.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: It also meant Lucas would have to write the series beginning.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: He would have to make the first three episodes because
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: he started with the fourth. This was a unique idea
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: that worked perfectly. Writer Nathaniel Rourke said.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: Lucas wanted Star Wars to feel like a story.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: People were coming into the middle.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: Of Lucas made episodes four, five, and six in the
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Star Wars series. He directed the first three films many
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: years later. People were incredibly excited to see these films,
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: sometimes called the prequel trilogy. Lucas wisely waited twenty two
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: years before making these episodes. This made people even more
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: more interested in what stories he would tell. It gave
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: followers the chance to rewatch episodes four, five, and six.
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  Speaker 1: Many times, young followers grew up, they started families. They
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: showed episodes four, five and six to their children. They
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: passed down their love of the Star Wars franchise.
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  Speaker 2: Other filmmakers released episodes seven, eight, and nine ten years
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  Speaker 2: after episode three. These were the final episodes of the story.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: These films introduced a new generation to the Star Wars franchise.
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  Speaker 2: These new followers could then go back and watch the
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: first six films.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: One of the central storylines in Star Wars films is
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: the relationship between fathers and their children. In the first
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: few Star Wars films, viewers learnt that Darth Vader, one
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  Speaker 1: of the leaders of the Galactic Empire, is actually the
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leiah. In later films,
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: viewers discover that Han Solo's son now fights against him
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  Speaker 1: and the Rebel Alliance.
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  Speaker 2: Cass Sunstein wrote a book about people's fascination with Star Wars.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: He said, the.
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: Star Wars films are all about father's and how much
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: their children need them. Any struggling father can be saved
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: so long as his child loves him.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: Star Wars films have brought parents and children together for
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: many years. A father sits with his son. They watch
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Luke Skywalker swing his glowing blue light sword at Darth Vader.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Lada blocks him with his red light sword. The father
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: wraps his arm around his son. He smiles seeing his
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: son so excited. The father reacted the same way his
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: son was reacting. He'd reacted this way when he first
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: watched the film at a younger age with his own father.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: Have you ever seen any of the Star Wars films?
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: Which is your favorite? Do you have a favorite character?
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  Speaker 2: You can leave a comment on our website at www
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: dot Spotlight English dot com. You can also find us
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and x You can also
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: get our programs delivered directly to your Android or Apple
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: device through our free official Spotlight English app.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: The writer of this program was Peter Anderson. The producer
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: was mitchyo Ozarki. The voices you heard were from the
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted
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  Speaker 1: for this program and voiced by Spotlight. No AI or
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: artificial intelligence was used in this program. Spotlight programs are written, voiced,
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: and produced by real people for real people, no matter
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: where in the world they live. This program is called
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Star Wars.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: We hope you can join us again for the next
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: Spotlight program. Goodbye,