Hey Reader, it’s Vance here! 👋

Today's piece will be a bit different, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

You know that moment when you learn something new about Star Wars and your brain just goes Wait, WHAT?!

That was me when I found out that some of Han and Leia’s most legendary banter in The Empire Strikes Back actually came from a totally different classic!

I came across a fantastic post from Craig Hansen that breaks it all down, and I knew I had to share it with you!

Here’s what Craig shared:

Han and Leia's verbal exchanges are among the very best moments in The Empire Strikes Back, and credit deservedly goes to screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan for writing such great character dialogue. However as the old adage goes, "Good artists borrow, Great artists steal." That strongly applies here with Empire as Kasdan, shall we say, 'found inspiration' for some of Han and Leia's exchanges within Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone With The Wind, which that classic film is based upon.

Specifically, a couple of Han and Leia's exchanges are taken wholesale from the classic GWTW novel and used almost verbatim during Han and Leia's interactions. For example, near the end of Chapter XIX in Mitchell's Gone With The Wind novel we find this exchange between Rhett and Scarlett:

Rhett: "Scarlett, you do like me, don't you?"

That was more like she was expecting.

"Well, sometimes," she answered cautiously. "When you aren't acting like a varmint."

He laughed again and held the palm of her hand against his hard cheek.

"I think you like me because I am a varmint. You've known so few dyed-in-the-wool varmints in your sheltered life that my very difference holds a quaint charm for you." This was not the turn she had anticipated, and she tried again without success to pull her hand free. "That's not true! I like nice men - men you can depend on to always be gentlemanly."

Sounds very familiar, doesn't it? Varmints, scoundrels, nice men and such. Elsewhere in Mitchell's classic novel is an exchange that recalls the "I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee!" moment, along with Han's "You could use a good kiss!" line for measure (Chapter XVII):

Rhett: "I'll bet a box of bonbons against...." His dark eyes wandered to her lips. "Against a kiss."

"I don't care for such personal conversation", she said coolly and managed a frown.

"Besides, I'd just as soon kiss a pig."

"There's no accounting for tastes, and I've always heard the Irish were partial to pigs - kept them under their beds, in fact. But, Scarlett, you need kissing badly. That's what's wrong with you. All your beux have respected you too much, though God knows why, or they have been too afraid of you to really do right by you. The result is that you are undeniably uppity. You should be kissed, and by someone who knows how."

Now that is some great dialogue! Beyond the dialogue however, Empire also stole from Gone With The Wind with Empire's original theatrical movie poster from 1980, which beautifully replicated Rhett and Scarlett's classic romantic pose with Han and Leia from Gone With The Wind's 1967 theatrical re-release movie poster.

The juxtaposition I noticed between these two classic movie posters: Fire and Ice.

Pretty cool, right? That’s it for today. I hope you liked this little deep dive into Star Wars!

May the Force be with you,

Vance

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
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