May the 4th Be With You

 If you didn't know that today, May 4th, is officially Star Wars Day, then you're obviously not a true fan of the legendary movie series. I didn't know it either. In fact, I will admit here and now, I have only seen the first three movies, and I'm okay with that.

Still I wondered why May 4th is Star Wars Day. Why not March 4th or August 4th or any of the eight other 4ths that aren't already spoken for? Seems that goes back to May 4th, 1979 (When there was still only one Star Wars movie), the day Margaret Thatcher's Conservative party won the British elections, making her the first woman to serve as Prime Minister. Her supporters took out an ad in the London Evening News that read: "Congratulations. May the 4th Be With You, Maggie!"

In honor of Star Wars Day, here are some interesting notes I dug up:

1. Sissy Spacek and Cindy Williams also auditioned for the role of Princess Leia, which of course went to Carrie Fisher.

2. Jeff Goldblum was the original choice for Han Solo, but the part went to Harrison Ford because Goldblum was already committed to Woody Allen's production "Annie Hall", which eventually beat out Star Wars for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

3. In early drafts of the script, the charactor Luke Skywalker was named Luke Starkiller.

4. While James Earl Jones lent his iconic voice to Darth Vader, the body was that of a body-builder named David Prowse, who reportedly was so sure the film would be a flop, he asked that his name not appear in the original credits.

5. The lovable Chewbacca was inspired by George Lucas'  Alaskan Malamute, Indiana. Lucas "crossed" Indiana with a bear and a monkey.