The Foundation And Star Wars.

[blackie_morgan]

Has anyone made the comparison? I just watched again the movies after reading the series [not intended] (six books in my country) And noticed from the very start some similarities which kept coming throughout the movies.

Below are what i noticed.

1. - Trantor - Coruscant
2. - Obi-wan was looking for the bounty hunter and traced him to the planet of the Cloners, Kamino. In his search he went to the Jedi library to look for the planet every bit of information about the region was there, surrounding systems, star, gravity wells, except the planet it self. Then he asked for advice from yoda and there he decided/was instructed to go to that location.
3. The Library in planet in point 1. Also the people and the powers they posess that reside in the library. 2nd Foundation and Jedi
4. - Korriban (Sith Home World) and 1st Foundation planet. same characteristics.
5. - Space Jumps (Although it seems every movie has this)
6. - Gaia philosophy of all is gaia and The Force. Same Concept.
7. - And possibly the idea of the Bounty Hunter (Han Solo) came from the 1st Foundation's agents.

Thoughts?

 

[Interference]

There are distinct parallels, all right, though I wouldn't necessarily infer deliberate theft

The differences are perhaps slightly more dramatic - in that Star Wars kicks off with being - erummm - slightly more dramatic When I first read Foundation, I felt cheated that the first character we met (going to University) never appeared again. But then, it was (I believe) written as a magazine serial, so the individual story arcs were, perhaps, that much shallower.

 

[blackie_morgan]

After much thinking, i see it as a parallel as you say.

The different choice made in the end leading to 2nd foundation taking control.

But still the concept ideas are very similar, just worded differently and scattered to whichever direction seperate from the books.

 

[caseybrn]

In Foundation or in Foundation in Empire they mentioned Corellia right - is that where Lucas got the planet name?

 

[chornedsnorkack]

In Foundation or in Foundation in Empire they mentioned Corellia right - is that where Lucas got the planet name?

"Korell", in Foundation, in "Big and Small", alias "Merchant Princes".

 

[Al Jackson]

Has anyone made the comparison? Thoughts?

You know , way back, when Star Wars was a hit there was an interview with Lucas , I think this was in Rolling Stone, where he mentioned reading Foundation , so the connection is explicit. Tho I don't know if Lucas ever said he borrowed from Foundation explicitly but it sure is implicit. Lucas said he had read other early science fiction (40s and 50s) (besides being a fan of Flash Gordon).
That shows too …. since a hallmark of SF space opera from 1938 onwards was a 'lived-in' look , domesticated super science, a nice feature of Star Wars. (After the first film seems Lucas was reluctant to mention the source material he borrowed from.)
To my eye SW's concept artist Ralph McQuarrie must have been fan of Kelly Freas and Ed Emshwiller, because all his works for the films sure follows concepts those artists invented in the 1950s.