Does the trope that Star Wars and Apple are a joint metaphor for the last half century have anything going for it? Mebbe.
On 2 August 2018 Apple became the first American public listed company to reach a market value of $1 trillion.
On 2 August 1972, George Lucas’s “American Graffiti” premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. Star Wars would make a lot of money but it is worth recalling that “Graffiti” remains one of the most profitable films of all time, a $777,000 budget returning over $200 million.
From graffiti to cartoons, Lucas would sell Pixar for $5 million to Steve Jobs a decade and a bit later. Meanwhile, “Graffiti” was produced by Francis Ford Coppola, who was yet to direct “Godfather”.
For those with long memories, Harrison Ford got a bit part in “Graffiti” and then a carpentry job expanding Francis Ford Coppola’s office. The latter gave him a couple of bit parts including as “G Lucas” in “Apocalypse Now”. A half century later, Ford is having his TV debut with Apple TV’s “Shrink”.
