30 years ago in a galaxy far, far away.. THREE DECADES AFTER THE LAUNCH OF STAR WARS, HERE ARE THE FACTS BEHIND THE PHENOMENON ACCORDING to the famous opening credits, Star Wars happened a long time ago.

Byline: By Brian McIver

THREE DECADES AFTER THE LAUNCH OF STAR WARS, HERE ARE THE FACTS BEHIND THE PHENOMENON ACCORDING to the famous opening credits, Star Wars happened a long time ago. In fact, the iconic blockbuster is 30 years old this month. When the first film in the franchise was launched in 1977, it changed the course of cinema - and movie merchandising. To mark the birthday of one of the greatest films ever made, we present 30 things you never knew about the original Star Wars trilogy

1 Kurt Russell, Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, James Caan, Al Pacino and Burt Reynolds were all considered for the part of Han Solo, as was Billy Dee Williams, who went on to become Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back.

2 Sissy Spacek (the star of the horror film Carrie ) was an early choice for Princess Leia, as was Raiders Of The Lost Ark's Karen Allen. Spacek's Carrie co-star William Katt was in the frame to play Luke Skywalker before Mark Hamill won the part.

3 The original Star Wars was made for an EUR8million budget. The final entry in the series, 2005's Revenge Of The Sith, cost EUR113million.

4 The lightsaber sound effect comes from a 35mm movie projector running and a microphone creating feedback when placed next to a TV set.

5 Other bizarre sound effects included: the Tuskan Raider Sand People's cries, which were really braying mules; and the noise of Darth Vader crushing people's necks using The Force, which came from walnut shells being smashed.

Vader's breathing came from putting a small microphone in the mouthpiece of a scuba diving kit and recording the exhaling through the tube.

6 HARRISON Ford was never in the running but he helped pal Lucas out in casting sessions by reading the Solo part with potential Lukes or Leias. Lucas was so impressed, he chose Ford.

7 The Millennium Falcon spaceship was modelled on a hamburger with an olive sitting next to it to give the circular shape of the craft with the cockpit sticking out.

8 The Jawa language (Wootini) is a speeded version of the Zulu language, while bounty hunter Greedo's dialect is Peruvian language Quechua played in reverse. Ewoks speak a mixture of Filipino and tribal Chinese.

9 George Lucas's old film school teacher Irvin Kershner directed Empire, and he offered Return Of The Jedi to both David Lynch and David Cronenberg, who turned it down before he hired Welsh director Richard Marquand.

10 GEORGE Lucas felt Frank Oz gave such a great turn operating and voicing puppet Yoda he worked to get him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod... he failed.

11 GEORGE Lucas had such a traumatic time making Star Wars, including hospitalisation at one point, he vowed never to direct again. He only got back behind the camera 22 years later for 1999's Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

12 Lucas originally wrote the trilogy as one film, but when he realised it was unfilmable in one go, he split it into three parts and hoped he'd get the chance to make the final two parts if Star Wars was successful.

13 Universal and United Artists studios both turned down Star Wars before 20th Century Fox came on board - only with Lucas agreeing to take a bare minimum fee for writing/directing. He accepted the merchandise rights instead and cashed in beyond his wildest dreams when the toys took off.

14 The studio executives at Fox were so concerned about it being a flop they apparently considered selling their share in the film, or recycling the effects into a TV series, shortly before its release. Successful previews changed their minds and it went on to make almost EUR800million worldwide, saving the firm from bankruptcy at the time.

15 Green Cross Code man David Prowse played the evil Lord Vader, and did not know his voice was being overdubbed till later. The crew had apparently nicknamed him Darth Farmer because of his strong Bristol accent.

16 During the filming of Star Wars, Carrie Fisher had to have her breasts stuck down with gaffer tape because George Lucas wouldn't let her wear a bra under her white robe, claiming "there's no underwear in space".

17 During filming of the early scenes in Tunisia, which doubled for Luke's home planet Tattooine, the Libyan government complained about a large military vehicle being parked close to their border. Lucas was forced to relocate his Jawa sandcrawler vehicle further inland.

18 When Luke is training with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, he had to bump his head on his roof 16 times before the director was happy with the scene.

19 Originally known as just Star Wars, the first film was retitled Episode IV:A New Hope when it was re-released due to public demand. The chapter then led on to The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) and Return of the Jedi (VI).The prequel episodes I, II and III started being released 21 years later.

20 In the scene in The Empire Strikes Back when Han is about to be frozen in carbonite, Leia tells him "I love you." He was meant to say "Just remember that, Leia, because I'll be back," but Ford changed his response to "I know" because he felt it was more Han's style.

21 George Lucas was so worried about leaks to the Press that when Darth Vader tells Luke "I am your father," David Prowse was give the line "Obi Wan killed your father," to say on set. Only a handful of people, including Luke actor Mark Hamill, knew the truth, and the real line was only added later in secret by Vader voiceover star James Earl Jones.

22 Famous Star Wars mistakes include a Stormtrooper bumping his noggin on a door frame while running through the Death Star, as well as Mark Hamill calling Leia "Carrie" as he embraces her after the final battle success.

23 Return Of The Jedi's working title was Revenge Of The Jedi, but Lucas changed it at the last moment to fit in with the Jedi's ethos of not nurturing negative thoughts.

The film's production title was Blue Harvest, to throw off snoops and industry profiteers.

24 Actor Denis Lawson (the uncle of prequel star Ewan McGregor) played fighter pilot Wedge Antilles and was wrongly credited in both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back as "Dennis". They got it right for Return Of The Jedi.

25 Carrie Fisher's iconic slave girl costume in Return Of The Jedi was made in two materials - one in metal to fit her figure perfectly and another in rubber for stunt scenes when she had to move about or strangle Jabba.

26 The character of Chewbacca was based on George Lucas' childhood dog Indiana, an Alaskan Malamute, who also provided the nickname for Lucas and Steven Spielberg's hero archaeologist in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

27 According to Forbes magazine, the Star Wars series has made a total revenue of EUR20billion from brand sales and licensing deals as well as the huge box office takes.

28 Star Wars is the only film in the series to be put forward for the Best Picture Oscar.

George Lucas was also up for writing and directing, while Alec Guiness was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

29 PETER Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, delivered all of the Wookie's lines in English in order to help Harrison Ford and other actors. The lines were later overdubbed with his trademark growl, a mix of bears, lion and walrus roars.

30 IN the original versions of the trilogy, James Earl Jones never received a credit for providing the voice of Darth Vader because he did not want to be typecast. He was acknowledged when the Special Editions were released in 1997.

CAPTION(S):

MAY THE FOLKS BE WITH YOU: Fisher and Hamill as twins Leia and Luke; 6; 10; 11; 29; 30