Subject:
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Re: next year
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.starwars
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Date:
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Sat, 4 Nov 2000 07:11:09 GMT
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Viewed:
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2776 times
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In lugnet.starwars, Adrick Tolliver writes:
> > Don't get me wrong I like Zahn's storys but I also like Anderson's. They both
> > do stupid things but what can you expect from anyone other than Lucas himself.
> > Of coure Courscant was Zahn's idea
>
> Well, not really. A city covered planet just like Courscant appered in
> Isaac Asimov's Foundion books back in the 50's. He "invented" blasters for
> his books too.
>
> Adrick
Hope you don't mind me jumping in. There is some evidence that Coruscant, the
City Planet, appeared in Leigh Brackett's story conference notes for the first
draft of Empire in 1977. The City Planet was one of her favorite motifs, and
young Zahn certainly inherited it. It was perfect for Lucas, whose planets are
all exaggerated monocultures! (Until Naboo that is.)
As to who first used the city planet idea. Leigh Brackett touched on the idea in
her 1951 Starmen of Llyrdis, but only briefly. This is the same year that
Foundation came out in hardback from Gnome Press. (I don't have the exact dates
of Foundation's serialization.) I am always interested in earlier dates! Leigh
did more with the idea in her later Eric John Stark stories, long after Asimov
had made his fame and fortune.
So, it's likely that Asimov was the first to publish with the idea, but I'm
still combing Brackett for evidence. It's also possible that the idea was
invented by some author nobody remembers anymore.
In the decade before 1950, Isaac and Leigh were moving in different circles.
Most of Isaac's output went to the pretentious Astounding Stories magazine from
1940 where he was "discovered", while Leigh worked the lowlier pulps like Planet
Stories and Thrilling Wonder from the 30s onward. Today Leigh is best known for
Empire, and her other movie scripts like The Big Sleep and several John Wayne
movies. Of course everybody knows Asimov!
See:
1. "Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays", by Laurent Bouzereau, is the chief
source on the drafts of Empire.
2. The Best of Murray Leinster, which collects his stories from the 20s onward,
is a real eye-opener if you are looking for sf firsts. Great artists got them
here, and you know what great artists do!
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: next year
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| (...) But half the Star Trek movies had phaser bolts in stead of beams! (They were trying to copy Star Wars, I guess.) (...) Well, not really. A city covered planet just like Courscant appered in Isaac Asimov's Foundion books back in the 50's. He (...) (24 years ago, 4-Nov-00, to lugnet.starwars)
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