Oscar-winning Star Wars editor Marcia Lucas dies aged 80

Marcia Lucas, the Oscar-winning exertion of the archetypal Star Wars film, has died aged 80.

Lucas, who was joined to Star Wars creator George Lucas during the making of the archetypal 3 films, was regarded arsenic a pivotal originative unit down the abstraction saga's aboriginal success, imbuing the archetypal bid with affectional extent and communicative clarity.

She died from metastatic crab astatine her location successful Rancho Mirage, California, connected Wednesday surrounded by loved ones, according to her family.

"Marcia was a force," her household said successful a connection to US media connected Friday. "A existent trailblazer for women successful movie and 1 of the astir influential editors successful cinematic history; she helped redefine what movie editing could be."

Lucas won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for 1977's Star Wars - aboriginal renamed A New Hope - alongside editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch.

Although her contributions mostly took spot down the scenes, her relation successful shaping the film's affectional bosom and communicative operation has been wide recognised successful the decades since its release.

George Lucas credited her with helping marque consciousness of the immense magnitude of footage filmed for the climactic Death Star conflict sequence.

"It was highly analyzable and we had 40,000 feet of dialog footage of pilots saying this and that," helium told Rolling Stone soon aft the film's release.

"Nobody truly has ever tried to interweave an existent crippled communicative into a dogfight, and we were trying to bash that."

Born Marcia Griffin successful Modesto, California, successful 1945, she began her vocation arsenic a movie librarian earlier becoming 1 of Hollywood's astir respected editors.

After marrying George Lucas successful 1969, she worked connected respective of his aboriginal films, including THX 1138 and American Graffiti - earning an Oscar information for the latter.

She besides collaborated with manager Martin Scorsese connected a drawstring of his acclaimed 1970s films including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver and New York, New York.

Lucas aboriginal returned to the Star Wars franchise, moving connected The Empire Strikes Back successful 1980 and Return of the Jedi successful 1983.

She and George Lucas adopted a daughter, Amanda, successful 1981. The mates divorced successful 1983 aft 14 years of marriage.

She aboriginal joined Tom Rodrigues, a accumulation manager astatine Skywalker Ranch, with whom she had a 2nd daughter, Amy.

Her household said successful its statement: "Her power connected movie is indelible, but those who knew her champion volition retrieve the mode she made beingness consciousness much vivid, much beautiful, much amusive and much afloat of love.

"Her enactment was known for its affectional intelligence, bushed and humanity - a uncommon quality to find the information of a country and bring heart, momentum and clarity to the screen."

"I emotion movie editing," Lucas erstwhile told a reporter, according to Lucasfilm.

"I person an innate quality to instrumentality bully worldly and marque it better, and to instrumentality atrocious worldly and marque it fair."

Paying tribute connected Saturday, Lucasfilm said it was "deeply saddened" to larn of her death, adding it "joins the planetary filmmaking assemblage successful mourning the nonaccomplishment of Marcia Lucas".

Meanwhile, Mark Hamill, who portrayed Star Wars protagonist Luke Skywalker, wrote that helium and his woman Marilou were "deeply saddened by the nonaccomplishment of our lifelong friend".

He added: "Not conscionable a gifted, innovative artist, she besides happened to beryllium a genuinely bully person. Smart, comic and conscionable plain amusive to beryllium around. Thankfully, her representation lives connected and we volition ne'er halt missing her."