"I wasn't trying to beat Star Wars," said director Irvin Kershner, who died Nov. 27 at 87. Nonetheless, Kershner surpassed George Lucas' 1977 space opera with his sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. Darker than its predecessor , Empire is acknowledged by many to be the tragic heart of the Star Wars trilogy. And while Kershner directed 14 other feature films over the course of his career, including the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again, Empire undoubtedly remains his ...

And so does George Lucas in the second of his Star Wars epics Well, it took them long enough, but here they come. All the old friends and some favorite enimies have returned to brighten up this unhappy spring. There's Luke Skywalker, that gee whiz kid from Tatooine, and there's Princess Leia, that cosmic mankiller. There are Han Solo and his furry 8-ft. friend Chewbacca trying to get their beat-up old tub, the Millennium Falcon, to make the jump into ...

One of the most encouraging developments to come out of the TIME/ABC News Summit on Obesity earlier this month was an emerging consensus among nutrition experts about what constitutes a healthy diet. Here, one of America's most prominent diet gurus summarizes key points of agreement. As a veteran of the diet wars, I think it's time to call a truce. Rather than hear experts argue, most people want practical information they can use. Significant points ...

The Force is definitely with Travis Ho. Like millions of computer-science students before him, the 19-year-old Singaporean's lifelong fantasy has been to work for Lucasfilm, the empire launched 30 years ago by George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. Ho, however, did not have to journey to a galaxy far, far away; Lucasfilm came looking for him. Eighteen months ago, the digital-art powerhouse launched its first overseas studio in Singapore. The 170 employees come from 33 nations, and together they ...

Ana Idolo may be too young to order her own food, but the 2-year-old knows what she wants. As her father Marco unpacks the Happy Meal he ordered for her at a Barcelona McDonald's, she ignores the chicken nuggets and French fries, and instead holds out her hand in eager anticipation for the best part of the meal: a small plastic statue of the Star Wars character Yoda. "Sometimes I think we just buy these for the toys," says ...

George Lucas didn't get to be a billionaire by delegating. Holding fast to his vision -- and his marketing rights -- for the "Star Wars" empire has made it the biggest franchise in history, and made Lucas one of the most powerful people in entertainment. But while he's enthusiastic about the new touring show "Star Wars In Concert," it wasn't his idea, and when I talked with him before the first Los Angeles performance this week, he kept giving ...