Howard the Duck (1986)
Estimated Budget: $37 Million
Gross: $37.9 Million
Director: Willard Huyck
Starring: Lea Thompson, Tim Robbins, Jeffrey Jones, Chip Zien
In 1986 George Lucas ruled the galaxy. The “Star Wars” trilogy and the “Indiana Jones” films had been enormous successes and had basically (along with “Jaws” and “E.T.”) created the idea of "The Blockbuster.” Fans waited with baited breath to see what he would do next. The announcement that he would produce longtime friend and screenwriting partner Willard Huyck's adaption of cult-comic “Howard the Duck” was met with some guarded optimism. Perhaps we would see a return of the Lucas who had made a striking Huxley-esque debut with “THX-1138,” or the Lucas who directed the wistful nostalgia with a rock ‘n’ roll sound track of “American Graffiti,” or the risk-taking Lucas of the first “Star Wars” film. (Consider the oddity of casting the film's handsome set carpenter, Harrison Ford, for the role of Han Solo. It's a gamble that obviously paid off for all parties involved, but can you imagine it happening now in modern focus-tested Hollywood?)
