While many in the mainstream entertainment press have been mourning the loss of Leslie Nielsen — who starred in Superhero Movie in one of his last mainstream roles — a geek icon has also passed this morning.
Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, died this morning after a long illness at the age of 87, according to Empire. He had been struggling with “a long illness,” which was not further elaborated upon.
In addition to Empire Strikes Back, Kershner also directed the James Bond film Never Say Never Again and Robocop 2.
Kershner’s contributions to the pop culture landscape are not always recognized, so give the man a moment of silence while you watch this bit of Star Wars history in the making:
November 29th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Did Kershner ever comment on the way George Lucas went back and meddled with the editing on Empire in the 1990s? Lucas altered the pacing and timing of a major scene in the climax just to show how Vader traveled from the Sky City to his Star Destroyer and also had Luke scream when he dropped down the shaft, thereby making it look like an accident instead of a deliberate rejection of Vader. The scream was later taken out again. The original 1980 version of Empire is still the best version.
November 30th, 2010 at 12:27 am
You will be bound then shaved, then your hair will be fashioned into a burial toupee for Mr. Kershner. Afterward, Spader, you will only find work on Star Trek spin-offs.
November 30th, 2010 at 1:05 am
NO THATS IMPOSIBLE!
NOOOOOOoo!!!
*Falls into a pit*