— Ch. 1 · Genesis And Development History —
American Graffiti.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
George Lucas sat in a Modesto, California diner during the early 1960s and watched teenagers cruise Main Street. He later explained that cruising was gone by the time he returned to film it, so he felt compelled to document the experience his generation used to meet girls. The project began as Another Quiet Night in Modesto while Lucas worked on THX 1138. Producer Francis Ford Coppola challenged him to write a script for mainstream audiences. Lucas hired Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz to co-write a fifteen-page treatment. They added semiautobiographical material about hot rod enthusiasts from Kustom Kulture in Modesto. Lucas pitched the idea to United Artists president David Picker at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. Picker gave him ten thousand dollars to develop the screenplay further. Universal Pictures eventually agreed to finance the film after every other major studio turned him down. The budget started at six hundred thousand dollars but grew to seven hundred seventy-seven thousand dollars once Coppola signed on.
Production Challenges And Filming
Principal photography commenced on the 26th of June 1972, in San Rafael, California. The production crew faced immediate resistance when the city council withdrew permission to shoot beyond a second day due to disruption of local businesses. A key member of the team had been arrested for growing marijuana, which added to the tension. Filming moved to Petaluma, California, where they shot without losing a single day of schedule. Paul Le Mat was sent to the hospital after an allergic reaction to walnuts during the process. Harrison Ford wore a Stetson hat to cover his flattop haircut because he did not want to cut his hair for potential future roles. Two camera operators nearly died while filming the climactic race scene on Frates Road outside Petaluma. Richard Dreyfuss suffered a gashed forehead when Le Mat threw him into a swimming pool just before close-up shots were scheduled. An actor set fire to Lucas's motel room one night. Principal photography concluded on the 4th of August 1972, using Techniscope cameras to achieve a documentary-like feel with half the film frame.