Mel Brooks reveals how George Lucas responded to Star Wars parody Spaceballs

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery but some might disagree when it comes to a parody of your famous work. Some might not respond well to their work of art being turned into a joke and this could be why writer and director, Mel Brooks, was worried about how George Lucas would react to his 1987 STAR WARS spoof, SPACEBALLS.

Brooks is a legend in his own right, having done films like BLAZING SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, but even legends get nervous, especially when you're doing a spoof of a cultural behemoth like STAR WARS. Brooks was nervous that Lucas might try to sue him even though his parody was protected under copyright law. Brooks told "Entertainment Weekly" "I was afraid to get sued by Lucas. I sent him the script and he said, 'it's fine." Brooks did reveal that there was one condition to doing SPACEBALLS and that had to do with merchandising:

"I wasn't allowed to do any merchandising…I wasn't allowed to do that. My deal with Star Wars was no action figures."

Even though profiting off of merchandising wasn't an option, Brooks said that Lucas ended being very supportive of the film and even offering up his company to work on effects:

"His company ILM did all the space effects and postproduction for us. And he was so complimentary about the picture. He said, 'take out the comedy and it really works as an adventure."

Even though SPACEBALLS was pretty popular with audiences, grossing $38.1 million at the domestic box office, it's not his greatest critical success. The film sits with a rotten rating of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes and probably isn't as well regarded by critics when compared to YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN or THE PRODUCERS but Brooks says he receives the most fan mail about SPACEBALLS but perhaps the best note on the film came from Lucas himself:

"Lucas wrote me a lovely note telling me how much he loved the picture. He said 'it's a dangerous comedy. He said 'I was afraid I would bust something from laughing.' Which is a lovely note."

Who doesn't love SPACEBALLS? It's one of my favorite comedies and it's cool to find out that George Lucas was such a good sport about it. Are YOU a fan of SPACEBALLS? Do YOU think it's Mel Brooks' best film?