A long time ago in an editing bay far, far away, Marcia Lucas (then the wife of writer/director George Lucas) helped take a somewhat jumbled collection of shots and storylines and crafted them into one of the most iconic science fiction films of all time. This, of course, was Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, originally titled simply Star Wars. And while George is still considered the mastermind behind what many believe to be a near-perfect film, some refer to Marcia as the “heart” who made it all come alive. Many film historians have explored the idea that editors are often underappreciated. A clip posted on the RocketJump YouTube page titled, “How Star Wars was saved in the edit” takes a look at editing and just how much Marcia was able to use her brilliant mind to make it all make sense. (She had helped do this with with many cinematic greats, including a few of George’s other films.) The clip explains that the movie didn’t test especially well a few months before it was released in May of 1977. “George Lucas invited some of his closest friends to watch a rough cut of his new film, Star Wars. In attendance, among a handful of people, were Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma. The response was…not good. According to Spielberg, this is how De Palma reacted—” The video then cuts to Spielberg speaking on the matter, doing an impression of De Palma: “What? This makes no sense! Nonsense!” The narrator continues that the movie needed help. “Sure you could point at the superficial problems with the rough cut such as placeholder VFX, stock footage, and unfinished sound and temp music. But the real issues were fundamental: the story, the scenes, the characters, the pacing.” Optimistically, he adds a bit of hope befitting for a movie with this title. “The film was not beyond saving because they say a film is written three times. First in the screenplay, next in production and finally, in the edit.” All three of these are exemplified through clips of dialogue and footage between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, as they hoist their glowing lightsabers into the air and begin to battle. Perhaps less hopeful, the clip makes it clear that, originally, all signs were pointing to failure. Enter Marcia Lucas to help save the day. She was not alone. Joining her on this editing challenge were Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch. “It was only due to their laborious editorial process, that Star Wars snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Their job was to rebuild a bloated first act, cut tons of unnecessary material, create clarity, tension, and drama in places that had none and restructure scenes and entire sequences to propel the story forward.” Ya know, just all that. The clip uses the original script, deleted scenes, and comparisons between the rough and final cuts to show just exactly what Marcia (and her fellow editors) were able to do. Opening crawl As mentioned, the film had issues from the jump. The famous opening crawl always existed, but in early drafts, the exposition “text” was much longer. According to the clip, it went well into the weeds about Republic Galactica, Siths, and the political climate of the Star Wars universe. (Think Phantom Menace…) “Brian De Palma was particularly brutal about the opening crawl. So George enlisted him and Jay Cox to rewrite it.” Luke Skywalker In earlier cuts of the film, the audience meets the lead protagonist, Luke Skywalker (as played charmingly by Mark Hamill) at a completely random time. He’s intercut into fight scenes, leaving many scratching their heads as to who this young man and his robot (who later become R2-D2) even are. In a 2019 piece discussing the edit, writer Jim Nelson shares his thoughts. “Marcia Lucas and her fellow editors crispened the first act by reordering scenes to better establish the story and get the audience involved. Since viewers are able to fill in blanks on their own, the reordering allowed for the removal of entire scenes, keeping the storyline brisk and taut.” He adds, quite poetically, that the power of the editor is not to be discounted. “Revising scene order is the author at her most godlike. She is rearranging the events of her dream world like a child building up and tearing down sand castle turrets. Scene reordering requires bold moves and wide peripheral vision. It’s not about word choice and tightening dialogue, it’s asking if each scene is in the right place at the right time—or even if it should be included at all.” Darth Vader Footage of the original scenes show Darth Vader discussing the Force before Obi-Wan does. Swapping out scenes in the edit meant that the audience had a buildup to Vader’s dramatic discussion through Obi-Wan’s philosophical explanation about “Vader’s seduction by the dark side of the Force.” In fact, Marcia and her team also cut unnecessary Vader and Jabba scenes. “You don’t need them. All they do is repeat the same information the audience already knows.” Instead, they “dubbed Greedo with an alien language and added subtitles” in the scene where Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is held at gunpoint. Definitely the droids they’re looking for The clip highlights a handful of other smaller changes that Marcia was able to fine-tune. In particularly poorly shot scenes (like one where Skywalker is flying with C-3PO) they cut to a wide shot and use dubbing for the dialogue. In another, they show how the editors were able to reverse many scenes, to create more clarity and suspense. One example given in the clip was a scene in which the Stormtroopers were searching for droids. They inserted a scene where C-3PO and R2-D2 were hiding, so the audience might feel nervous they’d be found. And one of the most crucial changes is the choice to cut to droids for more reaction shots. Marcia foresaw the effect that, especially R2, might have on the audience’s heartstrings and helped play that up. The Death Star Not to be forgotten in saving the film, was the entire finale. “The entire sequence is truly breathtaking and it’s a remarkable feat of editing. But it took a lot of work to get it there.” As we’re shown “star fighter jets” approaching, the VO explains, “As it was originally written, the cut of the Battle of Yavin went something like this: Gold Leader does a pass, he gets destroyed. Then Red Leader doesn’t run, just hits the surface. Luke does a run and also fails. Then he does another run and finally succeeds and Kaboom!” But that’s not what we saw. “Here’s the big difference. In that version, the Death Star wasn’t about to destroy the rebel base. This is where Marcia Lucas came in. The first thing she did was re-cut the trench run, basically from the ground up. This included removing Luke’s first run, but also more importantly including the idea that the Death Star was about to blow up the rebel base. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that every single piece of footage that has to do with this idea is being delivered with off-screen dialogue over inserts. Or by re-using footage from other scenes.” They use Marcia’s own words: “It was all editorially manufactured,” adding, “So why is this important? If there’s no threat to the rebels, then there’s no joy in the victory.” It takes a village It’s noted, especially for hardcore fans of the films, that of course it takes a village to make any great movie. Ben Burtt, the sound designer. John Williams, the composer. And of course, George Lucas for the unwavering vision and decades of loyalty and hard work. In a video essay posted on the Honeycutt Videos YouTube page, a man makes it clear that even Marcia herself gives most of the credit to George. But as noted by online movie reviewer Jim Gisriel’s “Marcia Lucas: The Heart of Star Wars,” mini YouTube documentary, he shares that Marcia is “the only Lucas to receive an Oscar for Star Wars…and the only editing Oscar the franchise ever received.” Take that as you will. To paraphrase C-3PO, Marcia saw the point, but suggested a new strategy. The post How Marcia Lucas saved Star Wars and shaped it into the classic we love appeared first on Upworthy.

Shortly after college, I spent a year substitute teaching. My degree was in Secondary Education, so I always worked in middle schools and high schools. But one day, I got a call to sub in a first-grade classroom for two days and thought, “Why not? I love little kids, too.” Ha ha. While the wee ones were at lunch on the first day, I sat at the teacher’s desk in a daze. I’d only been there a few hours and felt like I had run a marathon. First graders are a lot. Adorable for sure, but their energy, needs, conflicts, lack of attention spans, and propensity for distractions were so much more than I anticipated. Give first-grade teachers all the money, is what I’m saying. And give even more to Ms. Fernandez, a first-grade teacher who isn’t just wrangling her gaggle of youngsters, but molding them into smart, contributing human beings who know how to communicate. @.carolgiselle I’m huge on communication in my classroom and I truly believe even our youngest learners are capable of learning how to express themselves in meaningful ways. Today I modeled exactly how I teach communication skills in my classroom and getting to hear the students’ live reactions and feedback was honestly my favorite part. Moments like this remind me how important it is to give kids the space to use their voice. I really wish I had experiences like this when I was in school #TeacherTok #TeachersOfTikTok #ElementaryTeacher #ClassroomCommunity #LearnOnTikTok ♬ original sound – .carolgiselle Can you teach first-graders to engage in actual discourse? In a video shared on her TikTok, Ms. Fernandez shows how she teaches her students to engage in discourse during a lesson. We’re talking actual discourse, as in an exchange of ideas and discussion about a topic. In this case, the topic is whether watermelon slices are equal or unequal. As students answer Ms. Fernandez’s questions about the watermelons, she encourages them to either agree, respectfully disagree, or add on to the previous answer. She walks them through the language to use and praises them for communicating like older kids (and adults, but honestly, many grown-ups could use this lesson, too). Math is the curriculum. The discourse the students are engaging in is a skill Ms. Fernandez purposefully teaches her students, even though she technically doesn’t have to. @.carolgiselle One thing about my classroom… we celebrate EVERY voice I have a student who is usually very quiet and keeps to himself. Today, he answered a question correctly and before I could even respond, the class erupted with excitement for him This is the culture we work so hard to build every single day. In our classroom, students celebrate each other whether the answer is right or wrong because participation, courage, and using your voice matters too. Moments like this remind me that kids thrive where they feel safe, seen, and encouraged. #TeacherTok #TeachersOfTikTok #ClassroomCommunity #ElementaryTeacher #TeacherLife ♬ original sound – .carolgiselle What prompted this teacher to focus on communication skills “One thing I really noticed after COVID and with so much technology is that student voice and discourse started to struggle,” Ms. Fernandez tells Upworthy. “A lot of students forgot how to really talk to each other. They would talk over each other, yell across the room, or struggle with listening when someone had a different opinion. “Because of that, it became really important to me to intentionally teach my students what respectful conversations look like. I want them to know that it’s okay to have different ideas and opinions and that disagreement does not have to turn into disrespect. We can listen, respond, agree, disagree, and still move forward as a classroom community. “My goal is always to create a classroom atmosphere where students feel safe sharing their thoughts, engaging in conversations, and learning from each other. Those moments of discourse are about so much more than academics to me. They are life skills and relationship skills too, and seeing my students confidently communicate with each other in that way is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching.” Ms. Fernandez shared that hearing the students’ live reactions and feedback is her favorite part of the activity, adding, “I really wish I had experiences like this when I was in school.” @.carolgiselle One thing about my classroom… we LOVE a good callback Call and response, chants, and cheers are my go-to for getting attention fast while building classroom community. The key? PRACTICE at the beginning of the year until 100% of students respond every single time. It keeps the energy high, students celebrate each other, and transitions become so much smoother. Teachers… if you’re not using callbacks yet, start tomorrow. Trust me. #teachersoftiktok #teachertok #teacherlife #elementaryteacher #classroommanagement ♬ original sound – .carolgiselle Watch stellar teaching in action What makes good teaching so hard isn’t just the number of skills it requires, which is vast. It’s also the number of skills you’re actually trying to teach kids. Teaching isn’t merely following a curriculum and transferring knowledge, as if kids are empty vessels to be filled. It’s training them to be engaged learners and capable members of society, which requires a whole lot more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. It’s difficult to teach kids anything if you don’t have their attention. Ms. Fernandez uses various call-and-response chants and hand-clapping methods to get (and keep) her students’ attention. She makes classroom management fun, but she also expects 100% from her students, which is the ideal balance to strike. Running a tight ship while making learning enjoyable is the goal as joyful structure benefits everyone. Anyone who has spent a day or two in a first-grade classroom knows how impressive it is to manage a group of squirrelly 6-year-olds. Ms. Fernandez has raised the bar in the best way, elevating expectations of her students with examples and encouragement to bring out the best in them. You can follow Ms. Fernandez on TikTok here. The post Teacher shows her first graders engaging in ‘discourse’ in class, and honestly, bravo appeared first on Upworthy.

Starting a business is not easy, but it’s even harder when you don’t have a space to operate from. Marisa Mender-Franklin wanted to start her own business growing and selling her own flowers, but was lacking a space. That’s when she got creative. Mender-Franklin decided to post in her local “Buy Nothing Group” to see if anyone would be willing to allow her to borrow their yard. She got the idea after seeing how quickly one mom was able to get her son a French horn for band. But posting about wanting to borrow part of a stranger’s yard to start a business felt different and made her nervous. Flower shop worker holding flowers.Photo Credit: Canva The flower shop owner shares how the whole thing unfolded on the company’s Instagram page, Midtown Bramble, for the shop’s anniversary. “So five years ago today, I posted on my local buy nothing group, asking if anyone would let me grow flowers in their yards,” she shares. “Because I had this dream of being a flower farmer and owning an urban flower farm, but I didn’t own any land. Didn’t have a path to owning any land.” She explains that her post in the group disclosed that she was an elementary school art teacher and that she would be a good tenant. But after she posted, she got so nervous that she needed to take a walk to release some energy. She didn’t expect the response. Over 40 people responded within a week, offering space in their yards for her to grow flowers in exchange for weekly bouquets. Woman buying flowers in shop.Photo Credit: Canva “It was the middle of January, and in Memphis, the growing season starts April 1st, like you plant out April 1st,” Mender-Franklin explains. “So I had less than three months to build a farm. So, I very quickly went and evaluated all of these plots and started building the farm, and sold bouquet subscriptions because I needed to fund this in some way other than my credit card.” According to Mender-Franklin, people pre-purchased bouquet subscriptions before she had even planted flowers. It quickly turned into a community effort with neighbors collecting cardboard for the garden beds, some donating vases, and others volunteering to weed and plant. What started as someone with a dream taking a social risk turned into a beautiful show of community support. View this post on Instagram It’s been five years since the flower farmer bravely asked to borrow people’s yards. Now, Midtown Bramble has a storefront and several employees. The farm is operated out of nine yards and provides workshops, weddings, and events. Mender-Franklin says, “It’s been a wild ride. I always tell people we run on community. Well, community and La Croix, and an unhinged belief in our ability to figure it out, I suppose.” People working on a community garden.Photo Credit: Canva This story was something people needed to hear. One person commented, “This is exactly the kind of thing I needed to see today! You are so inspiring, thank you for sharing!” Another community-supported business owner shared, “This is amazing people are so good. I am a beekeeper and I live in a 700sqft apt. All on others land who just let us keep out bees there.” “I love this story soooo much!! Everyone wins! Your neighbours get pretty gardens, the bees get flowers and you get your flower shop,” someone else chimed in. People working in an urban garden.Photo Credit: Canva “Wow! Thank you for being such an inspiration and for having the courage to risk your vulnerability and ask and lean into community. This is literally the thing I needed to see to help me shift my energy,” another person offered. One commenter gushed, “This is the best thing I’ve heard in a long time! So happy for you and for your community!!!!” Someone else found courage after hearing the story, writing, “Thank you for this video!! It gave me the courage to ask a neighbor to garden her yard this week, and she said yes! I’m so excited to get started!” The post Woman starts successful business with a ‘buy nothing group’ and other people’s yards appeared first on Upworthy.

It’s safe to say any and all of us would like to save money on exorbitant gas prices these days. Whether that looks like staying at home, carpooling, or dusting off the ol’ bike, we’re all seeking creative ways to avoid bleeding our wallets dry at the pump. But running around in a hot-pink kiddie car? That wasn’t part of anyone’s plan. Except, of course, for Georgia-based handyman Mali Hightower, who’s made headlines for equipping a Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper with a two-gallon, one-piston engine nabbed from a power washer, essentially turning it into a fully operational, money-saving “mini car.” Not only did he rig his pimped-out princess car with a rack for transporting groceries, but he also installed lights and a tablet for maps and music. One pull of the rip cord and he’s off—and as long as he stays off the highway, local cops haven’t taken issue. On average, gas currently costs around $4.50 per gallon. If Hightower were to fill up either of his regular cars—a minivan and a Mercedes convertible—it would cost him $60. Compare that to the measly $3 he needs to fill up the Barbie car. “Gas is getting too high, so I gotta do what I can,” he told CBS Evening News while cheekily asking for $1 on pump six.   In praise of pink fuel efficiency While folks online marveled at Hightower’s ingenuity, most were simply thrilled that he jaunted across town in a toy marketed to little girls without any hesitation:  “The fact that he could have spray-painted it, but chose to leave it a Barbie car is hilarious  I want one!” “Love a smart, innovative, confident man who isn’t afraid to move about in a little pink Barbie car.” “That is a man secure in his masculinity.” The rising cost of gas has prompted many people to rethink how they get around Some have started organizing neighborhood ride-shares for errands and school pickups. Others have traded four wheels for electric bikes and scooters on shorter trips. Social media has also become packed with tips for stretching every gallon a little farther, from planning errands along one route to avoiding excessive idling. There are also people taking DIY approaches into their own hands. Similar to Hightower’s approach, some drivers have experimented with alternative transportation methods, such as using golf carts or switching to older, used, more fuel-efficient cars like sedans, wagons, and hatchbacks. However, those ideas stay a little closer to the—shall we say—traditional side of transportation, while Hightower’s Barbie creation sits in a category all its own. Yes, it tackles a real frustration, but it also infuses a bit of joy. View this post on Instagram Hightower may have started with the practical need to spend less at the pump, but he ended up delivering something we all seem to be craving just as much right now: a reason to smile. Even when stress seems to lurk around every corner, creativity still has plenty of mileage left in it. And Hightower’s souped-up Barbie car is delightful proof of that. The post Clever Georgia handyman turns pink Barbie camper into a gas-saving mini vehicle appeared first on Upworthy.

When you look at Earth from space, it looks like a big blue marble. But if you zoom in, most of that marble is in motion. Our planet’s oceans aren’t just moving in tidal waves, but in layers of currents beneath the ocean’s surface that we can’t see. Only now we can see them, or at least a visualization of them based on NASA data. And not only is it educational, but it’s artistically beautiful as well. Check out the Vincent van Gogh-esque visual of Earth’s “underwater highways” and enjoy seeing our world in a whole new way: Watching the Earth’s ocean currents move NASA used a model called Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, or ECCO, to create the visualization. Senior research scientist Josh Willis explains what we’re looking at as the white and blue swirls move around the planet: “All of this movement starts with physics. Because the Earth is spinning, the water feels something called the Coriolis effect. This pushes some of the strongest currents, like the Gulf Stream and the East Australian Current, against the east side of the continents. Because these currents wind up on the west side of the ocean basins they sit in, scientists call them western boundary currents. In this visualization, the currents closer to the surface are white, and the deeper currents are blue, almost like you’re seeing those deep currents through the top layer of water.” But as cool as the visual is, it does have some limitations. Earth’s ocean currents, visualized by NASA. (Photo credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) “This visualization makes it easy to see how the ocean moves water across the planet,” says Willis. “But what’s hard to see are the places where the water moves up or down. This is called upwelling or downwelling. When upwelling brings cold, deep nutrients into the sunlight near the surface, it creates a feeding ground for all sorts of ocean life.” The global ocean conveyor belt circulates heat and salt Not only does the movement of ocean currents support ocean life, but it also regulates climate all over the world. Currents circulate salt and heat in what’s called the “global conveyor belt.” Without it, we’d see more dramatic temperatures and droughts in various parts of the world. “But the oceans do more than just move heat around,” Willis explains. “In some places, they absorb heat from the sun, and in others, they release it back to the air. We can see that in the Gulf Stream, yet another part of the ocean’s conveyor belt, the Gulf Stream starts in the tropics, where the water is very warm. As it drags warm water up the east coast of North America, it acts like a heater for the atmosphere. By the time this water has wandered across the Atlantic and wrapped around Europe, Iceland, and Greenland, it’s gotten so cold that it sinks deep into the North Atlantic Ocean.” Salinity also plays a role in the conveyor belt. Saltier water sinks. Less salty water rises. Temperature and salinity work together to move water up or down. What if the oceans stopped circulating? Seeing this visualization and how the oceans’ currents work as a system affecting the whole planet raises a question. What if those currents stopped? It’s not an unreasonable question. Scientists have feared the effects of global warming on ocean currents for some time, with concerns focused on the North Atlantic. However, research reported by Yale in 2023 also turned attention to the Southern Ocean. As ice melts in Antarctica, adding an influx of fresh water into the ocean, changes in salinity risk disrupting currents. Because all oceans are connected, a disruption in one could affect them all, leading to circulation collapse. Antarctic ice melts into the Southern Ocean. (Photo credit: Canva) The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the main ocean current in the Atlantic, is of prime concern. In November of 2025, Iceland declared the risk of AMOC collapse a national security threat, and if it happens, we’re looking at drastic, catastrophic changes in climate across much of the world. “I have personally researched this for 35 years,” Stefan Rahmstorf, a physical oceanographer at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, told Yale 360. “For the first 30 years we considered this a low likelihood event — I would have said a 5 percent chance of occurring. It’s more like 50/50 now. I would even say more likely than not.” Of course, models are constantly creating possible scenarios, which change as more real-time data is put into them. No one knows for sure what will happen, but trying to stem the tide (pun intended) of human influence on climate change is something we can do to reduce the possibility of a worst-case scenario. The post NASA visualization of Earth’s ‘underwater highways’ feels like Van Gogh meets ocean science appeared first on Upworthy.