Inside the Star Wars Empire: A Memoir

by Bill Kimberlin

Bill Kimberlin may refer to himself as “one of those names on the endless list of credits at the close of blockbuster movies.” In reality though, he’s a true insider on some of the most celebrated and popular movies and franchises of the past century. Jurassic Park. Star Trek. Jumanji. Schindler’s List. Saving Private Ryan. Even Forrest Gump. And perhaps most notably, Star Wars.

Inside the Star Wars Empire is the very funny and insightful tell-all about the two decades Kimberlin spent as a department director at LucasFilm Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the special effects studio founded by the legendary filmmaker George Lucas.

• ISBN10: 1493032313
• ISBN13: 9781493032310
• Publish Date: 1 March 2018 (first published 1 February 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Imprint: The Lyons Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Inside the Star Wars Empire: A Memoir from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Described as a memoir with juicy details about the countless blockbusters from Lucas Films, Inside the Star Wars Empire is by and about a man named Bill Kimberlin. He’s worked in the industry for years, and there’s little doubt that he’s picked up libraries worth of information about the field and the people in it.
Unfortunately I feel that this novel was marketed incorrectly; I was given the impression that I would be reading heavily about the behind the scenes for several movies (most obviously Star Wars, thanks to the title of the book) but what I received was a memoir about one man and some of the experiences he had while working on those films. I would argue that the novel is wholly a memoir, and barely a behind the scenes peek.
Maybe I’m being just a bit unfair there, as I was really looking forward to getting a behind the scenes look from somebody that spent years in the industry. I couldn’t wait to hear all of the funny stories, quirks, and tricks that went on behind the scenes for Star Wars and Jurassic Park (to name a couple). I felt pretty letdown with the product that was handed to me because of this.
Frankly, I would have been ok with that had the structure of this book been a bit more manageable. I’m the first one to fess up and say that I can easily get confused with different time periods and dates, so reading a novel where they’re constantly jumping around in time, talking about real world events left me lost and confused. I felt like half of what I was reading was lost due to my trying to figure out where in the timeline everything fit.
I do feel that Bill Kimberlin is an interesting man, and he certainly has a lot to say and share with us, but I also feel this novel could have used another round of editing. Just a bit more to make it more user friendly, so to speak. It could also benefit from a change in title (or marketing/description), since it is somewhat misleading at present.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks