WALTON AND ALLAN: MOVIE MAKERS WHO ALMOST WEREN’T.

Walton and Allan were young movie makers. In fact both thought of making movies almost as soon as they began to walk. So by the time they hit their twenties, after years of playing with their parent’s movie cameras, they set out to purse their dream.

Now they didn’t know each other initially, but Walton was invited to Allan’s house one night to watch a short movie that Allan had produced, and though he only planned to stay a few minutes, he ended staying the entire time. So impressed he with young Allan’s unique style that they became instant friends. Now it must be mentioned that Walton was only two years older and not well known himself, but he had at least some experience in the industry which young Allan had little. Anyway, that would eventually change.

Now, shortly after that Walton got his big break. He contracted to direct a movie that he had written, and the budget was huge--the biggest Twentieth Century Fox had ever paid for a movie. It was not the kind of budget that a major movie studio would risk on a new, young director like Walton, but for some inexplicable reason they took a chance. The down side, and Walton fully knew the consequences, if this movie failed at the box office he would be washed up as a director, and a movie producer. Almost as soon as he finished it, he began to fret over it. He could see the disaster coming, a train wreck of monumental proportions that could not only ruin him, but be a blow that even Twentieth Century Fox might not be able to withstand. 

He began questioning himself. Why had he ever thought to make a high dollar “soap opera” for the big screen? It was absolutely insane. In the weeks leading up to the release he became even more tense and reclusive till one day Allan, seeing his friend’s suffering, suggested that both families go to Hawaii for the weekend of Walton’s movie release. Someplace where he wouldn’t have to witness the fall out.

Allan already knew about “fallout”. Two years before he produced a high dollar movie that became a nightmare. The actors involved hated it and bad mouthed it to the press. The technology he tried to use didn’t work and the budget soared out of control.   

So they packed up their families and went to Hawaii. For the entire weekend they watched no TV, read no newspapers, they didn’t even listen to the radio. Just the sand and the beach and a few hours away from what Walton was sure would be a disaster.

To keep his mind busy Allan suggested another movie idea, and maybe they could make it together once the smoke had cleared: an adventure movie and maybe they could even get Tom Selleck to play the lead (who was currently filming Magnum PI).

When Walton’s movie was released he had no way of knowing what was happening in Hollywood. His movie set records for the highest-grossing opening weekend and the fastest to gross $1 billion ever. When he heard the news he could hardly believe it. The success of that one movie catapulted him in to the stratosphere of movie makers and directors. And Allan’s movie disaster, became a huge hit movie as well.

And though you may not recognize Walton’s name, which is his middle name. You might recognize his full name--GEORGE WALTON LUCAS and the movie he was sure would fail, his space soap opera (as he called it)--was none other than the epic ”STAR WARS”.

And though you might not recognize Allan’s name (which is actually his middle name) , you will likely recognize his full name STEVEN ALLAN SPIELBERG and his near career ending movie was--“JAWS”.

But that is not all. The movie that Walton and Allan finally made together, whose beginnings actually took place that weekend on the beach in Hawaii was “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK”. and though Tom Selleck never became Indiana Jones; Harrison Ford who actually began his Hollywood career as a carpenter on the Star Wars set, did.

Now there is a moral to this story. I heard it once said that if you’re going to fail at something, it is better to fail and something you like, than to succeed at something you hate. Sometimes that can be scary, but what if George and Steven had given up? I believe the people who are the happiest...are the ones who try for what makes them happy, regardless of how difficult it may be, or if in the end... they fail, because it is the pursuit of a dream that is the most valuable.

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