the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant." In 1973, at approximately the same time as he began his collaboration with George Lucas, Kurtz formed his own company, Kinetographics, in San Rafael, California. Star Wars Kurtz continued his collaboration with Lucas on Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope), released in 1977. When principal photography began on Star Wars on March 22, 1976, in the Tunisian desert for the scenes on the planet Tatooine, the project faced several problems. Lucas fell behind schedule in the first week of shooting due to a rare Tunisian rainstorm, malfunctioning props, and electronic breakdowns. He also clashed with cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, BSC, whom Kurtz called "old-school" and "crotchety". Produced with a budget of $11 million and released on May 25, 1977, the film earned $460 million in the United States and $314 million overseas, surpassing Jaws as the nominal highest-grossing film and remaining that way until being surpassed by E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in 1982. When adjusted for inflation, it is the second highest-grossing film in the US and Canada and is the third highest-grossing in the world . Among the many awards the film received were ten Academy Award nominations, winning six; the nominations including Kurtz himself for Best Picture, and Alec Guinness for Best Supporting Actor. The film is often ranked among the best films of all time. In 1989, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant." The Empire Strikes Back Kurtz's final collaboration with Lucas, The Empire Strikes Back, was an expensive and difficult production. Records at Elstree Studios indicate that the movie took 175 shooting days, having been budgeted at 100, which forced Lucas to borrow $10 million to complete the film. Kurtz had to help direct along with David Tomblin, Irvin Kershner, Harley Cokeliss and John Barry (who died of meningitis during production) to bring the film in on even this revised schedule and budget. The actual completion of photography occurred a month after the film's 'wrap party' in late August 1979, which Kurtz and his wife hosted. Kurtz was actively involved from post production through its release in theatres in the US and the UK, but was replaced four weeks before filming wrapped by Howard Kazanjian. On Kurtz's parting of ways with