This would prove to be a blessing in disguise for George, who now had to create his own space world. George began shopping his own idea around to the studios. Disney thought it was violent. Nobody else really understood it. Twentieth Century Fox was one of the studios that didn't like the film, but was willing to take a risk because they wanted a relationship with George Lucas, who was seen as an up and coming director. They allocated a modest budget (too modest for a special effects extravaganza) and Mr. Lucas soon found himself trying to stretch the money he had to produce the film he envisioned.
Its lukewarm feelings towards the film led Twentieth Century Fox to make the biggest mistake in film history. Desperate to get more cash to finish his film, George Lucas made a deal with the studio- it would give Lucasfilm the merchandising rights so that they could be sold for more cash that could be injected into the movie. Fox saw it as a win-win; it would get a film with more elaborate effects without having to spend its own cash. If the film did poorly, the deal would minimize Fox's losses. Of course, the film was huge and its related merchandise was even bigger. Fox signed away billions to George Lucas.
In the end, Star Wars turned out to be much bigger than a George Lucas produced Flash Gordon ever would have been. It also gave George Lucas the money he needed to buy all trademarks, copyrights and related permissions for his creations from Fox. Ironically, it was the success of Star Wars that would finally give Dino De Laurentiis the push he needed to get the long gestating Flash Gordon project off the ground. His disastrously campy mess of a film would not be successful.
