The Bearded Trio

Sad news today as we learn Ann Brebner, Casting Director for George Lucas has died at the age of 93. Brebner, a native of New Zealan died Friday at her home in San Rafael, Calif., the Marin Independent Journal reported. She cast actors for such Lucas films as THX 1138 (1971), his first feature, and American Graffiti (1973), and the first dramatic reading of his screenplay for 1977's Star Wars came in her San Francisco office. Ann Brebner said about her meeting with George Lucas and the reading of the first draft of Star Wars: "In 1975, George called me to tell me he had completed writing a first draft of a movie [then known as] The Star Wars," she wrote in a letter that accompanied her copy of the script. "He asked whether I would arrange a reading of it. He brought me a script, we went through some ideas about casting, and I brought together a group of actors together. The reading took place in one of my conference rooms, in San Francisco in late August 1...