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Privately, however, Guinness had dismissed the script to friends as “fairy tale rubbish” before accepting the part for which he will forever be best remembered. He only did so after 20th Century Fox agreed to his demand that they double the initial offer ($150,000) and — rather ingeniously — tack on 2 percent of the backend grosses, with Lucas throwing in another .25 percent as a goodwill gesture once filming had wrapped.
On June 3: “Am pinning my hopes on Star Wars percentage which could bring me £100,000 or more if it does Jaws business, as predicted.”
The film..., grossing over $300 million in its initial release — earning Guinness more than $7 million immediately ($33 million today) and an estimated $95 million by the time of his death in 2000 at 86. Despite that unheard-of salary for what amounted to 20 minutes of screen time, Guinness was reluctant to come back for a sequel.