In this morning’s roundup of Hollywood news ‘n’ notes from around the web, Han Solo escapes death, and evil ex-boyfriends line up.
Gary Kurtz, the producer of “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” tells Geoff Boucher about how and why he walked away from George Lucas’ saga 30 years ago, when it looked to him as if the toy business was beginning to drive the franchise. On the eve of his eagerly (and, to Lucas, nervously) awaited appearance at this weekend’s “Star Wars” convention in Florida, Kurtz says that he parted ways with Lucas over the storyline to the third film, “Return of the Jedi.”