J. W. Rinzler has authored over 20 books, three New York Times bestsellers, and a London Times bestseller, including The Making of Star Wars, The Complete Making of Indiana Jones, and the #1 best-selling graphic novel The Star Wars. His books have been translated into seven languages, with more than 600,000 copies in print. A prolific writer who worked closely with George Lucas for 15 years, he was the executive editor at Lucasfilm until 2016. Known for his meticulous research, Rinzler is adept at bringing behind-the-scenes dramas to life.
He wrote and directed the animated short Riddle of the Black Cat, which was featured in several festivals, including the Montreal World Film Festival.
His The Making of Planet of the Apes was released in October 2018. The Making of Alien came out in 2019 and won Best Foreign Translated Work on Cinema, as chosen by the Syndicat Français de la Critique de Cinéma, in France. His next film book is The Making of Aliens (Sept. 2020) -- and his first novel, ALL UP, is due out in July 2020.
Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, J. W. Rinzler grew up in New York City & Berkeley; he is married, has two adult daughters and one grandson (so far), and lives on the northern California coast.
He wrote and directed the animated short Riddle of the Black Cat, which was featured in several festivals, including the Montreal World Film Festival.
His The Making of Planet of the Apes was released in October 2018. The Making of Alien came out in 2019 and won Best Foreign Translated Work on Cinema, as chosen by the Syndicat Français de la Critique de Cinéma, in France. His next film book is The Making of Aliens (Sept. 2020) -- and his first novel, ALL UP, is due out in July 2020.
Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, J. W. Rinzler grew up in New York City & Berkeley; he is married, has two adult daughters and one grandson (so far), and lives on the northern California coast.
Testimonials
"There are simply no adequate words to describe my gratitude for the masterful editing of my rambling memoirs & stories into this book I now hold in my hand." -- Roger Christian, Academy Award winner and author of "Cinema Alchemist"
"I am indebted first and foremost to J. W. Rinzler for having faith that I could pull this off. He is a true guru of these type of books. His guidance and insight were invaluable." -- Brandon Alinger, author of "The Costumes of Star Wars: The Original Trilogy"
"Jonathan Rinzler always had words of encouragement whenever I was feeling overwhelmed and pessimistic about being able to finish on time. As I got busier and busier during the final months of postproduction on Episode III, he did a huge amount of work to help get the book done." -- John Knoll, co-president of Industrial Light & Magic, co-creator of Photoshop, and author of "Creating the Worlds of Star Wars"
"Jonathan's extensive research and interviews have added so much to the story of my life. After reading what Jonathan has written I feel like I know my life better than before. That probably sounds strange, but the way Jonathan has combined my stories with the stories of my crew members, reviews of the the films, and with articles written at the time, he has shown a whole different point of view." -- Rick Baker, Academy Award winner and subject of "Rick Baker: Metamorphosis"
"There are simply no adequate words to describe my gratitude for the masterful editing of my rambling memoirs & stories into this book I now hold in my hand." -- Roger Christian, Academy Award winner and author of "Cinema Alchemist"
"I am indebted first and foremost to J. W. Rinzler for having faith that I could pull this off. He is a true guru of these type of books. His guidance and insight were invaluable." -- Brandon Alinger, author of "The Costumes of Star Wars: The Original Trilogy"
"Jonathan Rinzler always had words of encouragement whenever I was feeling overwhelmed and pessimistic about being able to finish on time. As I got busier and busier during the final months of postproduction on Episode III, he did a huge amount of work to help get the book done." -- John Knoll, co-president of Industrial Light & Magic, co-creator of Photoshop, and author of "Creating the Worlds of Star Wars"
"Jonathan's extensive research and interviews have added so much to the story of my life. After reading what Jonathan has written I feel like I know my life better than before. That probably sounds strange, but the way Jonathan has combined my stories with the stories of my crew members, reviews of the the films, and with articles written at the time, he has shown a whole different point of view." -- Rick Baker, Academy Award winner and subject of "Rick Baker: Metamorphosis"
Complete List of Books Published (chronologically)
2005
The Making of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (Random House); New York Times bestseller
The Art of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (Random House)
2006
The Art and Making of Monster House (Insight Editions)
2007
The Making of Star Wars (Random House); New York Times bestseller
2008
The Complete Making of Indiana Jones (Random House; UK edition, Ebury Press); London Times bestseller
2009
Indiana Jones and the Mystery of Mount Sinai (Scholastic)
The original title to this one was "The Monsters of Mount Sinai." The title was referring to the ancient titan-like monsters Indy meets in the book's finale. Anyway, this was my first fiction job and was a lot of fun, if also a lot more work than I thought it'd be. A fellow-Petaluma-ian -- Greg Knight -- did a great illustration for the cover. As Indy fans have noted, the bad guy with the mechanical arm was inspired by the original concepts for the Nazi villain in Raiders of the Lost Ark. For more details, you can always read The Complete Making of Indiana Jones.
2010
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back (Random House); nominated for Kraszna-Krausz book award
The Sounds of Star Wars (Chronicle Books)
2011
Star Wars: The Blueprints (Epic Ink, Deluxe Edition); trade edition (47North, 2013)
2013
The Making of Return of the Jedi (Random House); nominated for Kraszna-Krausz book award
The Making of Star Wars; The Making of The Empire Strikes Back; The Making of Return of the Jedi—enhanced eBook versions; finalists in the 2014 Digital Book awards; top honors in the 2013 Best of iTunes list
Star Wars Storyboards: The Prequel Trilogy (Abrams Books)
2014
The Star Wars (Dark Horse Comics); #1 New York Times bestseller; Diamond Gem Award for Best Licensed Comic Book of the Year
Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy (Abrams Books)
Riddle of the Black Cat: An Illustrated Edgar Allan Poe Interpretation (Rinzler Productions)
2016
The Making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with co-author Mark Cotta Vaz (canceled)
2018
The Making of Planet of the Apes (Harper Design)
2019
The Making of Alien (Titan Books)
Rick Baker: Metamorphosis (Cameron Books)
2020
The Making of Aliens (Titan Books, September)
ALL UP (Permuted Press, July)
Rinzler's books have garnered over 1,500 FIVE STAR REVIEWS on Amazon.
Color study of George Lucas in the Cantina by Paul Oxborough (Rinzler is in background, making a drink)
Star Wars and Indiana Jones books edited by J. W. Rinzler
(selected titles only)
The Cinema of George Lucas, by Marcus Hearn
Creating the Worlds of Star Wars, by John Knoll (co-author)
Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars, by Trisha Biggar
Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop, by Lorne Peterson
Jedi Quest Scholastic series, by Jude Watson
The Last Jedi Scholastic series, by Jude Watson
Boba Fett Scholastic series, by Elizabeth Hand
Star Wars: Visionaries (a graphic novel), by the Episode III concept artists
Star Wars Year-by-Year: A Visual Chronology, by Ryder Windham, Dan Wallace, and Pablo Hidalgo
The Ultimate Guide to Indiana Jones, by James Luceno
The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones, by Anthony “Indy” Magnoli and Jenna Land Free
Indiana Jones, Scholastic Junior Novelizations, by Ryder Windham (Raiders and Last Crusade), Jim Luceno (Crystal Skull), and Suzanne Weyn (Temple of Doom)
Star Wars Original Trilogy, Scholastic Junior Novelizations, by Ryder Windham
Darth Vader and Son, by Jeffrey Brown
Vader’s Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown
Star Wars: Frames, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Visions, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Comics, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Illustration, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Concept, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Posters, by George Lucas
Star Wars: The Complete Vader, by Ryder Windham and Pete Vilmur
The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, by Frank Parisi and Gary Scheppke
Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, by Rob Smith
Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Innovation, by Pamela Glintenkamp
Star Wars and History, edited by Nancy R. Reagin and Janice Liedl
Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy, by Brandon Alinger
The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, by Phil Szostak
Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie, by Brandon Alinger, David Mandel, Wade Lageose
And many others…
(selected titles only)
The Cinema of George Lucas, by Marcus Hearn
Creating the Worlds of Star Wars, by John Knoll (co-author)
Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars, by Trisha Biggar
Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop, by Lorne Peterson
Jedi Quest Scholastic series, by Jude Watson
The Last Jedi Scholastic series, by Jude Watson
Boba Fett Scholastic series, by Elizabeth Hand
Star Wars: Visionaries (a graphic novel), by the Episode III concept artists
Star Wars Year-by-Year: A Visual Chronology, by Ryder Windham, Dan Wallace, and Pablo Hidalgo
The Ultimate Guide to Indiana Jones, by James Luceno
The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones, by Anthony “Indy” Magnoli and Jenna Land Free
Indiana Jones, Scholastic Junior Novelizations, by Ryder Windham (Raiders and Last Crusade), Jim Luceno (Crystal Skull), and Suzanne Weyn (Temple of Doom)
Star Wars Original Trilogy, Scholastic Junior Novelizations, by Ryder Windham
Darth Vader and Son, by Jeffrey Brown
Vader’s Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown
Star Wars: Frames, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Visions, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Comics, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Illustration, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Concept, by George Lucas
Star Wars Art: Posters, by George Lucas
Star Wars: The Complete Vader, by Ryder Windham and Pete Vilmur
The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, by Frank Parisi and Gary Scheppke
Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, by Rob Smith
Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Innovation, by Pamela Glintenkamp
Star Wars and History, edited by Nancy R. Reagin and Janice Liedl
Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy, by Brandon Alinger
The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, by Phil Szostak
Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie, by Brandon Alinger, David Mandel, Wade Lageose
And many others…
