Editing American Graffiti (section)

===Casting===
The film's lengthy casting process was overseen by [[Fred Roos]], who worked with producer Francis Ford Coppola on ''The Godfather''.<ref name=DVD/> Because ''American Graffiti'''s main cast was for younger actors, the casting call and notices went through numerous high-school drama groups and community theaters in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].<ref name=personal/> Among the actors was [[Mark Hamill]], the future [[Luke Skywalker]] in Lucas's ''Star Wars'' trilogy.<ref name=change/>

Over 100 unknown actors auditioned for Curt Henderson before Richard Dreyfuss was cast; George Lucas was impressed with Dreyfuss's thoughtful analysis of the role,<ref name=personal/> and as a result, offered the actor his choice of Curt or Terry "The Toad" Fields.<ref name=change/> Roos, a former casting director on ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'', suggested Ron Howard for Steve Bolander; Howard accepted the role to break out of the mold of his career as a child actor.<ref name=personal>Hearn, pp. 56–57</ref> Howard would later appear in the very similar role of [[Richie Cunningham]] on the ''[[Happy Days]]'' sitcom.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cj5LfIhSaoIC&pg=PA184|title=Last Season of Innocence: The Teen Experience in the 1960s By Victor Brooks|quote=Happy Days began airing only a few months after Graffiti came out, and much of the plotline revolved around Howard's character, Richie Cunningham, who was almost an exact clone of Steve in the film.|isbn=9781442209176|last1=Brooks|first1=Victor|year=2012|access-date=January 21, 2015|archive-date=June 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609084755/https://books.google.com/books?id=cj5LfIhSaoIC&pg=PA184|url-status=live| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield}}</ref> [[Bob Balaban]] turned down Terry out of fear of becoming typecast, a decision he later regretted. Charles Martin Smith, who, in his first year as a professional actor, had already appeared in two feature films, including 20th Century Fox's ''[[The Culpepper Cattle Co.]]'' and four TV episodes, was eventually cast in the role.<ref>{{Cite magazine|author=<!--Not stated--> |url=https://ew.com/article/2008/10/10/hardest-working-actors-showbiz/ |title=The Hardest Working Actors in Showbiz |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=October 17, 2008 |access-date=May 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425162334/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C20232072%2C00.html |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |url-status = live}}</ref>

Although Cindy Williams was cast as Laurie Henderson and enjoyed working with both Lucas and Howard,<ref>{{Cite interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aoyaaDcsCw |title=Cindy Williams on working with George Lucas on "American Graffiti" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG|date=August 7, 2013|interviewer=Amy Harrington|publisher=
FoundationINTERVIEWS|publication-date=January 27, 2016|via=YouTube |access-date=August 3, 2019 |archive-date=February 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224155038/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aoyaaDcsCw |url-status=live }}</ref> the actress hoped she would get the part of Debbie Dunham, which ended up going to Candy Clark.<ref name=DVD/> [[Mackenzie Phillips]], who portrays Carol, was only 12, and under California law, producer Gary Kurtz had to become her legal guardian for the duration of filming.<ref name=change>Baxter, pp. 124–128</ref> For Bob Falfa, Roos cast [[Harrison Ford]], who was then concentrating on a carpentry career. Ford agreed to take the role on the condition that he would not have to cut his hair lest he be offered other movie or TV roles set in the "present day" of the 1970s. The character has a flattop in the script, but a compromise was eventually reached whereby Ford wore a [[Stetson]] to cover his hair. Producer Coppola encouraged Lucas to cast Wolfman Jack as himself in a [[cameo appearance]]. "George Lucas and I went through thousands of Wolfman Jack phone calls that were taped with the public," Jack reflected. "The telephone calls [heard on the broadcasts] in the motion picture and on the soundtrack were actual calls with real people."<ref name=title/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2023/8/24/23843170/american-graffiti-anniversary-50-years-rerelease-george-lucas-harrison-ford-wolfman-jack | title=50 years ago, 'American Graffiti' showed '70s audiences a simpler time | date=August 24, 2023 }}</ref>