134 - Inside the Movie Novelizations of the ’80s with James Kahn — Jedi, Goonies & Poltergeist

Update: 2025-09-09

Description

In this episode of The Filmumentaries Podcast, I talk with James Kahn, the novelist behind some of the most iconic movie novelizations of the 1980s, including Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Poltergeist. James shares how a chance encounter while working as an ER doctor in Santa Monica led him onto the set of ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, where he met Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg, an opportunity that set his writing career in motion. We discuss:

How James went from emergency medicine to Hollywood writer
His early break writing the Poltergeist novelization
The creative freedom Spielberg gave him on Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and others
Writing Return of the Jedi under intense secrecy — including how George Lucas gave him a decoy script where Luke kills the Emperor
Inventing backstory details that became “canon” for decades, like Ben and Owen being brothers and hints about Anakin’s fall into the lava pits
Giving Short Round his own chapter and exploring Mikey’s POV in The Goonies
How his books helped fans relive these films long before home video
Why a great novelization is about more than retelling a screenplay
His recent memoir, A Jedi Memoir: A Double Life, weaving together stories from Hollywood and emergency medicine

If you grew up with these books, this one’s packed with insights, behind-the-scenes stories, and moments of movie history you probably didn’t know. If you enjoy the show and want to help me keep making these conversations, please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon:

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This podcast is completely independent and made possible by listener support. If you’d like to help me keep making these episodes, you can join my Patreon community here: https://patreon.com/jamiebenning

Watch more on YouTube:
Check out the Filmumentaries YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes clips and extra content: https://youtube.com/filmumentaries

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