Mini Biography: A graduate of the University of Southern California film school, Irvin Kershner began his career in 1950, producing documentaries for the U.S. Information Service in the Middle East. He later turned to television, directing and photographing a series of documentaries called "Confidential File." Kershner was one of the directors given his first break by producer Roger Corman, for whom he shot Stakeout on Dope Street (1958). The main theme that runs through many of Kershner's films is social alienation and human weaknesses - although his biggest commercial success was the sci-fi blockbuster Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).