Han Solo didn’t give a f**k!
With The Last Jedi casting a Death Star-sized shadow on the box-office, it’s clear that the power of the Dark Side Star Wars is here to stay.
Truth be told, very few films can top George Lucas’ epic saga in terms of love, devotion, and its impact on popular culture. Since the release of A New Hope in 1977, new generations of film fans continue to fall in love with Luke, Leia, Han, Darth Vader and everyone else in the galaxy that’s far, far away – apart from the Ewoks, Jar Jar, and Hayden Christensen’s acting obviously – but things could have been so different.
The filming of A New Hope is the stuff of Hollywood legend as the shoot was plagued with issues.
Given his shy nature, George Lucas frequently didn’t talk with his actors but that was the least of his concerns. The early footage of the special effects was appalling and the crew was even laughing at how bad the production was.
Aliens, robots, rookie actors, and an English bodybuilder (David Prowse) that nobody could hear because he’s hidden under the world’s largest helmet were just some of the issues.
Then we get the script. As Harrison Ford famously said, “George, you can type this shit, but you can’t say it!” – Lucas got the last laugh though when he was nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Oscars.
On that point, it’s worth remembering that Carrie Fisher also helped rewrite parts of the dialogue.
Anyways, all of the above contributed to a fairly tense set because plenty of questions remained unsolved. During production on A New Hope, a journalist from the BBC came to interview Ford. When asked what the film was about, Ford’s answer is almost like it’s lifted directly from Han Solo’s mouth.
As reported by Empire in their recent Star Wars edition, Ford says: “This guy came to interview me from the BBC. I walked off the set at lunchtime and he said: ‘What’s this picture all about?’ and I sat there with this microphone in my face and realised I didn’t know what the fucking picture was about.”
You have to love Harrison Ford, the most beloved scruffy looking nerf herder in the galaxy.
