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Star Wars Prequels Movies

71-Year-Old Mark Hamill Interviewed, Remembers 1977 'Star Wars' Audition (cbsnews.com) 53

Posted by EditorDavid from the don't-get-cocky-kid dept.
Long-time Slashdot reader destinyland writes: CBS News interviewed 71-year-old Mark Hamill, who remembers that in his first audition for Star Wars, they didn't give him the whole script. So "I couldn't figure out, is this like a send-up of Flash Gordon or whatever? You couldn't tell. Because nobody talks like this!"

Hamill also does impressions of the other actors he worked with. "I was asking Harrison, because he had been in American Graffiti. I said, 'You know George. Is this like a joke, or — should we send it up, make fun of it?'" And then he mimics Harrison Ford as saying "Yeah, Whatever. Get it done." ("So he was no help.") Later Hamill also describes meeting Alec Guinness, who eventually had to remind Hamill to stop calling him "Sir Alec." ("I want to be known by my name, not my accolade...")

And after playing Mozart in the Broadway production of Amadeus, Hamill remembers the reaction when he'd suggested appearing in the movie adaptation. Director Milos Forman said, "Oh ho ho ho. No, no, no. The Luke Skywalker is not to be being the Mozart." (Hamill's reaction? "At least he's honest.")
There's a clip of Hamill doing voice-over work for the animated Batman series, and (about three minutes in) a quick clip from Mark Hamill's 1976 screen test with Harrison Ford. There's even a photo of Hamill's appearance in a 1971 episode of The Partridge Family. At the end of the interview, Hamill doesn't say whether or not he'll ever reappear in the role of Luke Skywalker again. "You never say never. I just don't see any reason to, let me put it that way. They have so many stories to tell, they don't need Luke any more."

But the interviewer points out that "if you find yourself in Ukraine during an air strike, you might hear Luke Skywalker's voice talking you down" -- since he also provides the voice for a warning app linked to Ukraine's air defense system.
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71-Year-Old Mark Hamill Interviewed, Remembers 1977 'Star Wars' Audition More

71-Year-Old Mark Hamill Interviewed, Remembers 1977 'Star Wars' Audition

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  • Apparently the early scripts were very different to the finished movie. There were whole sections removed, stuff that would have made it feel very different. I can see why he might have wondered if it was a send up or not.

  • My Hero (Score:5, Interesting)

    by allcoolnameswheretak ( 1102727 ) on Monday June 12, 2023 @04:55AM (#63594714)

    As the years have gone by, Mark Hamill has always been my hero.
    On the light side of the force.
    On the liberal side of politics.
    On the right side of history.

    Calling out the dark side and bullshit whenever it appears. Be it Trump, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, or the apologists who defend these people and agendas.

    • It's always been striking to me that most peoples 'hero' in that movie was Han. The sorta bad/sorta good guy. While Luke is seen as a whiny kid by many, and he is portrayed that way early on at least, but look at what he was facing.

      Parallels abound.

      • It's always been striking to me that most peoples 'hero' in that movie was Han. The sorta bad/sorta good guy. While Luke is seen as a whiny kid by many, and he is portrayed that way early on at least, but look at what he was facing.

        Parallels abound.

        Han was the bad boy.

        Luke was the simp.

        So there will be a lot of people attracted to the Han Solo character.

        • Sounds like you're one of them. It seems to be what a whole lot of you are best at. ;)

          • Sounds like you're one of them. It seems to be what a whole lot of you are best at. ;)

            My wife tried to tell me I wasn't a bad boy. That she was attracted to me because I was a "nice guy".

            I noted that at the time we met, I was in a band, I raced motorcycles - motocross and raced a nitromethane drag bike, and played Ice Hockey.

            I am what I am - whatever that is, but she had to admit those "bad boy" things gave her the tingles.

            • What was your lineup? Three fats and a skinny, or three fats and a middie?

              • What was your lineup? Three fats and a skinny, or three fats and a middie?

                Well, I was the captain, moved between Center and Defense as needed, We were mostly pretty skinny - I went around 215 lb so I was probably the main fatty, and my son was next in line around 190. Note - if you have kids early, you can occasionally play on the same team as your kid if you get lucky.

                Kid played wing. He was more hot headed, and that's a help in that position. I was more controlled mentally. Although I was a harrier. Amazing what you can get people to do in drawing penalties by simply talkin

            • Yeah I have the opposite problem. I scare people. Probably because I'm borderline psycho.

              • Yeah I have the opposite problem. I scare people. Probably because I'm borderline psycho.

                Ah, tone it down a bit, and you'll be a chick magnet. Even Charles Manson got himself a wife https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

                What I find amusing is the number of people who deny that bad boy syndrome exists.

                Stories from the vault...

                I had a friend in high school who was a great guy - except he was insanely jealous. He'd woo the women, then go nuts on them. Didn't want them to look at or talk to other guys, just made their lives miserable. The MO was that they'd usually break up after he started rest

                • heh hard to tone-down appearing to be ice cold. The bad boy syndrome definitely exists though as that's the crowd I tended to associate with. They are like moths to a flame. Problem is I only look bad but am actually stubbornly good, and these days probably pretty boring too.

                  Plus everyone has basically gone nuts these days. I did try out tinder last year for a few months. That was overall a net negative experience. They all want Mr. Perfection while the only ones interested were whores and land whales. Does

                  • heh hard to tone-down appearing to be ice cold. The bad boy syndrome definitely exists though as that's the crowd I tended to associate with. They are like moths to a flame. Problem is I only look bad but am actually stubbornly good, and these days probably pretty boring too.

                    Plus everyone has basically gone nuts these days. I did try out tinder last year for a few months. That was overall a net negative experience. They all want Mr. Perfection while the only ones interested were whores and land whales. Doesn't matter. Been alone so long I no longer care.

                    Yes, a study showed that 80 percent of women believe that only 20 percent of men are worthy of their time and attention.

                    https://www.yourtango.com/2016... [yourtango.com]

                    And in today's world, a male will probably be happier and more financially solvent being single and childless, as the stats show you will likely lose your wife, and children, as well as half or more of your "stuff". And child support until the children they watch grow up in freeze frame are in their 20's

                    Two things I have to say about that grim situa

                    • Gold digging whores is a very real thing. As for taking half my stuff, half of nothing isn't very much. lol. If you want to keep them away just take a selfie with a visibly old non-apple smart phone.

                      It's all become a game of trophy hunting on both sides. Which is probably why they end up divorced since they were too busy drooling over each others shiny veneer while completely ignoring the ugliness within. Of course bitches these days are all about throwing Red Flags on the plays, but they get awful offended

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          The romance between Han and Leia was one of the weakest parts of the original movies. It really didn't make much sense and was basically the "women can't resist a swashbuckler" trope. We never got to see what made them work as a couple.

          • Going to disagree with you there. Ford and Fisher had mad chemistry, which was evident even in the early screen tests, and they did in fact have an affair off-screen. As far as the in-universe explanation... Solo also has a character arc (self-centered mercenary becomes heroic freedom fighter) which ties in neatly with the Leia romance. It's a bit of a conventional "trope", sure, but SW is made up of conventional tropes like that.

      • Re:My Hero (Score:4, Insightful)

        by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Monday June 12, 2023 @07:49AM (#63595040) Journal

        He did come off a bit whiny in the first film, and even the Luke-Yoda scenes in the second sometimes felt like "Geez pal, what are you, 14?"

        At the same time, in RotJ, when Luke just walks into Jabba's palace and Force chokes and mind manipulates right left and center without really even changing his expression, I remember thinking the first time I saw it "Holy fuck, this guy is scary!"

        • That true. He ended up being scarier than Han, and yet it didn't seem to change peoples impression overall. Happy go lucky trailer park baddie wins every time.

          I should note I am generalizing here. Not everyone thinks this, just most.

      • It's always been striking to me that most peoples 'hero' in that movie was Han. .

        As a well-known writer once observed, the interesting thing about Star Wars is that you "identify" with different characters at different ages. When you're a little kid, you identify with Luke; as a teenager/young adult, you identify with Han; and once you reach middle age, you identify with Darth Vader.

        (Sorry, I can't remember the name of the writer who made that observation...)

  • Hey, I am just spreading word about this amazing retelling of episode 7:

    https://youtu.be/CyxQyNQ00qo [youtu.be]

  • Mark Hamill watches Linda Blair sing "It's Too Late" (Carole King) in 1975.

    It's from the made for TV movie, Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic. Back then, before cable TV and streaming, made for TV movies were often seriously good productions.

    https://youtu.be/st1CSiJgPfI [youtu.be]

  • Honestly, I think I liked him better in Corvette Summer with Annie Potts. He seemed a more relatable character: an actual human, instead of a semi-deity. But I think I'm one of maybe 10 people to even see that movie, so I'm not surprised it didn't get more traction for him.

    Or maybe it was just outrageously styled car...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by msk ( 6205 )

      Cruising on the highway at 17 miles per hour.

      Van-essa.

      That film stuck with me, and I think I saw it on HBO when they first ran it, probably 1979 or so.

    • I saw that movie for the first time... last year.

      I thought it was a pretty good 'coming of age' movie with a slightly better than made-for-TV production feel to it.

      And sorry, Mark, but it needed more Annie.

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