Harrison Ford doing the voice over work for Lego Star Wars-The Force Awakens.
harrison ford
bits of behind-the-scenes star wars trivia i’ve picked up over the years
- anthony daniels and kenny baker (c3po and r2d2) mutually loathe each other and haven’t seen each other for years, not even on the tfa set. occasionally they snipe at each other in interviews [x]
- natalie portman and keira knightley looked (and were dressed) so alike on the set of the phantom menace that keira’s own mother couldn’t tell them apart at first [x]
- warwick davis was 11 years old when he played wicket. he only got the job because kenny baker (who was meant to play him) was ill that day [x]
- and mark hamill, eternal pure cinnamon roll, welcomed him to the set by buying him all the star wars toys he didn’t have [x]
- nute gunray was (probably) named after newt gingrich and ronald reagan (gunray = raygun = reagan) because george lucas wanted to give the finger to both i guess [x]
- nicolas cage enjoyed hayden christensen’s acting in star wars and praised his performance [x]
- peter cushing’s feet were made so uncomfortable by tarkin’s too-small military boots that he ended up doing most of his scenes in his slippers [x]
- after having his darth vader voice dubbed over with james earl jones’s, dave prowse publicly claimed to be a victim of ‘reverse racism’ [x]
- chewbacca was modelled after lucas’s dog. that dog was called ‘indiana’ and indiana jones was also named after him. i hope lucas paid that dog royalties [x]
- samuel l jackson has ‘bad motherfucker’ engraved on the side of his purple lightsaber [x]
- perhaps unsurprisingly considering the ‘reverse racism’ thing, dave prowse is banned from official star wars conventions. might also be because he leaked rotj’s ending to a newspaper [x]
- steven spielberg’s e.t. species are part of the star wars universe. their leader is called ‘grebleips’ which is ‘spielberg’ spelled backwards [x]
- yoda’s name was originally ‘buffy’. no really [x]
- ray winstone was considered for the role of bail organa, but showed up drunk to the audition. unsurprisingly he didn’t get it [x]
- more practical miniature effects were made for each one of the prequels than for the entire original trilogy [x]
- carrie fisher fought with harrison ford about how much dialogue she should have in the ‘jabba’s palace’ scene. it ended with her saying ‘why can’t I talk, suddenly? because I’m in a bikini?’ which makes me love her all the more [x]
The Millennium Falcon was the first thing we were actually building. I had been in London and I came home back to L.A. for Christmas. So I go to Sports Chalet to do some last-minute shopping; I get there early, run to the back of the store, get what I need. I’m coming back through the store, and I just happen to pass this person holding up a pair of ski pants, and it’s Harrison Ford. I look at him, he looks at me and puts his head right down. I can tell he doesn’t want to be bothered; I’m sure from the look on my face he knew I knew who he was. So I walk past him, and after about 10 feet I think, ‘If there’s ever a time to say hello to Harrison Ford, I’m building the Millennium Falcon!’ So I turn around very hesitantly and go, ‘Harrison, I’m sorry to bother you. I’m co-production designer on the new Star Wars, I’m just back from London, and I’ve been building the Falcon.’ A big smile came across his face, he put his hand out, and we had such a great conversation — he couldn’t have been sweeter. As I’m walking away, he goes, ‘Darren!’ and calls me back. He goes, ‘The toggle switches.’ I go, ‘Toggle switches.’ He goes, ‘The toggle switches on the Falcon. When they built it the first time, they bought cheap toggle switches without any springs in them. Every time I threw a toggle switch, it fell back; it wouldn’t hold. It drove me crazy. Please, make sure the toggle switches are fixed this time.’ I go, ‘No problem! I’ll take care of it!’ So months go by, I’m back in London, we’re getting close [to principal photography], and I get a phone call saying J.J.’s headed down to check out the cockpit, and Harrison’s with him. I run down there and I see J.J. in the passenger seat and Harrison in the pilot seat. They’re just giddy; they’re having so much fun. And then I see Harrison look up, and he just starts throwing all the toggle switches: boom, boom, boom, boom. [Laughs.] And I remember thinking, ‘Phew, minor victory. Take solace in that and move on. Next task.’ That’s my favorite story.
Darren Gilford (x)
This is so sweet.
(via bedlamsbard)
Tell a carpenter you’re building something, get a professional opinion on how to do it better.
(via heidi8)
The original Star Wars trio are really epitomizing the three ways to successfully be a Cool Older Person ™ on Twitter
- Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself): the Bernie Sanders / George Takei type. Completely coherent, correct grammar, uses punctuation so u can tell he’s old. Polite replies to Star Wars asks and theories. Nice dad vibe overall.
- Carrie Fisher (@carrieffisher): the Cher type. Incoherent shitposting and huge emojis. Still manages to make a point and always be nice. Bashes Donald Trump. Crazy lovable aunt vibe overall.
- Harrison Ford: no twitter. Stays away from all our goddamn nonsense. truly a wise man.
