THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 TAG: 9701290037
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 95 lines
PRINCESS LEIA was wearing a baseball cap.
She flipped the brim of it to the rear as she cheerfully berated the ``earphones'' hairdo she wore in the movie, saying ``it gave me a royal headache.''
Luke Skywalker was moaning about how they kept making him lift weights whenever he wasn't in front of the camera. ``Are muscles really that necessary?'' he wondered.
Han Solo, was to put it mildly, a grouch about the whole thing. He didn't want to do the interview, obviously viewing the impending premiere as a bunch of foolishness.
It was inside a soundstage on the 20th Century-Fox lot on a May afternoon in 1977, the morning before ``Star Wars'' was to be unveiled for an eager press. The film itself was to premiere a week later and, we now know, movie history was to be made.
Something of a hush had been put around ``Star Wars.'' It was advertised by a huge black poster with the title emblazed in grandiose letters, but no reference to the non-star actors, and no hint of the plotline. A buzz was going among the public that the force was with it, even though no one quite knew what the force might be.
Twenty years later, the ``Star Wars'' trilogy is being re-released. To an entire generation, it's a little like an old buddy who has just been named pope. ``Our movie,'' the one we discovered, is now in a galaxy of worship of its own. It is the symbol of a generation.
It was apparent on that afternoon within hours. Hundreds of fans who had gathered, in hopes of gaining admittance to the sneak preview, were infuriated when the press bus pulled to the front of the theater and let the scribes out. The fans threw soft drink cans and anything else they had.
Inside, after the fans (some of whom had been waiting since 6 a.m.) were settled, applause and cheers drowned out the audio when the words ``In a galaxy far away'' appeared on the screen.
Two hours later, the impending craze was evident. After the screening, fans were hiding in restrooms in an attempt to stay and see the film again. But outside, the lines for an added screening were so long that the police had been called to direct traffic.
At that pre-premiere interview, the actors revealed that things were not happy on that first film.
Mark Hamill, who looked much older than Luke Skywalker in person, admitted that ``I always play 10 years younger than I am.'' He was already aware of the impending fame. `` The worry,'' he said, ``is that I'll be Luke Skywalker forever. It may limit anything else I can play. When I die, they'll probably put Luke Skywalker on my grave.''
He was right; the public has never accepted him as anyone else.
He, like the rest, had no idea what it would become. ``I initially thought it was being made for children. Then, as we went along, I could see that it might appeal to the `in' crowd. It began to take a kind of satiric, mischievous bent. It changed as we filmed it. It all became lighter. Then, I thought, well, if it flops, it'll at least become one of those midnight movies that play in college towns.''
Harrison Ford, who was stepping into stardom as Han Solo, was the least charming of the actors during interviews. He was apparently bitter about the years he had spent in Hollywood getting nowhere. He had been making a living as a carpenter. He auditioned for Luke Skywalker but was bent out of shape when Lucas told him he didn't want to use anyone who had been in ``American Graffiti'' because he wanted all new faces. His reading was so gruffthat everyone felt he'd be perfect as Han Solo, although some felt he was too old.
Carrie Fisher, who became Princess Leia Organa, won the role over Cindy Williams of ``Laverne and Shirley'' (possibly because of the ``American Graffiti'' shutout). Fisher was just as feisty in person as she is in the films. On that opening day, she didn't think it meant much that Lucas gave her one-tenth of 1 percent of the profits rather than a raise because the film was going over budget and he needed to cut costs.
Today, she admits that ``that less than 1 percent meant that I made more from that one film than my mother (legendary star Debbie Reynolds) did in her career - and she made almost 50 movies.''
In Hampton Roads, the initial furor of the ``Star Wars'' phenomenon was similarly unexpected. Fred Schoenfeld, who was owner and manager of the Plaza Theaters in Portsmouth, remembers that the studio called him and asked that he commit the theater for two weeks to ``a little film called `Star Wars.' '' Everyone, including the studio, thought that two weeks was a long run. Schoenfeld is reopening the film Friday in the Commodore in downtown Portsmouth, with both THX and digital sound facilities.
The now-defunct Circle 6 Theater in Norfolk played ``Star Wars'' for more than a year and held a celebration on the birthday. (It, however, is not the longest continuous run in the area. That record is held by ``The Sound of Music'' at what was the Riverview in Norfolk).
The craze had become hysteria by the time of ``The Return of the Jedi,'' in May 1983.
Mike Kennedy, manager of the Pembroke Theaters in Virginia Beach, remembers that hordes were in line for the first matinee of ``Return.''
Kennedy recalls that one youthful fan broke his leg when he went racing down the aisle in an attempt to get a front row center seat for the first screening. When paramedics came to haul him away, he loudly protested that they wait until after the movie to remove him. He was removed, but he was given free tickets for a later show.
Today, the craze continues. The force is STILL with it.
KEYWORDS: STAR WARS