This article originally appeared in Bantha Tracks #29, Published in May 1982
By Ken Rowand.
EMI Elstree is a short 10-hour flight across the Atlantic and a long hour's drive through London's rush hour traffic away from the fan club headquarters. London's rush hour traffic proved to be a flight through an asteroid belt of swirling vehicles all driven on 'the wrong side of the road.' We leave the maelstrom of motorcars to dock at a large cluster of buildings really no different from any other well-run industrial center when viewed from the street.
It looks dull. There is a tinge of disappointment; but we realize that all the movie magic we expect to see can only be found in the work and genius of the people here. In these hanger-like buildings that genius is being harnessed to create the magic that will be Revenge of the Jedi. As our van pulls up to the production office, segments of the Millennium Falcon are being lined up to await storage. We have arrived.
At Elstree's production office Assistant Production Manager Pat Carr beams a smile that could light up an airport as she handles those thousand and one details that keep production running. One such detail is orienting newcomers from America. "The first camera unit is filming on Stage 5, with Richard Marquand directing a particular new character's lines and interactions with the main cast. The second unit is on Stage 8 shooting static close-ups, doors closing and interiors. Carpenters are finishing up a gigantic interior on the Star Wars stage.
Plasterers are working on Stages 3 and 7. Grips are striking Stages 2 and 9. "Would we care for a cup of tea or coffee? No, I'm sorry, you can't see any of the production crew right now -- they are all busy at rushes or off seeing to this detail or that. After all, they wouldn't still be in the office -- it's 8:00 am already."
We collect our first daily call sheet and record intricate directions to the office of the unit publicist, Gordon Arnell. A call sheet is an exhaustive layout of the day's filming schedule. Call sheets list director, stage, set, unit call, artist, stand-ins, stunt department, crowd, props, SFX, camera, art department, transportation, catering and a myriad of other production requirements. Every sheet abounds with the new names of characters and places that will soon become an integral part of the Star WarsUniverse.
Gordon fills us in further on the day's activities, including the fact that this is Carrie Fisher's last day. Tomorrow she starts a three-week vacation while they shoot scenes she won't appear in. Gordon arranges for us to have a few minutes with Carrie before she leaves. In a short while, Carrie's car will arrive and she has to make her flight. Armed with tape recorder and a short list of questions, we appear before her door during a break, and launch into our first interview.
I grew up in the Star Wars Saga. While everyone else was 25 to 30, I was only 19 when the filming started. I wasn't even fully formed physically. You can see me growing in each new episode. I used to kid everyone on the set by saying that I had an excuse -- after all, I was a teenager, but why were all these grown-ups shooting guns and playing with all the big toys? I almost think I look totally different now that I have lost all my puppy flesh, and so on.
I came into Star Wars straight from an English drama school. Quite a jump! I played Leia Organa, who is royal. That was a part I had never played and a type of acting I wasn't used to. Leia is angry, which is part of her strength but not all of it. She was very clear about her responsibilities toward her cause, the Rebellion, and that was it for her. That commitment didn't leave her any time for relationships. While it was okay for "the boys" to be strong, that same strength made Leia seem, somehow, almost mean or sarcastic with her "my way or no way" attitude.
Basically, Leia is the only female in the Star Wars Saga. Oh, there are Aunt Beru and some new characters in Revenge of the Jedi, but Leia remains the main female role. Originally, I was known as "the girl." During my first day on the set, someone described the next scene I was in as, "the girl crossed the room and exits stage left. The camera operator will have to pan to keep her in frame." I asked whether I was to be "the girl" or "the camera operator." They got the idea. I'm now an honorary camera operator.
How has each movie differed?
Each film is unique! Each episode has had its own director with his own totally different way of working and it was lovely having a chance to work with all of them, yet there is still that thread of continuity between the movies.
Star Wars was an introduction-more action than anything else. The characters were always reacting to something and swinging across chasms. The interrelationships between the main characters were being established and only started to be developed in Star Wars. It was made, I think, as a film to be cut -- we would shoot a scene, see how it looked, then make any needed changes, rehearse those changes, and re-shoot.
The Empire Strikes Back was much more a film about people. It had more of an ambiance than Star Wars. Kershner required that everything in a scene "work" beforehand, and our re-shooting a particular scene wouldn't just be a matter of redoing the same scene faster. We rehearsed a lot more on Empire, but the rewriting and re-shooting of scenes that just didn't seem to work did put us over schedule. Kershner was always willing to talk over this or that little bit of a scene to make it more comfortable for the actors. While Star Wars was an introduction, Empire really developed the relationships of the main characters. You felt more, well, maybe you just gotto know them a little better. Hopefully, you'll get to know them as well as you can in Revenge of the Jedi, because it is the end of the trilogy.
I like the script for Jedi. It's going to be a spectacle. It will transport you. Leia's character undergoes quite a change in Jedi. They found a way for her to be very nice while remaining strong and committed. Leia is quite feminine, her character is as clearly defined as "the boys" are, and she even dresses "like a woman." No longer the warrior. At least I'm not always telling Harrison what to do. It's been nice having a chance to work on a character that develops throughout the movies.
Jedi will be a very complex movie with a lot of scenes that must be done in front of a blue screen where the actors will have only Richard Marquand, our director's, verbal description to establish what is supposed to be going on. There are so many things to consider and it takes a lot to get every detail right. You have to get the acting just right, the robots moving right, and the effects going right. You even have to take off the creatures' heads so the actors don't faint from the heat. When we first started shooting, we had a lot of trouble with the creatures fainting. I almost passed out myself. The work can be a bit trying, but it's a lot of fun to do. It's a great crew; we're a family.
The most trouble we have is when the scene is written by, for instance, Harrison and the director, without my being there. In Empire the scene where Harrison said, "I know" was rewritten between Harrison and Kershner. The rewrite was great, but I just feel I need to be present when a scene that concerns me is redone. I sort of felt like I was "the girl" again, just a "she" or "her."
We didn't have any trouble doing that scene because Harrison and I know each other so well. After all the publicity tours, and talking about ourselves and the movies endlessly, we have developed ways of getting through scenes like that.
What do you think about all the fan mail you get?
When it first started, I would get love letters from nine-year-old boys who would compare me to, well, not quite "a summer's day." It was very sweet of them. They sent such lovely letters. Much of my mail was from children, and some grown-ups, who had seen the movie 50 times each. I like the fans. If any of them write me after they see Revenge of the Jedi, and the changes in Leia's character, I hope they will still speak of that summer's day. I'll look forward to those letters. -- KR
