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Star Wars Holiday Special Documentary

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Hello Star Wars fans…
I just started a documentary on the “Star Wars Holiday Special” and was looking for Southern California fans (and non-fans) that were specifically upset about it, or have strong opinions about its existence.

We started shooting in May - will wrap this August. Please email me at kozak2000@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in participating in this doc.

Thanks!

Steve Kozak
Producer
"George Lucas’s Nightmare Before Christmas:
The Making of the ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’"
Skyboat Video
22313 Pamplico Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91350
Tel: (818) 934-5319

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The Star Wars Holiday Special was the first piece of Star Wars media I saw. It is an important piece in the saga. The appeal of The Empire Strikes Back partly stems from the perceived flaws of the Holiday Special. The Library of Congress has begun a push to get the Holiday Special in their collection. Focusing on those upset about it seems like a missed opportunity.

In the last 5+ years a university student had started work on a SWHS documentary, have you spoken with them? Bruce Vilanch in some podcasts/blogs has talked about it.

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Hi, Steve…have I heard from you previously? I run the website starwarsholidayspecial.com. If you have questions or need advice on anything, I’ll be happy to help out where I can.

Is there a reason you’re sticking strictly to Southern California people for this?

–SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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SKot said:

Hi, Steve…have I heard from you previously? I run the website starwarsholidayspecial.com. If you have questions or need advice on anything, I’ll be happy to help out where I can.

Is there a reason you’re sticking strictly to Southern California people for this?

–SKot

You are on my list of people to reach out to…

We have been doing most of the interviews in LA - most of the writers, producers and cast are here and it has kept costs down. I don’t want to travel too far for fans. I am going to Canada in late July to interview the original director and to Minneapolis for one of the writers. Most everyone i have interviewed form the actual show are in LA. Where can i reach you?
Steve Kozak 323-871-1407

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Too bad I didn’t know about this just a little sooner - I was just in Hollywood over Memorial Day weekend and the following two days and could probably have spoken to you there.

I’m in Oregon. I’ll contact you privately to discuss contact details. (By the way, you may want edit your post to remove your phone number since this board is very public and may invite unwanted calls.)

–SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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kozak2000 said:

I just started a documentary on the “Star Wars Holiday Special” and was looking for Southern California fans (and non-fans) that were specifically upset about it, or have strong opinions about its existence.

Why they need to be specifically upset about it? I mean, it is what it is and it’s not great, but it was a product of it’s time and you can appreciate as what it is, even though it’s awful. It still has some great things like the cartoon and to see the whole cast and props etc.

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

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This thread has my interests.

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Thought I might mention that this documentary grew legs and is having its world premiere at SXSW 2023 in Austin this Saturday. I actually connected with Steve via this thread and became a co-producer on the film, working with him mostly remotely over the next 5-6 years on this. It’s become the definitive documentary on the subject, with interviews conducted with nearly every living person who had anything to do with the Holiday Special, as well as a few who didn’t.

Here’s a link to the SXSW site for the film:

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/films/2079025

–SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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I’ll mention that this will be shown at the Seattle International Film Festival next Thursday and Friday for we Northwesterners.

Looking forward to it!

“Before the Dark Times. Before the Prequels.”

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 (Edited)

It is out now on blu-ray, DVD, and on digital.

https://disturbanceintheforce.com & https://twitter.com/SWHSDoc The trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZX80oTGQfM

 
 

A Disturbance in the Force‘ – The Star Wars Holiday Special Documentary Gets Positive Buzz After Its Release at SWNN

'A Disturbance in the Force, a documentary digging in to the behind-the-scenes story behind the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special will release on Blu-Ray and digital media on December 5th, Lucasfilm announced today via Variety, on the 45th anniversary of the special’s release.

Updated: On it’s release A Disturbance in the Force has had a successful premiere, achieving #1 in the documentary charts on both Apple and Amazon. It has also received positive critical reviews, with a 100% Critics Score on Rotten Tomatoes. The filmmakers shared a tweet thanking fans for the documentary’s success.

Documentary filmmakers Jeremy Coons and Steve Kozak announced their project back in 2020 and released the first trailer earlier this year to go along with its premiere at the South by South West film festival. The documentary has garnered positive reviews, which state the film isn’t just made with die-hard fans in mind but will amuse anyone who wants a peek at how arguably the worst piece of Star Wars content was made.

While the special itself was terrible, it has continued to inspire fans and creators to this day and has an increasing influence on current storytelling. Examples of this include Din Djarin’s phase-pulse rifle, which first appeared in the special wielded by an animated Boba Fett, and Life Day, which has been referenced in several Star Wars media, most recently in Young Jedi Adventures.

While it won’t make up for the absence of a big-screen Star Wars release the doc, complete with celebrity interviews, might help fill the void, or even make a fun stocking filler when it releases on December 5th.’

 

I never thought I’d want to buy anything to do with The Holiday Special, but this does look cool, and hope it continues to do really well.
 

“Don’t tell anyone… but when ‘Star Wars’ first came out, I didn’t know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you’ve planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories - let’s call them homages - and you’ve got a series.” - George Lucas

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This looks so cool, and great to see it doing really well in the Top 10s and charts.

I watched just the first 20 minutes the A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE | LIVE Interview with KYLE NEWMAN and ADAM F. GOLDBERG video at the The Holdo Maneuver Podcast, and so far, I am sold on this.

As the people in the video says, it is good to hear directly from some the people who worked on it and their stories, rather than just the internet myths and legends.