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Great MArk Hamill Interview

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I thought I´d like to share this with you:

Mark Hamill Interview

He seems to be a very nice and intelligent guy. I think especially the last part when he talks about George Lucas is very comforting, and makes us feel we are not alone in our struggle for the OOT...
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Great stuff!
I've seen and read other interviews with him and he is a really intelligent and well spoken guy. Very interesting to listen to. Seems very grounded too.
He's a good guy.
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Mark Hamill is without a doubt my favourite Star Wars actor, and this just strengthens my opinion of him.

War does not make one great.

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That was great, and very enlightening.
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Where were you in '77?

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Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
Mark Hamill is without a doubt my favourite Star Wars actor, and this just strengthens my opinion of him.


My sentiments exactly.

"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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That was a sweet interview. I liked the discussion on the special editions and comics/animation projects the most.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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One of his statements really helped me to fully realize one fundamental difference between the prequels and the originals:

Well, listen, I would have loved to have looked at that first screenplay, for Episode 1, and I would have said, "Uh oh, see, but we had a Han Solo character," who could sort of cut any potential awkwardness, when we'd get close to maybe being a little corny--whenever things with The Force got a little too heavy and mystical, we had a guy who could just sort of act as the voice of reason, you know, he was a mercenary and cocksure and a smartass and he kept the pictures on sort of an even keel. Han Solo was there as the voice of skepticism. But you look at the new pictures and there's not that character to offset the grave fanaticism of the piece. Everyone's so sincere, there's no release from that archness that comes with highly-stylized fantasy.

When I read this, it suddenly clicked, and now I can articulate exactly one important aspect what has always bothered me with the prequels, but couldn´t really describe.

And I think this is also one interesting aspect he brings up:

You can see a huge difference in the films that he does now and the films that he did when he was married. I know for a fact that Marcia Lucas was responsible for convincing him to keep that little "kiss for luck" before Carrie [Fisher] and I swing across the chasm in the first film: "Oh, I don't like it, people laugh in the previews," and she said, "George, they're laughing because it's so sweet and unexpected"--and her influence was such that if she wanted to keep it, it was in. When the little mouse robot comes up when Harrison and I are delivering Chewbacca to the prison and he roars at it and it screams, sort of, and runs away, George wanted to cut that and Marcia insisted that he keep it. She was really the warmth and the heart of those films, a good person he could talk to, bounce ideas off of, who would tell him when he was wrong. Now he's so exalted that no one tells him anything.


In case if someone is interested, this is one really hilarious EPII review, which they are referring to in the interview:

EPII review
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That was a great read!

I'm glad to hear Mark Hamil has an opinion about the SE ordeal. Or, more accuratley, the burying of the originals.

"Disenfranchisment" is a great word!

My stance on revising fan edits.

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This man was awesome when I met him 11 years ago and he's still awesome!!!

This totally kills the argument that we fans who so desire the OOT are crazy.....look, Luke Skywalker himself thinks not releasing the OOT is retarded!!!

Come on George....now just release them in the best possible way.

You know...why do we have to fight every inch of the way on this? Should releasing these movies in a dignified manner be a no-brainer???

Sorry, not trying to spark a debate....there are other threads for that....just venting a little, that's all.
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@Vigo:

You're right, these two passages really explain a lot... a lot that I didn't know or realize until now.

I hope Hamill would do some sort of auto-biography (or has he already?)... he appears to be an awesome guy, and the interview was a real good read.
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Mark Hamill is so awesome. I feel honored to have gone to high school in the same country as him (we are both military brats from Japan). And he is still married to his first wife of 30 years or so. That says A LOT about the Hollywood mind set.

And he's right. He can't say much publicly about the OOT, but it's very comforting to know that he's behind us in our desire to have the option of watching the movies we feel in love with. Saying that "that history will work itself out" is so true. The PT is already starting to fade.

The man is awesome. And I've got his autograph that he mailed to me. Personally signed and everything. Quite bitchin'.
"I am altering the movies. Pray I don't alter them any further." -Darth Lucas
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He definitely needs to do a memoir of some sort, whether it be an autobiography or not.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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I've always loved Mark Hamill, aside from the fact that he's a great family man, he was always the one member of the SW cast who seemed to be a fan of the films, and not just an actor in them. He never tried to distance himself from the films, like Ford and Fisher did.
Originally posted by: Vigo
One of his statements really helped me to fully realize one fundamental difference between the prequels and the originals:

Well, listen, I would have loved to have looked at that first screenplay, for Episode 1, and I would have said, "Uh oh, see, but we had a Han Solo character," who could sort of cut any potential awkwardness, when we'd get close to maybe being a little corny--whenever things with The Force got a little too heavy and mystical, we had a guy who could just sort of act as the voice of reason, you know, he was a mercenary and cocksure and a smartass and he kept the pictures on sort of an even keel. Han Solo was there as the voice of skepticism. But you look at the new pictures and there's not that character to offset the grave fanaticism of the piece. Everyone's so sincere, there's no release from that archness that comes with highly-stylized fantasy.

When I read this, it suddenly clicked, and now I can articulate exactly one important aspect what has always bothered me with the prequels, but couldn´t really describe.

And I think this is also one interesting aspect he brings up:

You can see a huge difference in the films that he does now and the films that he did when he was married. I know for a fact that Marcia Lucas was responsible for convincing him to keep that little "kiss for luck" before Carrie [Fisher] and I swing across the chasm in the first film: "Oh, I don't like it, people laugh in the previews," and she said, "George, they're laughing because it's so sweet and unexpected"--and her influence was such that if she wanted to keep it, it was in. When the little mouse robot comes up when Harrison and I are delivering Chewbacca to the prison and he roars at it and it screams, sort of, and runs away, George wanted to cut that and Marcia insisted that he keep it. She was really the warmth and the heart of those films, a good person he could talk to, bounce ideas off of, who would tell him when he was wrong. Now he's so exalted that no one tells him anything.




This confirms my suspicions that George Lucas has no sense of humor. I remember seeing an interview with Steven Spielberg, talking about a few funny things that he wanted to put in the Indiana Jones movies and he said that George wouldn't let him put them in.

God bless Marcia for saving those scenes- she deserves her Academy Award.

Thanks for showing that interview to us, Vigo.

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Originally posted by: Mielr
I've always loved Mark Hamill, aside from the fact that he's a great family man, he was always the one member of the SW cast who seemed to be a fan of the films, and not just an actor in them. He never tried to distance himself from the films, like Ford and Fisher did.


Hmm, I agree that he's never tried to distance himself, which is cool, but, as for being a fan in general, I saw an interview (on the Conan O'Brian show) where Hamill stated that he doesn't like watching himself act and never fully viewed any of the Star Wars films after their first premiere until the special editions were released in theaters 20 years later. I found that interesting.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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Originally posted by: Tiptup
Originally posted by: Mielr
I've always loved Mark Hamill, aside from the fact that he's a great family man, he was always the one member of the SW cast who seemed to be a fan of the films, and not just an actor in them. He never tried to distance himself from the films, like Ford and Fisher did.


Hmm, I agree that he's never tried to distance himself, which is cool, but, as for being a fan in general, I saw an interview (on the Conan O'Brian show) where Hamill stated that he doesn't like watching himself act and never fully viewed any of the Star Wars films after their first premiere until the special editions were released in theaters 20 years later. I found that interesting.

A lot of actors don't like to watch themselves on film, what I meant by "fan" is that he was always the one hanging out in the Star Wars FX dept., watching how the visual effects were coming along, collecting memoribilia, and speaking enthusiastically and passionately about the films in public. He's often spoken about how excited he was to be in the Star Wars movies, because of the fact that he was such a fan of adventure movies when he was a kid.

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Originally posted by: Mielr

A lot of actors don't like to watch themselves on film, what I meant by "fan" is that he was always the one hanging out in the Star Wars FX dept., watching how the visual effects were coming along, collecting memoribilia, and speaking enthusiastically and passionately about the films in public. He's often spoken about how excited he was to be in the Star Wars movies, because of the fact that he was such a fan of adventure movies when he was a kid.


Ahh, that thinking works for me too.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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"Now he's so exalted that no one tells him anything."

That statement speaks volumes as to why the films are so messed up now.

Lucas has become power that is unchecked.
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