Photo courtesy of MomStart.com
You’ve probably seen some posts from me over the last week that alluded to the fact that I may have had the incredible opportunity to attend the press junket/press conference for a little film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens that opens in theatres December 18th. That event included our intimate small-group Harrison Ford interview.
It’s no secret I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I adore all things Star Wars, except maybe Jar Jar Binks. My group of fellow bloggers and I had the chance to sit down and interview Harrison Ford Sunday and chat all things Han Solo, Star Wars, and what it was like reviving a role that he hadn’t tackled in 32 years.
Harrison Ford doesn’t really need an introduction. If you don’t know who he is, I’m not sure how you ended up on this post. When Harrison walked into the room, he said he was “curious” about sitting down to chat with bloggers, as they aren’t the typical press outlets he interviews with. So what does one ask during a Harrison Ford interview?
Harrison Ford walked in the room, much more soft spoken than I expected, given the Han Solo- and Indy-esque mannerisms we’ve come to love from him over the years. He’s handsome, just as handsome as you’d expect, even for his age. Who cares if he’s old enough to be my father? The man is handsome, and I’ll own that statement. He can command the screen, and he can command a room. That cock-eyed smile will melt you. He’s all Han, all these years later. Charming, humble, gracious, willing to give credit across the board, collaborative, and sophisticated. He can handle himself in a room of 23 women and a few men, no problem.
Interviewing Harrison Ford is definitely up there on the top of my journalism career highlights list, no doubt.
On what it was like to come back into the Star Wars Legacy 32 years later
Harrison Ford: It was familiar. Same thing only different. I was there in service of a script that I thought was very good. A sort of road map for the character that I thought was worth coming back to with a Director whose work I admired and who I knew from a previous film 25 years ago.
It was an all together attractive prospect. If we were trying to do exactly the same thing, if I dyed my hair and pretended that 30 years had not gone by, I would be much less comfortable. But this acknowledges the reality of the passage of time. It deals with the question of what happened, while I was off stage for 30 years.
And it deals with it in a really smart way. And listen, if it were not for the fact that these films have been passed on by parents to their children at an appropriate juncture in their lives, and that generations have thus been introduced to me, I probably would have a much different career.
So I’m very grateful for the fact that these were family films that been passed on as though there were some nugget of useful information, or at least entertainment in them, and recognizing their value to the audience gives them significance to me.
On his favorite moment from the original Star Wars trilogy
Harrison Ford: No. I don’t have an antedode—antecdotal, antidotal, or anecdotal memory either. I don’t have much of a memory at all. I could make something up but I’m—I’m not generally disposed to do that. I don’t come away from camp saying we all had a great time and we love each other, it’s great, although I could.
I mean, it’s great to be back with Mark {Hamill} and Carrie {Fisher}. I spent a little time with them and Peter Mayhew {who plays Chewbacca} and a lot of the crew. Some of the older members of the crew have worked on the earlier films. But more often than that, there were sons and daughters of the people who worked on the original films now are still in the same craft business and were back to work with us.
And I was back in England. I haven’t made a film in England since the last Indiana Jones movie, which we tended to do there, as well. And it was fun to be back in England. The food has gotten a lot better.
On what is the most appealing thing to Star Wars fans
Harrison Ford: The breadth of the imagination that’s involved in these films, the strength and worthiness of the mythology that underpins them, the questions that it generates in our minds about our own responsibilities, our own behaviors, all of that plus, whiz and bang and flash and music and good stuff.
On whether or not he recognized how big the legacy would become when he read the first script
Harrison Ford: No, No. You’d be locked up if you if you came to that conclusion. But in the context of making that first film, I did recognize both the utility of my character to the telling of the story and there might be, somewhere in this meshugas, there might be some really strong elements that people would relate to.
What I recognized was that I didn’t know much about Science Fiction, I didn’t care much about Science Fiction at that time, and probably still don’t, although I find it often gives us the chance to explore places and things that we haven’t seen before, and that’s cool. But what I recognized was that there is a kind of fairy tale structure in the characters in the story.
I’d seen Grimms’ Fairy Tales that have lasted for the last 400 years, so there was that strength that I recognized, and when you have a beautiful Princess, and a callow youth and a wise old Warrior, and then me, it was easy to figure out my place in that structure.
On whether or not he collects any of the toys that have been made of himself over the last 4 decades
Harrison Ford: Well I mean, I just don’t get caught up in the toys. I really don’t care personally. [he says as he takes the Han Solo figure off the table and puts it in his jacket pocket; we all laugh] Well that would be a pretty good idea. That’s for other people. This is service occupation. Storytelling is a service occupation, much like being a waiter.
You deliver the food. You don’t bang it on the table in front of them. You wait ’til the right moment, you slip it down. You keep your eyes scanning the crowd, the diners. And you are there, when you see them beginning to look for you. It’s the same. It’s a public service job, you know. The toys are for them, they’re not for me. First of all, I would get them for free if I wanted them [he says with that signature Han Solo grin].
So it’s not about me. I’m not the customer exactly, but I love working here.
On getting back into the mindset of Han Solo after 32 years or is it second nature
Harrison Ford: No, you put on those clothes. You turn around and see that guy in the Chewbacca suit. You know what the drill is. I have walked more than a mile in those shoes, and it was a familiar path. I was happy to be back.
On being able to provide input to the script based on knowing the character of Han Solo so well
Harrison Ford: Every word was written in stone. Look it was a collaborative process, and collaboration is not one person’s unilateral decision. It’s a matter of agreement. If it’s in the movie, J.J. {Abrams} agreed with it when we shot it. A lot of the process of filmmaking is problem solving, is saying, “This is not working, is it? How can we, are we gonna fix this?” And I love that part about it.
There’s a kind of urgency and to try to keep the ball rolling, doing the right thing, because time is limited. There are a lot of people standing around waiting for you to get it right. All of those things, that’s a compelling atmosphere in which to work. I love that. But I don’t feel a sense of ownership or pride about these things. So I can’t remember what’s mine or what good idea came from the Grip.
Photo courtesy of MomStart.com
It was clear he enjoyed talking with us, as he didn’t want the interview to end when our time was over. Our “last question” was announced, and he said he’d take a few more but just give shorter answers.
Harrison Ford: Really? I just think there’s a lot of people here, and go ahead, I’ll make much shorter answers. Yes, from now on.
Q: Was your love of flying inspired by flying the Millennium Falcon in any way?
Harrison Ford: No. [we all laughed; he was serious. That was his answer.]
Q: What take-away do you have or what do you want the new generation to take away from Star Wars?
Harrison Ford: Their choice.
Q: What was the most challenging part of the process for this movie?
Harrison Ford: There wasn’t any. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I love doing it. I had a wonderful Director. The hardest part of any process is when you and the people you’re working with don’t see eye to eye. We see eye to eye. It was a luxury.
Q: You don’t buy toys, but do you have any props that you’ve kept over the years that are yours?
Harrison Ford: I bought my horse, the horse I rode and Daniel Craig’s horse from Cowboys and Aliens. I still have mine.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens in theatres December 18th.
I’ve been invited to LA courtesy of Disney for a media event. All opinions are my own.
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Such a great read.
“Who cares if he’s old enough to be my father? The man is handsome, and I’ll own that statement. ” haha true and yes, he can command me too, lol