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[logo music]
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Because of the following
special program,
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00:00:17,251 --> 00:00:18,953
Wonder Woman and
the Incredible Hulk
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00:00:19,086 --> 00:00:20,755
will not be presented
this evening.
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[star wars-like music]
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Let me ask you something.
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And this is a question I've
wanted to ask you for a while,
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and I've always
restrained myself.
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00:00:32,667 --> 00:00:34,903
A Christmas special came
out that was produced
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by George Lucas in which all of
the participants in Star Wars
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were--
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00:00:41,074 --> 00:00:42,510
[laughter]
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00:00:42,644 --> 00:00:43,845
--came together.
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00:00:43,978 --> 00:00:45,445
And they made this Star
Wars Christmas Special,
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and the tape's been
passed around for years.
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00:00:47,481 --> 00:00:49,984
And the rumor is that Lucas
is trying to suppress it.
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00:00:50,117 --> 00:00:53,888
It all started in 1978 when I
let people make a Star Wars TV
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special without me.
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00:00:54,989 --> 00:00:56,056
The Holiday Special.
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00:00:56,189 --> 00:00:56,991
I remember.
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00:00:57,124 --> 00:00:58,993
It came out so bad.
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I hate it.
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I hate it.
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I hate it! I hate it!
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George, George.
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00:01:07,835 --> 00:01:10,705
Do you remember making
this Christmas special?
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No, you don't remember it?
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[laughter and applause]
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I-- nobody is allowed
to mention this.
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It is so bad.
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It's not good.
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[laughter]
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You are about to see the worst
half hour of television ever.
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[tie fighter lasers]
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Star Wars.
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Star Wars is going to be on TV?
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And it's a new thing?
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00:01:32,794 --> 00:01:33,995
Oh, I see.
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It's the Star Wars
holiday special.
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We popped it in, and my
life was never the same.
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Come on, Malla.
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Let's see a little smile.
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It will provide
many years of fun.
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I felt a great
disturbance in the force.
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We rolled a doob and
sat back and watched it.
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00:01:47,709 --> 00:01:49,677
And we thought it was fabulous.
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I feel something
terrible has happened.
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To explain the Star
wars Holiday Special is
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like trying to explain to
someone how the pyramids were
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built. It's kind of impossible.
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All you have to know
is it was the '70s.
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There might have
been some cocaine.
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00:02:01,856 --> 00:02:02,657
Happy Life Day.
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00:02:02,790 --> 00:02:03,758
I saw it as a kid.
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00:02:03,891 --> 00:02:05,325
I thought it was great.
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00:02:05,459 --> 00:02:07,294
They didn't tell the people
this was not Star Wars
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00:02:07,427 --> 00:02:08,295
the movie two.
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00:02:08,428 --> 00:02:09,998
You can say that again.
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00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:13,534
It seems we've landed on some
sort of comedy variety show
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00:02:13,668 --> 00:02:15,103
planet.
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00:02:15,235 --> 00:02:17,204
The Star Wars holiday special
is sort of like the holy grail.
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It's completely mental.
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00:02:18,740 --> 00:02:21,274
It's so funny, and
it's so stupid.
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I love the holiday special.
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The holiday special
is definitely canon.
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You probably wouldn't
think that Maude would
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be one of the guest stars.
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00:02:27,915 --> 00:02:29,984
And I was never into the
whole Star Wars thing.
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I love all of the awkwardness.
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I am your fantasy.
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So experience me.
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The whole production was
fraught with problems.
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Oh, no.
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--the ship you seek.
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Follow me, friend.
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That Boba Fett cartoon rules.
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Settle down!
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The Star Wars special
sucked so bad,
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I was amazed that
I wasn't in it.
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I would really like to
know what CBS was thinking
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00:02:54,174 --> 00:02:55,375
when they greenlit this thing.
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00:02:55,510 --> 00:02:57,444
But now, let's get
started, shall we.
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[triumphant music]
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There are always better stories
about failure than success.
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It's much more interesting.
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It's much more compelling,
and it's much more human.
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Supposedly a TV movie
existed, and no one
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knew where they could get it.
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I had never seen it.
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00:03:22,070 --> 00:03:24,072
You couldn't convince
me it was true.
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To me, it was all urban legend.
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Now that I was a
ninth grade man,
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I wanted something you
couldn't find in any store.
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Psst.
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Yo, Goldnerd, come here.
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It was like finding this
artifact of something
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that I was such a fan of but I
had no conception ever existed.
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Yeah.
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And for a while I believed
that it was impossible to get.
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It became a currency of
sorts in geek culture.
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You know, talking about it,
dropping references to it,
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producing a copy to watch.
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Christmas came early.
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He had a bootleg copy of the
Star Wars Holiday Special.
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Holy Kenobi!
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00:04:02,375 --> 00:04:03,644
The legend is true!
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I had to get like a tape
of a tape of a tape.
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00:04:06,246 --> 00:04:07,414
You know.
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The Zapruder film
was easier to watch
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than the copy of the
holiday special that I got.
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On the back cover, it said,
if I had a hammer in time,
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"I would destroy every copy of
the Star Wars Holiday Special,"
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00:04:20,327 --> 00:04:21,261
George Lucas.
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00:04:21,394 --> 00:04:23,931
And I was like, sold.
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That was so cool.
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Were we watching two
different things?
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You don't know Star Wars.
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This special is really
for the true fans.
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So the true fan wants to watch
Dorothy from The Golden Girls
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flirt with an alien?
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We have seen something that
we weren't supposed to see.
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Clearly, something
had gone wrong.
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You were in the area
because you were
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00:04:42,917 --> 00:04:45,452
in Hollywood making a
Star Wars special that'll
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00:04:45,586 --> 00:04:46,788
played around Thanksgiving.
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00:04:46,921 --> 00:04:48,421
Got all the characters
from Star Wars
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00:04:48,556 --> 00:04:50,591
and it's got quite a few
extra people as well.
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00:04:50,725 --> 00:04:52,660
For one thing, you meet
the whole Wookiee family.
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00:04:52,794 --> 00:04:54,695
And the Wookiees lived
up in the tree house.
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00:04:54,829 --> 00:04:56,697
And that's where we met
Chewbacca's family--
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Itchy, the little kid, and--
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what was her name--
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Jawa?
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00:05:02,103 --> 00:05:03,104
Itchy is the grandfather.
135
00:05:03,237 --> 00:05:04,337
Itchy is the grandfather.
136
00:05:04,471 --> 00:05:05,940
Who's the-- oh,
Lumpy is the kid.
137
00:05:06,073 --> 00:05:06,874
I'm so sorry.
138
00:05:07,008 --> 00:05:08,109
It's only been 40 years.
139
00:05:08,242 --> 00:05:09,944
Chewie's family had
to be name something.
140
00:05:10,077 --> 00:05:11,579
Lumpy and Itchy?
141
00:05:11,712 --> 00:05:13,548
Couldn't they have spent 15
more seconds on the names?
142
00:05:13,681 --> 00:05:15,750
And we meet Chewie's
family, and we
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00:05:15,883 --> 00:05:19,921
realize that, oh, they're just
going to all chew it and not
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00:05:20,054 --> 00:05:20,922
talk.
145
00:05:21,055 --> 00:05:22,422
[mimics wookiee sounds]
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00:05:22,557 --> 00:05:25,860
And so, you're literally
watching a bunch of mimes.
147
00:05:25,993 --> 00:05:29,597
(LAUGHING) But you just
have zero dialogue.
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00:05:29,730 --> 00:05:32,533
Zero dialogue up until
this point for 15 minutes.
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Like, have you timed it?
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00:05:33,801 --> 00:05:35,069
I would love to know that stat.
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00:05:35,203 --> 00:05:37,672
How much of the Star
Wars Holiday Special
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00:05:37,805 --> 00:05:40,575
has absolutely no
discernible dialogue?
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00:05:40,708 --> 00:05:44,846
[tape whirring]
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00:05:46,614 --> 00:05:47,682
[r2 beeps]
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00:05:47,815 --> 00:05:49,183
R2, look.
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00:05:49,317 --> 00:05:51,285
It's Chewbacca's family.
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Let's never speak of this again.
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So you didn't love it.
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Who cares?
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I care!
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00:05:55,488 --> 00:05:56,991
I love Star Wars!
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It's my life.
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It makes no sense why
I didn't love this too.
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00:06:00,828 --> 00:06:03,231
You know, we spent
years of two weeks
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00:06:03,363 --> 00:06:06,734
at a time working directly
with George developing what
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00:06:06,868 --> 00:06:08,603
would become this
animated series,
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and we had access to
the theater downstairs.
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And we made a date--
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all the writers.
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Hey, we're going to watch
the holiday special.
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And you tap out
any time you want.
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Like, we're going to see who
can make it all the way through.
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And that's what we did.
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00:06:27,088 --> 00:06:29,857
And like, one by one, like
flies, people were like,
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00:06:29,991 --> 00:06:31,391
"I'm out."
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I like to watch bad stuff, but
that's a hard watch making it
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00:06:34,562 --> 00:06:35,930
through the holiday special.
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[laughs]
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00:06:37,131 --> 00:06:39,200
The cockpit of the
Millennium Falcon
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is clearly just a
cardboard cutout.
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Everything just--
it takes you a while
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00:06:43,638 --> 00:06:45,072
to realize that
everything's wrong.
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When you first see the
Star Wars Holiday Special
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in its entirety, you're
like, how did this happen?
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00:06:50,211 --> 00:06:55,149
Who decided to create one of the
most confounding pieces of Star
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00:06:55,283 --> 00:06:58,052
Wars entertainment in the
history of its existence?
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00:06:58,185 --> 00:07:00,521
In order to understand how
the holiday special happened,
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00:07:00,655 --> 00:07:02,223
you have to put it in context.
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00:07:02,356 --> 00:07:05,226
Star Wars pioneered a
whole different kind
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of almost grassroots attention.
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00:07:08,296 --> 00:07:10,131
The real secret to the
success of Star Wars
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00:07:10,264 --> 00:07:11,899
was a guy named
Charlie Lippincott,
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00:07:12,033 --> 00:07:15,468
who pioneered an entirely
new way of marketing movies.
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00:07:15,603 --> 00:07:16,871
Oh, Charlie was a good guy.
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00:07:17,004 --> 00:07:19,874
He had kind of an
oddball sense of humor.
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00:07:20,007 --> 00:07:23,611
He went to Film School at USC.
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00:07:23,744 --> 00:07:26,113
I don't remember Charlie
ever making any movies,
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00:07:26,247 --> 00:07:29,250
but Charlie was involved
with all of the filmmakers
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00:07:29,383 --> 00:07:31,652
and keeping track of everyone.
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00:07:31,786 --> 00:07:33,020
He was like a den mother.
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00:07:33,154 --> 00:07:35,022
But when I learned,
shortly thereafter,
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00:07:35,156 --> 00:07:37,457
that Charlie was
becoming a publicist,
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00:07:37,591 --> 00:07:39,160
it made perfect sense to me.
204
00:07:39,293 --> 00:07:41,295
I'm talking with Charlie
Lippincott, who is
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00:07:41,429 --> 00:07:42,997
associated with the production.
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00:07:43,130 --> 00:07:46,233
Charlie, could you tell us
exactly how are you associated?
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00:07:46,367 --> 00:07:48,970
I'm the executive in charge
of advertising, publicity,
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00:07:49,103 --> 00:07:51,672
promotion, and merchandising
for Star Wars corporation.
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00:07:51,806 --> 00:07:53,074
Charlie had come
up with the idea
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00:07:53,207 --> 00:07:57,011
of marketing Star
Wars directly to fans
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00:07:57,144 --> 00:08:01,349
because there really wasn't a
good hook for marketing Star
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00:08:01,481 --> 00:08:02,482
Wars.
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00:08:02,616 --> 00:08:03,884
Science fiction wasn't popular.
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00:08:04,018 --> 00:08:06,287
None of the actors
were big names
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00:08:06,420 --> 00:08:09,090
that you could get booked
on The Tonight Show.
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00:08:09,223 --> 00:08:11,292
A year before Star
Wars came out,
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00:08:11,425 --> 00:08:14,762
Charlie went and showed
slides about this movie
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00:08:14,895 --> 00:08:17,932
and got this
amazing groundswell.
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00:08:18,065 --> 00:08:21,002
Fandom was never really a
part of the marketing plan
220
00:08:21,135 --> 00:08:24,038
until Charlie
Lippincott made it so.
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00:08:24,171 --> 00:08:27,375
Even though he didn't
have footage to show them,
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00:08:27,508 --> 00:08:30,911
he would show them like
Ralph McQuarrie's artwork.
223
00:08:31,045 --> 00:08:35,950
He would tell them the story
of what the film was about.
224
00:08:36,083 --> 00:08:38,552
He went to the Star
Trek conventions
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00:08:38,686 --> 00:08:40,254
and got the Trekkies
interested in it.
226
00:08:40,388 --> 00:08:43,157
And this is something
right up their alley.
227
00:08:43,290 --> 00:08:45,326
The idea is if you
can get the enthusiasm
228
00:08:45,459 --> 00:08:46,694
with them, that will spread.
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00:08:46,827 --> 00:08:48,129
These are the kind
of people that
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00:08:48,262 --> 00:08:50,464
will see a movie 10
times if they like it.
231
00:08:50,598 --> 00:08:54,101
I'd like to introduce you
now to producer Gary Kurtz.
232
00:08:54,235 --> 00:08:57,071
[applause]
233
00:08:58,105 --> 00:09:00,107
And the star of the
film, Mark Hamill,
234
00:09:00,241 --> 00:09:02,877
who plays Luke Skywalker.
235
00:09:03,010 --> 00:09:05,179
He knew how to
get people excited
236
00:09:05,312 --> 00:09:08,949
and how to stir up
interest and word of mouth.
237
00:09:09,083 --> 00:09:12,553
And from these science
fiction conventions,
238
00:09:12,686 --> 00:09:15,756
people left being
interested to see what
239
00:09:15,890 --> 00:09:17,224
this film was going to be like.
240
00:09:17,358 --> 00:09:19,727
And then they would tell
their friends about it.
241
00:09:19,860 --> 00:09:23,397
Ballantine Books was
one of the major houses
242
00:09:23,532 --> 00:09:27,268
in paperbacks-- major
publisher in science fiction.
243
00:09:27,401 --> 00:09:30,505
Charlie went to
them and made a deal
244
00:09:30,638 --> 00:09:33,441
to do a novelization
of Star Wars
245
00:09:33,574 --> 00:09:36,010
and have it come
out like nine months
246
00:09:36,143 --> 00:09:39,380
before the movie came
out to get it out there.
247
00:09:39,514 --> 00:09:42,783
And then Charlie made a
deal with Marvel Comics
248
00:09:42,917 --> 00:09:47,388
to do the comic
bookization of Star Wars.
249
00:09:47,522 --> 00:09:51,526
And the real problem,
I think, in some ways,
250
00:09:51,659 --> 00:09:55,663
was I didn't want
one comic book,
251
00:09:55,796 --> 00:09:57,364
and I didn't want
two comic books.
252
00:09:57,498 --> 00:10:01,969
I wanted five to six comic books
telling the story of the film.
253
00:10:02,103 --> 00:10:06,040
So that was a bit of
a hard sell at first.
254
00:10:06,173 --> 00:10:08,609
And I wanted at least
three issues out
255
00:10:08,742 --> 00:10:10,044
before the film came out.
256
00:10:10,177 --> 00:10:13,114
And nobody had done
that up to that time.
257
00:10:13,247 --> 00:10:16,016
Basically, everything
with Star Wars
258
00:10:16,150 --> 00:10:20,020
that wasn't making
the movie was Charlie.
259
00:10:20,154 --> 00:10:23,691
He taught Hollywood a
very important lesson
260
00:10:23,824 --> 00:10:26,327
that they are still
learning from today.
261
00:10:26,460 --> 00:10:31,665
Nine months after Charlie
started these fan promotions,
262
00:10:31,799 --> 00:10:33,467
the movie comes out.
263
00:10:33,602 --> 00:10:34,802
[band playing star wars theme]
264
00:10:34,935 --> 00:10:36,538
To the world famous
Chinese Theater
265
00:10:36,670 --> 00:10:39,940
come the stars of the
biggest box office success
266
00:10:40,074 --> 00:10:42,343
in motion picture history.
267
00:10:42,476 --> 00:10:43,744
Star Wars.
268
00:10:43,878 --> 00:10:45,379
It is more than just
a successful movie,
269
00:10:45,514 --> 00:10:47,148
it is a box office phenomenon.
270
00:10:47,281 --> 00:10:50,251
The film is breaking attendance
records all over the country.
271
00:10:50,384 --> 00:10:52,786
Not since Jaws
have so many people
272
00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,488
stood in line to see a movie.
273
00:10:54,623 --> 00:10:57,491
It was kind of like a nuclear
explosion had gone off
274
00:10:57,626 --> 00:10:58,492
in pop culture.
275
00:10:58,627 --> 00:10:59,994
It blew people's minds.
276
00:11:00,127 --> 00:11:02,663
I mean, I remember people
waiting in line all day
277
00:11:02,796 --> 00:11:04,131
to see this movie.
278
00:11:04,265 --> 00:11:06,000
Star Wars became the
new box office champion
279
00:11:06,133 --> 00:11:08,736
by providing pure, 100%
escapist entertainment.
280
00:11:08,869 --> 00:11:11,939
And it appears this is what just
about everybody in the country
281
00:11:12,072 --> 00:11:13,274
is in the mood for.
282
00:11:13,407 --> 00:11:14,708
This was world-changing.
283
00:11:14,842 --> 00:11:16,477
It's like the Beatles.
284
00:11:16,611 --> 00:11:20,047
We'd all seen science fiction
movies before, but not
285
00:11:20,181 --> 00:11:21,248
like this.
286
00:11:21,382 --> 00:11:23,150
It only opened in America
at the end of May,
287
00:11:23,284 --> 00:11:25,286
but already it's the biggest box
office hit in cinema history.
288
00:11:25,419 --> 00:11:28,088
The overwhelming success of the
picture surprised everybody.
289
00:11:28,222 --> 00:11:30,592
As one Fox executive put
it, it's not so much a film,
290
00:11:30,724 --> 00:11:32,259
it's more an industry.
291
00:11:32,393 --> 00:11:36,565
I love that the world between
Star Wars and Empire--
292
00:11:36,697 --> 00:11:40,635
the world between Star Wars and
Empire to me is this bizarre--
293
00:11:40,768 --> 00:11:42,770
it's not completely thought out.
294
00:11:42,903 --> 00:11:44,305
There's no mythology built up.
295
00:11:44,438 --> 00:11:46,508
For the fans, it's
interesting in many ways.
296
00:11:46,641 --> 00:11:48,275
One of the ways, it
gives them an insight
297
00:11:48,409 --> 00:11:50,144
into this very
brief period where
298
00:11:50,277 --> 00:11:52,012
things were not set up yet.
299
00:11:52,146 --> 00:11:54,748
And it was kind of
like Lucasfilm 1.5.
300
00:11:54,882 --> 00:11:58,118
1.0 is over, but 2.0
wasn't there yet.
301
00:11:58,252 --> 00:12:00,888
And it wasn't until Empire
forward that everything
302
00:12:01,021 --> 00:12:02,223
became more fully formed.
303
00:12:02,356 --> 00:12:05,059
So I have a real
affection for that time
304
00:12:05,192 --> 00:12:08,663
where it was this wild thing
that nobody could figure out.
305
00:12:08,796 --> 00:12:12,766
So somewhere in the summer
after Star Wars has come out,
306
00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:17,204
George takes a meeting with
Frank Wells of Warner Brothers
307
00:12:17,338 --> 00:12:20,374
with Gary Kurtz and
Charlie Lippincott.
308
00:12:20,508 --> 00:12:24,411
The goal of that meeting was to
re-release to try and piggyback
309
00:12:24,546 --> 00:12:26,180
on the success of Star Wars.
310
00:12:26,313 --> 00:12:30,284
Somewhere along the
line in that meeting,
311
00:12:30,417 --> 00:12:34,121
Frank said something to
George to the effect of,
312
00:12:34,255 --> 00:12:36,924
come September you
guys will be nothing.
313
00:12:37,057 --> 00:12:41,095
And George left really angry.
314
00:12:41,228 --> 00:12:44,999
And so, it kind of
redoubled George's interest
315
00:12:45,132 --> 00:12:48,202
in making sure
Star Wars succeeded
316
00:12:48,335 --> 00:12:50,672
and continued to be in theaters.
317
00:12:50,804 --> 00:12:54,208
To promote Star Wars, getting
the stars of Star Wars
318
00:12:54,341 --> 00:12:56,944
to appear on all of these
talk and variety shows--
319
00:12:57,077 --> 00:13:00,014
Donny and Marie or any
of these other places.
320
00:13:00,147 --> 00:13:01,949
The Star Wars Holiday
Special may well
321
00:13:02,082 --> 00:13:04,318
have been created out of spite.
322
00:13:04,451 --> 00:13:06,086
[jazzy music]
323
00:13:06,220 --> 00:13:08,055
(SINGING) We're Darth
Vader's raiders,
324
00:13:08,188 --> 00:13:10,692
and we can't believe
the things that you do.
325
00:13:10,824 --> 00:13:12,326
You're all right.
326
00:13:12,459 --> 00:13:14,629
We never met a trooper
played hide and--
327
00:13:14,763 --> 00:13:18,065
My brothers were dressed as
the storm troopers dancing.
328
00:13:18,198 --> 00:13:22,704
I'm Luke, and Marie's
Leah with the bagels
329
00:13:22,836 --> 00:13:24,204
on the side of her head.
330
00:13:24,338 --> 00:13:26,407
Han solo, played by
Kris Christofferson.
331
00:13:26,541 --> 00:13:31,045
And I'm dancing around
R2-D2, and there's C-3PO,
332
00:13:31,178 --> 00:13:33,715
and we're talking, and
Chewbacca is there.
333
00:13:33,847 --> 00:13:35,082
And I'm thinking,
this is probably
334
00:13:35,215 --> 00:13:37,251
one of the coolest
finales we've ever done.
335
00:13:37,384 --> 00:13:40,921
(SINGING) His transistors are in
trouble and his tubes are weak.
336
00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,428
And if we stay, our chances
for survival are bleak.
337
00:13:47,562 --> 00:13:52,099
So show us the way to get
out of this world for that's
338
00:13:52,232 --> 00:13:56,270
where everything is.
339
00:13:56,403 --> 00:13:59,406
[beeps]
340
00:13:59,541 --> 00:14:03,578
I'm thinking, how in the
world is George Lucas allowing
341
00:14:03,712 --> 00:14:05,012
this to happen?
342
00:14:05,145 --> 00:14:09,517
Because that's just
so far from the movie.
343
00:14:09,651 --> 00:14:11,885
But it sure was
funny at the time,
344
00:14:12,019 --> 00:14:13,921
and it's funny to
look back right now.
345
00:14:14,054 --> 00:14:15,489
(SINGING) Push the fuel button.
346
00:14:15,623 --> 00:14:17,559
Light the fire.
347
00:14:17,692 --> 00:14:18,593
Fire.
348
00:14:18,727 --> 00:14:19,960
Going to take you higher.
349
00:14:22,162 --> 00:14:24,498
We broke a lot of rules
when we had the Star Wars
350
00:14:24,632 --> 00:14:26,934
characters on the Donny and
Marie show for that finale.
351
00:14:27,067 --> 00:14:28,803
There was a shot with
Chewbacca with his arm
352
00:14:28,936 --> 00:14:29,838
around Darth Vader.
353
00:14:29,970 --> 00:14:30,871
Oof.
354
00:14:31,004 --> 00:14:32,439
How does that happen?
355
00:14:32,574 --> 00:14:34,676
But on Donny and Marie, I
guess everybody was friends.
356
00:14:34,809 --> 00:14:36,243
[laughs]
357
00:14:36,377 --> 00:14:39,581
(SINGING) Come back to me.
358
00:14:39,714 --> 00:14:42,282
Come back to me.
359
00:14:42,416 --> 00:14:45,419
Come back to me!
360
00:14:45,553 --> 00:14:49,957
The Star Wars Holiday Special
is Citizen Kane compared
361
00:14:50,090 --> 00:14:51,492
to that Donny and Marie thing.
362
00:14:51,626 --> 00:14:55,963
I mean, that's truly train
wreck sort of television.
363
00:14:56,096 --> 00:14:58,298
You-- you intergalactic fool.
364
00:14:58,432 --> 00:15:00,467
You'll never get
them back that way.
365
00:15:00,602 --> 00:15:02,169
I suppose you have
a better plan.
366
00:15:02,302 --> 00:15:05,540
No plan at all, just
a little "force."
367
00:15:05,673 --> 00:15:08,208
You can't imagine that
happening in 1981.
368
00:15:08,342 --> 00:15:10,244
Like, that Star Wars
couldn't have gone
369
00:15:10,377 --> 00:15:12,547
near a show like that in '81.
370
00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,683
But in '77, everyone's going,
I don't know what this is
371
00:15:15,817 --> 00:15:17,852
or how big it's going to
be, but yeah, take it.
372
00:15:17,985 --> 00:15:18,952
Go.
373
00:15:19,086 --> 00:15:19,854
Put it on a t-shirt or whatever.
374
00:15:19,987 --> 00:15:21,155
Put it in your show.
375
00:15:21,288 --> 00:15:22,122
Do a dance with
the stormtroopers.
376
00:15:22,256 --> 00:15:23,792
["get ready"]
377
00:15:23,924 --> 00:15:28,563
But fee-fi-fo-fum, look out
people, cause here we come.
378
00:15:28,696 --> 00:15:30,297
I think that's one of
the coolest moments
379
00:15:30,431 --> 00:15:32,132
my brothers ever
had in show business
380
00:15:32,266 --> 00:15:36,771
was transforming stormtroopers
to vaudevillian dancers.
381
00:15:36,905 --> 00:15:40,307
[laughs] That's so funny.
382
00:15:40,441 --> 00:15:42,610
(SINGING) So get ready.
383
00:15:42,744 --> 00:15:43,678
Get ready.
384
00:15:43,812 --> 00:15:45,179
Here we come.
385
00:15:45,312 --> 00:15:48,750
So the public appearances
helped the ticket sales
386
00:15:48,883 --> 00:15:50,384
in the theaters.
387
00:15:50,518 --> 00:15:53,020
They had the entire family
watching the Donny and Marie
388
00:15:53,153 --> 00:15:54,288
Show.
389
00:15:54,421 --> 00:15:57,090
George wanted to
tap into that magic.
390
00:15:57,224 --> 00:15:59,894
We had the demographics
that he wanted.
391
00:16:00,027 --> 00:16:03,832
And through research,
he was right.
392
00:16:03,964 --> 00:16:05,800
And that Donny and
Marie Show aired,
393
00:16:05,934 --> 00:16:09,002
and everybody saw Star Wars
characters on Donny and Marie.
394
00:16:09,136 --> 00:16:10,672
They went back to the theater.
395
00:16:10,805 --> 00:16:12,841
It's almost as if at that time
in the entertainment world
396
00:16:12,973 --> 00:16:14,374
there were like two tracks.
397
00:16:14,509 --> 00:16:16,477
It was, like, for entertainment.
398
00:16:16,611 --> 00:16:18,513
And it had been going on
since the silent movies,
399
00:16:18,646 --> 00:16:23,283
where you did your kind of high
art form, which was the movie,
400
00:16:23,417 --> 00:16:25,486
and then you did a lot
of stuff to support it,
401
00:16:25,620 --> 00:16:26,921
whatever it took.
402
00:16:27,054 --> 00:16:28,756
If you had to put on the
disguise in front of a shopping
403
00:16:28,890 --> 00:16:30,057
mall, you did it.
404
00:16:30,190 --> 00:16:31,626
And they did it for Star Wars.
405
00:16:31,759 --> 00:16:33,761
George was about to start
shooting The Empire Strikes
406
00:16:33,895 --> 00:16:38,733
Back, and he was concerned
that there be momentum,
407
00:16:38,867 --> 00:16:42,336
that there would be a stirring
the pot to make sure people
408
00:16:42,469 --> 00:16:44,071
were aware of the franchise.
409
00:16:44,204 --> 00:16:46,240
And you saw the
proliferation of Star Wars
410
00:16:46,373 --> 00:16:49,911
on television in the late
1970s, in 1977 specifically,
411
00:16:50,043 --> 00:16:54,949
on these variety shows, as a
way to keep Star Wars cemented
412
00:16:55,082 --> 00:16:56,416
in the zeitgeist.
413
00:16:56,551 --> 00:16:58,085
Prior to that, the big
movie was Jaws, right?
414
00:16:58,218 --> 00:17:00,220
But you couldn't just
throw Jaws onto a thing.
415
00:17:00,354 --> 00:17:02,289
Like, ladies and gentlemen,
Jaws is here to sing.
416
00:17:02,422 --> 00:17:04,993
In retrospect, I think
it's exceptionally foolish,
417
00:17:05,125 --> 00:17:06,694
because the brand
was not going to die.
418
00:17:06,828 --> 00:17:08,563
It was very, very popular.
419
00:17:08,696 --> 00:17:13,100
Somebody, somewhere, said, if
we don't give them something,
420
00:17:13,233 --> 00:17:14,602
they're going to
forget about us.
421
00:17:14,736 --> 00:17:17,572
And suddenly, it's
everywhere on TV after that.
422
00:17:17,705 --> 00:17:21,041
Like, just the promotion
was everywhere you looked.
423
00:17:21,174 --> 00:17:23,443
Let's crank out as
much stuff as we can.
424
00:17:23,578 --> 00:17:26,915
Let's let Richard Pryor have all
the alien makeup for a cantina
425
00:17:27,047 --> 00:17:28,048
sketch on his show.
426
00:17:28,181 --> 00:17:31,184
[big band star wars theme]
427
00:17:33,220 --> 00:17:34,421
That sketch actually
kind of works.
428
00:17:34,556 --> 00:17:36,791
It's Richard Pryor
in that world,
429
00:17:36,925 --> 00:17:41,094
and he's using it to ding riffs
on race, and social class,
430
00:17:41,228 --> 00:17:41,996
and stuff like that.
431
00:17:42,129 --> 00:17:42,664
Hey, Hey.
432
00:17:42,797 --> 00:17:44,064
Hey!
433
00:17:44,197 --> 00:17:45,432
Why don't you watch
where you're going?
434
00:17:45,567 --> 00:17:46,199
You got the biggest
eyes in the place.
435
00:17:46,333 --> 00:17:47,969
[laughter]
436
00:17:48,101 --> 00:17:49,436
Also, these characters
weren't embedded
437
00:17:49,571 --> 00:17:51,238
in our consciousness
the way they are now.
438
00:17:51,371 --> 00:17:53,041
We'd met them once in one film.
439
00:17:53,173 --> 00:17:56,578
It's not like we'd gone on a
nine-film adventure with R2-D2,
440
00:17:56,711 --> 00:17:58,278
and we know the
parameters of R2-D2
441
00:17:58,412 --> 00:17:59,881
or how he would
speak-- or C-3PO.
442
00:18:00,014 --> 00:18:01,148
Hello, welcome to Burger Chef.
443
00:18:01,281 --> 00:18:02,750
We'd like a Star
Wars poster, please.
444
00:18:02,884 --> 00:18:04,117
Or even Darth Vader.
445
00:18:04,251 --> 00:18:06,186
With guest appearances
by Darth Vader!
446
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:07,087
Humongous.
447
00:18:07,220 --> 00:18:09,624
[breathing sounds]
448
00:18:09,757 --> 00:18:11,559
[explosion]
449
00:18:11,693 --> 00:18:14,862
[applause]
450
00:18:14,996 --> 00:18:16,129
[groans]
451
00:18:16,263 --> 00:18:17,397
We'd seen them
once in that film,
452
00:18:17,532 --> 00:18:18,933
and that was the
only voice we knew.
453
00:18:19,067 --> 00:18:21,669
So the fact that Darth
Vader was being lampooned,
454
00:18:21,803 --> 00:18:24,338
or that the droids were doing
things out of context, or even
455
00:18:24,471 --> 00:18:26,708
Mark Hamill was doing
something in a different way--
456
00:18:26,841 --> 00:18:28,977
Bob Hope's All-Star
Christmas Comedy
457
00:18:29,109 --> 00:18:33,081
Special, starring special
guest star Mark Hamill.
458
00:18:33,213 --> 00:18:36,784
[big band music]
459
00:18:49,631 --> 00:18:51,099
[applause]
460
00:18:51,231 --> 00:18:54,535
It's more egregious now looking
back than it was, I think,
461
00:18:54,669 --> 00:18:55,737
at the time.
462
00:18:55,870 --> 00:18:58,405
It was a very normal way
of getting it out there,
463
00:18:58,539 --> 00:19:00,808
and Star Wars embraced
that opportunity.
464
00:19:00,942 --> 00:19:02,409
Its Luke Skywalker!
465
00:19:02,543 --> 00:19:03,911
Did you bring the force?
466
00:19:04,045 --> 00:19:05,079
You better believe it.
467
00:19:05,212 --> 00:19:07,015
The Los Angeles Police Force.
468
00:19:07,147 --> 00:19:07,982
[laughter]
469
00:19:08,116 --> 00:19:09,282
How did you find them?
470
00:19:09,416 --> 00:19:10,818
[laughter]
471
00:19:10,952 --> 00:19:13,054
Now, you're all under arrest
for malicious mutilation
472
00:19:13,220 --> 00:19:14,622
of a marvelous movie.
473
00:19:14,756 --> 00:19:16,189
[laughter]
474
00:19:16,323 --> 00:19:19,694
I should have stuck to
looking for Mr. Goodbar.
475
00:19:19,827 --> 00:19:22,063
Any kind of artwork
out of context
476
00:19:22,195 --> 00:19:23,196
is going to look funny--
477
00:19:23,330 --> 00:19:24,799
any kind of artwork.
478
00:19:24,932 --> 00:19:26,634
Any kind, period.
479
00:19:26,768 --> 00:19:30,470
If you don't know the
history and the context,
480
00:19:30,605 --> 00:19:32,339
you cannot appreciate it fully.
481
00:19:32,472 --> 00:19:34,842
This was in the days of
crazy specials-- you know,
482
00:19:34,976 --> 00:19:37,310
Wayne Newton at SeaWorld.
483
00:19:37,444 --> 00:19:39,514
Wayne, meet Shamu.
484
00:19:39,647 --> 00:19:41,649
Kids, let's do a show.
485
00:19:41,783 --> 00:19:46,286
From Orlando, Florida, it's
Wayne Newton at SeaWorld.
486
00:19:46,420 --> 00:19:47,922
[applause]
487
00:19:48,056 --> 00:19:50,091
And special guest appearance
by Shamu, the killer whale!
488
00:19:50,223 --> 00:19:51,592
[WAYNE NEWTON, "BAD, BAD LEROY
BROWN"]
489
00:19:51,726 --> 00:19:54,095
--old King Kong, meaner
than a junkyard dog.
490
00:19:54,227 --> 00:20:00,233
When '70s TV was bad, there
was no description for it.
491
00:20:00,367 --> 00:20:02,369
I mean, it's corny,
and it's stupid.
492
00:20:02,503 --> 00:20:03,571
That's kind of what it was.
493
00:20:03,705 --> 00:20:05,506
Everybody had a variety show.
494
00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,710
Howard Cosell had
a variety show.
495
00:20:08,843 --> 00:20:10,912
You know what's going
to make this show work?
496
00:20:11,045 --> 00:20:13,781
Yours truly, the born superstar.
497
00:20:13,915 --> 00:20:16,184
Didn't Shields and
Yarnell have a show?
498
00:20:16,316 --> 00:20:20,822
They were mimes, and they did
something on Donny and Marie,
499
00:20:20,955 --> 00:20:22,123
and it was popular.
500
00:20:22,255 --> 00:20:23,223
So they went, well,
give them a show.
501
00:20:23,356 --> 00:20:24,659
Let's see if it works.
502
00:20:24,792 --> 00:20:26,594
At least '70s television
was way more in touch
503
00:20:26,728 --> 00:20:28,930
with, hey, no one
knows anything.
504
00:20:29,063 --> 00:20:29,864
Oh, didn't work.
505
00:20:29,997 --> 00:20:30,832
Well, we tried.
506
00:20:30,965 --> 00:20:31,632
Like, they don't know.
507
00:20:31,766 --> 00:20:32,834
They don't know!
508
00:20:32,967 --> 00:20:36,204
It became a way to bring
the family together
509
00:20:36,336 --> 00:20:40,174
in front of the television
set without fully satisfying
510
00:20:40,307 --> 00:20:42,342
any one member of that family.
511
00:20:42,476 --> 00:20:44,078
It was disposable television.
512
00:20:44,212 --> 00:20:47,782
People are going to see
this once, and that's it.
513
00:20:47,915 --> 00:20:49,984
Variety shows did
not repeat well.
514
00:20:50,118 --> 00:20:52,086
They look arcane today.
515
00:20:52,220 --> 00:20:54,956
The funny thing is, if you
think the Star Wars Holiday
516
00:20:55,089 --> 00:21:00,161
Special is bad or the "worst
thing" that ever aired on TV,
517
00:21:00,293 --> 00:21:02,697
you never saw The
Lawrence Welk Show.
518
00:21:02,830 --> 00:21:06,134
And that calls for
a little soul music.
519
00:21:06,266 --> 00:21:09,537
[variety music]
520
00:21:14,509 --> 00:21:19,180
You never saw the Paul
Lynde Halloween special.
521
00:21:19,312 --> 00:21:21,381
(SINGING) Move it
in, move it out.
522
00:21:21,516 --> 00:21:23,251
Move it in and about.
523
00:21:23,383 --> 00:21:24,384
Disco baby.
524
00:21:26,754 --> 00:21:30,290
You never saw The Brady
Bunch Variety Show.
525
00:21:33,528 --> 00:21:36,664
(SINGING) There's a
new kind of dancing.
526
00:21:36,798 --> 00:21:39,600
It's going to be the rage.
527
00:21:39,734 --> 00:21:45,305
Just move yourself behind
like an actor on a stage.
528
00:21:45,438 --> 00:21:48,509
The Brady Bunch Variety Hour
and the Paul Lynde Halloween
529
00:21:48,643 --> 00:21:52,180
Special, those stand out
because they are so bad.
530
00:21:52,312 --> 00:21:55,482
But there are other ones that
are forgotten just because they
531
00:21:55,616 --> 00:21:58,186
weren't even memorably bad.
532
00:21:58,318 --> 00:22:02,223
There are astronomically
worse shows
533
00:22:02,355 --> 00:22:05,693
that aired around this time,
they just didn't carry the name
534
00:22:05,827 --> 00:22:07,094
Star Wars.
535
00:22:07,228 --> 00:22:10,363
The Star Wars Holiday
Special happened, again,
536
00:22:10,497 --> 00:22:11,933
for multiple reasons.
537
00:22:12,066 --> 00:22:16,070
CBS approached Lucasfilm
wanting to do it.
538
00:22:16,204 --> 00:22:19,574
We talked to George at one
point about how this happened.
539
00:22:19,707 --> 00:22:21,275
You don't like this
piece of content.
540
00:22:21,408 --> 00:22:24,245
How does anything that you don't
like or you didn't approve of
541
00:22:24,377 --> 00:22:25,713
get through?
542
00:22:25,847 --> 00:22:27,447
It's like, it's not that
I didn't approve of it.
543
00:22:27,582 --> 00:22:29,717
There was so much pressure in
between Star Wars and Empire.
544
00:22:29,851 --> 00:22:32,220
The way that executives
thought about the audience
545
00:22:32,352 --> 00:22:35,156
is that everyone would just
forget Star Wars was a thing.
546
00:22:35,289 --> 00:22:37,124
The audience, they just
can't be depended upon.
547
00:22:37,258 --> 00:22:40,862
So you got to make some other
kind of short-term Star Wars
548
00:22:40,995 --> 00:22:41,896
content.
549
00:22:42,029 --> 00:22:43,496
What kind of TV
show can you make
550
00:22:43,631 --> 00:22:45,166
on the kind of budget it
takes to make Star Wars?
551
00:22:45,299 --> 00:22:47,635
And they're like,
holiday special.
552
00:22:47,768 --> 00:22:49,704
And this was a
way, a TV special,
553
00:22:49,837 --> 00:22:52,773
to get mass exposure, to get
more excitement until Empire
554
00:22:52,907 --> 00:22:55,877
comes back and certainly
it would help the toys.
555
00:22:56,010 --> 00:22:59,379
Star Wars, the
toys came later on.
556
00:22:59,513 --> 00:23:01,649
They were ill-prepared
for how successful
557
00:23:01,782 --> 00:23:03,383
the movie was going to be.
558
00:23:03,517 --> 00:23:05,286
Because there was no such thing
as merchandising on movies.
559
00:23:05,418 --> 00:23:07,387
Some TV stuff, but not movies.
560
00:23:07,521 --> 00:23:09,123
Their lifespan is
just too short.
561
00:23:09,257 --> 00:23:11,759
Back then, by the time you
would get a toy line out,
562
00:23:11,893 --> 00:23:14,061
it would be 12
months to 18 months
563
00:23:14,195 --> 00:23:16,330
after the movie
already left theaters,
564
00:23:16,463 --> 00:23:17,765
and nobody would
remember the movie.
565
00:23:17,899 --> 00:23:19,901
So nobody was willing
to take that risk.
566
00:23:20,034 --> 00:23:21,836
The official Kenner
Star Wars models
567
00:23:21,969 --> 00:23:23,604
are still in production
in the orient
568
00:23:23,738 --> 00:23:25,740
and won't be ready
for several months.
569
00:23:25,873 --> 00:23:29,810
First Christmas, every kid in
America wants a Star Wars toy,
570
00:23:29,944 --> 00:23:32,146
but they had nothing
to sell for Christmas.
571
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,983
And so, what they did was they
sold you a coupon that you
572
00:23:36,117 --> 00:23:40,521
would send in, and once
the toys had been made,
573
00:23:40,655 --> 00:23:42,523
they would ship you a set.
574
00:23:42,657 --> 00:23:46,459
But in 1978, the
toys were everywhere.
575
00:23:46,594 --> 00:23:50,164
And this was the first Christmas
where you could get Star Wars
576
00:23:50,298 --> 00:23:51,866
toys, Star Wars everything.
577
00:23:51,999 --> 00:23:55,169
And a key component of marketing
that was the Star Wars Holiday
578
00:23:55,303 --> 00:23:56,637
Special.
579
00:23:56,771 --> 00:23:58,272
May the force be with
you and your children.
580
00:23:58,406 --> 00:24:01,575
[r2 beeps]
581
00:24:02,944 --> 00:24:05,713
Our agent called and said that
there's a Star Wars Holiday
582
00:24:05,846 --> 00:24:06,781
Special.
583
00:24:06,914 --> 00:24:09,016
And we got really
excited because we
584
00:24:09,150 --> 00:24:12,887
thought this was going to be
our annuity, that this holiday
585
00:24:13,020 --> 00:24:16,891
show would run every
year for an eternity.
586
00:24:17,024 --> 00:24:19,961
The Charlie Brown
Christmas, the Grinch That
587
00:24:20,094 --> 00:24:22,363
Stole Christmas I mean,
all of these things that'll
588
00:24:22,495 --> 00:24:23,798
be one forever.
589
00:24:23,931 --> 00:24:26,400
As it turned out, it
was only one viewing.
590
00:24:26,534 --> 00:24:28,569
So the people who
wrote the special--
591
00:24:28,703 --> 00:24:30,338
and there were a bunch of them--
592
00:24:30,470 --> 00:24:32,306
were not science fiction people.
593
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,575
They weren't Star Wars fans.
594
00:24:34,709 --> 00:24:37,545
I don't know if they all
had even seen Star Wars.
595
00:24:37,678 --> 00:24:39,747
They were people
who wrote variety,
596
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:41,582
and that's what this show was.
597
00:24:41,716 --> 00:24:45,186
It just happened to be
themed to Star Wars.
598
00:24:45,319 --> 00:24:47,922
I mean, you have to remember,
we were comedy writers.
599
00:24:48,055 --> 00:24:53,461
And to get into something like
this was really thrilling.
600
00:24:53,594 --> 00:24:55,029
And I said, where do I sign?
601
00:24:55,162 --> 00:24:58,733
And it was fun
from the beginning.
602
00:24:58,866 --> 00:25:02,303
And the first day
it was the staff--
603
00:25:02,436 --> 00:25:03,938
Lenny Ripps and Pat Proft.
604
00:25:04,071 --> 00:25:05,172
They were there.
605
00:25:05,306 --> 00:25:08,042
And Ken and Mitzie
Welch, who were writers
606
00:25:08,175 --> 00:25:11,645
from The Carol Burnett Show, who
did all the big musical things,
607
00:25:11,779 --> 00:25:12,480
and George--
608
00:25:12,613 --> 00:25:13,748
George Lucas.
609
00:25:13,881 --> 00:25:15,149
And Gary Smith
and Dwight Hemion,
610
00:25:15,282 --> 00:25:18,152
who were actually
allegedly producing it,
611
00:25:18,285 --> 00:25:20,855
but they didn't really
produce it in the end.
612
00:25:20,988 --> 00:25:23,190
When I was looking at the
credits on the show and I saw
613
00:25:23,324 --> 00:25:24,959
that they had-- it
was a Smith-Hemion--
614
00:25:25,092 --> 00:25:27,028
I said, it was a
Smith-Hemion production?
615
00:25:27,161 --> 00:25:28,129
That's so stupid.
616
00:25:28,262 --> 00:25:29,897
Because I don't remember
them being there.
617
00:25:30,031 --> 00:25:31,999
But they were at the beginning
when I thought about it.
618
00:25:32,133 --> 00:25:33,667
And the other
thing was we worked
619
00:25:33,801 --> 00:25:37,171
with his director, a guy
named David Acomba, who
620
00:25:37,304 --> 00:25:42,243
was a director of
rock and roll videos.
621
00:25:42,376 --> 00:25:47,481
He made a successful rock
and roll documentary there.
622
00:25:47,615 --> 00:25:49,650
And there was that
USC connection.
623
00:25:49,784 --> 00:25:51,452
David was the voice of George.
624
00:25:51,585 --> 00:25:54,922
If David had an idea, or we
wanted to run something by him,
625
00:25:55,056 --> 00:25:57,758
or there were questions,
our assumption
626
00:25:57,892 --> 00:26:01,862
was that it's also
what George wanted.
627
00:26:01,996 --> 00:26:04,432
My intent was to see
what George wanted
628
00:26:04,565 --> 00:26:05,666
and try and make it happen.
629
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:07,468
But quickly there were--
630
00:26:07,601 --> 00:26:10,404
Ken and Mitzie were assigned to
the show, whom I didn't know.
631
00:26:10,539 --> 00:26:13,074
And then, when I found
out what they did, I mean,
632
00:26:13,207 --> 00:26:16,744
they wrote the music for the
singing numbers and that.
633
00:26:16,877 --> 00:26:18,279
I just thought that
was one of the worst
634
00:26:18,412 --> 00:26:20,214
parts of the show when
she started singing
635
00:26:20,347 --> 00:26:23,918
and all those kinds of fake,
Broadway, forgettable show
636
00:26:24,051 --> 00:26:25,486
tunes.
637
00:26:25,619 --> 00:26:27,421
The wrong people to be assigned
to work with me or vice versa.
638
00:26:27,556 --> 00:26:30,958
The film industry and the
variety television industry
639
00:26:31,092 --> 00:26:33,828
are completely two
separate animals.
640
00:26:33,961 --> 00:26:36,630
I hear that David did not
get along with the Welches.
641
00:26:36,764 --> 00:26:38,299
And I didn't realize
that because I
642
00:26:38,432 --> 00:26:40,801
wasn't in the room with them
when that was happening.
643
00:26:40,935 --> 00:26:44,271
But that was the team.
644
00:26:44,405 --> 00:26:47,441
What's so unique about the Star
Wars Holiday Special is not
645
00:26:47,576 --> 00:26:50,845
just that they have the
costumes and the permission
646
00:26:50,978 --> 00:26:52,713
to use everything that
we know of Star Wars,
647
00:26:52,847 --> 00:26:55,449
but they actually got the cast--
648
00:26:55,584 --> 00:26:56,851
the cast of Star Wars.
649
00:26:56,984 --> 00:26:58,752
When I read it, I
said this is awful.
650
00:26:58,886 --> 00:27:00,354
[laughter]
651
00:27:03,757 --> 00:27:05,693
I was-- it was in my contract.
652
00:27:05,826 --> 00:27:06,727
[laughter]
653
00:27:06,861 --> 00:27:07,828
There was no way--
654
00:27:07,962 --> 00:27:09,763
no known way-- to get out of it.
655
00:27:09,897 --> 00:27:11,932
Oh, all right, but
I'm not singing!
656
00:27:12,066 --> 00:27:15,202
They all slum it
for a TV special.
657
00:27:15,336 --> 00:27:19,006
Again, I have to imagine the
paychecks made it worth it.
658
00:27:19,140 --> 00:27:23,512
The talent was supposed
to be the caliber of Cher,
659
00:27:23,644 --> 00:27:26,380
Baryshnikov, and Ann-Margaret.
660
00:27:26,515 --> 00:27:28,782
That was the people
that they had hoped
661
00:27:28,916 --> 00:27:30,885
would be on the variety show.
662
00:27:31,018 --> 00:27:32,853
I didn't think it
was going to be
663
00:27:32,987 --> 00:27:35,122
so much of a traditional
variety show.
664
00:27:35,256 --> 00:27:39,293
It never occurred to me that
Harvey Korman, and Bea Arthur,
665
00:27:39,426 --> 00:27:41,328
and Art Carney were
going to be in it.
666
00:27:41,462 --> 00:27:45,933
Yes, they were TV stars, but
they were the elderly audience,
667
00:27:46,066 --> 00:27:48,269
CBS audience TV stars.
668
00:27:48,402 --> 00:27:50,070
It always occurred to
me as something that
669
00:27:50,204 --> 00:27:53,474
was put together by old TV.
670
00:27:53,608 --> 00:27:54,643
You know, what is this?
671
00:27:54,775 --> 00:27:55,544
Star what?
672
00:27:55,676 --> 00:27:56,677
Whatever.
673
00:27:56,810 --> 00:27:57,845
You know, where's Captain Kirk?
674
00:27:57,978 --> 00:27:59,380
Bring in-- you know who we need?
675
00:27:59,514 --> 00:28:00,214
Art Carney.
676
00:28:00,347 --> 00:28:01,482
He's a TV legend.
677
00:28:01,616 --> 00:28:05,686
You felt like they could
have had cooler, hipper
678
00:28:05,819 --> 00:28:07,721
people that they
would have brought in
679
00:28:07,855 --> 00:28:09,223
to do these various parts.
680
00:28:09,356 --> 00:28:11,125
Ken and Mitzie were old
school, and they were
681
00:28:11,258 --> 00:28:13,027
used to doing it a certain way.
682
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:17,731
And David wasn't
crazy about that.
683
00:28:17,865 --> 00:28:21,302
So there's an interesting rumor
about the Star Wars Holiday
684
00:28:21,435 --> 00:28:24,104
Special, which I've
always found fascinating,
685
00:28:24,238 --> 00:28:28,309
which is that David Acomba was
scouring improv clubs looking
686
00:28:28,442 --> 00:28:31,712
for great acts that could
appear in the special
687
00:28:31,845 --> 00:28:33,981
and came across Robin Williams.
688
00:28:34,114 --> 00:28:37,552
This was after he'd already
been Mork on Happy Days
689
00:28:37,686 --> 00:28:42,089
but before he had gotten
Mork and Mindy on the air.
690
00:28:42,223 --> 00:28:47,094
And he brought Robin
to the Welches, who
691
00:28:47,228 --> 00:28:49,029
immediately turned
him away and said,
692
00:28:49,163 --> 00:28:50,864
we're only looking
for name talent.
693
00:28:50,998 --> 00:28:53,434
About a month later
Mork and Mindy airs,
694
00:28:53,568 --> 00:28:56,971
and Robin Williams
explodes and could
695
00:28:57,104 --> 00:29:00,874
have been a part of what
made the Star Wars Holiday
696
00:29:01,008 --> 00:29:03,043
Special fantastic.
697
00:29:03,177 --> 00:29:05,212
They weren't on-- just weren't
on the same wavelength.
698
00:29:05,346 --> 00:29:08,415
And David felt that he was on
George's wavelength and that
699
00:29:08,550 --> 00:29:09,718
they weren't.
700
00:29:09,850 --> 00:29:14,088
And they were
there because there
701
00:29:14,221 --> 00:29:16,390
had to be professionals who
had done this kind of thing
702
00:29:16,524 --> 00:29:18,526
before who knew what
the requirements were.
703
00:29:18,660 --> 00:29:20,995
And George came up with
the original story.
704
00:29:21,128 --> 00:29:22,863
It was going to be
a one-hour special.
705
00:29:22,997 --> 00:29:25,099
Now, the Star Wars holiday
special that we know
706
00:29:25,232 --> 00:29:28,402
didn't start off the way
that we experienced it.
707
00:29:28,536 --> 00:29:31,305
It actually started off I think
from a much purer place, which
708
00:29:31,438 --> 00:29:36,010
is George Lucas trying to
write a variety holiday
709
00:29:36,143 --> 00:29:38,245
special, or at least
just a holiday special.
710
00:29:38,379 --> 00:29:41,181
So after Ralph McQuarrie
passed in 2012,
711
00:29:41,315 --> 00:29:45,919
they discovered, in his
archive, a five-page treatment
712
00:29:46,053 --> 00:29:47,589
for the Star Wars
Holiday Special.
713
00:29:47,722 --> 00:29:49,691
And it's debated as to who
actually wrote this treatment.
714
00:29:49,823 --> 00:29:54,428
And when reading it, it
does feel decidedly Lucas.
715
00:29:54,562 --> 00:29:58,132
And when you look at those old
Ralph McQuarrie concept pieces,
716
00:29:58,265 --> 00:29:59,734
it makes sense that
George would have
717
00:29:59,867 --> 00:30:02,970
floated this five-page treatment
to his key collaborator
718
00:30:03,103 --> 00:30:04,305
on A New Hope.
719
00:30:04,438 --> 00:30:07,074
When you read through
the treatment,
720
00:30:07,207 --> 00:30:09,977
George Lucas has a
Jules Verne quality.
721
00:30:10,110 --> 00:30:11,412
He sees the future.
722
00:30:11,546 --> 00:30:14,114
Whether it is an iPad
or virtual reality,
723
00:30:14,248 --> 00:30:18,852
this idea of this kind of
walking through a teleporter
724
00:30:18,986 --> 00:30:20,555
and being able to be
in a different spot.
725
00:30:20,689 --> 00:30:23,625
But then there are other
things that are so decidedly
726
00:30:23,758 --> 00:30:26,927
weird like Raquel Welch.
727
00:30:27,061 --> 00:30:29,096
"Guest star-- Raquel Welch--
728
00:30:29,229 --> 00:30:31,198
volunteers for
the job and leaves
729
00:30:31,332 --> 00:30:32,600
to intercept the starship."
730
00:30:32,734 --> 00:30:36,437
So Raquel is playing
a starship officer,
731
00:30:36,571 --> 00:30:39,406
which is already odd because
most imperial officers are
732
00:30:39,541 --> 00:30:40,908
British.
733
00:30:41,041 --> 00:30:43,745
And she's going to infiltrate
the Starship Musica to stop
734
00:30:43,877 --> 00:30:45,112
the Life Day celebration.
735
00:30:45,245 --> 00:30:46,914
Raquel, under the
guise of telling Lumpy
736
00:30:47,047 --> 00:30:49,751
a story with dance and gestures
about what drives a spaceship,
737
00:30:49,883 --> 00:30:53,454
dances her way into the
power supply room and screws
738
00:30:53,588 --> 00:30:55,022
everything up.
739
00:30:55,155 --> 00:30:59,561
This idea that Raquel Welch
is doing some performance
740
00:30:59,694 --> 00:31:02,597
art, Alvin Ailey kind of--
741
00:31:02,731 --> 00:31:06,333
she's describing how a
spaceship works through dance?
742
00:31:06,467 --> 00:31:08,402
There's a lot of
questions to be had here.
743
00:31:08,536 --> 00:31:09,604
Look, who am I to judge?
744
00:31:09,738 --> 00:31:11,438
But in reading this,
it feels like, hey,
745
00:31:11,573 --> 00:31:14,274
a nerdy guy who has maybe
a crush on Raquel Welch.
746
00:31:14,408 --> 00:31:15,844
He's like, maybe
I get to meet her.
747
00:31:15,976 --> 00:31:17,077
Maybe she'll be impressed by me.
748
00:31:17,211 --> 00:31:18,011
Maybe we'll hit it off.
749
00:31:18,145 --> 00:31:18,847
We'll go get a sandwich.
750
00:31:18,979 --> 00:31:20,515
Nothing weird.
751
00:31:20,648 --> 00:31:25,052
We spent one full 12-hour day
working with George Lucas,
752
00:31:25,185 --> 00:31:27,187
and that was worth everything.
753
00:31:27,321 --> 00:31:30,924
I mean, he was the most-intense,
most-focused person
754
00:31:31,058 --> 00:31:32,527
I had ever met.
755
00:31:32,660 --> 00:31:35,630
I mean, we were so into it
that I forgot about lunch.
756
00:31:35,764 --> 00:31:38,132
And that's infrequent for me.
757
00:31:38,265 --> 00:31:42,704
Then he told us the
mythology of the story.
758
00:31:42,837 --> 00:31:48,041
There was this Life Day.
759
00:31:48,175 --> 00:31:49,376
[wookiee talk]
760
00:31:49,511 --> 00:31:51,078
I know your family's waiting.
761
00:31:51,211 --> 00:31:52,379
[wookiee talk]
762
00:31:52,514 --> 00:31:54,415
I know it's an important day.
763
00:31:54,549 --> 00:31:57,117
[wookiee talk]
764
00:31:57,251 --> 00:31:58,820
All right, we'll give it a try.
765
00:31:58,952 --> 00:32:03,190
The story was Luke
and Leia were--
766
00:32:03,323 --> 00:32:07,629
and Han Solo were--
accompanying Chewbacca home
767
00:32:07,762 --> 00:32:10,230
to his home planet for Life Day.
768
00:32:10,364 --> 00:32:12,299
Which was a holiday
George invented,
769
00:32:12,433 --> 00:32:14,602
and he thought it
would be like later
770
00:32:14,736 --> 00:32:17,505
"Festivus for the rest of
us" from Seinfeld would be.
771
00:32:17,639 --> 00:32:18,972
But not so much.
772
00:32:19,106 --> 00:32:20,274
Never happened.
773
00:32:20,407 --> 00:32:21,643
It was kind of a
Wookiee Rosh Hashanah.
774
00:32:21,776 --> 00:32:23,010
You know?
775
00:32:23,143 --> 00:32:25,412
I mean, it was the
biggest day of the year.
776
00:32:25,547 --> 00:32:27,816
The whole Life Day
with the Wookiees
777
00:32:27,948 --> 00:32:31,218
was something that George took
very seriously at the time
778
00:32:31,351 --> 00:32:33,621
and that also sort of
expanded the Star Wars
779
00:32:33,755 --> 00:32:36,724
universe in his first
major visual expansion.
780
00:32:36,858 --> 00:32:39,059
George didn't choose
the storyline lightly.
781
00:32:39,193 --> 00:32:41,763
They wanted
Chewbacca's family have
782
00:32:41,896 --> 00:32:47,134
exposure to show them as a
loving family of creatures.
783
00:32:47,267 --> 00:32:49,403
And to George Lucas,
this was real.
784
00:32:49,537 --> 00:32:51,606
I mean, you have to
remember, he had come up
785
00:32:51,739 --> 00:32:56,678
with at least a dozen stories,
so he knew what this was about.
786
00:32:56,811 --> 00:32:59,647
George met with the
writers on the special
787
00:32:59,781 --> 00:33:02,282
and actually showed
them a large binder--
788
00:33:02,416 --> 00:33:06,019
a Bible of sorts-- for
the universe, where
789
00:33:06,153 --> 00:33:08,388
we got to know a lot
more about the characters
790
00:33:08,523 --> 00:33:10,324
that we didn't know at the time.
791
00:33:10,457 --> 00:33:13,928
He was kind of like a
reporter sharing with us
792
00:33:14,061 --> 00:33:15,730
a world that we didn't know.
793
00:33:15,864 --> 00:33:19,032
Obviously, we were going to get
to know a lot about Chewbacca's
794
00:33:19,166 --> 00:33:21,235
home life on Kashyyyk.
795
00:33:21,368 --> 00:33:24,939
But there's rumor that we
were even potentially going
796
00:33:25,072 --> 00:33:28,208
to learn more about Han Solo.
797
00:33:28,342 --> 00:33:31,178
You're like family to me.
798
00:33:35,215 --> 00:33:36,684
[wookiee talk]
799
00:33:36,818 --> 00:33:39,721
He said that Han Solo
was married to a Wookiee,
800
00:33:39,854 --> 00:33:42,724
but we can't say that because
people wouldn't accept it.
801
00:33:42,857 --> 00:33:45,325
Family to me.
802
00:33:45,459 --> 00:33:47,562
That Wookiee looked at
you with-- with lust.
803
00:33:47,695 --> 00:33:48,161
That was--
804
00:33:48,295 --> 00:33:49,631
[laughter]
805
00:33:49,764 --> 00:33:50,765
Real affection.
806
00:33:50,899 --> 00:33:52,132
[laughter]
807
00:33:52,266 --> 00:33:54,669
No, Han was never married to--
808
00:33:54,802 --> 00:33:58,105
that's-- that's not true--
809
00:33:58,238 --> 00:33:59,507
That's impossible!
810
00:33:59,641 --> 00:34:01,743
Uh, OK.
811
00:34:01,876 --> 00:34:05,947
Most of our work was with
the Chewbacca stuff, not
812
00:34:06,079 --> 00:34:07,015
the variety stuff.
813
00:34:07,147 --> 00:34:10,083
The variety parts we left blank.
814
00:34:10,217 --> 00:34:12,654
And originally the
special was going
815
00:34:12,787 --> 00:34:16,891
to be a one-hour special, which
was typical for those variety
816
00:34:17,025 --> 00:34:19,293
specials that the networks did.
817
00:34:19,426 --> 00:34:22,062
But as Star Wars was
more and more successful,
818
00:34:22,195 --> 00:34:26,333
CBS got more and more excited
and came back and said,
819
00:34:26,466 --> 00:34:27,936
can we do a 90-minute special?
820
00:34:28,068 --> 00:34:30,004
Can we do a two-hour special?
821
00:34:30,137 --> 00:34:31,438
Then I found out
what it actually
822
00:34:31,573 --> 00:34:34,976
was going to be once
we went to work.
823
00:34:35,108 --> 00:34:36,109
And so did George.
824
00:34:36,243 --> 00:34:38,145
And I think he was stunned.
825
00:34:38,278 --> 00:34:39,479
You know?
826
00:34:39,614 --> 00:34:41,181
I mean, we were
pretty clear that it
827
00:34:41,315 --> 00:34:43,651
was wonderful to spend
a day with Lucas,
828
00:34:43,785 --> 00:34:46,086
but we knew that we were
not going to spend any more
829
00:34:46,219 --> 00:34:47,120
time with him.
830
00:34:47,254 --> 00:34:48,556
You know?
831
00:34:48,690 --> 00:34:50,390
I mean, he had much
bigger fish to fry.
832
00:34:50,525 --> 00:34:52,594
George had detached himself.
833
00:34:52,727 --> 00:34:55,930
I don't think he ever envisioned
a show with guest stars
834
00:34:56,064 --> 00:34:57,397
and numbers.
835
00:34:57,532 --> 00:35:00,467
Once again, we weren't
creating the material.
836
00:35:00,602 --> 00:35:01,335
They were.
837
00:35:01,468 --> 00:35:03,203
We just sort of approved it.
838
00:35:03,337 --> 00:35:06,574
And then George got
busy with pre-production
839
00:35:06,708 --> 00:35:11,178
on The Empire Strikes Back, so
he got less and less involved
840
00:35:11,311 --> 00:35:12,647
with the holiday special.
841
00:35:17,585 --> 00:35:19,453
Smith-Hemion were the top.
842
00:35:19,587 --> 00:35:21,756
I mean, they had
92 Emmys, and they
843
00:35:21,889 --> 00:35:24,391
were famous for doing
really classy shows.
844
00:35:24,525 --> 00:35:27,629
And Smith-Hemion, who the
previous year had just done
845
00:35:27,762 --> 00:35:31,866
the iconic David Bowie Bing
Crosby Christmas special,
846
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:33,768
which endures to this day--
847
00:35:33,901 --> 00:35:35,036
[BING CROSBY AND DAVID
BOWIE, "PEACE ON EARTH -
LITTLE DRUMMER BOY"]
848
00:35:35,168 --> 00:35:37,639
Peace on Earth, can it be?
849
00:35:37,772 --> 00:35:39,807
--was put in charge of the
Star Wars Holiday Special.
850
00:35:39,941 --> 00:35:42,242
This was not really
in their wheelhouse.
851
00:35:42,376 --> 00:35:46,413
The first day I went to the set,
and nobody was paying attention
852
00:35:46,547 --> 00:35:48,750
to David Acomba because he
was kind of bouncing off
853
00:35:48,883 --> 00:35:50,283
the walls a little bit.
854
00:35:50,417 --> 00:35:51,986
It was a mixture of worlds,
and David's approach
855
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:56,323
was to try to do it documentary,
kind of one camera, even
856
00:35:56,456 --> 00:35:57,725
shaky camera kind of thing.
857
00:35:57,859 --> 00:35:59,493
And the production
company really
858
00:35:59,627 --> 00:36:02,162
wanted it to be multiple
camera more often because you
859
00:36:02,295 --> 00:36:03,564
could just get more done.
860
00:36:03,698 --> 00:36:05,566
This is not-- everything
was taking forever.
861
00:36:05,700 --> 00:36:08,201
And I remember the beginning
of the Star Wars show
862
00:36:08,335 --> 00:36:10,938
was just absolutely brutal.
863
00:36:11,072 --> 00:36:13,473
The hours were ridiculous.
864
00:36:13,608 --> 00:36:16,811
But now, let's get
started, shall we?
865
00:36:16,944 --> 00:36:19,514
And Harvey Korman is
working his butt off,
866
00:36:19,647 --> 00:36:23,851
but ooh, boy, does he know
what he's doing is not good.
867
00:36:23,985 --> 00:36:26,319
And Harvey would wear
anything I'd put on him.
868
00:36:26,453 --> 00:36:29,824
And he did like
to get into drag.
869
00:36:29,957 --> 00:36:36,430
He also dressed up as Julia
Child and did a bit as her.
870
00:36:36,564 --> 00:36:39,567
A bit of the chloranthum root.
871
00:36:39,701 --> 00:36:40,635
Wonderful.
872
00:36:40,768 --> 00:36:42,202
Just adds that
touch of piquancy.
873
00:36:42,335 --> 00:36:43,771
I mean, Harvey has
a character called
874
00:36:43,905 --> 00:36:45,973
Mother Marcus on The
Carol Burnett Show,
875
00:36:46,107 --> 00:36:50,645
a big Jewish mama with big
boobs and really funny.
876
00:36:50,778 --> 00:36:53,447
And this is not that
far from that character.
877
00:36:53,581 --> 00:36:55,049
Consistency, don't we?
878
00:36:55,183 --> 00:36:58,920
And on the count of 1,
stir, whip, stir, whip.
879
00:36:59,053 --> 00:37:00,253
Whip, whip, stir.
880
00:37:00,387 --> 00:37:02,222
Stir, whip, stir, whip.
881
00:37:02,355 --> 00:37:03,825
Whip, whip, stir.
882
00:37:03,958 --> 00:37:07,528
Sometimes when I'm cooking,
that does come to mind.
883
00:37:07,662 --> 00:37:09,429
Stir, whip, stir, whip.
884
00:37:09,564 --> 00:37:12,166
Ooh, coming along.
885
00:37:12,299 --> 00:37:13,768
Very nice.
886
00:37:13,901 --> 00:37:17,471
OK, Harvey Korman is in a
purple dress with silver hair
887
00:37:17,605 --> 00:37:20,541
and forearms, and that's
still not the most weird thing
888
00:37:20,675 --> 00:37:22,442
that's happening in this film.
889
00:37:22,577 --> 00:37:27,247
Harvey Korman is trying
to pick up Bea Arthur, uh,
890
00:37:27,380 --> 00:37:30,718
which is very disturbing.
891
00:37:30,852 --> 00:37:32,019
What'll it be?
892
00:37:32,153 --> 00:37:32,954
Hello, Ackmena.
893
00:37:35,455 --> 00:37:36,891
Come back soon.
894
00:37:37,024 --> 00:37:38,926
I'll be waiting.
895
00:37:39,060 --> 00:37:42,163
And to somehow make
the scene weirder,
896
00:37:42,295 --> 00:37:50,505
he has, like, a hole in his head
that he pours the drinks into.
897
00:37:50,638 --> 00:37:52,372
I don't remember it.
898
00:37:52,507 --> 00:37:56,110
I just absolutely
eliminated it from my mind.
899
00:37:56,244 --> 00:37:57,812
It was too bizarre.
900
00:37:57,945 --> 00:37:59,981
It was too otherworldly.
901
00:38:00,114 --> 00:38:01,314
I couldn't remember it.
902
00:38:01,448 --> 00:38:02,382
I didn't know what it was.
903
00:38:02,517 --> 00:38:04,417
I couldn't recognize myself.
904
00:38:04,552 --> 00:38:05,787
The only thing I
remember out of it
905
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:08,756
was the fun of working
with Bea Arthur.
906
00:38:08,890 --> 00:38:11,324
I mean, we had fun, but I
don't know what the hell
907
00:38:11,458 --> 00:38:12,960
that thing was about.
908
00:38:13,094 --> 00:38:17,098
Some things are so contradictory
to the film that just came
909
00:38:17,231 --> 00:38:18,232
out and established it.
910
00:38:18,365 --> 00:38:20,535
Like, so, is this that cantina?
911
00:38:20,668 --> 00:38:23,604
Because it's all the same
costumes and characters,
912
00:38:23,738 --> 00:38:25,907
but it's not at all dangerous.
913
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:27,374
Right?
914
00:38:27,508 --> 00:38:29,043
Like, that is the purpose
it serves in the film.
915
00:38:29,177 --> 00:38:32,379
This is the most dangerous
place, where arms are cut off,
916
00:38:32,513 --> 00:38:34,982
people are shot under
tables, and occasionally
917
00:38:35,116 --> 00:38:36,951
Beatrice Arthur will
break out into song.
918
00:38:37,084 --> 00:38:40,021
Bea wanted to sing
the "Alabama Song."
919
00:38:40,154 --> 00:38:41,388
She wanted to do a number.
920
00:38:41,522 --> 00:38:42,824
That was her proviso.
921
00:38:42,957 --> 00:38:45,159
They finally, I think,
went to the Brecht
922
00:38:45,293 --> 00:38:48,696
estate, which was not interested
in having the song done
923
00:38:48,830 --> 00:38:50,665
on the Star Wars
Holiday Special.
924
00:38:50,798 --> 00:38:52,066
Oh, and you know who was in it?
925
00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:59,006
Harvey Korman and I were
in a bar with aliens
926
00:38:59,140 --> 00:39:00,775
and strange-looking people.
927
00:39:00,908 --> 00:39:06,346
And it's a lovely piece written
by Mitzie and Ken Welch.
928
00:39:06,479 --> 00:39:10,852
So Ken and Mitzie wrote a song
for Bea that was a lot like--
929
00:39:10,985 --> 00:39:12,987
(SINGING) those were
the days, my friend.
930
00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:14,222
We thought they'd never--
931
00:39:14,354 --> 00:39:17,725
--which was like
an up version of--
932
00:39:17,859 --> 00:39:20,294
(SINGING) show me the way
to the next whiskey bar.
933
00:39:20,427 --> 00:39:24,098
--and that's what Bea winds
up singing on the show.
934
00:39:24,232 --> 00:39:27,668
(SINGING) Then
homeward bound, friend,
935
00:39:27,802 --> 00:39:30,571
don't forget me in your dreams.
936
00:39:33,541 --> 00:39:36,177
It's the cantina
music slowed down.
937
00:39:36,310 --> 00:39:40,314
But it's so funny, because
none of us had lyrics to that.
938
00:39:40,447 --> 00:39:42,049
And then this
happens, and then kids
939
00:39:42,183 --> 00:39:45,186
are starting to sing it on
the playground and stuff.
940
00:39:45,319 --> 00:39:48,890
I was hired as a Wookiee.
941
00:39:49,023 --> 00:39:51,025
But I remember,
when I showed up,
942
00:39:51,158 --> 00:39:54,595
they had plenty of Wookiees,
and they were looking
943
00:39:54,729 --> 00:39:56,297
for someone that could dance.
944
00:39:56,429 --> 00:39:58,666
So the choreographer said, we're
just going to pop you in here.
945
00:39:58,799 --> 00:40:00,835
You're going to be
walrus man from now on.
946
00:40:00,968 --> 00:40:04,805
And I became walrus man, and I
got to dance with Bea Arthur.
947
00:40:04,939 --> 00:40:07,842
I think part of the
issue for that day
948
00:40:07,975 --> 00:40:10,144
was the fact that there
were so many people
949
00:40:10,278 --> 00:40:11,946
being fitted into costumes.
950
00:40:12,079 --> 00:40:13,814
That took hours.
951
00:40:13,948 --> 00:40:17,484
I mean, the Bea Arthur
thing took forever too.
952
00:40:17,618 --> 00:40:21,188
But that was because the
aliens kept fainting.
953
00:40:21,322 --> 00:40:24,825
Those costumes were pretty
hot, pretty unbearable.
954
00:40:24,959 --> 00:40:26,928
There is no oxygen
in these costumes.
955
00:40:27,061 --> 00:40:28,696
You could not breathe
in these costumes.
956
00:40:28,829 --> 00:40:30,698
And this went on for hours,
and hours, and hours.
957
00:40:30,831 --> 00:40:34,669
Because it was like 103
degrees on the set, and you put
958
00:40:34,802 --> 00:40:38,139
those heads on, and it's
kind of like waterboarding.
959
00:40:38,272 --> 00:40:41,309
I think had we not
stepped in, the actors--
960
00:40:41,441 --> 00:40:42,343
We would have killed them.
961
00:40:42,475 --> 00:40:44,512
David had no sense of--
962
00:40:44,645 --> 00:40:45,913
The fact that they
were suffocating.
963
00:40:46,047 --> 00:40:47,548
--their needs as human beings.
964
00:40:47,682 --> 00:40:48,816
[laughter]
965
00:40:48,950 --> 00:40:50,184
My eyes were
supposed to be here,
966
00:40:50,318 --> 00:40:52,553
but I'm looking through
two little holes.
967
00:40:52,687 --> 00:40:54,622
I can't see out of the holes.
968
00:40:54,755 --> 00:40:55,756
It's like, OK?
969
00:40:55,890 --> 00:40:57,158
And then, I have to--
970
00:40:57,291 --> 00:40:58,159
and I don't have hands.
971
00:40:58,292 --> 00:40:59,727
I have hooves.
972
00:40:59,860 --> 00:41:03,297
So it was just kind of
like, here, you go grab her.
973
00:41:03,431 --> 00:41:08,636
I felt my way down, and I just
kind of grabbed her wrists
974
00:41:08,769 --> 00:41:10,071
as best I could.
975
00:41:10,204 --> 00:41:12,440
And I just started
doing this with her.
976
00:41:12,573 --> 00:41:16,177
(SINGING) -- one
more dance, friend.
977
00:41:16,310 --> 00:41:17,912
Just one more--
978
00:41:18,045 --> 00:41:21,015
Kind of like L'chaim to life,
like from Fiddler on the Roof.
979
00:41:21,148 --> 00:41:23,117
That's kind of that
two-step dance.
980
00:41:23,250 --> 00:41:28,456
So going, swaying back and forth
to the music with Bea Arthur.
981
00:41:28,622 --> 00:41:31,592
(SINGING) If you're
a friend, friend.
982
00:41:31,726 --> 00:41:37,698
One part, it looks like
Bea Arthur is having
983
00:41:37,832 --> 00:41:40,434
an affair with a giant rat.
984
00:41:40,568 --> 00:41:46,841
Just one more drop, friend,
before we stop friends.
985
00:41:46,974 --> 00:41:50,978
And interestingly
enough, the gigantic rat
986
00:41:51,112 --> 00:41:55,216
was saying, oh my god,
get Bea Arthur off me.
987
00:41:55,349 --> 00:41:58,686
And there's that scene where Bea
Arthur is like nuzzling a rat.
988
00:41:58,819 --> 00:42:01,789
Rick Baker actually used
that on another project.
989
00:42:01,922 --> 00:42:04,392
And it was from a film he'd
done two years ago, Food
990
00:42:04,525 --> 00:42:05,860
of the Gods--
991
00:42:11,399 --> 00:42:13,467
which is insane.
992
00:42:13,601 --> 00:42:15,369
So we got a lot of
remainder aliens
993
00:42:15,504 --> 00:42:20,641
that kind of had mill flaws,
so they looked fairly cheesy.
994
00:42:20,775 --> 00:42:23,077
So the idea was, don't go
too close on any of them.
995
00:42:23,210 --> 00:42:26,881
I never gave it much thought
once we finished with it.
996
00:42:27,014 --> 00:42:31,018
But even to this
day, I get pictures
997
00:42:31,152 --> 00:42:34,789
that fans send of me in
the costume and everything.
998
00:42:34,922 --> 00:42:36,390
And please autograph it.
999
00:42:36,525 --> 00:42:38,527
I don't remember
how long we went.
1000
00:42:38,659 --> 00:42:42,363
I just remember doing another
take, and then another take,
1001
00:42:42,496 --> 00:42:43,864
and another take.
1002
00:42:43,998 --> 00:42:47,101
I'm not surprised if I
was there for 24 hours.
1003
00:42:47,234 --> 00:42:53,508
Is that a tear,
friend, in your eye?
1004
00:42:53,641 --> 00:42:55,109
And it wasn't even that good.
1005
00:42:55,242 --> 00:42:59,213
Like once you saw
it, you went, wow.
1006
00:42:59,346 --> 00:43:00,648
You know?
1007
00:43:00,781 --> 00:43:03,951
They could have done that
in an hour or two hours.
1008
00:43:04,085 --> 00:43:06,555
Now, it's good night, friend.
1009
00:43:06,687 --> 00:43:07,755
What?
1010
00:43:12,426 --> 00:43:13,360
I'm Bob Mackie.
1011
00:43:13,494 --> 00:43:14,595
Welcome aboard, Mr. Mackie.
1012
00:43:14,728 --> 00:43:15,696
I'm Captain Stubing.
1013
00:43:15,830 --> 00:43:16,797
It's an honor to meet you.
1014
00:43:16,931 --> 00:43:18,365
Thank you, captain.
1015
00:43:18,499 --> 00:43:21,235
Mr. Mackie designs the gowns
for all the big TV stars.
1016
00:43:21,368 --> 00:43:23,437
Carol Burnett,
Ann-Margaret, Cher.
1017
00:43:23,572 --> 00:43:24,939
That's right.
1018
00:43:25,072 --> 00:43:26,340
You've heard them say,
"clothes make the man?"
1019
00:43:26,474 --> 00:43:27,608
Well, I'm the man that
makes the clothes.
1020
00:43:27,741 --> 00:43:29,343
[laughter]
1021
00:43:29,477 --> 00:43:32,547
Well, I had heard enough people
enthusiastic about the Star
1022
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:34,381
Wars Christmas Special.
1023
00:43:34,516 --> 00:43:37,586
And someone said-- and
they were talking about it,
1024
00:43:37,718 --> 00:43:39,453
and I said, oh, I designed that.
1025
00:43:39,588 --> 00:43:40,788
You did?
1026
00:43:40,921 --> 00:43:42,423
[gasps] really?
1027
00:43:42,557 --> 00:43:43,657
It was like that.
1028
00:43:43,791 --> 00:43:45,726
And I just went, oh, OK.
1029
00:43:45,860 --> 00:43:47,294
Well, I guess it
was more important
1030
00:43:47,428 --> 00:43:49,063
than I thought it was.
1031
00:43:49,196 --> 00:43:52,133
And when we walked in, they had
big drawings of the costumes.
1032
00:43:52,266 --> 00:43:54,168
And we saw the ones that
we would be wearing.
1033
00:43:54,301 --> 00:43:57,004
It was fantastic, and
Bob Mackie was there,
1034
00:43:57,138 --> 00:43:59,406
and we had to do fittings.
1035
00:43:59,541 --> 00:44:01,775
And Bob Mackie was there.
1036
00:44:01,909 --> 00:44:04,311
It was-- I was thrilled.
1037
00:44:04,445 --> 00:44:07,915
We had the acrobats,
and the gymnasts,
1038
00:44:08,048 --> 00:44:10,851
and all that whole group
of circus people, which
1039
00:44:10,985 --> 00:44:12,219
I loved doing.
1040
00:44:12,353 --> 00:44:13,988
So that was our
going to be our role.
1041
00:44:14,121 --> 00:44:17,458
We would be tumbling inside
this little music box
1042
00:44:17,592 --> 00:44:23,097
to entertain the baby
Chewbacca, Junior. (LAUGHING) I
1043
00:44:23,230 --> 00:44:25,432
don't know what his name is.
1044
00:44:25,567 --> 00:44:27,001
Sorry.
1045
00:44:27,134 --> 00:44:30,704
It is very similar to a scene
my father did in a movie
1046
00:44:30,838 --> 00:44:33,542
many years prior to
that, Thief of Bagdad.
1047
00:44:33,674 --> 00:44:37,044
So in that one, pop was inside.
1048
00:44:37,178 --> 00:44:39,346
He was miniature, inside
a little music box.
1049
00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:42,249
And then I have to have
their heads cut off.
1050
00:44:42,383 --> 00:44:43,817
Oh!
1051
00:44:43,951 --> 00:44:47,221
And in this particular movie,
we were going to be on a table,
1052
00:44:47,354 --> 00:44:48,956
like a flat surface.
1053
00:44:49,089 --> 00:44:53,194
And we were more like holograms.
1054
00:44:53,327 --> 00:44:55,129
I wanted to do them
in bright colors
1055
00:44:55,262 --> 00:44:59,800
because everything in that
film was like a neutral color.
1056
00:44:59,934 --> 00:45:04,338
You know, it's all grays, and
taupes, and browns, and beiges,
1057
00:45:04,471 --> 00:45:06,840
and a little black,
and a little.
1058
00:45:06,974 --> 00:45:10,110
But basically no color really.
1059
00:45:10,244 --> 00:45:12,514
I guess in space they
don't have color.
1060
00:45:12,647 --> 00:45:13,714
This is the girl--
1061
00:45:13,847 --> 00:45:15,082
the gymnast girl.
1062
00:45:15,216 --> 00:45:17,686
And it's a whole body suit.
1063
00:45:17,818 --> 00:45:20,154
So anything-- any
time they moved,
1064
00:45:20,287 --> 00:45:22,022
the elastic would
move with them,
1065
00:45:22,156 --> 00:45:24,425
and it would stay in place.
1066
00:45:24,559 --> 00:45:29,296
And then the five of us
were in hot pink and Black.
1067
00:45:33,434 --> 00:45:36,904
That took a little getting used
to for tumbling in and doing
1068
00:45:37,037 --> 00:45:37,972
pyramids, climbing up.
1069
00:45:38,105 --> 00:45:40,341
Because I was the top man--
1070
00:45:40,474 --> 00:45:41,909
person.
1071
00:45:42,042 --> 00:45:44,044
So climbing up, and so they
wouldn't get in your way.
1072
00:45:44,178 --> 00:45:49,517
So we had two jugglers, and they
were in the Spandex as well.
1073
00:45:49,651 --> 00:45:52,987
What better testament to
the mastery of John Williams
1074
00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:55,690
than whoever scored this
entire holiday special?
1075
00:45:55,856 --> 00:45:59,226
Because somebody came in with
a new Casio, like, synth sound.
1076
00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:02,062
And they're like, you got to
let me flex this out, you guys.
1077
00:46:02,196 --> 00:46:04,865
I'm telling you, it's
going to be timeless!
1078
00:46:04,999 --> 00:46:06,601
This is the first sketch I did.
1079
00:46:06,735 --> 00:46:12,273
And I wanted to have this kind
of Asian, half man, half bird
1080
00:46:12,406 --> 00:46:14,008
kind of situation.
1081
00:46:14,141 --> 00:46:15,409
And he's still a warrior.
1082
00:46:15,543 --> 00:46:18,178
They're all like warriors
of a certain kind.
1083
00:46:18,312 --> 00:46:21,716
He had this big tail that he
could whip around like a whip,
1084
00:46:21,849 --> 00:46:23,150
but it was attached.
1085
00:46:23,284 --> 00:46:25,452
And he had all these
pheasant feathers that
1086
00:46:25,587 --> 00:46:28,523
were dyed this green color.
1087
00:46:33,662 --> 00:46:34,629
Dance, slave.
1088
00:46:34,763 --> 00:46:35,996
Dance.
1089
00:46:36,130 --> 00:46:37,231
It was comfortable.
1090
00:46:37,364 --> 00:46:43,370
But only problem
was then bathroom.
1091
00:46:45,774 --> 00:46:48,042
Yeah, every once in a
while, someone will pop up
1092
00:46:48,175 --> 00:46:51,045
and they'll want us to-- oh,
I bought all the costumes.
1093
00:46:51,178 --> 00:46:53,213
One of things I
love to collect are
1094
00:46:53,347 --> 00:46:55,849
when I have costume sketches
of an actual costume I own.
1095
00:46:55,983 --> 00:46:57,985
So this is the only costume I
own from the holiday special.
1096
00:46:58,118 --> 00:46:59,887
And this was very
exciting too, that, like,
1097
00:47:00,020 --> 00:47:01,656
when I saw the things
in the Julien's auction,
1098
00:47:01,790 --> 00:47:04,458
I was like, that is one
I definitely have to win.
1099
00:47:04,592 --> 00:47:06,126
It's been over 40 years.
1100
00:47:06,260 --> 00:47:08,596
There's people are still
watching it online.
1101
00:47:08,730 --> 00:47:12,499
Like, it just-- yeah, it's--
people still talk about it.
1102
00:47:12,634 --> 00:47:17,237
Jefferson Starship had this
song that was a deep cut.
1103
00:47:17,371 --> 00:47:19,406
It was the last song
of one of their albums
1104
00:47:19,541 --> 00:47:20,809
called "Hyperdrive."
1105
00:47:20,941 --> 00:47:24,144
Almost as if a producer
looked at a list of artists
1106
00:47:24,278 --> 00:47:28,616
that were popular and then
called someone and said,
1107
00:47:28,750 --> 00:47:29,551
"Hyperdrive."
1108
00:47:29,684 --> 00:47:32,219
We have hyperdrive.
1109
00:47:32,353 --> 00:47:33,822
Call up this Jefferson Star--
1110
00:47:33,954 --> 00:47:34,855
Starship?
1111
00:47:34,988 --> 00:47:36,591
We have starships!
1112
00:47:36,725 --> 00:47:38,359
It's as if it wrote itself.
1113
00:47:38,492 --> 00:47:39,627
Yeah.
1114
00:47:39,761 --> 00:47:41,563
So we recorded this song
"Light the Sky on Fire"
1115
00:47:41,696 --> 00:47:43,197
with Marty Bannon singing.
1116
00:47:43,330 --> 00:47:47,401
And he was the main singer
because Grace was in rehab.
1117
00:47:47,535 --> 00:47:51,905
So we went ahead and ended up--
somehow we ended up on the Star
1118
00:47:52,039 --> 00:47:53,474
Wars Christmas--
1119
00:47:53,608 --> 00:47:54,975
Holiday Special-- it was
Christmas special we called it
1120
00:47:55,109 --> 00:47:56,477
at the time.
1121
00:47:56,611 --> 00:47:58,847
And none of us really
knew what was going on,
1122
00:47:58,979 --> 00:48:00,582
but we ended up playing there.
1123
00:48:00,715 --> 00:48:03,450
So when I found out that
Jefferson Starship was going
1124
00:48:03,585 --> 00:48:05,252
to be part of the
shoot-- we were actually
1125
00:48:05,386 --> 00:48:06,688
going to shoot a
number with them.
1126
00:48:06,821 --> 00:48:08,956
So I thought, oh, this is
going to be really cool.
1127
00:48:09,089 --> 00:48:10,525
We had a connection--
not really.
1128
00:48:10,658 --> 00:48:13,828
I mean, I didn't know a lot
about what was going on.
1129
00:48:13,961 --> 00:48:16,930
I remember we were rehearsing
at Paul's-- it was Grace's house
1130
00:48:17,064 --> 00:48:19,900
over in San Francisco
overlooking the Bay.
1131
00:48:20,033 --> 00:48:21,603
It's a beautiful house.
1132
00:48:21,736 --> 00:48:25,139
And Darth Vader came by, and
it was like a publicity thing.
1133
00:48:25,272 --> 00:48:26,574
Came by and took
some photographs,
1134
00:48:26,708 --> 00:48:28,643
and we got some photographs
of us hanging out
1135
00:48:28,777 --> 00:48:29,977
with Darth Vader.
1136
00:48:30,110 --> 00:48:32,614
So we had some
relationship already.
1137
00:48:32,747 --> 00:48:34,948
Of course, I didn't really
know what to expect.
1138
00:48:35,082 --> 00:48:38,853
I mean, I figured they had
their stuff together, you know?
1139
00:48:38,986 --> 00:48:40,722
[laughs]
1140
00:48:40,855 --> 00:48:41,989
It's really bizarre.
1141
00:48:42,122 --> 00:48:45,125
It's really bad,
bad special effects.
1142
00:48:45,259 --> 00:48:46,528
But you know what?
1143
00:48:46,661 --> 00:48:49,496
A lot of reviewers
in 1978 praised this.
1144
00:48:49,631 --> 00:48:51,932
They thought the special
effects in this thing
1145
00:48:52,065 --> 00:48:53,535
were the highlight of the show.
1146
00:48:53,668 --> 00:48:58,372
Looking back on it now,
this can't be a highlight.
1147
00:48:58,506 --> 00:48:59,473
It was a trip.
1148
00:48:59,607 --> 00:49:01,408
I remember a little
bit about it.
1149
00:49:01,543 --> 00:49:05,580
I mean, I remember they let us
loose in a room full of props,
1150
00:49:05,713 --> 00:49:08,081
like a costume
room kind of thing.
1151
00:49:08,215 --> 00:49:10,284
They said, just try
and make up an outfit.
1152
00:49:10,417 --> 00:49:12,319
No direction really,
just individually
1153
00:49:12,453 --> 00:49:13,922
make up anything you want.
1154
00:49:14,054 --> 00:49:15,623
And it just-- as
long as it looks
1155
00:49:15,757 --> 00:49:18,425
like it's from another galaxy
or something or from the future.
1156
00:49:18,560 --> 00:49:20,394
I think the finished
product didn't really
1157
00:49:20,528 --> 00:49:22,996
come out as if it was
a music video as much
1158
00:49:23,130 --> 00:49:24,364
as they thought it might.
1159
00:49:24,498 --> 00:49:27,100
I guess-- yeah, I
guess Art Carney--
1160
00:49:27,234 --> 00:49:28,402
it's sort of
they're interacting,
1161
00:49:28,536 --> 00:49:32,272
and it's with his
wry humor with one
1162
00:49:32,406 --> 00:49:35,209
of the stormtrooper guys
sitting there in front
1163
00:49:35,342 --> 00:49:38,145
of this futuristic device.
1164
00:49:38,278 --> 00:49:39,881
Will you get on with it?
1165
00:49:40,013 --> 00:49:41,381
OK, OK.
1166
00:49:41,516 --> 00:49:43,183
And they press the button,
and then we start--
1167
00:49:43,317 --> 00:49:45,219
we're suddenly,
there we are, playing
1168
00:49:45,352 --> 00:49:47,454
our song "Light the
Sky on Fire" with all
1169
00:49:47,589 --> 00:49:50,792
these weird, cheesy
effects all around.
1170
00:49:50,925 --> 00:49:55,830
And we're all sort looking
like we're from another galaxy
1171
00:49:55,964 --> 00:49:56,931
supposedly.
1172
00:49:57,064 --> 00:49:58,900
But we really probably didn't.
1173
00:49:59,032 --> 00:50:00,400
We looked pretty silly.
1174
00:50:00,535 --> 00:50:01,836
[JEFFERSON STARSHIP, "LIGHT THE
SKY ON FIRE"]
1175
00:50:01,970 --> 00:50:03,470
Will you light the sky on fire.
1176
00:50:05,907 --> 00:50:11,880
Will you light the sky
on fire every night?
1177
00:50:12,012 --> 00:50:16,518
You can take me higher than
the diamonds in the sky.
1178
00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:21,723
We didn't really know how
they were going to use it.
1179
00:50:21,856 --> 00:50:24,559
I'm not even certain they knew
how they were going to use it.
1180
00:50:24,692 --> 00:50:26,995
So eventually we started
just running behind
1181
00:50:27,127 --> 00:50:28,530
on that schedule.
1182
00:50:28,663 --> 00:50:31,331
And the more we ran
behind, the more the people
1183
00:50:31,465 --> 00:50:33,868
who are in the production
side of things with the money
1184
00:50:34,002 --> 00:50:35,302
got a little bit nervous.
1185
00:50:35,435 --> 00:50:37,805
And I remember that we
shot considerable amount
1186
00:50:37,939 --> 00:50:40,440
of the entire show
budget the first three
1187
00:50:40,575 --> 00:50:44,444
days of the production because
we were over into overtime
1188
00:50:44,579 --> 00:50:45,312
so much.
1189
00:50:45,445 --> 00:50:46,948
And the network freaked out.
1190
00:50:47,080 --> 00:50:49,017
Because they said,
this guy is going
1191
00:50:49,149 --> 00:50:50,752
to go over schedule,
over budget,
1192
00:50:50,885 --> 00:50:52,787
and then we're going to
have to edit this thing,
1193
00:50:52,921 --> 00:50:55,088
and we won't have what
we need, and all that.
1194
00:50:55,222 --> 00:50:57,090
And it went on to
the point where they
1195
00:50:57,224 --> 00:50:58,325
said we have to get rid of him.
1196
00:50:58,458 --> 00:50:59,994
We have to lose him.
1197
00:51:00,127 --> 00:51:03,163
[dramatic music]
1198
00:51:04,666 --> 00:51:06,868
One of the reasons
why I left was
1199
00:51:07,001 --> 00:51:09,537
that it just was not working.
1200
00:51:09,671 --> 00:51:10,805
You know?
1201
00:51:10,939 --> 00:51:14,341
And it was very confusing
because so many people
1202
00:51:14,474 --> 00:51:16,076
had their fingers in the pie.
1203
00:51:16,209 --> 00:51:18,613
And I'm not sure if
George understood
1204
00:51:18,746 --> 00:51:21,983
just what the difference
was between film
1205
00:51:22,115 --> 00:51:23,818
and television in the US.
1206
00:51:23,952 --> 00:51:26,086
Because I don't think he
ever worked in television.
1207
00:51:26,219 --> 00:51:30,290
I don't think George realized
that he picked the wrong format
1208
00:51:30,424 --> 00:51:32,192
in which to do these stories.
1209
00:51:32,326 --> 00:51:33,761
That wouldn't happen today.
1210
00:51:33,895 --> 00:51:38,298
But then, 40 years ago,
this was the style.
1211
00:51:38,432 --> 00:51:40,233
And so, it was
executed by people who
1212
00:51:40,367 --> 00:51:42,904
did these things all the time.
1213
00:51:43,037 --> 00:51:44,404
But I felt sorry for David.
1214
00:51:44,539 --> 00:51:46,841
Because he kind of
went back with his--
1215
00:51:46,975 --> 00:51:49,242
partially with his tail
tucked between his legs,
1216
00:51:49,376 --> 00:51:52,212
but partially with
the time-honored--
1217
00:51:52,346 --> 00:51:53,548
"it's Hollywood.
1218
00:51:53,681 --> 00:51:55,083
They don't know
what they're doing.
1219
00:51:55,215 --> 00:51:56,383
No wonder everything
is such crap
1220
00:51:56,517 --> 00:51:57,852
when it comes out of Hollywood.
1221
00:51:57,986 --> 00:52:00,220
I'm going back to Toronto."
1222
00:52:00,354 --> 00:52:02,557
And he went back and did
some beautiful stuff.
1223
00:52:02,690 --> 00:52:07,461
I don't want to answer any
more questions about the show.
1224
00:52:07,595 --> 00:52:08,428
OK?
1225
00:52:08,563 --> 00:52:10,698
It's just-- it's
just that simple.
1226
00:52:10,832 --> 00:52:11,966
You know?
1227
00:52:12,100 --> 00:52:13,868
You guys go ahead and
do whatever you want.
1228
00:52:14,002 --> 00:52:16,436
You do whatever you want to
do with all the people you get
1229
00:52:16,571 --> 00:52:19,907
and all that, but I'm not
interested in contributing
1230
00:52:20,041 --> 00:52:22,710
to the story at all.
1231
00:52:25,647 --> 00:52:28,382
At that point, given
the amount of overtime
1232
00:52:28,516 --> 00:52:30,818
that they were creating and
how expensive that was all
1233
00:52:30,952 --> 00:52:34,922
becoming for the production
company, something very unusual
1234
00:52:35,056 --> 00:52:37,625
happened is that we
just hit the brakes
1235
00:52:37,759 --> 00:52:39,794
and we came to a complete stop.
1236
00:52:39,927 --> 00:52:43,831
When David left,
there were problems.
1237
00:52:43,965 --> 00:52:47,101
Because directors don't leave
when things are going well.
1238
00:52:47,234 --> 00:52:51,506
So they were scrambling.
1239
00:52:51,639 --> 00:52:54,341
But we were out of
it at that point.
1240
00:52:54,474 --> 00:52:57,411
I mean Ken and Mitzie
apparently were on the set
1241
00:52:57,545 --> 00:53:00,848
every day working
with the show all day.
1242
00:53:00,982 --> 00:53:03,584
They put in an emergency
call into Steve Binder,
1243
00:53:03,718 --> 00:53:07,522
who was a terrific variety show
director who had done the Elvis
1244
00:53:07,655 --> 00:53:10,223
Comeback specials and
a lot of other stuff
1245
00:53:10,357 --> 00:53:13,127
and who knew how
to direct a variety
1246
00:53:13,260 --> 00:53:14,962
show in the conventional way.
1247
00:53:15,096 --> 00:53:18,766
So when Gary phoned me at home,
and I said, what's going on?
1248
00:53:18,900 --> 00:53:20,902
And he said, well, the
truth of the matter
1249
00:53:21,035 --> 00:53:27,875
is we started a two-hour
prime time special for CBS.
1250
00:53:28,009 --> 00:53:31,512
We're way over
budget, and there's
1251
00:53:31,646 --> 00:53:34,448
a decision being made right
now whether to continue
1252
00:53:34,582 --> 00:53:38,251
making the special or
shutting it down permanently.
1253
00:53:38,385 --> 00:53:40,922
He was replaced by
Steve Binder, who
1254
00:53:41,055 --> 00:53:44,659
was really a top-notch guy
who knew what he was doing.
1255
00:53:44,792 --> 00:53:48,428
He brought a sense
of control that
1256
00:53:48,563 --> 00:53:50,598
was missing from the
production, I think,
1257
00:53:50,732 --> 00:53:53,167
which helped get
things back on track.
1258
00:53:53,300 --> 00:53:55,036
The budget was $1 million.
1259
00:53:55,169 --> 00:54:00,208
I don't think that Steve had
the opportunity to really make
1260
00:54:00,340 --> 00:54:01,809
very many changes.
1261
00:54:01,943 --> 00:54:04,846
The way I saw it, for him,
it was pretty much triage.
1262
00:54:04,979 --> 00:54:06,614
[wookiee talk]
1263
00:54:06,748 --> 00:54:08,683
It's long been said
that George had always
1264
00:54:08,816 --> 00:54:13,320
wanted to do a story
that focused specifically
1265
00:54:13,453 --> 00:54:16,858
on the Wookiee home planet.
1266
00:54:16,991 --> 00:54:18,258
I can't tell you why.
1267
00:54:18,391 --> 00:54:21,763
That's something that he
wanted to see on screen.
1268
00:54:21,896 --> 00:54:24,999
The origins of this
concept of a Wookiee family
1269
00:54:25,133 --> 00:54:26,534
can be traced back to Lucas.
1270
00:54:26,667 --> 00:54:29,704
I know there's audio,
1976, and a brainstorming
1271
00:54:29,837 --> 00:54:31,506
session between
Alan Dean Foster,
1272
00:54:31,639 --> 00:54:34,909
George Lucas, and Charlie
Lippincott which was recorded.
1273
00:54:35,042 --> 00:54:38,045
[dramatic music]
1274
00:55:01,202 --> 00:55:04,572
Obviously, he didn't go and
do that as a sequel concept.
1275
00:55:04,705 --> 00:55:07,374
But that idea
remained in his head.
1276
00:55:07,508 --> 00:55:09,777
And it seems like it was
the seed for the holiday
1277
00:55:09,911 --> 00:55:12,345
special, which he then
revisited several years later.
1278
00:55:12,479 --> 00:55:14,182
There was no way
it could be done.
1279
00:55:14,314 --> 00:55:15,983
It featured the Wookiees.
1280
00:55:16,117 --> 00:55:17,685
They were the
stars of the story.
1281
00:55:17,819 --> 00:55:20,121
And the Wookiees speak
no known language.
1282
00:55:20,254 --> 00:55:22,690
[wookiee talk]
1283
00:55:31,599 --> 00:55:34,702
This was in the era when
they wouldn't put subtitles
1284
00:55:34,836 --> 00:55:37,939
on television because they
figured most of America
1285
00:55:38,072 --> 00:55:39,640
would not read them.
1286
00:55:39,774 --> 00:55:42,375
There's a terrific YouTube
thing where someone has gone in
1287
00:55:42,510 --> 00:55:45,313
and added their own subtitles.
1288
00:55:45,445 --> 00:55:48,549
[wookiee talk]
1289
00:55:58,659 --> 00:56:00,127
Had we been able
to use subtitles,
1290
00:56:00,261 --> 00:56:01,796
it would have been a lot easier.
1291
00:56:01,929 --> 00:56:05,199
Because we could have had the
Wookiees interacting more.
1292
00:56:05,333 --> 00:56:06,901
But we didn't.
1293
00:56:07,034 --> 00:56:09,971
Instead we had to have people
translating from the Wookiee
1294
00:56:10,104 --> 00:56:13,507
to English, which was an opening
for a lot of guest stars.
1295
00:56:13,641 --> 00:56:15,243
CBS liked that.
1296
00:56:15,375 --> 00:56:19,547
I suspect Art Carney didn't
really know what Star Wars was.
1297
00:56:19,680 --> 00:56:21,515
And how are my favorite
Wookiees today?
1298
00:56:21,649 --> 00:56:24,218
[wookiee talk]
1299
00:56:24,352 --> 00:56:25,786
Why are the long, hairy faces?
1300
00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:29,223
Art Carney understood
the Wookiee language,
1301
00:56:29,357 --> 00:56:33,661
and he could translate so
the audience would understand
1302
00:56:33,794 --> 00:56:35,462
what they were talking about.
1303
00:56:35,596 --> 00:56:37,965
[wookiee talk]
1304
00:56:38,099 --> 00:56:40,568
Officer, maybe I could
be of some help here.
1305
00:56:40,701 --> 00:56:42,469
I found, in Art
Carney's trailer,
1306
00:56:42,603 --> 00:56:45,472
he filled the shower
with ice, and then he
1307
00:56:45,606 --> 00:56:48,709
had bottles of different
kinds of alcohol
1308
00:56:48,843 --> 00:56:51,212
in the bottom of the trailer.
1309
00:56:51,345 --> 00:56:57,084
So when I met Art, he
was pleasant enough.
1310
00:56:57,218 --> 00:57:01,488
But I learned soon that I had
to shoot all of his scenes
1311
00:57:01,622 --> 00:57:02,723
early in the day.
1312
00:57:02,857 --> 00:57:05,526
That wherever he
went to eat lunch,
1313
00:57:05,660 --> 00:57:09,363
he may have had a little bit
too much to drink at the time.
1314
00:57:09,496 --> 00:57:11,065
It's me, Saun Dann.
1315
00:57:11,198 --> 00:57:14,669
[wookiee talk]
1316
00:57:16,771 --> 00:57:19,106
God bless, Art Carney
and his character
1317
00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:24,312
of Saun Dann, where Saun Dann
brings gifts to the family,
1318
00:57:24,444 --> 00:57:30,851
hands Itchy a mind
evaporator, which tells you
1319
00:57:30,985 --> 00:57:32,687
everything you need to
know about what they
1320
00:57:32,820 --> 00:57:36,057
thought VR would be for people.
1321
00:57:36,190 --> 00:57:39,393
Now then, Itchy, I thought
you might like this.
1322
00:57:39,527 --> 00:57:40,861
It's one of those--
1323
00:57:40,995 --> 00:57:43,331
well, it's a real-- it's
kind of hard to explain.
1324
00:57:43,463 --> 00:57:46,634
It's a wow!
1325
00:57:46,767 --> 00:57:47,969
If you know what I mean.
1326
00:57:48,102 --> 00:57:51,105
When you put this
helmet on, it attached
1327
00:57:51,238 --> 00:57:55,977
to a port that had been put
under your skin in your brain,
1328
00:57:56,110 --> 00:57:59,613
and it would realize
your fantasies.
1329
00:57:59,747 --> 00:58:01,916
So you could sit at
home in your chair,
1330
00:58:02,049 --> 00:58:05,152
and your fantasies would
play out in front of you.
1331
00:58:05,286 --> 00:58:06,087
Happy Life Day.
1332
00:58:09,657 --> 00:58:11,759
I do mean Happy Life Day.
1333
00:58:11,892 --> 00:58:14,729
So we were going to see
all the Wookiee's dreams.
1334
00:58:14,862 --> 00:58:18,666
So itchy, the silverback
Wookiee, had a fantasy.
1335
00:58:18,799 --> 00:58:20,668
It was supposed
to be about Cher,
1336
00:58:20,801 --> 00:58:23,771
but Cher suddenly
couldn't do it.
1337
00:58:23,904 --> 00:58:25,740
And so, Diane
Carroll stepped in.
1338
00:58:25,873 --> 00:58:28,576
And Diane fit into the
Bob Mackie costume.
1339
00:58:28,709 --> 00:58:30,945
I exist for you.
1340
00:58:31,078 --> 00:58:35,416
I am in your mind
as you create me.
1341
00:58:35,549 --> 00:58:38,285
Oh, yes.
1342
00:58:38,419 --> 00:58:40,221
I can feel my creation.
1343
00:58:40,354 --> 00:58:44,458
[giggles] I'm
getting your message.
1344
00:58:44,625 --> 00:58:45,626
Are you getting mine?
1345
00:58:45,760 --> 00:58:47,061
[wookiee talk]
1346
00:58:47,194 --> 00:58:51,899
In what world, planet,
galaxy, in any time,
1347
00:58:52,033 --> 00:58:54,235
has anybody ever
wanted their grandpa
1348
00:58:54,368 --> 00:58:57,238
to enjoy porn in the
middle of the living room?
1349
00:58:57,371 --> 00:59:03,944
That's the least believable
thing in a holiday special.
1350
00:59:04,078 --> 00:59:04,812
Oh.
1351
00:59:04,945 --> 00:59:05,646
Oh.
1352
00:59:05,780 --> 00:59:09,316
We are excited, aren't we?
1353
00:59:09,450 --> 00:59:10,551
Well, just relax.
1354
00:59:10,684 --> 00:59:11,585
Just relax.
1355
00:59:11,719 --> 00:59:13,287
Yes.
1356
00:59:15,756 --> 00:59:20,261
It's him watching humans or
aliens that are not Wookiees.
1357
00:59:20,394 --> 00:59:22,029
And we had to be careful--
1358
00:59:22,163 --> 00:59:25,332
I remember this-- not to make
it too racy for the grandfather
1359
00:59:25,466 --> 00:59:26,200
with Diane.
1360
00:59:26,333 --> 00:59:27,701
(LAUGHING) Yes.
1361
00:59:27,835 --> 00:59:30,704
You know, I didn't have
approval of anything,
1362
00:59:30,838 --> 00:59:34,075
but that just seemed wrong.
1363
00:59:34,208 --> 00:59:36,177
But I didn't see that
when I was a kid.
1364
00:59:36,310 --> 00:59:40,881
All I saw was, why isn't
Han Solo on the screen?
1365
00:59:41,015 --> 00:59:43,184
Why can't we see
the real Chewie?
1366
00:59:43,317 --> 00:59:45,319
Chewie's family sucks!
1367
00:59:45,453 --> 00:59:49,423
Now, we can have a good time.
1368
00:59:49,558 --> 00:59:51,826
Can't we?
1369
00:59:51,959 --> 00:59:53,260
And it's cringe-worthy.
1370
00:59:53,394 --> 00:59:58,499
Because as he sits there
and rewinds, and replays,
1371
00:59:58,632 --> 01:00:00,901
and rewinds, and replays.
1372
01:00:01,035 --> 01:00:03,737
I find you adorable.
1373
01:00:03,871 --> 01:00:05,840
I find you adorable.
1374
01:00:05,973 --> 01:00:09,076
I find you adorable.
1375
01:00:09,210 --> 01:00:13,247
And then goes into a song
that Itchy enjoys thoroughly.
1376
01:00:13,380 --> 01:00:15,649
(SINGING) This minute now.
1377
01:00:15,783 --> 01:00:16,784
This minute now.
1378
01:00:16,917 --> 01:00:18,452
This minute now.
1379
01:00:18,587 --> 01:00:19,720
This minute now.
1380
01:00:19,854 --> 01:00:21,689
This minute now.
1381
01:00:21,822 --> 01:00:23,257
This minute now.
1382
01:00:23,390 --> 01:00:25,259
This minute now.
1383
01:00:25,392 --> 01:00:28,729
This minute now.
1384
01:00:35,503 --> 01:00:37,138
This was not made for children.
1385
01:00:37,271 --> 01:00:40,274
Whoever the creative team was in
charge of the Star Wars Holiday
1386
01:00:40,407 --> 01:00:43,878
Special has zero time for
children's entertainment.
1387
01:00:44,011 --> 01:00:46,981
They're like, uh, uh, uh,
I saw that Star Wars movie,
1388
01:00:47,114 --> 01:00:50,451
and there wasn't enough
VR Wookiee porn for me.
1389
01:00:50,585 --> 01:00:52,587
[wookiee talk]
1390
01:00:52,720 --> 01:00:53,654
Where's Chewbacca?
1391
01:00:53,787 --> 01:00:55,055
[wookiee talk]
1392
01:00:55,189 --> 01:00:58,058
When you were on the
Wookiee home planet,
1393
01:00:58,192 --> 01:01:01,128
how did you even understand
what they were saying?
1394
01:01:01,262 --> 01:01:04,231
I don't remember ever being
on a Wookiee home planet.
1395
01:01:04,365 --> 01:01:05,600
[laughter]
1396
01:01:05,733 --> 01:01:08,702
Actually, Luke was on the
Wookiee home planet Kashyyyk
1397
01:01:08,836 --> 01:01:10,704
in the Holiday
Special when he helped
1398
01:01:10,838 --> 01:01:12,273
Chewie get home to his wife.
1399
01:01:12,406 --> 01:01:14,609
[laughter]
1400
01:01:14,742 --> 01:01:17,478
Chewie had a wife?
1401
01:01:17,612 --> 01:01:18,846
Her name is Malla.
1402
01:01:18,979 --> 01:01:19,813
Come on, Malla.
1403
01:01:19,947 --> 01:01:21,315
Let's see a little smile.
1404
01:01:21,448 --> 01:01:23,751
Come on.
1405
01:01:23,884 --> 01:01:26,253
Mark Hamill's makeup
in the holiday special
1406
01:01:26,387 --> 01:01:29,990
rivals Huey Lewis's makeup in
the "Do You Believe in Love"
1407
01:01:30,124 --> 01:01:31,458
video.
1408
01:01:31,593 --> 01:01:34,094
We always thought it was because
Mark Hamill was covering up
1409
01:01:34,228 --> 01:01:36,330
a scar, like the plastic
surgery didn't heal.
1410
01:01:36,463 --> 01:01:40,167
And that's why they added
that wampa capture scene,
1411
01:01:40,301 --> 01:01:43,704
because they needed to
show why Luke Skywalker had
1412
01:01:43,837 --> 01:01:44,972
a scar on his face.
1413
01:01:45,105 --> 01:01:46,707
Now, decades pass.
1414
01:01:46,840 --> 01:01:48,709
We find out that
that's not true at all.
1415
01:01:48,842 --> 01:01:50,444
But that really wasn't
the main emphasis
1416
01:01:50,579 --> 01:01:52,980
of why we wrote the
monster in the beginning.
1417
01:01:53,113 --> 01:01:56,183
It was just we needed something
to kind of keep the film
1418
01:01:56,317 --> 01:01:59,688
suspenseful at the beginning
while the empire is
1419
01:01:59,820 --> 01:02:01,021
finding them.
1420
01:02:01,155 --> 01:02:03,157
But the truth is,
it's just bad makeup.
1421
01:02:03,290 --> 01:02:06,561
These are Tony producers
making this special.
1422
01:02:06,695 --> 01:02:10,464
They are used to caking on
the makeup for musicals,
1423
01:02:10,599 --> 01:02:11,966
for stage performances.
1424
01:02:12,099 --> 01:02:14,001
Also, you have to
remember the degradation
1425
01:02:14,134 --> 01:02:16,538
of each copy of the holiday
special gets worse and worse
1426
01:02:16,671 --> 01:02:18,640
and worse, which means
the coloring is not
1427
01:02:18,772 --> 01:02:20,007
going to be corrected.
1428
01:02:20,140 --> 01:02:23,143
Over the period of
years, it's built up
1429
01:02:23,277 --> 01:02:25,312
into having my
face reconstructed
1430
01:02:25,446 --> 01:02:27,649
with plastic surgery.
1431
01:02:27,781 --> 01:02:31,653
George told us that
he had 10 stories
1432
01:02:31,785 --> 01:02:33,053
that he had come
up with, and he was
1433
01:02:33,187 --> 01:02:34,922
planning on making six movies.
1434
01:02:35,055 --> 01:02:38,092
And he had four other
stories that he was
1435
01:02:38,225 --> 01:02:39,927
putting in different places.
1436
01:02:40,060 --> 01:02:43,264
And one of them was Boba
Fett, but he hadn't quite
1437
01:02:43,397 --> 01:02:45,799
figured out what Boba Fett's
story was going to be.
1438
01:02:45,933 --> 01:02:49,136
So he took his
pilot version of it
1439
01:02:49,270 --> 01:02:52,273
and made it an animated thing
and was going to inserted it
1440
01:02:52,406 --> 01:02:53,340
into this special.
1441
01:02:53,474 --> 01:02:57,077
They were doing this
holiday special,
1442
01:02:57,211 --> 01:03:00,749
and there wasn't much
of our involvement,
1443
01:03:00,881 --> 01:03:03,851
but I came up with the idea,
why don't we take the Boba Fett
1444
01:03:03,984 --> 01:03:05,587
character and put him in that.
1445
01:03:05,720 --> 01:03:06,954
Make a little movie out of it.
1446
01:03:07,087 --> 01:03:08,489
I am Boba Fett.
1447
01:03:08,623 --> 01:03:09,923
Follow me, friend.
1448
01:03:10,057 --> 01:03:12,159
After Return of the Jedi,
all the Tim Zahn novels,
1449
01:03:12,293 --> 01:03:14,328
all the Dark Horse comics,
like all of this content
1450
01:03:14,461 --> 01:03:16,997
came out about how
awesome Boba Fett was.
1451
01:03:17,131 --> 01:03:19,900
But it all starts
with that animation
1452
01:03:20,034 --> 01:03:21,969
in the holiday special.
1453
01:03:22,102 --> 01:03:23,937
The animated bit,
which I think was
1454
01:03:24,071 --> 01:03:25,973
done by Nelvana, which is
a Canadian company that
1455
01:03:26,106 --> 01:03:29,910
eventually did the Droids
and Ewoks TV series.
1456
01:03:30,044 --> 01:03:35,650
George had seen a special that
we did called Cosmic Christmas
1457
01:03:35,784 --> 01:03:38,485
and really liked it.
1458
01:03:38,620 --> 01:03:42,890
And so, when he was working
with David Acomba, who
1459
01:03:43,023 --> 01:03:45,627
was a mutual friend,
you know, David
1460
01:03:45,760 --> 01:03:48,862
had suggested that we might be
good for the Star Wars special.
1461
01:03:48,996 --> 01:03:51,766
That was how the
relationship all started.
1462
01:03:51,899 --> 01:03:55,169
So the cartoon that's contained
within the holiday special
1463
01:03:55,302 --> 01:03:58,372
is this kind of short,
10 or 11-minute cartoon,
1464
01:03:58,506 --> 01:04:00,341
subtitled "The
Faithful Wookiee."
1465
01:04:00,474 --> 01:04:03,344
And it's the story
about how the rebels are
1466
01:04:03,477 --> 01:04:06,280
looking for Han Solo and
Chewbacca who have disappeared.
1467
01:04:06,413 --> 01:04:10,217
They find them, and they've
been affected by this sleeping
1468
01:04:10,351 --> 01:04:11,820
virus that only affects humans.
1469
01:04:11,952 --> 01:04:15,122
And as soon as they discover
it, Luke gets infected.
1470
01:04:15,255 --> 01:04:18,225
And then it's up to
Chewbacca and the droids
1471
01:04:18,359 --> 01:04:20,294
to try and rescue them.
1472
01:04:20,427 --> 01:04:22,062
And it was written by George.
1473
01:04:22,196 --> 01:04:24,865
And I loved the
roughness of Star Wars.
1474
01:04:24,998 --> 01:04:29,169
I loved the fact that everything
was beaten up and lived in.
1475
01:04:29,303 --> 01:04:31,740
We wanted to get that
kind of real world quality
1476
01:04:31,872 --> 01:04:34,908
into the animation too and
not make it too pristine.
1477
01:04:35,042 --> 01:04:39,848
It was a little bit
loosely based on Moebius.
1478
01:04:39,980 --> 01:04:41,649
George wanted the
style of Moebius,
1479
01:04:41,783 --> 01:04:44,952
who was a famous science
fiction Illustrator.
1480
01:04:45,085 --> 01:04:48,489
And so, that was the
inspiration for the style
1481
01:04:48,623 --> 01:04:50,023
of the characters.
1482
01:04:50,157 --> 01:04:52,761
That style of animation,
that like nearly rotoscoped,
1483
01:04:52,893 --> 01:04:55,396
everything that was vogue
in animation in that era,
1484
01:04:55,530 --> 01:04:58,332
it was that applied
to Star Wars.
1485
01:04:58,465 --> 01:04:59,701
But it was crazy.
1486
01:04:59,834 --> 01:05:02,403
Like, this was-- there's
nothing like it, that animated
1487
01:05:02,537 --> 01:05:03,505
sequence.
1488
01:05:03,638 --> 01:05:05,973
To me, to this day,
even if I don't--
1489
01:05:06,106 --> 01:05:07,509
I know what the
holiday special is.
1490
01:05:07,642 --> 01:05:10,512
I know it's crazy
and kind of a mess.
1491
01:05:10,645 --> 01:05:13,681
But I still point to
that animated bit and go,
1492
01:05:13,815 --> 01:05:15,048
this is crazy.
1493
01:05:15,182 --> 01:05:16,785
Like, this is just vibrant.
1494
01:05:16,917 --> 01:05:19,754
But I love the introduction
of Boba Fett and that rifle
1495
01:05:19,888 --> 01:05:21,088
that he had.
1496
01:05:21,221 --> 01:05:22,590
That animated piece
still holds up.
1497
01:05:22,724 --> 01:05:23,858
It's pretty cool.
1498
01:05:23,991 --> 01:05:25,593
And I draw
inspiration from that.
1499
01:05:25,727 --> 01:05:29,496
Jon Favreau has declared himself
a fan of the Star Wars Holiday
1500
01:05:29,631 --> 01:05:31,866
Special and he made
a concerted effort
1501
01:05:31,999 --> 01:05:35,369
to put lots of little Easter
eggs and little references
1502
01:05:35,502 --> 01:05:37,605
to the holiday special
throughout The Mandalorian.
1503
01:05:37,739 --> 01:05:40,174
Because we all ordered
the Boba Fett figure
1504
01:05:40,307 --> 01:05:41,776
by sending in our
proofs of purchase
1505
01:05:41,910 --> 01:05:44,945
from the back of the package,
and we got this figure
1506
01:05:45,078 --> 01:05:46,815
before he ever
appeared on screen.
1507
01:05:46,947 --> 01:05:50,317
You could get Boba Fett in the
mail before the movie came out.
1508
01:05:50,451 --> 01:05:52,319
So at the time,
the action figure
1509
01:05:52,453 --> 01:05:55,055
Boba Fett was supposed to have
a little rocket that fired out
1510
01:05:55,189 --> 01:05:56,323
of the jetpack.
1511
01:05:56,457 --> 01:05:58,058
But there were a
lot of safety issues
1512
01:05:58,192 --> 01:06:00,027
at the time with a lot of toys
that came out then that had
1513
01:06:00,160 --> 01:06:01,830
that rocket-firing feature.
1514
01:06:01,962 --> 01:06:04,031
And so, they never
made it that way.
1515
01:06:04,164 --> 01:06:07,267
His toy is so badass,
it might kill me.
1516
01:06:07,401 --> 01:06:09,537
They had to include
the rocket in.
1517
01:06:09,671 --> 01:06:12,674
And so, a generation of
kids were like, whoa,
1518
01:06:12,807 --> 01:06:13,875
who is this guy?
1519
01:06:14,007 --> 01:06:15,342
And the only time
we'd seen him was
1520
01:06:15,476 --> 01:06:16,977
in the holiday special,
which you know well
1521
01:06:17,110 --> 01:06:18,445
because you put the gun in.
1522
01:06:18,580 --> 01:06:21,850
So the forked rifle that
the Mandalorian carries
1523
01:06:21,982 --> 01:06:23,918
is a direct reference
to the holiday special,
1524
01:06:24,051 --> 01:06:28,188
because Boba Fett does not have
that weapon when he appears
1525
01:06:28,322 --> 01:06:29,456
in The Empire Strikes Back.
1526
01:06:29,591 --> 01:06:31,124
So it's not in
any of the movies.
1527
01:06:31,258 --> 01:06:33,962
It's only in the Star
Wars Holiday Special.
1528
01:06:34,094 --> 01:06:37,097
I remember when you were all
proud when George came to set.
1529
01:06:37,231 --> 01:06:38,465
Did you see the gun we have?
1530
01:06:38,600 --> 01:06:39,433
Yeah.
1531
01:06:39,567 --> 01:06:41,836
Do you know that
was a homage too.
1532
01:06:41,970 --> 01:06:43,270
That cannon, right?
1533
01:06:43,403 --> 01:06:44,438
Because you wrote it.
1534
01:06:44,572 --> 01:06:45,940
Not really.
1535
01:06:46,073 --> 01:06:47,575
You said, hey, we put that gun
in from the holiday special.
1536
01:06:47,709 --> 01:06:49,711
And he goes, oh, I had
nothing to do with that.
1537
01:06:49,844 --> 01:06:51,613
[laughter]
1538
01:06:51,746 --> 01:06:56,350
One thing people love to talk
about in terms of Chewbacca's
1539
01:06:56,483 --> 01:06:59,219
role and how important he
was at the end of Star Wars,
1540
01:06:59,353 --> 01:07:00,755
and how important
he may have even
1541
01:07:00,889 --> 01:07:04,091
been seen by the filmmakers
at the end of Star Wars,
1542
01:07:04,224 --> 01:07:06,426
is that you give
Han Solo a medal,
1543
01:07:06,561 --> 01:07:08,362
and you give Luke
Skywalker a medal,
1544
01:07:08,495 --> 01:07:10,765
but Chewbacca only gets
a chance to stand up
1545
01:07:10,899 --> 01:07:13,635
on the platform and roar
at the end of Star Wars.
1546
01:07:13,768 --> 01:07:16,938
There was a question--
why didn't Chewbacca
1547
01:07:17,070 --> 01:07:20,340
get a medal at the
end of Star Wars?
1548
01:07:20,474 --> 01:07:25,345
And George's answer
to that was Wookiees
1549
01:07:25,479 --> 01:07:27,615
don't want-- he
didn't want a medal.
1550
01:07:27,749 --> 01:07:31,485
But his reward was that
Han would take them
1551
01:07:31,619 --> 01:07:35,823
back to his home planet
for Life Day celebration.
1552
01:07:35,957 --> 01:07:39,126
So on the very last day
of shooting, from day one
1553
01:07:39,259 --> 01:07:40,528
when I arrived at
Warner Brothers,
1554
01:07:40,662 --> 01:07:42,362
I was curious how we
were going to approach
1555
01:07:42,496 --> 01:07:45,633
shooting the finale, which
has not only the original
1556
01:07:45,767 --> 01:07:50,437
cast from Star Wars I the movie,
but also about 100 extras.
1557
01:07:50,572 --> 01:07:52,272
They saved all this
money by not having
1558
01:07:52,406 --> 01:07:55,543
to suit them by just dressing
them in these robes--
1559
01:07:55,677 --> 01:07:57,745
these honorary Life Day robes.
1560
01:07:57,879 --> 01:08:02,382
And they're all parading through
while Carrie sings her song.
1561
01:08:02,517 --> 01:08:04,719
And that song that I sing--
1562
01:08:04,852 --> 01:08:11,491
(SINGING) We celebrate
a day of peace.
1563
01:08:11,626 --> 01:08:13,595
(SINGING) --a day of harmony.
1564
01:08:16,430 --> 01:08:19,299
She wasn't-- she
wasn't a great singer.
1565
01:08:19,433 --> 01:08:24,038
But the song was apparently
the deciding factor
1566
01:08:24,171 --> 01:08:27,240
in getting her onto the show.
1567
01:08:27,374 --> 01:08:30,078
Just the set itself
looked so fake.
1568
01:08:30,210 --> 01:08:31,378
You know?
1569
01:08:31,512 --> 01:08:33,413
Film is very
forgiving, especially
1570
01:08:33,548 --> 01:08:35,016
if it's lit properly.
1571
01:08:35,148 --> 01:08:38,820
But this just looked so cheesy.
1572
01:08:38,953 --> 01:08:40,722
I called my art director in.
1573
01:08:40,855 --> 01:08:43,858
What's the set for
the big finale?
1574
01:08:43,992 --> 01:08:46,561
And he looked at me straight
in the eye, and he said,
1575
01:08:46,694 --> 01:08:50,163
Steve, I hate to break it to
you, but we're out of money.
1576
01:08:50,297 --> 01:08:52,567
We have no set for the finale.
1577
01:08:52,700 --> 01:08:55,435
I want you to go into
Hollywood, go to every candle
1578
01:08:55,570 --> 01:08:57,872
store you can find,
and buy every candle
1579
01:08:58,006 --> 01:08:59,339
they have in their shop.
1580
01:08:59,473 --> 01:09:02,810
So the night before we
actually shot the finale,
1581
01:09:02,944 --> 01:09:07,481
we placed fat candles,
thin candles, tall candles,
1582
01:09:07,615 --> 01:09:11,485
short candles all over
the floor of the stage.
1583
01:09:11,619 --> 01:09:15,890
And we spent the morning of
the actual shoot lighting
1584
01:09:16,024 --> 01:09:17,558
all of these candles.
1585
01:09:17,692 --> 01:09:19,493
The end of this
movie is basically
1586
01:09:19,627 --> 01:09:22,462
like the Heaven's Gate cult
occurs to the Wookiee family.
1587
01:09:22,597 --> 01:09:24,498
(LAUGHING) Like, they all--
1588
01:09:24,632 --> 01:09:26,000
right?
1589
01:09:26,134 --> 01:09:28,736
Like, they start singing a song,
they hold up their light orbs,
1590
01:09:28,870 --> 01:09:32,040
and clearly they die and
ascend to a new realm
1591
01:09:32,172 --> 01:09:34,842
where they enter the tail
of the Hale-Bopp comet.
1592
01:09:34,976 --> 01:09:36,176
I think that's what it--
1593
01:09:36,309 --> 01:09:37,645
I think that's what's happening.
1594
01:09:37,779 --> 01:09:41,281
The line producers of the
Star Wars Holiday Special
1595
01:09:41,415 --> 01:09:42,850
were Ken and Mitzie Welch.
1596
01:09:42,984 --> 01:09:45,385
They admittedly came
to me and said, hey,
1597
01:09:45,520 --> 01:09:47,822
we've never produced
anything like this.
1598
01:09:47,955 --> 01:09:51,726
Miki was the point person
between Lucasfilm, and CBS,
1599
01:09:51,859 --> 01:09:54,394
and the production
company, Smith-Hemion,
1600
01:09:54,529 --> 01:09:57,397
that was actually
making the special.
1601
01:09:57,532 --> 01:10:00,267
We couldn't tell
them what to do.
1602
01:10:00,400 --> 01:10:03,638
I mean, that was their project,
their show, and they didn't--
1603
01:10:03,771 --> 01:10:05,973
it was, like, out of control.
1604
01:10:06,107 --> 01:10:10,377
I told Gary if I came in
to direct and help put
1605
01:10:10,511 --> 01:10:14,816
the fire out, the one thing
I would not be available
1606
01:10:14,949 --> 01:10:18,052
was I had a show to go to,
I was already committed to.
1607
01:10:18,186 --> 01:10:21,956
I would not be able to
participate in one day or one
1608
01:10:22,090 --> 01:10:23,423
second of editing.
1609
01:10:23,558 --> 01:10:25,358
But we weren't in--
you have to understand,
1610
01:10:25,492 --> 01:10:27,227
we weren't in the
loop at that point.
1611
01:10:27,360 --> 01:10:31,032
I mean, at that point, it was
Ken and Mitzie Welch's show.
1612
01:10:31,165 --> 01:10:35,069
Ken and Mitzie were
variety show producers,
1613
01:10:35,203 --> 01:10:38,072
but they didn't know anything
about science fiction,
1614
01:10:38,206 --> 01:10:41,743
and they didn't
know how to edit.
1615
01:10:41,876 --> 01:10:45,646
I had never edited
anything in my life.
1616
01:10:45,780 --> 01:10:46,180
You know?
1617
01:10:46,313 --> 01:10:47,280
I write.
1618
01:10:47,414 --> 01:10:49,083
I'll never forget this--
1619
01:10:49,217 --> 01:10:53,788
I saw all of those tapes, and I
thought, what am I going to do?
1620
01:10:53,921 --> 01:10:56,858
And I do remember,
I burst into tears.
1621
01:10:56,991 --> 01:11:01,229
I have never ever not edited any
of my shows other than the Star
1622
01:11:01,361 --> 01:11:03,164
Wars Holiday Special.
1623
01:11:03,296 --> 01:11:04,932
And to this day, I regret it.
1624
01:11:05,066 --> 01:11:06,466
I'm sorry I wasn't there.
1625
01:11:06,601 --> 01:11:09,170
Because I knew it would
fall on Mitzie and Ken,
1626
01:11:09,302 --> 01:11:11,639
and I knew they had
zero experience.
1627
01:11:11,773 --> 01:11:13,975
They were there to
get the show done.
1628
01:11:14,108 --> 01:11:16,511
It would never have
gotten done otherwise.
1629
01:11:16,644 --> 01:11:18,478
But we were in contact
with George Lucas,
1630
01:11:18,613 --> 01:11:20,681
and he knew what
he wanted in terms
1631
01:11:20,815 --> 01:11:22,884
of the look and everything.
1632
01:11:23,017 --> 01:11:23,918
Yeah, Miki Herman.
1633
01:11:24,051 --> 01:11:25,352
She was our liaison with--
1634
01:11:25,485 --> 01:11:26,053
That's right.
1635
01:11:26,187 --> 01:11:27,354
--George.
1636
01:11:27,487 --> 01:11:29,223
She was there all
the time, every day.
1637
01:11:29,356 --> 01:11:30,591
And there in editing too.
1638
01:11:30,725 --> 01:11:32,193
And in editing, yeah.
1639
01:11:32,359 --> 01:11:36,463
They just left it up to
the variety show producers.
1640
01:11:36,597 --> 01:11:41,334
And, you know,
they regretted it.
1641
01:11:41,468 --> 01:11:43,271
[dramatic music]
1642
01:11:43,403 --> 01:11:46,406
On Friday night, blast off
to a galaxy far, far away.
1643
01:11:46,541 --> 01:11:49,076
It's the Star Wars
Holiday Special.
1644
01:11:49,210 --> 01:11:50,511
You're on.
1645
01:11:50,645 --> 01:11:52,412
So we would throw a
Thanksgiving for the lost
1646
01:11:52,547 --> 01:11:55,082
boys-- for all the people
who couldn't go home.
1647
01:11:55,216 --> 01:11:56,617
So that was the night before.
1648
01:11:56,751 --> 01:11:59,520
So the next night we all
went back and had leftovers
1649
01:11:59,654 --> 01:12:01,055
and watched the
Star Wars special,
1650
01:12:01,189 --> 01:12:02,924
which was on Friday
night of that weekend.
1651
01:12:03,057 --> 01:12:06,093
This is the days before the
VCR, so we couldn't tape it.
1652
01:12:06,227 --> 01:12:10,330
If you did not see it when
it aired, that was it.
1653
01:12:10,463 --> 01:12:13,234
So I had a party at
my house that night
1654
01:12:13,366 --> 01:12:14,969
for when the show was there.
1655
01:12:15,102 --> 01:12:17,705
It was catered, and it
had all of my friends,
1656
01:12:17,839 --> 01:12:20,107
and there were
people with trays.
1657
01:12:20,241 --> 01:12:23,778
I wanted to see this more
than I wanted to live.
1658
01:12:23,911 --> 01:12:25,713
You know, I was a
young Catholic kid,
1659
01:12:25,847 --> 01:12:27,782
and I was always afraid God
was going to kill me and stuff.
1660
01:12:27,915 --> 01:12:29,684
And I was like, oh lord, please.
1661
01:12:29,817 --> 01:12:32,320
Please, just don't kill me until
I see the Star Wars Christmas
1662
01:12:32,452 --> 01:12:33,855
special.
1663
01:12:33,988 --> 01:12:35,422
And after that first
commercial, I turned it off,
1664
01:12:35,556 --> 01:12:36,958
and I said, OK,
everybody, let's eat.
1665
01:12:37,091 --> 01:12:38,226
You know?
1666
01:12:38,358 --> 01:12:41,162
I had no idea what
it had become.
1667
01:12:41,295 --> 01:12:42,697
And it was great.
1668
01:12:42,830 --> 01:12:44,364
I mean, they loved me Bea,
and they loved Harvey,
1669
01:12:44,497 --> 01:12:45,600
and they loved all of that.
1670
01:12:45,733 --> 01:12:47,500
They loved all the
crap, of course.
1671
01:12:47,635 --> 01:12:50,304
All the camp stuff they loved.
1672
01:12:50,437 --> 01:12:52,372
But what wasn't
camp in that show?
1673
01:12:52,506 --> 01:12:55,610
It just seemed so
weird even at the time.
1674
01:12:55,743 --> 01:13:00,480
And when it came out, it
was like, oh my god, this
1675
01:13:00,615 --> 01:13:02,750
is what they did for
the holiday special?
1676
01:13:02,884 --> 01:13:05,686
They made the mistake of farming
it out I think was the problem.
1677
01:13:05,820 --> 01:13:07,221
They farmed it
out to people that
1678
01:13:07,355 --> 01:13:10,024
were used to doing Perry
Como and Bob Hope specials.
1679
01:13:10,157 --> 01:13:11,759
And it shows.
1680
01:13:11,893 --> 01:13:15,830
I noticed that a lot of people
who write me and make comments
1681
01:13:15,963 --> 01:13:18,966
about the Star Wars
Holiday Special say,
1682
01:13:19,100 --> 01:13:21,002
I was five years old
when I watched it.
1683
01:13:21,135 --> 01:13:23,604
I was 10 years old
when I watched it.
1684
01:13:23,738 --> 01:13:25,539
They have a whole different
perspective of it.
1685
01:13:25,673 --> 01:13:28,175
Because they usually
add, "And I loved it."
1686
01:13:28,309 --> 01:13:32,580
From what I remember as a kid,
the Star Wars Holiday Special
1687
01:13:32,713 --> 01:13:34,715
was tremendous.
1688
01:13:34,849 --> 01:13:36,918
I was super excited.
1689
01:13:37,051 --> 01:13:40,321
I was over anxious,
simply because something
1690
01:13:40,453 --> 01:13:44,091
from the Star Wars world was
going to be on television.
1691
01:13:44,225 --> 01:13:47,828
We're starving, as fans,
for anything Star Wars.
1692
01:13:47,962 --> 01:13:50,898
Other than the movie,
that's the only other thing
1693
01:13:51,032 --> 01:13:54,635
that I saw that had Harrison
Ford in it or on it at all.
1694
01:13:54,769 --> 01:13:56,270
I'll take anything.
1695
01:13:56,404 --> 01:13:58,072
I don't care if they're
going to juggle, sing, dance.
1696
01:13:58,205 --> 01:14:00,541
And all the kids talked
about it at school
1697
01:14:00,675 --> 01:14:02,310
the next day and so forth.
1698
01:14:02,442 --> 01:14:05,746
And then everybody promptly
forgot about it after that.
1699
01:14:05,880 --> 01:14:09,150
A sinking feeling came
in, where I was like,
1700
01:14:09,283 --> 01:14:11,986
oh, this isn't going to be
as good as I'd hoped it.
1701
01:14:12,119 --> 01:14:14,889
In a weird way, it
was a prep for what
1702
01:14:15,022 --> 01:14:18,092
I would experience decades
later with the prequels,
1703
01:14:18,225 --> 01:14:20,861
where I sat down, could
not have been more excited,
1704
01:14:20,995 --> 01:14:22,863
could not have been
more jazzed, and then
1705
01:14:22,997 --> 01:14:26,801
it took time, as I was watching
it, to realize like something's
1706
01:14:26,934 --> 01:14:28,269
wrong.
1707
01:14:28,402 --> 01:14:32,173
I think with probably like
the plague in the Middle Ages,
1708
01:14:32,306 --> 01:14:36,811
after everybody died, they
decided to change the subject.
1709
01:14:36,944 --> 01:14:40,381
So I don't remember people
talking about it much.
1710
01:14:40,514 --> 01:14:43,150
[mysterious music]
1711
01:14:43,284 --> 01:14:45,086
It's like one of those
Mandela effect things,
1712
01:14:45,219 --> 01:14:47,021
where for a long time
a bunch of people
1713
01:14:47,154 --> 01:14:50,057
didn't even know the Star Wars
Christmas special existed.
1714
01:14:50,191 --> 01:14:52,360
As the internet grew,
it became this sort
1715
01:14:52,526 --> 01:14:53,427
of like talking point.
1716
01:14:53,561 --> 01:14:54,428
Are you a Star Wars fan?
1717
01:14:54,562 --> 01:14:55,730
Yeah.
1718
01:14:55,863 --> 01:14:56,964
Do you know about
the holiday special?
1719
01:14:57,098 --> 01:14:58,733
Now, I know you're
a Star Wars fan.
1720
01:14:58,866 --> 01:15:00,034
But this really showed a
different level of commitment.
1721
01:15:00,167 --> 01:15:02,903
Like, most casual
Star Wars fans don't
1722
01:15:03,037 --> 01:15:04,705
know about the holiday special.
1723
01:15:04,839 --> 01:15:07,208
And so, all of a sudden,
it kind of surfaced.
1724
01:15:07,341 --> 01:15:09,944
And that was when he
tried to really bury it.
1725
01:15:10,077 --> 01:15:12,346
You tell somebody you
can't have something,
1726
01:15:12,480 --> 01:15:14,081
they want it even more.
1727
01:15:14,215 --> 01:15:18,119
So I got the Star
Wars Holiday Special
on a VHS tape,
1728
01:15:18,252 --> 01:15:19,687
sixth-generation copy.
1729
01:15:19,820 --> 01:15:21,989
That would have been
valuable currency
1730
01:15:22,123 --> 01:15:24,091
to a prototypical
nerd, Star Wars fan.
1731
01:15:24,225 --> 01:15:26,594
Years later, when I first
interviewed George Lucas,
1732
01:15:26,727 --> 01:15:29,530
and we finished the main part
of the interview, and I said,
1733
01:15:29,663 --> 01:15:31,332
I've got another
question for you.
1734
01:15:31,465 --> 01:15:32,833
What about the holiday special?
1735
01:15:32,967 --> 01:15:35,369
And he said, "Oh,
that damn thing."
1736
01:15:35,503 --> 01:15:39,974
He said, "If I could
personally go out and find
1737
01:15:40,107 --> 01:15:43,911
all of the bootleg VHS tapes,
I would smash them all."
1738
01:15:44,045 --> 01:15:47,815
And I told that anecdote at
a convention in Australia.
1739
01:15:47,948 --> 01:15:49,984
That sort of went
around the world.
1740
01:15:50,117 --> 01:15:53,587
George Lucas wishes there
were never a holiday special,
1741
01:15:53,721 --> 01:15:55,890
and he would smash
all the tapes.
1742
01:15:56,023 --> 01:15:58,759
I take some pride in having
started that anecdote,
1743
01:15:58,893 --> 01:16:01,128
and I got it right
from the horse's mouth.
1744
01:16:01,262 --> 01:16:03,597
In a way, the fact
that Lucas has
1745
01:16:03,731 --> 01:16:08,002
spent so much time
denying it makes it
1746
01:16:08,135 --> 01:16:09,603
more popular for some people.
1747
01:16:09,737 --> 01:16:11,005
Because it seems
like it's something
1748
01:16:11,138 --> 01:16:13,574
they shouldn't see or can't see.
1749
01:16:13,707 --> 01:16:16,844
[dramatic music]
1750
01:16:19,413 --> 01:16:22,616
George didn't say anything
during production.
1751
01:16:22,750 --> 01:16:26,555
Because, again he had moved
away to work on other things.
1752
01:16:26,687 --> 01:16:28,289
I blame-- not blame.
1753
01:16:28,422 --> 01:16:30,057
That's the wrong word.
1754
01:16:30,191 --> 01:16:33,427
Lucas-- when Lucas walked away,
he said, do whatever you want.
1755
01:16:33,562 --> 01:16:36,163
And then he got upset because
we did whatever we wanted.
1756
01:16:36,297 --> 01:16:38,567
He knew it wasn't
going to be wonderful.
1757
01:16:38,699 --> 01:16:40,601
And really, I don't
think he saw it
1758
01:16:40,734 --> 01:16:42,937
until about the same
time we all did.
1759
01:16:43,070 --> 01:16:45,239
And he immediately hated it.
1760
01:16:45,372 --> 01:16:47,408
Because I'm bold with
George when we're having
1761
01:16:47,542 --> 01:16:50,744
conversations, and I asked him.
1762
01:16:50,878 --> 01:16:54,081
And I was like, "Oh,
man, what did you--
1763
01:16:54,215 --> 01:16:56,217
how did you feel when
you saw the first cut?"
1764
01:16:56,350 --> 01:17:00,321
And he was like, "Well,
I did ask if there was
1765
01:17:00,454 --> 01:17:02,756
a way that we couldn't air it.
1766
01:17:02,890 --> 01:17:05,192
Did it have to air?"
1767
01:17:05,326 --> 01:17:08,629
But it was a lot of
money, and it had to air.
1768
01:17:08,762 --> 01:17:10,698
To this day, I've
never met George Lucas.
1769
01:17:10,831 --> 01:17:13,167
All I heard was he tried
to buy the negatives
1770
01:17:13,300 --> 01:17:16,538
and never ever showed
this again after it aired.
1771
01:17:16,670 --> 01:17:20,741
I don't blame anybody, but he
is the only person who really
1772
01:17:20,875 --> 01:17:21,976
could have controlled it.
1773
01:17:22,109 --> 01:17:24,245
You know, all the
Star Wars actors
1774
01:17:24,378 --> 01:17:27,348
were in this thing playing the
roles that they made famous
1775
01:17:27,481 --> 01:17:28,749
a year earlier.
1776
01:17:28,883 --> 01:17:30,818
And now, the guy who
created those roles
1777
01:17:30,951 --> 01:17:33,821
for them, George Lucas,
says, eh, I'm not
1778
01:17:33,954 --> 01:17:36,357
really associated with this.
1779
01:17:42,296 --> 01:17:45,733
I have my name on all
the good things I've done
1780
01:17:45,866 --> 01:17:47,368
and all the bad
things I've done.
1781
01:17:49,870 --> 01:17:52,574
But maybe if I could have taken
my name off of the bad things
1782
01:17:52,706 --> 01:17:54,475
I would have.
1783
01:17:54,609 --> 01:17:56,744
George, to be fair,
hasn't been out there
1784
01:17:56,877 --> 01:17:58,712
going, like, I hate
the Christmas special.
1785
01:17:58,846 --> 01:18:01,849
It's not like he's
lamenting it loudly.
1786
01:18:01,982 --> 01:18:03,918
But it's very-- he's made
it clear over the years
1787
01:18:04,051 --> 01:18:05,654
that he ain't into this.
1788
01:18:05,786 --> 01:18:08,055
I think, at the time, when the
holiday special was broadcast,
1789
01:18:08,189 --> 01:18:11,825
it was not considered to
be a big failure or giant
1790
01:18:11,959 --> 01:18:14,395
anomaly that it is
considered to be today.
1791
01:18:14,529 --> 01:18:16,030
I don't know for
sure, but I certainly
1792
01:18:16,163 --> 01:18:17,599
didn't hear from
anybody that there
1793
01:18:17,731 --> 01:18:21,235
was any fallout from the
show, that anybody was fired.
1794
01:18:21,368 --> 01:18:23,938
I think life just
went on at Lucasfilm.
1795
01:18:24,071 --> 01:18:26,740
The whole purpose of this
show was to sell toys to kids.
1796
01:18:26,874 --> 01:18:30,211
There were also going to be
action figures of the Wookiee
1797
01:18:30,344 --> 01:18:31,646
family.
1798
01:18:31,779 --> 01:18:34,181
We only know of one set of
the prototype Wookiee action
1799
01:18:34,315 --> 01:18:37,418
figures that Kenner was
maybe going to make.
1800
01:18:37,552 --> 01:18:39,220
But there were the
four action figures--
1801
01:18:39,353 --> 01:18:43,257
Itchy, Chewbacca,
Mallatobuck, and Lumpy.
1802
01:18:43,390 --> 01:18:45,426
So clearly, somebody
thought that there
1803
01:18:45,560 --> 01:18:49,330
was money to be made in doing
merchandise based on the Star
1804
01:18:49,463 --> 01:18:50,798
Wars Holiday Special.
1805
01:18:50,931 --> 01:18:52,667
But that never happened.
1806
01:18:52,800 --> 01:18:56,370
When something is
that huge, people
1807
01:18:56,503 --> 01:19:00,642
can't control, as hard
as they do, the way it's
1808
01:19:00,774 --> 01:19:02,142
going to be marketed.
1809
01:19:02,276 --> 01:19:04,579
An advertising series
in Japan for Panasonic,
1810
01:19:04,713 --> 01:19:10,150
between 1989 and 1993, and
they used George Lucas and all
1811
01:19:10,284 --> 01:19:11,653
of the characters in Star Wars.
1812
01:19:11,785 --> 01:19:13,387
And I saw the contract.
1813
01:19:13,521 --> 01:19:17,391
There was a series of penalties
if any of these commercials
1814
01:19:17,525 --> 01:19:18,859
showed in the US.
1815
01:19:18,993 --> 01:19:21,529
And in terms of embarrassment
to the franchise,
1816
01:19:21,663 --> 01:19:24,465
I remember a commercial where
Darth Vader was fighting
1817
01:19:24,599 --> 01:19:26,668
with a lightsaber, and
then it shorted out,
1818
01:19:26,800 --> 01:19:29,303
and he opened up the hilt
and the batteries were dead.
1819
01:19:29,436 --> 01:19:33,173
Energizer bunny, like, goes
cymballing through the frame.
1820
01:19:33,307 --> 01:19:37,444
And I was like, there goes the
dignity of the great Sith Lord.
1821
01:19:37,579 --> 01:19:40,948
You can see the awful
George Lucas Super Live
1822
01:19:41,081 --> 01:19:42,950
Adventure in seven
parts from Japan
1823
01:19:43,083 --> 01:19:45,019
from 1993 on the internet.
1824
01:19:45,152 --> 01:19:46,688
And it's like a stage show.
1825
01:19:46,820 --> 01:19:49,390
And it covered not only like
Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
1826
01:19:49,524 --> 01:19:51,325
I mean, I think it
was covering Tucker,
1827
01:19:51,458 --> 01:19:54,028
and it's covering everything
that Lucas has done.
1828
01:19:54,161 --> 01:19:56,797
That was all singing, all
dancing stormtroopers.
1829
01:19:56,930 --> 01:19:59,400
I mean, you know,
give me a break.
1830
01:19:59,534 --> 01:20:03,538
It's just (LAUGHING) the machine
is just going to take over.
1831
01:20:03,672 --> 01:20:07,808
And it's like, why not
make a holiday special?
1832
01:20:17,752 --> 01:20:20,487
And at that time, I have
a feeling that George just
1833
01:20:20,622 --> 01:20:22,089
wasn't--
1834
01:20:22,222 --> 01:20:25,492
either he was too busy, or
he didn't fully understand
1835
01:20:25,627 --> 01:20:29,029
the changes that were happening,
or maybe just figured this is
1836
01:20:29,163 --> 01:20:31,566
a variety show, who
cares. (LAUGHS) You know?
1837
01:20:31,700 --> 01:20:35,369
A lot of people came into
watching it thinking, oh,
1838
01:20:35,502 --> 01:20:38,740
we're going to get a
TV sequel to Star Wars.
1839
01:20:38,872 --> 01:20:41,810
It's going to be a science
fiction adventure show
1840
01:20:41,942 --> 01:20:42,943
and stuff like that?
1841
01:20:43,077 --> 01:20:44,746
And that's never what it was.
1842
01:20:44,878 --> 01:20:46,880
It was a variety show.
1843
01:20:47,014 --> 01:20:48,683
It's easy to poke fun
at stuff after the fact,
1844
01:20:48,817 --> 01:20:51,753
and question how it happened,
and sort of make fun of it.
1845
01:20:51,885 --> 01:20:55,523
It's cliche, at this point, to
crap on the Star Wars Holiday
1846
01:20:55,657 --> 01:20:56,357
Special.
1847
01:20:56,490 --> 01:20:57,891
It really is.
1848
01:20:58,025 --> 01:21:01,295
Everybody, without even having
sat through the entire thing,
1849
01:21:01,428 --> 01:21:03,163
just instantly
it's a punch line.
1850
01:21:03,297 --> 01:21:05,866
The legacy of the Star
Wars Holiday Special
1851
01:21:05,999 --> 01:21:09,370
is in how it impacted
all of us fans.
1852
01:21:09,503 --> 01:21:12,206
And as people continue
to create for Star Wars,
1853
01:21:12,339 --> 01:21:14,441
they'll keep on adding
these Easter eggs in.
1854
01:21:14,576 --> 01:21:16,443
You'll keep on seeing
things in the background--
1855
01:21:16,578 --> 01:21:21,181
these callbacks, these little
things that tip the hat to you,
1856
01:21:21,315 --> 01:21:24,885
the viewer, that this
is made by someone
1857
01:21:25,018 --> 01:21:26,153
who truly loves Star Wars.
1858
01:21:26,286 --> 01:21:29,323
Together we will
rule the galaxy--
1859
01:21:29,456 --> 01:21:30,825
Cut, cut, cut.
1860
01:21:30,958 --> 01:21:32,292
I quit.
1861
01:21:32,426 --> 01:21:33,762
This is the holiday
special all over again.
1862
01:21:33,927 --> 01:21:35,864
[laughter]
1863
01:21:35,996 --> 01:21:39,166
The Glee Holiday Spectacular.
1864
01:21:39,299 --> 01:21:42,102
[PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY,
"TREPAK (RUSSIAN DANCE)"]
1865
01:21:42,236 --> 01:21:44,972
Our first ever, live-action
holiday special.
1866
01:21:45,105 --> 01:21:46,841
What is it, Star Wars Christmas?
1867
01:21:46,974 --> 01:21:48,142
[laughter]
1868
01:21:48,275 --> 01:21:50,010
No, don't be ridiculous.
1869
01:21:50,144 --> 01:21:51,646
That's Wookiee Life Day.
1870
01:21:51,780 --> 01:21:53,748
[laughter]
1871
01:21:53,882 --> 01:21:55,482
I've got you now.
1872
01:21:55,617 --> 01:21:57,251
[wookiee talk]
1873
01:21:57,384 --> 01:21:58,520
Sorry.
1874
01:21:58,653 --> 01:22:03,691
Yeah, I was hoping to
be free for Life Day.
1875
01:22:03,825 --> 01:22:05,225
I love these connective tissues.
1876
01:22:05,359 --> 01:22:08,262
I love the fact that
we've taken Life Day,
1877
01:22:08,395 --> 01:22:10,899
and we said, no, November
17, the day the special was
1878
01:22:11,031 --> 01:22:12,399
released, is now Life Day.
1879
01:22:12,534 --> 01:22:15,502
So on Earth, in the Disney
Parks, in the world,
1880
01:22:15,637 --> 01:22:16,937
we celebrate it.
1881
01:22:17,070 --> 01:22:19,641
As much as Lucasfilm might
not want to acknowledge its
1882
01:22:19,774 --> 01:22:23,778
existence, we've seen
it infiltrate Disney+.
1883
01:22:23,912 --> 01:22:28,415
We've seen merchandise all
over the theme parks themed
1884
01:22:28,550 --> 01:22:29,751
around Life Day.
1885
01:22:29,884 --> 01:22:31,485
No one's talking about the
holiday special directly,
1886
01:22:31,619 --> 01:22:35,757
but we are, as a fandom,
embracing Life Day.
1887
01:22:35,890 --> 01:22:38,292
Maybe this could mean, down
the road, at some point,
1888
01:22:38,425 --> 01:22:40,494
they might release the
entire holiday special.
1889
01:22:40,628 --> 01:22:41,962
Who knows?
1890
01:22:53,307 --> 01:22:54,676
I think he should embrace it.
1891
01:22:54,809 --> 01:22:57,978
I mean, like, it's not his
fault. He didn't do it--
1892
01:22:58,111 --> 01:22:59,246
I don't think.
1893
01:22:59,379 --> 01:23:02,249
And am I going to
stand on a soapbox
1894
01:23:02,382 --> 01:23:03,918
and proclaim that this is canon?
1895
01:23:04,051 --> 01:23:05,452
No.
1896
01:23:05,587 --> 01:23:08,388
But it's really interesting,
and it's really fun.
1897
01:23:08,523 --> 01:23:11,325
The Star Wars special is
kind of an anomaly for fans,
1898
01:23:11,458 --> 01:23:14,461
because it was kind
of the one big thing
1899
01:23:14,596 --> 01:23:18,566
that Lucasfilm did before it
got its act together and got
1900
01:23:18,700 --> 01:23:21,201
its system together to make
sure that things like this
1901
01:23:21,335 --> 01:23:22,804
never happened again.
1902
01:23:22,937 --> 01:23:24,706
It's just a curiosity.
1903
01:23:24,839 --> 01:23:28,810
I mean, the Star Wars
universe is so different now.
1904
01:23:28,943 --> 01:23:30,578
As much as I, as
a fan, would love
1905
01:23:30,712 --> 01:23:34,582
to have a nice, pristine copy of
the Star Wars Holiday Special,
1906
01:23:34,716 --> 01:23:36,918
I understand why he
probably wouldn't want
1907
01:23:37,050 --> 01:23:38,653
to put that out in the world.
1908
01:23:38,786 --> 01:23:41,488
You know, it may not be, like,
our favorite part of the Star
1909
01:23:41,623 --> 01:23:43,791
Wars mythos, but
it has its place.
1910
01:23:43,925 --> 01:23:46,226
It's an important part
of Star Wars history.
1911
01:23:46,360 --> 01:23:48,395
Star Wars fans are
collectors, right?
1912
01:23:48,530 --> 01:23:53,500
So it does have, built into
it, more than any film or TV
1913
01:23:53,635 --> 01:23:58,238
show made for Star Wars,
this exclusive collectibility
1914
01:23:58,372 --> 01:23:59,641
element of it.
1915
01:23:59,774 --> 01:24:01,308
I don't think Disney+
should put it out.
1916
01:24:01,441 --> 01:24:04,244
Part of the thing that
makes it so wonderful
1917
01:24:04,378 --> 01:24:06,681
is that it still has
that bootleg feel to it.
1918
01:24:06,814 --> 01:24:10,384
I think it's actually surprising
that Lucasfilm and Disney
1919
01:24:10,518 --> 01:24:13,120
haven't released the holiday
special in some format.
1920
01:24:13,253 --> 01:24:14,656
Why let the bootlegs
run the show?
1921
01:24:14,789 --> 01:24:16,791
They should actually have
an official release of it.
1922
01:24:16,925 --> 01:24:18,191
Let the audience discover it.
1923
01:24:18,325 --> 01:24:20,662
And when they discover
it, it means more.
1924
01:24:20,795 --> 01:24:22,496
Here's the one way
they should release it.
1925
01:24:22,630 --> 01:24:26,300
They should let George
Lucas have it and then put
1926
01:24:26,433 --> 01:24:27,735
all the crazy--
1927
01:24:27,869 --> 01:24:29,904
just let him George
Lucas the hell out of it.
1928
01:24:30,038 --> 01:24:31,606
I would love to do--
1929
01:24:31,739 --> 01:24:33,908
someday, maybe on Disney+,
we'll do a holiday special too.
1930
01:24:34,042 --> 01:24:36,778
Do you think we'll ever see
another Star Wars holiday
1931
01:24:36,911 --> 01:24:38,078
special.
1932
01:24:38,211 --> 01:24:39,647
Not if I have anything
to say about it.
1933
01:24:39,781 --> 01:24:41,348
Maybe there's a
version that none of us
1934
01:24:41,481 --> 01:24:42,884
can imagine that
would be genius.
1935
01:24:43,017 --> 01:24:43,952
Yeah.
1936
01:24:44,084 --> 01:24:44,919
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
1937
01:24:45,053 --> 01:24:46,286
Oh, that'd be insane.
1938
01:24:46,420 --> 01:24:47,922
I got to pitch that to them.
We'll see.
1939
01:24:48,056 --> 01:24:49,222
If you want to see a holiday
special, let Disney+ know.
1940
01:24:49,356 --> 01:24:50,792
Wow, you heard it here first.
1941
01:24:50,925 --> 01:24:54,394
I also believe that George
Lucas is, at his heart,
1942
01:24:54,529 --> 01:24:56,330
an experimental
filmmaker, and he
1943
01:24:56,463 --> 01:24:59,199
wants to make things that
are weird and different.
1944
01:24:59,333 --> 01:25:01,903
And the holiday special is that.
1945
01:25:02,036 --> 01:25:05,405
The greatest crime of the Star
Wars Christmas and/or Holiday
1946
01:25:05,540 --> 01:25:10,011
Special is that it
ain't Star Wars.
1947
01:25:10,143 --> 01:25:11,779
But to be fair, what is?
1948
01:25:11,913 --> 01:25:14,682
At this point, George
Lucas is probably
1949
01:25:14,816 --> 01:25:16,651
like, you know what,
it's been out there.
1950
01:25:16,784 --> 01:25:17,284
Whatever.
1951
01:25:17,417 --> 01:25:18,352
I've moved on.
1952
01:25:18,485 --> 01:25:19,887
It's a thing that happened.
1953
01:25:20,021 --> 01:25:21,355
But if Star Wars Holiday
Special kind of sneaks in there,
1954
01:25:21,488 --> 01:25:22,824
I don't think he cares anymore.
1955
01:25:22,957 --> 01:25:25,392
Though, I don't think
he'd want another one.
1956
01:25:25,526 --> 01:25:26,761
[laughs]
1957
01:25:26,894 --> 01:25:30,430
[triumphant music]
1958
01:25:34,535 --> 01:25:37,404
George once asked us, please,
never mention it again.
1959
01:25:37,538 --> 01:25:39,874
And I said, George,
we should own that.
1960
01:25:40,008 --> 01:25:42,342
Because it shows that
everybody's fallible.
1961
01:25:42,476 --> 01:25:43,878
Everybody makes mistakes.
1962
01:25:44,012 --> 01:25:46,914
When you work in any
project, you fall in love.
1963
01:25:47,048 --> 01:25:48,650
What else are you going to do?
1964
01:25:48,783 --> 01:25:51,085
I have worked on shows
that were really popular
1965
01:25:51,218 --> 01:25:54,421
and shows that were horrible,
and I didn't work any more
1966
01:25:54,555 --> 01:25:56,858
or less hard on any of them.
1967
01:25:56,991 --> 01:25:58,458
[blues piano]
1968
01:25:58,593 --> 01:26:01,729
Every filmmaker has to
grapple with not everything is
1969
01:26:01,863 --> 01:26:02,997
going to be a hit.
1970
01:26:03,131 --> 01:26:04,866
There is no being an
artist without failure.
1971
01:26:04,999 --> 01:26:06,801
There just-- there is no being
an artist without failure.
1972
01:26:06,934 --> 01:26:12,840
Time has a real
amazing way of allowing
1973
01:26:12,974 --> 01:26:14,241
you to embrace the past.
1974
01:26:14,374 --> 01:26:16,343
It's a very
difficult place to be
1975
01:26:16,476 --> 01:26:19,379
an artist on the public
stage making movies.
1976
01:26:19,514 --> 01:26:22,517
Because everybody
is watching you,
1977
01:26:22,650 --> 01:26:24,619
and many people are
rooting for you to fail.
1978
01:26:24,752 --> 01:26:28,355
All my life, since the Donny
and Marie Show was created,
1979
01:26:28,488 --> 01:26:31,826
I've wanted nothing
to do with it.
1980
01:26:31,959 --> 01:26:34,896
If you look at other
franchises, they
1981
01:26:35,029 --> 01:26:37,865
would die to have the
fan base of Star Wars.
1982
01:26:37,999 --> 01:26:39,499
It's crazy.
1983
01:26:39,634 --> 01:26:41,135
Like, Star Trek would love
to have what Star Wars has.
1984
01:26:41,268 --> 01:26:42,637
They don't have
anything like it.
1985
01:26:42,770 --> 01:26:43,938
Nobody does.
1986
01:26:44,072 --> 01:26:45,606
When you have a bunch of
people that love something
1987
01:26:45,740 --> 01:26:49,644
and take it into their
hearts, they claim it.
1988
01:26:49,777 --> 01:26:54,615
And when these things don't
behave the way we want them to,
1989
01:26:54,749 --> 01:26:58,452
well, it seems like we've
become a culture that doesn't
1990
01:26:58,586 --> 01:27:00,021
know how to handle that.
1991
01:27:00,154 --> 01:27:02,724
Watch the good stuff, and
either ignore the bad stuff
1992
01:27:02,857 --> 01:27:05,526
or delight in the
bad stuff ironically.
1993
01:27:05,660 --> 01:27:07,562
I have learned to embrace it.
1994
01:27:07,695 --> 01:27:10,932
I've learned to say, you know,
I'm not embarrassed about it
1995
01:27:11,065 --> 01:27:12,967
as much.
1996
01:27:13,101 --> 01:27:15,837
You know, I did the best
I could at the time.
1997
01:27:15,970 --> 01:27:17,304
That's what was popular.
1998
01:27:17,437 --> 01:27:20,474
That's what people were
buying and watching,
1999
01:27:20,608 --> 01:27:25,278
and it was appropriate
for the day.
2000
01:27:25,412 --> 01:27:29,650
I think failure defines people
sometimes more than success.
2001
01:27:29,784 --> 01:27:33,888
I think failure is one
of the great motivators.
2002
01:27:34,021 --> 01:27:39,560
The Star Wars Holiday Special
led to stuff like Andor.
2003
01:27:39,694 --> 01:27:42,630
That all of that failure
is part of that process.
2004
01:27:42,764 --> 01:27:45,600
Someway, somewhere,
somehow, somebody
2005
01:27:45,733 --> 01:27:49,070
is going to make fun of you.
2006
01:27:49,203 --> 01:27:50,138
Don't let it bother you.
2007
01:27:50,270 --> 01:27:51,072
Move ahead.
2008
01:27:51,205 --> 01:27:52,607
Be an artist.
2009
01:27:52,740 --> 01:27:55,543
Sometimes the magic
happens, and sometimes it's
2010
01:27:55,676 --> 01:27:57,745
the Star Wars Holiday Special.
2011
01:27:57,879 --> 01:28:01,414
[upbeat music]
2012
01:28:33,080 --> 01:28:36,250
There was a new flash in
between the commercials,
2013
01:28:36,383 --> 01:28:39,887
and the bootleg had all
the commercials from 1978.
2014
01:28:40,021 --> 01:28:41,622
And that was
actually-- eventually,
2015
01:28:41,756 --> 01:28:42,924
that became part of the charm.
2016
01:28:43,057 --> 01:28:45,458
They've become
part of this movie.
2017
01:28:45,593 --> 01:28:47,795
And the anchor is
the funniest part is.
2018
01:28:47,929 --> 01:28:49,462
Because he's just
there, and he's like
2019
01:28:49,597 --> 01:28:50,598
fighting the frizzies.
2020
01:28:50,731 --> 01:28:52,166
You know, tonight at 11:00.
2021
01:28:52,300 --> 01:28:54,535
Fighting the frizzies at 11:00.
2022
01:28:54,669 --> 01:29:00,007
I've been surreptitiously
made a cult figure,
2023
01:29:00,141 --> 01:29:01,441
whether I wanted to or not.
2024
01:29:01,576 --> 01:29:03,177
And then they parodied
that on South Park.
2025
01:29:03,311 --> 01:29:06,514
And now, fighting the frizzies.
2026
01:29:06,647 --> 01:29:08,549
Why are they doing this?
2027
01:29:08,683 --> 01:29:10,718
Why the parody?
2028
01:29:10,852 --> 01:29:15,455
Nobody remembers the serious
things and the profound things
2029
01:29:15,590 --> 01:29:17,892
that I did in my
career, but they all
2030
01:29:18,025 --> 01:29:21,262
remember fighting the
frizzies at 11:00.
2031
01:29:21,428 --> 01:29:26,801
[music continues]
157804
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