Highlights
- The Star Wars Holiday Special, which Disney still largely refuses to acknowledge, had unbearable working conditions during its production in the ’70s.
- The climate on set was scorching hot, with no air conditioning, and the heavy costumes caused many cast members to faint from lack of oxygen and excessive heat.
- Actors who thought they were part of the Star Wars sequel ended up in a goofy variety show with uncomfortable conditions and surreal experiences.
Star Wars fans can celebrate this magical time of year with stories of unbearable working conditions on the franchise’s most infamous entry. That’s right, it’s that time of year again to talk about The Star Wars Holiday Special.
Even Disney still largely refuses to acknowledge the Star Wars special, which is probably no surprise to anyone “lucky” enough to have seen it. Only a small part of The Star Wars Holiday Special was released on Disney Plus, and even that may be pushing it. But this isn’t about the finished product. This is about the practically unfathomable working conditions suffered by those who helped make it in the ’70s. Despite the sugary sweet vibe of this bizarre variety-show-style special, things behind the scenes felt more like the spice mines of Kessel.
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Steve Kozak, co-director of the 2023 documentary A Disturbance in the Force, which detailed the making of The Star Wars Holiday Special, has now written a book offering even more insight into the tragic comedy of errors that was the special’s production. The book, A Disturbance in the Force: How and Why the Star Wars Holiday Special Happened, will be released soon. But Gizmodo managed to get a sneak peek for those in the morbidly curious camp, and things on set were even more dire than many could have ever realized.
In an excerpt from the book, camera operator Larry Heider spoke about his experience in this surreal nightmare scape. One day, he was filming “tumblers in hot pink costumes, jugglers, and a gymnast—not to mention a cross-dressing Harvey Korman with four arms.” The next, he found himself in the famous cantina set from the still-fresh and exciting Star Wars: A New Hope. Hearing that he would be filming a musical number there, he assumed it would be a relatively simple shoot. But the Force works in mysterious ways.
As if to keep in character, the weather during that time was as hot as one might expect from the desert planet of Tatooine. As a bonus, the production didn’t use air conditioning due to the noise during filming. Beyond that, this scene featuring Bea Arther and Korman as a barkeep and her admirer, respectively, also included several extras wearing heavy costumes laden with fur and rubber. One such extra was Rick Wagner, who wore a bulky walrus-like costume. Wagner described how the heat and lack of air circulation (along with questionable lighting and special effect decisions) led to many of his castmates fainting on set.
“You could not breathe in these costumes, and that was all the oxygen you’re getting inside your head, which is crazy. For maybe half an hour or an hour that would be fine, but all day sitting in that thing? … So, you’ve got all of these people crammed into this space with these costumes on and these heads on with limited breathing, and it’s getting progressively hotter in these outfits. We’re under heavy lights, and at some point I’m going to get up and start dancing. And then they bring in a smoke effect, and it’s not dry ice. This is not the dry ice that was refreshing. It was that chemical- burning, sulfur-smelling crap. You’re sitting there suffocating, sweating. We were there for hours and hours and couldn’t breathe, and you’re breathing in this smoke stuff.”
Imagine all these actors thinking they are part of the sequel to Star Wars, the biggest thing on the planet. Then they show up and not only find themselves losing consciousness from the torture-like conditions but then realize it’s just some goofy variety show with Wookiee slapstick and an uncomfortable proto-VR experience. Maybe when James Gunn made fun of Mark Hamill for The Star Wars Holiday Special, he had good reason.
A Disturbance in the Force: How and Why the Star Wars Holiday Special Happened by Steve Kozak can be found on Amazon and other book retailers as of November 15th.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise originally created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other mediums like comics, video games, tv shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
Source: Gizmodo
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