Regina Leader-Post

STAR WARS SENIORS

Original cast returns for new film

- BOB THOMPSON

Star Wars nostalgia is indeed what it used to be for Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher — well, sort of.

Ford wasn’t an easy sell to go Solo again in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but co-writer and director J.J. Abrams made the actor a persuasive offer.

A sizable payday notwithsta­nding, Ford seems pleased he returned to the space saga which kick-started his impressive career.

“It’s gratifying and the best to be part of this,” says the 73-year-old with some of his cast mates at a downtown Los Angeles venue. “It’s always nice to anticipate working in something that you know people will have an appetite for. This is not a crapshoot. This is big casino.”

Although the Force Awakens plot is hush-hush, we do know the latest galactic adventure picks up 30 years after Return of the Jedi as the Empire transforms into the First Order.

Besides Ford’s Han Solo, sidekick Chewbacca returns and so does their Millennium Falcon. Apparently, they have a pivotal role to play in the proceeding­s as the dark side gains strength. Back, too, in lesser parts, are former Princess (now General) Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

New are Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), a pilot flying for the Resistance, scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) and former dark-side trooper Finn (John Boyega). They confront Darth Vader disciple Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), First Order General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) and mysterious Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie).

All things considered, the blend of new and old works for the not-always-easily-pleased Ford.

“And it was a chance to work with people I really admire, doing something that I thought was going to be fun, which actually turned out to be fun,” he says. “And to work with J.J., whose work I’ve really admired for a long, long time, seemed like a good idea.”

Unfortunat­ely, the positive turned into a negative when Ford arrived on the Star Wars set in London. It was the second day of the shoot when a door on the Millennium Falcon closed on the actor, breaking his left leg. He returned months later to finish what he had barely started.

Yet comparing the new Star Wars with the old filming experience­s is nearly impossible.

“You know, I think it’s hard to say what the difference is,” Ford says. “I can tell you how it feels now. It feels familiar. It feels good. It’s good to be home on set in my trailer.”

What he appreciate­s more is the devotion of the fans worldwide in the 21st century.

“I’m aware of the value that’s placed on these films by the audience and I’m gratified that they’ve been passed on,” says Ford. “The first three (Star Wars movies) have been passed on through families, and that there is still an audience for those of us that were in the original films — it’s a bit of a mystery but it’s very gratifying.”

One thing he knows for sure: Fame from the Star Wars associatio­n can be overwhelmi­ng. But he would never lecture his young co-stars on how to handle what’s to come.

So you need a sense of humour for that sort of thing. It keeps it lively and fun when you’re getting shot at.

“I’m not going to tell them how to navigate this very personal space of trying to figure out the career that they’ve chosen for themselves.” Ford says.

“It is bizarrely individual how you navigate the space between where they’re at and the rest of a useful profession­al life. They’re in for a big ride and they know it, I think. I hope they know it.”

In a separate interview, Fisher was more sardonic about her role in which Princess Leia becomes a warrior in the fight against the dark side.

Indeed, Fisher is as caustic as ever when she’s asked if her princess has a sense of humour.

“She would have to have (a sense of humour), wearing those hairpieces,” the 59-year-old says. “You know, now I have a baboon ass hairstyle — I mean that with love.

“So you need a sense of humour for that sort of thing. It keeps it lively and fun when you’re getting shot at.”

Fisher does acknowledg­e, in retrospect, that Princess Leia, “was the beginning of girl power — deal with it.”

In the previous three Star Wars films, “I got to be the only girl on an all-boy set, which was really fun, you know, to put things in their drinks, and stuff like that.”

But seriously, Fisher must have been a little anxious those first few weeks on The Force Awakens. Any concerns?

“Bad memory, not rememberin­g my lines,” she says. “That was scary.

“I’m also the custodian of Princess Leia, so I never got out of character, and I wondered if that would be noticed.

“No, but I was very nervous,” says Fisher. “It’s been 40 years for other people.

“It’s been a long time, and I don’t like looking at myself at this age, in a large way. So that was scary, too, and remains so.”

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 ?? 20TH CENTURY-FOX ?? Harrison Ford, left, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill appear in a scene from the original Star Wars.
20TH CENTURY-FOX Harrison Ford, left, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill appear in a scene from the original Star Wars.
 ?? THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/FILES ?? Carrie Fisher, left, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford take part in a fan event this summer.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/FILES Carrie Fisher, left, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford take part in a fan event this summer.
 ?? LUCASFILM ?? Carrie Fisher is back as Leia.
LUCASFILM Carrie Fisher is back as Leia.

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