Balancing out the youth of the central cast, Lucas also hired several experienced English performers, key among them Hammer veteran Peter Cushing and Ealing great Alec Guinness.
Cushing was never precious about his profession, and said of his role as Grand Moff Tarkin “My criterion for accepting a role isn't based on what I would like to do. I try to consider what the audience would like to see me do, and I thought kids would adore Star Wars.”
Although Guinness would famously grow tired of the Star Wars circus, at the time he was also positive about the film, and Lucas. “In many ways he is quite untypical of the film industry,” Guinness noted. “When we started work it was all so calm, so gentlemanly. I remember someone on the set criticising Lucas because of his lack of display and announcing that the film was going to be dull. So I took him to aside and said ‘Mark my words, this film is going to have distinction.’
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Comments
Hadouken76
Sep 1st 2011, 16:39
Thanks to Lucas' misguided insistance on p"issin on his own legacy, its easy to forget how streamline the original Star Wars was. The narrative was classic fairytale: Farmboy meets a wizard and a pirate, rescues the princess from the evil fortress and battles the evil hordes at the end, Medals all round. (Not for wookies apparently). Simple. Then Lucas ruined tthe prequels with boring stuff about taxes and trade embargo's (for the kids yeah? YEAH? Because Kids go crazy for economic reform! Grind those accounting books!), Comparing women to sand and making the iconic and feared Darth Vader sound like he wet himself ..nooooo indeed. Oh and Lucas insults everyones intelligence by assuming no-one will tell the difference in the Special Editions. Sorry but in 100 yrs time, everyone will STILL know Han shot first and Jabba's meeting with him looks less convincing than Pete's Dragon. I'm not a geek, I just hate when things are messed with, even by thier own creators to the point that it cheapens the experience.
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ChrisWootton
Sep 1st 2011, 16:45
Perfectly put.
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Hadouken76
Sep 1st 2011, 18:27
Thanks ChrisWooton, some things just cook my noodle. I'll probably feel the same about Total Rehash and The Thing 'prequel'. Lucas and these new directors don't realise that people loved the old effects, models and sets because they were tangible. Watching American Werewolf in London You're thinking, 'He's turning into a werewolf' not 'Thats some bad CGI."
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MrScary
Sep 1st 2011, 18:47
“I’m not a good writer,” he admits. “This is the story of Mace Windy, a revered Jedi-Bendu of Opuchi, as related to us by C.J. Thorpe, padawaan learner to the famed Jedi.” Obviously. But hey, they guy is a bazillionaire, so he's doing something right.
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