Day 1: Mark Hamill at Celebration Japan
July 18, 2008In 1978, Star Wars opened in Japan a year after it had made its debut Stateside, continuing its journey around the globe to become a worldwide phenomenon. That movie introduced Mark Hamill to Japan, but Japan had already been introduced to Hamill, as he explained to huge crowd assembled at the digital stage at Celebration Japan today.
“I went to high school in Yokosuka,” said Hamill. ”My father was in the Navy, so we moved around every few years. But we never stayed longer than about three years in any place. And we were living in Virginia, and he was working in Washington D.C. and he got transferred to Yokosuka. Where is Yokosuka? Well, it’s in Japan. Japan? Do they have the Beatles in Japan? That was one of my first questions.”
Star Wars was Hamill’s first theatrical motion picture, coming on the heels of much television work. ”I thought, this will be one of those movies hardly any people are going to see, so I can learn, and if I make any mistakes, no one will ever know,” he joked. In actuality, Hamill often seemed the lone person in the production that had any faith in the film’s ability to reach worldwide success. “I said, this thing will be more popular than Planet of the Apes! (I was talking about the one with Charlton Heston). So I was the one from the get-go that was telling Harrison and Carrie that this is going to be a winner. They said, ‘are they really going to make parts two and three? Is the first one going to be a success?’ I said, sure! But they didn’t believe me. They said I was crazy.”
It was Hamill’s love of sci-fi and fantasy that allowed him his accurate prediction. “I thought one of the things that was great about it was that it was wonderful fantasy entertainment, and it had a great sense of humor. A lot of science fiction is serious and ponderous, but this really was more like a fairy tale. It had a farmboy, a princess, a wizard, a pirate. I thought, this is hilarious. If they do this right, the way they wrote the script, if they do the movie right, I can’t see how it could be anything but successful.”
During production, signs of success were scarce, as the film was plagued with all manner of technical difficulties and looming deadlines. ”We had a lot of downtime, because we there was so much about the movie that wasn’t working,” explains Hamill. ”So, I’d poke around Stuart Freeborn’s creature shop. If you ever see a creature in the film, I would have crawled inside it. Like a bantha or a dewback or something. Outside the cantina, they had these creatures [jerbas] tethered to the cantina, and I crawled up inside one. Inside, they had built it out of paper mache. I remember looking at it, and seeing all this newspaper. I read a review of David Bowie’s concert in Paris. Now translate that!”
Now thirty years later, Hamill looks back at three decades of being associated with Luke Skywalker. “It’s like anything in life. There’s positives and negatives. But, I’ve always had fun with it. I’m always amazed to be reminded that people still care about it. It’s not something I deal with every single day, but it’s an event like this where you’re just awestruck by how people feel about it.”
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July 19, 2008 at 7:16 am
Hello. My name is Evan. I am 10 years old. I am nuts about Star Wars. My friend, Connor Whitehead tought me how to become a Jedi Knight. And I admit I am a bit awestruck.
July 19, 2008 at 8:08 am
I’m only 12 and I love star wars it’s my fav movie!!
July 19, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I was there. He had a difficult interview. His attempts at humor were “lost in translation” and I think it took a while before he really got that. (The Japanese are more appreciative of ’slapstick’ styles of comedy than plays on language and frankly, they don’t laugh or smile as much as westerners.)
I found it interesting, if not somewhat contradictory, that at the beginning of his interview he said something along the lines of Star Wars being a movie he never expected many people to see and would have allowed him the latitude to make mistakes and to learn from them. And shortly after that, he was portraying himself as the ‘one guy who really believed in the movie’s potential to be more than just a movie.’
I think perhaps he wanted to express his inner regret about being the poster child for being a type-casted actor… worse, he was a character-casted actor. Then he seemed to catch himself in order to give the audience what he thinks they wanted.
I actually look forward to seeing what his “Black Pearl” story is about… the fact that a popular Pirate Ship by the same name might prove to be confusing to people expecting to see Johnny Depp.
Over all, it was a good interview. I would have liked to get his autograph, but priced at around $200 a pop? There was no way I could shell that out. But for what it’s worth, I truly appreciate where he’s coming from and what he’s trying to do… and more importantly, what he’s gone through.
July 21, 2008 at 7:14 am
I was there too and Mark was trying to make the audience laugh. It was awkward knowing his remarks really wouldnt come across too well in translation. He seemed to be expecting a different reaction from the crowd.
Maybe everyone was angry at having to pay $200 dollars for the his autograph! Serves him right.
July 21, 2008 at 9:34 am
Haha, true that, Japanese people isnt into the satirical comedies
July 22, 2008 at 5:34 am
After almost 2 hours in line to see Mark in person for the first time, the interview was kind of disappointing.
As written before, he wasn’t able to make the audience laugh the way he wanted. And the Japanese lady translating him was getting even more nervous with his visible frustration and impatience.
And also, having to answer the same questions for the last 30 years, doesn’t make anyone excited.
Yes, the $200 for an autografh is a little too much, specially after that interview…
But anyway, my admiration and gratitude for his work, specially in Star Wars would never change.
July 22, 2008 at 7:32 am
Actually, I got more of the impresson that the translator was pretty much killing the jokes. His translations were spot on, but he couldn’t tell a story, so a lot of the delivery was lost. The woman who was translating for some of the other events did a much better job of getting across more of the nuances.
July 22, 2008 at 12:27 pm
A farmboy, a princess, a wizard, and a pirate - never thought of it that way!
Mark Hamill is truly a survivor, a wonderful human being, and generous individual. (not to mention the savior of the galaxy!)
WE LOVE YOU MARK HAMILL! May the Force be with us all, always!
July 24, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I heard the interview via the pod cast and was a little disappointed in Mark’s responses.
There are times where it seems like he wishes he never did Star Wars. Than there are times where he feels thankful he did it. In any event, he was my childhood hero and always will be, even though he was type casted. He does have the power to change that, though. He could have been another Harrison Ford, he just didn’t choose that path.
If I ever got the chance to meet him, I’d love to explain to him why Star Wars fans love him so much. I truly believe he has no clue just how much his character touched the hearts and minds of the fans.
July 24, 2008 at 11:10 pm
I find it strange that Mark doesn’t seem to grasp what his character means to us Star Wars fans….particularly those (like me) who saw Star Wars as a young child and was a fan for life! As the years go on I value the orignial trilogy more and more. Maybe it turned out to be frustrating professionally to be always thought of as Luke Skywalker and to be asked the same questions for the past 30 years (as others have noted above in their comments).
The original Star Wars trilogy has a heart & soul and an incredible impact that is unmatched in the three newer Star Wars movies and by most other movies made since. To be so closely associated with movies of that calibre is an amazing achievement for any actor. I would have been thrilled to be part of such a project even if I was an anonymous extra filling in for a jawa or a canteen worker serving the actors - imagine the stories you’d be able to tell !!!
July 25, 2008 at 5:19 am
I too watched the podcast. I am disapponted by the fact that so many of the major actors mark, carrie etc… Have not graced us here in the US for Celebrations or WDW Star Wars Weekends, imagine, no translator required.
May the Force be with you.
July 25, 2008 at 4:01 pm
In response to your post Master Jedi D,
Carrie Fisher was at Celebration 4 in LA and did autograph signing as well as a wonderful interview…though I do agree with you about Hamill and do wish he would make appearances at US events
July 31, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Wow, whoever went to celebration japan or any other Star wars celebration is and are lucky. living in Canada, well not many celebrations for Star wars here. So for those of you who made, luck you!
Darth Vader,
lord of the Sith
October 14, 2008 at 6:00 am
I wish I could have been there. Again I agree. I seriously do not believe neithre Mark or Carrie has ever been able to understand the Impact their Characters have made on American and Global Culture (US culture Primarily) They are Cultural Icons and unfortunately, they both Chose a different path than Harrison. I think they may see it but I hope when they do, “Filming can begin for Episode VII!!” lol Seriously, I hope they realize that they are a part of American Cinema and US culture in a way that can never truly be translated.