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| Monday, 12th May 2008 |
| Bring Back... Star Wars Interview With Simon Unwin |
| Reported By - Pete - 20:23:59 (GMT) |
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With interest increasing in the forthcoming Justin Lee Collins show, Bring Back... Star Wars, our very own Mind Probe Phill has interrogated the director Simon Unwin...
It’s been over 20 years since the principal leads of the original Star Wars trilogy appeared on screen together… Some speculate that in the wake of overthrowing the Empire, emotions at the victory celebration were running high and Luke had objected to Han hitting on his sister. Others posit that Threepio necked 9 pints of Castrol and blurted out his true feelings for Artoo. Fortunately, Chewies’s lewd behaviour with the Ewok females that night somehow avoided tabloid coverage. What happens on Endor stays on Endor…
Whatever the real reasons, a reunion has always seemed unlikely – even at the height of the 30th Anniversary celebrations in 2007. So what made a British production company believe they could restore balance in the Force and get the cast in the same room again?
Simon&Simon Media Ltd (“I’m A Celebrity”, “Pop Idol”, “Hell’s Kitchen), in collaboration with So Television (“The Graham Norton Show”, “School’s Out”) has had previous success with tracking down cult television show cast members for its “Bring Back…” documentaries on 80’s hits “Dallas” and “The A-Team”. With “Bring Back…The A-Team” achieving the highest rating in its slot for nearly five years, Channel 4 has now commissioned a 90 minute special on Star Wars. Presented by Justin Lee Collins (“The Friday Night Project”, “Generation Jedi”), “Bring Back…Star Wars” traces his journey to a Galaxy Far, Far Away – and the tantalising possibility of reuniting the Star Wars cast for the first time in nearly three decades.
TPU was fortunate to be able to talk to director Simon Unwin prior to broadcast…
TPU: What made you think of Star Wars for the "Bring Back..." format?
SU: IT'S THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF 1) GREAT ARCHIVE 2)
GREAT STORIES FROM BEHIND THE SCENES 3) A MOVIE WHICH NOT ONLY CHANGED THE WAY WE WATCH MOVIES BUT THE WAY THEY ARE MADE - FURTHERMORE IT'S A FILM FRANCHISE WHICH HAS HAD
A MAJOR IMPACT ON POPULAR CULTURE WORLDWIDE - ALL OF
THESE ARE THE PERFECT INGREDIENTS FOR A BRING BACK.
TPU: How realistic were your expectations about accessing the actors? Did you resign yourself to some of them being unapproachable, or was everyone fair game?
SU: EVERYONE IS FAIR GAME ON A BRING BACK ALTHOUGH WE
KNEW CERTAIN STARS WOULD BE HARDER TO GET THAN OTHERS. IN THE CASE OF HARRISON FORD, WE HOOKED UP WITH ONE OF THE WORLD'S BIGGEST PAPARAZZI AGENCIES - SPLASH NEWS IN LA - TO
GIVE US A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING TO HIM. ULTIMATELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT OUR HITLIST WAS TO TELL THE OVERALL STORY OF EPS 4-6. BUT OF COURSE NOT EVERYTHING ALWAYS GOES TO PLAN......!
TPU: Is Justin (Lee Collins) a fan of the movies?
SU: JUSTIN IS A MASSIVE STAR WARS FAN - IT WAS THE FIRST
FILM HE EVER SAW - HIS NAN TOOK HIM TO SEE IT AT THE AGE OF 3 AND HE CRIED WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT!
TPU: Did you interact with the fan community during the filming of the documentary?
SU: WE DID INDEED - A COUPLE SERVED AS CONSULTANTS ON
THE SHOW AND WE INVOLVED A GROUP OF GENUINE AMERICAN CHEWBACCA FANS TO HELP US LAND PETER MAYHEW.
TPU: Did you only go after the actors, or did you also seek an audience with George (Lucas)?
SU: NO, WE WERE ONLY INTERESTED IN THE ACTORS
TPU: Did you consult Steve Sansweet (Head of Lucasfilm Fan Relations) during the planning stages? Did you do any prep work at Celebration Europe?
SU: NO.
TPU: Justin appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show last summer and talked about meeting Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca). Did the meeting go ahead? Can you give us an idea of who we'll being seeing in the show?
SU: OUR HIT LIST INCLUDED: HARRISON FORD, CARRIE FISHER,
PETER MAYHEW, MARK HAMILL, KENNY BAKER, ANTHONY DANIELS, BILLY DEE WILLIAMS, JEREMY BULLOCH, DAVE PROWSE AND WARWICK DAVIS.
TPU: Were interviews conducted separately, or did you manage to bring any of the cast together?
SU: EVERYONE WE MANAGED TO 'SNARE' AGREED TO AN
INTERVIEW. WE DID PULL OFF A CAST REUNION OF SORTS - AND EVEN THOUGH A FEW COULDN'T MAKE IT - THEY WERE THERE IN SPIRIT - BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT TIL THE SHOW TRANSMITS TO SEE WHO TURNED UP AND WHAT HAPPENED. WHAT I CAN REVEAL IS
THAT JUSTIN RECREATES ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE SCENES AT THE REUNION WITH WARWICK DAVIS AND ITS BRILLIANT.
TPU: Any official word from Lucasfilm on what is potentially an irreverent (although affectionate) treatment of their properties?
SU: PREFER NOT TO ANSWER THIS ONE IF THAT'S OK.
TPU: Based on previous outings, who can we expect you to "Bring Back..." next?
SU: WE HAVE A LIST OF SHOWS WE'D LOVE TO DO INCLUDING
BAYWATCH AND STAR TREK
“Bring Back…Star Wars” airs on Channel Four this summer. We’d like to thank Simon Unwin at Simon&Simon Media Ltd for this involvement in this interview.
Phill has taken a break from interviewing due to heavy work commitments, but will be back grilling more Sci-Fi people later this year.
The Simon Unwin interview is copyright of So TV and The Private Universe. The interview cannot be reproduced whole or part without prior written consent from the webmaster of The Private Universe. |
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