Written By Ken Hulsey
A video from Looper that circulated a few years ago, rather accurately depicts just how popular and life-changing an experience seeing Star Wars back in 1977 actually was.
Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca Speaks!)
KH - Your first Hollywood job was playing the Minotaur in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Is it true you got the job because of a photo in a London newspaper?
PM - Yes, actually, the article was about people with big feet. A reporter noticed me and a much smaller mate of mine and me when he visited his sick mom in the hospital where I was working, and photographed us walking together and took some pictures of my feet. I didn't win the big feet contest, but that eventually led to my role in Sinbad.
KH - Back when you were working on Star Wars: A New Hope, did you get a sense that you were working on something special, or did it just seem like the usual B-movie space opera?
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PM - I'm not sure what the usual B-movie space opera would have been. I don't think my thinking went that deep at the time, I really just thought it was a B-movie....period. I really don't think anybody knew what we were about to become a part of.
KH - What was it like to be in the Chewbacca costume? I would imagine it was quite uncomfortable on the set, but I bet you got the last laugh in Norway filming Empire?
PM - Yes, Norway, I would have been the warmest one of the lot. Otherwise, it's something that you get used to and hopefully build some tolerance for the heat. I do admit that the new Chewie suit has a water cooling system, though, which makes it better.
KH - What were some of your favorite moments from filming the original Star Wars trilogy?
PM - Probably the chess match. I really didn't know how to play chess, and since there weren't any pieces on the board anyway, I didn't feel very handicapped. I thought the final scene of the chess match, as it was composited, turned out really well. Well, at the very least, you should always let the wookiee win.
KH - What was it like to work with George Lucas? Many people have had different takes on him. What was your impression of the man?
PM - I really, honestly like George and can tell you from personal experience that he hasn't changed much, if at all, over the years. I'm pretty sure those were the same sneakers and the same flannel shirt that he was wearing during the shooting in 1976.
KH - Many fans have wondered why "Chewie" never received a medal at the end of A New Hope. Did you ever want to speak up and say, "Hey, where's Chewie's medal, George?"
PM - I was much too timid for that, but Chewie did finally get a medal at the MTV Awards several years back; it is one of my prized possessions.
Suzi Lorraine (Actress/Model/Writer)
"Star Wars" was, of course, a cultural phenomenon that changed the world of filmmaking. I remember all the action figures when I was little, and I always thought they were pretty cool. I remember those and my brother's 'Kiss' action figures vividly. The first time I saw Star Wars was on VHS. I was completely blown away by the creativity, concept, and characters! I thought the effects were amazing- particularly so for 1978! I loved R2D2 and C3PO. The Star Wars bar rocked, and I make references to it often. If I have to pick my favorite characters, it would have to be the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi- ugly, cute, and whimsical all at the same time. As a "true" Star Wars fan - I'm not as fond of the new 'prequels'...."
Carl Craig (Jim Morgan in Destroy All Planets/US Air Force/US Government)
"The summer of 1977, I was a rising senior in college. I had just signed on for a new job right after finals. I already had a job with UPS, and I needed the extra bucks for the new Corvette I was going to buy that summer. That and a serious relationship with a college girlfriend were the two most important topics of the day. However, there was a rumor of an incredible movie due out at the end of May, and there was a big buzz about it. Also, there was talk about a new space TV show that fell (Battlestar Galactica). I liked the thought of some space themes as opposed to a big shark eating everyone, and the last thing that was "spacey" was Close Encounters, but that movie seemed so goofy and distant. The idea of a space theme with the name "Wars" in the title stimulated my thoughts of what a fighter pilot of the future might be like."
"I was learning how to fly that summer as a part of my Air Force R.O.T.C. scholarship. I was due to be commissioned and go to pilot training in 1978, and was really into airplanes, spacecraft, and the like. I built every flying model known to man as a young boy and still had aspirations of space travel as an astronaut. I had the Battle of Britain hanging from my ceiling despite my folks' concern for me destroying the structural integrity of the ceiling and the house. It is funny how your dreams as a kid can be so exciting but when the realization of them coming true becomes a possibility, new feelings emerge from your already heaving emotions."
"I was really excited about being a pilot and more excited about being a fighter pilot. The futuristic battle in space was looming just weeks ahead. I can remember that I made a special effort to be at the box office some 5 hours ahead of the first showing. My college roommate thought I was crazy when we pulled into the parking lot at about 2 P.M. We had done this numerous times to get good student tickets for college football games. In fact, we had camped out a few times overnight to get them, but to go to a movie theater this early? His thought of how crazy I was quickly diminished when he saw that we were going to be somewhere in the middle of the line to see the movie. The hoopla was genuine; the people we were talking with in line were extremely excited."
"We first sprinted to get seats, and then I went and got a tub of well-lubed corn and Raisinettes. It was unseasonably hot that week of May, and the a/c was feeling pretty good while we waited for the lights to dim. I realize that Industrial Light and Magic and the program Lightwave were the basis for all the special effects from Lucas in the new films of the era, but the miniatures and models of Star Wars were spectacular! As a Japanese Monster Movie veteran, I was thoroughly impressed with the effects of Star Wars as opposed to my experience in Destroy All Planets with piano wires and the "man-in-a-suit" efforts.
"I had not been in a movie theater where people cheered and screamed when a premiere was over. I do recall my folks telling me that when they went to see Cecil B. DeMille’s 10 Commandments, the people applauded as the curtain closed. Now I was really fired up about being a pilot and an astronaut. Not only was the flying great, but the pilot also got the good-looking chick to kiss him. Ok, it was his sister, but how were we supposed to figure George Lucas out that early?"
"Anyway, I rate that movie as one of the most moving movies of my life. It could not have been timed any better, and now, years later, I still can sit through the entire movie and feel the same way I did the very first time. Star Wars has a special place in my life, and I celebrate the (40th) anniversary with great enthusiasm. Long live the Jedi Knights, and I am a firm believer in the "Force." It was with me for a long time, and I hope it will stay with me for a long time to come."
Mr. Lobo (Host of the nationally syndicated TV series Cinema Insomnia)
"As a child of divorce in the 70's, Star Wars was my mother and father. Star Wars was the Beatles of my generation and, next to Creature Features, the main inspiration that jump-started my career in fantasy."
Christopher Mihm (Writer & Director of The Monster of Phantom Lake)
"Actually, my first brush with Star Wars is my first memory EVER. I was born in 1976. When I was a kid, my parents would take my brothers and me to the local drive-in almost every weekend. I don’t know if it was the summer of ’77 or a repeat showing in ’78, but my dad took my mom, older brother, and me to see Star Wars at the drive-in. He’d already seen it a couple of times, so it was no big deal that he would miss part of the movie to go get some treats from concessions for my mom. I wanted to go with so he took me. I distinctly remember being walked by my dad to the concession stand and turning around to look at the screen. I saw Obi-Wan Kenobi’s flashing lightsaber as he fought Darth Vader. I remember being mesmerized by the color and movement, and to this day, it is literally my earliest childhood memory. I grew up with Star Wars, and to this day, I am a rabid fan. I own a collection of Star Wars memorabilia that is easily worth $50,000 (or more), and I have introduced my own kids to it. My love of Star Wars and its inspirational effect on my filmmaking is equaled only by my uber-geek love of Star Trek."
Sara Dunn (The Queen of Trash) (Actress and Model)
"Star Wars changed my sex life forever. What better way to get the middle-aged fan boys eating out of my hands than to don my Princess Leia slavegirl outfit! It never fails!!"
Norman England (Director)
"Seventeen at the time of its release, I was certain that Star Wars had come custom-made for this sci-fi geek who had grown up on a steady diet of 50s and 60s sci-fi films and TV shows. But Star Wars' impact - great as it was - came not so much from the first screening but a week before its release in the form of a small B/W photo run in the Arts and Leisure section of the Sunday New York Times. A somewhat blurry dot matrix picture, it showed two Stormtroopers with weapons extended. Nothing more. "Holy crap!" I thought, as the design of both the outfits and the laser rifles announced that some cool cinematic times were brewing in the genre I loved most.
Being years ago and seeing as I saw the film no less than ten times in the theater (topped only by EMPIRE, which I saw sixteen times in the theater), it is hard to weed out the memory of the very first screening. However, one memory that does stand out is a visit to the house of a girlfriend shortly after seeing STAR WARS for the first time. Gathered upon her dresser was the entire set of just-released Kenner Star Wars figures. My first time seeing such a thing, I asked what "that" was all about. "I'm not sure," she replied, "but I like the way they look." And now forty years later, it seems that so did the rest of us."
Ellen Dubin (Actress)(Lexx, Napolean Dynamite)
I was a child when STAR WARS came out, but I remember my parents taking me to the film and being mesmerized by the whole experience.
I remember loving the whole fairy tale aspect of the movie at the time- the princess being rescued, etc.
But as I grew older, I learned to appreciate the multi-layered movie that Lucas created it is astounding! it was the first time I became aware of the difference between good and evil in a movie.
Before I share that video, I want to share my very own experience. The first ever image that I ever saw from Star Wars appeared on a fellow classmate's school folder. It was a scene from the film that featured two Imperial Stormtroopers in combat. I didn't know anything about the movie; in fact, I didn't even know that the characters I was looking at were called Stormtroopers. In fact, I'm sure that I thought that they were supposed to be robots. It honestly didn't matter. From that one image, I knew that I had to see Star Wars. Those two Imperial Troopers were the coolest thing my ten-year-old eyes had ever seen!
I actually didn't get to see Star Wars in its first run, even though I pleaded and pleaded, due solely to the fact that I lived in a small Texas town with a small theater that didn't show it. The closest theater showing Star Wars was an hour away, and my parents weren't going to take a four-hour round trip to see some space movie.
Had it been a John Wayne movie, my dad would have been up for it, but a movie about robots and stuff, not a chance.
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Related: The Force in Star Wars | May the 4th Be With You
As luck would have it, the very next summer Star Wars would return to theaters, and my family would be in the process of moving from Texas to New Mexico. My folks had a bunch of boring paperwork to do, so they mercifully dropped off this kiddo at a local theater for my first viewing of Star Wars. I have to tell you, my geeky little mind was blown away within the first few minutes of the movie. The film, as you know, starts off with a bang, and before I could recover from the opening scrawl spaceships are flying over my head, locked in combat. You really have to put that one scene into perspective for someone in the seventies seeing it for the first time. Nothing like that had ever appeared in a movie before. In shows like Star Trek, a space battle consisted of two ships pairing off face to face, taking two or three shots at each other before someone surrendered. This was an actual space battle!
From that point on, I was engrossed in the type of science fiction film that I had always dreamed about, and to make a long story short, I have been a die-hard Star Wars fan ever since.
Now here is that video:
I am not alone with feelings about seeing Star Wars for the first time. Several years ago, I asked some of my celebrity friends to share their own stories:
Sci Fi & Horror Actors / Actresses Talk Star Wars
Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca Speaks!)
KH - Your first Hollywood job was playing the Minotaur in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Is it true you got the job because of a photo in a London newspaper?
PM - Yes, actually, the article was about people with big feet. A reporter noticed me and a much smaller mate of mine and me when he visited his sick mom in the hospital where I was working, and photographed us walking together and took some pictures of my feet. I didn't win the big feet contest, but that eventually led to my role in Sinbad.
KH - Back when you were working on Star Wars: A New Hope, did you get a sense that you were working on something special, or did it just seem like the usual B-movie space opera?
KH - What was it like to be in the Chewbacca costume? I would imagine it was quite uncomfortable on the set, but I bet you got the last laugh in Norway filming Empire?
PM - Yes, Norway, I would have been the warmest one of the lot. Otherwise, it's something that you get used to and hopefully build some tolerance for the heat. I do admit that the new Chewie suit has a water cooling system, though, which makes it better.
KH - What were some of your favorite moments from filming the original Star Wars trilogy?
PM - Probably the chess match. I really didn't know how to play chess, and since there weren't any pieces on the board anyway, I didn't feel very handicapped. I thought the final scene of the chess match, as it was composited, turned out really well. Well, at the very least, you should always let the wookiee win.
KH - What was it like to work with George Lucas? Many people have had different takes on him. What was your impression of the man?
PM - I really, honestly like George and can tell you from personal experience that he hasn't changed much, if at all, over the years. I'm pretty sure those were the same sneakers and the same flannel shirt that he was wearing during the shooting in 1976.
KH - Many fans have wondered why "Chewie" never received a medal at the end of A New Hope. Did you ever want to speak up and say, "Hey, where's Chewie's medal, George?"
PM - I was much too timid for that, but Chewie did finally get a medal at the MTV Awards several years back; it is one of my prized possessions.
Suzi Lorraine (Actress/Model/Writer)
"Star Wars" was, of course, a cultural phenomenon that changed the world of filmmaking. I remember all the action figures when I was little, and I always thought they were pretty cool. I remember those and my brother's 'Kiss' action figures vividly. The first time I saw Star Wars was on VHS. I was completely blown away by the creativity, concept, and characters! I thought the effects were amazing- particularly so for 1978! I loved R2D2 and C3PO. The Star Wars bar rocked, and I make references to it often. If I have to pick my favorite characters, it would have to be the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi- ugly, cute, and whimsical all at the same time. As a "true" Star Wars fan - I'm not as fond of the new 'prequels'...."
Carl Craig (Jim Morgan in Destroy All Planets/US Air Force/US Government)
"The summer of 1977, I was a rising senior in college. I had just signed on for a new job right after finals. I already had a job with UPS, and I needed the extra bucks for the new Corvette I was going to buy that summer. That and a serious relationship with a college girlfriend were the two most important topics of the day. However, there was a rumor of an incredible movie due out at the end of May, and there was a big buzz about it. Also, there was talk about a new space TV show that fell (Battlestar Galactica). I liked the thought of some space themes as opposed to a big shark eating everyone, and the last thing that was "spacey" was Close Encounters, but that movie seemed so goofy and distant. The idea of a space theme with the name "Wars" in the title stimulated my thoughts of what a fighter pilot of the future might be like."
"I was learning how to fly that summer as a part of my Air Force R.O.T.C. scholarship. I was due to be commissioned and go to pilot training in 1978, and was really into airplanes, spacecraft, and the like. I built every flying model known to man as a young boy and still had aspirations of space travel as an astronaut. I had the Battle of Britain hanging from my ceiling despite my folks' concern for me destroying the structural integrity of the ceiling and the house. It is funny how your dreams as a kid can be so exciting but when the realization of them coming true becomes a possibility, new feelings emerge from your already heaving emotions."
"I was really excited about being a pilot and more excited about being a fighter pilot. The futuristic battle in space was looming just weeks ahead. I can remember that I made a special effort to be at the box office some 5 hours ahead of the first showing. My college roommate thought I was crazy when we pulled into the parking lot at about 2 P.M. We had done this numerous times to get good student tickets for college football games. In fact, we had camped out a few times overnight to get them, but to go to a movie theater this early? His thought of how crazy I was quickly diminished when he saw that we were going to be somewhere in the middle of the line to see the movie. The hoopla was genuine; the people we were talking with in line were extremely excited."
"We first sprinted to get seats, and then I went and got a tub of well-lubed corn and Raisinettes. It was unseasonably hot that week of May, and the a/c was feeling pretty good while we waited for the lights to dim. I realize that Industrial Light and Magic and the program Lightwave were the basis for all the special effects from Lucas in the new films of the era, but the miniatures and models of Star Wars were spectacular! As a Japanese Monster Movie veteran, I was thoroughly impressed with the effects of Star Wars as opposed to my experience in Destroy All Planets with piano wires and the "man-in-a-suit" efforts.
"I had not been in a movie theater where people cheered and screamed when a premiere was over. I do recall my folks telling me that when they went to see Cecil B. DeMille’s 10 Commandments, the people applauded as the curtain closed. Now I was really fired up about being a pilot and an astronaut. Not only was the flying great, but the pilot also got the good-looking chick to kiss him. Ok, it was his sister, but how were we supposed to figure George Lucas out that early?"
"Anyway, I rate that movie as one of the most moving movies of my life. It could not have been timed any better, and now, years later, I still can sit through the entire movie and feel the same way I did the very first time. Star Wars has a special place in my life, and I celebrate the (40th) anniversary with great enthusiasm. Long live the Jedi Knights, and I am a firm believer in the "Force." It was with me for a long time, and I hope it will stay with me for a long time to come."
Mr. Lobo (Host of the nationally syndicated TV series Cinema Insomnia)
"As a child of divorce in the 70's, Star Wars was my mother and father. Star Wars was the Beatles of my generation and, next to Creature Features, the main inspiration that jump-started my career in fantasy."
Christopher Mihm (Writer & Director of The Monster of Phantom Lake)
"Actually, my first brush with Star Wars is my first memory EVER. I was born in 1976. When I was a kid, my parents would take my brothers and me to the local drive-in almost every weekend. I don’t know if it was the summer of ’77 or a repeat showing in ’78, but my dad took my mom, older brother, and me to see Star Wars at the drive-in. He’d already seen it a couple of times, so it was no big deal that he would miss part of the movie to go get some treats from concessions for my mom. I wanted to go with so he took me. I distinctly remember being walked by my dad to the concession stand and turning around to look at the screen. I saw Obi-Wan Kenobi’s flashing lightsaber as he fought Darth Vader. I remember being mesmerized by the color and movement, and to this day, it is literally my earliest childhood memory. I grew up with Star Wars, and to this day, I am a rabid fan. I own a collection of Star Wars memorabilia that is easily worth $50,000 (or more), and I have introduced my own kids to it. My love of Star Wars and its inspirational effect on my filmmaking is equaled only by my uber-geek love of Star Trek."
Sara Dunn (The Queen of Trash) (Actress and Model)
"Star Wars changed my sex life forever. What better way to get the middle-aged fan boys eating out of my hands than to don my Princess Leia slavegirl outfit! It never fails!!"
Norman England (Director)
"Seventeen at the time of its release, I was certain that Star Wars had come custom-made for this sci-fi geek who had grown up on a steady diet of 50s and 60s sci-fi films and TV shows. But Star Wars' impact - great as it was - came not so much from the first screening but a week before its release in the form of a small B/W photo run in the Arts and Leisure section of the Sunday New York Times. A somewhat blurry dot matrix picture, it showed two Stormtroopers with weapons extended. Nothing more. "Holy crap!" I thought, as the design of both the outfits and the laser rifles announced that some cool cinematic times were brewing in the genre I loved most.
Being years ago and seeing as I saw the film no less than ten times in the theater (topped only by EMPIRE, which I saw sixteen times in the theater), it is hard to weed out the memory of the very first screening. However, one memory that does stand out is a visit to the house of a girlfriend shortly after seeing STAR WARS for the first time. Gathered upon her dresser was the entire set of just-released Kenner Star Wars figures. My first time seeing such a thing, I asked what "that" was all about. "I'm not sure," she replied, "but I like the way they look." And now forty years later, it seems that so did the rest of us."
I was a child when STAR WARS came out, but I remember my parents taking me to the film and being mesmerized by the whole experience.
I remember loving the whole fairy tale aspect of the movie at the time- the princess being rescued, etc.
But as I grew older, I learned to appreciate the multi-layered movie that Lucas created it is astounding! it was the first time I became aware of the difference between good and evil in a movie.
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