Carrie Fisher on why Star Wars was 'low-budget' | BBC Global

This Star Wars Day - May the Fourth be with you - we're revisiting a funny and frank BBC archive interview with Carrie Fisher, aka Princess Leia, from a long time ago… in 1977.
Fisher spoke to the BBC three weeks before Star Wars’ UK cinema release, describing the film as “the most expensive low-budget film ever made".
She discusses the qualities that made both the role of Princess Leia and the script appealing to her, some of the extraordinary techniques employed by the special effects department, and filming the rope swing scene with Mark Hamill.
This clip is from Nationwide, originally broadcast 6 December, 1977.
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[@tigertom2020]

She was only about 20 years old when she did this interview, but comes across as so mature. She was such a unique person (I'm a huge fan of her writing),; it was a significant loss when she passed away.

[@purefoldnz3070]

thats because she came from Hollywood royalty.

[@edaudio]

She was brilliant, funny, had an Acerbic wit, and was fearless (in the outside, at least). Gone too soon.

[@M.Kutrzeba]

But he said something about "when you read the script several years ago" and Carries was around 19 when he was involved in first film.

[@snowwhite7677]

Most 20 year olds were mature back then. They were not these 20 year old toddlers we have running around today.

[@MultiPetercool]

I had a crush on her.

[@jello_cudgel9213]

“And then we did the swing across. I was very frightened, but we did it and I liked it, but we did it right so I didn’t get to do it again and enjoy it” Carrie Fisher, what an absolute gem.

[@TH33QUALIZ3R]

I'm impressed at the way she randomly described the VFX process and budget, like that.

[@silverjohn6037]

It says something about her that she was interested in the post-production of the film and not just her part of it.

[@MorningThief_]

Our Princess

[@danbanks7930]

She was such a great actress she played such a funny part in The Blues Brothers

[@crazycappy01]

Carrie Fisher. OUR Space Princess. R.I.P.

[@PaulRubino]

I would love to see the entire interview.

[@ScrewyDriverTheMan]

There's a longer version available on the same channel

[@danieljakubik3428]

Same here. Carrie Fisher, 20, in this interview shows a maturity and seriousness uncommon in the youth now of the 2020's.

[@ScrewyDriverTheMan]

@@danieljakubik3428 The heck you talking about. Smart kids don't go to Hollywood any more is why lmao

[@jerk_store]

Rumor has it that Fisher later snorted the rest of the interview.

[@sidneymcdavid]

I saw this in the theatre at the time when I was a kid. There were huge line ups outside the theatres at the time. It became the world’s number one movie of all time by late 1977. Nobody expected this type of success prior to the film being released. The movie had everything

[@amann2547]

I saw it in the theater in 1977 as well, in the US. Packed theater, lines around the block, all showings sold out. It was amazing. Everyone was paying full attention to the movie, and everyone left excited about it. I saw people leave one viewing, and get right back in line for the next show.

[@silverjohn6037]

In Canada it was in the theater's for 50 weeks. They only pulled it out so they could bring out a special release with some updated footage and it lasted another couple of months. I think the only major movie that was in the theaters longer was Gone With The Wind which lasted in some theaters for 3 years. Which is insane in an era when most films were in theaters for just a week. (Of course Rocky Horror Pictures Show fans will scoff at both those records;).

[@richardthompson6366]

Sadly the Star Wars we saw as kids in 77 no longer exists.

[@FoobsTon]

When they swung across, a huge cheer went up in the cinema i was in. One of those old style double decker cinemas that must have held about 800 people. The atmosphere was incredible. I was 6 years old and i thought it was all real.

[@publiusrunesteffensen5276]

I'm in love. Again.

[@Serkan77100]

In the past, people were much more mature and wise even though they were young. Carrie Fisher is only 20 years old during this interview and speaks very calmly and knowledgeably. Now 20-year-old people are like children. I remember her with respect.

[@kamsitheprince]

Actors are generally more mature in general it’s not about time

[@gabbleratchet1890]

I can’t even imagine a 20 year old these days managing to speak without every other word being “like.”

[@fractalelf7760]

@@gabbleratchet1890Or “ you know”…😊

[@mikek0135]

Mark Hamill got into a major motorcycle accident before the first Star Wars even hit the theaters, Carrie Fisher was into drugs, Carrie and Harrison Ford were having an affair while shooting Star Wars (and Harrison was married), and the list goes on and on... More mature? Maybe a little (mostly just on camera), but not alot more.

[@YashKnowsBest]

they way they talk is entirely dependent on what their PR guy says lol. You think Glen Powell is actually that calm and white? Dude has a script to follow in public so middle america keeps watching his movies.

[@G6JPG]

I liked that her character _wasn't_ supposed to be the standard "damsel in distress", which in Sci-Fi was so common, back to the Dan Dare, Flash Gordon era. (Didn't hurt that she _was_ very attractive of course.) Although that earphones hairstyle … I suppose you have to say it _was_ original! Must have been a pain to maintain (and, for that matter, hear through").

[@cdjhyoung]

I think George Lucas hates women's hair. Carrie isn't the only actress with a dump hair style in Star Wars. Take a look at what he did to Natalie Portman's hair styles.

[@rabit818]

Well informed about special efx, among other things. Gotta love Carrie.

[@ndrupereira]

Rule No 1: Always know what the lunch break is like

[@matthewgaudet4064]

I think they blew the through the effects budget building special equipment and cameras and when George came back from London he panicked, they had only finished a few shots. Not only was ILM under a crunch but he had to ask for more money to film the Cantina scene and shoot the death star trench battle. Dykstra won an academy award but he wasn't asked back for Empire.

[@gbonkers666]

Yep...And Lucas even had to create ILM on his own.

[@mikek0135]

@gbonkers666: Not sure what you mean. ILM was being built while George was shooting in Tunisia and London.

[@muzkat101]

What really impresses me about Carrie Fisher during this interview is her level of speech and communication, and how articulate she is (was) at this age; very thoughtful and clear... a level of maturity that for a 20 or 21 year old, at the time of this recording, is delightfully refreshing to hear today, as I am sure it was back them too.

[@taccamine8312]

She was so stunningly beautiful, and at the same time so smart and poist. What an actress and person ❤

[@fredericklockard3854]

But, but, I thought only modern Hollywood women knew about being strong female characters.

[@Gods_messenger_Elijah]

Nah, Hollywood has always been pushing Satan's agenda, including gurrl power.

[@silverjohn6037]

Katherine Hepburn, Maureen O'Hara, Betty Davis and Mae West (synchronized eyebrow raise;).

[@batesy1970]

I really love her voice (lower, husky) and how she speaks. Her voice and manner shifted as she got older. It’s interesting how different she sounds here.

[@user-io7lf3go4w]

Love you Carrie ❤❤❤❤legend 🥰 beautiful

[@grahamblack1961]

The others didn't think much of the script but Carrie certainly enjoyed her lines.

[@timonsolus]

George Lucas was a visionary when it came to camera shots and special effects, and excellent at “world building”, but completely hopeless at writing adult dialogue. His writing style was best suited to children’s movies.

[@grahamblack1961]

@@timonsolus No, Carrie enjoyed her ‘lines’

[@forddon]

@@timonsolus You are so right, If Lucas could have gotten away with out any dialoge he would have

[@Workerbee-zy5nx]

Rip Carrie.

[@Gods_messenger_Elijah]

Sadly not.

[@toyninja5959]

Saw this 35 Years ago 🤔💯

[@robertgolden1080]

What a voice.

[@incub8]

I was going to make a similar comment. No vocal fry, and low but feminine. Wonderful.

[@sammydavis991]

Loved her voice.

[@semipenguin]

If you be my bodyguard, I will be your long lost pal. I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me, you can call me Al.

[@RuggerDez]

Carrie… beautiful inside and out ❤

[@Gods_messenger_Elijah]

Apart from the deal she did with Satan, and we all saw how that wrecked her. Ah well, she's got a long time in hell to consider her stupidity now.

[@cinemaipswich4636]

Dorothy-Princess Leia, Toto-R2D2, Tin Man-C3PO, Straw Man-Hans Solo, Lion-Chewbacca. The eternal storytelling never dies.

[@MixedCompany2020]

The Wizard-Obi Wan???

[@ReneeJoan]

By the 1970’s, the conventional wisdom in Hollywood was that Sci-Fi was dead. No one was going to put up any significant money to produce a film that the studios figured no one would come out to see. So, of course Star Wars had to be shot as a low-budget B-movie. However, Star Wars had EVERYTHING it takes to make a GREAT movie: A spectacular, superlatively well-written SCRIPT; an unbelievably compelling SCORE; extraordinarily talented ACTORS in ALL of the roles - the “big names” were in the supporting roles (Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing) but the leads were mostly newcomers; ingenious and creative special effects that were subservient to the story, rather than simply being “gee whiz” stunts. And people came out to see it in droves!! Multiple times. The film was so successful that it created a renaissance in the Sci-Fi genre. Star Trek: The Motion Picture came out two years later, in 1979. [You know, the same thing happened with The Western. Everyone in Hollywood thought The Western was dead. Then Unforgiven came out and was so successful it created a renaissance of The Western genre. The conventional wisdom needs to be adjusted to say, “Movies with badly written scripts, stupid plots, cliched and unbelievable characters, and hackneyed execution are dead. Not even a great star can save a bad movie.”]

[@FoundingFathersUSA]

So intelligent I believe she had some struggles in life but when she was on her game she was the very top.

[@DisorderPurposingOrder]

that era in which young people tried to appear as adults, unlike our age in which they try to appear as children

[@dennischristopher9952]

When you are negative, it's easy to find things to look down on or be mad about.

[@gabbleratchet1890]

It’s really hard to ignore the wild difference in maturity and, especially, speech. No ums, uhs or likes. No vocal fry or uptalk. She does have a trace of that old mid-Atlantic accent movie stars in the 30s and 40s used, but it sounds fine.

[@taemien9219]

Gen X decided to parent in a different way than their Boomer parents, the results are different levels of maturity in their children compared to themselves or their parents.

[@herrbonk3635]

@@gabbleratchet1890 As a swede, I loved that transatlantic accent. Sadly, there is almost nothing left of it (or similar) in the UK either.

[@jonyivre4541]

When you are a pioneer there's always resistance.

[@peterhoulis1184]

OMG shes even more beautiful

[@gbonkers666]

Because Fox didn't give them a lot of money. GL even had to start his own FX company.

[@derekbroestler7687]

Still our Princess, still our General, still the Huttslayer.

[@docsavage8640]

It was a B movie. It just caught lightning in a bottle.

[@timonsolus]

No ‘B’ movie of the time had a budget as big as Star Wars.

[@4saken404]

No, it was something more. The opening shot with the star destroyer was proof of that just on its own.

[@jedijones]

This haircut would've been nice to see on her in one of the movies.

[@NuntiusLegis]

And it's not even her best haircut.

[@derrinpickett9948]

She had small part in Blues Brothers, she looks arguably the best in that scene than any other movie she was in. That's just my humble opinion

[@sem_skywalker]

What?! I thought they only used blue-screen for the movie 🤔 (1:13)

[@doltBmB]

they used bluescreen extensively for the miniature spaceship effects, what she's talking about is the dykstraflex motion control system for the camera that allowed them to replicate the same shot multiple times exactly with different miniatures so it would all line up.

[@sem_skywalker]

@@doltBmB The point I was making is that in that picture the screen behind the Tantive IV is green. :P

[@anarchorepublican5954]

Great Movie...Great Trilogy...everything that has followed...not so much...

[@user-xv3fe2xs3d]

There are many beautiful women, but very few real ladies...

[@chaleej5571]

yep - she presents herself smoothly on film but in real life, she was a coke-head homewrecker...

[@rhysmeyrick615]

That’s a clever person.

[@Pedr4m]

Why didn't anyone tell her that her collar was messed up?

[@stevensgoodallsg]

Gorgeous

[@76ToneCrome]

Not a great fan of the film series, but it was groundbreaking, and Carie Fisher was the best thing in it if you wasn't a nerd.

[@TreforTreforgan]

GET OUT!

[@NuntiusLegis]

I guess a lot of the nerds also pause their Blu-ray players most often for Leia.

[@user-io7lf3go4w]

She was amazing ❤ fan or not , respect mate

[@trevisz182]

"I've got her in my head At night when I go to bed And I know it sounds lame, but She's the girl of my dreams And of course I'd do anything for her I'd search the moons of Endor I'd even walk naked through The deserts of tatooine Princess Leia, where are you tonight? And who's laying there by your side? Every night I fall asleep with you And I wake up alone And even though I'm not as cool as Han I still want to be your man You're exactly the kind of Alderranian that I need But when you were available, I was Drinking colt 45's with Lando I was hanging out in the cantina On Mos Eisley Princess Leia, where are you tonight? And who's laying there by your side? Every night I fall asleep with you And I wake up alone Princess Leia Princess Leia Princess Leia, where are you tonight? And who's laying there by your side? Every night I fall asleep with you And I wake up alone"

[@Gods_messenger_Elijah]

What's a shassum?

[@kwc1138]

It was not low budget .. in today’s money it is 60 million USD. No outrageous marketing bloat (or money laundering) like today .. all filmed in studio or FX depts with no big stars taking large chunks upfront.

[@relwalretep]

"George didn't want a damsel in distress", jump forward 6 years to Jabba's barge scene....

[@CaptainFSU]

She kills her captor, and she was deliberately part of a ploy...more femme fatale

[@NeganJeff]

Leia killed Jabba.

[@jedijones]

Han, Chewie and the droids were in distress also. Well, R2 had a plan.

[@analogecstasy4654]

She strangled a thousand pound slug monster-TO DEATH-with a chain, AND she got a cute new outfit FOR FREE.

[@Gods_messenger_Elijah]

She was held captive by Vader and was rescued by the boys.

[@elgonzo5]

Your lightsaber is showing.

[@steveconn]

Poor Carrie, used her body as a chemistry set 😢 RIP

[@m.mickeypayne9811]

😮

[@danieljakubik3428]

The original Star Wars released May 25, 1977 had a budget of $10 million, a little higher than average cost to make a movie at that time. It was not really a low budget movie.

[@doltBmB]

It was low budget relative to the ambition of what they wanted to do, is what she's saying.

[@user-microburst]

That was in the 70s. An NOW, 50 years later, we have to fight for women’s rights and blah blaj

[@justayoutuber1906]

She was cute before cocaine and drinking

[@Netryon]

You defined by a job you do with tools of your choice, which is any game engine tools + blender - something like this. It's not considered to be any scientific process you can do with your smartphone and it's only a habit controlling your recording machines.

[@drtrowb]

First

[@mannyxart]

Lord Low Budget saying that to a man from the country where Doctor Who was made on an actual low budget.

[@davedaves3489]

She was soooooo depresssed here. She had major daddy issues.

[@HR-yd5ib]

Ray is so much stronger and independenter than Leia was!

[@NuntiusLegis]

Wasn't bad for the 70s though. But wait: Ellen Ripley bullied the Alien in 1979.

[@gbonkers666]

No.

[@HR-yd5ib]

@@gbonkers666 have you even seen Ray? She is super cool and stronger than Leia ever was!

[@gabbleratchet1890]

Who is Ray? Ray Charles? The Mary Sue you are referring to is spelled “Rey” and she is the dullest character imaginable.

[@HR-yd5ib]

@@gabbleratchet1890 don't try to defame Ray! Most best well written character ever! So strong!

[@infozencentre]

Short answer; they spent the budget on Carrie Fisher's drug habit lol

[@coachhannah2403]

Why? Because they didn't have much money. Duh. 🙄

[@stevemuzak8526]

0:37 We all know now why She wonder about "lunch breaks". Yes, cocaine break.

[@SeattlePioneer]

In the film, she LITEARALLY played a princess and is a damsel in distress rescued by the masculine heroes from prison. WTF is she talking about?

[@KeysRevealed]

[@batesy1970]

I really love her voice (lower, husky) and how she speaks. Her voice and manner shifted as she got older. It’s interesting how different she sounds here.