Harrison Ford has reached the Golden Age of not giving a flying flip. He's 75. He's filthy rich. He has had a wondrous career, and he continues to work on breathtaking projects like the impending Blade Runner 2049. So it's a joy to hear the curmudgeon revisit silly but still amusing rumors from his past projects... like the "beef" he had with George Lucas on the set of Star Wars back in the day. Ford doesn't shy away from the hard truth that he criticized Lucas' cheesy writing on the original Star Wars film. And in a new interview, the man who is Han Solo clarified exactly what went down that day on the set, elaborating:
He sold the company for, you know, $4 billion. He doesn't give a shit what I think. George usually sits near a monitor, far removed, so I had to convey my impression...or my feelings...about the dialogue across a great space. So I did shout it. 'George! You can type this shit, but you sure can't say it! Move your mouth when you're typing!' But it was a joke, at the time. A stress-relieving joke.
This has become a long-running among Star Wars fanatics and the actors who have played their heroes over the years. Mark Hamill also has a lot of fun blasting George Lucas for the terrible dialogue that he put into the mouths of characters like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. And the less we say about Anakin Skywalker's dialogue in the prequels, the better.
However, you can tell that there's no animosity shared between Harrison Ford and George Lucas over their collaboration on Star Wars decades ago. In fact, Ford agreed to participate in this seminal reunion at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. It was a heartwarming sight to behold (and you can watch it now):
And while Star Wars is enjoying a rebirth, George Lucas has no creative control over the new stories, and Harrison Ford found his way out the door. So he doesn't have to say this stuff anymore, as he makes clear to GQ in this chat.
The Star Wars saga is going to continue on screen in a few months when Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens on December 15. After that, Harrison Ford's classic character, Han Solo, will get a new adventure with a different actor in the pilot's seat of the Millennium Falcon. What will that dialogue sound like (now that it's coming out of some different screenwriters' collective mouths)? We will find out soon enough.
