Who wore slippers while filming, where did Chewbacca’s voice come from, what actor changed his character’s persona, what country gave Star Wars a harsher rating than The Happy Hooker goes to Washington? We present you 10 interesting facts about Star Wars that you probably didn’t know.
1.The Intimdating General Wore Slippers
The nasty and intimidating Grand Moff Tarkin played by Peter Cushing wasn’t comfortable wearing military style boots so he wore slippers while shooting. They never filmed full body shots of him as a result.
2. It’s Not Possible To Obtain An Original Theatrical Version Of The Film
All known versions of the original theatrical release have been altered. Some have changes of sound effects or sound quality.
3. It Only Took James Earl Jones A Few Hours To Record The Entire Film
James Earl Jones was paid $7,500 for his role in Star Wars. He recorded all of his lines in less than 3 hours.
4. Sir Alec Guinness Changed His Character
Obi Wan Kenobi was originally going to be an off balance elderly man who became more lucid as the film progressed. Sir Alec Guinness wasn’t enthused by that plan and demanded that Lucas adjust the character’s persona. Lucas relented and Guinness inspired his fellow cast members with his consumate professionalism while on set.
5. Scandanavians Thought Star Wars Was Too Violent
Star Wars was rated PG in most countries but not in Sweden. The Swedish found the film to be overly violent and ended up giving it a more restricted rating that the sexually explicit The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington.
6. Brian DePalma Helped Lucas With the Opening Text Crawl
DePalma and Lucas were casting for Star Wars at Carrie at the same time. Lucas showed an early version of the film to De Palma, Speilberg & other friends in the industry. De Palma informed Lucas that the opening moved way too slow. He then helped Lucas cut down text in the opening text crawl.
7. Movie Company’s Weren’t Excited About this Project
Universal and United Artists passed on the film and 20th Century Fox, who released it, weren’t hopeful it woudl be a big hit.
8. Han Solo was originally envisioned to look like Greedo
Before deciding on making Han an attractive male character, George Lucas had envsioned him looking like a green lizard character.
9. The Sound of Chewbacca’s Voice Is a Mix of Different Animals
The sound of the loveable Chewbacca’s voice is a mix of bears, walruses, lions and other dying animals.
10. Walken, Reynolds, Russell, DeNiro All Could Have Of Been Han Solo
Burt Reynolds turned down the role of Han Solo. Robert DeNiro was also considered. Christopher Walken was as serious contender for the role. Kurt Russell also auditioned. Check out his screen test.