The "Star Wars Holiday Special" was ultimately directed by Steve Binder, who has worked in TV for more than 30 years and continues to do highly-acclaimed shows. 'I produced, directed, and created the '68 Come Back Special for Elvis Presley,' he says. 'I had done a Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte special which became a huge international incident because Harry and Petula touched. It was in Newsweek and Time magazine and I think that's what triggered Elvis to call me -- he was looking for somebody sort of anti-establishment who he could relate to. I then made a rock 'n roll movie called The Tammy Show with The Rolling Stones, James Brown, Chuck Berry, and a whole slew of artists. Lately [1999], I did Pee Wee's Playhouse and the Michelle Kwan ice skating special based on Mulan.'
FAX: How did you become involved with the special?
BINDER: I never knew the original director. I heard it was somebody who George Lucas had hand picked and then it turned out that he didn't have adequate experience in TV. I was called in by Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion, who were the executive producers and with whom I had worked at the beginning of my career. I recall going in and seeing that the tree house was a four-wall set and I realized that if we were to shoot it quickly, I would have to go to a three-wall configuration to give us the flexibility to change the set-ups quickly. I think they made that adjustment in the few days before I started production. I had literally no prep time.
FAX: How closely did you work with Lucasfilm?
BINDER: George sent me a 50-page bible on the background of the Chewbacca family. To this day, I wish I'd kept it! The one thing he did not want me to do was have the Wookiees in any way, shape, or form try to mouth English words. It had to be guttural. I have never met him face to face; however, I teach at USC and have followed his career. I have tremendous respect for him. One thing that I've always admired George for is his advocating reading. I credit my directing skills over the years to having a vivid imagination from reading. I think that the "computer generation" may be missing out on it. It really lets you open your imagination. I've been instrumental in encouraging kids to read. I did Pee Wee's Playhouse.
FAX: Aside from the minimal prep-time. what were your other challenges?
BINDER: A major problem was the Chewbacca family could only be in those costumes for about 20 minutes out of the hour because they would literally suffocate. As small as Patty [Maloney] is I think she lost at least ten pounds. Since the Chewbacca family was in about 80-percent of the show, it was a real challenge to meet the schedule.
FAX: Many people criticize the show because the first half hour is nothing but Wookiees grunting. Although it's impressive how much information can they convey?
[Interestingly, not only was this George Lucas's idea, but he wanted to take it further. Associate producer Rita Scott recalls: "George's concept was that the story would be told completely by the Wookiees. Dwight Hemion and Gary Smith both said 'That's going to be close to impossible to do. They don't speak English.' That's when the idea came that Art Carney (as trader Saun Dan) should be the liaison between the Wookiees and the English-speaking world and it made quite a bit of difference.]BINDER: I recently watched the show for the first time in 19 years and I was kind of blown away by all the production value, and I was saying to myself: "Did I shoot that?" I felt that a lot of the communication by the Wookiees really kind of worked. You can really understand what is going on just by their expressions.
FAX: What was the most difficult scene to direct?
BINDER: There was a sequence where stormtroopers are ordered to go upstairs and search through Lumpy's room. Then they had to come barreling down the steps with those heavy military uniforms on. We hired stunt people and it was really dangerous work for them. We had to shoot it two or three times until they got comfortable with it. They were literally running down the steps blind. Not only were the steps curved but they were only about 2 1/2' wide.
FAX: Did you have a favorite scene?
BINDER: I think the Harvey Korman sequence (as TV cook Gormaanda) was hysterical! I liked the ceremony at the end with the full cast because we really made something out of nothing. There was no set built for it (the shooting script describes a gathering of Wookiees under an immense Tree of Life). It was all done with spit and shoe polish to create a mystical feeling.
FAX: How was it working with the cast of Star Wars?
BINDER: Aside from the Wookiee family -- I loved Patty Maloney -- I spent more time off the set chatting with Harrison Ford. I saw a huge actor there. He seemed to be totally focused and an all-around good guy. As far as the others go, I don't remember any negatives; I just didn't have as much communication with them, especially Carrie Fisher. She was very pleasant but I'm not sure she was 100 percent there. She was a little insecure about the singing part of it but she did a really good job. Everybody was very professional. They had a huge camaraderie and awe for George.
Despite the criticisms Star Wars fans have about "The Star Wars Holiday Special", the show boasted many impressive production values as well as concepts and input from Lucasfilm.
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