The eye-opening documentary Elstree 1976 chronicles the plight of the Stars Wars background players combating for dollars on the convention circuit.
He says there is a clear hierarchy among the actors, who are infuriated that "the mens" in masks often attract the most attention.My face is in the movie, everyone whos got a face in the movieit drives us mad, he told .
For hundreds of actors, bit-part players, costume-dwellers, and droids, appearing in Star Wars in 1977 was the moment that would shape their livesthey were granted immortality.
While Harrison Ford was propelled onto the Hollywood -Alist, pretty much everybody else has succumbed to the lucrative allure of the Star Wars convention circuit.
And were not just talking about Luke and Leia. Scores of actors who were disguised by helmets, prosthetics, face masks, and voice-overs nearly 40 years ago can still pull in six-figure annual haul on the global circuitall they have to do is show up and sign their names.
With so many fan dollars up for grabs, and so many actors jostling for access, dont underestimate the power of the dark side.
Theres quite a lot of politicking, Paul Blake, who played Greedo, explains in the mind-boggling new documentary Elstree 1976 .
The film focuses on the lesser illuminations in the Star Wars family and how their lives have unfolded since that long hot English summer at Elstree Studios only north of London. Many of them are still cleaved to the bosom of the George Lucas empire.
Angus MacInnes, who played an X-wing pilot known as Gold Leader, said he was initially reluctant to cash in at the conventions. When I first went to them I guessed these people are going to be so bizarre, he told. And some of them were!
Like many of his colleagues, the Canadian actor soon accepted that it was worth sitting at a fold-out table and signing your name if hordes of Star Wars geeks were willing to hand over wads of cash in exchange.
He says there is a clear hierarchy among the actors, who are infuriated that "the mens" in masks often attract the most attention. My face is in the movie, everyone whos got a face in the movieit drives us mad, he said.
I wasnt a dot on the landscape, I was in shot, the actor told The Daily Beast. If you are uncredited it doesnt mean you werent in the film.
Lyons was actually in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope twice: You glimpse him at the edge of one shot as a medal bearer, and then he is considered beneath a helmet in the background of another scene playing a Massassi Temple Guard.
He now does at least five Star Wars conventions a year, with appearances as far away as Japan. It got me out of the house doing conventions, he said.
The British actor charges 15 ($ 23) to sign a photo, 25 ($ 38) to sign a poster. Bit greedy of me, I must admit, he told. Some people charge 10 fine, I charge 15.
Lyons tells its not only the money, he loves the chance to get by on the road and gratify fans who lap up his tales of long lunches with Mark Hamill and that time he interrupted Kenny Baker taking a sleep inside R2-D2.
It helped me a lot during my depression, he confided. His spouse left him in 2007, after 18 years, and he said he contemplated suicide many times. The Star Wars community was one of the things that maintained him going, even if some of the well established actors look down on him: They get kind of jealous that youre taking some of the action.
Dave Prowse says hes not in it for the moneythats bullshit, told Lyons. But Im not.
Prowse is a bona fide Star Wars heavyweight even though neither his face nor his voice appeared in any of the films. The former bodybuilding champion was the man inside the Darth Vader suit in all three original movies.
While shooting the first movie, it was difficult to hear his West Country twang through the helmet on situated and George Lucas explained that wasnt a problem as they would go into a studio and re-record the voice afterward. I naturally presumed it would be me, he said in Elstree 1976 . Regrettably for me they couldnt have picked a better voiceover performer than James Earl Jones.
That hasnt stopped him becoming a regular on the circuit, however. I put Dave Prowse is Darth Vader on my autograph, they said could you do Dave Prowse as Darth Vader?
He declined. They would have been quite happy for[ Darth Vader] to have been namelessbut here I am now, he told, although there have been a few hitches along the way. Ive been barred from the Star Wars Celebration weekends and Disney Star Wars tell Im persona non grata.
Prowse belongs among the top echelon of Star Wars stars along with Carrie Fisher, Hamill, Baker, and Anthony Danielsthe man inside the C-3PO suit. John Chapman, who played an X-wing pilot, told The Daily Beast that there was big money up for grabs. Ive heard rumors that when they go to these conventions they come away with 15, 20 grand, he said.
Although Chapman was only an extra, he was persuaded to go along to a signing by an aficionado who said he would be paid hundreds of dollars just for showing up.
There were these whisperings going around, John Chapman was only an extra, whats he doing here? he told. I didnt feel good about it so I fell it.
I look at all these guys and they just sign for a living, he told. I find it a bit sad.
Chapman, whose self-deprecating style constructs him the starring of Jon Spiras Elstree 1976 , now tours British schools with workshops based around his own space exploration series charting the adventures of Jonnie Rocket.
He gags about the Elstree documentary putting him on the radar for the new movies despite his original screen appearance consisting of a lingering shooting of the back of his head. I want to be in the next Star Wars movie. Get directed against J.J. Abrams. J.J. might like to see the back of my head, he said.
Then again, that might be too much exposure for Chapman. To make sure I dont get recognised by eateries, I always sit with my back to the wall, he laughed.
Read more: www.thedailybeast.com
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