Frank Calvillo
No one could have foreseen the massive box-office juggernaut that Star Wars became almost immediately upon hitting screens back in 1977. Initial hopes were so low for the futuristic fairy tale however, that the film actually had to be sold to theater owners on the condition that the hotly-anticipated The Other Side of Midnight (a forgettable sudser based on a Harold Robbins novel) came with it. The Robbins film was a bust, while writer/director George Lucas’ Star Wars managed to change the cinematic landscape, putting himself and stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill on the map. Two equally masterful sequels later, and the Star Wars saga was no longer just a hit film series, but rather a cultural phenomenon, which has reached all across the globe and cemented the foursome’s reputations with the characters and world they helped create.
But in Hollywood, success on THAT magnitude can equal professional death as directors, producers and studios cannot separate talent from the mega-successful property which gave them fame in the first place. If ever there should have been a series which ended the careers of its director and stars just by unmatched magnitude of popularity, it was Star Wars. Thankfully this has been anything but, as Lucas, Ford, Fisher and Hamill each managed to rise above the films which made them household names for varied careers, which are still thriving to this day.
In honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens finally being unveiled this Friday, I thought I’d take a look at some notable post-Star Wars career highlights from some of the most iconic figures in film history.
George Lucas- Radioland Murders
The success of the original three Star Wars films allowed him the kind of freedom most in the film world would have killed for. Immediately following Star Wars’ success, the writer/director used his clout to get one of his passion projects off the ground. The mystery/comedy Radioland Murders was a murder mystery set in the late 1930s at a radio station where a series of murders begin to take place on opening night. As members of cast and crew are picked off one by one, its up to staff writer Roger (Brian Benben) and his estranged secretary wife Penny (Mary Stuart Masterson) to solve the murders and keep the show going. Despite Lucas’ success, Radioland Murders languished in development hell for more than a decade, during which time Lucas spent re-working the film’s script. When the project finally got the go ahead in the early 90s, the filmmaker was well into his semi-retirement as a Director, opting instead to act as Executive Producer. Imagined as a sort of prequel to Lucas’ American Graffiti (Roger and Penny are meant to be the parents of that film’s main character), Radioland Murders is as madcap and screwball as can be. Though it feels more like parody than throwback these, days, it’s hard not to be charmed on some level by the non-stop manic frenzy of it all, not to mention the endless amounts of familiar faces on hand from Christopher Lloyd to George Burns.
Mark Hamill- Midnight Ride
No one rode a rougher road out of the Star Wars universe more than Hamill, who did struggle for a time to escape the image of Luke Skywalker. Though he can usually be found on TV shows spoofing his cherished character, it should be noted that Hamill managed to find plenty of roles which allowed him to showcase his range as an actor. The best example of this was his turn as a hitchhiking psycho in the low-budget thriller Midnight Ride. The film, costarring Michael Dudikoff and (in a curious cameo) Robert Mitchum, sees Hamill starring as an escaped mental patient who hitches a ride with a detective’s wife (Savina Gersak) and quickly unleashes his unhinged qualities. A Cannon Films release, Midnight Ride is about as schlocky as they come in terms of plot and execution. Yet it still works thanks to Hamill’s truly unsettling work. All hints of Skywalker are gone and what remains is an enthralling portrait of a maniacal killer hell bent on terror and bloodshed. Midnight Ride’s script surprises by taking a look into its deranged main character’s psyche, giving Hamill even more acting room to play in, which he definitely takes advantage of. Its a chilling piece of acting and one which Hamill should be incredibly proud of.
Carrie Fisher- Postcards from the Edge
Although she did great scene-stealing work in the likes of Hannah and Her Sisters, The Burbs and Soapdish, it wasn’t until her little-known talent as an author and screenwriter showed itself, that Carrie Fisher really found her voice in Hollywood. Fisher has been credited as the screenwriting savior on a number of 90s feature film productions including Sister Act and The Wedding Singer, as well as authoring a number of books and one-woman shows. However, it was the actress’ screen adaptation of her own novel, Postcards from the Edge, which really first showcased her unique brand of writing. The story of Postcards from the Edge is the eptiome of autobiographical. A once-celebrated actress (Meryl Streep) must struggle to rebuild her career after a stint in rehab while navigating through the trenches of Hollywood and dealing with her legendary movie star mother (Shirley Maclaine). From start to finish, Postcards from the Edge is full of the kind of spark and wit which makes Fisher such a hilarious and interesting figure. Meanwhile, her candor and willingness to bare all about struggling with addiction, show business and being the daughter of of a legend, is refreshing to put it mildly. Even though she isn’t on screen, Postcards from the Edge is without question one of Fisher’s greatest cinematic triumphs.
Harrison Ford- Frantic
It could be argued that it was Indiana Jones which allowed Ford to escape from the shadow of Han Solo. Yet, I choose to believe it was the succession of immediate post- Return of the Jedi projects he took on for maverick directors which afforded the actor to be seen as one of the most popular and well-respected movie stars on the planet. The most compelling of these remains Ford’s work in the 1988 thriller Frantic. Directed by Roman Polanski, Frantic has Ford playing Dr. Richard Walker, who has traveled to Paris with his wife (Betty Buckley) for a medical convention. When his wife vanishes without a trace from their hotel room while Richard is taking a shower, he is plunged into the dark Paris underworld, embodying the film’s title. Aided by a beautiful and mysterious woman (Emmanuelle Seigner), Richard finds himself falling deeper into a manic abyss in the hunt for the woman he loves. Polanski does an amazing job of showcasing the darker side of Paris (no shots of the Eiffel Tower here), but the revelation is Ford as he is allowed to run the gamut of the many different levels of fear and desperation. Though the role of a husband fearlessly searching for his loved ones would be one the actor would repeat later in his career, he never played it as compelling as he does in Frantic.
Ford, Fisher, Hamill and Lucas will probably never be able to escape the series of films which launched them into the cinematic stratosphere, giving them unprecedented amounts of fame. Each dealt with their part in the Star Wars phenomenon in different ways. Some retreated from it, while others had fun with it. In the end though, all four proved that an unstoppable franchise and an unforgiving industry couldn’t hold them back from the kind of creative statements they were always destined for.
