'We're sort of like a family. Carrie is like my little sister, and I'm Harrison's little brother.'
Mark Hamill - Bantha Tracks newsletter interview to Craig Miller (April, 1978 issue)
It was Friday May 28th, 1976, and Stage 3 of London's Elstree Studios was having a busy day on its 'Death Star Forward Bay' set housing the mammoth half-built Millennium Falcon prop. Classic scenes and action would be shot, including the moment where Obi-Wan Kenobi surrenders himself to the Force whilst Darth Vader (Dave Prowse) cuts him down - a charged moment shot with both Sir Alec Guinness and a collapsing cloak effects prop that proved troublesome on the day (seen in far left background), and the start of Luke Skywalker's shocked retaliatory battle against five Imperial Stormtroopers (including stunt men Peter Diamond, Colin Skeaping (seen sitting down behind Mark Hamill in the pic) and Reg Harding).
It was also the day that a UK behind the scenes filming crew caught one of the defining classic moments 'backstage' from the original Star Wars, showing the relaxed and fun-loving American trio of Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher at their finest together- three pals embarking on a strange but fun film-making journey in a far away land, both in the film and on location in London. It would be a great and wild time that would never quite be recaptured for them again when reunited for future sequels. Nonetheless, the image remains the perfect time capsule moment to that original friendship.
Elstree reminiscences:
http://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/16344311.the-paul-welsh-column-star-wars-and-the-long-hot-summer-of-1976/
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