Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Mark Hamill, the Parisian Movie Critic & Harlan Ellison

 

26 year old Mark Hamill

 

In an interview in Starlog #21, published in April 1979, a young Mark Hamill recounts a conversation with a Parisian movie critic.

Reporter: "Not only did I find Star Wars vapid and unimaginative, but I found it downright frightening in its mystical-religious, crypto-fascist, bargain-basement dogma."

Mark Hamill: "I bet you can't say that three times fast."

 


 

The interviewer suggests that the critic who irked Mark Hamill the most was noted science fiction author Harlan Ellison. It seems the famous author argued that Star Wars represented the triumph of technology over content, and of special effects over a "people" story, to the ultimate detriment of both science fiction and literature.

According to Hamill, Ellison also wrote, "Luke Skywalker is a nerd, and Darth Vader sucks runny eggs."

Mark Hamill's response?

"I saw him on a talk show in Canada and I thought he was like a game show host. He's like the Don Rickles of science fiction."

Hey, no knocking the late Don Rickles, Mark! He was cool!

Dragon Dave

P.S. Want to read the entire interview? Here's the Link:

Starlog #21 Mark Hamill Interview


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