Alec Guinness's Diaries.

Well, I was reading today's copy of "The Times" (UK Edition) and I came across a short serialisation of Alec Guinness's Diaries, by his son Michael.

Well, the article itself is all about Alec's TRUE feelings of Star Wars from his Diary at the time and letters to friends from the era.

Now, I am FAR TOO LAZY to type it all up, but I'll briefly summarise for you all here, what was said.

1. When he took the job, he thought it was silly, but could be fun.

2. He was deeply annoyed by constant script changes, and that Lucas Hadn't decided whether he should die or not.

3. He thought he was a generation apart from the rest of the actors and didn't rate Tony Daniels or "Tennyson Ford" (as he called him!) much.

4. When he saw the film, he thought it was excellent, besides the bad dialogue, and was generally really impressed.

5. He received lots of money, (well not millions but hundreds of thousands), and Lucas gave him an extra quarter a percent as a present after it came out. (something that really impressed Alec as it has never happened to him before, and was extremely rare.)

6. This is one of the major reasons he came back for SW 2 and 3. he felt he owed it to George, Though he disliked expounding explanatory dialogue.

7. Near the end of his life he got really pissed off that Star Wars would be all he was remembered for.

That's it I think. I may scan it later if none of you have typed it up yet!

EDIT: And after all that, I find a link to the story!

Not sure if this will work!

UKS

 

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Could you copy it and paste it here?

 

OK, Here it is:

September 22, 2003

''Big part. Fairytale rubbish, but could be interesting''
By Piers Paul Read
Alec Guinness was unimpressed by the Star Wars script, but a percentage of the film's profits was to make him a rich man, according to this extract from a biography of the actor.

WHILE ALEC GUINNESS was in Los Angeles in 1975 making Murder by Death, a screenplay was sent to his hotel by a young director, George Lucas, who in 1973 had won Oscar nominations as both writer and director for American Graffiti.

His new project, Star Wars, was a science-fiction adventure with a role for Alec as Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi knight. Alec was ?attracted to the idea of the film?, reputedly because it was a fable of the battle of good and evil in which good is triumphant.

He took Lucas to lunch and recorded in his diary: ?I liked him. The conversation was divided culturally by 8,000 miles and 30 years; but I think we might understand each other, if I can get past his intensity.?

He wrote to a friend, Anne Kaufman: ?Science fiction ? which gives me pause ? but it is to be directed by Paul (sic) Lucas, who did American Graffiti, which makes me feel I should. Big part. Fairytale rubbish, but could be interesting.? There was also a handsome fee attached. In January 1976, Alec?s agent informed him that 20th Century Fox had come through with an offer of $150,000, plus a small participation: ?This is double what they offered last week.? The ?small participation? was 2 per cent of the producer?s profit.

Filming started at EMI studios in March. ?Can?t say I?m enjoying the film,? he wrote to Kaufman. ?New rubbish dialogue reaches me every other day on wadges of pink paper ? and none of it makes my character clear or even bearable. I just think, thankfully, of the lovely bread, which will help me to keep going until next April . . . I must off to studio and work with a dwarf (very sweet ? and he has to wash in a bidet) and your fellow countrymen Mark Hamill and Tennyson (that can?t be right) Ford. Ellison (? ? no!) ? well, a rangy, languid young man who is probably intelligent and amusing. But oh, God, God, they make me feel 90 ? and treat me as if I was 106 ? Oh, Harrison Ford, ever heard of him??

Filming in North Africa, he wrote to his son Matthew: ?The set-ups and costumes etc all looked good . . . trying to get the feel of the character. Not much comes to me, I must confess; there is an indecisiveness in the script which troubles me. And I cannot yet find a voice which I think suitable.?

Lucas also seemed to have his doubts over Alec?s role. ?Irritated by Lucas saying he hadn?t made up his mind whether to kill off my part or not,? he wrote in his diary. ?A bit late for such decisions. And Harrison Ford referring to me as Mother Superior didn?t help.?

Later he wrote: ?Apart from the money, I regret having embarked on the film. I like them all well enough, but it?s not an acting job, the dialogue ? which is lamentable ? keeps being changed and only slightly improved, and I find myself old and out of touch with the young.?

In another letter to Kaufman he said: ?The film plods on. I?ve had a week off while they all blow themselves up electrically etc. I only have three brief scenes more to play. Play? Drift through aimlessly. I like Harrison Ford, but doubt if he?s going to fire the Thames or the East River.?

A little over a year later, when Alec was recovering from his hernia operation, Star Wars was released in the United States. ?George Lucas telephoned from San Francisco,? Alec noted in his Small Diary on May 22, ?to say trade reviews of Star Wars excellent and wanting me to accept another quarter per cent.? It was a gesture of unique generosity which, Matthew recalls, astonished and delighted his father: Alec had never before been offered an unsolicited benefit of this kind.

When Alec himself saw the finished film he was impressed: ?It?s a pretty staggering film as spectacle, and technically brilliant. Exciting, very noisy and warm-hearted. The battle scenes at the end

 

If any of you have read his previously published public diaries, Sir Alec Guinness mentioned SW from time to time, with a similar tone. Now it is much more lucid. Even diehard SW fans should not take offense, as ultimately he does say the film was well done, despite awkward dialogue, and we all know about that.

Any word on when this book will be available to us Yankees?

 

I've never taken offense at Guiness' increasing dislike of SW, in the final years of his life. I can understand his viewpoint, and I've never let it affect my admiration for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I dislike it when his words are occasionally used to attack the films, as I feel that he liked the film and Lucas at heart, but was affected by all the associated hoopla outside of the movies.

 

I have read previously of his feelings (at least of his dialogue) and it's always made me a bit sad. Pity he couldn't seem to understand how loved his character was to the people that enjoyed the films.

Or perhaps it mattered little, which if true, also saddens me.

 

But you have to understand why he'd feel this way, considering the role of OB1 was a fluff role and had shoddy writing. He wants to be remembered for all the other roles he did which made him famous, such as Bridge on The River Kwai or Lawrence of Arabia and so on.

 

Poor old Alec. Still, it can't have been that bad - he didn't have to work with Carrie Fisher when she was coked off her tits!

DARKO

 

Just watched Bridge on thursday. the scene where he takes over the building of the bridge foem the japanise col. is amazing. he is such a solid actor.

I don't blame him for disliking star wars. he was an oscer winner and one of thge great stage actors. to him star wars was just too weird. and he was used to working with david lean, very dramatic diolauge.

but I think he was thankful of star wars as well not just for the money because it exposed him to a younger geberation who in some cases would make it a point to find his older work. and his better work. his involvment actually helped me get interested at a younger age in older films.

he was a great actor.

 

Hey, this is great. And it's exactly what I was looking for when I started another thread about it some days ago.

I don't think his words are sad, I found them very funny, actually. "They make me feel 90, and treat me like I'm 106"..."Harrison Ford. Ever heard of him?"

And it's so "Han Soloish" of Ford calling him "Mother Superior", ahahahhaha, I'd love to see that.

His part in River Kwai was wonderful and he IS the film. And his Obi-Wan is also wonderful, but he just couldn't (or didn't want too) understand all that "Fairytale rubbish"!

 

It's not so much he is thankful for SW.

From this and from previous interviews and reports, he admired Lucas and his way of direction and his generosity. He was quite fond of Lucas.

No denying that. But he wanted the younger generation to see his classic films, not just know him for SW, which he did see as a piece of fluff. Well made, but still fluff.

 

thats what I was trying to say mabey I was thinking and not typing. lol

his involvment in star wars allowed many to go and see to look for and enjoy his older and better films. better is reative. they are different kinds of films.

 

I know he did't like star wars very much, but it's funny how he says he is acting in the movie because it is the same director as "American Grafitti". Wasn't there a guy named 'Tennyson Ford' in that one.

 

Irregardless of seeing Just Shoot Me with Mark Hamill, I really can't help but see Guiness' behavior as "cute". I'm sure he went nuts with SW, yet he was very professional. I also think it's funny that he doesn't really mention Mark Hamill, whose virtual worship of Guiness came through on film. lol........

 

I guess I'm saddened most by the comments he makes about Anthony Daniels. Everything I've read from Tony on Sir Alec Guiness shows a real genuine affection for his fellow actor, and implies the feeling was mutual. I'm going to have to check the book out when it's available and seek out any parts that tell more about their relationship, if any.

DH

 

I guess I'm saddened most by the comments he makes about Anthony Daniels.

Me too. I'd always heard they were friends. I thought Anthony Daniel's C3PO was a wonderful performance.

 

Of course Threepio is a wonderful performance. But for a classical actor like Guinness it just wasn't the type of performance he could probably grasp as legit. Here's the thing: when reviewing, you have to be open to new ideas and try not to let your own biases get in the way. I have no doubt it would be hard for Alec to really 'get' Star Wars, and I understand why he was bitter over it. But when it comes down to it, what really matters is what's on film, and what Alec contributed was a brilliant performance because he knew how to do nothing else. So I'll always be grateful to him for that, what really matters.

Oh, Harrison Ford. Have you heard of him?

Priceless


-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Most of this is stuff I already knew, but it's always interesting to read what people thought of something as they were doing it. The bit also speaks volumes about Guinness' skill as an actor. Even with something he didn't like, he managed to play the part quite well. Although I believe he could have shown a bit more tact when it came to SW fans, the man had every right to his opinion.

 

I wonder if Natalie Portman's PT diaries would been even more bitter.

 

Oh lets be honest he was an grumpy old man . Imagine getting your grandad to play star wars with you in your backgarden , do you think he would speak of the fun he had with his friends ? I think these letters are well funny ...

 

Just underscores the fact that Lucas doesn't know how to write scripts. He was weak back then on it, according to Guiness (which isn't a revelation or anything) and had help from others during the OT. The PT seems like it is nearly all George (I know Hales helped out a bit, but I don't think it is very much)

An actor like Guiness or Ford or Neeson or Macgregor (at least in Ep.2) could take Lucas' inane dialogue and do something with it, but it seems like both Hayden and Natalie can't seem to work around the dialogue.

 

Lets not make this a PT subject, but I'd like to say that Hayden was intenionally playing a very odd soul... he becomes Vader after all!

Natalie though.. ;(

This also leads credence to Lucas's claim that C3P0 was loathed by significant chunks of people when the film came out, much like Jar-Jar.

And of course, Guinness could criticise a performance without disliking the person. He didn't like the "overacting" by Daniels, but this doesn't make it a personal dislike.

UKS

 

This also leads credence to Lucas's claim that C3P0 was loathed by significant chunks of people when the film came out, much like Jar-Jar.


No it doesn't. It means that Guiness didn't like Anthony Daniels acting thats about it.

I was around back then, believe it or not, and C3P0 has always been a favorite.

 

The only thing that upsets me is how he acted towards the fans-the little boy whom he told never to see it again. From what I gather, the boy was about five. Why not suggest to his mother to use Star Wars as a jumping off point to get him interested in Guiness's other films, or classic sci-fi fantasy (Tolkien, Arthurian legends, etc).

I can understand how he felt-he was very bitter about it-but just that one example irks me.

I just think he should've been more polite.

 

If it wasn't for Star Wars geekdom harassing him all the time, I doubt if Sir Alec Guinness would have been so down on Star Wars.

All movies are merely movies, including Bridge over the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and all Sir Alec's other films. Star Wars is not on a lower plane than his other films. Sir Alec simply did not like Star Wars as well as many of the other films he did. That is simply his druthers. My druthers is that the 1977 Star Wars film is the finest film ever made.

That said, I never besieged him or anyone else about his role in a film. After all, acting is merely their job. What if hordes of strangers constantly bombarded one of us with questions about what we do at work? I know I would grow to hate those people.