By Travis Johnson
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an awful lot of people like putting “Jedi” down as their religion when census time rolls around.
It’s a bit funny and more than a bit dorky, but there’s a sliver of truth involved, too. Star Wars, as a cultural phenomenon, does have a religiosity about it; certainly, it’s a narrative codex some people turn to when they’re in extremis. It’s hard to forget Daniel Fleetwood, the cancer-stricken fan whose dying wish to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens was granted mere days before he passed, in a strange echo of the dark comedy, Fanboys.
Filmmaker Adam Harris has a similar relationship to the Lucasfilm saga, and it’s one that not only got him through exceedingly tough times, but also inspired him to make a documentary, My Saga, which he is currently putting the finishing touches on.
“I had something happen in my life,” Harris tells us. “When my second child was born I found out that week that I had a brain tumour. It sort of kicked my life into gear. I had always dreamed of being a filmmaker. I had always loved Star Wars all my life – it’s one of the things that changed my life when I was a child. So I decided to change my life and chase my dream.”
Harris’s dream gained focus when it was announced that entertainment giant Disney had purchased Lucasfilm from founder George Lucas and were intent on creating new films in the franchise.
“I thought to myself that one of the greatest memories I had was seeing Return of the Jedi with my father and I would have loved to be able to go back in time and document that. Then I thought, why couldn’t I document my journey and my son’s journey, because he’s a Star Wars fan too, just like I am. So that’s where the documentary was born.”
My Saga was initially envisioned to be centred on Harris and his boy exploring Star Wars Fandom in the lead up to the new movie, but as the project developed it became both more personal and, paradoxically, wider in scope. “It became a little bit more about myself as a parent, and how Star Wars impacted me in my teenage years. So yeah, I think that’s a rough idea of how it all came to be. I’ve gone on an incredible journey and it’s been magic.”
Shooting began in February in Australia before Harris and his team travelled to the US, interviewing a wide number of people involved with the Star Wars phenomenon over the years, including former Lucasfilm Head of fan Relations Steve Sansweet, ILM model makers Charlie Bailey and Steve Gawley, Return of the Jedi stuntman Corey Dee Williams (son of Billy Dee “Lando” Williams), and Han Solo voice actor Perry King.
“He was Han Solo in the radio dramas,” Harris explains. “He actually auditioned for the role of Han Solo and didn’t get it. That was amazing because the radio dramas are something that aren’t very touched on, and Perry is something of a hero of mine because I always envisioned him as Han Solo.”
One big fish was sadly impossible to land, though. “I got to meet Mark Hamill but I didn’t get to interview him, unfortunately – a lot of the cast and crew of the new film were unavailable to the press.”
Harris did come away from the encounter with a photo, though.
Another souvenir came courtesy of ILM model maker Bailey. “We ended up spending five hours at his house and I noticed he had a couple of little resin casts of the Millennium Falcon and the snow walkers from Empire. He actually has the original mould of the Falcon in that scale. He said, ‘Would you like a cast of the Falcon?’ and I said ‘Are you kidding?’ so he gave me a casting from that mould.”
Harris also interviewed countless Star Wars fans, both American and Australian, about their own experiences with the series, including some who have used it to buoy their spirits through terrible illness. “One was Gabe, a little boy who suffers from a horrific condition where he’s got tumours laced all through his body. It was an amazing experience to meet these people, to talk to them, to learn a lot about fandom and what Star Wars means to them and their first experiences.”
With that in mind, the My Saga team have partnered with Starlight Children’s Foundation, in order to use the film as a fundraising platform for seriously ill children. “Being non-profit, we’d like to raise some money for this charity group.”
In the meantime, the film needs to be finished, and Harris is eager to lock down a big interview to anchor the work. “We’re trying desperately to get either JJ Abrams or George Lucas and that’s been one of the hardest things to do. Getting to meet these people was just an amazing experience, and having my son with me was just a big learning curve. I learned a lot about myself as a father, as a parent and as a Star Wars fan. It showed me how much of an impact Star Wars had on me.”
More information on the project can be found here http://mysaga.com.au/
