Carrie Fisher auctioning off Star Wars set photos, reminding us all of the cruel passage of time

By William Hughes  |  May 1, 2014 | 6:52pm
Aux Features Film
Carrie Fisher auctioning off Star Wars set photos, reminding us all of the cruel passage of time

Just in time to provide a visual bookend to this, Carrie Fisher has posted a small gallery of candid photos of herself and Star Wars co-stars Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford on the set of the now-37-year-old movie, all as an advertisement for an upcoming auction. Like a similar gallery recently posted by Peter Mayhew, the photos serve as a powerful reminder that Star Wars was once a series defined by the youth and vitality of its cast of relative unknowns—and also that, even as a young man, Harrison Ford was so dour that not even chocolate (delicious, delicious chocolate) could twist his handsome face into anything happier than a stoic grimace.

The pictures are part of Fisher’s contribution to a massive movie memorabilia auction being held by her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds. And because Debbie Reynolds has been trapped for the last six decades inside show business—like a small child wandering a funhouse hall of mirrors, until all grasp of reality has been stripped away—the auction has been given both a Hollywood-esque title, “Debbie Reynolds: The Auction Finale,” and a trailer, complete with slowly zooming titles and needlessly epic music.

Among the more than 800 other pieces of movie memorabilia up for auction is VistaVision Motion Picture Camera #29, used to film special effects scenes for A New Hope. It’s unclear from the listing whether the camera carries any dents from George Lucas angrily beating his fist against it, enraged at it for not being a computer.

Anyone upset about Fisher mining fond memories and nostalgia in the service of crass commercialism should scroll back up, look at the words “Star Wars” again, and then nod resignedly.

 
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