MovieChat Forums > Star Wars (1977) Discussion > Was Harrison Ford drunk in the scene whe...

Was Harrison Ford drunk in the scene where he delivers the iconic "hokey religions" line?


I've always noticed how he's slurring his words during that scene. It always cracks me up when I watch it - I mean, I can totally picture Han throwing back a few after getting away from the shit show at Mos Eisely lol

I know this is a question that is silly as hell lol.

reply

I now headcanon Han was sloshed at that point lol. Quality post.

reply

A lot of people forget that Harrison Ford wasn't proud of his association with Star Wars in the late 70s and early 80s. It wasn't until he started doing movies solely for the money did her return with a change of heart. I remember in the early docs Harrison was annoyed by George Mucas during the filming of all three films.

reply

I thought that what annoyed Harrison in particular about George Lucas is that he didn't like his directing style. Basically, George Lucas didn't seem to be very good at articulating what he wanted out of the actors (in other words, giving them a very clear idea of what the scene is about and their characters' motivations) other than the very basics. It's often been joked that Lucas would often tell his actors to simply do things "faster" and "more intense". Harrison Ford asked George about how he's supposed to operate the controls inside the Millennium Falcon. And George gave a very, very vague and incoherent-type of response.

reply

now apply that to an out of his prime Lucas in the prequels that was largely CGI. "just act more intense with the cgi monster!"

reply

I have a friend who thinks Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were better off not being directed by George Lucas. He isn't a skilled director and it really shows in the Star Wars Prequels.

reply

Agreed, part of the reason Empire is better is because he didn't direct it. Prequels probably would have been better too.

reply

"A lot of people forget that Harrison Ford wasn't proud of his association with Star Wars in the late 70s and early 80s. It wasn't until he started doing movies solely for the money did her return with a change of heart. I remember in the early docs Harrison was annoyed by George Mucas during the filming of all three films."

I don´t buy it. Harrison was a nobody especially during the first film where he got cast after being Lucas´s carpenter so he was doing it for the money from the beginning. From the interviews I have seen, Harrison was grateful for his casting in SW since it resurrected his fledgling acting career and put him on the map. HF just always looks annoyed in his videos because of his dead pan facial expressions.

reply

Harrison played supporting roles and had a very memorable character in American Graffiti and was in Francis Ford Coppola's critically acclaimed The Conversation so that's hardly true that he was a NOBODY before Star Doors.

reply

Well the fact he had to rely on carpentry to make a living for many years prior to Star Wars suggests to me that compared to who he was after SW, he was indeed a relative nobody and it was actually thanks to his work as a carpenter that ended up landing him roles in American Graffiti, The Conversation and Star Wars.

reply

You are correct. He had small parts in movies before SW, but nothing that identified him as a "star".

reply

He was a small part of American Graffiti's unknown ensemble cast. Harrison Ford, Suzanne Somers, Mackenzie Phillips, Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, etc. only became big names in the years after this movie.

I don't even remember him in The Conversation his role was so insubstantial.

Star Wars was the movie that propelled him forward.

reply

His name is George Lucas, dumb shit.

reply

Dumbshit George Mucas

reply

GEORGE LUCAS gave you Star Wars in the first place, so Mr. High and Mighty Bourbon King, you have NO RIGHT to lambast his excellent work. Fuck you, you ungrateful SOD!

reply

He wasn't too hammered to shoot first and shoot straight, was he!

Ford's never had a reputation as a drunk or a druggie, and no gossip about him being wasted during the making of any of his films has ever surfaced over the years. No, I think Ford was just kinda mumbling, and Lucas has never given a shit about acting so he didn't get another take.

reply

I've spoken to a cinematographer that has worked a couple movies with Ford in the 90's and some recently and claims among the professional community he had (and I think still does but I can't recall) a reputation as a major pot head. He also provided a personal anecdote from a film he was a shooting with Ford who at the time didn't have any with him and didn't want to buy locally so he had some of his personal stuff sent overnight by FedEX.

reply

Yes, many rumors about Ford and pot, including the old one that he got the part of Han Solo because he was Lucas's dealer!

But the OP was asking about "drunk".

reply

Indeed they were, when you mention "wasted" that implies to me not just alcohol so I thought I'd just comment that he could've been "wasted" during his films but not from alcohol.

reply

Well he and Chewey had been chillin at the pub for several hours so he was probably feeling pretty good.

reply

Harrison Ford often slurs and mumbles when he speaks. Some people just do that.

reply

I loled at your comment, Karl Aksel, because it reminded me of a Harrison Ford prank call l I heard on youtube. They used different lines from his movies to confuse a traveling agent.

reply

Wasn't there a lot of dope smoking going on?

reply