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Carrie Fisher at a Star Wars anniversary celebration

STAR WARS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS.

A long time ago, in a town far, far away, a new kind of film was unleashed to an unsuspecting audience.. No one gave the small 1977 science fiction movie much hope when it was shown in Los Angeles- but thanks to a staggering word of mouth it quickly became the biggest film of all time and would go on to have an influence on everything from special effects to merchandising.. The film was of course Star Wars and today is the film's 30th anniversary. It starred a batch of unknowns, including Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and a pre-superstar Harrison Ford - who famously moaned about the dialogue, telling director and writer George Lucas during filming that "You can write this s**t, but you can't say it.". It was a simple, old fashioned tale of good vs evil but was bolstered by state of the art effects, characters, iconic phrases and images; lightsabers, Darth Vadar, "Use the force Luke" and one of cinema's most enduring rogues Han Solo.. The film would spawn endless imitations, spoofs and a whole host of spin-offs, including books, TV shows, comics, cartoons and videogames.. It would also inspire five sequels - the Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Revenge Of The Sith and Attack Of The Clones. (MEH/WN/IG).

Carrie Fisher. The Geffen Playhouse holds it's annual Backstage at the Geffen Gala to celebrate the past and it's recent renovation. Westwood, California - 01.05.06.

Featuring: STAR WARS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS. Where: California, United States. When: 01 May 2006.

See our biography of Carrie Fisher