‘Spaceballs’: The ‘Star Wars’ simulator is now 35 years old

Mel Brooks He wanted to stay true to the story as much as possible “star Wars”. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo have been replaced by the handsome Lone Starr (Bill Pullman), and Chewbacca – Barf (John Candy), a human-dog hybrid whose menacing Darth Vader becomes the constantly moaning Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis). Some of Brooks’ ideas were very literal—like Pizza the Hutt, Jabba the Hutt’s brother made with dough and cheese. Turn, Mr. Yoda has been replaced with yogurtwhich instead He used the force “Swift”.

before shooting “Space eggs” Brooks sent the text George Lucas. He wanted his blessing and, at worst, warned that the movie was being made. This one – especially a fan “Young Frankenstein” And the “burning saddles” – He enthusiastically approached the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bparody of the star saga. He had only one request – no toys or other gadgets with images of the “Space Eggs” characters could appear in the stores. Lucas was concerned that buyers might mistake “Star Wars” products.

Brooks immediately agreed. The whole situation was so amusing for him that he even set up a scene in the movie where Master Yogurt (played by the director) announces gadgets from “Space Eggs”. Working with Lucas was so good that Brooks later asked his company to create special effects. Star Wars’ father agreed without hesitation. It also allowed Brooks to use unused footage from his own videos.

One of the most memorable characters in “Space Eggs” is Dark Helmet, a parody of Darth Vader He wears a huge helmet on his head. As revealed by Rick Moranis, who played the plight of the villain, his hood was bigger in the script. “The whole outfit was one big helmet,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

In the end, the helmet he was wearing turned out to be a little smaller, and it was also very light. In one of the most memorable scenes, Dark Helmet plays characters from “Space Eggs,” and his fantasy quickly becomes sexualised. Moranis revealed that it was an improvisation—Brooks came up with her idea on set, and the actor said what brought his saliva on his tongue. The line “Your helmet is too big” was among the most quoted. It turned out to be a huge problem for the producers – it was one of the boldest jokes, while targeting the lowest possible age group.

as such starra colorcommon sense Parody of Han SoloBrooks saw that James Can. Then the actor struggled with addiction, which eventually ruined his chances. It was the director’s next choice Tom Cruise or Tom Hankswhose careers were in the making. Unfortunately, both of them were definitely not interested. The manager was sad about this. With famous comedians like Rick Moranis and John Candy on board, it was mentioned that the main character could be played by a more unknown actor. brooks wife Anne BancroffR, instructed him Bill Pullmanwhich she discovered in the play “Barabbas”. For the 32-year-old actor, this was the second movie of his career. While preparing for the role, he had to make up for the “Star Wars” trilogy, which he did not know before.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter marking the film’s 30th anniversary, Pullman noted that the most memorable thing about working on “Space Balls” was the ubiquitous sunglasses. Some of the crew had their first contact with the blue screen and were terribly afraid that it would lead to… blindness. The actor will also not forget his meeting with Bob Mills, the old makeup artist who once scolded him for not acting like a star. The Pullman broke down frequently and a crew member had to drive to get it. One day, Mills could not stand it and asked him to act like a celebrity, but at the same time he rattles and his image becomes closer to the farmer.

He also appeared on the group “Space Eggs” for a while John Hurt. The actor reprized his role in the movie at the end of Brooks’ work “Alien – Rider Eighth Nostromo”. In the most famous scene in the movie, Kane – the protagonist of Hurt – collapses on the table and begins to agonize in pain, and after a while a small alien comes out of his chest.

In “Cosmic Eggs,” the actor plays a client of a galactic bar who, after eating “Chef’s Specials,” also ends up with an alien ripping apart his body. Brooks presented his idea to Hurt as if it was a little episode. Only on set did Kane’s actor realize that the entire scene was written in detail and would require several hours of work. Then Hurt realized that he did not specify his salary.

Years later, Brooks admitted that “Spaceballs” was his most expensive movie, plus it didn’t immediately pay off. Production cost more than 22 million dollars. In the US, it only earned 38 million. Fortunately, Lone Starr’s adventures have gained a second life on the VHS market. Among the satisfied viewers was, among others, Lucas, who admitted he hadn’t laughed much in a long time. According to him, the film “Spaceballs” also defended itself as an independent film.

Critics had a different opinion. One reviewer described the production as a “cosmic black hole”. Roger Ebert, one of the leading American critics, stated that he liked the film, but for him it stood out from Brooks’ earlier films, with the goal of easy jokes and obvious satire. He also believes that “Space Eggs,” which premiered ten years after the first “Star Wars,” was written too late.

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