Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18 (early shows December 17)
Carrie Fisher is never afraid to say what she thinks, and she is an accomplished author, screenwriter and stage performer. So you can expect not everything she said at the press conference for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in which she returns as Princess Leia, was to be taken seriously. I’ll do my best to explain the context and include even the most random jokes she cracked.
Carrie Fisher on bringing girl power to The Force Awakens:
“I am the beginning of girl power. DEAL WITH IT! No, I did. I got to be the only girl on the all boy set which was really fun to put things in their drinks and stuff like that. We drank through the whole trilogy in the beginning. This was a sober set so that’s what J.J. brought to this, the sobriety. Girl power, she’s more powerful in the good old yes, I’m louder than you. So she takes on the physical powerful and then I scream at them until they pass out. That’s me. I make fun of them. That was what was really fun about doing anything girl power-esque is bossing men around. I know a lot of you women out there haven’t done that yet and I encourage you to do so late this afternoon.”
Carrie Fisher on families watching Star Wars together:
“I find that it’s really a family experience. I’ve had people over the years come up, ‘I’m showing this to my child. I didn’t want to wait ‘til they were six so I went with five.’ You watch your children watch the movie and you learn something about your children. Will we like the same characters? Halloween becomes more of a Thanksgiving experience without the turkey. You see all these pictures of entire families dressed as the characters. I find that so moving. It’s just an amazingly emotional movie.”
Carrie Fisher’s biggest fear about returning to the role of Princess Leia:
“Bad memory. Not remembering my lines. That was scary. Also I’m the custodian of Princess Leia so I never got out of character and I wondered if that would be noticed. No, but I was very nervous. It’s been 40 years for other people. It’s been a long time and I don’t like looking at myself at this age in a large way, so that was scary and remains so.”
Carrie Fisher on the relative ease of her new costume in The Force Awakens:
“How long did it take to get into costume? About 10 minutes, 20. I’m older and I do it faster. No, really, 20 minutes. I have a kind of classy gas station attendant look. That’s not funny. Well, look at it. Or I’d say I was an airplane repair attendant with a nice vest over that and different hair than most airplane attendants would normally have. I’m bringing baboon ass hair back, the end.”
Carrie Fisher is still battling J.J. Abrams to put her dog Gary in The Force Awakens:
“I wish. I begged J.J. Gary was willing to sleep with J.J. and I mean nap, but still. That’s why it didn’t go forward. He didn’t let Gary on the set. I’m gonna go get Gary and Gary wasn’t allowed. He was not allowed here today because of the whole tongue rule.”
Carrie Fisher on her relatively normal name in the world of Star Wars:
“My name is the product of spell check.”
Carrie Fisher on Princess Leia’s sense of humor:
“She would have to, wearing those hair pieces. I do now have a baboon ass hairstyle. I mean that with love. So you need a sense of humor for that sort of thing. It keeps it lively and fun when you’re getting shot at in everything. No, it’s the hair that really makes you funny. You should know that.”