Happy birthday to Carrie Fisher, who was born on this date in 1956 in Beverly Hills. She grew up in the public glare (and amid personal shadows) as the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, and that show-biz heritage would inform her writing in “Postcards From the Edge” and the play “Wishful Drinking.” But, of course, no matter what she writes and no matter how many additions she makes to her film credits (which include “Shampoo,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “The Blues Brothers”), to most of us she will forever be Princess Leia Organa. Check out her audition tape above, which shows her and future co-star Harrison Ford wrangling with the jargon of the Jedi universe. Below, there’s a fun bit of footage where she goes off on George Lucas and his vast galactic empire.
By the way, if you like the time-capsule feel of that audition tape, check out the one with William Katt and Kurt Russell trying out for the roles of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. May the Force be with you, Snake Plissken…
– Geoff Boucher
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