The documentary, which will have its world premiere at SXSW on March 11, chronicles the making of the bizarre (and buried) “Star Wars Holiday Special” as well as a specific bygone era of 1970s event television.
A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE
SXSW Screening Schedule
Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
March 11 @ 8:45pm
ZACH Theatre
March 14 @ 11:00am
AFS Cinema
March 15 @ 6:00pm
Directed by: Jeremy Coon, Steve Kozak
Written by: Jeremy Coon, Steve Kozak
Producers: Jeremy Coon, Steve Kozak, Kyle Newman
Starring: Seth Green, Weird Al Yankovic, Paul Scheer, Taran Killam, Donny Osmond, Gilbert Gottfried, Bonnie Burton, Bruce Vilanch, Steve Binder
Synopsis: In 1977, “Star Wars” became a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized a stagnant film industry, and forever changed how films were sold, made, and marketed. Movies would never be the same again.
A year later, neither would television.
In 1978, CBS aired the two-hour “Star Wars Holiday Special” during the week of Thanksgiving and was watched by 13 million people. It never re-aired.
While some fans of the franchise are aware of this dark secret, this bizarre two hours of television still remains relatively unknown among the general public. Simply put, we will answer how and why did the “Holiday Special” get made.
