Posted in: Disney, Movies, Star Wars | Tagged: billie lourd, carrie fisher, disney, jj abrams, Lt. Connix, lucasfilm, princes leia, star wars, star wars episode ix, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, vanity fair
Yes, Billie Lourd Has 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Scenes with Her Mother, Carrie Fisher
Last year, Disney and LucasFilm revealed that the upcoming 9th and final chapter of the Star Wars Skywalker saga would include our dearly departed Carrie Fisher as Princess General Leia Organa. Director JJ Abrams and LucasFilm President Kathleen Kennedy were adamant that this would not be through the use of a digital recreation (like what we saw in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and would instead use previously unreleased footage shot during The Force Awakens to complete the tale of the Princess.
Today's special sneak peek of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker from the summer issue of Vanity Fair included a heart-felt admission from Abrams and Star Wars Lt. Connix actress Billie Lourd, who apparently requested to be in some of the scenes with her mother, Fisher.
"I purposely had written her character in scenes without Carrie, because I just didn't want it to be uncomfortable for her," Abrams told Vanity Fair. Certainly an understandable assessment, and commendable from a director with a film to complete. Abrams continued, quoting something Lourd said to him about the situation: "I want to be in scenes with her. I want it for my children when I have kids. I want them to see."
YUP CRYING AGAIN.
The footage of Fisher was used in sort of a backwards puzzle, as the The Rise of Skywalker team managed to integrate those pieces using other angles and matched lighting. It was a "bizarre kind of left side/right side of the brain sort of Venn diagram thing, of figuring out how to create the puzzle based on the pieces we had," Abrams said, "as if we were doing a re-shoot and doing someone's side, which happens all the time."
As to the filming experience for Billie, Abrams commented that Lourd "would get emotional and sort of have to excuse herself for a minute. I know it was hard for her for a while." We'll apparently get shots of the pair of them, Leia and Lt. Connix, talking and touching.
We cannot imagine what that experience must have been like for Lourd, who previously assured everyone the film would be "magical". Thank you for sharing your Momby with us, Billie. We're sending you nothing but cosmic love.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to hit theaters on December 20th 2019. You can see Billie Lourd's newest film Booksmart in theaters beginning May 24th 2019.