The movies that Carrie Fisher rewrote: “You can type this shit, but you can’t say it”
In the space-faring realms of science fiction cinema, there are few actors who embody the spirit of the genre quite like Carrie Fisher. Performing as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars movies and reprising the role in the sequel movies of 2015 and 2017, Fisher remains one of the enduring icons of George Lucas’ space opera vision.
While Fisher is indeed one of the most celebrated figures within the Star Wars universe, she had also been a well-respected writer, finding work on other’s screenwriter’s screenplays, editing them to improve their overall quality, with the knowledge of how words ought to sound in a character’s mouth, rather than them being blank and lifeless on the page.
During an interview with The Phoenix New Times, Fisher once explained how she’d become a script doctor. “I read mostly fiction and then it went to obligation. I was asked to write a book based on an interview I did for Esquire,” the actor noted. “I was asked to write a nonfiction book and I didn’t. I was asked to adapt that book and then I started doing rewrites.”
“So it just went from Hook to whatever,” Fisher added. “Sister Act. Lethal Weapon 3. The River Wild. Some really bad ones too. I would rewrite my parts if I did little parts too. I rewrite the dialogue. That’s sort of how I got to do it.” Not the greatest of films, it must be said, but Fisher had actually rewritten one of the biggest science fiction movies of all time, the one with which she is most associated.
With an experience of how Star Wars ought to have gone down being at the very epicentre of its narrative, Fisher was well-placed to offer her newfound talents for a rewrite and had, in fact, offered up her suggestions for several of the iconic George Lucas movies, including Empire Strikes Back and some of the prequel films too.
“Harrison Ford was rewriting his stuff in all the Star Wars movies and it became annoying because it impacted my stuff,” Fisher explained. “It is easier as an actor to go into rewriting because you know what would fit into your mouth dialogue-wise. We would tell George Lucas, ‘You can type this shit, but you can’t say it.’ By the third film, I was rewriting a little bit of my dialogue. George asked me to punch up one of the prequels.”
In an interview with AV Club, Fisher pointed out the films that she’d enjoyed rewriting the most. “I liked doing The River Wild with Meryl Streep, because it was taken on right after I split up with Bryan [Lourd],” she said. That was, not therapeutic, but distracting, at least. Working with Steven Spielberg [on Hook] was my first job in that area. It’s just nice being treated with a different kind of respect than certainly, you would be as an actor. There were a lot of ones that I had fun on – The Wedding Singer.”
While Fisher will always be remembered for her portrayal of Princess Leia, it’s perhaps her work as a script doctor that has had the furthest-reaching impact behind the scenes.
