I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Adam Harris for two years now, and he’s always been a passionate and driven Star Wars fan. He’s the director of a soon-to-be released documentary called My Saga.
Adam like many of us grew up with the original trilogy, bought all the Kenner toys and became enamoured with the way George Lucas told stories and made them into visual feasts for fans to devour.
Since 2015 he’s been working steadily on the documentary, and interviewed some amazing people involved in Star Wars, and many things surrounding the franchise.
Over the last year he’s also begun the My Saga podcast along with co-host Blair Hiscock.
He joins me today, to go through some of the things he’s been up to.
Fantha Tracks: Adam, thanks for joining us today. Where did your love of Star Wars come from?
Adam Harris: Like most Star Wars Fans, my love came from the first time I experienced a Star Wars film on the big screen.
It was late Summer in 1983 here in Australia and my father took me to see Return of the Jedi at the Hoyts Regent Theatre in my hometown of Brisbane. From seeing the poster at the Ticket Booth, to the smell of the popcorn at the candy bar and finally seeing Jedi on the big screen, it’s a day I will never forget.
Since that day I have loved that galaxy far, far, away.
FT: What characters resonates with you the most?
AH: Luke Skywalker. I just love his journey. From being the simple farm-boy, to a Jedi in Training, to saving his father from the dark side to finally becoming the legend needed to inspire a galaxy.
His journey is full of adventure, fear, failure and most of all hope. I can relate to several things that Luke has encountered on his journey.
FT: George Lucas brought so many amazing things into Star Wars, what influences of his did you like also?
AH: I loved how Lucas borrowed from so many mythologies. When watching Star Wars you can see the levels that Lucas created from other stories which gave Star Wars and its characters so much depth.
From Joseph Campbell to Akira Kurosawa, you can see there influence on Lucas in these films and it’s wonderful to see how he incorporated their ideals and storytelling in the Star Wars universe.
FT: Tell us how My Saga began?
AH: October 30th, 2012….A Very Special date indeed. It was the day it was announced that Lucasfilm had been sold to Disney and that a new trilogy would be being made.
I remember waking up and seeing the news all over Facebook and running into my son’s Jack room so excited to tell him about how there would be new Star Wars films.
It was at this moment I thought about making a documentary about a father and son’s journey leading up to Episode VII….a few days later the My Saga Documentary was born.
FT: How did the filming process go?
AH: The filming process was quite tough and tiring. It was the first time I had ever tackled a project like this and at this scale.
First up we used Kickstarter to crowdfund the money needed to make the film. After that, we began filming in February of 2015.
We travelled to America and visited places like Rancho Obi-Wan, the Yoda Fountain at Lucasfilm to attending Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim.
It was non-stop and it didn’t help that both Jack and myself were both sick before we flew out to the US.
Cameras finally stopped filming in late December of 2017. It was an absolute rollercoaster of a ride, we meet some truly wonderful people on our journey.
FT: Who is in the documentary?
AH: We were quite fortunate to speak to some wonderful people who had been apart of that universe, along with several fans during our time at Star Wars Celebration.
Steve Sansweet, ILM Model makers Charlie Bailey & Steve Gawley, Perry King (who voiced Han Solo in the Radio Dramas), Corey Dee Williams, Stephen Costantino, Erik Bauersfeld, Bonnie Piesse, Vanessa Marshall and James Arnold Taylor….are some of those who worked in the Star Wars universe who spoke to us during our time in the US.
It was such a thrill to hear their stories, along with the fans.
FT: When will the viewers be able to see a release?
AH: I can say that we are finally approaching the end with the editing. It has been a long and hard slog to complete this film between our real jobs and family time but we are so close and I am quite excited to share this film in the next couple of months.