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'A Disturbance in the Force' Doc Teaser About the 1978 Holiday Special

by Alex Billington
March 2, 2023
Source: YouTube

Get ready for the unbelievable, untold story of… how and why did the "Holiday Special" get made. Yes, that bizarre, disastrous, infamous Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978. A Disturbance in the Force is a nerdy documentary premiering at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival this month in the Documentary Spotlight section. Produced by mega Star Wars nerd Kyle Newman, the film is an investigation into the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special telling the behind-the-scenes story of how it got made. Featuring appearances by Seth Green, Weird Al Yankovic, Paul Scheer, Taran Killam, Gilbert Gottfried, Bonnie Burton, Bruce Vilanch, and Steve Binder. "Travel back to a galaxy far, far away — the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. Dive into the mystery of how it happened and why 45 years later it has become, much to the chagrin of George Lucas, the ultimate cult classic among Star Wars fans." This sounds like it'll be a blast to watch with an audience at SXSW. We actually posted a trailer for this back in 2020, but it got pulled and they spent the last few years polishing things up (and probably fighting Disney / Lucasfilm). Now it's finally ready to premiere this year.

Here's the teaser trailer (+ poster) for Coon & Kozak's doc A Disturbance in the Force, from YouTube:

In 1977, Star Wars became a cultural phenomenon that 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 & why the "Holiday Special" get made. A Disturbance in the Force is directed & produced by filmmakers Jeremy Coon (producer on Napoleon Dynamite, The Sasquatch Gang, American Fork) & Steve Kozak (a former clearance coordinator), both making their first feature film. It's also produced by Kyle Newman. The doc is premiering at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival this month. No other release dates are set yet - stay tuned for news. Visit the film's official site. Want to watch?

Find more posts: Documentaries, Star Wars, To Watch, Trailer