The world premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story took place in Los Angeles last week. The film receives its international premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Fest before opening theatrically May 25.
Getting Harrison Ford Blessing
Alden Ehrenreich: It was crazy and I had no idea Harrison was coming out in the middle of me doing a radio interview. It just meant to world to me, first of all that he really loves the movie and I think he’s seen it twice. And having his blessing going into it was important to me and this is even more important and meaningful. The fact that he traveled out here to do that meant a lot to me–it was very emotional and very exciting.
Talking with Harrison
AE: We honestly didn’t talk a ton about the part in a way. We talked more about his career and his life and it wasn’t really a matter of, of he saying, ‘oh you should do this or this specific thing, I wouldn’t have been ever able to not do that. So there’s kind of a tricky thing there. Because his main feeling from the beginning and he said this interviews about it before I was ever cast, is for whoever takes it on to make it their own and kind of do their own thing with it. It was lovely to have that spirit behind me.
Former Directors Phil and Chris
AE: I had nothing to do with any of the stuff that went on. So basically the truth is, with Phil and Chris, I think they are wonderful directors and I loved working with them. I never saw any of their cut stuff put together so I don’t really know how different it would have ended up being. But I think what they said was really true of creative differences and they had slightly different style. And they have a style of working that’s just their signature and in all their films and I think those creative differences, that was pretty much it. The acting coach thing is somebody they work with and have around on sets and it’s not like this thing in the way it was portrayed and it was somebody who was there for everybody and like really was in their camp and had been working as much, if not more so with them and that’s very common, that’s on a lot of movies that there’s somebody like that. But at the same time, what’s fun about Star Wars movies is all this gossip and drama and it is part of this adventure. And it’s true of “Last Jedi” and it’s true of “Rogue One” and it’s true of “Force Awakens” it’s true of the originals and part of the fun of following the story is kind of the soap opera of it. And I think it all ultimately flows into here’s the movie and everyone can see it and it speaks for itself.
Feelings about the Movie
AE: Yes it was very exciting. My main feeling of it is just that I am so happy, because there’s been so much talk and I have been in a world of secrecy for two and a half years. October of 2015 is when I started auditioning for it. And it’s just so great to come out and talk about it and show people the movie and see how excited they are and actually get to interact with fans and I have only really spoken with journalists. And mostly until today or yesterday, journalists who hadn’t seen the movie. It’s so exciting to actually get to interact with people who are having that experience.
Fears and Night Sweats
AE: The way that I have always felt about this and when I took some time to decide if I wanted to do it when I was auditioning, and if you say yes to it, you are saying yes to the whole thing. You are saying yes not only to just playing the role, but to this whole adventure. And for me it was a matter of using this opportunity, it’s a challenge to try and navigate the thoughts and feelings of other people and what kind of stock you are going to put into that and how much you are going to try to listen to your own inner conscience or whatever it is. And it’s a great opportunity on a very high level to get good at making your way through that kind of stuff, because the feeling of that is on every movie. The kind of pressure on this movie is more intense and it’s different in degree, but it’s not different in kind and just every movie, you really want to go well and have people love when it comes out, this one in particular there’s more of that, so it’s great. So you are always left with what do you have control over, which is basically just a job, it’s just my job and my character and how much work I put into it. And I try and concentrate on discerning myself on what it is I have control over.
Getting the Part
AE: I know many actors auditioned. I think it was a combination of factors. “Hail Caesar” was coming out when I was auditioning for it, so that might have helped.
Spielberg and Coppola as Mentors
AE: I have not spoken to Spielberg since I got the role. He discovered me when I was 14. I have talked to him over the years and I have spoken with him, but I haven’t actually gotten to talk to him since I got the part. I just went to Northern California to visit Skywalker Ranch and I got to sit down with George Lucas for about an hour and talk to him about “Star Wars” which was really cool after two years of learning about it. And I went and visited Francis Ford Coppola, now I am just name dropping basically, but I went and visited Coppola, who put me in my first movie and he was really my mentor.
Ron Howard Vs. Former Directors (Who Were Fired)
AE: It’s hard to say, probably they did something like a fourth of the picture, but I can’t really tell. Scenes were shot and then Ron Howard would kind of do pickups and make any scene his own thing. And sometimes that was doing it anew and sometimes that was kind of adding a thing here and there and stuff. But to me, when I look at it, it’s pretty clear how much it is Ron’s film, and this is his version of this movie, and it feels to me like a unified whole. There’s very few scenes that were Frankenstein-ed together.
