We told you we had something special planned, and here it is, the first part of our interview with the presenter of Bring Back Star Wars, Justin Lee Collins.  Justin was kind enough to give us an hour or so of his time to talk about his love of Star Wars as well as some of the things we can expect from the show.

So, without further ado, here's part 1, and we'll be bringing you the rest of the interview in the run-up to the show on Sunday night.

JN: Hi

JLC: Hiya

JN: So, first of all, thanks very much for taking the time out to talk to us here at Jedi News, it's very much appreciated

JLC: My pleasure, my absolute pleasure

JN: We'll get the ball rolling with a couple of ice-breakers.  So Justin, do you consider yourself to be a Star Wars fan?

JLC: Yes I do, very much, but I have to sort of clarify my position on the whole Star Wars thing slightly.  I'm part of the Star Wars generation, if you like.  When Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was first released, it was the first film that I ever saw in the cinema and I was 3 years of age in 1977.  I cried when the lights went out, because I didn't know what was happening, so that's my one memory.  My only other memory from the experience is seeing C-3PO and R2-D2 walk across Tatooine, because in the darkness of the cinema, that was so visually arresting, just the desert, just the brightness, that whole sequence is so bright, just glaring out from this giant screen with the 3-year-old eyes looking back on it, so those were my only memories, but then of course, a little bit later, right up until I would say, certainly after Jedi was released, right up to 84-85, I was, as well as all my friends, I was a huge, huge Star Wars fan. It was the films and the toys, which I still have in my Mum and Dad's loft, everything for me was about Star Wars, but the new trilogy, I find them to be an abomination.  I think they're diabolical.  My love of Star Wars, Adam, is very much rooted in that place in time.  The original films I still absolutely love and certainly A New Hope and [The] Empire [Strikes Back] would be on my list of all time favourite films. But it kind of ended for me really, with Return of the Jedi, and when we make these Bring Back films, I like to go after subjects and targets of things that I absolutely adored when I was growing up, that were part of my experience growing up.  So, yes, I would still call myself a Star Wars fan, but I'm a fan of the original trilogy, and my love for Star Wars is very much rooted in that.

JN: That's very interesting, and good to hear that you've still got all of the toys and that your Mum didn't throw them out or sell them to the neighbours.

JLC: Do you know what?  With the exception of one item; so in my Mum and Dad's loft currently, I know for a fact I still have my Rebel Transport, I still have an AT-AT, I still have the Falcon, I still have the Taun-Taun and a speeder bike, a scout walker, I still have loads of figures, off the top of my head, I know I've still got those things, but I'm minus one item mate.

JN: What's that?

JLC: Stupidly, when I was about, because I'd never sell those toys, I've got 2 baby boys now, and as far as I'm concerned, obviously my Star Wars toys and memorabilia are for them when they're a little bit older.  I don't let them play with it now, God forbid; they'll never play with it until they're a bit older and they can appreciate it, so until that day comes, the toys remain in the loft, but when I was about maybe 15 or 16, I was absolutely skint, so to generate some money, I got a load of stuff together to do a car boot sale with my Mum, and in amongst the stuff I had for the car boot sale was my Rancor monster, complete with the hands twisted round and there was a little action-man-type thing on the back so you could make the jaw drop.  I had my Rancor monster and I think I had £3 on it, I don't know what it's worth today, and my Auntie Carol said to me, don't sell that, I'll have it, I'll give you the money, I'll buy it off you and I will keep it, and I thought, brilliant, I can't go wrong, because I'm getting some money, plus the Rancor monster remains in the family.  What happened?  I made that deal with my Auntie Carol and she sold it at a car boot sale.

JN: Ahh, she went back on the deal?

JLC: I know, so the Rancor monster has gone, but with that exception, I still have absolutely everything else, including, as a result of doing this show, and I'm boring you mate, I'm waffling on...

JN: Not at all!

JLC: Is that alright?  Including, when I managed to catch up with Carrie Fisher, Leia of course, she very kindly gave me, it was hers, it was in her own possession, she let me have it because she knows I'm such a nut of the original films, like I said before, she gave me a boxed bar of Ewok soap and when I caught up with Warwick Davis, Wicket of course, I told Warwick that I had it in my possession, and Warwick was mightily impressed.  He said that is a very rare and very, very good thing to have.  Still in the box, pristine, given to me by Carrie Fisher.  All of those things, they're not going anywhere mate. They remain with me.

JN: That's very sensible.  It’s interesting. Many of our readers have said that they made the mistake of selling on their collection when they were younger, because they needed the money, but weren't so wise as to what it would be worth later on, or to the fact that they were going to decide at a later date that they would want to collect again. So very sensible keeping hold of those.  Just before we go on to talk about the programme, what would you say, in your own opinion is so enduring about Star Wars.

JLC: It's just the classic battle of good vs. evil.  It's a very simple story which has been told a million times across many different genres, the immediate comparison with the original Star Wars trilogy, of course,  would be the classic westerns, and in particular, and I know it's been said before, so I'm not just the one saying this, but the comparison has been made before between A New Hope and The Searchers, the classic John Wayne film, where he goes off to try and find Natalie Wood who's been captured by the Native American Indians, and I can see the similarities between the two films, but it's just that classic story of good vs. evil but then you've also got the other element of boy meets girl which has been thrown into the mix as well, and then you've got the roles of Obi-Wan Kenobi being the father figure and the young lad being the apprentice, so you've got the whole father-son thing going on, you've got the boy meets girl thing going on and you've got the classic battle of good and evil, so it's classic storytelling, but writ large, writ huge and nothing had ever been done like it before, and nothing really since.  I mean we've seen lots of space epics, there were space epics made before and there were space epics been made after, but not in the Star Wars way.  Star Wars is still unique, and essentially, it's classic storytelling and I think that's why it has lasted so
long.

JN: Excellent, well, onto the programme.  I think that I'm right in saying that this is your sixth Bring Back Show.

JLC: Yes, that's right, it is the sixth.

JN: Had you wanted to do Star Wars for a while?

JLC: Very much so, it was my love for Star Wars and the fact that I was desperate to do it that got the show commissioned, because initially, Channel 4 weren't that keen.  That was in the very, very early stages.  I think they felt, and don't get me started on the new trilogy, but this gets me back again to the recent films, but I think that there is a feeling that, unless you're a die-hard Star Wars fan, I think that there seems to be a feeling that everyone's a bit Star Wars'd out, do you know what I mean, and I think that has an awful lot to do with the recent films and all the stuff that's been happening in recent years, so initially, I think the channel weren't too keen on the idea, because, let's face it, over the last 10 years, we've seen an awful lot of Star Wars.  So it was a bit of a sell, and I remember having lunch with the commissioning editor from Channel 4 and just basically doing a big sell and as a result of my obvious love for the subject and desire to do it, I think that kind of won him over.  In terms of scale, the two previous Bring Backs that we did before Star Wars, we did the A-Team, which did really well, and then after we did the A-Team, everyone was thinking how we could top the A-Team, what was a bigger TV show in the 80's, so we came up with a list of things and we went with Dallas because it was such a huge show in the 80s, with a large cast, so then we were thinking about how to top that, and we'd done music Bring Back Shows before and we'd done TV shows before, but we'd never done a film, and if you're going to go and do a film, then Star Wars is just about the biggest film that you can go and do.  So, in terms of scale, it also seemed so enticing and with my love and enthusiasm for it, I suppose it was a feeling of how can we say no.

JN: Absolutely, and did you have any say in what went into the show?

JLC: It's interesting, because these (Bring Back) films that we make, not just Star Wars, but the other five that we've done as well, it's always about my journey.  Obviously, I'm the one that's on screen, trying to join all the dots up together and trying to complete the picture, so I always have a certain amount of say, and obviously, the main thing is that we try to get as many of the ex-cast members as possible on board.  Have you seen the show yet Adam, just out of interest?

JN: No, not yet, I've been speaking to Simon Urwin, the producer, about getting hold of a copy before it airs, but as of yet, I haven't seen it.

JLC: I just asked that question as I don't want to spoil the magic and give too much away, but yeah, I always have an input because it's kind of my journey to link these different elements together, but the point that I'm leading to, is that I don't always get my own way.  I suppose the main story that comes out through the film is Mark Hamill's, because we had a very, very tough time trying to get Mark Hamill on board, and I won't spoil it and tell you whether or not we actually managed to do that, but the film really becomes all about him, which is very apt I suppose, because certainly, the first 3 films are all about him and I won't say anymore than that, but occasionally we are faced with a tough decision and I might want to go one way and maybe I won't get to go that way if you know what I mean.

JN: OK, well that leads into my next question, which is to ask if there was anything that you particularly wanted to be included in the show that you either couldn't do or that ultimately didn't make the cut?

JLC: Ah, that's a great question!  Well, I'll tell you this. There was a very funny, very honest bit which didn't make the cut.  Basically, I'm sure that you are aware that Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker don't get on, and isn't that just one of the most wonderful stories, the fact that C-3PO and R2-D2, out of costume, can't stand each other!  Although saying that, I didn't get Anthony Daniels to really confirm that on camera, but Kenny Baker was very, very honest about it as were other people.  But of course we have to be sensitive about that....

JN: Absolutely.  It's a difficult situation to find yourself in, being stuck in the middle of something like that.

JLC: It is, and we don't want to be seen to be having a shot at Anthony Daniels, or provoking anything, so you want that flavour to come across, but a couple of things ended up on the cutting room floor.

In part 2 of the interview, Justin will be talking more about the show, including his favourite bit, so be sure to check back in a couple of days....