Mark Hamill Hosts Star Wars Day Quarantunes Zoom Party with Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal, Tina Fey and More
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Several Star Wars legends have teamed up for a great cause.
In a May the Fourth-themed Quarantunes, a semi-weekly invite-only Zoom concert series, Jedi master Mark Hamill performed duel service as the master of ceremonies for Tuesday’s event, which raised money for USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative.
The NAI “supports more than 1,000 children in college access programs and early literacy programs each year,” according to USC’s website.
“This is really a special occasion for me,” Hamill, who was joining the Zoom call from Serbia where he is currently filming a movie, said of the event organized by WME partner Richard Weitz and his daughter, Demi.
Referring to May the Fourth, Hamill, 69, joked, “I’ll probably never do a movie that gets its own day.”
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Joining Hamill was the Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal, who admitted that he had “helmet hair.
“It’s amazing what you guys are doing,” Pascal, 46, added of the event, which was held remotely from USC’s coliseum. “I hope you raise a lot of money today.”
Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrisean), Frank Oz (Yoda) and Empire Strikes Back and Solo screenwriter, Lawrence Kasdan also joined as well, with Williams, 84, singing “Our Love Is Here to Stay” during his introduction.
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Oz, 76, opened up about how though he was hired to provide the puppetry for Yoda, he almost didn’t voice the green Jedi master.
“Well, actually when I did the character, I did a voice, but it was not Yoda’s voice,” Oz said, adding that the
Oz said he later provided some potential voices for the character, but that George Lucas auditioned several other voice actors for Yoda.
Oz added that Lucas, 76, eventually called him during his honeymoon after marrying his first wife.
” ‘Hey, Frank, maybe you can do the voice after. Maybe you can come down to L.A.,’ ” Oz said Lucas told him.
Tina Fey also joined the call, and opened up about playing Princess Leia as her 30 Rock character Liz Lemon, who tried to play the iconic Star Wars character to get out of jury duty. Fey, 50, also talked about having the late Carrie Fisher on 30 Rock re-deliver an iconic line and say: “Help me, Liz Lemon, you’re my only hope.”
Of filming that scene, Fey recounted of talking with Fisher, “And I was like, ‘So, you know, in this part is kind of a reference, and [Fisher]’s like, ‘You think? You think I don’t know what you want me to do here?’ “
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Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose Tico in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, also made an appearance, opening up about hanging out with Star Wars legend Hamill on the set.
“I was really, nerdy when I got to set and just would sort of go on set for all the scenes that I wasn’t in,” she said. “So I got to see Mark a lot and … he was really welcoming me into their family and we would hang out on the weekends and watch movies.”
Tran, 32, also talked about how her father couldn’t make the premiere of Episode IX due to a dental appointment.
“My dad was essentially like, ‘Yo, so it’s on a weekday, and, uh, we’ve got this appointment. You know how hard it is.’ “
The night not only featured the many people behind Star Wars, but also magical musical performances.
In a pre-recorded segment, Josh Groban and Aloe Blacc did a duet of “Imagine” in front of the Millennium Falcon.
And what Star Wars celebration without the music of John Williams? The franchise’s iconic composer made a brief cameo performing the main theme of Star Wars on piano.
The night also featured performances from Star Wars megafan Chris Stapleton, other renditions by Groban who sang “Evermore” from Beauty and the Beast and “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, REO Speedwagon and more.
Since lockdown began, Quarantunes has raised more than $24 million for an array of causes as of Tuesday’s event.