I Don’t Think Harrison Ford Likes Doing Voiceovers

We all know the story of the narration the studio forced on Blade Runner, hoping to make a more sensible movie than Ridley Scott’s masterpiece. Scott didn’t want it, star Harrison Ford didn’t want it, and so Ford passive-aggressively gave the world’s most lackluster, emotionless voiceover performance ever. Or second-most, perhaps, because I’ve just discovered this:

I’m sure this is an old video to several of you, but to the rest, it’s an early trailer for The Empire Strikes Back which includes narration by Harrison Ford who tries — and succeeds — to be as awful as possible. He’s full of obviously bullshit enthusiasm, and his boredom and his contempt for the narration is beyond obvious. I’m sure he thought that Lucas would never use such an obviously awful performance, but Ford severely underestimated Big George in that regard (in his defense, it was 1979, and he didn’t know what we know now). Now all I can think is Harrison Ford’s Books-on-Tape, where a belligerent, drunken Ford slurs his way contemptuously through books he hates. Perhaps he could start with some Star Wars Expanded Universe novels? (Via Great White Snark)