Attendees of Wizard World’s Atlanta Comic Convention were in for a treat today. Billy Dee Williams aka Lando Calrissian answered questions during a panel that preceded a preview of The Family Guy’s Return of the Jedi episode appropriately entitled “It’s a Trap!”
Williams arrived clad in coat, scarf, and sunglasses as if trying to ward off the cold Atlanta air. Though he mentioned being in the business for fifty years, he looks incredible for his age (73). He began by mentioning the passing of Irvin Kershner, director for The Empire Strikes Back, and he said that Kershner was “always like a Yoda” to him. A few of the pictures available at his autograph table also included Kershner.
Then, Williams took questions from the audience. He slowly answered each question, carefully weighing his words and responding in-depth in the mellow and charismatic voice so distinctive of Lando Calrissian. One audience member mentioned seeing some recent Colt 45 commercials and wondered if Williams would be involved with future commercials. Though he admitted to being “strongly identified” with the drink, he has no current plans to reprise his role as a spokesperson.
Did he have any problems with the technical dialogue in The Empire Strikes Back? “Oh absolutely,” he responded. He seemed surprised to learn that Harrison Ford also had problems, in light of his piloting experience, but Williams did acknowledge that he didn’t know how long Ford had been piloting. Ford’s “You can type this shit, George, but you can’t say it” is now famous among Star Wars fans.
Often referring jokingly to his good looks and saying that one reason he was offered the role of Lando was because he wears a cape well, Williams displayed charm and personality even when a crying baby disrupted the panel. As the mother left with the child, he grinned boyishly and remarked that he loves kids and is now a grandfather.
When asked if he would have preferred a different role in the Star Wars films, he replied that “Lando was perfect,” and I’m sure anyone else would agree. However, he has often had to justify his betrayal of Han to others he has encountered in daily life. He has tried to get them to understand that Lando had a pretty good life in Cloud City was motivated to protect that.
He couldn’t pinpoint any one role that he’s most proud of, but he first mentioned Lando, followed by Brian’s Song, Lady Sings the Blues, playing Scott Joplin . . . the list continued, but his biggest character, he said, has been being a good father.
Billy Dee Williams is also an artist, and you can see his work here. He described his style as chiaroscuro, which focuses on the arrangement of light and dark. He offered a Lando-inspired piece at his booth in the dealer’s room and left the panel to return to the booth just prior to The Family Guy preview. Adam West of Batman fame and also a recurring voice as Mayor West on The Family Guy took his place to introduce the segment.
The preview lasted about 12 minutes and began with an incredibly long stream-of-consciousness opening crawl that mentioned Fox executives, raccoons, and muscle relaxers. The audience giggled throughout, and we were shown scenes from the rescue at Jabba’s palace all the way up to “Darth Vader” dying on the Death Star.
However, instead of stealing speeder bikes on Endor, “Leia” and “Luke” grab a familiar-looking bicycle to pursue the Scout Troopers. No, not the one from E.T.; it’s the one from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Some of the humor is crude and childish, but I suppose that’s par for the course for this show. I did NOT expect for Admiral Ackbar to be a fish in a bowl on top of a body, however. And he did say, “It’s a trap!” but prematurely, mentioning that we’ll get to that part later. Overall, the preview was funny and included music from the actual film, which I thought was a very nice touch.
It’s a Trap! arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 21, and you can pre-order it on Amazon here.