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A Disturbance in the Force arrives from a Galaxy Far Far Away on digital December 5

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September Club and Giant Pictures bring home A Disturbance in the Force on December 5 from a galaxy far far away to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the most infamous story in the history of Star Wars. The acclaimed documentary made its debut at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival and chronicles the making of the bizarre (and buried) “Star Wars Holiday Special” as well as a specific bygone era of 1970s event television.

In 1977, “Star Wars” became a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized a stagnant film industry, and forever changed how films were sold, made, and marketed. In 1978, filmmaker George Lucas was talked into cashing in on the Star Wars craze by producing a holiday variety TV special. What could possibly go wrong? ANSWER: Everything… 

CBS aired the two-hour “Star Wars Holiday Special” during the week of Thanksgiving and it was watched by 13 million people. It never re-aired. While some fans of the franchise are aware of this dark secret, this bizarre two hours of television still remains relatively unknown among the general public. Simply put, the documentary will answer how and why the “Holiday Special” got made.

Produced by September Club with Giant Pictures handling digital and home entertainment distribution, A Disturbance in the Force can also be experienced in select screenings across the US, UK and Australia ahead of its digital and home entertainment launch on December 5 on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and Vudu. 

The film is available for pre-order now on Apple TV.

A Disturbance in the Force premieres at SXSW this March

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In 1977, “Star Wars” became a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized a stagnant film industry, and forever changed how films were sold, made, and marketed. Movies would never be the same again.

A year later, neither would television.

In 1978, CBS aired the two-hour “Star Wars Holiday Special” during the week of Thanksgiving and was watched by 13 million people. It never re-aired.

While some fans of the franchise are aware of this dark secret, this bizarre two hours of television still remains relatively unknown among the general public. Simply put, we will answer how and why did the “Holiday Special” get made.

A Disturbance in the Force is written and directed by Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak and features Seth Green, Weird Al Yankovic, Paul Scheer, Taran Killam, Donny Osmond, Gilbert Gottfried, Bonnie Burton, Bruce Vilanch, and Steve Binder.

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