ET Flashback: Defending 'TRON'

The original TRON opened in theaters 30 years ago today, and we were with the film's title star, Bruce Boxleitner, at the premiere of the seminal caught-in-a-computer movie, where he gamely tried to explain -- and defend -- the film!

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Asked if he was "baffled" when he first read the script for TRON or if he felt "like a robot" filming it, Bruce admitted, "I did it scene by scene until I really fully understood what we were doing." He added that he and his co-stars played video games on the set to help get them in the proper mindset.

As for the mixed reviews that the film was receiving, Bruce responded, "Young people, especially who are around computers more than probably you and I are, they're going to understand what it is. … It was hard for me to understand when I first read it, but I think the kids today are much more sophisticated than we think."

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Of course, TRON ultimately went on to do middling business at the box office, but would later go on to develop a cult following, which would lead to a successful sequel, 2010's TRON: Legacy, and a new animated series, TRON: Uprising, on Disney XD.