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Wednesday, 20 February 2019

EPISODE VIII: ROSE FIGHTS BACK!

She'd been in the background after the retreat of the Resistance from D'Qar, and has suffered terribly with the tragic but worthy sacrificial loss of her sister in combat against an enemy dreadnought. Now, with her new friendship with former Stormtrooper Finn secure and blossoming, young mechanic and 'fixer' Rose Tico is at the very forefront of the battle against the First Order's technological terrors on the far out world of Crait, for the epic finale to The Last Jedi.

Monday, 18 February 2019

ROGUE ONE: TARGET- SCARIF!

Newly arrived at the planet Scarif, Governor Tarkin and his officers prepare to aim the Death Star's power at the now compromised Imperial facility. A terrific visual showcase of the space station's Overview Bridge, from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Saturday, 16 February 2019

EPISODE VII: A PAUSE BEFORE ACTION!

Han Solo takes a last look at his surroundings as his mission to Starkiller Base fatefully awaits. A great image shot at the UK's redressed former Greenham Common air base exterior turned into the Resistance home of D'Qar, for The Force Awakens. This scene was shot around September 2014, with Harrison Ford returned to filming after his unfortunate on-set injury earlier that year.

Having known and admired J.J. Abrams since their work together in the nineties with the popular feel good movie Regarding Henry, Harrison Ford's return to the Star Wars saga after a long absence felt more assured for the film star actor- his overall feelings and instincts strong for VII's overall story and Han Solo's character arc.

Star Wars director JJ Abrams reveals he was 'terrified' of working with Harrison Ford on The Force Awakens - Mirror Online

Thursday, 14 February 2019

CLASSIC ART: CRISIS POINT!

Players both for good and for evil converge at Coruscant, the centre of the Republic, as the returned Sith, led by the malicious Darth Sidious, launch the final ambitious and apocalyptic phase of revenge against the galaxy. This is James Luceno's splendid events-packed lead-in to EPISODE III, Labyrinth of Evil, seen here via its gorgeous Japanese book cover edition from 2005. If you've never read this page-turner, its well worth picking up.

Tuesday, 12 February 2019

BEHIND THE SCENES: BEYOND LUKE AND ARTOO...

One of the greatest qualities about Mark Hamill is surely his 'people skills'- enjoying the interactions and companionship of his teammates the world over, be they large, or, in the case of the late Kenny Baker, small. From the get-go, the pair had fun together filming the original Star Wars in Tunisia. Later, in London during the Summer of 1976, Kenny and best friend/work partner Jack Purvis even took Mark for a fun night out enjoying their double-act, plus the city's cabaret/variety club circuit scene.

Here, the pair enjoy a brief respite between filming the busy Alliance gathering scene, shot on a very un-soundproofed Elstree soundstage, for Return of the Jedi, circa February 1982.

Mark Hamill reminisces on Kenny Baker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DL6F3jReyc

Sunday, 10 February 2019

CLASSIC ART: THE BUSINESS OF WAR!

The battle between newly arrived Republic forces against the mechanical armies created by the repulsive Geonosians is in full chaotic, destructive swing, as seen in this excellent Ryan Church conceptual work for EPISODE II, an intense image captured on screen exactly as painted.

Friday, 8 February 2019

BEHIND THE SCENES: A MAN AND HIS ARTOO'S!

Often regarded on set in 1976 as the stuff of behind the scenes nightmares - the operation of the many remote controlled versions of the icon droid R2-D2 during the making of the Classic Trilogy. Though it seemed like Brian Johnson had the droid, blessed with a mind of its own beyond Kenny Baker's performance, under his control for the most part of The Empire Strikes Back, largely thanks to a complete overhaul of the three-legged version's electronics.

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: LUCAS RETURNS!

George Lucas goes through the Pod Racing models with his ILM team.

He'd said previously that he would never direct another film after the horrors and battle fatigue of shooting the original Star Wars in 1976. But the lure of telling the story of how a good person goes bad in former Jedi Anakin Skywalker's life, and to be able to use incredible new pioneering CGI effects previously used to such great distinction with Jurassic Park, ultimately proved too irresistible to George Lucas, soon rightly and fan expectantly taking back full cinematic creative control of the upcoming saga (despite teasing other fine directorial friends in Ron Howard, Saul Zaentz, and Francis Ford Coppola that he wouldn't) to launch a new artistic direction for his Prequel Trilogy, that would primarily capture the enthusiasm of new generations of dedicated young audiences from 1999 onwards.

Monday, 4 February 2019

'SOLO': TOGETHER FOR FREEDOM!

Though their early relationship started on a rocky note, the love between Qi'ra and Han Solo soon grew, intensified with their need to escape from the industrial slums of Corellia once the opportunity finally arises, in this moment from Solo: A Star Wars Story.