EPISODE VII: "CHEWIE, WE'RE HOME!"

June 11th, 2014- an amazing filming day for the STAR WARS saga.

It was the classic moment- "the money shot". The one that brought floods of tears to captivated fans at the American CELEBRATION convention of April 2015, and got everyone else worldwide joyfully enthused and enthusiastically ready for the return of the Classic Trilogy heroes Han Solo and Chewbacca with THE FORCE AWAKENS.

Han and Chewie check the Falcon.

Having been watched by over 150 people all cramming in and around the lovingly recreated Falcon interior set, the emotionally resonant scene, shot with different line deliveries by Ford and given an important full day to film (alongside special unit publicity photography), was "in the can", thankfully, before the frightening accident 24 hours later that saw the ship's hydraulic door fall on the icon and suspend his involvement on the production for several months whilst he recovered from very serious injuries. Originally, Han and Chewie entered the Falcon and moved forward, turning a corridor corner to see Rey and Finn having emerged from the darkened and inoperative cockpit. However, with Harrison temporarily out of the picture, and principal photography at Pinewood Studios now shut down for three weeks, it was decided by J.J. Abrams and his editors in this enforced downtime to reassess/rework the pivotal scene, partially re-filmed on Ford's return (the actor described by his colleagues as being like a "new man" with his ignited enthusiasm for the project) and beefed up dramatically- Rey, Finn and BB-8 now being discovered under the technical grill by the duo as they try to gas the "intruders".

First day's publicity shoot for the old and new icons.