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| Palaptine activates the senate pod to address the galactic representatives in a deleted moment. |
Escorted to her pod in the Galactic Senate audience chamber, Queen Amidala watches as her ambassador for Naboo in the kindly but pushy Senator Palpatine prepares to enter the ongoing conversations concerning the blockade of their world. Naboo is the tinder to Galactic War in much the same way that Poland was to our own real-life events during World War II.
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| Entering their senate pod in an earlier deleted moment. |
"In terms of (remembering) the actual sequences (filmed), there's the scene in the Senate that stands out. It was one of the last sequences completed by the digital guys at ILM. Filming it was extraordinary. We had a vast expanse of blue, and the senators, the representatives of the various planets, were in pods that rose and moved in (when it was their turn to speak). There was one pod that we all shared at different time. It certainly rose, but it didn't move (around, although) it revolved. Natalie and I were at the top of this pod, revolving around. She had on this very huge headdress and we were both doing our best to keep ourselves steady while being accurate over our lines. And somebody said, 'Oh, by the way, we're here.'"
"That was amusing, as it was hard to focus on anyone or anything else. There were two angel cams going in the opposite direction of the turning pod. I was trying not to step on Natalie's dress and she was trying to look composed and regal. We knew that this would all be on screen soon enough and we had to make sure there was not even a flicker in our eyes that betrayed the work involved. It had to look real and in the moment. People may say, 'Surrender to technology,' or 'There's nothing for the actor,' but ultimately the camera was on me and Natalie and we had to act. We had to make it believable. You may have all these sets and people, but it's all just to make it possible to believe that this moment between the characters in this setting is actually happening."
Ian McDiarmid - Starlog magazine - 1999
More on the deleted scene likely cut for time (seen in the above two images) - a shame, as Ian McDiarmid is so deliciously evil in such political scenes:
Palpatine: If the Federation moves to defer the motion, Your Majesty, I beg of you to ask for a resolution to end this congressional senate.
Amidala: I wish I had your confidence in this, Senator.
Palpatine: You must force a new election for Supreme Chancellor... I promise you that there are many who will support us... it is our best chance... Your Majesty, our only chance.
Amidala: You truly believe Chancellor Valorum will not bring our motion to a vote?
Palpatine: He is distracted... he is afraid. He will be of no help.
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| Iain McCaig's striking design for Padme's senate costume, with looming droid camera. |
"The outfits are so beautiful. (Costume Designer) Trisha Biggar did one of the most amazing jobs ever. Concept artist Iain McCaig drew pictures for Trisha and she made them a reality. The costumes are one of the most special parts of the movie. I wasn't the happiest of people having to wear the senate costume with the big hairpiece, however. The outfits were made so that they could be easily taken on and off, because if you have to go to the bathroom at some point during the day, you can't spend five hours for a bathroom break. The hair and make-up usually took about two, two-and-a-half hours, but the costumes took 15 minutes."
Natalie Portman - Starlog magazine - 2000
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| Posed image used for international magazines promotion. |
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