Wednesday 24th March, 1976. Part of a busy day of location principal photography linked to the Dune Sea sequences, filming begins in La Grande Dunes west of the film’s
production base, at Nefta, in the eerie yet stunning desert area for the scene where Threepio shuffles by an extinct alien creature's remains - a fiberglass skeleton copy of a Sauropod creature that
had originally been constructed for use in the ELSTREE
STUDIOS filmed 1975 UK Walt Disney film One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing. A large prop, found deep in the Elstree warehouse by set decorator Roger Christian and colleagues, the remains would, ultimately, be abandoned to the desert due to transport practicality problems once filming in Tunisia is completed. Also shot that day is the harried droid's sighting
of a far distant Jawa Sandcrawler (achieved via a small matte painting
of the horizon obscure vehicle handled by ILM in late 1976).
Unfortunately, as location photography progresses, so too do the worsening weather conditions, as fierce sandstorms
soon arrive to hit the area, and specially made goggles
are supplied to shield everyone from the terrifying,
strapping high velocity winds. Natural elements such as
sand would also play a part in the chaos, clogging the
film cameras and ruining other important equipment. A planned location site to have incorporated a matte painting, handled by the second unit, would ultimately be abandoned by 5.57 PM due to bad light.
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This image is presented here in the original way it was shot, as Threepio waves and cries out to the possible transport atop a distant sand dune. |
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Norman Reynolds and colleague make adjustments to Threepio's suit as the weather worsens on location. |
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The original Dinosaur bones on the Elstree parking area, before transport to Tunisia. |
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The small matte of the Jawa Sandcrawler, we assume by Ralph McQuarrie. |
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