BEHIND THE SCENES: A WOOKIEE IN THE BUILDING!

Soon back on set for EPISODE III on the soundstages of the Australian FOX Studios, Peter Mayhew, now wearing an all-new wookiee costume, alongside make-up talents Dave and Lou Elsey, get to visit George Lucas and receive his seal of approval. Chewbacca is indeed back, like eighteen years hadn't passed at all!

THE 'SITH' AT TEN: CORRUPTED CAPTAIN!

Wayne Pygram poses in his special make-up visage as the ambitious Captain Tarkin, for a memorable walk-on appearance as the iconic character at the very end of EPISODE III. This further trilogies-binding idea was one incorporated quite late during the production process.

EPISODE III's top make-up creator Dave Elsey recalled to STARLOG magazine in 2006:

“This was a big movie and I wanted it to be as good as possible (with regards to the movies make up and aliens). I knew there was some disappointment with the other prequels, and I didn’t want that to be the case with this one-certainly not in my department.”

“When I read the script, I realized that this was the movie everyone had been waiting for. It was going to shock and surprise a few people, so I wanted everything to be beautiful.”

“There were things going on behind the scenes that Wayne (Pygram, playing the cameo of Grand Moff Tarkin) didn’t know about, including me having a crisis because I suddenly realized that I was re-creating in make-up, to some extent, a very good friend of Christopher Lee. I started to panic about what Christopher would think of it and what would happen if they met in a corridor. The whole thing began to freak me out, and it became this big thing that spiraled off in directions that I had never, ever contemplated when I first suggested it. But I’m happy with what ended up in the movie.

“We were shooting the London portion of SITH, and I was in the make up room with Ian McDiarmid. To pass the time we would listen to LAUREL AND HARDY or put on a dvd. This one morning, Ian and I were watching SHERLOCK HOLMES with Peter Cushing. So there I was making up the Emperor-and I hear somebody come in behind us. I turned around, and it was Christopher Lee. Here were Peter Cushing, Ian McDiarmid, and Christopher Lee, and I was standing there thinking, “Is there anybody with a camera? I was geeking out!”

BEHIND THE SCENES: WHO's THAT GUY?!

Dave Elsey checks in on the final make-up decision making of legendary Aussie cult film and TV actor Bruce Spence's transformation into the Utapau leader, Tion Medon, at the FOX STUDIOS, Australia in 2003, for a pivotal scene in EPISODE III.

BEHIND THE SCENES: FROM THE FIRES OF HELL...

Under the make-up talents of Dave Elsey, Hayden Christensen's incredible and frightening transformation into the tortured souled, volcanic fire scarred final incarnation of the once human Darth Vader is almost complete, ready for filming in EPISODE III, duing 2003.

With thanks to Chris Baker for the image.