EPISODE II: CAPTURING AN ASTEROID PURSUIT!

                                           

It's a busy time for Obi-Wan Kenobi on film as he chases after the bounty hunter Jango Fett. And it's a busy time filming the scene for actor Ewan McGregor too, in this great behind the scenes image from Episode II.

EPISODE I: COSTUMED ROYALTY!

A look at just one amazing costume for Queen Amidala seen in EPISODE I. Stunning image by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine.

Never has there been a Star Wars film before or since where the costume design of the characters has been so important to the overall storytelling function than in The Phantom Menace, and especially with regards to the life and duties of Naboo's beloved Queen Amidala, as played by a very young Natalie Portman, who instantly fell in love with the designs, and inspired her acting choices, brought to her in full creation by Trisha Biggar over three months filming in 1997. 

Three shots taken by Nigel Parry for Lucasfilm to use in publicity.

A French film magazine cover from 1999.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: THE MAGIC OF YODA!

900 years old and as wise as ever: the inimitable Yoda.

“I wanted for him to be the kind of character you can find in fairy tales and mythology. A character that is usually a frog or a needy old man. In his path the hero sees this poor, insignificant person. The lesson the hero must learn is that he had to respect everybody beyond their physical appearance, since there may be the key to his success. He's a weird creature with a froggish look, half a meter tall. I wanted the public to see him as a funny creature, not as the most powerful of all the Jedi. I was looking for the opposite of anyone you would expect, since the Jedi based their beliefs in a philosophical idea, instead of a physical concept.” 

George Lucas on Yoda - 1997 interview

Inside Yoda's small home interior at Elstree, Lucas observes a dummy version of the character manipulated by Oz. 

Oz confers with Lucas, Kershner and Kurtz about the puppet.

The detailed puppet created by Stuart Freeborn and his team, though another was also created by Nick Maley and equally used on screen.

Oz manipulates the puppet with his small team at Elstree during August/September 1979.

Mark Hamill's acting skills help bring further believability to the character of Yoda, especially in this important scene with Luke, which also features the spectral voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Continuity Polaroids taken for reference.

With the film's release from May 1980 onwards, Yoda's visage is no longer a secret, with a special press release and photos sent out fully introducing the unique new character to the saga.

AN 'EMPIRE' IN TRIBUTE. CELEBRATING THE ICONIC LAUNCH POSTER ART OF ROGER KASTEL...

In tribute to the superb movie poster art talent Roger Kastel, who sadly passed away on November 8th, 2023, we celebrate his greatest work for the Original Trilogy's The Empire Strikes Back with this special look at the many effective and memorable variations of his stellar piece, and the first worldwide released poster art for the film. A 'romance' poster, deliberately conceived by George Lucas in the 'Gone With the Wind' style, likely to potentially lure in more female/generic audiences, that would be loved and admired for decades to come...  

Roger Kastel with an Empire art variation and the classic Jaws image motif.

Roger Kastel, ‘Jaws’ Poster Artist, Dies at 92 - The New York Times

RogerKastel.com - The Official Website of Artist Roger Kastel - JAWS Movie Poster Artist

Sketch print idea.

Concept idea.

Concept idea.

Artist's 'practice sketch'.

Presumed Kastel art. Another variation piece heavy on character and incident elements.

Early art that would be revised. Lando, Boba Fett, Rebel weapons turret and Cloud City buildings would be removed from the first poster art released after numerous Lucasfilm meetings. Note Han's different costume in image.

Key release art used in selected magazine advertising, like Starlog magazine, in 1980. Cloud City is missing from this early poster, replaced by X-wing fighter images.

Spanish/Latin America variation poster. with Yoda added, presumably from 1981?

Revised horizontal version.

UK quad poster variation, with additional elements originally removed in concept planning then returned, including Cloud City.

Revised and rare UK quad movie poster, with the droids and Chewbacca's position altered and enhanced, that appeared on London Underground stations in May 1980 before being replaced with later poster art by Tom Jung.

Bannerless revised UK variation. Image via Matthew Shaw Collection.

Limited publicity New York Subway theatre listings poster release - May 1980.

Unknown publicity release or concept idea, possibly for planned subway advertising? 

Advertising/media poster of some kind, most likely for the UK, with revised art that strengthen Vader's background presence, May 1980.

American release listing.

American release listing using softened variation art.

US newspaper advert/ release listing info.

The image as used as part of the official fan club merchandising in 1980.

Another bannerless, lengthened variation.

International poster including Boba Fett, Lando and a Rebel turret.

French variation poster.

Reversed image for unknown magazine.

1980 Hong Kong poster, now with added AT-AT Walker firepower!

Yoda is added to the poster, with Lando, Boba and Rebel gun turret disappeared. Presumably a US re-release poster from 1981?

Yoda added to poster, as seen with banners.

EPISODE VIII: ALL SMILES ON THE PUBLICITY CIRCUIT!

No matter what anybody thought about the now controversial The Last Jedi, there's no denying that the assembled film cast for the 2017 adventure couldn't have been better, especially when led by such a fun and iconic star presence in Mark Hamill, back once more to play Luke Skywalker. 

A great posed publicity shot of the cast taken in the US, alongside the ever enthusiastic writer/director Rian Johnson, making the most of the film's expansive worldwide publicity needs.

Rian Johnson: My 'Star Wars' Trilogy Being Canceled Would Make Me Sad - Variety

Rian Johnson Confirms What's Holding Back His Star Wars Trilogy | Den of Geek

Star Wars: Rian Johnson Says His Trilogy Will Feel Like Star Wars But in a Way That's New and Fresh

TOUCHDOWN FOR 'LUKE SKYWALKER & HIS FRIENDS' AT SELFRIDGES - MAY 1980 EVENT AND FOOTAGE.

'Luke Skywalker and friends' meet the UK fans in May, 1980.

Nowadays, our favourite Star Wars actors charge considerable fees for autographs and posed photos at various convention events worldwide, but it was a different story back in May 1980, for the then still relatively unknown cast (despite the mega-fire success of the original 1977 film they'd starred in) of The Empire Strikes Back, the majority of whom would attend a special film promotion in London, freely signing for members of the British public at West End London's then prestigious Selfridges department store, the venue also playing host to a superb exhibition of props, costumes, models, production painting art and partial set staging from the film in the lead-up to its exciting release.

Bar the absence of Billy Dee Williams (who would arrive in the city later in the promotion and attend the film's exclusive Royal Premiere), and possibly Kenny Baker (?), the cast looked jovial enough at the public event, and would sign mint-new copies of the film adaptation by Donald F. Glut, published in the UK by Sphere Books. Producer Gary Kurtz and director Irvin Kershner would also be at the successful signing but would stay in the background. Later, the team would attend a special advance daytime screening of Empire, mixing with the public and, amazingly for the time, not mobbed by anyone as they entered the Dominion Theatre!

The special exhibition proved impressive too, from costumes, storyboards and props (including full costumes of the all-new Imperial Snowtroopers, Boba Fett, and models including the AT-AT’s, a Snowspeeder and a re-painted Artoo unit from the Rebel base interior scenes). It would run for a month, parallel to Empire's unleashed book, TV and film radio publishing campaign. With the eventual closure of the exhibition, the ITV television children’s film programme Clapperboard interviews some of the key UK cast and crew involved in the movie. Amiable presenter Chris Kelly, an obvious fan of the film, talks to Anthony Daniels, and, rather brusquely, Dave Prowse about their experiences working on the movie, whilst Brian Johnson about the challenges of the Walker battle/ Hoth sequences. The programme also shows the main trailer for the movie, several key clips, and footage supplied by Fox of the Hoth filming at Norway with the Second Unit, covered by Michel Parbot and his crew, which is not as good in picture quality as the same footage also supplied to the BBC for their John Williams/ Empire documentary which would air the Sunday before the film's London release.

If anyone has any memories of attending this special event, which we believe to have been May 3rd, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you...

The remote controlled Artoo meets the fans.

Anthony Daniels in a posed for the press image with his alter-ego.

The Threepio body shell would be used with Artoo for promotional images for the exhibition.

Images from the 1980 Selfridges press pack.

The Clapperboard ITV TV special at the exhibition, where presenter Chris Kelly talks to Dave Prowse about the original Vader costume and the lightsaber effects.

Also for the same show, Brian Johnson with two of the original ILM models for the film, and talking about the complex special effects.

Whilst Anthony Daniels discusses Threepio's first conceived origin on the droid planet of Affa...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tng3vt17LFo