With the original sets destroyed soon after
the filming of
Star Wars at Elstree Studios, the interior
of the
Millennium Falcon is painstakingly recreated for
Empire, from John Barry’s designed
original, on Stage 8, with its previous
“missing wall” in the main hold now finished. In fact, all the walls on the ship
became “wild” this time- removable for cameras
access.
More of the
Falcon’s interior, linked to the
main hold, is also built onto the plans of
the original set, including a small medical
bed area (where, later in the filming
schedule, Luke is treated for his injuries), a
machine room where Han and Leia get
intimate (filmed in early April), and two maintenance
access areas - one a pit in the floor
of the main hold section (the set
being built off the studio floor so
Han can try to fix the hyperdrive),
the second in the set’s ceiling
(where Chewie also works on the
ship).
Built on Stage 5, the
reconstructed Falcon
cockpit is fundamentally
the same as the original,
though slightly larger for
greater access by the
camera within its confines.
Chewie’s hanging dice from the first film is gone and the instrument panels along
the sides and the back of the cockpit have
numerous additional lights and other hang-ons. Another new feature is a sliding door
entrance, operated via pulleys by off set
stage-hands. Recalls Kershner of filming:
“If you look at the scene in the asteroid
field, when we shot it, I had a board with
buttons that set off a lot of flash bulbs
outside the cockpit. The cockpit was on a
rocker, but the movement was very slow. I
said, "Forget it, it won't work. Forget the
rocker." I worked it out that we could use a
hand held camera-a Panaflex. I'd say
"Right!" and the camera would go left and
they would throw themselves to the right.
"Left!"- and it would create the sense of
movement. And I would be setting off
flashbulbs, which were supposed to be
explosions. Where the flashbulbs were,
ILM then showed asteroids hitting. We
worked backwards."
Knowing that in
many fantasy films the cameras rarely
move because they must be locked in
position for the special effects, Kershner
plots subtle camera adjustments for
EMPIRE’s effects photography, to provide
an illusion of fluidity and sweep.
"George
wanted the Millennium Falcon to be like the old family station wagon -
beat up, battered, complete with oil drips, dents and tootsie roll
wrappers scattered on the floor."
Mark Hamill - Questor magazine interview - August 1980
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| Image: via Star Wars Archives website. |
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