THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: TARGETING OBI-WAN!

As we know, there were a quite few moments from the now classic three-way lightsaber duel between Jedi duo Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi against Sith Darth Maul, brilliantly choreographed in first and second unit sequences by Nick Gillard, that didn't make the final cut of EPISODE I. In this scene move from Obi-Wan (played by Ewan McGregor and his double Andreas Petrides), the character has to evade being cut in half by Maul's double-edged blade.

Ray Park's Darth Maul makes a flying tumble to pursue Kenobi (Andreas Petrides) far right middle, in a deleted moment. 

Petrides as Obi-Wan makes a running back flip over Maul's blade slice effort.

More deleted action from the Theed hangar:

https://starwarsaficionado.blogspot.com/2016/10/deleted-scene-agile-opponent.html

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: PRACTICE MAKES FORCE-PERFECT!

On set prior to filming, Liam Neeson and Ray Park go through a specific blocking lightsaber move.

In charge of one of the most spectacular and memorable lightsaber duel sequences ever for a Star Wars film, Stunt Coordinator Nick Gillard delivered the goods within a twelve-week prep period for the actors and stunt men bringing it to life. For durability, under Gillard's supervision, new lightsabers used were made from resin, wood and aluminium tubing. Twenty swords were used a day, whilst around three hundred blades were used across filming.

"They (the actors) have got to be down on the floor (doing these fights). You want there to be a sense of peril and threat. You want (the heroes) to win."

"We were blessed with Ewan and Liam. I think they understood that it had to be written almost like dialogue and they could relate to that very quickly. Ewan picked it up in a flash, and y'know, I think he's faster than any of us. Liam has a beautiful style. Powerful. He's fantastic at it."

Nick Gillard - 1997

Neeson rehearses moves with Andreas Petrides at Leavesden.

"I've done four or five films where I've had to do some serious sword fighting, so I have a grounding in it. Normally with blades you have to hack and put weight behind it. But with these things it's a very gently kind of smooth and fluid, fast movement. Very kind of gentle and at the same time, when they use their lightsabers, they are like an extension of themselves."

Liam Neeson - 1997

Ewan learns the movies quickly alongside Ray Park.

"I worked really hard with Nick (Gillard) and Ray Park, and we worked and worked!. When you're doing a fight like that you can't think about what comes next. You're so connected with your opponent that it just flows. I hate myself for saying this, but it's the nearest thing to the "Force' that you could imagine!"

Ewan McGregor - Entertainment Tonight online interview - 1999

On set rehearsing with Ray Park.

"I was amazed by Ewan's ability to remember all the moves. I had trouble remembering two or three moves at a time, but he could do twelve, thirteen moves, having just learned them. Fortunately, George gave us the time to get comfortable with the scene, and eventually it got done."

Liam Neeson - The Making of EPISODE I book - 1999

Enjoying being in a Star Wars film!

"The first things we were doing when we (he and Ewan McGregor) started rehearing these fights, we started making the sound effects of the lightsabers - like 'voom, voom'. We kinda looked at each other, and thought, "Okay, we have to stop that, y'know!""

Liam Neeson - 1997

"There's basically eight defensive moves you do. But it was a lot more spirited and operatic and balletic in scale - and long. It was difficult to choreograph but we had a great team. Ray Park, who plays this Darth Maul, he not only had to learn his moves, he had to learn mine and Ewan's so that any time we forgot stuff he would quickly jump into our position, "This where you so this and you do that." I guess I just had to concentrate just that little bit more knowing there was all this..."

Liam Neeson - Film Review magazine - 1999

Nick Gillard goes through a swing move with McGregor.

"It's not like any fighting I've done before. It's lightsaber-fighting - it's a skill of its own. I get to be flash. When I'm fighting, I do lots of twists and spins and twirls and showing off a bit. I've been doing a lot of work on it. Every job you do requires you learning some new skill -it's one of the nicest things about what I do."

Ewan McGregor - Star Wars Insider - 1998

Stunt men Rob Inch (Qui-Gon) and Andrea Petrides (Obi-Wan) rehearse sone tricky lightsaber duel moves with Ray Park as Maul.

"All the close-ups you see (in the fight) are definitely Ewan and Liam. Ewan admits he didn't do any of the acrobatic stuff, but he did all his fights, and so did Liam. They had doubles for some of their other stuff, but on the fights, they wanted to do as much as they could, and they did all right."

Ray Park - Wizard magazine - 1999

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: THE DUEL BEGINS...

"When we started on The Phantom Menace, I set out certain styles and particular faults for characters. Once you know the line of them, you know why they're going to do something. You know how they're going to behave in a certain way, what's going to make them angry or not angry. It's very easy to just knock through a fight. If you know the script and you know why they're there- where they're going, why they're going there - it makes the whole thing much easier."

Nick Gillard - Starburst magazine - 1999

"We came up with a mixture of Kendo, Samurai and every style there's ever been, and there's even a bit of tennis and a bit of tree chopping that you could swing at."

I wanted it more gritty that it was (before), more scary than it was. Much faster and much stronger.

Nick Gillard - Episode I DVD documentary - 1997

"When we wrote a fight for the actors, we'd do it to be a minute long, but it'll be in sections of five and six sections of six and seven moves only. So then, we go through very slowly and then start picking up the pace."

Nick Gillard- Episode I DVD documentaries - 1997

"They have to instantly be in check. There's no room for error in any of these fights. You won't see it because they're so fast. But if you slowed them down and freeze-framed them they can only parry there, they can only parry there. The moves are so natural and correct. There's only one place they can be."

Nick Gillard - Episode I DVD documentaries - 1997

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: BATTLING FORCES!

Now uncloaked, our Jedi heroes move into fighting position against the singular yet intimidating hostile force now properly revealed- a Sith Lord, and one ready for battle as his double-edge lightsaber is activated and an emergent animalistic murmur subtly heard.

The Duel of the Fates begins...

"I think the key was that we had a great villain who was also a great fighter. We cast a villain who was a sword fighter. When you have one of the character's who's really an expert at it, it definitely ups the ante for all the actors to do their thing."

George Lucas- 1997

Behold - the double lightsaber that blew audiences mids when it debuted in the film's first teaser trailer.

"The double-ended bit (of the lightsaber) was pretty much set when I got there (designed by Christian Gossett). The only difference was that the handle was going to be about the size of a standard lightsaber, so I asked George if I could have it bigger. It would be very hard to move something that small around my body and keep it balanced, because I'd have to hold it like that (holds his wrists close together in visual demonstration) and it would have been virtually impossible. That was my contribution to the lightsaber, basically. It allowed me to spin it around my head and do flourish movements."

Ray Park - Wizard magazine - 1999

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: MAKING AN ENTRANCE!

The hangar bay battle has been victorious for our heroes but their direct path to the throne room is now blocked by the entrance of that dark assassin prior encountered by Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine. And a formidable enemy he will further prove, as the Jedi soon ready for battle against the de-cloaked Sith Lord.

"Once I was in it (the make-up), it wouldn't bother me that much, except maybe at lunchtime when I'd try to catch some sleep. With the horns you couldn't lay down without ruining the couch or the bed. It would take about two hours to get into, about 45 minutes just getting it all off. Could've been longer, but I'd sometimes go home with some of it still on."

Ray Park - Wizard magazine - 1999

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY': INCOMING FIRE!

Ric Olie's brave Naboo squadron soon sees enemy ships on fast approach- deadly Droid Starfighters swarming towards them as battle is joined, in this great effects composite shot for EPISODE I.

EPISODE IX: THE JOY OF MAZ!

Fascinated with the advances in special effects technology bringing diverse aliens to believable life in a saga she'd loved since childhood, Lupita Nyong'o was more than keen to sign on to the resurrected Star Wars sequels to play/inhabit the secretive but Resistance loyal ally and charismatic barkeep of her former place on Takodana: Maz Kanata, a worthy continuance of the quirky and maverick characters the likes of Yoda from the Classic Trilogy.

With her 'place' sneak-attack destroyed by the First Order in The Force Awakens, and having some 'union difficulties' to sort out with a jet pack and a handy blaster during The Last Jedi, it'll be interesting to see what Maz gets up to next for 2019's eagerly awaited The Rise of Skywalker.

Various clips, BTS and EPISODE IX:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCcnO8piIj4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM58kkZpTNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mAkdScDvgM

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: NABOO'S AIRBORNE HEROES!

The gritty, used X-wing fighters may not be a part of this phase in Star Wars history yet with the prequels, but the slick and gleaming chrome, Art Deco-esque Naboo fighters are a step in the right direction, as seen in this great production art by Doug Chiang, zooming skyward into battle.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: FIGHTERS AWAY!

"Get to your ships!"

Queen Amidala and the Jedi surprise attack on the Theed Hangar Bay has gone well, buying battle time for Ric Olie and his squadron pilots to take to the skies, and soon battle, against the Trade Federation Droid Control Ship.

THE MAN WHO BECAME TYRANUS! 'DOOKU: JEDI LOST' - OUT NOW IN SCRIPT BOOK

Powers of darkness reign in Dooku: Jedi Lost.

In a long period of tumultuous galactic history, he was many things to many people- an esteemed member of a family dynasty of importance and influence on his home world of Serenno; a widely respected and knowledge-experienced Jedi Knight by both his elders and peers in the Old Republic, and years later a seemingly dedicated and inspiring leader of rebellion and change for the breakaway Confederacy of Independent Systems. But above all else, Count Dooku was born to become evil. Fascinated by evil and what it could accomplish, his was an evil fused with the kind of harnessed power few could ever achieve to such great heights. In those successful aims Dooku soon attracted attention from a hidden part of the galaxy, becoming Darth Tyranus, the second acolyte to the shadowy magnificence of his Sith leader, Darth Sidious, capably emerged from a long self-exile and unleashed to corrupt, control and have the galaxy shaped to their own destinies - their own image of control. But power always breeds superior ambition, especially when you're a Sith...

Now, discover the many complex facets and potential backstory of the superb Prequel Trilogy villain brilliantly played with such damaged panache and hidden veneer by the legendary icon Sir Christopher Lee, in Expanded Universe writer/fan favourite Cavan Scott's assured character epic Dooku: Jedi Lost, now a script transcript book based on his acclaimed audio drama of past and future intrigue, and a tale of how power distorts and corrupts a life. It's out now in UK hardback from Century.

The erudite but vicious master of the Dark Side: Count Dooku.

Here's the details:

Delve into the history of the sinister Count Dooku in the original script to the thrilling Star Wars audio production!

Darth Tyranus. Count of Serenno. Leader of the Separatists. A red saber, unsheathed in the dark. But who was he before he became the right hand of the Sith? As Dooku courts a new apprentice, the hidden truth of the Sith Lord's past begins to come to light.

Dooku's life began as one of privilege--born within the stony walls of his family's estate, orbited by the Funeral Moon where the bones of his ancestors lie interred. But soon, his Jedi abilities are recognized, and he is taken from his home to be trained in the ways of the Force by the legendary Master Yoda.

As he hones his power, Dooku rises through the ranks, befriending fellow Jedi Sifo-Dyas and taking a Padawan of his own, the promising Qui-Gon Jinn--and tries to forget the life that he once led. But he finds himself drawn by a strange fascination with the Jedi Master Lene Kostana, and the mission she undertakes for the Order: finding and studying ancient relics of the Sith, in preparation for the eventual return of the deadliest enemies the Jedi have ever faced.

Caught between the world of the Jedi, the ancient responsibilities of his lost home, and the alluring power of the relics, Dooku struggles to stay in the light--even as the darkness begins to fall.

Behind the book:

https://www.starwars.com/news/dooku-jedi-lost-cavan-scott-interview

Get the book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dooku-Jedi-Lost-Star-Wars/dp/0593157664/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AQMI4593SPUL&keywords=dooku+jedi+lost&qid=1570113919&sprefix=dooku%2Caps%2C237&sr=8-1