Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
It’s funny... we’re in that period that comes when they’re making a film where rumors are flying so fast, when information is moving so quickly, that it feels like our last Jedi Council meeting is out of date now. Obviously, there was the issue of the Darth Vader sketch that wasn’t, but there are so many things that have happened since the last meeting that I wish we could address that I’m going to do something a little different with this article.
First, I’d like to direct your attention to the official site, where they’ve just printed something worthwhile that you don’t even need to be a member of HYPERSPACE to read. Before you read it, though, dig that crrrrrazy drawing of Palpatine and the Imperial Guards. Who the hell is that standing behind him? Doesn't he look a lot like the fan art Vader sketch we mentioned in the paragraph above?
If you’ve been a STAR WARS fan following the development of this entire new trilogy, then you know what a frustrating and vague and oblique source of information McCallum can be, and also how much he genuinely seems to enjoy spilling the beans about certain things. He certainly seems to have gone above and beyond this time, and what he had to say gives us all sorts of goodies to ponder. “Monkey Boy” sent in the following summation for those of you who don’t want to wade through the entire thing:
Summary of Rick McCallum webchat from yesterday.
McCallum’s comments appear in red.
Sidious/Palpatine has a much more substantial role in Episode III for obvious reasons!
It has the same emotional depth as ESB, and yet because there are so many new planets, it is visually one of the most ambitious films we've done.
On the surface, the film ends on a sad note (and for me, a personally gloomy one, because I'll be out of a job), but of course, we know where the story goes from there. Anakin is the Chosen One, after all.
"Can you tell us if Tarkin will appear in Episode III?"
Officially, I can't answer that. Yet I can't say no either.
Yes, we've shot three major lightsaber battles. I've just left the stage where we have an underwater tank where we're shooting Obi-Wan fighting with droids.
"hey rick! can you tell us just one word that darth vader says in episode III?"
How about three words? "I don't fear..."
"Does George explain all of Anakin's injuries in this film?"
Yes, except for one.
"Does Ep. III answer all questions, or are there any left for the books to answer?"
It answers the questions you have, but it may raise a few new ones too.
The opening battle's in space only, not land.
"Have you filmed the Obi-wan/Anakin fight yet? I hear its really going to be something..."
Only pieces of it, not the main action yet.
"Will we see Kamino in Episode III?"
No.
"When will Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) begin filming?"
March of next year.
"Can you tell us anything about the OT being released on DVD?"
It's gonna happen.
"Will there be an underwater battle in Episode III?"
Not battle, but a fight.
"Will we ever see clip(s) of Dooku using 2 lightsabers from Episode II? What are the chances of him using 2 in episode III?"
Only one in Episode III... but there is someone out there who has two... and he's bad.
"Will we see many Jedi die in Episode III, or just a notable few?"
Yes.
"How might this affect the rating of the movie?"
Too early to tell.
"Will we see a scene involving the naming of Darth Vader and why he is
named that?"
Yes.
"Will there be a volcanic setting in Episode III?"
They've just put a muzzle on me.
"Will we see Mace Windu in any form of space action?"
That's an interesting way of putting it. Yes.
"Can you give us any hints on to who the EU character might be?"
Can't go there yet.
We need Joel (Uncle Owen) for a day's work, which will be done next year.
"Will we see Palpatine/Darth Sidious in any sort of 'action' or at least 'awesome display of dark side power' scene in Episode III?"
Yes, most definitely
Beru will appear.
"Will there be any dreadlocked Wookiees in Episode III?"
Only because of your screen name will I answer this. Yes.
"How do you think most fans will feel about Anakin's eventual downfall? Saddened, shocked, anrgy or betrayed? How did you feel upon reading the script?"
Yes. All of the above.
"In regards to Chewbacca's role in Episode III, will it be obvious that it's Chewie? And will his role add more depth to his character in the classic trilogy?"
Even though we haven't shot it yet, I think I can say yes
"Will David Prowse be back to play the Dark Lord?"
Absolutely not.
"The latest rumor is that the title of Episode III will be BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE. Are we close?"
Not even close.
"Does Jar Jar survive this film?"
Yes. His next job will be Bush's Foreign Minister.
"I really worded my last question badly. What I'm getting at is, ‘Is Palpatine Darth Sidious?’"
This movie answers that question conclusively.
"Will Kit Fisto use a double headed lightsaber in Episode III like he does in the clone wars sketches?"
No, he doesn't.
"Will there be any issues with the Sith statement, ‘Only two there are, master and apprentice’ in this film?"
The statement remains true.
"Is Padme a senator throughout the whole movie?"
Yes.
"Is Rose Byrne returning as Dorme in ep. 3? Thanks!"
Sadly no. She's working opposite Brad Pitt in TROY right now.
"Has Anakin's Turn to the dark side been shot yet? If so is it cool!"
It's a two-hour turn to the dark side.
"Does Boss Nass appear in Ep.III?"
No.
"How old are Luke & Leia at the end of Episode 3???"
Less than a month old.
"Do we see Padme pregnant in the film?"
Yes.
"Are any female jedi going to be seen fighting in Episode 3?"
Yes
"Will we see Yoda fighting again in EP3 or will it kinda happen off screen?"
Yes. Full on-screen.
Cheers
Monkey boy
Like I said... lots of info in there. McCallum’s claiming they’re going to release the Original Trilogy on DVD? And they wonder why we get crazy about the way Lucasfilm talks to fans? I sat in that audience at the Egyptian theater earlier this year and listened to Lucas state emphatically that they would NEVER release the Original Trilogy on DVD. He couldn’t have been any more clear about it. And what does McCallum say when asked the same question? “It’s gonna happen.” They just jerk the fans around, telling them blatantly contradictory stories. I don’t care either way at this point… just be consistent and tell us. We’re the consumers who buy this shit from you. Treat us with a little fucking common decency, eh? As many of the TalkBackers point out below, McCallum is more likely referring to the Special Editions, which should hit DVD in the fourth quarter of 2004 if you believe the current rumored buzz.
The first quote of Darth Vader from this film. “I don’t fear…” Interesting. Out of context, of course, he could be saying, “I don’t fear the meatloaf special in the Jedi Cafeteria, so I’ll have seconds, please,” but still... the fun of being spoiler-crazy (and I readily admit my whole “no spoilers” policy simply evaporated) is taking all the little bits and pieces and laying them out like a jigsaw puzzle. Obi-Wan fighting robots underwater. Cool. Temura Morrison back to play older clones. Very cool. Someone with two lightsabers who is “very bad.” Great. Sounds like we’ve got a new villain to enjoy. Dreadlocked Wookies. Fine. Roll me a Huttese spliff and let’s get the party started.
On the polar opposite end of the trustworthy scale, we’ve got an e-mail that appeared at Geek Headquarters and the Moriarty Labs earlier this afternoon. This is one of those that comes in that just makes you laugh when you read it. I am in no way prepared to vouch for the veracity of the claims this e-mail makes. I don’t know this source at all.
I enjoyed reading the e-mail, though. And I enjoyed it enough that I thought I’d go ahead and reprint it here for you, just after handing over enough giant grains of salt for you to recreate the asteroid chase from EMPIRE. This might be total jibber-jabber. It might be absolutely true. Only time will tell, right? Maybe Greivous and Grando can team up...
Harry,
I have seen the official presentaion by LucasFilm for Episode III. Below is a summary of the first part. I will send more when I have a chance.
Title Crawl: The clone wars continue on and the war is being fought above Coursant. The separatist forces have captured Chancellor Palpatine. Two Jedis, Obi-Wan and Anakin have found out where Palpatine is being held and lead a Squad of clones to rescue the Chancellor...
A huge space battle is taking place above the planet of Couruscant.
Obi-Wan and Anakin are flying new Jedi Starfighters that have a strange similarity to TIE fighters in the original trilogy. It's a very exciting scene with lots of action. Obi-Wan and Anakin try to get a lock on Shaak Ti's tracking device (she was captured along with Palpatine) and find that she and Palpatine are in the most heavily guarded ship. Obi-Wan and Anakin call for backup from the Clone troopers just as 20 or so droid fighters leave the ship and attack.
The droid fighters look like smaller Imperial shuttles. The battle continues and one of the droid shuttles deploys a bunch of sphere shaped droids, about the size of basketballs. They attach to Obi-Wan's Starfighter and arms, legs and lasers pop out. They begin to attack the various components of his ship, much like the Sentinels did in the Matrix. One of the droids cuts the head off of the R4 droid in the starfighter.
Anakin flies in to save his master and best friend. He tells Obi-Wan to keep steady and he starts to shoot the droids off the ship. He hits Obi-Wan's starfighter a few times and decides to try a different method. He flies in close to Obi-Wan and brushes the droids off the ship with his wing. One of the droids hops onto Anakin's ship and tries to cut off R2-D2s head. R2 extends an arm and hits the droid with a blast of electricity knocking it off the ship.
One last droid is still on Obi-Wan's ship and does some major damage. The ejector seat doesn't function and he loses control. His plan is to crash land his ship in to the hanger of the large separatist ship where Palpatine is being held. However, a shield is up. Anakin must fly in and knock out the shield to allow Obi-Wan to land.
Just as the two Jedi's enter the ship, the steel hanger doors shut. Obi-Wan pulls out his lightsaber, cuts open the canopy of his starfighter and jumps out just as the ship crashes and bursts into flames. He does a flip in the air as he is surrounded by battle droids. Anakin, still in his ship, flies through the hanger and crashes into the droids once again saving Obi-Wan.
Anakin and Obi-Wan then run off following Shaak Ti's signal. Hayden Christensen has obviously bulked up since Episode II. He stands a few inches taller than Ewan McGregor, and has much broader shoulders. Christensen now has shoulder length hair and is wearing more black leather underneath his Jedi robe. McGregor's hair is cut close to his head and he has a full beard, reminiscent of Alec Guinness. In fact, his voice sounds strangely like Guinness' as well.
The two are encountered by battle droids and they fight their way through. When they find Shaak Ti, she is in a room filled with battle droids, General Grevious and his body guards. Grevious is mostly machine with only the brain and eyes of a human. His metal body looks similar to that of the TX endoskeleton in the new Terminator movie but he wears a cloak that covers most of him. On his belt he carries the lightsabers of the Jedi he has killed. His body guards carry electrified pikes that are impervious to lightsabers.
Grevious has Shaak Ti kneel in front of him and then executes her with her own lightsaber. Obi-Wan and Anakin rush in and fight with the battle droids as well as Grevious' guards. More and more battle droids show up and the Jedi's realize they are outmatched. To escape, they cut into the floor and fall into the engine room of the star ship.
All the while the battle continues to rage on out side and the starship has taken heavy damage. The engine room is starting to fill with liquid fuel. Covered with fuel and no longer able to use their lightsabers, they try to make their way out of the engine room. Battle droids have followed them down and are now chasing them as the room is quickly filling with fuel. Anakin and Obi-Wan struggle to find a way out but it seems that all the openings are far too small for a human to fit through.
Eventually they do find one and start climbing up the ladder inside the shaft. The battle droids are right on their heels and the fuel in the engine room is getting close to electrodes on the walls. The two Jedi climb out of the shaft and into a hallway as Anakin seals the hatch behind them with his lightsaber. The fuel reaches the electrodes in the engine room and explodes. The explosion rips the ship in half.
Quickly, Anakin and Obi-Wan make it to the bridge where they find Chancellor Palpatine and General Grevious. Anakin and Obi-Wan attack Grevious but he quickly knocks Obi-Wan out and fights alone with Anakin. Through the window of the bridge we can see that the ship is crashing into Coruscant.
Grevious sees this too and makes a daring escape. He smashes the glass and climbs out the window. Because he is mostly metal he can walk on walls, ceilings and the outside of starships. He runs along the outside of the ship, makes his way to an escape pod and gets away.
Back in the bridge Obi-Wan has woken up and he finds Anakin at the helm of the ship, trying to prevent it from crashing. As the ship enters Coruscant's atmosphere, the ship starts to burn up and debris starts to fly off. Just before they crash into the city below, Anakin is able to get the nose of the ship up and make a somewhat safe crash landing.
At this point, the e-mail shuts off with a startled, “No, George, I’m not e-mailing anyone anyth... EERRRRRKKK!!”
Take that for what it’s worth.
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