Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with the new This Week In Star Wars. We're looking at what happened between June 8th and June 14th and it's a big, big week for important moments in Star Wars history, so let's get on with it, shall we?
June 13th, 1929 - Ralph McQuarrie born.
Ralph McQuarrie is one of the core visionaries that crafted Star Wars as we know and love it. Without his early production illustrations I don't know if George Lucas' grand operatic story ever would have gelled. It was McQuarrie's art that allowed George to focus his vision and set the template for everything from special effects to costume design to production design.
The man turned out some amazing production art, much of which I had up on my childhood walls, but he didn't stop there. He even helped with the matte paintings. No shit, look:
McQuarrie's designs were so good, in fact, that even the stuff that wasn't used has become iconic. Toys and collectibles have been made based on that work and from what we've seen JJ Abrams and his team have used many of McQuarrie's design work to inspire the look of the new trilogy.
So, Happy Birthday, Ralph. Thanks for all you've done. Hope you're making the next life look that much more awesome.
June 14th, 1945 - Steve Sansweet born.
Steve Sansweet is known as Star Wars' biggest fan. He owns so much merch he has his own museum (Called Rancho Obi-Wan) and through thick and thin he's been the face of fandom for Star Wars. He's traveled the world hosting panels and keeping the torch burning for decades and definitely deserves some love here.
Sansweet has gotten to live the life many of us dreamed of (started as a fan and became an integral part of the Lucasfilm family) and you can tell in every photo that he appreciates every second of it.
June 12th, 1948 - Ben Burtt born.
Much like McQuarrie, you take Ben Burtt out of the equation and who knows if Star Wars would have worked. He invented from scratch sounds we take for granted. The whining of the Falcon's engines, the sharp ignition of a lightsaber, the roar of a Wookie, the screech of the TIE fighters, the breathing of Darth Vader, the personality-filled beeping of R2-D2, the twang of a blaster... None of that existed before Burtt and none of it would have been the same without him.
To truly consider how great he is at his job look at the hundreds of Star Wars rip-offs (the Spacehunters and the Black Holes, etc) and you'll notice how they miss the iconic mark and end up in space cheese territory. Effects is a big part of that, but sound as well.
His work didn't stop with Star Wars. The iconic gunshots, punches and whip-cracks of Indiana Jones are his fault as well. And he's also the “voice” of Wall-E. In short, he's a genius and master of his field. Can't wait to hear what he has in store for us come December 18th.
June 11th, 1975 – Ralph McQuarrie finishes The Star Wars Logo.
The above art was one of the earliest pieces McQuarrie completed for Lucas. Lucas used it on stationary, so that above was the first image seen by anybody not directly involved with The Adventures of Luke Starkiller (episode one) “The Star Wars.”
June 8th, 1978 - Deal Memos in place for Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher to return for The Empire Strikes Back.
Their contracts on the first film didn't cover any sequels, but when it came to Empire that changed for Carrie and Mark. Harrison, on the other hand, refused to commit himself to several pictures, preferring to take them on a case by case basis. So, Harrison's deal was just for Empire, but Carrie and Mark agreed to Empire, a third film and “also for Star Wars IV – an additional film beyond the first trilogy.”
The wording of the contract is now uber confusing, but keep in mind this deal was struck before A New Hope was labeled Episode IV. Basically Mark and Carrie have been on the hook for a new Star Wars trilogy since 1978. I'm sure that agreement was dissolved and Mark and Carrie had new contracts drawn up for Episodes 7-9, but it's still interesting.
The deals were locked on June 8th and all three had officially signed by June 15th, 1978.
June 12-15, 1978 - McQuarrie finishes “Cloud cars over Cloud City with flying beasties.”
One of my favorite things about this weekly column will be having an excuse to share some of Ralph McQuarrie's art. The above piece wasn't the first time he painted a Cloud City. It would be called Bespin in Empire, but it was suppose to feature in the first film as “Alderaan-city,” an Imperial base where, if my memory isn't betraying me, Leia was originally to be held and tortured before that was moved to the Death Star.
And, of course, that first piece was well before the name Alderaan was given to Leia's home planet.
One thing that strikes me about the above art, which I don't think is one of McQuarrie's best, but is still pretty damn awesome, was how much more fantasy-inspired it was. In fact, it reminds me a lot more of the Star Wars prequels than the Original Trilogy. Cool, no?
June 9th, 1981 - Natalie Portman born.
Natalie Portman was perfectly cast as Luke and Leia's mom. She was one of (and still is) the most talented young actresses of her generation and looks shockingly like young Carrie Fisher. I really wish she had been given better material and direction, but I can't fault Lucas' casting here.
Happy Birthday, Ms. Portman!
June 10th, 1997 – StarWars.com confirms Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman cast in Star Wars Episode 1.
It was a big day for Star Wars fans. Young Anakin rumors had been rocketing around and Jake Lloyd had been mentioned before... and I believe Portman's name had also been out there, but they were both officially confirmed by Star Wars' official site on June 10th, 1997. At the time everybody was excited and optimistic. It was a far simpler time in Star Wars fandom, that's for sure.
June 12th, 2000 – Ain't It Cool breaks Christopher Lee appearing in Star Wars Episode 2! Yes, it's true! That was us! See: click here for original article.
Lucasfilm would confirm this a month later, on July 11th, 2000.
Yet another great actor cast in the prequel trilogy. Count Dooku is a very interesting character, once again more fleshed out in the Clone Wars toons that in the actual movies, but Lee brought his all to the role. Goddamn, what a presence.
June 12th, 2014 - Harrison Ford breaks leg on set of Episode 7.
At the time this happened the reports were everywhere between sprained ankle to shattered femur. It has now been fairly well reported that Ford's leg break was due to a fully mechanized door on the Millennium Falcon being closed when it shouldn't have been and poor Han Solo's leg got in the way.
I betcha a few bucks we'll see a special feature on the Blu-Ray centered around this event! It was a big deal and they had to halt production for a while while Harrison recovered, which he did surprisingly fast. It's not the first time an injury delayed one of Harrison's film (Temple of Doom represent!), but what's crazy to me is that not even a year after this Ford CRASHED A FUCKING AIRPLANE. I'm starting to think that dude's Bruce Willis from Unbreakable in real life.
Next week brings more Star Wars nerdiness including a major turning point in Empire Strikes Back, more McQuarrie art and many more bits of geekiness! Stay tuned!
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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