[read previous entries first]


At last! A day where I'm hardly used and get to sit back and watch most of the day's scenes going from storyboard to screen from the comfort of... well, erm the floor. I'm not the only one - there seems to be a shortage of chairs as London's Shepperton Studios for some reason. I predict Chair Wars starting soon.

But a certain someone is used a lot. A certain actor whose name is... what was it again... Samuel L Jackson? Have you heard of him? Apparently he's done some movies before

This scene is classic Star Wars in the making, literally. Palpatine lies helpless on the floor, cackling and spitting as lightning comes out of his fingertips (okay I don't see that bit, but Ian McDiarmid does the actions so well that by the time I'm home my memory tells me I did).

Mace Windu (Samu-L) blocks it with his purple lightsabre. Only it's not purple today, just a fibre glass pole on the end of the beautifully crafted sabre handle. Back on Episode I when I worked as a Starfighter Pilot, we watched the Jedi dual (or should I say tri-al) between OB1, Qui-Gon & Darth Maul take place. Ewan was constantly bending his pole (!) almost with every hit, as he was going at it full... 'force' (!!). At that time they were made from copper bathroom piping, which is fairly flexible so bends real easy. These days it seems there's been some improvements! It feels lighter too. But next time you refit your bathroom, take pleasure in the knowledge it's kitted out with lightsabres

During preparation for the scene I get to hold it briefly, until lovely props girl Marie comes up and says:

"Shall I take that for you?"
"No, I'm fine thanks", I say grinning

The B Cameraman is jealous so I let him hold it too, which sparks a conversation about the colour. If red is evil, and green/blue is good, then what is purple. Well, in this scene Mace is going to kill Palpatine even though he is unarmed, which Anakin reminds Mace is "not the Jedi way", but he proceeds anyway. So, perhaps purple means he has a dark streak. (Althought the popular theory is that Sam requested that colour - but who knows if George agreed because it fits that theory too.)

I watch the rough cut of the scene on the screen, and just cannot wait to see this movie. The way Samuel delivers the line shows me why he is the top of the acting game.

"DOOOONN'T LISTEN-TO-HIM ANAKIIIN!!!"

Did you just get chills?

What I find weird through the day is that George constantly refers to the lightsabres as 'laser swords'. Why Mr Lucas, why?

"Okay Sam, bring your laser sword up a bit", he requests casually to Mr L Jackson, whilst watching the scene from behind the huge plasma screens.

Sir Lucas invents one of the coolest weapons of all time with an equally cool name, LIGHTSABRE, then calls it after the generic versions you find in the bargain bin at your local toy store! Perhaps he's trying to cash in on the royalties by trade-marking that name too Fair enough. It's funny, it feels like he's a Dad talking about a toy he doesn't quite understand, that his kids like. Like your Dad might call a pop group by the wrong name to try to sound hip and cool! Somehow I don't think George Lucas need do anything to be cool.

The scene only gets cooler. Next up we cut to the moment Samuel flies out the window. WHAT? He dies? Oh NO!

There's no glass on set, that's all put in later, but Samuel has to take a specific swipe of his 'laser sword' towards the non-existent window, to make sure it can be smashed... later (a few months later). Then comes some more classic acting. Ian is pointing his spindly Palpatine fingers at Samuel, all bent and contorted, as Samuel acts all electrocuted And he does it well, even though it raises laughs on every take from George and the rest of us. If you watch the scene again, imagine it on the full set, but without the window, a blue screen out of the window, no lightning, no smoke, no lightsabre, no music, no sound effects. Just Samuel L Jackson standing on a set screaming and shaking his whole body as he walks towards the window...

...then falls out backwards off the set

The stunt guys had put blue crash mats there, but they hadn't expected Samuel to do the fall on the first take. But he did - and he's quite a mature guy nowadays, yet here he is, doing his own stunts, before Nick Gillard (stunt co-ordinator) and co. are even ready!

They run to his aid, but then we see his head appear above Palpatine's floor, just through the window, as he laughs and we all relax! Nick remarks, "we didn't know you were going to do that!". "I'm fine", Mace responds. Phew!

Imagine if it had gone like that in the real Star Wars world after Palpatine sent him to his fate. Now that would lighten up the scene a bit.

Well today kinda flew by, just like watching a 12-hour version of one Star Wars movie scene. Sounds like heaven to me, and there's more of this scene tomorrow. I don't realise it yet, but tomorrow I'm going to be acting the scene through with Sam & Ian, while Hayden is off set. Wish me luck! More on that next time, on a blog not too far far away...


[Thanks again to all of you who have emailed me to ask whether I will be appearing at Celebration IV & Europe, and expressed such a wonderful and humbling interest in chatting more with me in person about life on a SW set. No guests have been announced at the time of writing.

For images and another viewpoint on this day Hyperspace members can read Pablo Hildago's excellent set diary also]