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3 articles from 2003

30 September 2003 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Shooting on the eagerly awaited movie prequel Star Wars: Episode III has finally wrapped - but studio bosses warn the film's a long way off completion. Director George Lucas imposed tight security measures on the Australian set in an effort to keep the storyline a secret, but producer Rick McCallum insists cinema-goers still have a long wait before discovering how main character Anakin Skywalker turns into the villainous Darth Vader. He says, "Shooting the film is only a small part of the whole process. George is enthusiastic about getting back to the Ranch and starting the next component. This will enable him to start thinking about what he needs to pick up when we shoot in March 2004. For George and I, this is only the mid-way point. We still have eighteen months to get through."

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22 September 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

George Lucas completed principal photography of Star Wars: Episode 3 at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, Thursday and embarked on 18 months of post-production, the Australian Associated Press reported over the weekend. (A news release from Lucasfilm said that the shooting wrapped on Wednesday and claimed production was five days ahead of schedule. It quoted producer Rick McCallum as saying that "It's almost unheard of for a major motion picture to come in under schedule.") A photo of Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen, on his way to becoming Darth Vader, sporting a '70's-style blonde mane, eyes rolled upwards, was also released, causing numerous fansites to take note of how he appears to resemble Luke Skywalker, played in the original 1977 film (A New Hope) by Mark Hamill. The Sydney Daily Telegraph commented that "the prescient casting of Christensen ensured a very believable father and son would work across three decades."

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19 August 2003 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Presumably unconcerned that releasing tidbits of information about the plot of the upcoming Star Wars: Episode 3 will discourage fans from seeing it, producer Rick McCallum has revealed a number of what the online community calls "spoilers" during a chat with subscribers to the Star Wars: Hyperspace website. Among them: that the film will feature an underwater duel between Ewan McGregor and droids; a scene in which Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader; the meaning of the Darth Vader name (David Prowse, who played Vader in the original trilogy, will not return); there'll probably be a downbeat ending. Meanwhile, the British website itv.com is revealing that Christopher Lee, who plays Count Dooku, dies ten minutes into the opening of the new film. Britain's Guardian newspaper, which published details of the McCallum and ITV stories in today's (Tuesday) editions, commented afterwards, "Watch this space to have the experience of watching the film even more comprehensively ruined over the coming 12 months."

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3 articles from 2003