Trivia
Sets were built only as high as the tops of the actors' heads and computer graphics filled in the rest. But Liam Neeson was so tall that he cost the set crew an extra $150,000 in construction.
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The design of Queen Amidala's starship, in which she escapes Naboo with Qui-Gonn and Obi-Wan, was inspired by the Lockheed Martin SR-71 "Blackbird" reconnaissance jet.
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The special effects teams creating the podrace studied NASCAR crash footage extensively to assure accuracy in the crashes.
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Director George Lucas has said that there are a couple of shots in the movie that were "filmed" on digital video instead of 35 mm film. He also said that he dares anyone to try and figure out which shots these were.
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In earlier drafts, the name of the planet where Queen Amidala comes from was called Utapau. This name was also used and abandoned in the early-1970s drafts of Star Wars, and was finally used for the sinkhole planet where Obi-Wan confronts General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
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Qui-Gon's description of Mos Espa is almost the same, if not the same word for word, as Obi-Wan's description of Mos Eisley in Star Wars.
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Dates in Star Wars are based around the Battle of Yavin (in Star Wars):
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- Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace takes place 32 years BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin),
- Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is 22 BBY,
- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is 19 BBY,
- Star Wars: is 0 BBY,
- Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back is 3 years ABY (After the Battle of Yavin),
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi is 4 ABY.
George Lucas made a similar deal as he did in the original Star Wars. Both Lucas and Fox Studios agreed that he would forego his salary as a director provided he owns the entire negative of the final cut of the film as well as ancillary rights of all toys and commercial tie-ins.
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The core-plot of the movie came from George Lucas' first draft of Star Wars, which he wrote in 1975.
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The sound effect when Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber is kicked down the reactor shaft towards the end of the movie, is the same sound effect heard when Luke Skywalker throws his lightsaber away in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi when he tells the Emperor that he is a Jedi.
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Tests were conducted to see if Yoda could be realized digitally but it was determined that the technology was not up to scratch. A CG model of Yoda was nevertheless created, but only used in one shot, a long shot incidentally, during the scene on Naboo near the end where Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda discuss Anakin's future.
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There is only one shot in the film to which no visual effects were added at all: the shot of the dioxis gas pouring out of the vent in the meeting room.
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During filming Ewan McGregor made lightsaber noises as he dueled. It was noted and corrected during post production.
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In a scene in the Skywalker home, George Lucas digitally altered Jake Lloyd's eyes to look in a different direction momentarily.
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Natalie Portman's voice was digitally enhanced to distinguish between Padme and Queen Amidala.
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The sound of the underwater monsters growling near the beginning of the film was made by the main sound technician's three-year-old daughter. The sound of her crying was recorded, and the frequency lowered to obtain the sound heard in the film.
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The sound of the hovering battle tanks used by the battle droids was created by running an electric razor around a metal salad bowl and then digitally lowering the pitch.
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In scenes where Padme and Queen Amidala appear together, Natalie Portman is Padme, while Keira Knightley is Sabe, one of the handmaidens disguised as the Queen.
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The Naboo Palace setting was also the ballroom set for the Frankenstein family mansion in Geneva used in Frankenstein. Celia Imrie appears in both movies.
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The sound of the "force field" in the lightsaber duel with Darth Maul began as a recording of the audio supervisor's neighbor's ceiling fan.
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In the original trilogy, lightsaber activations and deactivations happened off-screen most of the time to prevent the "jumps" that would occur when the film was stopped to allow the "activated" lightsaber props to be substituted for the deactivated handles. This no longer poses a problem and every activation/deactivation occurs on-screen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
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Anakin's theme is a musical variation on the Imperial March (a.k.a. Darth Vader's Theme) from Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.
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The parade music at the end of the film is melodically related to the Emperor's Theme from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
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When Palpatine lands at Naboo at the end of the film, he's accompanied by Senate Guards dressed in blue. The guards' costumes are similar to those of the red Emperor's guards seen in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, and are, in a way, predecessors to the later red guards.
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Qui-Gon Jinn identifies the Queen's starship as a Nubian model J-327. "327" was the number of the landing bay where the Millennium Falcon landed on the first Death Star in Star Wars as well as the number of the landing platform in Cloud City in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. During the introduction of the pod racers, one of the pods is "327".
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Ewan McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi, is the nephew of Denis Lawson, who played Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles in Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
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George Lucas reportedly wrote Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in the same binder of yellow ruled paper in which he wrote the original Star Wars as well as American Graffiti.
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Obi-Wan has "a bad feeling about this" quite often. See also Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
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After the film's end credits finish rolling, the sound effect of Darth Vader's breathing can be heard.
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Greg Proops' and Scott Capurro's credits are reversed. Proops plays Beed Annodue, the red, English-speaking pod-race announcer, and Capurro plays Fode Annodue, the green, Huttese-speaking announcer.
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During the first week of the first trailer's release, many theatres reported up to 75% of their audiences paying full price for a movie, then walking out after the Star Wars: Episode I trailer was shown.
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The first Star Wars film to be released on DVD (October 2001. Over a year after its release on VHS).
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Before 'Samuel L Jackson' expressed his interest in joining the cast, Mace Windu was to be an animatronic character. This alien, was later identified as an 'Anx' and can be seen sitting in Watto's box during the pod race (as Graxol Kelvyyn) as well as during the senate scenes (as Senator Horox Ryyder).
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Adrian Dunbar was originally cast as Bail Organa and made a brief appearance in the senate sequence. When his performance was cut, the character's name was changed to Bail Antilles (mentioned on screen by Captain Panaka). A picture of Dunbar still appeared in two publications: The Ultimate Star Wars Episode I Sticker Book (as Senator Bail Organa) and Star Wars Episode I Who's Who (as Bail Antilles).
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The Battle Droids were originally supposed to be as white as the Stormtroopers from the original trilogy. During pre production George Lucas decided to change them to beige.
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This is the only Star Wars picture in which Anthony Daniels does not provide the movements of C3P0. Instead they were performed by puppeteer Michael Lynch
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C3P0 was originally only supposed to appear in scenes set in and around the slave quarters. During post production George Lucas decided to optically add the droid to several outside scenes.
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The Jedi Council set was too large to be saved, only the chairs were put in storage. For Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, backgrounds plates from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace were reused.
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To fill all the Senate Pods, teams of extras (mostly Lucasfilm employees) were filmed separately. Some of them were shot on digital video. Enough library footage of Senators was gathered to populate the Senate scenes of both Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
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The Neimodians were originally to be computer generated creatures, but to save costs were changed into men wearing masks. Animatronic model designer John Coppinger quickly recycled animatronic masks from The Fifth Element to use as the basis for their facial movement.
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Among the props in the background aboard the ship as the group leaves Tatooine are three Hewlett-Packard Inkjet cartridges.
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Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) missed the premiere party in New York because she had to go home to study for her high school final exams.
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The name used by the Queen while in disguise (and, later, after her term as Queen ends), "Padme", is the Sanskrit word for "lotus". "Yoda" is also derived from the Sanskrit word for "warrior".
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Theatres receiving the first trailer and posters were warned in writing to return them to the distributor (Twentieth Century Fox) on time or risk not receiving further media, and possibly the film itself. This was done to attempt to prevent the "black-market" sale of the incredibly popular trailer.
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In the German language version of the film, the collaborating Trade Federation leaders have a French accent, while in the Italian language version they have heavy Russian accents. They also have Russian accents in the Czech version, except for the Viceroy, who speaks fluent Czech for reasons unknown.
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Anakin has two model ships on his bed in Tatooine. These are models of early designs considered for the Naboo Starfighters. In the documentaries on the DVD, we see these models being rejected by George Lucas.
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At the time of the film's release, the producers ran a disinformation campaign to suggest that Natalie Portman played both Padme and The Queen at all times. In fact, they are not always the same person. For many sections of the film, notably those where The Queen is wearing the black outfit with the huge feather headdress, she is actually a decoy, played by Keira Knightley. The real queen, Portman, is actually disguised as a handmaiden. Various conflicting public statements make it extremely difficult to figure out who is who. Whole websites are devoted to figuring out which actress is playing which handmaiden or The Queen at any given point.
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George Lucas's very first draft of Star Wars began, "This is the story of Mace Windu, a revered Jedi-bendu of Opuchi who was related to Usby C.J. Thape, a padawan learner of the famed Jedi." Both the character of Mace Windu and the concept of padawan learners make their first appearance in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
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While Liam Neeson did the majority of his own stunts, he did have three stunt doubles on hand to do everything else. Andrew Lawden doubled for Neeson for part of the Darth Maul duel on Tatooine, while Joss Gower played Qui-Gon for some shots in the main duel near the end. Rob Inch did everything else.
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Andy Secombe based his vocal performance of Watto on Alec Guinness' performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist. So essentially, Anakin is passed from one Alec Guinness impersonator to another through the course of the film.
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George Lucas asked Lawrence Kasdan to write the script (and possibly for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith as well), but he turned it down because he thought with Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Lucas's relationship to the movies had taken one step back and that he alone should take responsibility and make exactly the movie he wanted to make.
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Frank Darabont was originally slated to be writing the script at one point, as was Carrie Fisher, who was said to be helping out as a script doctor.
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It appears that the other head of the podrace announcer is simply saying the same thing as the first head, but in Huttesse instead of English. This isn't so. Originally what the second head said was supposed to be subtitled, and the screenplay of the movie contains a translation of all of his dialogue.
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Two Wookiees can be seen in the Galactic Senate meeting. For the first time in 21 years, Star Wars Wookiees were played by someone other than Peter Mayhew.
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After the first lap of the podrace, Watto and Sebulba speak Finnish saying, "Thank You" and "You're Welcome".
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Fox released the first trailer with strict instructions that it not be shown before a certain date. When a Canadian movie theatre accidentally showed it a day early, they lost the rights to show the movie.
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Palpatine's line "There is no civility, there is only politics" is a corruption of part of the Jedi Code which consists of a negative assertion followed by a positive one. For example: "There is no fear, there is only calm. There is no death, there is only the Force."
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Star Wars Insider magazine publisher Dan Madsen is seen doing his bit as an extra grabbing the reins of a "Kaadu" at the celebration scene. He's short and wearing a light green outfit.
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Ahmed Best, who supplies the voice of Jar Jar Binks, also appears as a Jedi Knight when the newly appointed Chancellor Palpatine arrives on Naboo.
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Michael Angarano auditioned for the role of young Anakin, and was one of the three finalists along with Jake Lloyd, who won the role.
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Colored Q-Tips were photographed on a miniature stadium set in order to provide the background spectators during the pod race sequence.
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The Republic Cruiser seen at the beginning of the film is based on an early concept design for the Rebel Blockade Runner from Star Wars.
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Ewan McGregor studied many of Alec Guinness' films, including Star Wars, to ensure accuracy in everything from his accent to pacing of his words.
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The word lightsaber is never used in the film. When Anakin talks to Qui-Gon he calls it a "laser sword".
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Every film in the series begins with a shot of a star field moving to a ship. This movie opens with a transport ship headed for a Trade Federation ship.
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The words chanted during the "Duel of the Fates" are from Robert Graves' poem "The White Goddess". "The White Goddess" is a translation of the original version, "Cad Goddeu" or "The Battle of Achren", an early Celtic work of great antiquity also known as "The Battle of the Trees," which was originally composed by Gwion and is found in the "Book of Taliesin", a Thirteenth Century Welsh manuscript . John Williams had the lines "Under the tongue root a fight most dread, and another raging, behind, in the head" translated into Sanskrit. The translation sung in the movie is as follows: "Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah Korah Keelah Daanyah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah"
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The dress Amidala is wearing when she addresses the Senate is modeled after a Mongolian garment worn by nobility.
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Toward the end of the scene where Qui-Gon, Anakin, Anakin's Mother, etc. are eating dinner, Anakin turns his head to the left... these are two shots of actor Jake Lloyd morphed together.
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EASTER EGG: If you highlight the THX logo in the Language Selection page on the DVD and press 1138 with the remote you will access a hidden blooper reel.
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Of this film's 133 minute running time, only 10 to 15 minutes contain no special effects.
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Ron Magid commented that "it's easier to spot the few hundred shots that don't feature any CG work at all than the nearly 2,000 shots that do."
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Earlier drafts of the script placed more emphasis on the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Originally he was already a fully trained Jedi by the start of the movie and also the only Jedi negotiator sent to Naboo at the start of the movie. In this same draft, the character of Qui-Gon Jinn was not introduced until the characters reached Coruscant, and that character was of the same age of Obi-Wan, not his mentor.
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In the summer of 1998, the movie Godzilla was released amongst a whirlwind of media hype as part an ambitious studio campaign called "Size Does Matter", featuring massive signs and banners meant to emphasize the size of the monster. After its release, the movie was the subject of an intense backlash by both critics and audiences. The programmers of www.StarWars.com put up a temporary webpage with mocking the "Godzilla" campaign with a poster lettered with the green glow reading "Plot Does Matter - May 1999", in reference to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
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The two scenes recorded digitally were: Qui-Gon taking Anakin's blood sample and the promotion of Obi-Wan to the level of Jedi Knight.
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While referred to numerous times by other characters, Yoda is only clearly identified at the very end of the film. Mace Windu is never identified at all.
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The look of the Trade Federation Battle Droids is partly inspired by African tribal sculpture. The appearance of the Naboo Star Fighters is loosely based upon a hairpin.
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EASTER EGG: In the "Options" menu, key in 11 enter 3 enter 8 enter you will see bloopers mostly of R2-D2 falling during various takes of the film.
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Scenes of straightforward dialog maybe comprised of up to 6 layers of computer-composited imagery as the following example shows. In one scene, Natalie Portman's best take had been take seven while Jake Lloyd's was take one. The two takes were spliced together. However, Lloyd's mouth at the end of the scene is still gaped open, so the same segment from take fifteen (in which his mouth is closed) is patched in. Furthermore, when Portman appears to look down from Lloyd instead of up, those few seconds were run backwards, which unexpectedly caused steam in the background to rise in reverse. The problem was fixed by flipping the steam backwards. All these fixes resulted in a seamless scene. This technique prompted Liam Neeson, upon the film's release, to complain thus, "We are basically puppets. I don't think I can live with the inauthenticity of movies anymore."
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In 1997, a fierce sandstorm destroyed several of the Tatooine sets in the desert outside Tozeur, Tunisia. Filming resumed two days later. George Lucas considered this a good omen, as the very same thing had happened during filming of the original Star Wars.
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When fully dressed and in make-up, Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley resembled each other so much, that even Knightley's mother Sharman Macdonald, who visited the set, had trouble identifying her own daughter.
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Benicio Del Toro was originally set to play Darth Maul. Del Toro left the film after George Lucas took most of Maul's lines out of the film.
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Liam Neeson convinced George Lucas to keep a scene where Qui-Gon Jinn puts his hand on Shmi Skywalker's shoulder. Lucas felt this might be out of character for the monk-like Jedi, but Neeson thought there should be an emotional connection between the characters. In an interview with Premiere magazine, Neeson defended his action, saying, "It may be 'Star Wars', but we've got to have something in there for the adults."
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To create the sounds of the spectators during the pod race scene, sound designer Ben Burtt took a recorder to a San Francisco 49ers game and recorded the crowd's reactions.
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Trace Beaulieu read for the role of Jar Jar Binks. He didn't get the role, but the movie would later be lampooned by his former Mystery Science Theater 3000 costars Michael J. Nelson and Kevin Murphy on RiffTrax.
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Steven Spielberg visited the stage at London during set building when he was shooting Saving Private Ryan.
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Darth Maul's "double-bladed" lightsaber design was borrowed from the 1996 comic book series "Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War".
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George Lucas approached David Hare to write the screenplay and even co-direct the film. Lucas confessed he had reservations about working with the actors, and hoped that he could focus on the action while Hare focused on the acting. Hare declined.
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The name "Qui Gon" derives from an ancient Chinese system of alternative medicine called "Qigong". The "Jinn" part refers to the "Djinn" or genies of Arabian myth.
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Two conflicting stories have come out of LucasFilm on the origin of the Nemoidians' name. One version says that the the aquatically-evolved aliens were named as an allusion to the fictional naval character, Capt. Nemo. According to other sources, however, the race was named for sci-fi icon Leonard Nimoy.
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"Phantom Menace" was the name of a villain in the "Flash Gordon" comics. The same name used by NASA to refer to the fact that so few of their attempts to send a probe to Mars were successful, to the point that the missions seemed cursed.
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The galactic capitol planet of Coruscant was first mentioned in the first Expanded Universe tie-in novel "Heir To The Empire" by Timothy Zahn, set five years after Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
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The Neimodian's commercial culture and heavy robes were based on ancient Chinese merchants.
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According to the script, the chance cube that Watto rolled with Qui-Gon was fixed to land on red. That's why he was so mad that Qui-Gon tampered with it to land on blue.
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The script explains that Watto is always flying is that he is crippled. Look closely, and you can see that one foot is longer than the other. He also talks out of the side of his mouth because the broken tusk slurs his words.
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According to Star Wars canon, Obi-Wan's hanging braid is a Jedi tradition common to all Padawan Learners. When his master feels that he has reached proper maturity, he cuts the braid with his lightsaber, signifying that the student is now a full Jedi Knight.
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The announcer at the Pod Race welcomes people, "...from all the Outer Rim Territories." This is a reference to the galaxy's grouping. The Star Wars galaxy is organized in concentric circles. Starting at the center and moving outward the circles are, The Deep Core, Core, Colonies, Inner Rim, Expansion Region, Mid Rim, Outer Rim, Wild Space, Unknown Regions.
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Sebulba's condemnation of Anakin being a slave is hypocritical. According to his backstory, Sebulba was once a slave himself.
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Contrary to popular belief, the city where Qui-Gon discovers Anakin is not Mos Eisley, but another city called Mos Espa.
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Qui-Gon Jinn's name is not given in dialogue until 38 minutes into the film when he introduces himself to Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August), whose first name is not actually mentioned until Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.
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Almost 12 years after the film was released, Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn) and Pernilla August (Shmi Skywalker) both reprised their roles in _"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (2008) {Overlords (#3.15)}" (2011)_. Neeson would later do so again in _"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (2008) {Ghosts of Mortis (#3.17)}" (2011).
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Although Nute Gunray (Silas Carson) and Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August) are both major supporting characters in the film, neither character's name is stated in dialogue until Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.
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The planet Naboo is heavily influenced by Italian Renaissance design and architecture, and the stadium where the pod race takes place is based upon Roman designs of the early Christian era.
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In both of his identities, Darth Sidious/Palpatine makes his first appearance as a hologram. This is in keeping with the original trilogy, when his first appearance was a holographic communication with Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.
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Jake Lloyd has said that he retired from acting because of the trauma he experienced after playing Anakin Skywalker. According to Lloyd, other children constantly teased him about the role. For example they would make lightsaber sounds whenever he walked by. Lloyd also said that the situation was made worse because, in his opinion, the film did not meet the fans' expectations. Despite this, Lloyd has reprised the role of Anakin in several video games and has appeared at Star Wars conventions/events.
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One of the first casting rumors for the alleged "Star Wars prequel", came from a science-fiction magazine called Starblazer. In their Summer 1985 issue, they published that Sybil Danning was to possibly portray the "sexy witch" that seduces Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side. In 2012, Sybil confirmed on her Facebook page that the rumor was indeed true, and that many discussions took place at that time.
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The planet "Tatooine" was named after the town Tataouine in Tunisia. Close to that town took place the shooting of the scenes of "Mos Espa" in July 1997.
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Cameo
Warwick Davis:
Davis, who played Wicket in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, is sitting next to Watto during the pod race scene. He also plays Anakin's friend Wald, a Rodian child.
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Rick McCallum:
producer appears on the right in a floppy wide-brim hat when Queen Amidala meets Senator Palpatine.
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John Knoll:
The visual effects supervisor at ILM plays the Naboo pilot who gets killed during the space battle with the Trade Federation. It happens after Ric Olié says, "The deflector shield is too strong."
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Director Trademark
George Lucas:
[1138]
The Droid killed by Jar Jar Binks at the end has serial number 1138 on his back. (THX 1138 was Lucas' first film and starred Robert Duvall.)
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Spoilers
The film contains no acting credit for the character of Darth Sidious, although he is played by Ian McDiarmid, who also plays Senator (and then later, Chancellor) Palpatine
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Darth Maul only blinks once throughout the film. This is mostly because the contact lenses that Ray Park wore made it difficult to blink and Park liked the idea of a villain who never stops staring. He blinks when he is stabbed by Obi-Wan Kenobi
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This is the only film in the series in which the top-credited actor (Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn) plays a non-recurring character, and in which the top-credited character dies. Also the only film in the prequel series that does not give Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) the top credit.
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