Did You Know?

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.

Queen Amidala's throne-room dress took eight weeks to design.

The special effects teams creating the podrace studied NASCAR crash footage extensively to assure accuracy in the crashes.

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.

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: Episode IV - A New Hope.

George Lucas made a similar deal as he did in the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. 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.

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.

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.

In a scene in the Skywalker home, George Lucas digitally altered Jake Lloyd's eyes to look in a different direction momentarily.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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: Episode IV - A New Hope 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".

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: Episode IV - A New Hope as well as American Graffiti.

After the film's end credits finish rolling, the sound effect of Darth Vader's breathing can be heard.

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.

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).

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.

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.

To fill all the Senate Pods, teams of extra's (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.

Among the props in the background aboard the ship as the group leaves Tatooine are three Hewlett-Packard Inkjet cartridges.

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".

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.

Ray Park's voice is dubbed by Peter Serafinowicz.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After the first lap of the podrace, Watto and Sebulba speak Finnish saying, "Thank You" and "You're Welcome".

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."

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.

Colored Q-Tips were photographed on a miniature stadium set in order to provide the background spectators during the pod race sequence.

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: Episode IV - A New Hope.

The word lightsaber is never used in the film. When Anakin talks to Qui-Gon he calls it a "laser sword".

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"

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.

Of this film's 133 minute running time, only 10 to 15 minutes contain no special effects.

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 character's reached Coruscant, and that character was of the same age of Obi-Wan, not his mentor.

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.

Jabba the Hutt's full name is Jabba Desilijic Tiure.

WILHELM SCREAM: during the shooting in the hangar when a guard is shot

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.

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."

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.

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."

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.

Darth Maul's "double-bladed" lightsaber design was borrowed from the 1996 comic book series "Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War".

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.

"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.

The Neimodian's commercial culture and heavy robes were based on ancient Chinese merchants.

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.

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.

Contrary to popular belief, the city where Qui-Gon discovers Anakin is not Mos Eisley, but another city called Mos Espa.

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.

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.

Darth Maul only speaks a total of three lines.

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.

Sofia Coppola:  as handmaiden Saché.

Rick McCallum:  producer appears on the right in a floppy wide-brim hat when Queen Amidala meets Senator Palpatine.

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."

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.)

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

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.