Gavin Bocquet: Prequel Production Designer, Star Wars Legend
The incredible work that Gavin Bocquet did with his team to bring worlds like Naboo, Coruscant and Geonosis to life in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, cannot go unsaid.
This is a really rare interview with someone who made an indelible mark on the saga, as well as things like Young Indiana Jones, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and so many more … and I don’t think he’s talked in-depth about Star Wars in nearly a decade.
It was a huge honor and a really great conversation. Some topics discussed:
- His early mentorship with Stuart Craig (Saturn 3, Harry Potter) as well as working of Return of the Jedi with Norman Reynolds, as a Draftsman (Speeder bikes and Greeblies)
- Working with Steven Soderbergh on Kafka, his second ever film
- Walking over to his neighbor’s house, Rick McCallum, on Christmas Eve to inquire about working on Young Indiana Jones (later with David Tattersall and Trisha Biggar)
- Of course, the Prequels: collaborating with Doug Chiang and John Knoll, location scouting with McCallum (who wanted to shoot in the Vatican), the Pink / Yellow highlighters
- And wrapping with some serious Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance talk that no Henson fan will want to miss.
Niki Botelho: Teek in Ewoks - The Battle for Endor
We’re LIVE and talking to Teek herself, Niki Botelho from The Battle for Endor.
This is a pretty short, fairly rare Star Wars interview podcast look inside making the second Ewok film, as well as Niki’s return as an Offworld Jawa in The Mandalorian … and if that was her as Teek in the Star Tours boarding video. (And, of course, since this was recorded live, some of our audio is not as crisp as other episodes, but you’ll get over it.)
If you want even more Teek stories, head on over to the most recent episode of Blast Points, where there is almost 5 extra minutes of this interview, which I recorded to help celebrate their Ewok Movie Month.
And, of course, this episode would not be possible without our friends at Galactic Productions. Head to their website for future appearances, as well as a really great stock of online autographs: galacticproductionsevents.com
Bruce Nicholson: Two-Time Academy Award Winner for Star Wars and Indiana Jones
With his groundbreaking work on The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark as optical photography supervisor, Bruce Nicholson is an Industrial Light and Magic Legend.
If you don’t know what optical photography and compositing is, this episode is a crash course in all of that, including what is was like working alongside the Dykstraflex, mistakes in the end scene of Raiders and … the time he was the first person to suit up in the finished Boba Fett costume.
Rena Owen: Bringing Taun We to Life in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars fans will know Ms. Owen best as the Kaminoan Taun We in Attack of the Clones, but she has done so much (including a return in Revenge of the Sith as Senator Nee Alavar).
From humble beginnings growing up in New Zealand, to first working with Temuera Morrison on Once Were Warriors, we went through so much of her incredible career (whether The Orville or Siren, and beyond).
And, listen on to find out what role she was initially cast to play in Episode 2.
Aaron McBride: Designing Maw Monsters, Fathiers and Maul's Robotic Legs
His work has spanned the prequels, the sequels, the spin-offs, Star Wars Insider covers and even the introduction of Darth Maul’s robotic legs, so it was a real thrill to be able too dive into the career of Aaron McBride, as well as his process and his inspirations, in this Star Wars podcast interview episode.
Some topics discussed: Blade Runner and Ridley Scott, interning on The Phantom Menace, working with Steven Spielberg on A.I. and Minority Report and what organic beef jerkey has to do with the skeleton pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean.
With Star Wars, we dive further into his work on Revenge of the Sith (ballet dancers, the model shop making lava for Mustafar), Rogue One (working with John Knoll, designing K-2SO), The Last Jedi (Canto Bight, Fathiers), Solo (Maw Monster) and ILMxLAB (Vader Immortal).
Kev Jenkins: Concept Artist and Production Designer for the Sequel Trilogy
As the Art Director on The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm Design Supervisor for The Last Jedi, and Production Designer during The Rise of Skywalker, Kev Jenkins has made an indelible mark on Star Wars.
From designing the sequel trilogy to recreating classic sets like the Lars Homestead, this Star Wars podcast interview is such an incredible deep dive into an equally incredible career.
This is your last week to enter our signed giveaways on our social media channels … all you have to do is go to the app where you’re listening to this podcast, and leave a five star rating and a review.
Also, being announced today, is our t-shirt collab happening only this weekend with our friends at Super Yaki. From George Lucas to Ahmed Best to Star Tours, our favorite things are represented in this drop and we can’t wait for you to see it.
Silas Carson: The Man Behind Nute Gunray, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Droid Attacks on Wookiees
Silas Carson played 4 different characters across all of the Star Wars prequels, especially known for his iconic portrayals of Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and Trade Federation leader Nute Gunray. Yup, same guy.
Mr. Carson’s time, stories and incredible charm was such a thrill. I am so proud of this fantastic interview and, as I said over and over again, it was a huge honor. We talk about it all in this Star Wars interview podcast.
(Listen closely to when he starts doing voices of these characters and figure out if you can hear me have a minor freak out.)
Noah Segan: From Brick and Looper to The Last Jedi and Knives Out (and Beyond)
From Stomeroni Starck in The Last Jedi to his roles in Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper and as Trooper Wagner in Knives Out, Noah Segan (and his frequent collaborations with director Rian Johnson) has been simply incredible.
You’ll be able to tell … very quickly how much I enjoyed this conversation, from discussing his first meeting with Rian, to some, well, exclusive news about the Stomeroni Starck and Trooper Wagner spin-off shows, all in this episode of this Star Wars podcast interview.
Thank you to Mr. Segan for his time and “silly stories”, as well as to friend of the show, Phil Nobile Jr., for connecting us!
Next week’s episode is with Silas Carson (Ki-Adi-Mundi), so stay tuned!
And, quick announcement: since August would have been a time for us to all meet at Star Wars Celebration, and I would have had swag to give out to you all, I’m instead giving away a ton of rare, signed stuff online, instead. Head to our Twitter account (www.twitter.com/TalkingBay94) to see how you can win by just leaving a 5-star review this month for the show.
Also check out our new ranking over at Feedspot.com, where we’ve just been listed as one of the Top 25 Star Wars Podcasts You Must Follow in 2020! Thank you, Feedspot!
It is always so appreciated if you can leave a 5-star review of the show right here on your favorite podcast app, or on Podchaser: podchaser.com/TalkingBay94
For more behind-the-scenes stuff, as well as a link to some of our other in-depth interviews, check out:
Website: www.TalkingBay94.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TalkingBay94
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TalkingBay94
Instagram: www.instagram.com/TalkingBay94
Scott Trowbridge: Imagineering Star Wars Galaxy's Edge for Disney Parks
Today I’m talking to Scott Trowbridge, Portfolio Creative Executive and Studio Leader at Walt Disney Imagineering, who helped spearhead Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the land we now know as Black Spire Outpost.
It was a huge honor to learn more about his background, story and experiences, as him and his team created a tangible Star Wars world from scratch, with some fascinating insight into building Batuu, all in this Star Wars podcast interview episode.
I want to give a special thanks, as well, to Kevin at Disney Imagineering for his help coordinating, promoting and making this all possible!
Masi Oka: On Designing Effects for the Star Wars Prequels, and the "Hiro's Journey"
You may know today’s guest as Hiro from NBC’s HEROES, but Masi Oka also worked at Industrial Light & Magic as a Digital Effects Artist on the Star Wars prequels.
We dive deep into his career, both at ILM and about his start in acting. And we focus in on one of his biggest contributions to Attack of the Clones: the effects of the seismic blast on the asteroid belt. All in this episode of a Star Wars interview podcast.
What an incredible thrill it is to have been able to interview Mr. Oka, especially because his character of Hiro Nakamura meant so so much to me growing up. And, now that we’ve had both him and Greg Grunberg on the same show, maybe it’s just time for me to just spin off into a TALKING HEROES podcast.