Gerald Home and Simon J. Williamson: (Even More) Tales from Jabba's Palace
This is my special LIVE FROM JABBA’S PALACE conversation with previous guests Gerald Home (Tessek and a Mon Calamari officer) and Simon J. Wiliamson (Max Rebo and a Gamorrean Guard).
We got to talk to them again, this time in person, to tell some of our favorite stories, as well as quite a few new ones in this special anniversary episode.
I can’t really believe it but, yes, this is the one year anniversary of this podcast. I wanted to take some time at the beginning of the episode to thank each and every one of our listeners, guests, partners and sponsors for making this first year a dream come true.
To celebrate, I partnered with the good people at Order 66 Toys to make this happen.
Gerald’s website: http://geraldhome.com
Gerald’s Rebelscum forum: https://forum.rebelscum.com/showthread.php?t=1069050
Simon’s website: http://simonjwilliamson.co.uk/
Order 66’s website: https://order66toyshop.com
Matthew Reinhart: Author and Illustrator of Star Wars Pop-Up Books
LIVE from Star Wars Celebration, this is my conversation with Matthew Reinhart, author and creator of A POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, as well as the upcoming THE ULTIMATE POP-UP GALAXY, from Insight Editions.
You’ll be able to tell very quickly, but he was an absolute joy to talk to and I enjoyed it very, very much.
His upcoming book is coming out in the fall (October), published by Insight Editions, can be pre-ordered wherever books are sold: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ultimate-Pop-Up-Galaxy/dp/1683834895
Visit his website, http://www.matthewreinhart.com/, and follow him on Instagram,https://www.instagram.com/matthewcreinhart.
A special thanks to Eric at Insight Editions for being so helpful and such a supporter of the show. Follow them on Twitter, @InsightEditions, and keep your eyes peeled for all the new, great Star Wars books they are producing!
Paul Hirsch: Academy Award-Winning Editor on Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back
This is my conversation with the legendary Paul Hirsch, Academy Award-winner for his editing work on the original Star Wars.
From working with Brian De Palma and John Hughes, to his time in the editing bay for both A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, side-by-side with Marcia Lucas, Richard Chew (and George), we go through as much as we can of his storied career.
Even more stories can be found in his upcoming memoir, A long time ago in a cutting room far, far away, which is coming out his November.
Pre-order it now on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Long-Time-Cutting-Room-Away/dp/1641602554/
Julian Glover: General Veers in The Empire Strikes Back, Donovan in The Last Crusade
“The shield will be down in moments, you may start your landing.”
Julian Glover is an incredible actor, who has appeared in numerous movies and franchises, including The Empire Strikes Back as everyone’s favorite AT-AT commander, General Maximilian Veers.
From being next door neighbors with producer Robert Watts to working with Irvin Kershner and Steven Spielberg, we cover a lot of ground in this short (LIVE) episode from Star Wars Celebration Chicago.
In addition to his work on Star Wars, we also touch on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Walter Donovan), Harry Potter (Aragog) and Game of Thrones (Grand Maester Pycelle). He’s really been in everything.
As always, a huge thank you to one of the biggest supporters of this show, Mr. Derek Maki, and Coolwaters Productions, for helping arrange this interview during a very busy week.
Check out the Coolwaters website for the latest appearances of Mr. Glover, as well as celebrity autographs: https://coolwatersprods.com/
Lorne Peterson: Legendary VFX Artist Behind Escape Pods, Tauntauns and the Millenium Falcon
This is an actual dream come true: today we’re talking to Lorne Peterson, visual effects artist and modeler for Industrial Light & Magic.
Working on the first six Star Wars films, Lorne goes through his experience building escape pods out of paint cans, manning Guatemalan outpost towers made out of trash cans and sourcing Tauntaun fur (which you have to hear to believe). And I am legitimately giggling the entire time, which is very embarrassing.
We barely scratch the surface of the incredible work that Mr. Peterson has done over the past forty years, so definitely check out his book, Sculpting a Galaxy, which is available from Insight Editions: https://insighteditions.com/product/sculpting-a-galaxy/
(There is also a super limited edition version of the book, which has been tempting me for years now, so buy it and make me very jealous.)
I want to give a huge thank you to Eric Chang and the rest of the great Insight Editions team for arranging this interview. We have some cool stuff in the works with them, including one more interview which was very fun.
Rob Bredow: The Visual Effects of SOLO (from L3-37 to Hyperspace)
SVP, Executive Creative Director and Head of ILM, Rob Bredow was also the co-producer of SOLO: A Star Wars Story, working side-by-side with Ron Howard to bring the story (and its visual effects to life).
We go through it all: L3-37, working with Tippett Studios with the new Dejarik pieces and, of course, the breath-taking in-camera work for hyperspace and more. We discuss his previous work with ILMxLab, as well as his vision for the future of the legendary company.
Mr. Bredow is the author of the newest Abrams Books release, Industrial Light & Magic Presents: Making Solo – A Star Wars Story, which comes with my highest recommendation and can be purchased at the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Light-Magic-Presents-Making/dp/1419737538
Be sure to follow him on Twitter, as well, to keep with his next projects and the cutting-edge stuff that ILM is working on: https://twitter.com/rbredow
A huge thanks to Maya Bradford and Abrams Books for arranging this interview and making it possible. It was a huge honor.
Marc Thorpe: Builder of Bespin, Ewok Wrangler
Marc Thorpe was an ILM Model Maker for movies like The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the Indiana Jones Trilogy.
We go through a quick deep dive of his career, including his work on LucasToys and the creation of Robot Wars. He was a true delight to talk to and such a gracious teller of stories and experiences.
I really enjoyed my conversation with him, especially learning what exactly an “Ewok Wrangler” is.
Check out his website to see even more examples of his craftmanship, art and ideas: http://www.marcthorpe.com/
Christian Alzmann: Conceptor of BB-8 and Maz Kanata
Christian Alzmann‘s unique art style and incredible design work has influenced the looks of The Force Awakens, Rogue One and even Star Wars: Rebels. From BB-8 to Maz Kanata, we explore the path to the big screen, including the stories behind the haunting “evil” Luke imagery and “The Jedi Killer”.
Bust open your copy of The Art of The Force Awakens by Phil Szostak, because we went through nearly every page of concept art, from Han Solo’s beard to Vader’s castle. It is a conversation I have wanted to have for such a long time and Mr. Alzmann was a real delight.
Follow him on Instagram to see even more examples of his art and ideas: https://www.instagram.com/calzmann
Paul Freeman: Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark (Bad Dates)
“Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something.”
No need to speak Hovitos, Mr. Freeman gave some incredible insight into filming the greatest adventure movie of all time: Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as his time on set for Young Indiana Jones and Hot Fuzz.
Please check out the incredible work he is currently doing in Uganda (with the UK Friends of Healing Focus), and donate if you can: http://ukhealingfocus.org/
And, as is is most often the case with our live interviews, a huge thank you to Zachery McGinnis and Galactic Productions for coordinating this great conversation: http://www.galacticproductionsevents.com/
Anthony Forrest: "Move Along" Sandtrooper and Luke's Friend Fixer
“These aren’t the droids we’re looking for … move along.”
Anthony Forrest played two different key roles in the original Star Wars. As a Sandtrooper on Mos Eisley, he was the first on-screen recipient of a Jedi mind trick. And, in the legendary Anchorhead deleted scenes, he stood out next to Biggs and Luke, as Fixer, to look to a potential space battle.
We talk about a lot, including his passion formusic, as well as relationship with the fandom and conventions. He will be appearing in April at Celebration Chicago, which you can now purchase autograph / photo-op tickets for from Topps: https://store.epicphotoops.com/star-wars-celebration-chicago/2019/anthony-forrest
To check out Mr. Forrest’s incredible music, please visit: https://anthonyforrest.bandcamp.com/
And a very special thank you to dear friends of the show Mr. Gerald Home (Tessek, from Episode 3) and Derek Maki from Coolwaters Productions for working so hard to coordinate this interview.
Check out the Coolwaters website for the latest appearances and celebrity autographs, including who else they will be bringing to Celebration: https://coolwatersprods.com/