Star Wars

Today I’m joined by the wonderful Scott Squires, who might be known to Star Wars fans as one of the three groundbreaking Visual Effects Supervisors for The Phantom Menace.

His career is inspiring and really incredible, ranging from working with Douglas Trumbull on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (where he developed the Cloud Tank Effect) and receiving Academy Award nominations for The Mask, Dragonheart, and, of course, Episode I.

Audio is a little funky on my end, since I was moving studios at the time, so please bear with us! It’s a fantastic conversation.

Howard Kazanjian needs no introduction for listeners of this show.

He was the producer of Return of the Jedi and executive producer on Raiders of the Lost Ark (as well as uncredited producer on The Empire Strikes Back.) He is a legend in both the world of Star Wars and the world of movie-making, in general.

It is a true honor to get to talk with him about his career, from USC and Alfred Hitchcock to the Yuma Desert and forests of Endor.

We are also joined by Consulting Editor of Mr. Kazanjian’s biography, the great Brandon Alinger, who offers some behind-the-scenes tidbits about the making of the book, alongside the late J.W. Rinzler.

To purchase the incredible book, Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life  please go to the following link: https://amzn.to/3oWgDhB

And to see what Brandon and Prop Store are up to (right now, an incredible poster auction), head to: https://propstore.com/

Blair Bess is an immensely talented voice actor, best known to Star Wars fans as the voice of Even Piell in The Clone Wars, specifically the incredible Citadel arc.

During our conversation, Blair dives into his VO start, and his experiences with Dave FIloni, as he brought this Jedi to life. Head to his website for more of his work and where he’s popping up next! https://blairbess.com/ 

Special thanks to the great David Delgado at Echo Base Signings, who helped coordinate this wonderful interview. For all your autograph needs, check out their site: https://www.echobasesignings.com/

Ian Whyte didn’t mean to become an actor: he started as a professional basketball player, before a call to play the Predator changed his life.

From there, he starred in fantastic films, including as the Engineer in Prometheus, numerous roles in Game of Thrones (including Wun Wun the Giant), and in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Of course, his roles in Star Wars are equally fantastic, including the furry Moroff in Rogue One, Bollie Prindel in The Force Awakens, and performances in The Last Jedi and Solo!

Follow him on Twitter at @Ian_Whyte!

Meredith Salenger is an absolutely incredible actress, who has brought to life some legendary characters, including voicing Barriss Offee and many more in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

In addition to her fascinating and inspiring career, stick around to hear her story about playing the role of George Lucas’ daughter (“Che Amanwe Papanoida“), as well!

While you’re at it, check out her and her husband’s, Patton Oswalt, great podcast, “Did You Get My Text”, wherever you listen to your favorites: https://starburns.audio/podcasts/did-you-get-my-text/

Pierre Bohanna‘s earliest work on Star Wars began actually as a prop maker for The Phantom Menace. From there, he has worked on every Harry Potter movie, returning to the saga as Supervising Costume Effects Modeler for all of the recent Disney Star Wars movies.

Fascinating and incredibly talented, Pierre has some wonderful tales about things like rebuilding C-3PO, redesigning stormtroopers, and lessons learned along the way of nearly 30 years of world building.

Check out some wonderful behind the scenes photos that I had never seen before at his website: www.pierrebohanna.com

Katy Kartwheel is incredible: a multi-talented circus performer and actress, she portrayed many characters in the recent Star Wars movies, including Rio Durant in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

She was such a delight to talk to, full of a deep love for her craft and incredible stories from her time on set, working as a creature and droid performer for The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and Solo.

My interview with legendary producer Robert Watts is in this month’s issue of the Star Wars Insider #203, so definitely pick it up and let me know what you think! It is really a dream come true.

Nick Maley, aka “That Yoda Guy”, was a creature and special effects make-up artist for the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.

We discuss his first interactions with the great Stuart Freeborn, as well as his myriad of experiences working on the cantina aliens, building multiple Yodas used for filming, and working on creatures like the mynock (and some secret lost characters as well)!

Head to thatyodaguy.com for a treasure trove of even more stories from Mr. Maley, and to learn about his movie exhibit in Sint Maarten.

As always, thank you to Zach McGinnis and Galactic Productions for setting this up. Head to galacticproductionsevents.com for autographs, and to see where his clients are going to be next!

My interview with legendary producer Robert Watts is in this month’s issue of the Star Wars Insider(!!), so definitely pick it up and let me know what you thought! It is really a dream come true.

Adrienne Wilkinson played Maris Brood in The Force Unleashed, and returned to the saga (alongside Sam Witwer) as the voice of The Daughter in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.

From getting her start as a senior in high school, to her work on Star Trek: Renegades, Ms. Wilkinson is full of really great stories and so much passion for her work.

Terrence Masson is an incredible visual effects artist, who worked on the Star Wars: Special Editions, The Phantom Menace and so so much more.

Mr. Masson literally wrote the book on CGI (it’s called “CG 101”), worked on projects like South Park, and now is the Chair of the MFA Computer Arts Department at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

He took me to school with his incredible insight and stories. Definitely give him a follow on Twitter: @tmasson. His website is: www.terrencemasson.com

Next week is my interview with Nick Maley, “That Yoda Guy”, who helped create and sculpt so many of the creatures that we love from the Original Trilogy.