talking bay 94

In this episode we are talking to Toby Philpott, one of the puppeteers for Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi.

Mr. Philpott is full of incredible stories from Elstree Studios, including working with the rest of the Jabba team, as well as Carrie Fisher, Richard Marquand and more. From his early days working literally under Jim Henson’s wing to later work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Labyrinth and Little Shop of Horrors, we really dive into his fascinating career.

For more information and updates about Mr. Philpott’s upcoming appearances, check out his website (https://sites.google.com/site/jabbahutt2/home) or follow him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/tobyjabba).

Today’s episode features a conversation with the great J.W. Rinzler, the author of countless Star Wars behind-the-scenes books (my favorites) and one of the key voices for the galaxy for a long, long time.

We talk all about his start at Lucasfilm, working with Rick McCallum and (very closely) George Lucas. We also dive into George’s later focuses and the importance of the prequels and Brandon reveals his 1999 Halloween costume.

The Enhanced Editions of his Making of trilogy can be found on iBooks and on Amazon and are seriously worth the $17.99: www.amazon.com/Making-Star-Wars-Enhanced-ebook/dp/B00DQQSD2W

We also discussed a few of his latest projects, including All Up, a fascinating look at the space program and its history: https://www.amazon.com/All-Up-J-W-Rinzler

Busy as ever, Mr. Rinzler’s next book will be The Making of Planet of the Apes, which could be a whole episode in itself and can be pre-ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Planet-Apes-Jonathan-Rinzler

For more news about the author, check out JWRinzler.com or follow them on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JWRinzler

Today we’re talking to Don Bies, a man of many talents and one of the few to make an indelible mark on all of the original six Star Wars movies. Model maker, R2-D2 puppeteer and droid unit supervisor, Don has some great stories, ranging from the Japanese Panasonic commercials to (correctly) designing Darth Vader’s helmet in Revenge of the Sith.

From Boba Fett to original Biths (to Indiana Jones!), he’s played them all! We even delve a little bit into the great R2-D2: Beneath the Dome, a mockumentary, that you can watch online: https://www.starwars.com/video/beneath-the-dome-part-one

We also get into his latest project, Keep the Gaslight Burning, an awesome horror film that he produced, alongside some truly great Star Wars alums and talents. For more Gaslight news, check out KeeptheGaslightBurning.com or follow them on Twitter: www.twitter.com/GaslightGhost

In this episode, we take it back to the very beginning and talk to Academy Award winner Roger Christian, who was one of the first people ever to get hired onto Star Wars. We try not to freak out while talking about the origins of Blue Milk, C-3PO’s eyes, R2-D2 and, of course the original lightsaber.

Try to count how many times we use “incredible” during this interview, especially when we talk about Roger’s incredible book: Cinema Alchemist. Detailing his time on the Star Wars set, as well as Monty Python, Alien and more, it is truly an important book for any fan: www.amazon.com/Cinema-Alchemist-Designing-Star-Alien

For more information, as well as any updates about the documentary we talked about, check out Roger’s website: rogerchristian.ca

In the third part of our 35th Anniversary retrospective of Return of the Jedi, we interviewed fan favorite Gerald Home, who performed the parts of both Tessek in Jabba’s Palace and Captain Verrack, a Mon Calamari Officer of the Rebel Alliance. We not only talk about his time on the set (with his great rendition of “MANY BOTHANS DIED.”) but also talk about his time with fans and as a historian of Star Wars.

As mentioned in the interview several times, definitely check out Gerald’s in-depth look at the filming of Jedi, as featured on the Rebelscum forums: http://forum.rebelscum.com/showthread.php?t=1069050

And, if you want to get in touch with Gerald, you can reach him at his website: geraldhome.com

This episode is the second part of our 35th Anniversary retrospective of Return of the Jedi. We talk to Stephen Costantino, who traveled to the Yuma desert with his bandmate Corey Dee Williams, thrown into what was then called Blue Harvest. We talk about his time on the set as a Gamorrean Guard, as well as his interactions with Peter Mayhew, Carrie Fisher and Kenny Baker.

Check out Stephen’s music (Gamorrean Sound), including the Stormtrooper-esque jam, GET EM ALL, that we talk about at the end of the episode, on his Soundcloud.

A special thanks to Coolwaters Productions for helping set this conversation up.

Today’s episode is part of our 35th Anniversary retrospective of Return of the Jedi. We talk to Corey Dee Williams, son of Billy Dee, about his father’s time in the saga, the work he did in the Yuma desert, his Star Wars legacy and the funk music he loves to make.

Check out Corey’s music, as well as the “Cloud City Funk” video we talk about during the podcast:

A special thanks to Coolwaters Productions (http://coolwatersprods.com/) for helping set this conversation up.