DVTimes

Tape Taken on Set of New 'Star Wars' Post on Internet
26 January 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Despite rigorous efforts by the George Lucas organization to prevent any leaks from the set of the Star Wars: Episode III, a crude 2-minute, 37-second clip from the Australian set has popped up online. It reportedly includes a shot of Hayden Christensen in his Darth Vader costume. One fan who watched it said on the Slashdot.org website that it contains no spoilers and that "the video is choppy and low quality (camcorder pointed at a monitor) and hard to watch."


Portman Reveals 'Awesome' 'Star Wars' Scene
7 January 2004 (WENN)
Natalie Portman is hoping fans will be satisfied with the final Star Wars film - because it contains some "awesome" action. Portman, who plays Queen Padme Amidala in the sci-fi prequel trilogy, admits she's not sure whether the last installment will be "worth it". Creator George Lucas has come under fire from disappointed fans who argue the new offerings do not match up to his classic original trilogy - but Portman insists the cast and crew have done their very best. She says, "I saw a pretty amazing fight scene between Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen . It's pretty sick. "They were thinking of having stuntmen do it, but they were better than the stuntmen. It's pretty awesome. "Is it gonna be worth it? We just shot it and we worked really hard. I think all of us were trying to make it as good as possible. "It was our last chance to sort of, you know, do something with it. So, I'm hoping. But they work on it for two years after we finish shooting, putting on the special effects and all that stuff."


Spoilers From Padme?
7 January 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Natalie Portman , who stars as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels, has disclosed that the upcoming Episode III will include "a pretty amazing fight scene" between Ewan McGregor , who plays Obi Wan Kenobi in the prequels, and Hayden Christensen , who portrays Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in them. In an interview with MTV.com, Portman also disclosed that the two actors perform the scene without the aid of stuntmen and that "it's pretty sick." She did not elaborate. The film is set to open on May 25, 2005, the 28th anniversary of the original's premiere.


Original 'Star Wars' Episodes To Debut on DVD Next Year
7 November 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Reports began circulating widely on the Internet Thursday that Lucasfilm will release the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes 4, 5, & 6) on DVD next September. At the same time, numerous websites were disclosing that they had received word from participants in a Lucasfilm conference at San Francisco's Presidio that they had been told the trailer for the latest -- and final -- episode of Star Wars will appear in theaters in January 2005, prior to a May theatrical release and a November home-video release.


'Star Wars: Episode III' Wraps
30 September 2003 (WENN)
Shooting on the eagerly awaited movie prequel Star Wars: Episode III has finally wrapped - but studio bosses warn the film's a long way off completion. Director George Lucas imposed tight security measures on the Australian set in an effort to keep the storyline a secret, but producer Rick McCallum insists cinema-goers still have a long wait before discovering how main character Anakin Skywalker turns into the villainous Darth Vader. He says, "Shooting the film is only a small part of the whole process. George is enthusiastic about getting back to the Ranch and starting the next component. This will enable him to start thinking about what he needs to pick up when we shoot in March 2004. For George and I, this is only the mid-way point. We still have eighteen months to get through."


'Mad Max' Sequel Appears Dead
23 September 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Prospects of Mel Gibson returning to the screen in his Mad Max persona faded today (Tuesday) when Daily Variety reported that the actor is in talks with Warner Bros. to star in Under and Alone, about an ATF undercover agent who infiltrated a motorcycle gang. Gibson had originally intended to shoot Mad Max: Fury Road in the southern Africa country of Namibia in May but halted preproduction citing security concerns following the outbreak of war with Iraq. Production offices in Swakopmund were shut down, dozens of contracts and leases for homes, apartments, car rentals, and caterers were canceled, and sets built for the $100-million movie were warehoused. Gibson later plunged into post-production of his biblical film The Passion, seemingly snuffing out the fire on the back burner, where the Mad Max feature had been placed. It had been reported earlier that Gibson decided to shoot the film in Namibia because George Lucas had booked all available studio space at Fox Studios in Australia to shoot Star Wars: Episode 3. Lucas completed principal production there last week.


Lucas Completes Filming Final 'Star Wars' Episode
22 September 2003 (StudioBriefing)
George Lucas completed principal photography of Star Wars: Episode 3 at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, Thursday and embarked on 18 months of post-production, the Australian Associated Press reported over the weekend. (A news release from Lucasfilm said that the shooting wrapped on Wednesday and claimed production was five days ahead of schedule. It quoted producer Rick McCallum as saying that "It's almost unheard of for a major motion picture to come in under schedule.") A photo of Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen , on his way to becoming Darth Vader, sporting a '70's-style blonde mane, eyes rolled upwards, was also released, causing numerous fansites to take note of how he appears to resemble Luke Skywalker, played in the original 1977 film (A New Hope) by Mark Hamill . The Sydney Daily Telegraph commented that "the prescient casting of Christensen ensured a very believable father and son would work across three decades."


Spoiler Alert: Crucial 'Star Wars' Battle Scene Near Shooting
2 September 2003 (WENN)
Filming on George Lucas ' hugely anticipated Star Wars: Episode III is approaching a crucial stage - the battle between Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Fans of the George Lucas flicks are desperate to see the scene in which Obi-Wan cuts off Skywalker's leg, leading to Anakin becoming the evil Darth Vader. According to set insiders the sequence will be shot next week.


McCallum Reveals "Spoilers" for 'Star Wars: Episode 3'
19 August 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Presumably unconcerned that releasing tidbits of information about the plot of the upcoming Star Wars: Episode 3 will discourage fans from seeing it, producer Rick McCallum has revealed a number of what the online community calls "spoilers" during a chat with subscribers to the Star Wars: Hyperspace website. Among them: that the film will feature an underwater duel between Ewan McGregor and droids; a scene in which Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader; the meaning of the Darth Vader name (David Prowse , who played Vader in the original trilogy, will not return); there'll probably be a downbeat ending. Meanwhile, the British website itv.com is revealing that Christopher Lee , who plays Count Dooku, dies ten minutes into the opening of the new film. Britain's Guardian newspaper, which published details of the McCallum and ITV stories in today's (Tuesday) editions, commented afterwards, "Watch this space to have the experience of watching the film even more comprehensively ruined over the coming 12 months."


Star Wars III: Attack of the Mullets
10 July 2003 (WENN)
Star Wars movie-maker George Lucas is insisting all the characters in the new sci-fi sequel sport shaggy seventies-style haircuts - so they look like the stars of the original films. Star Wars: Episode III actors Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen , currently shooting the final installment on set in New South Wales, Australia, are showing off unfashionable "mullet" hairdos - because they were trendy when the first Star Wars film was made in 1977. An onset source explains, "The idea is that it will lead seamlessly on to the original Star Wars movie, starring Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill , which was filmed in the Seventies and had certain hallmarks of that era. It's a bid for continuity. They are trying to capture the shaggy look that was popular then."


'Star Wars' Shooting Starts
1 July 2003 (WENN)
Filming for the last ever Star Wars movie started on Monday - just one week after producer George Lucas put the finishing touches to the script. Shooting will take place in Sydney, Australia as well as Italy and Switzerland - and Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Ewan McGregor has already lined himself up a luxury apartment in Sydney for the duration of the Antipodean shoots. The final installment in the series will see Peter Mayhew reprise his role as hairy Chewbacca - a part he has not played since Return Of The Jedi in 1983.

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