Star Wars Episode II

31 May, 2000

In a bit of late breaking news, the good folks at Coming Attractions have sent us word that Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue) has been signed to play a role in both Episodes II and III. Exactly what that role will be is unknown at the moment. What is known is that the part will be very small in Episode II. However the role will be much larger in Episode III. Smits' screen time in Episode II will be similar to that of Sam Jackson in The Phantom Menace. It's an appropriate comparison as Jackson's part is supposed to be much larger in the next movie. Smits will only be needed for a few days of shooting for this movie.

31 May, 2000

Hayden Christensen has been training with Master Sayed Najem, a former Canadian Olympian, to learn martial arts. "I taught him all the basic moves of martial arts, the blocks, the punches, the kicks, the mental attitude to become an actor, to become a real martial artist," Najem says. "But the most important was the staff training for the light sabre."

He had been training Hayden's sister when she asked him to train her brother, hinting at his upcoming role. "This kid is going to be the biggest celebrity in the world,"says Najem enthusiastically. "He picked up the martial arts big time after only one week. He's so focused, he learns fast and yet he's so humble and quiet, I love it."

Najem has signed a contract to insure that he will continue to train Christensen during filming.

30 May, 2000

The official site announced that sound editor Ben Burtt will return. Burtt has held this position in all four of the existing Star Wars movies.

One potential problem for the production is the availability of Frank Oz. He will be in Montreal during the summer directing The Score with Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Ed Norton and Angela Bassett. Since Episode II will be filming at the same time the big question is how will Yoda be handled? Obviously the voicing can be done at any time but what about the puppet? Perhaps for this movie Yoda will be fully CGI. Anyone know more?

24 May, 2000

The crew is apparently in high gear on the Australian sets, preparing for Lucas to arrive in a few weeks to start filming. "We're down to the wire trying to get everything ready for when George [Lucas] arrives in Australia," producer Rick McCallum explains. "This is when everything major happens. We're making the movie."

He goes on to say that the crew is impressed with the casting of Hayden Christensen as Anakin. "Everyone's excited because I showed them some of the screen test," McCallum said. "He's really an unknown. I think the casting sends the signal that we're living by our word and that we are anxiously working to deliver something new with this film."

Christensen won't have it easy when he arrives in Australia. "As soon as he gets off the plane we'll be handing him over to Nick Gillard for Jedi training," McCallum smiled. "Plus hair, wardrobe, makeup. He'll be flat out from the minute he gets here until shooting."

Gillard isn't twiddling his thumbs waiting for that moment though. "Nick has been doing lots of interviewing," McCallum reports. "He's been going to a lot of fight clubs all over Sydney and seeing hundreds of stunt fighters."

23 May, 2000

C'mon you know you love him. Okay maybe you actually hate Jar Jar Binks but kids adore him. Lucasfilm spokesperson Lynn Hale spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about the issue. "Ohhh, but the kids love Jar Jar Binks. We get more mail for Jar Jar than anybody."

When it's pointed out that Jar Jar isn't real Hale replies, "So what? People love Yoda, and he's a puppet."

16 May, 2000

This shot is the first one from the Australian sets of the movie. What is it? I have no idea. It's almost certainly some sort of vehicle. It almost looks like a Star Destroyer. Could this be an early version of a Star Destroyer? I have no idea but it's fun to speculate.

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15 May, 2000

It's now official. Hayden Christensen will play Anakin Skywalker in Episode II & III. Unsurprisingly, he was pretty excited by the news. "I was just waking up and my roommate walked in and handed me the phone and it was my agent and manager, and they were pretty excited, so I knew as soon as I got on the phone," Christensen said. "I walked outside just stunned and in disbelief. I called my mom first thing, and my roommate started blaring the Star Wars soundtrack in the background. I didn't want to tell my mom right off, but of course she heard the music and started flipping out," he laughed.

Lucas said of him, "I'm looking forward to working with Hayden," Lucas said. "He did a great screen test with Natalie last weekend. He is very talented, has a great command of his craft, and I know that he has the physical and emotional attributes to play Anakin Skywalker at perhaps the most complex stage of Anakin's life."

Rick McCallum voiced similiar thoughts. "I couldn't be happier about the selection of Hayden," McCallum said. "He is a wonderful actor and has a great intensity. And I know we're in for some really great scenes between Natalie and Hayden."

Casting director Robin Gurland had the most illuminating comments on him. "There is something so interesting going on behind those eyes; you just want to know more. I think that's what my initial attraction was given that he fulfilled all of the other things that I was looking for as far as his look, his age, his temperament and his innate quality. But, besides that, to me, he is just an amazingly seductive and intriguing actor."

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5 May, 2000

AICN is reporting that Hayden Christensen is definitely going to be Anakin. Ryan Phillipe is also in the movie, playing Bail Organa. Colin Hanks, Tom Hanks son, will be in it too, playing the part of Kister. There is no official word from LucasFilm but it sounds like this is legitimate.

To be on the cautious side I'm going to leave up the list of Anakin wannabes for the time being.

4 May, 2000

Okay today we go back to Anakin speculation and in a big way. This guy to the left is Hayden Christensen and according to Variety, he is close to getting the role. His credits to date include a role in Fox Family Channel's series Higher Ground and a made for TV movie called Trapped in a Purple Haze.

It would appear that the rumors of Ryan Phillipe and Christian Bale being up for the role were either smokescreens or slightly innacurate. According to AICN and TheForce.net those two are actually up for the role of Bail Organa, Leia's adoptive father. That would make a lot more sense as those two are too old for the part of a teenage Anakin.

We know that screen tests were held recently so one way or another it shouldn't be long before we have an answer.

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3 May, 2000

Let's take a break from the Anakin speculation today and instead focus on speculating on the Sith. Coming Attractions is reporting that Cylk Cozart ( Conspiracy Theory) is being considered for the role of a Sith apprentice. It also says that Gabriel Byrne (End of Days) is up for the role of Sith master. Is there any truth to this? Who knows but it makes for some interesting speculation. It is worth noting that Cozart has experience as a kickboxer and as a professional basketball player.

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2 May, 2000

Over the weekend screen tests were held for the role of Anakin. Natalie Portman was brought in to read opposite the actors on the short list for the part. On hand were Lucas, producer Rick McCallum and casting director Robin Gurland. What was the result of the screen tests? "George and Robin and I need to put our heads together," said McCallum. "It could be several weeks before we know anything. This is just one step in the process. The casting of Anakin is always a very emotional thing... it was for Episode I."

Great, more waiting. Lucas did start to get some use out of his fancy new digital cameras though. All the screen tests were shot on the same cameras that will be used to shoot much of Episode II.

26 April, 2000

Natalie Portman is getting ready to head to Australia to start shooting Episode II. "I get a week and a half off from school, and then I head to Australia in June for the next one," she said.

Don't ask her who will be playing Anakin. She doesn't know. "I promised them I wouldn't tell anyone if they told me the names, but I probably would, and that's why they're keeping me in the dark," she told E!. "But I will be reading with people at the end of the month."

Rick McCallum meanwhile is flying all over the world trying to prepare for filming. "Obviously we're getting into serious crunch time," McCallum said. "We're building sets like crazy and adding new construction workers daily. We'll probably max out next week with about 200 construction crew in total."

Back at the ranch, design chief Doug Chiang is busy painting several important points in the film. "We're deeply into jamming mode," he says. The sculpture team is working at full capacity making maquettes and 3D models of approved designs.

19 April, 2000

Could this guy be the new Sith apprentice? According to Ain't It Cool News the answer is yes. His name is Makiya Yamaguchi. Reportedly he is signed for Episode II & III. He has only had a couple roles, both minor, in his homeland of Japan.

He isn't a flashy fighter along the lines of Ray Park but is more a quick and dirty combatant. Reportedly he has a real cockiness about him that projects well.

The informant who turned in this info all claimed to have seen sketches of the design.

Face : dark grey, dark horizontal band from one ear to the other that makes him look like that girl robot in "Blade Runner." (no horns)

Body = Also Dark grey, covered with small sigils/marks

Eyes = solid black (i.e. no white parts, like "Hellraiser")

Main Clothes : black (of course), a dark face mask in some sketches, but not all, many sigils (is that what they are called?) on his robes, that seem to do something.... One sketch had text on the bottom, and the part that stands out most to me was "Hologram in the Jedi Council chamber"

Other Clothes : There was this folder with this character in many settings and also in other customes. His appearance seemed to change like a chameleon. (Cool!)

Weapons : Sorry... didn't see. But I was told they would all be made with CG.

This should all be taken with a grain of salt until further evidence appears but its still early so every juicy rumor gets a little attention.

What do you think of this guy? Talk about it on the Forums

While we're at it, toss American Psycho star Christian Bale's name into the ring with the rest of the contenders. When asked about the rumor by MSNBC, he replied "You wouldn't have heard that from me. My lips are sealed. End of subject."

I wouldn't put much weight in this rumor. Anakin is supposed to be a teenager in Episode II and Bale is just too old to pull that off convincingly.

17 April, 2000

Last week Samuel L. Jackson appeared on the Rosie O'Donnell Show (poor guy) to promote Rules of Engagement. He talked a little bit about Episode II. He said he first heard his character would be back when Lucas said it while a guest on the show last year. Jackson said that Nick Gillard (stunt coordinator on Episode I) worked with him on Shaft and told him that he was going to have a lot of heavy fighting in Episode II. Gillard was going to send him a tape of moves to work on before they started filming. Jackson was very excited by the prospect of wielding a lightsaber.

Will Sam kick ass? Talk about it on the Forums

14 April, 2000

George Lucas is enlisting the aid of Jonathan Hales to polish his script for Episode II. The official website put out this statement.

Pre-production continues on Star Wars: Episode II, with the script nearing completion. George Lucas has written several drafts of the screenplay and set the stage for the action, events and characters to be seen in the movie. To refine the script into its final drafts, Lucas has enlisted the aid of screenwriter Jonathan Hales. Hales and Lucas have had an association through The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Hales wrote or co-wrote several episodes of the critically-acclaimed television series, including the feature-length Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal, Young Indiana Jones and the Scandal of 1920, and Young Indiana Jones: Tales of Innocence (available on videocassette).

Principle photography -- which will be executed with digital cameras -- begins this summer.

13 April, 2000

Here's an odd bit of casting news for you. Ain't It Cool News is reporting that Christopher Walken has been cast in the movie. There is no word on what part he might play or how large the role. He might make a good young Grand Moff Tarkin.

11 April, 2000

George Lucas has been making it clear for some time that he would like to shoot much of Episode II on digital cameras. It looks like that will be a reality. He announced that a great part of the movie will be shot on Sony's HDW-F900 camera with Panavision Primo Digital(tm) lenses. "The tests have convinced me that the familiar look and feel of motion picture film are fully present in this digital 24P system, and that the picture quality between the two is indistinguishable on the large screen," Lucas said. "It's an exciting step that we are taking, and working with SONY and PANAVISION, we plan to further advance this system over the coming years."

The cameras shoot 24 frames per second like a traditional film camera. The switch to digital cameras should help to reduce costs in the editing process. The digital cameras negate the need for the expensive transfer of film to digital images.

Producer Rick McCallum said "We start shooting Episode II in Australia in June. All of the sets are in final stages of construction. In August the shooting will move to Italy and to Tunisia. We will shoot for a total of three months and then we plan to spend about 18 months in postproduction."

4 April, 2000

All of you working yourselves into a frenzy over the possibility of Leonardo DiCaprio playing Anakin can relax. In an interview with USA Today, Leo's spokesman Ken Sunshine said, "He met with George Lucas, but he is definitely unavailable." Don't you feel better now?

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