8. The Key to C-3PO Is His Expressionless Face
Daniels said that he was given an assortment of possible C-3PO heads to choose from and that many of the designs he absolutely loved. The only one he didn’t was the one that Lucas ultimately chose. But Lucas had a good reason for choosing that head. “The key to the construction of you was the face,” Lucas explained. “The face had to be absolutely neutral so you could act and your acting would come through and it wouldn’t be counter to what your face was doing. So by having your face completely neutral, and that’s why I hired a mime, because the acting was in the physicality of it. You say, ‘Well what is he thinking?’ Nothing. But when you’re in it this whole personality was there and this character was there.”
9. Daniels’ Favorite Memory Involved Lucas Playing R2-D2
With the release of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” C-3PO and R2-D2 are the only characters who have appeared in every single “Star Wars” installment. So Warwick Davis asked Daniels what his favorite memory from the movies was and he came back with a surprisingly adorable answer. “They were setting up this box with a mirror on it to make Jabba’s palace matte painting,” Daniels said, turning towards Lucas. “And I did my line and heard this beeping and there you were, on your knees, going Beep beep beep.” Daniels then added: “It was the cutest moment ever.”
10. Also Adorable: Chewbacca’s Origins
Lucas confirmed many of the stories about where Chewbacca, Han Solo’s trustworthy sidekick, originated. “The stories are all true. I had a large dog named Indiana and he would ride around in the car in the front seat and I loved that image of driving with this large dog, because when he sat in the car he was bigger than I was. That’s where I said, ‘That would be a fun character for Star Wars.'” What might not be as well known is how some characteristics of the character were later utilized in another movie in the series. “Originally the Wookies were what the Ewoks became, they weren’t technical at all, they were primitive. When I realized I had to take the Wookies out of the movie I had to save one and I made him the copilot,” Lucas said. “That’s how he ended up with his starring role.”
11. Two Things Informed the Creation of Lando
Billy Dee Williams, who looked like a cool customer in a purple silk shirt and matching purple sunglasses, said that he was a professed fan of “THX-1138,” the experimental sci-fi film Lucas made before “American Graffiti,” and that getting a chance to work with the filmmaker was “like going straight to heaven.” He also explained what helped inform the character. “Two things: the cape and Calrissian, which is an Armenian name.”
“I didn’t want to do a stereotypical, cliché character. I wanted to bring something special to it. Something bigger than life,” he added. Mission: accomplished. Update: in a separate panel, Billy Dee Williams confirmed that Landon Calrissian won’t appear in “The Last Jedi.” Sorry, rumors.
12. Mark Hamill Is Still Haunted by Lucas’ Techno-babble Dialogue
At one point Mark Hamill broke down a chunk of dialogue originally intended for the film (and something that Hamill, amazingly, still has memorized). After going through the dialogue, he diagnosed the problem. “It made sense intellectually,” Hamill said. “The problem was making it seem like it was just rolling off the tongue.” Lucas agreed: “He was right. It is a bit much.” Moments later, when Harrison Ford took the stage, he continued to riff on the stuck-in-the-roof-of-your-mouth-like-peanut-butter wording. “I said to George, ‘You can type this shit but you can’t say it. Move your mouth while you’re typing it.’ ”
13. Samuel L. Jackson Is Desperate To Return to the “Star Wars” Universe… Kinda/Jar Jar Gets A Mention.
While not in attendance at celebration, past saga stars such as Samuel L. Jackson appeared via a video message and the actor insists his fallen Jedi Mace Windu isn’t dead. “We know Jedi can fall from incredible heights and survive. I am not dead!” Jackson said. “We know a long rich history ‘Star Wars’ characters reappearing with new appendages. Mace Windu is awaiting his return.” We’re not sure anyone actually believes this outside of Sam Jackson, but sure, let ’em have this fantasy. Meanwhile, in other prequel video appearances Liam Neeson turned up via Skype and dropped a little dig at his “Phantom Menance” pet. “We’re making a movie, a very unofficial movie, about Jar-Jar Binks. Spoiler alert: he did go to the dark side.” One has to imagine this still bothers Lucas.
14. The Details of Harrison Ford’s Casting Remain Highly Contested
When the subject of Ford’s casting came up, Lucas admitted that the actor had returned to his day job as a carpenter following a brief part in “American Graffiti,” but his work on the film had left Lucas with the desire to give the actor a bigger role in whatever he directed next. “Later I found out it was the casting director who said, ‘Sit out by the office and pretend that you’re building something,'” Lucas said, dispelling decades of mythologizing about how Ford came to be a part of the movie, but it’s something that Ford immediately shot down. It seems the actual details are far more interesting. “I was installing a door for Francis Ford Coppola as a favor to his art director because he couldn’t find anybody else who could do it,” Ford began. “So I said I’d do it but only at night. One morning, while I was finishing the door, in walked George with Richard Dreyfuss. We just chatted and said hello. The story has gotten a little warped. I was actually there working. You think I’d sit out front and wait for you? I love you but I don’t wait out front. I was working. I was making a living. And happily I still am.” Ford then thanked Lucas before turning to the audience and saying, “And thank you.”
15. Ford Has Made Peace with ‘Star Wars’
Over the years Harrison Ford has gained a reputation as the grumpiest member of the original “Star Wars” crew and the one least appreciative of the franchise. (Those who were shocked as his death in “The Force Awakens” clearly hadn’t paid attention to the previous 30 years of interviews where the actor complained about not being given a hero’s death at the end of “Return of the Jedi.”) But during the panel, Ford seemed one with the Force – calm and grateful, perhaps re-energized by the success of “The Force Awakens.” When summing up his experience on the films, he sounded downright sappy. “You could have the most brilliant cast in the world but they have a story to tell,” Ford said. “And the story we had to tell was more than sufficient, it was full of humor and emotion and conflict. It was a brilliant invention of a mythology that has sustained interest for over 40 years.” Yes, yes it did.
16. Carrie Fisher Will Be Sorely Missed
This isn’t something we learned, it’s something we’ve felt since Fisher’s passing in late December. But the latter portion of the panel, almost completely dedicated to Fisher’s memory, was truly moving. Both Lucas and Kennedy gave their heartfelt remembrances (Lucas called her a “modern woman” and the only person who could have truly embodied the character); a loving montage was run (which you can already watch online); and Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, spoke beautifully about her mother while wearing a Leia-worthy white dress. Afterwards, when Williams was revealed, the first piece of music they played was “Princess Leia’s Theme.” You could hear members of the audience sobbing. One of the lessons her mother imparted on Lourd was that, “If life isn’t funny, it’s just true. And that isn’t acceptable.” That seemed to sum up not only Fisher but the “Star Wars” series as a whole. After giving her speech, Lourd turned to the audience and said, “Thank you for loving her and carrying on what she stands for. I’m beyond grateful.”