Interview with... Nick Gillard

Hands up here who doesn't like Star Wars light sabre's?
Okay, yep, go away.

Okay, now this interview is for the Star Wars fans who love to have light sabre fights. I'm sure you will dig just what Nick Gillard has to say in this interview.



1. What design differences/advancements did you bring to the Star Wars light sabres?

We started on Phantom Menace with thick aluminum poles, very heavy, very clumsy, and they bent all the time, especially Ewan Mcgregor's who tends to hit very hard. So on episode 2 we spent a lot of time testing other materials and discovered a metal alloy called 'Derillium' which is used in the aviation industry, very strong and doesn't break, it also enabled us to reduce the circumference and weight. The one I use is 3 mm thick..

2. What can you tell us about the character, Cin Drallig?

He was more in touch with the Dark Side than most people think..



3. What was it like on the set of Star Wars?

It was a lot easier than some sets I have been on. The good thing about working on Star Wars is that you are working alongside some of the best people in the business, you also know that the Buck stops with George and not some faceless studio executive..

4. What's the most dangerous stunt you have performed?

Hard to say.. Jumping a 30 foot power boat over a bridge in Amsterdam. Being on fire for over 2 minuets. A 200 foot fall backwards. A lay out back somersault of a galloping horse. Jumping a car of a cliff.. They were all pretty dangerous..

5. I cant imagine a show like Agatha Christie’s: Poirot needing a stunt double. What stunt did you perform?

Can't remember to much as it was a long time ago.. I remember we had to crash a 1930s Aston Martin Lagonda without damaging it which took a bit of planning..




Whew! After that interview I'm going to need to sit down.
Move over Ewan!

:)

Thanks for your time with this interview Nick.
All the best.

What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au

Interview with... Tony McVey

Now you're in for a treat.
I had the chance to interview professional sculpture, Tony McVey.
Tony's worked on, of course, Star Wars. He's also done plenty of other work in pop culture.
Have a read, and I'm sure you'll be interested.
(Thanks Tony!)



1. How do you become a professional sculpture on one of the biggest movies franchises of our time?

Before being hired for Return of the Jedi, I had spent the previous year working on Jim Henson's puppet movie The Dark Crystal. When I was done with that, I and a co-worker flew to Los Angeles and interviewed at some of the visual effects companies in Hollywood, and then drove up to San Francisco to talk to Phil Tippett, who at the time was setting up a workshop to create the puppets and costumes for Jedi, and he hired both of us.
I'm sure the many months we'd spent on Henson's project was a contributing factor, but I had also sculpted two characters for Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and since Phil and Ray were long time friends, I suspect that may also have been an element in his decision.

2. What differences did you experience between Star Wars: Episode 6, and Episodes 1 & 2?

I worked for about a year on Jedi, compared to a few months on Phantom Menace and Clones, and in contrast to finished puppets and costumes for the former, only did character maquettes and one scanning model (Yoda) for the other two.



3. Have you ever attended a Star Wars convention? I hear the fans can be a bit out there.

I've never attended a SW convention, but I've heard all about them from co-workers who have.

4. What was it like on the Star Wars sets?

All the live action filming was done either in the UK or Australia, and I spent all my time in the creature workshop, and was never required on set, although I did get to see some of the blue screen model shots done on the insert stages at ILM.

5. What’s coming up next for you?


Well, for the past 3 years I've been working on a number of movies for director Bob Zemeckis; Beowulf, A Christmas Carol, Mars Needs Moms and most recently, a brief period on the remake of Yellow Submarine for Disney.
At present, I'm working on my own stop-motion science-fiction series and hope to have the first episode completed by the end of the year.







Thank you for your time with this inteview Tony.
I wish you all the very best. I hope my readers' enjoyed the interview too.

What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au
Regards,

Interview with... Terence Mustoo

Next up in my series of Star Wars interviews is one I had the pleasure of conducting with a true professional, and gentleman.
Of course I am refering to Terence Mustoo.
Enjoy.



1. How did you get involved in the Star Wars films?

My agent rang me for a fitting on ESB and as I loved Star Wars it was very exciting.

2. What was it like on the set of Star Wars?

On ESB we were in the controle dip on a star destroyer. The fun was that the consels were standing on plastic bread boxes so we had to hold onto them when the ship was hit so they didn't wobble about!
On Jedi I was in the brifing set. It was very hot in my leather helmet, lucky I wasn't in a mask, they had to have cold hair dryers blown at them.



3. Can you please tell us about your work as a writer?

I wrote a musical called SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE DEERSTALKER (music by Doug Flack)which was done at the Queens theatre and published, also turned into a novel. I write pantos and a history of the shakespearian playhouse. I love writing and have done some 'ghost writing'.

4. What's coming up next for you?


I'm doing a signing at Earls Court Toy convension on the 17th of July, and I can be seen as the Vicar in Marple the mirror cracked.



Thank you for your time with the interview Terence.
All my very best.

What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au

Interview with... Peter Sumner

Here's a Star Wars interview for you, but with a huge twist.
Not often do I get to interview sheer Aussie legends, and if you check out Peter's resume (to date) you'll see that's just what he is.
Go on, take a look.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0838891/
Pretty neat hey?
I hope you get a kick out of this interview.



1. How did you find working on Play School?

I loved working on 'Play School'. In the sixties I found myself working with several different ABCTV childrens' shows and there's no audience as honest as children. I was the 'stand in ' presenter for Play School. When the main presenters such as John Hamblyn went on holidays or did other work, I stood in.

2. What was it like filming Cop Shop?

Cop Shop was exciting. I appeared in the first six episodes as a rogue cop and a couple of years later came in to work opposite my new wife Lynda Stoner. I played a nightclub owner who became romantically involved with the cop character Lynda played. At that time we were living in Melbourne.

3. You've been on some of Australia's top TV shows. What can you tell us about them?

I suppose the most high profile would have been Spyforce because I played a lead opposite Jack Thompson. We spent two years fighting the war in the jungles of Narrabeen on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Great fun because we were like boys playing war games.
Jack was the outgoing Aussie spy Erskine and I played the Haber character, who of course had a German background which led to lots of scripted tensions and fights. Many memorable episodes including one with the legendary actor Chips Rafferty as our guest. This series was produced by Paramount Television and has been screening round the world for over thirty years. You can still ocassionally catch an episode very early morning on Channel Nine.

4. Without discrediting other shows, which has been your favourite show to work on, and why?

I can't tell you which show is my favourite as I've enjoyed so many of them. As an actor the most rewarding productions have been with Bell Shakespeare playing roles like Prospero in The Tempest.



5. What can you tell us about your time on the set of Star Wars?


After living in Bali for several months with my wife and two small daughters, we went to London. My agent Marina Martin rang me to say there were a couple of days in this funny little American Sci-Fi movie - did I want the role? So I found myself at one of the studios outside London.
They dressed me in the Dark Star suit (luckily no mask) and I worked with this young director called George Lucas, who seemed a bit nerdy to tell you the truth. I was amazed at the sets and knew the film may be more than expected when I saw one of my acting heroes on set - Alec Guiness.

6. What's coming up next for you?

I have written a screenplay called Spider Dance about the infamous courtesan Lola Montez' six months in the colony of Australia in 1855. The producer is raising the budget overseas and hopefully this project will go into production at the end of 2010.


In closing I want to thank Peter for the honour of this interview. It really meant a great deal to me.
I'd encourage my readers to head to www.petersumner.com/
It's pretty darn cool!

What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au
Until next time.

Interview with... Kiran Shah

As you know, I'll interview pretty much anyone in the movie industry.
If I think my readers' will get a kick out of it, I'll post it.

Rarely though do I get the chance to interview some interesting characters, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone more interesting than Kiran Shah.
Enjoy!



1. How did you become involved in stunt work for movies?

The first film I did ‘The Candleshoe’ I was standing in for a young girl called Sara Tamakuni. On Location Bob Anderson spotted me and asked me if I would like to do stunts for Sara and I replied Yes. From there my stunt life started.

2. You were Elijah Wood's body double for The Lord Of The Rings films. What was this like?

I really enjoyed working with Elijah Wood and all the other actors. We all got on well and had fun.



3. To date what has been your favourite production to work on?

I have enjoyed working on all the films I have done. The favourites have been ‘Dark Crystal’, ‘Legend’, ‘The Lord of the Ring, ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ and few others.



4. You've appeared in many varied productions over the years. What requirements have there been for you, as an actor?

The requirements on varied productions as an actor are first is to enjoy what you do, two the actors should be able to pick up things like fights, horse riding and so on, three learn about your character and most of all have fun. Where else can you get to play with toys learn new skills etc.




What did I tell you? You've got to love the Ewoks!
Thank you to Kiran for your help. It's very much appreciated.

What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au
Until next time.

Interview with... Tom Egeland

And now I bring you a very interesting Star Wars interview.
It's my honour to bring to you, my interview with Tom Egeland.

1. How did you get involved in The Empire Strikes Back?

During high school I worked as an extra on a few Norwegian movies. When the US movie company needed extras at Finse, the Norwegian movie company called all the extras on their list and asked if we wanted to participate.



2. Some of my Australian and US-based readers may not know Dekkaraika. what can you tell us about it?

I have no idea what that word or name means? I even tried to google it to no avail.

The ever reliable www.imdb.com has Dekkaraika listed for Tom Egeland's name. It's a talk show he was on once.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2261501/



3. In 2008 Night Of The Wolf was released, based on the novel and screenplay you wrote. What can you tell us about this?

During a live discussion programme on Norwegian television where several prominent politicians are present, a group of Chechens take up arms. Shockedviewers witness a dramatic hostage situation - and the terrorrists demand that the TV-channel broadcast every minute of the bloody drama. Outside the studio the police are working hard to resolve the situation, but it soon becomes clear that not everyone involved are who they pretend to be, and that powerful people in the East will go to drastic steps to conceal the true story behind the tragedy.

4. How did you find writing the screenplay, over writing the novel?

Two different worlds. A novel is the author's domain. A movie is a teamwork. In the novel, the author decides everything. Writing a movie script, you're really the director's (and producer's) right arm. It's fun to write a movie script, because you have to think visually, but you have more control over your material when you write a novel.

5. What's coming up next for you?

July 29th I'm publishing my next novel: "The Lies of the Fathers", an epic drama about four generations of men.


Thank to Tom for allowing me the chance to interview him!
Hope you all enjoyed.
What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au
Until next time.

Interview with... Alan Flyng

With this interview I have to say, "I'm flying."
If you caught the obscure Chopper reference there, you're a true movie buff.
Okay all jokes aside, this is an interview in my series of Star Wars interviews.
I bring to you, my interview with Alan Flyng.



1. It must be an exciting job. May I ask, how do you get to be in the Costume and Wardrobe Design department for movies?

Over the years as an actor, I made a lot of friends amongst the technicians – wardrobe as well. I had a lot of experience of tailoring and costume making too, as I had performed extensively in theatre and light entertainment, providing my own, as well as others’ costumes, when budgets did not allow for rental or makes. It was as a result of working at the National Theatre (now the Royal National Theatre), that I met a designer, David Perry, who asked me to work with him on a film commissioned by Channel 4, called ‘Giro City’. I left the National and that was the start of my work behind the camera. I must have been good, as I went from film to film, learning more with each project and working my way up as I went. I still performed in shows and cabaret, but rarely thereafter in front of the camera again.

2. The Hornblower series had some elaborate costumes. Were they original, made for the productions, or did you have to locate them externally?

The Costume Designer of the Hornblowers was also the very same John Mollo of Star Wars fame! We had met and become friends whilst working on ‘Revolution’ – the Al Pacino film. John is acknowledged as a world expert in militaria and uniforms pre-1900, and he commissioned the making of historically accurate uniforms through the costume house, Angels, in London. Much of the crowd costume came from there - some of which were original - as well as assorted other costume resources and collections.
During the course of filming, it was necessary to make for actors and actresses, which was a task I undertook in Menorca and again in the UK. Speed was often of the essence and it was financially not worth getting things made at huge expense when I was in the Costume Department already.

3. What differences did you find for the wardrobe between movies such as Hornblower, and Garfield 2: The Tale Of Two Kitties?

Garfield 2 was a rather strange experience for me and definitely not the usual way films are made! I had an emergency call from the costume department to come in and remake certain uniforms for the exterior Buckingham Palace sequences, as the antique rented originals were too long in the body and arms for the extras engaged. Then, all of a sudden, it became obvious that costume purchased in L.A. for Billy Connolly and the American lead were not fitted prior to shipping and time was too short to buy again. I was asked to drive to York in the North of England in time to meet Billy as he flew in and to fit and remake his suits for the first few days of filming. He was due to shoot the next day and I worked through the night altering his Morning suits and their stunt doubles to fit and also the suit the principal actor needed for his first shot in a car. It turned into a 10 day scrabble with hardly any sleep to do all that was needed, but I succeeded in remaking Billy’s entire wardrobe in the time allowed, as the results on screen prove!
John Mollo, on the other hand, took great care and research to be certain that what was made was perfect for filming, down to having Orders of Merit embroidered in India in bullion wire to having buckles for soldiers’ cross straps cast and engraved. A master of his trade indeed! The makes I did on the production were to cover the wrong measures sent by agents for actors turning up after we had shipped our stock, or if we needed extra doubles for stunt work or destruction.

4. What was it like on set for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi?

I have said on other occasions that my involvement on ROTJ was minimal, due to the fact I tend to do what is required with the minimum of fuss and so finish my work quickly! I had little time to remark much on the atmosphere, apart from the fact that I was stepping into the shoes of another and rescuing the role within the scheduled period set aside to complete. I think there was a slightly tense expectation that it would take longer than it did and a feeling of relief, attested by a sea of smiles, when I completed with no problems. The crew members I knew already were pleased to see me and made me welcome immediately, as I was fitted (firstly in the wrong outfit, as seen in the Polaroid out there on the web) and in front of camera in double quick time. There must have been anxiety I would also not be able to complete, as I was replacing an actor originally cast who had been unable to perform and a lot was riding on my performance at what turned out to be a pivotal point in the movie.

5. What’s coming up next for you?

I designed a movie with Tim Spall, Honor Blackman, Rhona Mitra and James Callis called ‘Re-Uniting the Rubins’ last year, directed by Yoav Factor, which will be released this year, but I have been asked to redesign the opening sequences due to script changes requested by the Producers – so I will be doing that next. Otherwise, I have plenty of public appearances booked and look forward to meeting as many other fans, geeks and nerds like me, as possible! That is what makes the whole experience so enjoyable – people with a passion and a welcoming smile! I have just come back from a wonderful convention in Denmark, which was fantastic and am next appearing at Bournemouth for Sci-Fi Collectors South with a very impressive list of guest signers, which I know will be great fun! I will then be signing at London Film and Comic Con at Earls Court 2 in July, which will probably be the largest convention of the year!

Thank you for your invitation to be interviewed and I wish your readers all the best in their quest to meet and sign and collect whoever and whatever interests them from the Star Wars legacy!

I hope you guys enjoyed that one. I sure did.

Thanks to Alan for his help with the interview. I couldn't have done it without you! :)

What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au

Until next time.