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Galactic News
Friday May 31, 2002
Homing Beacon #61
The latest Homing Beacon has arrived, and today we get to talk about Episode II Easter Eggs! The Star Wars films are brimming with so much detail, that they require multiple viewings to soak it all in. First time screenings are to watch the main characters and the core story, but with subsequent viewings it's hard not to let your eye wander and take in some of the extras.
Sometimes, the details are intentional elements meant to remind you how the galaxy fits together. Other times, it's an unintentional flub that illustrates the complexities of filmmaking (keep track of the color of the clothes that Padmé packs on Coruscant in Episode II, for example). And, on occasion, the filmmakers purposely put in a little visual joke to reward sharp-eyed (or in some cases, sharp-eared) movie-goers.
Here's some of the things to watch for the next time you go to see Attack of the Clones.
- Trundling along the streets of Mos Espa as Anakin and Padmé go to meet Watto is none other than R5-D4, the grumpy astromech from Episode IV that blows its stack in front of Luke.
- What has become a tradition of sorts is the "Wilhelm," the affectionate moniker given to a very distinct scream sound effect used in all of the Star Wars films (and quite a few non-Star Wars films too). In A New Hope, it's the stormtrooper that plummets down the Death Star chasm. In Episode II, it's a Naboo soldier thrown in the opening explosion of the film.
- The very first shot of Episode II has an homage to another sci-fi classic as the camera tilts up to the crowded orbital traffic of Coruscant. "That shot had been executed in 2001: A Space Odyssey," explains John Knoll, one of Episode II's Visual Effects Supervisors. "I put an Orion space plane flying in there."
- Star Wars continuity purists will have a hard time explaining just how an X-wing fighter and TIE fighter got into the speeder chase over Coruscant.
- By now, many have spotted the familiar Millennium Falcon-style Corellian freighters docked on Naboo. "It was George Lucas' idea," says VFX Supervisor Pablo Helman. "He said something like, 'should we dare go there?' And we did." In addition to those saucer-shaped freighters, expanded universe fans might be able to spot a Corellian bulk freighter, the same model as Talon Karrde's Wild Karrde.
- It appears that Fett genes and low headroom don't mix. In an homage to the classic Star Wars misstep, wherein a stormtrooper bangs his head on a low-hanging door, Jango Fett also takes a wallop on the noggin -- complete with sound effect -- as he enters the Slave I after tangling with Obi-Wan.
- "There's these big cow-like creatures called shaaks that Anakin rides on Naboo," explains Knoll. "The shaaks got to be a bit of a joke with the crew. I put one in the asteroid sequence, in a reference to Ken Ralston [visual effects artist in the classic trilogy] having put potatoes and tennis shoes in space battle scenes previously. So there's a shaak there, but it's got the asteroid shader on it with craters. You really can't see it unless you start to look at it and see the legs and snout."
- "There may be a shaak on fire during the Clone War," hints Ben Snow, another of Episode II's Visual Effects Supervisors. "It was almost a competition. Can anyone get a shaak in their scene?"
Of course, for every confirmed Easter Egg, there are dozens of imagined ones (Luke's landspeeder? Sebulba? Darth Maul? Joey Fatone?). Keep a close eye on the screen during your next viewing, but remember: your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them.