Star Wars Special Talking Movies


Star Wars Special

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one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year.

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Welcome to a special edition of Talking Movies, devoted to what for

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many has been most eagerly awaited movie of 2015, Star Wars The Force

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Awakens. We report on the launch in Los Angeles.

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Who came and what they said. This isn't about recapturing what we did

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before. It is about making that jumped to hyperspace into the

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future. How does the new picture rate, what

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to critics make of it? Everybody seems to love this movie.

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We also go back to the origins of Star Wars and the cultural impacts

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on George Lucas when he was created. -- when he created it.

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I want to bring Star Wars intimate everyday life.

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And white Hollywood was never quite the same again after Star Wars made

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its mark. And two actors at the forefront of

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the new film and be explorer Star Wars' long-standing British

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connection. All that and more on this special

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Star Wars edition of Talking Movies. The force is very much with us. Star

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Wars is currently viewable at cinemas across the planet, except in

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China where it will be released next month. At the intense, some would

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say absurd, levels of speculation, we can tell you everything we know

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about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was given a massive premiere in

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Los Angeles, the first... Fans have been waiting for days to

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see this extravaganza. The fiction Star Wars act as word beer including

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Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker.

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He cautioned to keep it all in perspective. It is only a movie and

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if you think you are going to go into the movie and recapture your

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childhood, you're setting yourself for disappointment.

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The new film is set several decades after the return of -- the end of

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the Return of the Jedi. Rey gets involved in efforts to find Luke

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Skywalker, all the while saving the galaxy from the villainous first

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order. There are certain things you will

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see in this movie that feel incredibly familiar and will be

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things that feel new. This is just the next chapter. So you want to see

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and experience new places, new characters. But it is also a

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continuum and the idea was with the number of years having pasta that

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this movie be a bridge that uses the things that have come before, the

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history, the characters, the world, and use those elements as the DNA

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for telling a news story. The Force Awakens puts a new

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spotlight on a new generation of characters and actors. There is

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Finn, a storm trooper played by British actor. John Boyega feels at

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home in his character's shoes. It is second nature, it feels muscle

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memory. It feels good to walk in his shoes. I know that the majority of

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fans will love it. And Daisy Ridley is impressed by the

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female power in the film. It is wonderful that women are

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represented as much as men. It doesn't happen enough yet but it is

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wonderful to be part of a felon that it is happening in.

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Full Mac is benefiting from masses of fan love and publicity. Some even

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try to get a quote from you order. Fans couldn't get enough and the

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verdict from the first to see it was positive.

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It was amazing, it was everything we had been waiting for.

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You want to be disappointed. Critics have been equally buoyant. I

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think the initial critical responses over the moon. Everyone seems to

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love this movie. Working at the first screening, everybody seemed

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positive. Going into it, people have memories of the prequels and what a

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disappointment that was for people and critics alike. The bottom line

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is that this is a return to what George Lucas created in the first

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trilogy and much closer in spirit to those films so that registered with

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critics. You can detect that it has been

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lovingly put together but it also has the hallmarks of a carefully

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calibrated corporate product. Disney and worry. The Force Awakens has

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effectively rebooted one of cinema's greatest franchises and handed the

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reins over to a new generation of talented Star Wars actors. Star Wars

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is in just a film franchise. It is beloved by legions of fans around

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the world who have turned it into a merchandising phenomenon. The

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franchise makes more money through merchandising than tickets sales.

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What is interesting the Star Wars is that the merchandising helps to tell

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the story. And how female fans are among the franchise's most ardent.

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The merchandising of the Star Wars franchise has resulted in over $20

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billion in sales since the first 's film was released in 1977. Now with

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hype at an all-time high, it is expected that could reach 5 billion

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in sales in the next few years alone.

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I am so inspired by Star Wars. It is a story of hope, and overcoming

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evil. I want to bring Star Wars intimate everyday life.

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Ashley is the voice of on the television animation series and a

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super fan in her own right. I have a Star Wars jacket. When I

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put it on, it is more than a fashion statement. I feel very empowered. I

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feel like I am putting on Star Wars and so throughout that day I am

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going to be able to fight off evil and just fight for good and I think

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that is what merchandise brings to fans. It is really empowering.

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Before Star Wars came along, film merchandising that exist. Charlie

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Chaplin argue blue launched the concept of products and toys related

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to his character in the 1920s. Disney followed suit but Star Wars

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went deeper, extending the story is any series of novels and comics.

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With guidance from what is called the story group, who helped in the

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original franchise, they have helped plot out the developments in the new

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film. They frequently appear on the New York Times bestseller list.

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The characters and stories are so flexible that it can appeal to a

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mass group of people. Annie stall is an associate director

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I have been a Star Wars fan all my I have been a Star Wars fan all my

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life. I love the clothes and the design and the artwork.

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She perched designs for Star Wars products to Lucasfilm and they

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accepted them, meaning you can see her work on various items. Star Wars

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is unique in allowing that kind of fancy back but for a long time

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e-mail fans felt like they were not being represented in Star Wars

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merchandise that female fans. Star Wars a trailblazer for ...

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The idea that Star Wars is a boys club is being rapidly dispelled. Not

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only by the makers of the films but also the producers of merchandise.

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As a little kid, I never had the sense that it was a boys club. Me

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and my dad and my brother played together. I never felt that it

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wasn't for girls. I duly little short for a storm

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trooper? I started doing my research and

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found out that half of all Star Wars fans are women and 85% of consumer

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purchases are made by women. Ashley started to run company which

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sells Star Wars inspired fashion to female fans along with apparel

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inspired by other geeky franchises like Dr Who and Star Trek. Her

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business has expanded rapidly in recent years. A fashion labels are

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now getting in on it as well. Bloomingdale's recently hosted a

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fashion show with Star Wars inspired designs for both men and women when

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major designers, including Giles Deacon. It is the latest sign that

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Star Wars fandom is not only something that is cool to flaunt but

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something that everyone can enjoy together.

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Star Wars has brought fans more than just a movie-going experience. It is

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a collection of characters and adventures that have made an

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unusually strong connection with audiences. Why has it been such a

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successful narrative? We have gone back to the origins to see what was

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influencing the mind of George Lucas when he was creating Star Wars in

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the mid-19 70s. George Lucas is now 71 years old and

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was 33 when the first Star Wars film was released. In fashioning the

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picture, he was inspired by brought range of cultural influences like

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Flash Gordon and the Japanese picture the Headon Fortress. --

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Headon he lives and breathes Star Wars. The

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lamb war also find expression in the Star Wars film.

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The original conception of the Emperor was very much a Nixon like

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politician. Something that was largely discarded as the cycle moved

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along. This man is a philosopher who use of

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Star Wars. Western traditions. It will be sort of reduced to what he

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calls the heroes journey. There is something universally fanatic and a

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great success of Star Wars I think is that it draws on that. Whatever

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George Lucas did, Star Wars had an energising and spellbinding effect.

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There is something about the timeless struggle of light and dark

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and swords, it is everything put together. It is so many different

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types of genres melded into one thing, it appeals to some people.

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Some film critics claim Star Wars had a destructive impact on movie

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culture. going to bury what movie culture had

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been into an unreality zone where movies would now be about fantasy,

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comic books, et cetera. Star Wars fans are not concerned, they are

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happy to buy into the unreality, they don't think they are being

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harmed, far from it. They believe there is something sacred in this

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saga, which is to them a cultural unifier. The believers, George Lucas

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gave himself a gift to the ever expanding universe. With the novels

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and comic books and role-playing, people love playing in that world.

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It is sacred to them, and that is what great sci-fi films provide. The

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film itself was shot largely in the UK, as was the original trilogy. Al

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Maloney has been exploring the Star Wars British connection.

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The title card may read a galaxy far far away, but for many the UK is the

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spiritual world of the universe. It goes back almost 40 years to when a

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young George Lucas was desperately searching for a location to film his

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space opera. This is where it all began, Elstree Studios, the home of

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the shining, the Indiana Jones films, Dambusters, and many others.

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And also the original Star Wars trilogy. It could have all been so

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different, at the time Elstree was closed and the movie producers were

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close to agreeing a deal to film in Rome, that is until they found out

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that he Italian sound stages weren't soundproof. George Lucas had further

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negotiations with Elstree, owned by EMI at the time. We were having

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discussions with EMI to see if they would give a discount, and I am

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believed we were turned down because they didn't think there was much of

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a future for science-fiction films. The deal was agreed eventually, and

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why it went over budget and over schedule, on its release it became a

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phenomenon. Record box office takings in short a sequel and a

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return to Elstree. On the set of the Empire strikes back in 1979,

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director Irving Kirsch was full of praise for the British troops. The

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technicians I'm working with now are extraordinary. They are willing,

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able, and they are highly motivated. I think they liked the

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picture they are working on, and I find it very easy to communicate. It

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was in English, and it has been a good experience. But it wasn't just

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the British locations and crew that helped to turn Star Wars into a

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global industry. While the three main actors were American, the rest

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of the cast was largely made up of British acting talent. Giving

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gravitas to an otherwise fantastical tale. It continues to this day, with

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relative newcomer Daisy Ridley and John Gwynne acre taking centre

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stage. And in 17 and laugh and cry and was

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just so wonderful. I got an open a little bit and we were lucky to find

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all these actors. Filming on Episode VII has

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contributed $220 million to the UK economy. The franchise is a massive

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boost to the UK film industry. What Star Wars did was establish the

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industry as the place to go for a collar Road productions. It has

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stayed that way ever since. Were such a universe to explore, UK

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fans will be keeping their fingers crossed hoping fans are tuned in to

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a galaxy far away for a long time. When the first film arrived in 1977,

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it didn't just mesmerised audiences, change the film industry forever. It

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had a major industry and Holyrood in of technology deployed and on the

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kinds of films that got made. Richard Taylor reports from San

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Francisco. A long time ago and movie-making galaxy which by today's

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standards seem so far away, movie-making history was being made.

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Quite literally handcrafted. Teams worked they and night for months on

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end to bring light to George Lucas' vision. The scale was unprecedented

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and so was the success. With this lovable characters,

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multifaceted story team and pace, it became the highest grossing film

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ever seen. George Lucas had been a renegade who had escaped the evil

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Empire of the oppressive studio system 400 miles south and come here

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to northern California. It was an irony that has single creation had

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such a massive impact on Hollywood, unwittingly creating

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special effects laden blockbuster. Phil Tippett led the team making

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Star Wars creatures. Today he runs is on special effects studio. He

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told me that although Star Wars turned into a commercial juggernaut,

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there was something special about working on the first one.

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We were like heads at the candy store. It was fun. I didn't look at

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it like a huge opportunity. We get to work on a feature film for once.

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George did not know what he had when Star Wars came out. He was as

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surprised as anyone else to see those lines around the block. It was

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incredible. George explained to me like when you write the wild

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elephant, you go with the elephant goes. He wanted to be a mogul and

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call his own shots. He has said and so many of words that he feels like

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he became Darth Vader because he went where it took them.

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I'd buy the success of the franchise, the effects department

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became a powerhouse, not just a its own hurts but for other productions.

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It kick-started the entire computer graphics and video games industries

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and was the breeding ground -- breeding ground for Pixar. By the

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late 90s, Star Wars was continuing to pioneer, now with digital

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technology. Creating characters in a blue screen environment was

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arresting and more cost-effective. But it was challenging for actors

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and the prequels were criticised as digitally rendered style over

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substance, also measure that modern movies. This man worked at eight

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graphics supervisor on the scene. We used to computer graphics to

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realise the vision of this huge universe and as such there was the

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sense that the grandeur of what were trying to do distracted from the

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essence of Star Wars and I am afraid I was along with them.

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They are now insuring that the Star Wars legacy is to be continued.

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Working on a massive audience interaction and shaping the

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movie-going experience. That brings this special star Wars

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edition of Talking Movies to a close. We hope you enjoyed the

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programme. Remember you can always reach us online and can find us on

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Facebook. From me and the rest of the Talking Movies production team,

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it is good by as we leave you with these sounds and images of Star Wars

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over the decades.

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