0:00:04 > 0:00:06It's obvious, right? It's Star Wars. It's amazing.
0:00:06 > 0:00:11I would argue that it was the greatest leap from what was before
0:00:11 > 0:00:14to after. It changed, definitely changed popular cinema for, you know,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18more than anything else. It was kind of like this amazing thing.
0:00:18 > 0:00:24I think as a kid, you picture it in this galaxy far, far away.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28And it's a real shock to learn one day that it was actually somewhere
0:00:28 > 0:00:29just off the M25.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'm David Whiteley. And I'm a massive Star Wars fan.
0:00:42 > 0:00:43I've grown up with it. Literally!
0:00:43 > 0:00:47I was born in 1977 the same year as Star Wars...
0:00:47 > 0:00:48On May the 4th.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51May the 4th, Star Wars Day.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Well, OK. It wasn't called Star Wars Day back then.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57But you get the point. The bottom line is, I'm a big fan.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01It's hard to picture a world without Star Wars.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03To be honest, I've never tried.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06But apparently, there was a time before all of this.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12But I grew up thinking that George Lucas's galaxy
0:01:12 > 0:01:14was a Hollywood blockbuster.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Every frame shot right here in Los Angeles.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Turns out, of course...
0:01:20 > 0:01:21That's just half the story.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23I'm going to explore the contribution
0:01:23 > 0:01:27of the British talent who brought the galaxy to life.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28Is this an early Chewbacca?
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Yeah. Yeah. Over here, that's the first...
0:01:31 > 0:01:32That's the first one.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35That wasn't so good. So, we went on to the second one.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37And it was all done with the tightest schedule
0:01:37 > 0:01:40and the lowest budget they could imagine.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43It's probably now the most iconic prop in the world that I
0:01:43 > 0:01:46made for, I don't know, 12 quid, £12, something like that.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49But why come to Britain in the first place?
0:01:49 > 0:01:52And what keeps them coming back?
0:01:57 > 0:02:01The 1970s in Hollywood were all about taking risks.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Studios wanted young directors to make their films, to give them that edge.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11In 1973, George Lucas made a name for himself with American Graffiti.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16What he wanted to do next was make his science fiction film, Star Wars.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19But getting a film made, whatever the scale, can be a long,
0:02:19 > 0:02:21painful process.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24There are logistical nightmares, scheduling conflicts.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26And then, you've got to get it paid for.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32Every major Hollywood studio passed on the project except one.
0:02:32 > 0:02:3720th Century Fox were the only studio prepared to take a chance on the film.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41But they would keep a very close eye on the production.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45The script arrived, and I read it, and I was very surprised.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48George Lucas had made American Graffiti.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50He was the darling of Hollywood.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Universal had financed it.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55So, why weren't Universal going to finance this film?
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Not only had Universal turned it down,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59but Warners and everybody else had.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03At that time, Fox was the last studio anybody would ever go to.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05We were... Had been nearly bankrupt
0:03:05 > 0:03:08and so there wasn't very much money.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11And my boss, Alan Ladd said, "Can you make it?"
0:03:11 > 0:03:13I said, "I don't know, but let me find out."
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Did alarm bells ring for you when you realised that the studio
0:03:17 > 0:03:20that had financed George Lucas's previous movie
0:03:20 > 0:03:22wasn't interested and no-one else was as well?
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Did you think, "Ha! There may be some problems with this one?"
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Oh, I realised there must be major problems if the...
0:03:28 > 0:03:31The experts of the industry had turned it down.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I thought, well there's... I actually had thought it would
0:03:34 > 0:03:36probably be impossible to make.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38But nothing's impossible.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43American Graffiti producer Gary Kurtz was working with George Lucas once more.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The first decision, where to shoot?
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Well, originally when Fox gave us the go-ahead,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55I was assuming that we would shoot it at Fox in LA.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00It wasn't until I went in there and talked to the production people that
0:04:00 > 0:04:02I realised that that was going to be a problem
0:04:02 > 0:04:06because they only had two or three stages available.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07We needed at least seven.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11And they trawled around town and said, well,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15we can get you two at Universal and maybe two at MGM.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18And I realised that, logistically, that was a nightmare.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23They scattered all over Los Angeles and it was not a good idea.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Someone in the production department said, well,
0:04:25 > 0:04:30talk to our office in London, the Fox office.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34And they may have some suggestions about shooting in Europe.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36So, I travelled around Europe.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38I went to Paris, I went to...
0:04:39 > 0:04:41..Budapest. I went to Berlin.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43I went everywhere where there was a film studio.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48And the only other one that had enough space was Cinecitta in Rome.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50But, that had been downplayed for me
0:04:50 > 0:04:53by several other American film-makers
0:04:53 > 0:04:55saying, "It's too noisy."
0:04:55 > 0:04:59The Italians don't know how to stay quiet for live sounds.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03So, I came back to London and talked to Peter Beale.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05I spent a month working diligently.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09We went through the script line by line and...
0:05:09 > 0:05:13..we agreed. He made some suggestions, and I made suggestions.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17And we came up with what was the final formula of how we are going to make it.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21So, once you'd established that you were going to be filming in the
0:05:21 > 0:05:24UK, how did you go about selecting the British people that were going
0:05:24 > 0:05:27to work alongside you and George Lucas?
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Well, I did a lot of research into the key people.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33I looked at a lot of old films and...
0:05:34 > 0:05:37We kind of decided on a short list.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40And then I went down to...
0:05:40 > 0:05:45..to Mexico, to Baja, California where...
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Stanley Donen was making Lucky Lady and the writers on that project were
0:05:48 > 0:05:52friends of ours. They were some of the writers on American Graffiti.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Lucky Lady played an important part in the story of Star Wars.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59A team of British art directors were working on the production.
0:05:59 > 0:06:0220th Century Fox said,
0:06:02 > 0:06:07"Are you interested in a film we're doing in Mexico?
0:06:07 > 0:06:10"Les Dilley is out there and Norman Reynolds with John Barry.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13"They need help. This film has got huge..."
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Wait, no, no, no!
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Gloria and Willard Huyck wrote Lucky Lady.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25And they were speaking with George about Star Wars.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And they said, "Well, you know, you should come and meet the crew.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30"Because what you are talking about, your sets looking, like,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32"old and dusty and Western-like,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35"they're building those sets it down in Mexico."
0:06:35 > 0:06:38So, I was dressing a salt factory and I was shovelling this salt
0:06:38 > 0:06:40when a car arrived and out got George.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44In his plaid shirt, jeans and sneakers, and Gary in a cowboy hat.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46They walked over to me and introduced themselves.
0:06:46 > 0:06:47George said, "What are you doing?
0:06:47 > 0:06:49"This is amazing, the look of this."
0:06:49 > 0:06:52And I showed him. He hadn't realised it was fake.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55We'd built it on the front of an old building.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56And George helped me. He got a shovel.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59So, we are shovelling salt talking about science fiction.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03And I said, you know, "I love science fiction
0:07:03 > 0:07:07"and I really despair about the films that have been made so far."
0:07:07 > 0:07:12They think you have to have plastic guns that go "beep" and the sets
0:07:12 > 0:07:14look completely unreal.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16And I said, "I see it like an old car that's dripping oil in a garage
0:07:16 > 0:07:19"that's being repaired." And he said, "That's what I'm making."
0:07:19 > 0:07:23The art department was now in place to help bring the story to life.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Producer Gary Kurtz now needed someone he could trust to supervise
0:07:27 > 0:07:28the ambitious production.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34I had met Robert Watts at MGM.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37He had a good background, good reputation.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41And I asked him if he would be interested in being the production
0:07:41 > 0:07:42supervisor on the picture.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44I got a call from...
0:07:45 > 0:07:50..Peter Beale who was then the head of 20th Century Fox in London.
0:07:50 > 0:07:57And he said, Gary Kurtz is coming to England and he's asked to see you.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Well, I'd met Gary some years earlier in LA.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06I was at MGM Studios and he came up to ask me about what it was like
0:08:06 > 0:08:07filming in England.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10And I thought no more about it.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13So, dissolve.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17I flew back to England, met Gary Kurtz,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and then I heard I'd got the job.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22The behind-the-scenes talent was assembled.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25But the deciding factor for Fox giving the green light was shooting
0:08:25 > 0:08:27it in Britain because of the cost.
0:08:27 > 0:08:33Compared to the 44 million they'd spent on the film Cleopatra a decade before,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35it must have felt like a bargain.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Peter Beale in London was promoting the British film industry.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41There wasn't much work there at that time.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44He came in and said, "We're exactly half the price of America."
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And the budget of America they said was eight, to do it there.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51They analysed the film would make 12 million.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53That's all they could get out of it.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55They divided that by three,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58and a third went to the director to make a film.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02So, they said, "You've got 4 million, if you can make Star Wars for that."
0:09:02 > 0:09:04So, I went to Pinewood Studios.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07And I said to the head of the studio there at the time, I said,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11"I want to rent every single stage you've got."
0:09:11 > 0:09:15And he said, "We never rent every single stage to one production!"
0:09:15 > 0:09:18So, I said, "All right, then."
0:09:18 > 0:09:23So I came here, where we are right now, to Elstree Studios.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25And I went to see Andrew Mitchell.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31And I said to Andrew, "I'd like to rent the entire studio."
0:09:31 > 0:09:34And he said, "Be my guest."
0:09:34 > 0:09:40And he gave me a deal of £75,000 for the entire studio.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Everything. All the stages, all the workshops, everything.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Fantastic!
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Best deal I've ever made in my life!
0:09:50 > 0:09:54A deal was also struck to film at the former World War I airship sheds
0:09:54 > 0:09:56at Cardington in Bedfordshire.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59The sheds were first used for filming in the 1960s.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03Their sheer size made them ideal for what would become the base for the
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Rebel Alliance.
0:10:10 > 0:10:1420th Century Fox now wanted to make sure their young director had what
0:10:14 > 0:10:16he needed to make it happen.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18Fox had -
0:10:19 > 0:10:24intentionally and quite correctly, I don't knock them on that -
0:10:24 > 0:10:25got...
0:10:26 > 0:10:32..people in positions around George who had made big films.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35I worked with John Mollo on Dr Zhivago.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40He was a technical consultant for David Lean for all of the Communist
0:10:40 > 0:10:42and Russian aspects of the film.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46And he'd become a costume designer.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49And so I suggested him and one other person and George chose John,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and it was a great decision.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54John Mollo's background as a military historian
0:10:54 > 0:10:56was what sold him to George Lucas.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59During pre-production, they'd get together every day.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02We used to meet every morning and discuss things between us.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06And it's a question of who won and who didn't win that particular day,
0:11:06 > 0:11:07you know?
0:11:08 > 0:11:10The costumes were pretty simple on the whole.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14You know? It was very straightforward, in fact.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16John Mollo's studio is full of workbooks.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19His preliminary sketches for Star Wars were the results of those
0:11:19 > 0:11:24production meetings. Much of this initial work has been hidden away.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26We used to chat and, you know,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29talk about things and decide that this should be like that,
0:11:29 > 0:11:30you know?
0:11:30 > 0:11:33And that should be like that. And, you know...
0:11:33 > 0:11:36So, you know, I had...
0:11:36 > 0:11:39the power to sort of alter things according to what he wanted,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41you know?
0:11:41 > 0:11:43And, I mean, we always got on pretty well.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48John's innovative designs would win him an Academy Award.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Some costumes required more work than others.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53Is this an early Chewbacca?
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Yeah, yeah. Over here, that's...
0:11:56 > 0:11:57That's the first one.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00That wasn't so good. So, we went on to the second one.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06John's sketches show how the designs progressed from the concept art to
0:12:06 > 0:12:08what would eventually be seen on screen.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12He took inspiration from everyday objects, like this radio,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15which would form the basis of Darth Vader's chest plate.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Well, I had never done anything like it before.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23So, you know, he's got to have trousers and he's got to have arms.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I mean, it sounds as though I hadn't the slightest idea of what was going
0:12:26 > 0:12:29on, which I didn't, really. But no, it was a good surprise.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31That's typical English costume there.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Well, it is, isn't it? But that is actually the Jedi robes.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35Yes, yes, it is.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Yes, yes.
0:12:37 > 0:12:38Yes.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Another part of that original team was art director Les Dilley.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Now based in Los Angeles, he was a labourer on previous movies
0:12:52 > 0:12:56and that experience would serve him well on Star Wars.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58The movie would be his big break.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00When I was in the art department,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04one of the things I did find myself doing because of my background,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I was always pushed onto the set, you know?
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Because I knew how to handle people, you know?
0:13:11 > 0:13:14I knew how to talk the guys that would do the work.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16You know what I'm saying?
0:13:16 > 0:13:19And I was immediately made an assistant art director and...
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And then I ended up, you know, art directing.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I was always on the set
0:13:26 > 0:13:28getting the stuff built.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Suddenly, I was in a department where I had all the people that I used to be,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36that I would be responsible for in the art department.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39I'd call them all in and say, "Come bring these plasterers, guys.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41"And do this, do that. And bring the carpenters.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44"And do this, and do that." It was one of those jobs, you know?
0:13:44 > 0:13:47But there were a lot of challenges, weren't there, with making Star Wars?
0:13:47 > 0:13:51- Because you were creating, with your colleagues, a galaxy that didn't exist.- Didn't exist, no, exactly!
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- It's true.- When you go to do a period film, they'll say, well,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56it's set in 1890.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58You'll know what the curtains are going to be.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00What the painting's going to be, all that.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03With science-fiction, there is nothing to go on.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05And when we did Star Wars, there was nothing to reference.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07George couldn't say, well, I want it like this.
0:14:07 > 0:14:13Or he would just say, I want a dusty Western combined with 2001.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Ensuring that look was production designer, head of the art department,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18the late John Barry.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20We sat in the office with John and Les
0:14:20 > 0:14:23going how are we going to make this film?
0:14:23 > 0:14:27It's an epic, like, science-fiction for 4 million.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Even then, that wasn't a lot of money.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33So, I broke down my script.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35It took me ten days.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I had a list of weapons, robots, sets...
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Vehicles.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Just stared at it in horror thinking, I can't do this.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49But John Barry would come up with an ingenious and cost effective way of
0:14:49 > 0:14:50solving the problem.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54I had this idea of getting a lot of junk, like,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59we bought £15,000 worth of wrecked aeroplanes and took it to pieces and
0:14:59 > 0:15:03then used those pieces which are in themselves very interesting
0:15:03 > 0:15:06to build, for instance, the bar...
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Where they meet Han Solo.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14The whole of the bar back is all built of old jet engines
0:15:14 > 0:15:16lacquered gold.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20The first thing Les and I got having read the script...
0:15:21 > 0:15:26R2-D2 and C-3PO are the storytellers.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28They're minor characters, but they tell the story.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32We realised if he didn't have those characters, we didn't have a film.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34He didn't. It couldn't be made.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38C-3PO we kind of knew could be done because of Metropolis.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39They got a...
0:15:40 > 0:15:43..fairly similar suit on an actor.
0:15:43 > 0:15:49And we knew with the right mime actor or dancer, he could be made.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54He's really based very much on the robot in Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56- Oh, yeah.- You know?- Yes.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59But the one in Metropolis only walked forward three paces.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02And George tells me that they wanted it to do a lot more,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05and it couldn't. And they had to compromise.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09It was George's idea that it should be like the robot from Metropolis.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14R2-D2, he was three foot eight, three foot nine.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17That was the first thing we were given the task of making.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23So, I'd worked with a carpenter who'd done sets for me.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25He said, I've got some marine ply at home.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28He brought the marine ply from the garage because marine ply,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30you can steam and bend it, right?
0:16:30 > 0:16:33So we made a frame.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Put this round it.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Then he said, "Well, Rog, I can't make the top.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39"I haven't got any money."
0:16:39 > 0:16:42So I asked Lee Electrics where their scrapheap was.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44They were the big film lighting company
0:16:44 > 0:16:46and they showed me this pile of junk.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49And I found this lamp top from a rifle lamp from the '40s.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51And I thought, you know, that's the right size.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53So, I didn't say anything because I knew
0:16:53 > 0:16:55if I'd gone in as a set decorator,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57they'd ask me for quite a few pounds.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59So, I said, "Go and buy it."
0:16:59 > 0:17:01He got it for ten shillings.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03He told Robert recently, he said, you know,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05"I've still never got my ten bob back.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07"I kept asking them and I didn't have a receipt for it!
0:17:07 > 0:17:10"Because I paid in cash and they wouldn't give me
0:17:10 > 0:17:11"my ten shillings back!"
0:17:11 > 0:17:14You were really trying to save money by just using any bits of scrap you
0:17:14 > 0:17:16could find to build these things.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Yeah. We didn't have any money.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23I found the aircraft nozzles from an old Dakota, I think it was, that we
0:17:23 > 0:17:27stuck those in. And I found some grills and we stuck all that on it.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31R2's sort of eye turret is in fact the air-conditioning unit
0:17:31 > 0:17:33from a Caravelle. That sort of thing.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36So, you know, they are more interesting
0:17:36 > 0:17:38than you can imagine or produce in
0:17:38 > 0:17:39the time available.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Because they were designed for a function anyway...
0:17:41 > 0:17:43A lot of intelligence has gone into their conception
0:17:43 > 0:17:45to start with. And it shows,
0:17:45 > 0:17:46they look interesting.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48John Barry was...
0:17:50 > 0:17:51..an amazing human being.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I loved working with John. And very smart.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57And John admitted at the time, he said, "My world is Barbarella.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59"I love all that fantasy stuff."
0:17:59 > 0:18:03But he converted to what George wanted.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Every frame in the movie is very much George's.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08I mean, you know, he's a very...
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Makes a big contribution to the whole...
0:18:11 > 0:18:13every aspect of the movie.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Roger Christian helped John with the sets but was also responsible
0:18:16 > 0:18:18for the science-fiction weapons.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23But one, the most important of all, was proving elusive.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24Yeah, I haven't tackled that,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26the lightsaber. And we called it the laser sword,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28because we were British.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33I knew this lightsaber was the Excalibur of this film.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35I knew it would be the iconic image.
0:18:35 > 0:18:36It was amazing.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40I went to Brunnings in Great Marlborough Street who we rented all
0:18:40 > 0:18:43our photography equipment, anything we needed.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45And I'd buy equipment there.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46I just said to the owner,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50"Do you have anything here that's unusual,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52"stuff that might be interesting?"
0:18:52 > 0:18:53And...
0:18:53 > 0:18:55He pointed me over the side of the room.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57He said, "There's a load of boxes under there.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00"I haven't looked at those for years. Go and have a rummage through."
0:19:00 > 0:19:03And it was the first box that was literally covered in dust.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05And I pulled it out, opened the lid, and there was tissue paper.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07And then when I pulled it open...
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Now, it goes into slow motion, you know?
0:19:10 > 0:19:11The music rising.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15And out came a Graflex handle from a '40s press camera.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18And I just took it and went, "There it is.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20"This is the Holy Grail."
0:19:20 > 0:19:23And there was about five or six in there.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27We bought the lot. I raced back to the studios.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Got my t-strips, stuck that round the handle, I stuck seven round it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34From a calculator I'd been breaking down,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37there was a bubble strip that illuminated the numbers
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and they would magnify. And it just fitted into the clip.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43So, I just cut it, stuck that in.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45And I said, "I think I've found the lightsaber, George."
0:19:45 > 0:19:47He came over, just looked at it and smiled.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50I mean, and that's the biggest approval you can get from George.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52He just smiled and held it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55One of the most iconic movie props of all time.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57That's... Is that the very one?
0:19:57 > 0:20:00These are... Yeah, I built a few of them.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03So, I loved the unit.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05So, I bought a couple for myself.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07And...
0:20:07 > 0:20:09This is Luke's lightsaber here.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Which Obi-Wan Kenobi takes out of
0:20:12 > 0:20:15that trunk and gives to Luke.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18And said, "This is your father's weapon."
0:20:18 > 0:20:21This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Not as clumsy or random as a blaster.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28It's a battery flash tube that stood like that
0:20:28 > 0:20:31on a press camera from the '40s.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36And this is what I found because I couldn't find anything that was
0:20:36 > 0:20:38iconic. And I look at it, it's got this,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40it's got to the red button on it.
0:20:40 > 0:20:41I didn't add any of this.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43This is what there was.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45I always imagine it to be quite weighted.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47- It's weighted.- And it is, yes, and that kind of gives it the feel,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51so when Luke first takes this from Obi-Wan Kenobi,
0:20:51 > 0:20:56he holds it in his hand and he feels the weight before he turns it on, and that is...
0:20:56 > 0:20:58that is just as it was in the very first movie?
0:20:58 > 0:21:00- Yeah.- So you made several prototypes?
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Yeah. And I always believed, like, with the weapons,
0:21:04 > 0:21:05I'd seen so many times with actors,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08they're really light and they're made of plastic, and you can see.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I wanted guns, that when they picked them up,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13they had to use them like real guns,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17and the lightsaber had to have that feel to it.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21So, yeah, it's probably now the most iconic prop in the world.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24And it's back. You know, The Last Jedi,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27this is what the film is all about, this lightsaber, whose is it?
0:21:27 > 0:21:29There's so much going on on the internet
0:21:29 > 0:21:31about this thing that I made for,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I don't know, 12 quid, £12 or something like that.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Across every department, the limited budget fuelled the resourcefulness,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41not least of the British team who also found themselves
0:21:41 > 0:21:43against the clock.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45We worked from like eight o'clock in the morning
0:21:45 > 0:21:47until 11 at night because
0:21:47 > 0:21:50we were trying to fill a room full of aliens,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54and they only gave us ten weeks to prepare for the movie.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56And it wasn't such a big movie at the time.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I was the new kid on the block.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I got all the rotten jobs first of all, which is always the case.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07I made the eyes for a lot of the creatures in the canteen.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10In the room, there were like five or six of us.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14On one side of the room we had all of the mixers where we were foaming
0:22:14 > 0:22:17latex, so that filled the room with ammonia.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18And on the other side of the room,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22we were painting the characters with toluene paint and that filled the
0:22:22 > 0:22:25room as well, so we were probably all high at the time.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31On that first movie, I was really doing a lot of the groundwork.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34It was a great learning curve for me,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37because we ended up being all-rounders.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41We were doing sculpting and we were making moulds,
0:22:41 > 0:22:42and we were building puppets.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45It was a time when I was needing to prove myself.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Is that why you worked so many hours, to make sure if you were working on something...?
0:22:49 > 0:22:51We just couldn't find anybody else who could do the job.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54You know, that was just the way that it was, yes.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59Cameras ready to roll, they shipped to Tunisia, their destination,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02the place that would become the hostile planet of Tatooine.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07But extreme desert conditions and temperamental props were a concern.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09To start with, I was dead scared,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13because I wasn't sure what was going to happen here.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16And I thought, "I'm going to get this through this bit in Tunisia,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20"if I can get this done, get out of here and back to the studio,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23"I think we should be all right."
0:23:23 > 0:23:25One of the challenges I had...
0:23:25 > 0:23:29We built all the stuff in the studio and put it all in the boxes and
0:23:29 > 0:23:31shipped it all
0:23:31 > 0:23:38to the desert, and the homestead had a big disc on the far side that was
0:23:38 > 0:23:41probably 25, 30 foot in diameter.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43- It's huge, isn't it? - It was very big,
0:23:43 > 0:23:49but it was about...probably that high in the middle and it was like a
0:23:49 > 0:23:51big dish.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54And all the little lights around the side of it.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56It was vertical, then a dome over the top.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Two days before shooting,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01and this thing comes out and we plonk it on there and we got all the
0:24:01 > 0:24:04electric lights working and it's all checked, and it's beautiful.
0:24:06 > 0:24:07Come next morning, seven o'clock,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10we turn up and this disc has disappeared.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14It was up, and you couldn't see it,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18but it had got up on its edge and it went,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21I don't know, probably half a mile.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22You couldn't see it.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25- The wind had picked it up? - The wind had lifted it up
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and it took 20 people to pick it up and put it down,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31and it just lifted it up and shot it down the road
0:24:31 > 0:24:33like it was a ping-pong ball.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34That wasn't all.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Some of the cast were struggling, too.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I think the robots were our biggest challenge,
0:24:39 > 0:24:44because almost everything else was just a logistical exercise and just
0:24:44 > 0:24:48getting it done, but the robots were a part of the cast.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51And their personalities were important.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54We went out to Tunisia without
0:24:54 > 0:25:01ever having had the time for Tony Daniels, for instance, to wear the entire C-3PO suit.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Is there one thing in particular
0:25:03 > 0:25:05that sticks out for you as, "Oh, that was a real challenge,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07"but we overcame it?"
0:25:07 > 0:25:10With R2-D2 we had a radio control unit,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14but it was very primitive radio control at that time
0:25:14 > 0:25:17and it didn't work very well.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19John Barry called Les and I in the office and he said,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22"I don't think the radio control's going to work.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25"Build a lightweight R2-D2
0:25:25 > 0:25:27"that we can pull on fishing wire.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31"Take it with you, don't say anything, just keep it in the truck.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33"Take it down." So we did.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36With that lightweight backup they had three versions of R2.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41One with actor Kenny Baker inside, and that radio-controlled version.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43First day with R2-D2...
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Bom, bom, bom, bom!
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Crashed over, fell off over here.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49The robots, well, that was one of
0:25:49 > 0:25:51the things that made them so endearing,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55was that they started doing things just like real actors will do...
0:25:56 > 0:25:58..screwing up occasionally.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Very temperamental.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03R2 would stop functioning sometimes, completely.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05The radio control wouldn't function on the radio-controlled
0:26:05 > 0:26:09version or he would fall over or a couple of times out in the desert he ran into
0:26:09 > 0:26:103PO and knocked him down.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15And didn't, in Africa, they were running him on radio control and we started
0:26:15 > 0:26:18picking up Arabic pop stations, which freaked him out?
0:26:18 > 0:26:20That threw the radio control off
0:26:20 > 0:26:22and sometimes he would start up in the middle of a scene
0:26:22 > 0:26:24when he wasn't supposed to.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25So it was rather bizarre.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31So we got out our one and laid down a board,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33put sand against the edge of it.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35They could only shoot from a certain angle,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39and most of R2-D2 in Tunisia is shot with Kenny in it or being pulled on
0:26:39 > 0:26:40our fishing wire.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43I notice you talk about them as if they were real characters.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44Well, they are.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48They became real characters to us, always.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52When I look at the daily reports and some of the footage,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54I'm amazed that we actually finished on time.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56But we did.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58I mean, the crew was really good.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00They worked really hard,
0:27:00 > 0:27:05they worked extra long hours and I can't praise them more.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07They were the main reason we were actually
0:27:07 > 0:27:09were able to finish on time.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Filming in the Tunisian desert had been challenging for everyone,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16but when production moved to Elstree Studios, three more problems -
0:27:16 > 0:27:18this time with the actors union.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22Equity was trying to look after the British actors.
0:27:22 > 0:27:28There was no workaround and they didn't want foreign actors coming in
0:27:28 > 0:27:30and taking mid-sized roles,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33or big roles, that the British actors could do,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36because there were some wonderful British actors.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38And so to get a permit for a foreign actor
0:27:38 > 0:27:40you had to go to the Home Office
0:27:40 > 0:27:44and apply, and the Home Office would call up Equity and see how they felt.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47So you really had to go to Equity first.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53So when we came to Star Wars, and George said he wanted three unknown,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57young actors from America to play the lead roles,
0:27:57 > 0:28:00it was going to be very, very difficult.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I had to come up with some very,
0:28:02 > 0:28:07very legal but creative ways of making that happen.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11We fortunately had some wonderful parts for the British actors.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, Dave Prowse etc etc.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19And so, what I did, and I'm not ashamed of doing it,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23is I created a cast list with
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Guinness and everybody else at the top.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32And at the bottom, in what looked like minor roles,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Harrison Ford, etc.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36The three American people.
0:28:36 > 0:28:37And I went to Equity and said, look,
0:28:37 > 0:28:40the English have got the best parts in this.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44But the director wants three little Americans for the smaller parts.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48And I also went to the Home Office and told them the truth.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50I said, "This is what I'm trying to do,"
0:28:50 > 0:28:53and they supported it because they wanted the work
0:28:53 > 0:28:55and they recognised it.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00And Equity, I don't know if they knew or not, but they finally agreed.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03And so the first cast list that is somewhere knocking around
0:29:04 > 0:29:08has the major actors at the bottom of it.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11So what did Equity say once they saw the film go out and realised?
0:29:11 > 0:29:16I think that they recognised at that point that the film had been
0:29:16 > 0:29:21successful. And I had to go back to them on other films and they were
0:29:21 > 0:29:23always very, very friendly.
0:29:23 > 0:29:24So, by the
0:29:25 > 0:29:27time they realised, I think they had forgiven me.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Finally, during the sweltering heat wave in the summer of '76,
0:29:48 > 0:29:52production got underway in north London at Elstree Studios,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55and the impressive sets began to take shape.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59This is Studio Eight at Elstree.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Being here now, it's really hard to picture it,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05Star Wars was being shot right here.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12I went onto the set and it was...
0:30:13 > 0:30:16..weird. It was amazing.
0:30:16 > 0:30:21You know, Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, all of that.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23Golly, Moses!
0:30:23 > 0:30:26No, I don't think we really understood it.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30I remember a couple of people on the crew said, "Well, what is it?
0:30:30 > 0:30:32"A load of rubbish. What does all this mean?"
0:30:32 > 0:30:34You know? Really said things like that.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Initially, there was a certain scepticism
0:30:37 > 0:30:39that it was a bit of a comic book.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42I mean, remember, that special effects movies,
0:30:42 > 0:30:46space movies had not been successful, except 2001.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49And 2001, which of course was made in England,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52was sort of a kind of an intellectual end.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57So, really, space and special effects
0:30:57 > 0:31:00were considered sort of B-movies,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03and this was a comic book, expensive B-movie,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05I think a lot of people thought.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09I think most of the crew thought it was a silly film.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14They didn't get to read the whole script,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18and so there were some humorous scenes in it,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22and several of the crew said that they thought
0:31:22 > 0:31:25it was more like a Carry On film
0:31:25 > 0:31:29rather than a serious science fiction film.
0:31:29 > 0:31:30And it wasn't either, actually.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35How did you manage to get it going and also to keep the filming
0:31:35 > 0:31:37schedule on track?
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Well, that was really Gary Kurtz's job,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44George Lucas's job, the assistant director's job.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Always filming is difficult, and it's always is a...
0:31:48 > 0:31:50..as we would say, a kick-bollock-and-scramble
0:31:50 > 0:31:53to get things done.
0:31:53 > 0:31:54George was initially concerned,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57because in those days we worked very rigid hours.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00The trade unions demanded that we didn't start
0:32:00 > 0:32:02until 8:30 and we finished
0:32:02 > 0:32:06at 5:30 and there was no flexibility,
0:32:06 > 0:32:11except if you had started shooting before the lunch break
0:32:11 > 0:32:14you could take an extra 15 minutes to finish a shot.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18And if you had started shooting a shot before 5:30,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21you were allowed 15 minutes to finish it.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24We were warned in advance that British crews
0:32:24 > 0:32:28were very sticky about the time of day they worked
0:32:29 > 0:32:32and whether the shop stewards would allow you to work overtime
0:32:32 > 0:32:36at the end of the day or not. On location, they were fantastic,
0:32:36 > 0:32:41but in the studio it was more difficult.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43In Hollywood, my experience had been
0:32:43 > 0:32:47you can work overtime, you just pay for it.
0:32:47 > 0:32:48Within limits, of course.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52You have a certain amount of available overtime if you need it.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57But here, it was down to a system where, when 5:30 came,
0:32:57 > 0:32:58if you wanted to work over,
0:32:58 > 0:33:02you stopped and you had a meeting of the shop stewards and they decided
0:33:02 > 0:33:04whether it was OK to work over.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06And I could never quite figure out...
0:33:08 > 0:33:11..what that process was, cos I was never part of those meetings.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Because some days everybody said, fine.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17And other days, no.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21So, yes, it was frustrating, especially for George.
0:33:21 > 0:33:22Cos if we were halfway through the scene
0:33:22 > 0:33:26and it would only take half an hour more, then we felt,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28why would this be a problem?
0:33:28 > 0:33:31George and Gary came to me and complained,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33and I explained that's the way it is.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38And many fine directors, Fred Zinnemann, David Lean, etc,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41had managed to do it, and I'm sure he could manage.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44If Star Wars was a hit, there would be sequels.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46George Lucas had promised the crew that,
0:33:46 > 0:33:47but hardly anyone believed in it,
0:33:47 > 0:33:51especially the film studio financing the picture.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56The main thing was to try to get through this film,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00which 20th Century Fox didn't believe in,
0:34:00 > 0:34:04where we had the tightest schedule you could possibly imagine and the
0:34:04 > 0:34:07lowest budget you could possibly imagine.
0:34:07 > 0:34:13And it was a constant battle, day, by day, by day.
0:34:13 > 0:34:14We'd gone a couple of weeks over
0:34:14 > 0:34:17and people were getting a bit tired and tense.
0:34:17 > 0:34:22And my boss, Alan Ladd, was told by the financiers of the company,
0:34:22 > 0:34:23"You're two weeks over.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27"Close the film down in two weeks."
0:34:27 > 0:34:29And we had four weeks of work to do.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33I said, "It's not possible, we've got four weeks' work."
0:34:33 > 0:34:35And his answer was, "Solve it."
0:34:35 > 0:34:38- No more.- That was it, that was your instruction?
0:34:38 > 0:34:40And I knew him well enough
0:34:40 > 0:34:43that he meant it.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46So I went to them, and I said, "We've got a problem."
0:34:46 > 0:34:48And George was obviously very upset.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53And I said, "Well, let's pause a moment. Let's look at what we've got to do.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57"I think we could actually do it with two or three units.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00"We can bring a couple of other directors on."
0:35:00 > 0:35:03So what happened was that Gary directed
0:35:03 > 0:35:06and Robert Watts directed and we
0:35:06 > 0:35:11had three units working together and we got the work done.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13The production had been gruelling,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16but things were beginning to come together for George Lucas.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Was there a moment when you actually thought, hang on,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20this movie could be a hit?
0:35:20 > 0:35:23There was a moment, and it was quite interesting.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27I got to the set late one day and noticed there were some children on
0:35:27 > 0:35:29the set and I thought, "What's happening here?
0:35:29 > 0:35:31"We don't normally have children on the set."
0:35:31 > 0:35:33And I asked, "Whose are they?"
0:35:33 > 0:35:36And I think they were one of the grip's children.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39And I watched them, and they were looking at R2-D2
0:35:39 > 0:35:41absolutely fascinated.
0:35:41 > 0:35:42They were scared of the Wookiee.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44They kept a bit back.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48But C-3PO they were looking at and I thought, "This is interesting."
0:35:48 > 0:35:50And a couple of days later, there were more children.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55And the crew started bringing two or three children at a time and I
0:35:55 > 0:35:58started to think, "Well, if the children are relating at this level,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00"maybe we have something."
0:36:00 > 0:36:06We had had a preview in early May of '77 in San Francisco, with a general
0:36:06 > 0:36:12audience of a mixed bag of people that my office just pulled in,
0:36:12 > 0:36:14basically.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16Everybody from three and four-year-olds
0:36:16 > 0:36:18to 70 and 80-year-olds,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21just so we'd have a cross-section of demographics.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25The studio wanted preview cards and I still have one of those preview
0:36:25 > 0:36:27cards on my wall,
0:36:27 > 0:36:33written by a young 20-something guy, a film buff who said,
0:36:33 > 0:36:37"This is the worst film I've ever seen since Godzilla vs The Smog Monster."
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Despite that review at the preview screening,
0:36:40 > 0:36:41the movie was ready.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Everyone held their breath.
0:36:50 > 0:36:56This is where Star Wars premiered back in May 1977, and the reaction?
0:36:56 > 0:36:58It was absolutely thrilling,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02to have seen all that come together and come together so well.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04I mean, it was beyond.
0:37:04 > 0:37:05It was fantastic.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08It was exciting, that's one way of putting it.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Nerve-racking is another way of putting it.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13I remember going in there...
0:37:14 > 0:37:18..and I felt the entire cinema almost left their seats.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Everyone just exploded.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24And you knew then this was going to be a massive hit, and
0:37:24 > 0:37:27everyone came out buzzing.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29That was great fun, actually, seeing it.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33We were pleased with what we'd done and, you know,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36we thought it was a good film and good entertainment
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and all the rest of it, you know?
0:37:39 > 0:37:42It was a very satisfactory job to do, you know?
0:37:42 > 0:37:46It was, you know...
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Successful.
0:37:49 > 0:37:50It was...
0:37:51 > 0:37:54..something I'd never seen before.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58It was something that was new, it was exciting, it was different.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03I think it's primarily because it's a kind of rousing story, it's fun.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08It's the kind of film that you can see twice in the same day,
0:38:08 > 0:38:09which many people did.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14I'm so proud that our country was able to deliver that.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19Over in the US, they delivered a new form of special effects,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23so it was an Anglo-American co-production,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28and both sides contributed equally
0:38:28 > 0:38:33to this wonderful thing
0:38:33 > 0:38:36that became the Star Wars saga.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Star Wars was, of course, a massive success.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43For those who worked on it, life-changing.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Do you have a particular fond memory of working on Star Wars?
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Is there one thing that sticks out for you?
0:38:48 > 0:38:49One thing.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Yeah, winning the Academy Award.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57No, that's boasting. I don't want to sound conceited,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01but when I say things like that, I don't mean it to be conceited,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04it's just phenomenal for me, that's all.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06That it could ever come to me.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08That's why I say it.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11The British design team were all awarded Oscars,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14as were their American colleagues, for the special effects.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19Star Wars also won at the box office, owning the summer of '77 in America.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22The buzz spread across the Atlantic,
0:39:22 > 0:39:27but audiences in the UK would have to wait an agonising seven months
0:39:27 > 0:39:29before the film landed here.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38So begins the most lucrative film ever made
0:39:38 > 0:39:40in the history of the cinema.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Today it topped £100 million in takings at the box office,
0:39:44 > 0:39:46and it hasn't even opened in Britain yet.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48The film, of course, is Star Wars.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52The attendance at Star Wars has been almost astronomic.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54Queues are still forming.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58In America, more money was taken at box offices in one week than for the
0:39:58 > 0:40:01prestigious Jaws. In London, after a month,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05almost 600,000 flocked to see the film, an all-time record.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07What is the attraction of Star Wars?
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Who can say? There have been lavish spectaculars before.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Perhaps it's because this one takes the best of all the rest - colour,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17breathless excitement, fantasy,
0:40:17 > 0:40:18and because we on this planet are
0:40:18 > 0:40:21already touching space with a tentative finger,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23more reality than we care to admit.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26The fact is, Star Wars is out of this world.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29I must say I find all that talk about letting go
0:40:29 > 0:40:30of your conscious self
0:40:30 > 0:40:33and stretching out with your feelings a bit depressing,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36especially in a society that depends on technology.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40The Force is just a muscular version of flower power,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43that can excuse anything so long as you believe you're in the right.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47And who doesn't? The fact that the adult population of America is still
0:40:47 > 0:40:50queueing devotedly for this amusing children's film
0:40:50 > 0:40:53with its easy answers to real problems
0:40:53 > 0:40:55is not the best news of the year.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00The first of what the makers of Star Wars hope will be thousands of queues
0:41:00 > 0:41:03started forming at 7am outside London's Dominion Cinema.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07We wanted to get in and see it on the only unreserved show.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09It's booked through on the bookable shows
0:41:09 > 0:41:11right until March and I couldn't afford to wait that
0:41:11 > 0:41:14long. And the prestige of being able to say you've seen Star Wars is
0:41:14 > 0:41:16something akin to royalty, really.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20What's good for the cinema box office is joy for the toy shops.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Whatever profits the film-makers Lucasfilms have made,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27the spin-off industry in Star Wars toys has doubled it,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30and British firms, too, have felt the benefit.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33The unlikely centre of every little boy's space-age universe
0:41:33 > 0:41:37is the Palitoy factory at Coalville in Leicestershire.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40In a year, the ladies of Coalville turn out hundreds of thousands of
0:41:40 > 0:41:42plastic bestsellers.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45The boom in merchandising the mark of the film's success,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and that success meant a sequel, The Empire Strikes Back.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52BBC cameras were invited behind the scenes at Elstree.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00In the studios at Elstree just north of London,
0:42:00 > 0:42:02we've been watching Chewbacca, Princess Leia,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Han Solo and the others making the film
0:42:04 > 0:42:08whose launch the cinema world is now awaiting at fever pitch.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12It's very doubtful that it will equal the intensity of the impact.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15I think it's sort of all blown out in that one big one,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17and all the others that come along,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21whether it's in our series or anything to do with fantasy or science fiction
0:42:21 > 0:42:23will never be that big, but
0:42:23 > 0:42:26I think this is the one,
0:42:26 > 0:42:28this is the one that people are going to look at
0:42:28 > 0:42:31and say either, "Terrific, when's the next one?"
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Or, "Nice try, too bad, you didn't make it."
0:42:33 > 0:42:36The worst risk would be spraining my ankle.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40And we've been learning what differences there are when you shoot
0:42:40 > 0:42:43a major film with a British rather than a Hollywood technician.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46- Han Solo?- You drink some more tea.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49- C-3PO?- Well, you get marvellous results here
0:42:49 > 0:42:53and it's surprising that more isn't done here.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56- Luke Skywalker?- Other than that, it's almost the same
0:42:56 > 0:42:57except with British accents.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59During shooting on Empire Strikes Back,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02the tradition of British crews is that you...
0:43:03 > 0:43:08..finish the day, you go to the pub, there was always one in the studio.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12I'm not the most social person in the world, but I realised that,
0:43:12 > 0:43:17from a work point of view, this was an important part of the day,
0:43:17 > 0:43:19the way the British system works.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23So you are ironing out problems over a pint because that was the way that
0:43:23 > 0:43:25things are done in Britain?
0:43:25 > 0:43:28We did discuss potential problems for the next
0:43:28 > 0:43:33day's shoot and sometimes solve them there in the pub.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36- Action.- But whatever the stars Harrison Ford,
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Anthony Daniels and Mark Hamill think,
0:43:38 > 0:43:42the men who turn their adventures into film are in no doubt that
0:43:42 > 0:43:44making a big budget movie on a British film stage
0:43:44 > 0:43:47with a British crew can make very good sense.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Director, Irvin Kershner.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53The technicians I'm working with now are extraordinary.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56They are willing, they're able
0:43:56 > 0:43:58and they're highly motivated.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00They, I think,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04like the picture they're working on and I find it very easy to
0:44:04 > 0:44:07communicate. Fortunately they speak English,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10or what passes for English in my country,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13and it's been a good experience.
0:44:15 > 0:44:20For more than 40 years, Star Wars has dominated popular culture,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24and it would also inspire the next generation of British film-makers.
0:44:24 > 0:44:29Star Wars got me really into sci-fi even more than I had been.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31I watched Star Wars and I thought, OK,
0:44:31 > 0:44:36my Plan A in life is to join the Rebel Alliance and help blow up the
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Death Star, and then eventually people tell you it's not real
0:44:40 > 0:44:43and it doesn't really exist, it's this thing called a film.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48And so you think, OK, Plan B is I'll become a film-maker.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50For my 30th birthday,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53I stayed the night in Luke Skywalker's house in Tunisia
0:44:53 > 0:44:56and I watched the sun set by the igloo on
0:44:56 > 0:44:59the salt flats and all that.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01Film director Gareth Edwards and editor Colin Goudie
0:45:01 > 0:45:04met while working on a drama documentary.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06They shared a love of Star Wars.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Gareth won a competition with his short film Factory Farmed.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13This got him and Colin a deal to make the critically acclaimed
0:45:13 > 0:45:15science fiction film, Monsters,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18and it wasn't long before they were noticed by Lucasfilm.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20The thing I spent the most time
0:45:20 > 0:45:22thinking about as a kid was Star Wars.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24You grew up fantasising about that world.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27So when someone says to you, how about making a Star Wars movie,
0:45:27 > 0:45:31you half go, "Whoa, I don't know if I want to do that,
0:45:31 > 0:45:34"that's a lot of pressure", and the other part of you goes, "Wait a minute,
0:45:34 > 0:45:38"if you were going to do anything ever, surely,
0:45:38 > 0:45:41"if you want to be a film-maker and you love Star Wars,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43"you should make a Star Wars film, right?"
0:45:43 > 0:45:46You never forget the day you get the Star Wars phone call.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48I'd had surgery, I was upstairs in my house
0:45:48 > 0:45:50and I could hear the phone ringing.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53And I'm trying to get down the stairs without ending up back in
0:45:53 > 0:45:55hospital for more surgery.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58It's Pippa Anderson, head of post-production at Lucasfilm,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01and she wanted to talk to me about coming on board Rogue One.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04She'd been told by Gareth that I was recovering from surgery and I
0:46:04 > 0:46:06couldn't go to Pinewood straightaway,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08and they waited for me, which was incredible.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09So four weeks later,
0:46:09 > 0:46:13I was able to drive again and I drove down to Pinewood and they wanted to
0:46:13 > 0:46:17talk to me about the process that Gareth and I had on Monsters.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20They explained it was going to be basically other editors,
0:46:20 > 0:46:24effectively an editor that they want, sort of a studio editor,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27which is somebody who'd worked on a 200 million movie before,
0:46:27 > 0:46:28which I certainly hadn't.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31You didn't just work on the movie though, did you, Colin?
0:46:31 > 0:46:36You ended up getting the credit for being the actual editor
0:46:36 > 0:46:37of Rogue One.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Yes, that's right. So, a shared credit with Jabez Olssen
0:46:41 > 0:46:43and with John Gilroy,
0:46:43 > 0:46:47and I was on it for 27 months in total.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50And what was interesting, of course,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53was it was not only multiple editors,
0:46:53 > 0:46:57but multi-nationalities because Jabez is a New Zealander
0:46:57 > 0:47:01and John Gilroy is an American, and I was the Brit.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04So even now, Lucasfilm looked to Britain for its mixture of talent,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07enthusiasm and attention to detail.
0:47:07 > 0:47:08When Gareth made Rogue One,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11essentially another prequel to the first Star Wars movie,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14he wanted to make sure it had a feel of the 1970s.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Gareth wanted Rogue One to be filmed traditionally,
0:47:18 > 0:47:21the way it had been back in 1976
0:47:21 > 0:47:22when they'd shot Star Wars at Elstree.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24He wanted practical sets.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27He didn't want massive amounts of green screen,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31so you're actually walking onto a set with real X-Wings.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33You could go over and touch the X-Wing.
0:47:33 > 0:47:34Don't break it.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37And the droids were all actually really moving around,
0:47:37 > 0:47:38they're radio controlled droids.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41And the aliens are all people in costumes,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43and I remember when the costume tests came in,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45and I got to edit all the costume tests together
0:47:45 > 0:47:47for lighting and things.
0:47:47 > 0:47:48It was mind-boggling.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52We were as keen to make it look like the '70s as possible.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54And we degraded it. Like, we put grain in and things.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58Even a little undulation like you get with projected footage.
0:47:58 > 0:47:59Little things we did
0:47:59 > 0:48:03for certain shots just to make it fit.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05We didn't want it to feel like digital,
0:48:05 > 0:48:07we wanted it to look like the ideal version,
0:48:07 > 0:48:11is that it felt like some of this was footage that we'd found.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15Original locations were very important to Gareth, too.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Cardington Studios in Bedfordshire would welcome Star Wars once again,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21just as it had done in the 1970s.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23I mean, I became a sucker for anything
0:48:23 > 0:48:25that was the original movie,
0:48:25 > 0:48:28and so, whenever we looked round locations,
0:48:28 > 0:48:30and we knew we had to build Yavin
0:48:30 > 0:48:32and the hanger for the Rebels,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34and we looked at different locations.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36And there were all of these different ones
0:48:36 > 0:48:39and finally we went to this place in Cardington.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41And when we were stood there, someone said,
0:48:42 > 0:48:46"By the way, did you know this is the exact spot that C-3PO and R2-D2
0:48:46 > 0:48:51"and Princess Leia and Han Solo were stood for that shot, that exterior shot
0:48:51 > 0:48:54"that punctuation moment before the briefing
0:48:54 > 0:48:57"of the attack on The Death Star?"
0:48:57 > 0:49:01And it was like, well, we're definitely filming it here, right?!
0:49:01 > 0:49:03Like, why wouldn't you film it here?
0:49:03 > 0:49:07So, we actually in the very same space, created that hanger for real,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10and we could go in, and it was probably the biggest set we'd built
0:49:10 > 0:49:12and I'm sure it cost a lot of money.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15- That's not your problem.- No.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18It made a lot of money, as well.
0:49:18 > 0:49:23It made more than 1.5 billion off the back of a 200 million budget,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25equalling the success of the original,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27which was made for a fraction of the price.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31Much of Rogue One's success has been attributed to the style of its
0:49:31 > 0:49:32British director.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34Gareth, as a film-maker,
0:49:34 > 0:49:39he likes to have actors run with the flow and do improv and change things.
0:49:39 > 0:49:40So Gareth will do a take,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43and he will run that camera sometimes for up to an hour.
0:49:43 > 0:49:44He will say, "And reset!"
0:49:44 > 0:49:47And they will maybe run back to first positions,
0:49:47 > 0:49:48but sometimes they'll just carry on.
0:49:50 > 0:49:56Because what he wants from that is a moment of truth, he calls it.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58He's always looking for the moment of truth.
0:49:58 > 0:50:03And I think Kubrick would do it by doing 106 takes,
0:50:03 > 0:50:04the kind of legendary Kubrick method.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09Gareth's is that you do one take but it lasts 106 minutes.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13And you have to go through it all and find that moment of truth.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15And they were long days,
0:50:15 > 0:50:1820 hours, some of them 24 hour long days,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20but every single day was like,
0:50:20 > 0:50:22"Pinch me, I'm working on a Star Wars film."
0:50:22 > 0:50:25There's something about the British personality,
0:50:25 > 0:50:27and it shouldn't count for anything, but it really does.
0:50:27 > 0:50:33Everyone is really nice and very modest and friendly and humble,
0:50:33 > 0:50:35and nothing's a problem and they never say no.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39Like, and we used to joke, like, you can say no, right?
0:50:39 > 0:50:41Just say, "No, you can't... Just say, Gareth, we can't do that.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43"No. It's impossible."
0:50:43 > 0:50:46And they wouldn't do it. They would be like, "Let me look into it.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50"I'll come back to you." And they would always come back with this solution,
0:50:50 > 0:50:52it was, it was like they pride themselves
0:50:52 > 0:50:56on never letting you down.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58And they are all such,
0:50:58 > 0:51:03all the characters are so sweet that, like...
0:51:03 > 0:51:05I don't know, it was just a great experience,
0:51:05 > 0:51:08in terms of the crew and everybody who worked on it, I was...
0:51:08 > 0:51:10I think you would be very easy to argue
0:51:10 > 0:51:13that you worked with the best in the world.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15Walking onto a Star Wars set,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17just surrounded by all this British talent,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20and you do feel incredibly proud when you are on that set,
0:51:20 > 0:51:22I have to say.
0:51:22 > 0:51:27And these are the movies that the whole world is going to watch,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30you know. And it's made in Britain.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36When you get to do Star Wars, everyone expects it to be like, "Oh, my God, was it crazy?"
0:51:36 > 0:51:38And you go, "No, it was really kind of normal."
0:51:38 > 0:51:41Yeah, it is like, when you grow up and you realise Star Wars isn't real,
0:51:41 > 0:51:43and then you kind of go into the real world,
0:51:43 > 0:51:45and then you've been transported back there.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47- Yeah.- And it feels like...
0:51:47 > 0:51:48Only joking, the world's not really boring.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52- Yeah. It's actually really exciting. - Yeah, yeah. And you go, "Yay, I was right!"
0:51:52 > 0:51:54And then it is like, oh, and then it ends.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56And you go, "Oh, no, actually, it is boring again, isn't it?"
0:51:56 > 0:51:58But when it ends, when that music...
0:51:58 > 0:51:59That score, the Star Wars music,
0:51:59 > 0:52:02and it says "Directed by Gareth Edwards..."
0:52:02 > 0:52:04That must make you feel, well...
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Yeah, I... It is weird.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Like, that iris wipe.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13Like, I watched those credits probably more than any other film as a kid.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16And that's how it felt like the ultimate film ends, just goes...
0:52:16 > 0:52:18HE HUMS STAR WARS THEME
0:52:18 > 0:52:22So I guess when that happened on the premiere, it was like...
0:52:22 > 0:52:23It did feel like, OK, I can die now.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Do you know what I mean? Whatever happens in the rest of my life now,
0:52:26 > 0:52:28I've done that. I can, I can die.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32Star Wars wouldn't have been the hit it was without the combination of
0:52:32 > 0:52:34American and British talent.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36And George Lucas wouldn't forget it.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39After Star Wars, production supervisor Robert Watts
0:52:39 > 0:52:42continued working with him on the Indiana Jones trilogy.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Most of the films he worked on were shot here at Elstree.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49What is it like for you, being back in here?
0:52:49 > 0:52:52It looks so different, with all these black drapes around.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Yeah. Good memories in here, though?
0:52:54 > 0:52:56Oh, God.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58I can feel it.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01You know? I can actually feel it.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05- Can you?- Yeah, I can feel, like, the energy.
0:53:05 > 0:53:06It's great.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10After Star Wars, art director Les Dilley worked on Alien,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and The Abyss, to name just a few.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15And he's still working in LA.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Obviously, here we are, and I am not going to say your exact age, Les,
0:53:19 > 0:53:21but you are still working in the industry, 60 years later.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25- Yeah.- What is it about it that you obviously still love?
0:53:25 > 0:53:27The excitement of it all.
0:53:27 > 0:53:28It's never been boring.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32I've never had a boring job.
0:53:32 > 0:53:33Roger Christian lives in Canada,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37but is back in London promoting his book about his life and work.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40And that work includes trying to get a new film off the ground,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44the feature length version of his acclaimed short film Black Angel
0:53:44 > 0:53:48he made in 1979 with help from George Lucas.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51I was talking to George last time I went to the ranch,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54about Black Angel, because it is part of his history.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56And he said, "I'm to give you a piece of advice."
0:53:56 > 0:53:57And I said, "What?"
0:53:57 > 0:53:59And he said, "Don't do what I did - go huge and big -
0:53:59 > 0:54:04"keep it, like, very simple, few characters, and you connect to them,
0:54:04 > 0:54:05"like the first Star Wars."
0:54:05 > 0:54:07I said, "That's exactly what I've written."
0:54:07 > 0:54:11Creature-maker Nick Mayley also worked on the sequel
0:54:11 > 0:54:14and was fundamental in building Yoda, the Jedi Master.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17He has rebuilt him using original designs and techniques,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20and now takes him to fan conventions around the world.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23It was his hard work on The Empire Strikes Back
0:54:23 > 0:54:25that really made the difference to his career.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29When the...when the main puppet was having a few hiccups,
0:54:29 > 0:54:33and every time they had to pull it out, the crew was standing around,
0:54:33 > 0:54:36producer Robert Watts asked me if I could build a backup.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39It's hard for me to tell that story without getting emotional,
0:54:39 > 0:54:44because it was the turning point in my career.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47You know, it was the culmination of 13 years' work.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51And so, you know, I don't want to cry on camera.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54It's just a hard thing for me.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57But, yes, there was a moment when myself and Bob Keane,
0:54:57 > 0:54:59who was one of the trainees, 18 years old,
0:54:59 > 0:55:04the first day after we had worked 60 hours in three days,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07slept on the floor, after we'd finished,
0:55:07 > 0:55:12we slept in the store room because we were too tired to drive home.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17And finally we got to see, you know, the work that we had done
0:55:17 > 0:55:19and it was Yoda with his head in the box,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21throwing all the stuff over his shoulder.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28- No! Ugh!- Hey, you could have broken this!
0:55:28 > 0:55:29Don't do that.
0:55:31 > 0:55:32Oh!
0:55:34 > 0:55:37I knew at that moment that we had done something that, you know,
0:55:37 > 0:55:39no-one would ever forget.
0:55:39 > 0:55:45It's so hard to get to where you want to go, it's just so hard.
0:55:45 > 0:55:50And you've got so much emotion, so much faith in yourself, you have to,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52to get through ten or 13 years.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57When that moment comes, it's very hard.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01- Do you want to take a minute?- Yeah. Just give me a minute.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05Yoda was very special to me.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07He changed my life,
0:56:07 > 0:56:12and so I really couldn't possibly say there was another creature
0:56:12 > 0:56:15that I was involved with that I have the same fondness for.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17That I have for you, right?
0:56:18 > 0:56:22The Brits definitely have that sort of sense of eccentricity,
0:56:22 > 0:56:27and I think the British thing is nothing ever seems too weird to us.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30You would just like, go, "Oh, yeah, guv, I can do that."
0:56:30 > 0:56:33The success of Star Wars is not measured by the box office,
0:56:33 > 0:56:38I don't think, or what critics say when it comes out.
0:56:38 > 0:56:42I think the success of Star Wars is measured 30 years from now,
0:56:42 > 0:56:44when you are walking along the street,
0:56:44 > 0:56:50and if you see a kid or an old guy wearing a T-shirt and he has got
0:56:50 > 0:56:55something from your movie on it, then you know you did OK.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Do you think it is a bit of a lucky charm now,
0:56:57 > 0:56:59to shoot Star Wars in the UK?
0:56:59 > 0:57:01Lucky charm, yes.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04But talent, yes.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06That's the most important thing.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09Here in Britain, we have extraordinary talent,
0:57:09 > 0:57:12both in the acting profession,
0:57:12 > 0:57:19but also very importantly in the production department of it.
0:57:19 > 0:57:26We have this combination of creativity, hard work and skills,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28sort of almost a military skill.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32And I still think the first Star Wars is the best one.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34It's got this magic about it.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36To this very day,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41I still have to pinch myself, because people say to me sometimes,
0:57:41 > 0:57:44"You worked on Star Wars?"
0:57:44 > 0:57:46"Oh, you're legends!"
0:57:46 > 0:57:49I say, "Oh, what are you talking about?!"
0:57:49 > 0:57:51You know, we did our job.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55And yet you get viewed like that.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57But you don't feel like that.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00It's not, you know...
0:58:00 > 0:58:03I don't feel like a legend.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07I'm extremely proud to have been involved in it.
0:58:07 > 0:58:12I look at myself now as I get older and the rest of it, and I think,
0:58:12 > 0:58:15"Bloody hell, Robert, how did that happen?"
0:58:16 > 0:58:19It was...something else.