Empire Minute 123: Scented Robots

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Date

July 2nd, 2014

Summary

Part Two of the End Credits

Guests

Jonathan Strawn

Notes

Film

• Starts with credits for Rebel officers, including Jack McKenzie (Deck Lieutenant); ends with assistant director (studio second unit) Dominic Fulford.
• Gaffer: Laurie Shane.
• Ralph McQuarrie
• Stuart Freeborn
• Supporting characters.
• Assistant to the producer Bunny Alsup: Gary Kurtz's sister.

Podcast

• Discussion of Ralph McQuarrie and his art.
  • In art class, Jonathan traced a McQuarrie painting and submitted it as his own work.
    • Referenced: Lichtenstein.
• Stuart Freeborn and Yoda.
  • Five movies with Alec Guinness,
  • Seven times with Burnell Tucker (including Superman I & II).
  • Freeborn probably was full of wise sayings after creating Yoda.
  • Speculation about how they will do a young Yoda in future movies.
• Ben Burtt's unsung assistants.
  • All the exotic requests he must have made for sound recordings.
  • Even though Beldons do not appear on screen, he still made them spend hours getting the perfect sound, because the actors need to know.
• Burtt was also sound designer/editor for Star Trek (2009).
• Costume designer John Mollo.
  • Was a military uniform enthusiast who designed the look of the Imperial officers for Star Wars and Empire.
    • Mentioned: DJ Death Squad.
• Jonathan is 1st Lieutenant in the New Mexico Air National Guard.
  • Discussion of how close Star Wars is to a real military.
  • When possible, he tries to have his pilots maneuver down trenches.
• Second Unit Director John Barry
  • Died two weeks into filming
    • Eliminated by George Lucas (mafia-style?).

 Jonathan's Empire memories
  He lost tons of blaster toys.
  He also lost Endor Leia's cape. He and his mother searched for more than an hour on their hands and knees in the yard looking for it.
  They probably found it? But he has lost the figure since then.
  Listening to audio of the movie recorded onto a cassette from the VHS on cross-country road trips.
   He is now especially sensitive to little audio tweaks in later editions.

• Star Wars tastes and smells
  • Artoo would taste like when you put a penny or a battery in your mouth.
  • You can probably get various add-ons for your robots to change their smell—scented robots.
• Plug for http://starwarsminute.com/live

Meta Minute

• 22:22 podcast episode length.
• "Gaffer tape" is similar to duct tape, but has a fabric (rather than vinyl) backing and a rubber-based adhesive[1].
• Besides The Empire Strikes Back, Laurie Shane was the Gaffer for more than 30 feature films, 10 TV movies and miniseries, and 6 TV series.
• There is no best boy credited for The Empire Strikes Back.
• Most of the voices that Pete does sound the same.
• Mollo was unscrupulously (we assume) replaced as costume designer for Return of the Jedi
  • Since he is English, his name is most likely pronounced like "Mall-Oh" (rhymes with "WALL") (mollo in IPA).
• Osama bin Laden was 1.95 meters (6 ft 5 in.) tall. He was killed three years prior to this episode first airing.

Quotes

• Alex: Why is New Mexico Lando's favorite State? Johnathan: It's the "Lando [Land of] Enchantment".
• Pete: (as Ben Burtt) I need you to throw some lettuce down the stairs and then go hit... hit that mailbox with a rake. Alex: <distantly> Not a plastic rake a metal rake, idiot!

Link

http://www.starwarsminute.com/2014/07/02/empire-minute-123-scented-robots/

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