Talk the Talk

I realize that I am writing for a very limited audience (people who are interested in reading about sandstorms and bluescreens and computer-generated amphibians) and that my audience has probably already read all of the articles I have read and that I probably can't tell you much that you don't already know.

You have probably heard, for example, that Liam Neeson signed to star in The Phantom Menace before he was able to read the screenplay. Neeson later joked that when he eventually got his hands on the script, security was so tight that Darth Vader himself was standing guard outside the room. (Neeson was, of course, well-paid for his enforced ignorance.) You probably know about the sandstorm in Tunisia that demolished most of the Mos Espa spaceport set when location shooting was only half-finished.

You probably know that, during the shoot, the sets weren't all there most of the time. The actors were often surrounded by blue screens onto which would be grafted grandiose computer-generated locations. (There are reportedly only 250 shots out of 2200 in the entire film that aren't computer-enhanced in some way.)

Those of you with internet access probably have read the blurbs on the Internet Movie Database about Ewan McGregor making light saber-esque buzzing noises during his battle scenes and about Natalie Portman's having to redub all her lines in postproduction because the pitch of her voice had changed during shooting.

Those of you who know where to find an issue of Time have probably read about the entire races of creatures being created by computer. One of these creatures, Jar Jar Binks, is a central character in the film. And those of you who have seen the Star Wars Special Edition are probably hoping that Jar Jar will be a bit more convincing than was the computer-generated Jabba the Hutt. (If nothing else, Jar Jar's dialogue should get frequent laughs; he speaks in a grotesque pidgin English throughout the film.)

Those of you who watch 60 Minutes will have seen Lesley Stahl's interview with George Lucas as well as several short clips from the film. You will have noted, perhaps, Lucas's obsession with detail and his insistence on Getting Everything Right. Evidently he has succeeded--at least in his own eyes--since the film is now officially complete and is being shown to the press.

And if you're like me and have purchased the published screenplay, you know most of what transpires in the film. And if you're like me, your foreknowledge probably only makes you want to see the film even more, because The Phantom Menace is blessed with an infectiously enjoyable story that oozes the Star Wars-ethos out of every computer-generated pore.

And if by some chance you haven't read the articles I've read, then I've told you something you don't know. And that makes me happy.