urban@RAND-UNIX@sri-unix (12/10/82)
I recently attended the LucasFilms RotJ dog-and-pony show at LosCon, which was by all accounts nearly identical to the presentation at ChiCon (which I managed to miss). Some of the stuff hasn't been mentioned in SFL and might affect people's speculations. The studio has been really good about NOT generating serious spoilers, though. There is at least one other planetfall besides Tatooine and Dagobah, which is the moon of Endor (a very Tolkien name!); this was shot in the redwood country of northern California. Luke is seen (dressed in black) fighting Darth Vader in an as-yet- unenhanced light-sabre duel. "Where did Luke get his light-sabre?" "He makes it". Luke is seen in an elevator with Darth Vader. The elevator is flanked by Royal Shakespeare Company actors in red robes (very striking against the usual imperial black-and-white sets). We are told that these are the Emperor's guards. "Do we see the Emperor in this film?" "Yes." There are indeed new characters in this film, including Admiral Ackbar (available as a bonus from Kenner Toys just like Boba Fett was "pre-released" as a toy before Empire came out). One of these is a woman, named (spelling wrong?) Mom Montha. To show you how the fan mind works, there was a Mom Montha in the ChiCon Masquerade. That's FAST work! "Do we find out who the 'other' is?" "Yes." (strongly implies that "another" is indeed a 'who' and not a 'what'). At Westercon, the following non-answer was given: "Is Darth Vader Luke's father?" "At LucasFilms, we almost always tell the truth." At every presentation, the LucasFilms rep was VERY careful to point out that Obi-Wan will look translucent in the finished film, regardless of how the principal photography looks. "He's still dead, or in heaven or wherever Jedi go when they die". DISCLAIMER: All these quotes are from memory. Mike