Jabba the Hutt defines "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi." A massive alien creature puppet made by staff who cut their teeth on "The Dark Crystal," he took "four tons of clay" to produce (per J.W. Rinzler's "The Making of Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi") and was barely finished in time for the film. Puppeteer Toby Philpott called him "probably the most expensive puppet that's ever been made" in the Jabba-centric documentary "Slimy Piece of Worm-Ridden Filth." His Tatooine palace set saw the "Star Wars" production staff aiming to outdo the famous Cantina scene in "A New Hope." So garish was his environs that the production staff paid to obtain rare frogs for the set, so that Jabba could pretend to eat plastic versions of them.
To some, Jabba was an inconvenience. To others, he was an inspiration. But perhaps nobody else on set had a relationship...
To some, Jabba was an inconvenience. To others, he was an inspiration. But perhaps nobody else on set had a relationship...
- 4/22/2023
- by Adam Wescott
- Slash Film
Jamie Benning's Filmumentaries are some of the best behind-the-scenes documentaries I've ever seen. Benning combines rarely seen video with interviews he's conducted himself, commentary tracks from Blu-ray and DVD releases of the films in question, and just generally provides an amazing in-depth experience for film fans so they can learn more about some of their favorite movies. He's done excellent work on Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, and Back to the Future.
Now he's back with a 20-minute documentary about Toby Philpott and Dave Barclay, the puppeteers who operated Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. It includes a new interview with Philpott, who goes into great detail about the design work, how it operates, and even speculates that George Lucas would have liked to create Jabba in CGI back then, but the technology wasn't available to him yet. Benning has created another fantastic piece of work here,...
Now he's back with a 20-minute documentary about Toby Philpott and Dave Barclay, the puppeteers who operated Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. It includes a new interview with Philpott, who goes into great detail about the design work, how it operates, and even speculates that George Lucas would have liked to create Jabba in CGI back then, but the technology wasn't available to him yet. Benning has created another fantastic piece of work here,...
- 2/6/2015
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
The BFI's Days of Fear and Wonder programme celebrated Star Wars Day this weekend (Saturday, December 12) to screen George Lucas's original trilogy back-to-back.
The Southbank venue played host to showings of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi with special guests Paul Blake (Greedo), Garrick Hagon (Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter), Anthony Forrest (Mos Eisley roadblock stormtrooper), Anne Skinner (script supervisor) and Harley Cokeliss (2nd Unit Director) on hand to discuss the sci-fi movies.
Lando Calrissian star Billy Dee Williams also took part in an exclusive filmed interview before Empire Strikes Back and Jabba the Hutt puppeteer Toby Philpott joined in for a post-Return of the Jedi Q&A.
The BFI's Benugo bar offered fans Mos Eisley Cantina-themed drinks, while Lego tables decked out the foyer for those wanting to build Star Wars models.
The day also saw prizes being dished out for the best...
The Southbank venue played host to showings of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi with special guests Paul Blake (Greedo), Garrick Hagon (Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter), Anthony Forrest (Mos Eisley roadblock stormtrooper), Anne Skinner (script supervisor) and Harley Cokeliss (2nd Unit Director) on hand to discuss the sci-fi movies.
Lando Calrissian star Billy Dee Williams also took part in an exclusive filmed interview before Empire Strikes Back and Jabba the Hutt puppeteer Toby Philpott joined in for a post-Return of the Jedi Q&A.
The BFI's Benugo bar offered fans Mos Eisley Cantina-themed drinks, while Lego tables decked out the foyer for those wanting to build Star Wars models.
The day also saw prizes being dished out for the best...
- 12/15/2014
- Digital Spy
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.