Talking Bay 94: Star Wars Interviews

In this very special episode, live from San Diego Comic Con, we are continuing our series focusing on the writers of the saga, by talking to the greatest one of all time:  Timothy Zahn , the incredible author behind the seminal Thrawn Trilogy, as well as the upcoming  Thrawn: Alliances.   We, of course, start at the very beginning, detailing his influences and his first interaction with Lucasfilm....

In this episode we are kicking off our series focusing on the writers of the saga, by talking to Alan Dean Foster , the prolific author behind the very first  Star Wars  novel, as well as its classic follow-up,  Splinter of the Mind's Eye. We go through his entire career, from first getting chosen to work on the earliest Expanded Universe works to returning to both the prequel and sequel trilogies...

We wanted to release a fun bonus episode today, featuring our quick interview with a true Star Wars legend: Garrick Hagon . Playing Biggs Darklighter in the original movie, Mr. Hagon talks all about the famous Tunisia set, as well his first impressions of George Lucas and the Star Wars universe. Also included in our conversation: his first time working with Sir Alex Guinness , as well as the camar...

In this episode we are talking to Dave and Lou Elsey , the makeup effects team behind  Revenge of the Sith , whose work was nominated for an Academy Award. The Elsey's talk about everything: from meeting Rick Baker to their early work on Farscape  to, of course, getting the call from Rick McCallum to work on Episode 3. We go through it all: Palpatine's transformation, Anakin's burns and the reintr...

In this episode we are talking to Toby Philpott , one of the puppeteers for Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi . Mr. Philpott is full of incredible stories from Elstree Studios, including working with the rest of the Jabba team, as well as Carrie Fisher, Richard Marquand and more. From his early days working literally under Jim Henson's wing to later work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? , Labyrinth...

Today's episode features a conversation with the great J.W. Rinzler , the author of countless  Star Wars behind-the-scenes books (my favorites) and one of the key voices for the galaxy for a long, long time.  We talk all about his start at Lucasfilm , working with Rick McCallum and (very closely) George Lucas . We also dive into George's later focuses and the importance of the prequels and Brandon...

Today we're talking to Don Bies, a man of many talents and one of the few to make an indelible mark on all of the original six Star Wars movies. Model maker, R2-D2 puppeteer and droid unit supervisor, Don has some great stories, ranging from the Japanese Panasonic commercials to (correctly) designing Darth Vader's helmet in Revenge of the Sith . From Boba Fett to original Biths (to Indiana Jones!)...

In this episode, we take it back to the very beginning and talk to Academy Award winner Roger Christian, who was one of the first people ever to get hired onto  Star Wars.  We try not to freak out while talking about the origins of Blue Milk, C-3PO's eyes, R2-D2 and, of course the original lightsaber. Try to count how many times we use "incredible" during this interview, especially when we talk ab...

In the third part of our 35th Anniversary retrospective of  Return of the Jedi, we interviewed fan favorite Gerald Home, who performed the parts of both Tessek in Jabba's Palace and Captain Verrack, a Mon Calamari Officer of the Rebel Alliance. We not only talk about his time on the set (with his great rendition of "MANY BOTHANS DIED.") but also talk about his time with fans and as a historian of...

This episode is the second part of our 35th Anniversary retrospective of  Return of the Jedi . We talk to Stephen Costantino, who traveled to the Yuma desert with his bandmate Corey Dee Williams, thrown into what was then called  Blue Harvest.  We talk about his time on the set as a Gamorrean Guard, as well as his interactions with Peter Mayhew, Carrie Fisher and Kenny Baker. Check out Stephen's m...

Today's episode is part of our 35th Anniversary retrospective of  Return of the Jedi . We talk to Corey Dee Williams, son of Billy Dee, about his father's time in the saga, the work he did in the Yuma desert, his Star Wars legacy and the funk music he loves to make. Check out Corey's music, as well as the "Cloud City Funk" video we talk about during the podcast:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X...

This is a Star Wars podcast featuring the people who actually made Star Wars happen. This is a Star Wars podcast, simply, that interviews the people who were in Star Wars , who wrote for Star Wars , who lived Star Wars .     And, depending on when you listen to this, we're releasing this on an important day in Star Wars history.   May 25, 2018 marks the 35th anniversary of Return of the Jedi . Bes...