Talking Bay 94: A Star Wars Podcast

Today May 21, 2020 is the 40th anniversary of the best movies (and one of my favorite movies) of all time: The Empire Strikes Back. With the two year anniversary of this podcast happening this week, as well, I thought it would be fun for me to go through past episodes and pull my favorite moments from my favorite guests, as they talk about what it was like to work on the sequel to Star Wars. This look back focuses mostly on the special effects: Hoth, Tauntauns, walkers, and go motion.

If you've ever read an issue of the Star Wars Insider or attended Star Wars Celebration, you've got today's guest, Dan Madsen, to thank.  Whether talking about those early days of the magazine, his cameo in The Phantom Menace, or the rainy start of Star Wars Celebration Denver, Mr. Madsen’s love of the fan community and his passion for projects like Her Universe is evident in every answer.

What hasn't Ken Ralston done? Whether talking through his early days working on the Original Trilogy, Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock and a host of Bob Zemeckis classics (including the Back to the Future trilogy), Mr. Ralston is full of incredible, historic stories, a living legend. Strap in for visual effects conversations about working with the Dykstraflex, Videomatics (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdtUoAE2EcQ), motion capture, and Ceti Eels.

You may know Sam Witwer as Starkiller from THE FORCE UNLEASHED and, of course, the voice of Maul in THE CLONE WARS, REBELS and SOLO. But, right before we talked (just a few days before the first episode of THE SIEGE OF MANDALORE premiered), he tweeted "this may be the best thing we've ever done", so we had to talk about that first. After that, though, just buckle up for almost an hour of incredible stories, lore and the importance of "George Lucas Star Wars".

This May is the two year anniversary of TALKING BAY 94, so, as a special bonus episode, I have invited on my very first guest, Corey Dee Williams, as well as his manager, Derek Maki from Coolwaters Productions, who made those first interview even possible. And, to sign up for Coolwaters' upcoming In-House Con, just go to their website: https://inhouse-con.com/ This weekend is the first installment, featuring Corey, Dave Barclay from Episode 16, as well as Deep Roy and Julius LeFlore. 

Duwayne Dunham is an editor, a director .... and he is the original, original Boba Fett. Whether working with Marcia Lucas, watching Eraserhead with Stanley Kubrick or his multiple decade working relationship with David Lynch, I was blown away by the talent and enthusiasm that Mr. Dunham has for his art, during this interview. And, yes, we talk about The Clone Wars episodes he directed, too. And, if you haven’t watched Twin Peaks: The Return yet ... buckle up and get ready to have your life changed

Roger Guyett is a Visual Effects Supervisor and Second Unit Director at Industrial Light and Magic. From the early Harry Potter films to Revenge of the Sith to his relationship with JJ Abrams over 6 films, we go through his journey to The Force Awakens, The Rise of Skywalker and so, so much more. Listen for discussions on sand snakes, Maz Kanata, Millennium Falcon chases and filming on location. It is a great companion piece to the recently released documentary on the TROS Blu-ray.

Chairman and President of Rancho Obi-Wan and former Fan Relations advisor for Lucasfilm, Steve Sansweet is a Star Wars legend in any sense of the word. From writing the Star Wars Encyclopedia to QVC shows to columns in the Star Wars Insider to the setting up the famous Rose Parade, we dive deep into Mr. Sansweet’s incredible history with the galaxy far, far away. For information on how to become a member of Rancho Obi-Wan, head to RanchoObiWan.org, or follow them on Facebook: facebook.com/RanchoObi

Admiral Garrick Versio himself is on the show today ... Mr. Anthony Skordi, best known from Star Wars Battlefront II. This is a quick conversation about his work on the game, his experience in the mo-cap suit, and his latest project. It’s a good one! (And, yeah, let’s get this Mandalorian Season 2 rumor going, huh?)

As a creature concept designer, Jake Lunt Davies has his exceptionally creative fingerprints all over the most recent Star Wars movies. From helping design BB-8 in THE FORCE AWAKENS, the Porgs and Thala Sirens in THE LAST JEDI, Pao in ROGUE ONE, collaborating with his daughter for SOLO and, of course, working on D-0, Space Horses and the Aki Aki for THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, we go through so much. (And, stay until the very end to hear the story of how Snaggletooth made his way into Episode IX.)

Well, this is wild: today's conversation is with an absolute effects legend ... 9-time Academy Award winner, Dennis Muren. This is honestly a dream come true and our conversation did not disappoint: from the landmark achievements of original trilogy's space battles, the Temple of Doom's mine car chase, Willow's morphing, Terminator 2's liquid metal and more … we dive into so much of Mr. Muren’s incredible career.

TyRuben Ellingson is an exceptional Visual Effects Art Director who has worked on a ton of projects, including Star Wars: A New Hope (Special Edition). Whether breaking his arm on Jurassic Park or drawing floating Jabbas, we dive into his career … and what Lucas really said in that first SE meeting. (He also goes on record about his involvement on Greedo shooting first.) From working with del Toro and Cameron to Tron 3 and Blomkamp’s Alien 5, he tells such inspiring stories about his jo

Hey everyone, it's Brandon. I just wanted to take a second and put this episode (Episode 47, from this past fall) back in your feeds because today it was announced that Mr. Alan Harris had passed away at the age of 81.  I am so glad I got to meet him and chronicle his story. He was so generous with his time and such a delight to be around. I hope you enjoy this brief window into his experience with the saga and its fans, and spend a second to remember someone who gave so much to this community.

As an incredibly special Thanksgiving treat, today I am talking to Academy Award winner Craig Barron, who not only worked on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but has been a visual effects pioneer for decades, beginning with his start at Industrial Light & Magic as an 18 year old. From portraying Darth Vader to working with David Fincher, we go through as much of his filmography as possible, as well as the incredible work he is doing for the preservation of film history.

The paper engineer and the pop-up master himself, Matthew Reinhart, returns to the show after our live chat for Episode 38, to talk all about his latest book from Insight Editions ... STAR WARS: THE ULTIMATE POP-UP GALAXY. Even Talking Bay 94 producer Jason gets out on the mic to help me ask the big questions all about design and Easter Eggs in his work. I would like to reiterate, that we were not joking about helping operate his Jabba cosplay at Celebration Anaheim.