Blocks magazine builds Star Wars history
Posted by Huw,
This article was contributed by the editor of Blocks magazine:
In 1977, a little film called Star Wars took America by storm, breaking records and inspiring a new generation of filmgoers. Now, 42 years later, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is concluding the story that began all of those years ago.
Blocks magazine spoke to Anthony Daniels, the only person who has been on the set of every Star Wars movie, about what is was like playing C-3PO for all those years and his experience with the world of LEGO Star Wars. Talented builders depict the story of C-3PO in a series of vignettes spanning every episodic film in Issue 63.
But as always in a monthly magazine, space is at a premium – and one vignette didn’t squeeze into the magazine. One of the most famous Star Wars occasions in 1977 occurred when Darth Vader, C-3PO and R2-D2 visited the Mann’s Chinese Theatre to have their footprints immortalised in the cement outside. Given that Anthony Daniels himself appeared in the costume on that day, it seemed a perfect moment to recreate.
Blocks magazine’s Daniel Konstanski, who has also built the three sequel trilogy vignettes for the new issue, talks about building this model.
Could you explain the background to this cinema?
In 1977, the world premiere of A New Hope – then called just Star Wars of course – was held at the Mann’s Chinese Theatre (now known now as the TLC Chinese Theatre). Some of the most often used footage to illustrate the power of the film in 1977 is a clip of C-3PO and R2-D2 turning up to make their mark in the cement outside the cinema. The crowds were huge. It has a lot of history with the franchise.
What is this build based on?
Magazine work can be tricky business. Due to deadlines for copy and print, we have to submit articles and photos months in advance of publication. For a build that means construction starts even earlier, often long before we have good trailers or information about the upcoming film. When I was tasked with creating this vignette we had seen almost none of Threepio in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker promotional material, this was before the “taking one last look… at my friends” trailer was released.
I had no material to go off, so the challenge was coming up with something that could plausibly be tied to The Rise of Skywalker despite not having anything concrete to go on. C-3PO appearing in front of this famous theatre for an opening could easily happen today, so it fit the prompt. Further, the theatre has very distinctive architecture that lends itself very nicely to representation in brick form and is instantly recognisable especially to folks here in the states where it has a well-known association with the Star Wars franchise.
Which other vignettes did you build for this feature?
I did all the vignettes for the sequel trilogy. For The Force Awakens I selected the first scene in which we see Threepio, which is when Leia comes down in her craft and sees Han for the first time in the wake of the battle of Takodana. C-3PO interrupting a tender moment between the two of them is such quintessential behaviour for him that it was the natural choice for a vignette showcasing him in that movie. Anakin should definitely have done a better job of programming him to be more aware of interpersonal dynamics!
For Star Wars: The Last Jedi, material was actually pretty scarce. While the character fusses over Leia a bit and is of course present in the film, none of his scenes stuck out as much as the one from The Force Awakens. So instead I opted for the moment where Leia comes in to put down Poe’s mutiny. The bridge of the ship lent itself to a vignette, and having Poe flipping back over the chair was a fun moment to create.
Finally, for The Rise of Skywalker, my editor wanted something more tied to the filming than a premiere. Accordingly, I built an additional vignette showing Anthony Daniels removing the Threepio helmet one final time at what was meant to be the wrapping of filming for the final film. After performing in almost every Star Wars film to date he is getting a well deserved standing ovation.
Which was your favourite to put together?
The vignette from The Last Jedi was my favourite to put together. Leia has long been a favourite character so getting to create a version of the scene where she comes back in and restores order was fun. It also had the most reference material to go off and I enjoyed figuring out how to do little details like the chair, control panel, etc.
To see the rest of the builds and read Anthony Daniel’s thoughts on playing C-3PO for over 40 years, pick up the latest issue of Blocks magazine.
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9 comments on this article
Excellent idea, vignette, interview and édition of the magazine.
The magazine is great I got it on day one as hyped for TROS even though I have tickets for 17th January so please don't spoil it
Ordered the e-version and I don't regret the expense. The article and interview are great, and I also discovered that Blocks Magazine was overall really of high quality standard.
I shed a tear or two reading this article.
@Lordmoral said:
"I shed a tear or two reading this article."
Because it’s a teaser advertisement for the mag?
I have a hard copy. Haven’t read it all (I’m saving some for Christmas), but the Anthony Daniels interview and the Forestmen retrospective are great.
I saw Rise of Skywalker last Thursday. While it’s not perfect, it’s still immensely enjoyable and far better than many professional reviews make it seem. If you haven’t seen it yet, get yourself to a cinema!
I love this article, Star Wars and LEGO! If they had Star Wars LEGO sets in the mid 90s, I would never had descended into my dark ages.
I agree with @Zander, skip the reviews and see the film!
"Don't ask questions, just consume product and get excited for new products"
- the previous two comments
I really enjoyed the issue - great work! The quality of the paper is dreadful though - brand new it almost looks like I have been reading this while having a hot bath...