Page 54 - Star Wars Insider #195

GOING GREEN

“I thought all my bits would be the ones

that I did with the original Jabba the Hutt.”
Paul Blake

Stuart and Kay Freeborn took a 01
life mask. “In those days they
put plaster of Paris on your face
at the front and the back, which

solidified and formed the shape of
your head,” says Blake, explaining
the process. “Then they put the
halves together and poured in some
Indian rubber solution which,
when it set, formed the basic shape
of your head that fi nished below
the neck. Then Stuart, as he did
for all those other creatures in the
cantina, had to come up with yet
another alien.”
Greedo’s cantina appearance

wasn’t actually his first to be fi lmed,
as Blake was required to play the
Rodian on the Docking Bay 94 set,
in the scene featuring Jabba the
Hutt, which only became part of A
New Hope when the special edition
was released, two decades later. Then, after George cut those scenes, the actor decided to ask his director
“I thought all my bits would all that was left was the one I’d for some guidance. “Because I was
be the ones that I did with the done with Harrison Ford, which I such an earnest young actor, I went

original Jabba the Hutt, Declan think we filmed late on a Friday. I up to George on the first day of

Mulholland,” says Blake. “I had two know the crew wanted to get home, shooting,” smiles Blake. “I said,
or three scenes with Declan and Sir absolutely annoyed they had to do ‘George, how do you want me to
Alec Guinness, before we shot the this scene that had taken all day to play this alien, because there’s lots
cantina scene. I didn’t really pay set up.” of ways to do it.’ And he looked at

too much attention to it because Blake filmed his scenes before me for about a minute and said,
I thought I’d be in the other bits. the character even had a name, and ‘Play it like they do in the movies.’
Which was, of course, the best
advice anyone could possibly get!”
02
Unlucky Greedo
With numerous edits over the
years, determining whether Solo

or Greedo shot first has become
something of a talking point
among fans. What may surprise
people is that not everything was
decided even when the scene was
originally, ahem, shot.
“They didn’t have any idea
how they were going to kill me
off, and neither did George until
Peter Diamond, the special effects
chap, said, ‘Why don’t we do
the scene up to the point where
Paul is shot by Harrison and put
a dummy in Paul’s seat, and fi ll it

54 / STAR WARS INSIDER