Page 109 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2020)

ian Johnson, the writer and
director of The Last Jedi
gave off an amazing
aura of calm despite
the excitement and
R2-D2 and C-3PO walk the red carpet
frenzy of expectation that surrounded

the film’s London premiere. “It feels
great that people have been enjoying
the movie,” he told Star Wars Insider.
“I was just excited for fans and crowds

to see it for the first time.”
When asked about working with
the late Carrie Fisher, Johnson was
enthused yet thoughtful in his response.
“First and foremost, she was a writer,
and that’s how we first really connected.

We had a lot of really nice moments
on set, but the times I remember her
best were when we were hanging at her
house before the shoot. She was digging
out books for me that she wanted to
talk about. She was writing The Princess
Diarist [Fisher’s personal recollections Daisy Ridley (Rey) arrives at the premiere.
from the set of the first Star Wars movie]

when we were filming, and she showed
me all the diaries from 1976. I feel really
lucky to have had a little bit of time to
know her.”
Fisher left an incredible legacy as an
icon of empowerment, and the saga is
reflecting the societal change that she

championed, with The Last Jedi boasting

the most diverse cast of all of the films
to date. Was there a conscious decision

to reflect the real world in the movie?
“It felt right, it felt good as I was
writing it,” Johnson explained. “Star
Wars should reflect the world as it

is today and the world as it actually
looks around us. Movies are doing that
Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) with wife Marilou.
more and more now. It’s nothing but
a good thing.”

Still looming large for filmmakers
playing in the Star Wars sandbox is its n sharp contrast to his ‘blink and Given his status as a Star Wars
visionary creator, George Lucas. What you’ll miss it’ appearance in The veteran, Hamill was protective over

did he make of Johnson’s film? I Force Awakens, Mark Hamill has the new cast, though he also admitted
“He was very gracious,” Johnson lots to do in The Last Jedi. Were there to feeling a tinge of jealousy at their
revealed. “I grew up not just loving any surprises for him? “We planned it adventures. “The cast is so spectacular,
Star Wars; I attended the same film all out pretty meticulously,” he said. everyone is talented in their own way.

school that George Lucas had studied “What I didn’t expect was, when we I felt a strong sense of nostalgia! I used
at because I’d read about it in a book were shooting, I kept having ice-cold to be the orphan discovery with hidden
and discovered that he went there. To water dropped onto me. I was trying to powers, now we’ve got Rey. I used to be

be able to chat with him and hear his work out how I was going to deliver the the hotshot, impulsive X-wing fighter
kind words about the movie we made dialogue and then… Brrr! It was all I pilot, and now we’ve got Poe Dameron.
was pretty good.” could do to not fall over!” I used to be the one sneaking around

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