Star Wars 3 - Cannes Press Conference Videos !

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The Force was strong in Cannes yesterday. The press had their opportunity to toss questions at the cast and crew of Star Wars Epidode III: Revenge of the Sith. Present alongside the director George Lucas were actors Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid and Anthony Daniels. Also in attendance was producer Rick McCallum. You can find all links to the videos at the bottom of the news. Here are a few highlights:

George Lucas on the political context of the film: "Because this is the back story, and one of the main features of back story was to explain how the Republic became the Empire, at the time I did it, that was really during the Nixon years and the Vietnam War, the issue was how does a democracy turn itself over to a dictator. I began to study a great deal about things like ancient Rome and why did the Senate, after killing Cesar, turn around and give the government to his nephew; why did France after they got rid of the king and that whole system turn around and give it to Napoleon; the same thing in Germany with Hitler. You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship."

Natalie Portman on her development paralleling her character's development: "It was definitely an amazing opportunity to play a character several times. Every time you watch a film, you say to yourself you could have done this differently, now that I'm older I have this idea about the character, and to play a character developing over that period of time, with your own age developing and your own self developing was really an amazing opportunity and to get to work with the same people every few years."

Hayden Christensen: "The actual physical transformation to Darth Vader was made very easily. Really it was a matter of bringing the characteristics that we saw in Jake Lloyd that we saw in Episode I and mature those so as to create the character â€“ vocal tonality, how he behaved..."

George Lucas on his fan bases: "I see it all as one movie, so I don't pay much attention to people who prefer one chapter or another chapter. But we've discovered that we have two fan bases. One is over 25 and one is under 25. The over 25 fan base is loyal to the first three films and they are actually in their 30's and 40's now, so that they're in control of the media, they're in control of the web, they're in control of everything basically. The films, which those people don't like, which are the first two, actually are fanatically bored by the other two. And if you get on the web and you listen to these conversations, they are always at each other's throats and the devotion for each group is pretty equal."

George Lucas on digital cinema: "The industry sort of formed a bunch of organisations to set standards which is really a way of saying, we're going to make sure it gets delayed as long as we possibly can. The actual projection systems in the United States has shrunk down to well under 100. Where I must say I was very encouraged since my last visit here when there were just a few cinemas in Europe and the rest of the world; now there are over 300 cinemas in Europe and the rest of the world."

In Cannes for the out of competition presentation of Star Wars: Episode III â€“ Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas received the Festival Trophy in the auditorium onboard the ship Queen Mary 2, anchored in the Bay of Cannes for a few hours. " The saga began in Cannes in 1971 when I attended with my first film THX 1138, shown in the Directors' Fortnight," remembered Lucas. "I concluded my first contract for Star Wars with United Artists at the Carlton Hotel, where I am staying this year. Cannes is a very special place for me."

You can watch some really cool videos from the interviews including one where to the theme music of the Star Wars saga played by the Prague Symphony Orchestra, director George Lucas and actors Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid and Anthony Daniels climbed the red-carpeted stairs of the Palais for the world premiere. An army of Storm Troopers were on hand to protect them, and so was Darth Vader, waiting at the top of the steps.

Red Carpet Video
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Photo Call and Interview
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Press Conference
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