In 2008, Robot Chicken returned with another hilarious Star Wars special complete with a Boba Fett - Ewok sequence that many a fan has only fantasized about. Our favorite sketch? The krayt dragon with the unstoppable can-do attitude.
StarWars.com chatted with Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich about their reasons for doing another special, and why they especially enjoyed working with the one and only Billy Dee Williams.
Why did you decide to do another Star Wars special for Robot Chicken?
Seth: That's like saying why did you decide to make out with that beautiful girl who said, "Hey, do you want to make out with me?" Matt and I have loved Star Wars all our lives and the opportunity to get to make Star Wars stuff is kind of invaluable especially when you're given permission to play with it and have fun with it and to do your thing with it.
Any notable guest star voices you'd like to mention?
Matt: Billy Dee Williams came in and knocked it out of the park for us.
Seth: We got to record Billy Dee before, so we had kind of a rapport with him. And this was just... I can't tell you how much I love Billy Dee Williams. He is so awesome. The tracks he gave us are outrageous. We even wrote a whole sketch for the proper season where Billy Dee himself encounters a fan at the supermarket, we loved him so much.
Read the full article here: Robot Chicken Strikes Back With More Star Wars
A Year of Star Wars Rocks
When profiling people on Star Wars Rocks, it's always fun to see that even some of the biggest celebrities and hottest bands get giddy when talking about the first time they laid eyes on Darth Vader. In 2008, comedians, reality stars, musicians, action stars, directors, writers and even ghost hunters revealed their love about Star Wars. Here are some of our favorite comments gleaned from the Star Wars Rocks interview over 2008.
"I feel like the world of Star Wars has gotten to be so vast, not just in terms of the various mediums that it occupies, but because of the visual possibilities that technology has allowed and Industrial Light & Magic is so remarkably capable at creating. My favorite thing about Star Wars is the ability to tell an incredibly personal, intimate and emotional story against a backdrop of conflict and battle that's planetary and massive."
-- Star Trek director, J.J. Abrams
"I had this great collection of Star Wars toys. For some reason, they had the best selection at Sears, right by the exit door on this one part of the mall. I would run there and try to find who I didn't have, and would be so disappointed when I couldn't find what I was looking for. Then I'd wait and go back the next week looking for the same thing. When you're a kid you don't understand merchandising and stocking shelves. Why isn't it there? It should be there!"
-- "Heroes" actor, Milo Ventimiglia
"I had a bunch of action figures. My favorite of course was Chewbacca. I also remember a kind of furry Chewbacca that was fuzzy and not just hard plastic. I don't know if I dreamt it or if this was my actual toy. I have memories of brushing it, of it coming with an actual brush, and it got gum in it and stuff."
-- Comedian and actress, Margaret Cho
"When we did the first Robot Chicken: Star Wars special, we were so amazed that we got to do it. We basically filmed all the nerd water cooler conversations from the last 30 years. It's everything that everyone hypothesized. With this one, we just took our time a little more. Having done all those jokes we wanted to do we really were interested in getting a little more under the skin of these guys. There's a lot of fun storytelling."
-- Actor, Robot Chicken co-creator, Seth Green
"The other thing that I love is that we got to develop new versions of characters that have existed for pretty much 30 years. We love that we can play with these characters and give them more personality and take them in more of a Robot Chicken direction."
-- Robot Chicken co-creator, Matthew Senreich
"Star Wars speaks a universal language. It's symbolic of what we all go through in some way in our lives. The characters represent these beautiful archetypes. It doesn't matter what age you are, you'll be able to understand it and get it. It's incredibly spiritual and honest and fun. It's the only series of films, I think, that will stand the test of time. I can't think of any other film that touches people like Star Wars does. I will always love Star Wars and anything that comes from it."
-- The Spirit actress ,Jaime King
"As a kid I was also into making Super-8 movies with all my friends. That was the way I expressed myself as a super geek. So me and my friends would make our own Star Wars films and got really ambitious with what we were trying to do with effects. We turned our parents' cars into spaceships. It really expanded the way I envisioned how I could be creative with the tools that I have within my grasp."
-- "Heroes" Exec. Producer and Writer, Jesse Alexander
"R2-D2 would be just fine in the Legendary Pink Dots. He has plenty of sonic possibilities and there would be no power struggles or ego issues. He'd be fantastic for the image too, though I would insist that he wear a red scarf."
-- Legendary Pink Dots lead singer, Edward Ka-Spel
"I think the Obi-Wan ghost makes perfect sense. Considering there are ghosts in our world, how come there can't be ghosts in the Star Wars world -- especially when someone is very strong in the ways of the Force? As we all know now, Qui-Gon Jinn was the first one to actually come back from the great beyond to communicate with Yoda, and he taught Obi-Wan how to communicate with him. So having a ghost in that universe actually makes more sense than in this world considering we don't know how ghosts manifest themselves here."
-- Paranormal Investigator on Ghost Hunters, Brian Harnois
"These movies in particular are not just about special effects; they have such a strong message. I think often people concentrate today more on flash and bang, and then when that wears off there isn't much substance. The flash and bang is important on a commercial level, because you have to turn people's heads if you want them to pay attention to what you have to say, but then what really matters is to have the substance and depth to have them continue caring after the initial impact is over. It's just like anything else, there has to be depth for things to continue after the initial bang, whether it be a relationship, a movie, or a band. The Star Wars model is pretty much how we run our band honestly. We try to draw people's attention with the fact that our live show is really over the top, but then once we get their attention they find that there is a lot to digest beyond the spectacle."
-- The Dillinger Escape Plan lead singer, Greg Puciato
"I honestly think the first thing I saw as a kid was Battle of Endor -- the Ewoks movie. I was a huge fan of that. I would emulate the voices and pretend to be Wicket. And I watched all the movies religiously as a kid; they're just so fun. I think I even dressed up as a stormtrooper when I was six for Halloween.."
-- American Idol reality star and singer, Blake Lewis
"I grew up in Vermont so we always got movies really late. My mom's aunt was visiting and she brought me a Star Wars T-shirt. I loved the imagery on it but I hadn't seen the movie yet. The shirt had a montage of images on it including Darth Vader and an X-wing. I loved Star Wars just based on the shirt imagery! Kids who had seen the movie were pointing at my T-shirt and excitedly explaining it to me as I looked at it upside-down. My brother saw it first and came home and told me everything. So I was pretty primed for the movie when I finally got to see it."
-- Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne
"I think Bib Fortuna is pretty under appreciated not just by Jabba but by all of us! [laughs] He's a pretty cool looking bloke, isn't he? I just like to imagine him going home to his wife, moaning about Jabba, watching Podracing on telly and kicking back having a beer."
-- The Automatic drummer, Iwan Griffiths
