Hoth star wars scenery legion series#

We all knew there was going to be a sequel, but I had just come from what I thought was the beginning of a career in industrial design and at that point I thought, “I don’t know where this is going, but I can always get my industrial design job back.” At the end of the show, they were calling me the visual effects art director, I think was my title. It started out as a six-week job to do some storyboards and the more I worked there, the more things I was asked to do. Joe Johnston, visual effects art director: I wasn’t aware that I had a career when Star Wars came out. George Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz would bring back many of those who created the look, groundbreaking effects, and sounds of Star Wars for the follow-up.

On September 21, 1977, following the surprise and massive success of Star Wars, Twentieth Century Fox and The Chapter II Company (a subsidiary of The Star Wars Corporation, formed for the sequel to Star Wars ) signed an agreement for the production and distribution of what would become The Empire Strikes Back. The Maker at work: George Lucas behind the scenes of Empire. To mark the 40 th anniversary of Empire and the Battle of Hoth, spoke with some of the greatest talents behind the film and the sequence - legends George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren, and Phil Tippett. There had been nothing like it in Star Wars, and it stands as one of the great sequences in the entire saga. The Empire attacks in towering AT-AT walkers, while the rebels, led by Luke Skywalker, fly small snowspeeders in an effort to thwart the offensive. Today, 40 years later, fans often cite it as their favorite Star Wars film, and many consider Empire among the finest motion pictures ever made.Īmong Empire’s many memorable moments and set pieces is undoubtedly the Battle of Hoth, in which the rebels square off against Imperial forces on a planet of snow and ice. Darker and more emotional than Star Wars, Empire also presented another leap in visual spectacle, with more locales and action sequences, and a much bigger scope than its predecessor. And that sequel would be The Empire Strikes Back, which opened on May 21, 1980. So a sequel was something of a no-brainer, to say the least. In May 1977, Star Wars took the world by storm, going on to become the highest-grossing film of all time and garnering several Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture.

Hoth star wars scenery legion series#

To celebrate the classic film’s landmark 40th anniversary, presents “Empire at 40,” a special series of interviews, editorial features, and listicles. On May 21, 1980, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back made its theatrical debut. As Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and the memorable Battle of Hoth turn 40, speaks with George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren, and Phil Tippett about the making of the famous clash in the snow.