BEHIND THE SCENES IMAGE: WAMPA IN THE WILDS!

Inside the huge Stuart Freeborn costume for the fearsome snow beast, the Wampa, Des Webb gets ready for filming opposite the dead Tauntaun carcass. Sadly, the majority of the creatures location scenes, filmed in totally inhospitable climes at Finse, Norway, were deemed unusable and re-filmed, replaced with a new ILM insert of the creature's face and also with new material shot towards the end of the film's Principal Photography, on a partial snow filled backlot at ELSTREE.

Life's hard when you're a Wampa!

To find out more about the making of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, check out our immensely detailed behind the scenes specials here: BACK ISSUE PDF CATALOG

BEHIND THE SCENES: GREEDO'S THREAT!

In January 1977, Lucas and a small Los Angeles Second Unit would film additional scenes for insertion into the evolving cut of STAR WARS, including many cutaway shots featuring Rick Baker's new menagerie of monsters. Stuart Freeborn's originally used Greedo mask would receive some practical design improvements by Baker for additional sequences also shot at the same time, where the trigger happy Rodian would be played by Maria De Aragon.

CLASSIC CHEWBACCA: ONE MAN AND HIS WOOKIEE!

In his workshop at ELSTREE, legendary British make-up artist Stuart Freeborn brings the Classic Trilogy Chewbacca mask to reality.

With thanks to Chris Baker for the image.

Fans of Stuart's work on the three STAR WARS films, and the rest of his spectacular career, including such notables as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and the SUPERMAN films, check out AFICIONADO's exclusive interview with him and his wife Kay in our exhaustive MAKING OF "RETURN OF THE JEDI" special issue from 2008, which is available here: http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/catalog/item/6975337/8512430.htm

WAMPA: SAVAGE BEASTS OF HOTH!

Our penultimate feature celebrating the Thirtieth Anniversary of EMPIRE can now be found on the main site, this time linked to the filming of the Wampa ice creature sequences.

Check out the rare photo feature here:

http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/the_wampa_beasts_of_hoth.html

And don't forget, for all other things behind the scenes related to the film, our two EMPIRE special issues (from 2005 and our current BEHIND THE SCENES COMPANION) are still available as PDFs from the main site's BACK ISSUES area.

With thanks to Chris Baker for the above image.

CLASSIC IMAGE: LITTLE FURBALL!

One of Stuart Freeborn's created Ewoks takes part in a late 1981 costume reference film/photo test, videotaped by Producer Howard Kazanjian and Robert Watts, at ELSTREE prior to the commencement of REVENGE (later RETURN) OF THE JEDI's principal photography in January 1982.

CLASSIC IMAGE: UGLIES INC.

Stuart Freeborn certainly proved himself as one of the STAR WARS sagas definitive UK talents in make-up and creature construction with this motley group of monster heads that would be used in the original films 1976 April/May cantina filming at ELSTREE. All of the monsters in there, and in later US re-shoots with additional Rick Baker creatures, would become icons, especially Freeborn's Greedo, whom George Lucas would take a shine to when he first saw the creature in his workshop after it had been previously constructed for use as an alien in a UK BIRDS EYE peas commercial of the early seventies, and was subsequently re-dressed for his doomed confrontation with Han Solo.

Due to illness (possibly a stomach bug earlier contracted in Tunisia?), Stuart was unable to complete all the required UK masks for the cantina sequence, which begs the question, are there any surviving pieces of original 1975/76 artwork or designs, whether they be in the LUCASFILM archives or in a private collection, that show those creatures that ultimately never made it to reality? It would surely be fascinating to see them, eh?

READY FOR THEIR CLOSE - UPS! "STAR WARS" AND DON POST.

Above and below are some specially shot 1977 test reference pictures taken by DON POST STUDIOS of the original STAR WARS 1976 filming masks loaned out to them by LUCASFILM (or THE STAR WARS CORPORATION, which was part of it) / FOX of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, an Imperial Stormtrooper and C-3PO that would be used as visual research information in the construction of their STAR WARS masks for general sale when the film hit the stratosphere at the box office (these images were sold by an eBay dealer a couple of years ago. The seller wanted, and probably got, his desired astronomical fee for them!).

Note how the Stuart Freeborn created Chewbacca mask has begun heavy deterioration after only a year since filming (Kay Freeborn told AFICIONADO that the suit was kept under lock and key by Lucas at that time. It would be re-used only for certain key reference (as seen in Dave Berry's ILM home movie footage), promotional photos and appearances)). At least two new Chewbacca costumes and masks would later be created for EMPIRE in 1978/79.

With thanks to Chris Baker for his help with the Stormtrooper image.