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Excerpts from The George Lucas Companion |
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This U.K. paperback is a guide to the film career of George Lucas, and coincided with the release of The Phantom Menace. It covers all of George Lucas' movies, and the sections relevant to Warwick's movies are reproduced below.
From Chapter 16: Time for Revenge (about Return of the Jedi)
Auditions for the Ewoks had actually taken place the previous October, and in the end sixty little people were engaged to play the teddy-like creatures. Among them was Kenny Baker who, as well as playing R2-D2, also got to play the Ewok character Paploo. Also cast as another Ewok named Wicket was twelve-year-old Warwick Davis, who'd first heard about the role on LBC radio. Turning up for an audition at Elstree with his mother, he was hired on the spot, given his two-foot-eleven-inch height. Lucas was immediately taken with Davis, and kept him in mind for some future projects he had in mind.
From Chapter 18: The Return of the Ewoks (about the Ewok TV movies)
Despite a few cynical comments from various quarters about the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, the cuddly creatures proved irresistable with children (as no doubt intended). Consequently, Lucas was persuaded to resurrect the creatures for television. The result was the 1984 tele-movie The Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage, which Lucas provided the story outline for and also executive produced.
The treatment, which was subsequently turned into a full-length script by Bob Carrau, centres round the Towani family, who crash-land their star cruiser on Endor. Whilst the parents, Jeremitt and Catarine, go off to seek help, the kids, Mace and Cindel, are left behind to await their return. However, when mom and pop fail to come back, the two kids hike off by themselves, encountering the Ewoks along the way, as well as a handful of strange creatures.
Wicket, the Ewok feature in Jedi, returned as the central Ewok character and was again played by the diminutive Warwick Davis, whilst the roles of the two children were played by newcomers Aubree Miller and Eric Walker. Guy Boyd and Fionnula Flanagan were along for the ride as the parents.
An expensive production by normal television standards, the film benefitted from solid production design by Joe Johnston, who had graduated from storyboarding and effects work on previous Lucas movies. To direct, Lucas brought back John Korty, who also photographed the film. Korty's previous Lucas film, Twice Upon a Time, may have met with box office indifference, but that wasn't to be the case with The Ewok Adventure, which proved highly popular when aired over Thanksgiving in 1984. So much so that it was released theatrically outside America to healthy box office returns.
Produced by Tom Smith, formerly ILM's general manager, The Ewok Adventure shot on location in North California and Marin County in June 1984. Michael Pangrazio then supervised the film's effects work, which involved the addition of matte paintings and blue screen shots. There was even a little stop motion animation thrown in for good measure care of Jon Berg and Phil Tippett, who animated a creature called a Gorax for the film. Capped off with a score by Peter Bernstein, who made use of several of John Williams's themes, the film was generally well received. In fact it went on to win an Emmy for best effects, plus a nomination for outstanding children's programming. The International Television Movie Festival also gave it an award for best chidren's production, along with a Gold Medal for best effects.
Inevitably, a sequel was called for, which duly arrived the following year. Called Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, it followed the adventures of Cindel and Wicket, who flee the Ewok village when it is invaded by King Terak and his followers. In the skirmish, Cindel's parents and brother are killed, leaving the young girl an orphan and dependent on Wicket for help. Encounters with a wicked witch named Charal and an Obi-Wan Kenobi-like hermit follow before the inevitable happy(ish) ending.
As always, Lucas executive produced and provided the story, which this time was scripted and directed by Jim and Ken Wheat, with Joe Johnston returning as production designer (with Harly Jessup), Peter Bernstein as composer and Tom Smith as producer. New to the cast were Wilford Brimley as the hermit and Sian Phillips as Charal, whilst Aubree Miller returned as Cindel and Warwick Davis as Wicket.
Again, the movie was released theatrically outside the States. It also won an Emmy for best special effects and a nomination for outstanding children's programming and sound mixing for a miniseries or special.
From Chapter 19: Thinking Small (about Willow)
[Note from Connie: the plot description in this section is not entirely
accurate]
Meanwhile, of Lucas's personal projects, next in line was the fantasy adventure Willow. Lucas had originally wanted to make The Lord of the Rings, but the rights belonged to Saul Zaentz, the producer of the 1978 Ralph Bakshi-directed cartoon version, and he wasn't about to relinquish them, his longterm intention being to make a live action version of the story at some stage. Consequently, Lucas used The Lord of the Rings as the jumping off point for Willow, just as Flash Gordon had been his inspiration for Star Wars.
Like Star Wars, Willow is deeply rooted in Lucas's love of mythology, its story, by Lucas himself, centring round the discovery of a baby girl called Elora who had been hidden in a village of Nelwyns (for which read little people). The child's nurse has hidden the baby because she believes her to be the successor to the evil Queen Bavmorda, who has ordered that all baby girls be slain. The Nelwyn who finds Elora, Willow Ufgood, determines on protecting her and returning her so that she can achieve her destiny. Thus an incredible journey, fraught with danger at every turn, begins.
Naturally, Willow doesn't make this journey alone. Along the way he is joined by Madmartigan, a maverick swordsman, and a feisty maiden called Sorsha who turns out to be Queen Bavmorda's daughter, both of whom help conquer Bavmorda. There is also assistance in the form of a sorceress called Raziel and the wise High Aldwin, and further hindrance in the shape of General Kael (named after critic Pauline Kael). There is also a giant two-headed monster which the effects team at ILM christened the Eborsisk (after critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel).
To flesh out his story, Lucas hired Bob Dolman, who was then working on the sit-com WKRP in Cincinnati. To direct he only ever really had his former American Graffiti star Ron Howard in mind, whose directorial career had by now taken in Grand Theft Auto, Night Shift, Splash, Cocoon and Gung Ho, of which both Splash and Cocoon had been huge box office hits. Other behind-the-scenes personnel onboard included producer Nigel Wooll, cinematographer Adrian Biddle (Aliens, The Princess Bride), production designer Allan Cameron (Aliens), sound designer Ben Burtt and ILM technicians Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister and Phil Tippett. As usual, Lucas executive produced. In front of the cameras, Warwick Davis finally got his big moment as Willow, supported by Val Kilmer as Madmartigan, Joanne Whalley as Sorsha, Jean Marsh as Bavmorda, Patricia Hayes as Raziel, Billy Barty as the High Aldwin and Pat Roach as General Kael. Twins Ruth and Kate Greenfield provided the close-ups of Elora, whilst Kenny Baker and his cabaret partner Jack Purvis also popped up in one of the Nelwyn scenes. Another hundred or so little people were also cast as Nelwyns, no doubt grateful to be acting in something other than a Snow White pantomime.
Story-wise, Willow wasn't that far removed from Star Wars. Madmartigan was a thinly disguised Han Solo, Willow was a diminutive Luke Skywalker, Sorsha was Leia, General Kael Darth Vader, and both the High Aldwin and Raziel had echoes of Yoda. There were also elements of Lucas's beloved Samurai movies thrown in for good measure, most notably in the costumes by Barbara Lane.
Budgeted at $40m, Willow began filming on 27 April 1987, and during its lengthy six month shoot the production visited Snowdonia in Wales and the Queenstown mountain district in New Zealand, the spectacular scenery of which added immeasurably to the film's visual appeal. As always, all the interiors were shot at Elstree. Whilst all this was goin on, back in Marin County the ILM technicians were excelling themselves, providing many magical effects sequences, including Raziel's seamless transformation from a goat to human form via several different animals. They also had to contend with two minor characters, Rool and Franjean (Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton) who are just nine inches tall, yet play a vital part in several action sequences.
Having been edited by Daniel Hanley and Michael Hill, and scored by James Horner, Willow was ready for screening at Cannes in May 1988, where it was the festival's official closing film. It was released in America soon after on 20 May, and though it did reasonable box office business, it didn't exactly set the world alight, being overshadowed by Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which proved to be the year's big hit. Consequently, any plans for a sequel to Willow were quietly shelved by Lucas.
Though well made and enjoyable in itself, the movie's problem seemed to be the familiarity of its characters and themes, which several critics picked up on, most notably Variety, which commented, 'Willow... is a sort of 10th century Star Wars tossed together with a plethora of elements taken from numerous classic fables. Ron Howard directed, but only Lucasness shows up on the screen, particularly near the end when the special effects start to come on at full bore. It's not surprising that the overall flavour of the production looks familiar.'
Despite its lukewarm reception, Willow did nevertheless earn a couple of Academy Award nominations for best special effects (Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Michael J. McAlister) and best sound effects editing (Ben Burtt), both of which it lost to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
From Chapter 22: Millenium Bound (about The Phantom Menace)
Also appearing would be Return of the Jedi's Warwick Davis
as Wald, Anakin Skywalker's best friend. Since his work on Willow, Davis
had appeared in the Leprechaun horror films and television's Gulliver's
Travels. He'd also set up his own talent agency, Willow Personal Management,
with his father-in-law Peter Burroughs, the purpose of which was to represent
similarly diminutive actors and actresses.
