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Starburst: Return of the Empire

Return of the Empire

Article by Jane Killick, from Starburst #208 (December 1995)

(This article consists of brief interviews with Dave Prowse, Billy Dee Williams, and Warwick Davis. The Prowse and Williams interviews are not presented here.)

 

Teddy Bears' Picnic

Joining the stars in Return of the Jedi were a community of small furry creatures, the Ewoks. The Ewok with the biggest role, who found Princess Leia in the forest and took her back to his village, was Wicket, played by Warwick Davis. "I'm very proud and very flattered to have been in the films," he says. "When we were shooting that back in 1982 I didn't think that 13 years later I'd be back here talking about the films again as if it was just filmed yesterday. It's amazing the enthusiasm that there still is for the films."

The film was cruelly nick-named Return of the Teddy by some critics because, as Warwick admits, the Ewoks were "kind of cute." However, creating that furry look wasn't very comfortable for the actors. "It was very very hot because we had a layer of foam covered in a layer of fur and then we put the head on and it was like being in a mini-sauna! We were filming out in America in 80 degrees and when we put all this lot on it was stifling. The eyes kept misting up so you couldn't see where you were going, it was pretty hard work."

For the scenes in the miniature Ewok village, the cast gathered in Elstree studios in London where a specially designed set was built. "It was actually built 40 feet off the ground," says Warwick. "The reason for that was to give the set depth so they could shoot high, but see down. When we went to shoot a scene they would get all the Ewoks on an industrial lift and elevate us up to the set so it was quite a strange sight to see. But it was amazing, the detail in it was fascinating."

After Return of the Jedi, Warwick Davis went on to star in another George Lucas move, Willow. Both experiences are ones which he values. "Any Lucasfilm production is like working in a big family," he says. "They call it the Lucasfilm family. You're made to feel very welcome. They're probably the best film company to work for in the world."