Welcome back to the Homing Beacon, the official newsletter of starwars.com, and your first source for exclusive Episode II updates.

Reflections on Episode II Most visitors to the Official Star Wars website know Lynne Hale as the host of Lynne's Diaries, the multi-part documentary that covered the making of Episode I. For Episode II, Hale was on set throughout production, handling a seemingly countless number of tasks day in and day out in her capacity as Director of Communications for Lucasfilm Ltd.

"These past few months have been extremely hectic but exciting," recalls Hale. "Episode II was quite a different experience from Episode I. I learned a lot of new expressions such as 'good on you' and 'he's good value.'" The lessons learned on the Episode I shakedown cruise came in handy for this production, as many of the first time ventures three years ago were now old hat. "At the start of Episode I, the digital still department which kept track of all the photography was just starting and therefore had a rocky road with technical difficulties. This time around, though, it ran as smooth as silk."

Technological innovations abounded throughout the production, making a lot of lives easier. "Of course shooting with the digital camera was a big change from Episode I," explains Hale. "It was great to see the scenes on such a large screen and to be able to capture images directly off the monitor."

A particular highlight, recalls Hale, was working with the assembled cast as the action played out in Sydney. "It was a pure joy to work with such a fun cast," says Hale. "The most exciting scenes were, of course, the fight sequences. Hayden [Christensen] and Ewan [McGregor] more than held their own with trained swordsmen. They were fantastic.

"Robin Gurland did a great job in choosing not only the most talented actors, but also the sweetest," recalls Hale. "Temuera Morrison, who played the baddie in Once Were Warriors, said that people are often afraid of him since they mix him up with the character he played. He is one of the most gentle people I've ever met, though."

Since Morrison is set to play a grim bounty hunter in Episode II, it looks like he may have further to go to shake the fearsome reputation.

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