Animation Director Rob Coleman's crew was in charge of bringing the eponymous Jedi Coleman Trebor to life. To help fill out the Jedi ranks in both the arena and the Jedi Temple with more exotic shapes and forms, it was decided that several alien Knights and Masters would be entirely digital. In the case of Trebor, the horn-crested Jedi came about as a replacement to an Episode I Jedi Master removed from the Jedi Council. "If you think back to the original Jedi Council there was a long-necked Jedi on the far side -- Yarael Poof -- he was a puppet. George was afraid that if we kept that guy in, people might confuse him with the Kaminoans."
No new footage of the Jedi Council chambers was shot. Archival Episode I footage was reused, digitally modified to fit the appropriate time of day, and the offending Jedi Master was painted out and replaced with Coleman Trebor. To further suggest the progress of time, another Jedi Master got the digital axe. Green little Yaddle was replaced by Shaak Ti, an actress wearing elaborate makeup who was composited into the scene.
Coleman readily notes that the naming of the Jedi wasn't his idea. It came about during an Art Department meeting at Skywalker Ranch, when concept sculptors Michael Patrick Murnane and Robert E. Barnes displayed the outcome of a rather intense sculpting jam session. From the array of aliens, George Lucas picked his favorites and assigned their roles. "[Visual Effects Supervisor] John Knoll said, 'Uh, George, you know you haven't named anything after Rob...'" recalls Coleman.
From that suggestion, Coleman Trebor was named, the maquette was realized as a computer-generated character, the character was painstakingly animated and composited into the temple and arena scenes...
... and then Coleman Trebor was quickly iced by Jango Fett.
"Yeah, but we don't actually see him hit the ground," Coleman is quick to point out with a laugh. "I keep telling George it's only a flesh wound. He was the most heroic, he was the one who went after Dooku!"
Coleman has no qualms about his Jedi counterpart's screen time. He says he actually shoved all thought of the character's name out of his mind since he was never certain that the name wouldn't get changed by the time the film was released. "If there is a toy I'd certainly be sending that up to my dad," he notes. "Dad look: a Jedi!"
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Some retailers began accepting pre-order reservations for copies of Attack of the Clones on DVD and VHS. |
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 | | LucasArts 20th Anniversary Sweepstakes
Sign up for the LucasArts Insider newsletter, and you can win one of four great prizes: a GameCube, an XBox, a PlayStation 2 and a Nvidia GeForce4 Ti4600 Game Card are up for grabs. |
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 | | New Episode II Novel Edition
This fall, coinciding with the release of Episode II on DVD, Del Rey Books will reissue the hardback edition of R.A. Salvatore's novelization of Attack of the Clones with brand new cover art. |
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 | | The Search is On for the Best Toy Collectors
Hasbro, Inc. is searching for the best Star Wars toy collectors, and the winner of their new contest can add a one-of-a-kind item to their collection: an action figure crafted in his or her likeness. |
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 | | Q & A with Star Wars Authors
At Gen Con Game Fair, a last minute panel brought together some of the most popular authors of the Star Wars expanded universe to discuss their experiences in creating the continuing adventures in that galaxy far, far away. |
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 | | RPG Previews at Gen Con
In a preview of upcoming product for this year and next, Wizards of the Coast gave glimpses of titles that benefit all levels of gaming experience. |
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 | | TCG Championship Results
The Star Wars Trading Card Game now has its first official champion. Find out who the 32 prize winners were in the first ever TCG Championship. |
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 | | Enhanced Fan Club in the Works
Exclusive Star Wars Fan Club membership kits and a quarterly newsletter are in the works. |
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| | | Other recent Star Wars news... |
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