Force Material Episode XCVII: Charles de Lauzirika on the first Star Wars convention
Filmmaker Charles de Lauzirika joins us to talk conventions, Special Editions, the ultimate Star Wars box set and more!
If you’re the type of person who watches special features on DVDs and Blu-Rays – and if you listen to this show, you probably are that type of person – then you know Charles de Lauzirika is the maker of Making Ofs.
He’s the award-winning filmmaker responsible for directing classic behind-the-scenes documentaries like Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner, Wreckage and Rage: Making Alien³ and Secrets From Another Place: Creating Twin Peaks. He also produced feature-packed DVD and Blu-Ray box sets for each of those franchises, and has overseen numerous restorations and new cuts that have become beloved by fans, including Blade Runner: The Final Cut and Alien³: The Assembly Cut.
But his first love was Star Wars, and today, on what should have been the first day of Star Wars Celebration 2020, he joins us to share his memories of the very first official Star Wars convention – 1987’s Starlog Salutes Star Wars!
In a wide-ranging episode, Charles talks about:
Attending the first official Star Wars convention and the first official screening of the Star Wars trilogy
The magic moment when George Lucas met Gene Roddenberry
How Star Wars sparked his love of filmmaking
His thoughts on the highs and lows of the Special Editions, and how they influenced his approach to Blade Runner: The Final Cut
What he’d want to see in the ultimate Star Wars box set
Tune back in over the next three days for the rest of our virtual Star Wars celebration, as we drop new episodes with ILM’s Charmaine Chan on the magic of The Mandalorian; author Daniel Wallace on the art of Star Wars: Rebels; and our 100th episode spectacular with the man who introduced the world to Star Wars in 1976 – Alan Dean Foster!
Force Material is a podcast exploring the secrets and source material of Star Wars with hosts Rohan Williams and Baz McAlister. Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Stitcher, PlayerFM and Castro; stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; and support the show by browsing our range of shirts, hoodies, kids apparel, mugs and more at TeePublic.
