Yeah, it doesn’t sound quite as good as “I was a teenage werewolf” but it was a lot of fun. A short while back cable network Spike TV had the exclusive rights to air the Star Wars saga. They came up with some great promotional ideas too. Maybe you saw some of the billboards and bus ads. My fave was the one that had an image of armored vader (I hate that I have to specify ARMORED there) with the caption “A guy can only be called ‘Annie’ so many times before he snaps.” Awesome.
They also made a series of four television ads. There was Vader playing golf, an angry Ewok in the park, Boba Fett at a business conference, and this one, Tusken Raiders at the office.
Out of the four spots, the Boba and the Tuskens were played by 501st members, myself included. I’m the main Tusken getting chewed out in the spot. Lucasfilm contacted our 501st garrison asking for these particular costumes and I answered the call. There was an approval process with them and we were on our way. The date for the shoot jumped around a bit as these things are want to do but I was able to wrangle my schedule to be a part of it.
The Tusken shoot was short but Boba really got a long workout. His day was quite lengthy. The best part happened when crew members started pulling out cameras and asking for photos with all of us. Pretty soon it was as busy as any 501st trooping event!
I’ve since modified my prequel Tusken costume a bit but I’m proud to have this version recorded for posterity.
2 comments
mandalor1an says:
September 3, 2010 at 3:48 pm (UTC -7 )
whats the difference between ‘hero &stunt’? ive studied you-tube & web-site info for days.. brow low, then high. right ear-piece wider, then not. helmet taller, then not. thinking of purchasing stormtrooper-costume.com & requesting uk garrison membership. its got the green lenses & three vents either-side of mouth vent, with grey styling. hope its good enough. force bewith you bud
Tom says:
September 3, 2010 at 7:19 pm (UTC -7 )
The hero suits were worn by Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, among others. If you’re just talking about the helmets, there are fewer “teeth”, lower brows, bubble lenses & different paint details. Other details vary from helmet to helmet but that was mostly just a factor of varying assembly.
Buy whatever you like but IMHO the suits at that site are WAY overpriced and are possibly recasts. I’d have to see more detail shots to be sure. Contact your local 501st garrison and see if you can get access to their forums. They’ll point you in the right direction.