The Week in 'Star Wars': Fake Leaked Footage and Kevin Smith's Millennium Falcon Freak-Out
The set of the new Star Wars movie is locked down tight – but thanks to one clever fan, we can all get an imaginary sneak peek. Last week, a YouTube user named Frank Wunderlich posted a video of original trilogy Star Wars ships, including Imperial shuttles and TIE fighters, doing test runs at the Frankfurt Airport in Germany. The video has gone viral, and with good reason: The sight of an actual AT-AT thumping across the tarmac would make any Star Wars fan’s heart jump to hyperspace.
“I took these pictures on my Flight back from the States to Germany at the Frankfurt Airport,” Wunderlch writes in his video description. “Seems like the biggest German airport plays a key role as an imperial starport in the new episode.” Even though he's foolin', his attention to detail is impressive: You’ll no doubt note the deflector shield generator in the background and the faint image of the under-construction Death Star hovering in the daytime sky.
Wunderlich may want to compare notes with one of the few fans who has visited the actual set: Kevin Smith. The Star Wars-obsessed filmmaker visited Pinewood Studios in London last week, where Episode 7 director J.J. Abrams gave him a first-hand look — after he signed a non-disclosure agreement. Without spilling any new details, Smith described the sensation of boarding the genuine Millennium Falcon at the Neuchatel International Film Festival in Switzerland. Skip to the 35 minute mark of this video to hear Smith’s story.
"It was tactile, it wasn’t a series of f—-ing green and blue screens in which later on digital characters would be added,” Smith promised viewers who may have felt alienated by the CGI-heavy prequels. “If [Abrams] captures just 10 percent of the feeling that I had by putting my foot in the deck of the ship… it will be the top-grossing film of all time.”
If Smith’s prediction comes true, maybe Abrams can donate some of his earnings to the sad, sad Star Wars exhibit in Wolfsburg, Germany. According to Sploid, visitors have been shelling out $14 a ticket for the “Space Expo,” which includes beat-up dioramas of Star Wars toys, mannequins awkwardly costumed as Luke and Leia, and a ratty wig with eyes that is attempting to pass as a Wookiee. Get the full tour in the video below (it’s in German, but the exhibit's badness needs no translation) posted by YouTube user Klaus Lindermann.
Photo credit: YouTube
