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If you’ll recall, Rian Johnson appeared on the Future Filmmakers Panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe in London, in July 2016. While there, he mentioned the names of a few movies that he’d asked the Lucafilm Story Group to watch, a bit like a homework assignment. The reasoning he gave was that, and I’m paraphrasing, is that he wanted everyone to be working from a common cinematic language as they began to prepare for the creation of The Last Jedi.
One of those movies was Twelve O’Clock High, a movie about U.S. daylight precision bombers in World War II. Released in 1949, it was particularly notable for the fact that some of the climactic battle’s footage came from actual wartime footage – recordings of flights and firefights made by the U.S. and the German forces while in the air.
To analyze one of Rian Johnson’s inspirations for The Last Jedi, I invited a familiar voice back to the show: Bobby Roberts. You may remember him best from the podcast Full of Sith, where he was also well known for his “Rumor Control” episodes there. These days, he’s a writer and podcast producer, and still has a healthy interest in Star Wars. He’s a film nut, too, and versed in the business of Hollywood, so he made for a perfect partner to discuss the movie.
It’s a longer podcast for your Sunday, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!