‘Star Wars’ Celebration: ‘Light & Magic’ Panel Recap
The second day of Star Wars Celebration is here with the first big panel of the day; Light & Magic, an upcoming Disney Plus documentary series, is set to be unveiled live at Celebration Stage. Coming July 27th, the series will dive into the early days of ILM which saw the company bring George Lucas’ vision to life, and how it grew into the visual effects titan it is today.
On the panel will be executive producers Ron Howard and Lawrence Kasdan. Joining them are visual effects gurus Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Joe Johnston, and Rose Duignan, plus Lynwen Brennan, Lucasfilm Executive Vice President and General Manager.
Our John Hoey is in the room and will be providing live coverage over on Twitter. Be sure to follow us there or keep this page open, as we will be updating it throughout the panel.
Hey it’s @JohnnyHoey! I will be live tweeting the Light and Magic panel in 20 minutes, so follow along for all info and updates about the upcoming @ILMVFX documentary from Lawrence Kasdan, @RealRonHoward, and @BrianGrazer! #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/FFTFQvial1
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
The panel host is @ChrisConnelly! #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/MAarnFmkEU
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
They just showed a clip started with George Lucas! #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Lawrence Kasdan is joining via video. The panel guests includes Ron Howard, Phil Tippet, Joe Johnston, and Dennis Muren! #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
“The collaboration and geniuses helping geniuses working together. No pride, the only want to make the greatest effects ever!” – Kasdan #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
The panel guests! #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/ysHq0D0aY2
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
“Most of us forget all this stuff” – Phil Tippett #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/4jMpK9CyYP
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Phil Tippett is talking about how important and timeless this documentary will be. And how great of a job Kasdan did. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Lawrence Kasdan is joining via video last minute due to a “positive test” but appears well! He joked he got “screwed out of coming” #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/Sje38v0oxt
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
They showed a clip of Ron Howard talking about George Lucas and getting to know him starting with American Graffiti. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/KV8ro6tIKt
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
This documentary is a six part series that will get the perspective from many filmmakers and how ILM evolved how they view making movies and impacted their approach to classic films of the past five decades. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/dWx4ipZTF1
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Joe Johnston worked on the design of the Millennium Falcon. He based it on putting one dinner plate on top of another like a sandwich. And the trick is making sure George Lucas like the one he liked! #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/3ShXt6gZpi
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Dennis Muren considered the ILM crew who had not worked together prior to Star Wars as “outsiders” a very 60s rebellious anti-Hollywood crew. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Light and Magic will delve into how legends like Dennis Muren and Phil Tippett fell in love with the industry and VFX, Tippett said the two of them came “out of the same swamp” #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/CrIjYmBs2s
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
There is nothing cooler than hearing @PhilTippett casually speaking of how stupidly they named the creatures they made, like “Calamari man” which George flipped to Mon Calamari. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/6b2dL65fG5
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
“George really just wanted to go explore” – Phil Tippett #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/kx6xqgpFnD
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
It was easier to sell George Lucas on creature designs when you made the models itself versus the drawings. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Rose Duignan is talking about the power of the relationship between John Dykstra and George Lucas. And how the team was called “the country club” because the execs at FOX thought they were goof offs. #StarWarsCelebration #LightandMagic #StarWars pic.twitter.com/wPKUjLIEDo
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Joe Johnston is talking about how the STAR WARS logo was designed. He was the one to decide to stack the words on top of each other. “If I had a penny every time that was printed, I wouldn’t be here right now” #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/9gFGaNvKro
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
The documentary will cover history bit also through today with the now famous LED studio “The Volume” #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Now @RealRonHoward is talking about #Solo and how impressed he was with how far VFX has come. It allows you to make any adventure you want. pic.twitter.com/37hf10pUv4
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Lawrence Kasdan is speaking to the patience of everyone involved in making this aspect of these films. Make five different designs and seeing where it ends up is incredible and how open and generous they are. It is very moving. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/ysxgPYVHpK
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
It is clear this series will spend a lot of time on the collaborative and generous nature of everyone involved at ILM over the years. No egos, no greed, no competition. Openness and a shared mission to serve the movies, specifically George Lucas, best. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/6Yn5G0huqm
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
The advent of CGI and how ILM evolved will be delved into deeper. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/23YhbezQhH
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Rose Duignan: “George is a very serious guy, and John Dykstra was a joker.” #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/ZiRkuO7jqD
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Phil Tippett is very candid and his down-to-Earth nature is a highlight of this panel and evident how much of his personality went into the charm of Star Wars. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/kSh1iHTDqy
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
“George Lucas wrote all of this for 12-year olds, and the message of selfishness versus selflessness. Children are very important to him.” – Rose Duignan #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/7eP5MdKCcJ
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
To close Lawrence Kasdan wants the series to inspire current and future generations, specifically his grandchildren, to be generous and selfless and work together. The mind can be inspired and they will be supported. Its for the kids. #StarWarsCelebration #StarWars #LightandMagic pic.twitter.com/x3wn3HJIeJ
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 27, 2022
Stay tuned to Star Wars News Net for more Star Wars coverage from Celebration 2022!
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
