Force Material: A Star Wars Podcast

The Mandalorian guest star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and ABC News correspondent Clayton Sandell lock their S-foils into attack position to break down the latest episode of the show! 

Two-time Force Material guest Paul Sun-Hyung Lee went from talking about Star Wars to being in Star Wars this week, when the Kim’s Convenience star made his debut as heroic X-Wing pilot Carson Teva. Naturally, we had to bring him back to the podcast for a third time to tell us all about it!

We’re also joined by ABC News correspondent Clayton Sandell. Known for his work on shows like Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, This Week and Nightline, Clayton is ABC’s resident Star Wars expert, and the producer of The Force of Sound, an acclaimed documentary about the sound design of The Last Jedi. 

Paul and Clayton join us to break down all the developments of the latest episode, as Paul shares on-set stories from behind the scenes!

Check out Clayton’s documentary, The Force of Sound, and Paul’s YouTube channel, Bitterasiandude Inc, and follow Clayton and Paul for more of their work. 

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.

Josh Chapman (host of the Star Wars Spelt Out podcast) joins us to break down the Season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian!

Our first Australian guest ever joins us to talk accents, character reveals and a kinder, gentler Mando. 

Come back every week to hear us discuss each new episode of The Mandalorian with a new guest!

Follow Josh @StarWarsSpelt and be sure to subscribe to Star Wars Spelt Out on your podcast platform of choice. 

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.

As cinemas continue to struggle, we look back at our favourite memories of seeing Star Wars in theatres. 

This episode, we talk about: 

• What's next for movie theatres
• Could Star Wars have become a phenomenon in a world without cinemas? 
• Our favourite big screen Star Wars memories
• The time Harrison Ford made Rohan cry
• The Nic Cage movie Baz saw nine times in theatres 
• And much more! 

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.

The Mandalorian is back to save 2020, and we’re here for it. 

This episode, we dive into the trailer for The Mandalorian Season 2 and make our predictions about what we’ll see on the show this time around! 

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.

For our 100th episode, we interview the man who introduced the world to Star Wars way back in November of 1976 – the one and only Alan Dean Foster.

Alan Dean Foster ghostwrote Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, the original novelisation of Star Wars, released six months before the film and a month before the first teaser. It was Foster’s prose that introduced the world to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2, Governor Tarkin, Emperor Palpatine, the Jedi, the Sith and more. 

He went on to write the first Star Wars novel with an original storyline, 1978’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, before returning to the franchise for a prequel-era novel, 2002’s The Approaching Storm, and the much-hyped novelisation of The Force Awakens in 2015. 

He’s a storyteller, a world traveller and an athlete – he’s got more than 100 books to his name, as well as a world record in powerlifting, and he even studied karate with Chuck Norris! 

In this episode’s wide-ranging discussion, we talk to Alan Dean Foster about: 

• Ghostwriting the original Star Wars novelisation for George Lucas
• The one question he asked George while writing the novelisation, and George’s answer 
• The influence of Scrooge McDuck on George Lucas
• The evolution of Darth Vader and the Empire
• Building the Expanded Universe on a budget in Splinter of the Mind’s Eye 
• The intriguing differences between The Force Awakens script that he novelised and the finished film 
• His backstory for the Journal of the Whills
• His alternative take on Episode IX  
• His must-do travel recommendations 
• His rejected Batman script  
• How home video has changed the business of novelisations 
• Breaking a powerlifting world record and studying karate with Chuck Norris 
• Where he thinks Star Wars should go next 
• And much more! 

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.

Daniel Wallace, the author of The Art of Star Wars Rebels, joins us to reminisce about the beloved animated series. 

Daniel Wallace is the author of countless Star Wars books and articles. His latest, The Art of Star Wars Rebels, is a beautiful hardcover volume showcasing concept art and process pieces from the series, along with exclusive commentary from the creative team behind the show. 

This episode, Daniel joins us to talk about: 

• The influence of Ralph McQuarrie art, Kenner toys and West End Games on Star Wars Rebels 
• Our favourite Rebels moments and episodes 
• How the show developed over the course of its four seasons, and how established Star Wars characters were incorporated into Rebels 
• The wisdom of Dave Filoni  
• How Rebels compares to Clone Wars, and how Rebels has taken on new resonance after the Clone Wars finale 
• His stance on lightsaber helicopters 
• And more! 

The Art of Star Wars Rebels, published by Dark Horse Books, is available now. 

This is Day 3 of our virtual Star Wars celebration – don’t miss our episodes from the last two days with Charles de Lauzirika and Charmaine Chan, and tune back in tomorrow for our 100th episode spectacular with original Star Wars novelist 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.

ILM's Charmaine Chan takes us behind the scenes of The Mandalorian's groundbreaking visual effects!

Charmaine Chan is the Virtual Production Technical Director on The Mandalorian. She's also worked on a string of massive feature films, TV shows, theme park rides and VR experiences in her time at Industrial Light & Magic, including The Last Jedi, Star Tours, Black Panther, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and more.

She's also the creator of Women in Visual Effects, a video series that gives voice to women working in the industry and seeks to inspire future generations of women to enter the field. 

In this episode, Charmaine discusses: 

• How the Spice Girls started her on her career path 
• How ILM's revolutionary StageCraft tech brought The Mandalorian to life
• How her experience as a gamer prepared her for working on The Mandalorian 
• The first time she saw Baby Yoda
• What being on the set of The Mandalorian has taught her about filmmaking 
• Working on Luke Skywalker's climactic duel with Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi 
• Her goals for the Women in Visual Effects project 
• The biggest challenges facing the VFX industry
• And more! 

This interview is part of our virtual Star Wars celebration, with four new episodes in four days. Don't miss our discussion with special features guru Charles de Lauzirika from yesterday, and tune back in tomorrow for our interview with author Daniel Wallace, before our 100th episode spectacular on Sunday with original Star Wars novelist 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.

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: 

• The magic moment when George Lucas met Gene Roddenberry 
• The ‘dark times’ of Star Wars fandom 
• 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.

Oscar-winning editor Paul Hirsch shares his memories of working on Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, the films of Brian De Palma and more!

Film editor Paul Hirsch won an Oscar for his work on Star Wars alongside Richard Chew and Marcia Lucas, and was the sole editor of The Empire Strikes Back.

Hirsch has also edited 11 Brian De Palma films – including Carrie, Phantom of the Paradise, Blow Out and Mission: Impossible – as well as classics like Footloose, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Falling Down, Ray, Source Code, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and many more over the course of a career that has spanned five decades and counting.

This week, Hirsch joins us to discuss his autobiography, A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away, in a wide-ranging conversation that covers: 

• Cutting his teeth on Brian De Palma's early films
• Working for George Lucas, a director with an editor's sensibility 
• The sequence you won't believe the studio wanted to cut from Star Wars 
• How wipe transitions became a Star Wars tradition 
• What really happened at the infamous early screening of Star Wars for Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg and co  
• Paul's thoughts on the sequel trilogy and The Mandalorian 
• And much more!

A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away is available now through Chicago Review Press. 

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.

The authors of Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie join us to pay tribute to cinema’s most beloved and influential concept artist.

David Mandel is an Emmy– and Writers Guild Award–winning writer and producer who first made his mark on pop culture as a writer for Saturday Night Live (1992-95) and Seinfeld, where he wrote the all-time classic ‘Bizarro Jerry’ episode. He served as a writer and producer on Curb Your Enthusiasm, before becoming the executive producer and showrunner of HBO's Veep. He’s also a serious collector of film props, production art and original comic art.

Brandon Alinger is the author of Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy, and was a research assistant for the great JW Rinzler on The Making of Return of the Jedi. He’s also the chief operations officer of the Los Angeles branch of Prop Store, a company specialising in film props and costumes.

Wade Lageose is a graphic designer and artist whose clients have included the likes of Lucasfilm and Walt Disney. He first met Ralph McQuarrie in 1997, and enjoyed 15 years of friendship with the great man before McQuarrie passed away in 2012.

David, Brandon and Wade join us to discuss a range of topics, including: 

• The unmade film that brought George Lucas and Ralph McQuarrie together 
• McQuarrie's commitment to concepts that 'work' 
• The unused McQuarrie designs that have resurfaced in the Disney era, and the ones that haven't
• How McQuarrie felt about the fame that came with Star Wars 
• How McQuarrie's life experiences informed his work 
• Why McQuarrie walked away from Star Wars 
• What McQuarrie thought of the prequels
• The process of creating Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie  
• The most impressive McQuarrie pieces in David, Brandon and Wade's collections 

David, Brandon and Wade are the authors of Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie, a two-volume set published by Abrams Books in 2016.

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.