This is the work of a genius! Here’s the trick used to make the filming of this Star Wars movie more peaceful

News culture This is the work of a genius! Here’s the trick used to make the filming of this Star Wars movie more peaceful

Star Wars is a monument to cinema. It is also one of the most famous legends. The first 6 original films grossed more than 9 billion. The feature film series is now in second place among the most profitable sagas of the seventh art. In the 80s, given the enormous success of the first two Star Wars, the announcement of the 3rd feature film called Return of the Jedi made a lot of noise.

So in 1981, fans might be tempted to explore the filming locations in every possible way to get exclusive information. I am aware of this problem, The project team was concerned about possible overflows as well as potential leaks (if a person outside the production reveals the plot of the film, for example). Star Wars Episode VI producer Howard Kazanjian finally had an idea to make filming more peaceful.

Watch Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi on Canal+

The solution was simple but impressive. To hide the production, a false working title was used. This is how Blue Harvest came about, a so-called horror film with its own slogan “Horror beyond fantasy”. The name comes from the 1929 novel Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett which especially inspired great films like “A Fistful of Dollars” by Sergio Leone.

Imagine what would have happened if we had said, “We’re making the next film in the Star Wars trilogy”?

To make the trick work, Blue Harvest was used on a whole range of products. « When we shot Return of the Jedi in the US, we called the film Blue Harvest. The name Blue Harvest was written on camera boards, invoices, hotel reservations, worksheets, production reports, team caps and T-shirts says production manager Jim Bloom on a bonus disc from the 2004 Star Wars trilogy DVD set. When a visitor asked “What are you photographing?” and we answered “Blue Harvest,” he moved on. Can you imagine what would have happened if we had said, “We’re making the next film in the Star Wars trilogy”? » explains Jim Bloom.

A technique that has finally been debunked

This strategy was particularly used in California for the scenes set in the forest of Endor or in Arizona in particular. However, this technique was not foolproof. Doubts arose when Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher were seen together at a local restaurant in Del Norte County. And even worse, because big fans finally discovered the Pot aux Roses. Due to Blue Harvest’s typography being identical to Star Wars, About sixty fans refused to leave until they received autographs and photos.