As with all impossibly humongous blockbuster epics, making The Last Jedi required hundreds
of people working ridiculous hours in front of and behind the camera.
And many of those talented people had to wear helmets, masks, fur, latex or even all of
the above to get the job done.
In other words: some really funny things happened on the set of The Last Jedi.
Warning: minor spoilers ahead.
Having a blast
Laura Dern is a classy actress — she's been nominated for two Academy awards and she earned
an Emmy for her work on HBO's Big Little Lies.
She also made "Pew!
Pew!
Pew!" sounds with her blaster while portraying Amilyn Holdo on the set of The Last Jedi.
Director Rian Johnson caught her in the act when he was in the editing room working on
an action sequence.
"On camera you hear me then going, 'pew, pew pew.'
It's like, so embarrassing!
But, y'know, it's Star Wars!"
Leia knows best
John Boyega didn't play an acrobatic Jedi warrior, but that doesn't mean he was excused
from sticking to a strict diet and exercise routine.
Finn had to be pretty lean and agile, too, so he could ride fathiers and fight Captain
Phasma.
According to Esquire, most of the cast was following a marathon runner diet.
But not everyone was a believer in the power of this extreme regimen — most notably Carrie
Fisher, who kept a stash of chocolate in her personal fridge.
Boyega told People that when he got tired of the strict diet he'd go see Carrie Fisher,
and she'd tell him to help himself to her chocolate.
He later said ...
"I failed my diet because Carrie Fisher told me to."
… which is probably the best reason anyone's ever had for blowing their diet.
The Puffin Menace
It's probably safe to say that half the viewing audience thought the Porgs were the most adorable
things ever, and the other half thought they were Tribbles crossed with Ewoks.
But the Porgs didn't exist just because Rian Johnson thought they would be super cute and
kids would love them — they mostly existed because of the logistical and ethical problems
associated with booting puffins out of their nests.
Luke Skywalker's scenes were shot on the Irish island of Skellig Michael, a World Heritage
site where thousands of puffins raise their chicks every year.
The puffins are only in residence during the summer, which just so happened to coincide
with the production schedule for The Last Jedi.
For ethical reasons, producers thought it would be best to leave the birds alone and
just CGI them into Porgs, as well as create entirely CGI Porgs to interact with a very
hungry Chewbacca.
Pokemon prank
The Pokemon Go fad was just starting to get its legs while The Last Jedi was being filmed.
Several members of the cast and crew were reportedly playing it, including director
Rian Johnson.
When actress Kelly Marie Tran told Johnson she'd found a Pikachu, he walked off set in
search of it.
"And he goes outside, and I had drawn in chalk a Pikachu on the sidewalk.
And that was one of my proudest moments."
Dad jokes
Everyone knows who Luke Skywalker is, right?
Everyone except Daisy Ridley's dad. Ridley told Good Morning America that her dad came
to visit her on set in Ireland, and when she introduced him to Mark Hamill he said, "Who
do you play then?"
"I don't know if he was joking or not.
Because it was only us in Ireland, and I was like, 'Who is here, Dad?
Who is in this shot?
It's Rey and Luke Skywalker!'"
Dog problems
The crystal foxes of Crait were a CGI and animatronic marvel — one that made every
kid in America temporarily forget all about porgs.
According to Entertainment Weekly, creature designers got their inspiration from crystal
chandeliers, but these are crystal chandeliers that move gracefully like foxes.
So how could special effects artists bring these bizarre and beautiful creatures to life?
They tried using a real dog actor, but director Rian Johnson says that was a disaster.
"At one point we tried putting a crystal suit on a dog and that just did not work at all.
It was a noble attempt and it was kind of cool […] But it just kind of looked like
a suit on a dog."
And speaking of dogs...
Dog solutions
Carrie Fisher's French bulldog, Gary Fisher, accompanied his best friend everywhere, even
on the set of The Last Jedi.
According to Vulture, the dog was such a constant presence on set that Rian Johnson decided
to give him a cameo.
He appears in the Canto Bight Casino just behind Rose and Finn, looking a bit more like
a miniature walrus than like a French bulldog.
Though to be fair, French bulldogs do kind of already look like miniature walruses, so
the CGI people really didn't have to do a whole lot.
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