Massive cast SPOILER

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-09-19 10:06am

A unknown insider known only as Timberwolf was working in set construction for Episode III - employed up until recently by JAK films. Now that the production company has left after working on SW3 for several months, they've given us a single glimpse of a character in the new film. The story goes that they obtained photographs using someone else's camera and swapped the memory cards over to theirs. They've been sitting on this for several months after covertly taking this shot in the Creature Shop when nobody was around some morning very early on. According to the insider, the picture of this character was situated on a wall just inside the entrance.

But hey, we'll let the picture of (spoiler)

Episode III's young Tarkin speak for itself. Here's the official discussion thread and a sweet comparison picture as well!

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-09-19 10:07am

Awesome that they decided to do Tarkin the unconventional way- with a mask of him that looks like he did at that age.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-09-19 10:22am

Very interesting way to do it; you don't have to deal with the porblem of finding a younger lookalike actor and it would have made it easier to conceal the presence of the character (up until this of course)

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-19 01:06pm

AAAAH the picture doesn't work!!

But thats cool that Tarkin is in.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-09-19 01:33pm

That picture was absolutely amazing: looks exactly like Cushing.

I can't wait to actually see him in the film.

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2003-09-19 02:18pm

Daa-aamn! Did anyone manage to save the picture before Lucasfilm removed it?

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2003-09-19 02:26pm

Nevermind...

From Ain't It Cool News:

http://www.aintitcool.com/image/tarkins.jpg

The comparison picture.

http://www.aintitcool.com/image/fauxtarkin.jpg

What the actor (Christopher Eccleston) playing Tarkin in Ep 3 really looks like.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-09-19 02:29pm

Oberleutnant wrote:Daa-aamn! Did anyone manage to save the picture before Lucasfilm removed it?

Suppose....someone did?

Mods, Would it be safe to post in say....HoS?

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-09-19 02:40pm

Lord Poe wrote:
Oberleutnant wrote:Daa-aamn! Did anyone manage to save the picture before Lucasfilm removed it?
Suppose....someone did?

Mods, Would it be safe to post in say....HoS?

Oberleutnant beat you

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-09-19 03:19pm

So at this point in time when the Old Republic is still around, albeit barely, what position would Tarkin be holding?

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-09-19 03:25pm

Shinova wrote:So at this point in time when the Old Republic is still around, albeit barely, what position would Tarkin be holding?

General, probably.

Lex · Post by **Lex** » 2003-09-19 04:09pm

he was a captain at a time

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-09-19 06:50pm

Lex wrote:he was a captain at a time

Where are you getting this from? The NEGTC says he was a lieutenant-governor (of the Eraiu sector) a half a year before TPM, and after the Ghorman Massacre he was promoted to Moff. I guess it took him twenry years to finally get promoted.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-19 06:55pm

His face looks too old for his hair color IMHO.

Publius · Post by **Publius** » 2003-09-19 09:30pm

"Commander Tarkin of the Republic Outland Regions Security Force" appeared in Rogue Planet (Mr. Greg Bear, 2000), where he is portrayed as a low- to mid-level cog in someone else's machine (he implies he has connections with the Supreme Chancellor, but he appears to be a useful factotum, and no more). Although the book refers to him as "Commander", he is rather more likely to be a commodore (Raith Sienar is also called "Commander", but it is made clear that he is "commander" of a squadron, i.e., a commodore). Commodore Tarkin even has a flagship at the end, the Rim Merchant Einem.

On the other hand, Cloak of Deception (Mr. James Luceno, 2001) features Wilhuff Tarkin as "the sector's lieutenant governor, who was an acquaintance of Palpatine's" (lieutenant-governor in the American sense, not the Canadian one). He is shown to be wealthy (Rogue Planet says he comes from an ancient military family), aristocratic, and a bit militaristic (and Supreme Chancellor Valorum remembers that "Tarkin, in fact, had served in the military when Eriadu was part of what had then been known as the Outland Regions"). Lieutenant-Governor Tarkin also appears in Darth Maul: Saboteur (Mr. Luceno, 2000).

Chronologically, Darth Maul: Saboteur and Cloak of Deception take place before Rogue Planet; hence the claim in The New Essential Guide to Characters (Mr. Daniel Wallace, 2002) that he resigned his lieutenant-government, and returned to the RORSF. Nevertheless, there remains the irksome claim (most recently repeated by the New Essential Guide and The Essential Chronology (Messrs. Wallace and Kevin J. Anderson, 2001)) that he was "captain" of a revenue freighter in the early Imperial period, involved in the so-called Ghorman Massacre, whereafter he was made a Moff Governor.

It should be noted that there is an alternative account of Tarkin's political career. The Essential Guide to Characters (Mr. Andy Mangels, 1995) recounts that Tarkin "rose in the ranks from governor, in charge of sectors, to moff, in charge of governors in numerous sectors" (this is not, incidentally, a reference to his elevation to Grand Moff Governor).

Publius

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2003-09-20 12:44am

Nicely done. Does look a bit off though, maybe it'll be brushed up in post-production. Wouldn't Christian Bale have made a good younger Tarkin?

Bug-Eyed Earl · Post by **Bug-Eyed Earl** » 2003-09-20 12:58am

Christopher Lee was very dear friends with Peter Cushing; I wonder what his reaction was to that makeup?

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-09-20 05:00am

Howedar wrote:His face looks too old for his hair color IMHO.

Stress. Very dour man.

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2003-09-20 07:37am

Dalton wrote:
Lord Poe wrote:
Oberleutnant wrote:Daa-aamn! Did anyone manage to save the picture before Lucasfilm removed it?
Suppose....someone did?

Mods, Would it be safe to post in say....HoS?
Oberleutnant beat you

Sorry.

I was very anxious to see how well they had succeeded with the Tarkin make-up, so I immediatelly began to search for the pictures. I have to say I'm really impressed with the mask, though I too wonder how Christian Bale would have looked as younger Tarkin.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-09-21 01:40am

Oberleutnant wrote:I was very anxious to see how well they had succeeded with the Tarkin make-up, so I immediatelly began to search for the pictures. I have to say I'm really impressed with the mask, though I too wonder how Christian Bale would have looked as younger Tarkin.

Silicone prosthetic actually, not a mask. Very well done. I've seen the same technique change a woman into Keith Richards..

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2003-09-21 02:43pm

Publius wrote:"Commander Tarkin of the Republic Outland Regions Security Force" appeared in Rogue Planet (Mr. Greg Bear, 2000), where he is portrayed as a low- to mid-level cog in someone else's machine (he implies he has connections with the Supreme Chancellor, but he appears to be a useful factotum, and no more). Although the book refers to him as "Commander", he is rather more likely to be a commodore (Raith Sienar is also called "Commander", but it is made clear that he is "commander" of a squadron, i.e., a commodore). Commodore Tarkin even has a flagship at the end, the Rim Merchant Einem.

On the other hand, Cloak of Deception (Mr. James Luceno, 2001) features Wilhuff Tarkin as "the sector's lieutenant governor, who was an acquaintance of Palpatine's" (lieutenant-governor in the American sense, not the Canadian one). He is shown to be wealthy (Rogue Planet says he comes from an ancient military family), aristocratic, and a bit militaristic (and Supreme Chancellor Valorum remembers that "Tarkin, in fact, had served in the military when Eriadu was part of what had then been known as the Outland Regions"). Lieutenant-Governor Tarkin also appears in Darth Maul: Saboteur (Mr. Luceno, 2000).

Chronologically, Darth Maul: Saboteur and Cloak of Deception take place before Rogue Planet; hence the claim in The New Essential Guide to Characters (Mr. Daniel Wallace, 2002) that he resigned his lieutenant-government, and returned to the RORSF. Nevertheless, there remains the irksome claim (most recently repeated by the New Essential Guide and The Essential Chronology (Messrs. Wallace and Kevin J. Anderson, 2001)) that he was "captain" of a revenue freighter in the early Imperial period, involved in the so-called Ghorman Massacre, whereafter he was made a Moff Governor.

It should be noted that there is an alternative account of Tarkin's political career. The Essential Guide to Characters (Mr. Andy Mangels, 1995) recounts that Tarkin "rose in the ranks from governor, in charge of sectors, to moff, in charge of governors in numerous sectors" (this is not, incidentally, a reference to his elevation to Grand Moff Governor).

Publius

Also Force Heretic III includes reference to Tarkin being in charge of a Old Republic fleet that attacked (or was otherwise seeking to ensnare) Zonoma Sekot the thinking planet. The book references that he was either accompanied or stymied by Anakin and Obi-Wan as the planet's mind noticed the resemblence between Luke and his father. Anyway it establishes that during the tiem of the prequel trilogy Tarkin was apparently already a relatively senior officer charged with the attack. Similair claims appear to be made in the comic series "The Stark Hyperspace War." In my mind the only way to resolve the issue of him being a "captain" at some point is to guess that he had direct command of his flagship during the Ghorman Massacre. Thus he would have been captain of the vesel in addition to being the Admiral or commodore in charge of a larger force.

Publius · Post by **Publius** » 2003-09-21 06:42pm

CmdrWilkens wrote:Also Force Heretic III includes reference to Tarkin being in charge of a Old Republic fleet that attacked (or was otherwise seeking to ensnare) Zonoma Sekot the thinking planet. The book references that he was either accompanied or stymied by Anakin and Obi-Wan as the planet's mind noticed the resemblence between Luke and his father. Anyway it establishes that during the tiem of the prequel trilogy Tarkin was apparently already a relatively senior officer charged with the attack.

This is direct reference to the events of Rogue Planet, wherein "Commander" Tarkin is featured as a commodore. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were already on Zonoma Sekot obtaining a living ship when Commodore Tarkin arrived and set about trying to seize the planet. It also marks the first time that the Skywalker and Tarkin met (Skywalker nearly murdered Tarkin in a fit of rage).

The narrative of the book itself makes clear that Tarkin is no more than a player of middling importance ("Commander" Sienar reflects that Tarkin lacks the influence to secure a Dreadnaught for himself, hence his use of the manowar Rim Merchant Einem). He was at that time an acquaintance of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's, with some contacts with some shadowy interests.

Cmdr Wilkens wrote:Similair claims appear to be made in the comic series "The Stark Hyperspace War." In my mind the only way to resolve the issue of him being a "captain" at some point is to guess that he had direct command of his flagship during the Ghorman Massacre. Thus he would have been captain of the vesel in addition to being the Admiral or commodore in charge of a larger force.

The "General Tarkin" featured in "The Stark Hyperspace War" is not Wilhuff Tarkin, but the consanguinous Senator Ranulf Tarkin (note that Senator Tarkin is killed in the course of that series).

The Essential Guide to Characters states that Wilhuff Tarkin was promoted from Governor to Moff Governor, so the simplest solution is that he decided personally to oversee the collection of tax revenues on Ghorman, and assumed personal command of the revenue cutter. As you say, he would consequently be "Captain" Tarkin, an only for the time it took him to land his cutter on a crowd of protestors. Wilhuff Tarkin is not one for subtlety.

PUBLIUS

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-09-21 10:45pm

Lord Poe wrote:
Oberleutnant wrote:I was very anxious to see how well they had succeeded with the Tarkin make-up, so I immediatelly began to search for the pictures. I have to say I'm really impressed with the mask, though I too wonder how Christian Bale would have looked as younger Tarkin.
Silicone prosthetic actually, not a mask. Very well done. I've seen the same technique change a woman into Keith Richards..

Except they describe it as being a mask and not prosthetics, IIRC.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-09-22 02:00am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Except they describe it as being a mask and not prosthetics, IIRC.

There's two actually, from the reports I've read. The mask is used on an extra for shots in the background. The prosthetics are for close-uos of the actual actor.

Tychu · Post by **Tychu** » 2003-09-23 09:36pm

In the Starkhyperspace War we see a man called Wilhuf Tarkin who is in command of the Republic fleet at the time of the war. Seeing that the Tarkin we see in A New Hope is alive and didnt die 30 years before A New Hope, than who is this Wilhuf Tarkin of Troiken?