For the last 27 years, residents of the San Francisco Bay Area has been proud of the container cranes at the Port of Oakland because according to local lore, the cranes were the inspiration for the AT-AT Walkers from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. There is even a popular t-shirt that is sold in the area drawing the comparison.

I’ve always been skeptical of the claim. Two weeks ago while driving across the Bay Bridge on my way to Pixar Animation Studios, I discussed with Alex from FirstShowing a possible story to discover the truth behind the creation of the AT-AT Walkers. The problem is that no one in publicity [...]