Ewan McGregor Called Upon The Power Of A Fart For A Scene With Young Boba Fett
Much can be said about "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones," a movie that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. George Lucas' second entry in the prequel trilogy introduced us to Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, was one of the first Hollywood films to ever be shot entirely on digital cameras, and is still considered by many fans to be one of the worst movies in the entire franchise. Yet, so much of the lore introduced in the film has been mined to produce great "Star Wars" stuff, such as the animated "Clone Wars" series and even parts of "The Book of Boba Fett." It's a mixed bag.
Temuera Morrison played Jango Fett in Episode II, with Daniel Logan taking on the role of a young Boba Fett, his unaltered clone son who would go on to become one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy. Well, it turns out that Ewan McGregor had a little bit of fun with Logan on set during a pivotal scene from the movie, employing a bit of lowbrow humor to get a take that they were having trouble with. The key? It all involves a fart. Yes, a fart.
Ewan McGregor got creative to get a take just right
During this year's Star Wars Celebration, the cast of "Attack of the Clones" gathered together for a 20th anniversary panel, sharing all sorts of stories from the film's production all those years ago. At one point, McGregor and Logan were reminiscing about the scene where Obi-Wan meets Jango and Boba on Camino where the clone army is being built. As McGregor tells it, Lucas was having some trouble getting the correct reaction out of Logan. That gave McGregor an idea, which led to the take we actually see in the movie:
"When I come to their door, the first time I meet you, and you open the door, George wanted you to look sort of suspicious of me... So we did a few takes and George was like, 'Get it more suspicious.' I just leaned down to him and I went, 'When I open the door, act like I've done a terrible fart.' He went, 'What?' And I said, 'Just try it!' So the next take, he opened the door and he looked at me and he went [squints face], and it totally worked."
No, McGregor didn't actually fart, he clarified, but putting that thought in Logan's head was just what they needed to get the shot Lucas wanted. Cinema truly is a one-of-a-kind artform, isn't it? Movie magic at play.
For all of his trailblazing brilliance — the man created "Star Wars," after all — George Lucas has never garnered a reputation as an actor's director, with the cast of the original trilogy often sharing the story of him always asking his performers to be "faster" and "more intense." This kind of vague direction may not be a problem for a seasoned pro like McGregor, but it's easy to imagine a young actor struggling with it, especially on a film set that is mostly green screens. And sometimes, it takes an actor to really speak to an actor, and sometimes it takes an actor bringing up farts to get the most out of the scene. Once again: movie magic at play.
Making Star Wars fun
One thing that makes this story particularly worthwhile in the modern context is that it adds a little bit of lightheartedness to the "Star Wars" galaxy. It's no secret that the sequel trilogy led to some pretty ugly discourse and, for some, took a whole lot of the fun out of a galaxy far, far away. But here, we have the actors behind arguably the "worst" movie in the franchise celebrating it, having fun with it, and making people laugh about it all these years later. That is sorely needed right now as we all try to emerge from the messiness of the 2017 to 2019 era of Lucasfilm. Sometimes, it take a fart to remember that movies are supposed to be fun, and we're supposed to have fun watching them and talking about them.
Is "Attack of the Clones" the best "Star Wars" movie? It's hard to imagine a lot of people arguing that it is. Does it have its fans? You bet! And it's nice that the actors are able to own it all these years later, and remember it fondly, farts and all, as we move into the next phase of a galaxy far, far away.