Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Terrence Stamp Doesn't Like George Lucas and Hated Making "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace"



From worstpreviews, During almost every press conference, actors talk about how they loved working with their co-stars and with their director. A real pleasure. But once in a while, an actor will come forward about the miserable time he had on the set of some movie.

This time it's Terence Stamp, who revealed the awful time he had playing Chancellor Valorum in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and how disappointed he was with the directing style of George Lucas.

"We didn't get [along] at all. I didn't feel like [Lucas] was a director of actors; he was more interested in stuff and effects. He didn't interest me and I [don't] think I interested him," said Stamp. "I came all the way back from Australia [for the movie]. I didn't want to, but my agent leaned on me and I wanted to meet Natalie Portman because I'd seen her in 'The Professional.' And I did meet her and she was absolutely enchanting. But on the day I'm supposed to do my scene with her, for which I'd traveled halfway around the world, I said, 'Where's Natalie?' And George says, 'That's Natalie,' and points to a bit of paper on the wall. It was just boring."

8 comments:

Octopunk said...

Hmm. I remember listening to the two commentators on Celebrity Deathmatch (bear with me here) and thinking there was a strange disjointedness to there dialogue. I never confirmed it, but I got the feeling that they were recorded separately and so the actors weren't actually playing off of each other. And here that is happening with live actors instead of puppets... I can see how that would be discouraging.

Johnny Sweatpants said...

That picture is funny because he looks noticably irate and humiliated in it. I'd be angry too if I had to wear that bulky ass sweater.

JPX said...

I never realized until this very second that he played General Zod. God I'm a dope.

Octopunk said...

Dang it. THEIR dialogue. I'm the dope.

Nice one, JSP. I like to think there's a trading card of him that reads "I hate my job."

Johnny Sweatpants said...

I just did a google image search of "Terence Stamp Star Wars" and he looks angry in every picture. In fact I don't think he's ever smiled in his entire life. I find it amusing to think of this grouchy old actor on the set of the Star Wars prequels, constantly sulking and sighing in utter disgust.

JPX said...

I'm a dope for not noticing that you spelled "there".

HandsomeStan said...

Kneel before Stamp.

(kind of sounds almost better than Zod)

HandsomeStan said...

Kneel before Stamp.

(kind of sounds almost better than Zod)

Salem's Lot 1979 and Salem's Lot 2024

Happy Halloween everybody! Julie's working late and the boy doesn't have school tomorrow so he's heading to one of those crazy f...