Luke's Friends
About this scene:
This scene was to come right after Artoo-Detoo and Threepio have ejected from the Blockade Runner in their escape pod, and right before Princess Leia is led captive before Darth Vader. Luke zooms into Anchorhead in his landspeeder to tell his friends about the battle he's seen. He is momentarily distracted when he finds that his best friend Biggs Darklighter has returned from the Academy, but then pulls them all outside to check out the battle. At this point the battle is over, so everyone thinks Luke is making it up.
Because it didn't fit well with the rest of the film, George Lucas decided to cut this scene from the final version of Star Wars. This is the only time we ever actually see the characters of Deak, Windy, Camie and Fixer. This scene establishes Luke's relationship to his peers, and how they they feel towards him. It also gives a picture of what life is like for young people on Tatooine.
For years this scene remained unseen, with only a few still photos and references in the comic book and novel showing that it ever actually existed. Despite people's claims that they had seen the footage in early prints of Star Wars, this scene was never shown to the public. The sound mix had never been completed, and the footage was not included in anything but rough editor's cuts (such as the legendary Lost Cut). In 1997 at the San Diego Comic Con, mega-collector and Lucasfilm employee Steve Sansweet gave fans an incredible treat by showing the Biggs footage publicly for the first time. See here for more info about that presentation. Later in 1998 with the inclusion of this footage on the Behind The Magic CD ROM, fans all over the world finally got to see what this scene looked like on film. The initial sequence where Luke nearly runs down an old woman with his landspeeder, however, was still missing apparently due to it being an effects shot that was never completed.
To download and watch this scene, click here.
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(DivX AVI movie file, 8.7 MB, color and sound- courtesy ofGuruKenn & Garrett)To watch this scene as shown at the 1997 San Diego Comic Con, click here.
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(DivX AVI file, 7.9 MB, color, poor sound & picture - origin unknown)
EXT. TATOOINE - ANCHORHEAD SETTLEMENT - POWER STATION - DAY Heat waves radiate from the dozen or so bleached white buildings. Luke pilots his Landspeeder through the dusty empty street of the tiny settlement. An old woman runs to get out of the way of the speeding vehicle, shaking her fist at Luke as he flies past. WOMAN Luke pulls up behind a low concrete service station that is all but covered by the shifting desert sands.
INT. POWER STATION - DAY Luke bursts into the power station, waking The Fixer, a rugged mechanic and Camie, a sexy, disheveled girl who has been asleep in his lap. They grumble as he races through the office, yelling wildly. FIXER CAMIE Luke bounces into a small room behind the office where Deak and Windy, two tough boys about the same age as Luke, are playing a computer pool-like game with Biggs, a burly, handsome boy a few years older than the rest. His flashy city attire is a sharp contrast to the loose-fitting tunics of the farm boys. A robot repairs some equipment in the background. LUKE Luke's surprise at the appearance of Biggs gives way to great joy and emotion. They give each other a great bear hug. LUKE LUKE Biggs has an air of cool that seems slightly phony. BIGGS Everyone laughs. The dazzling spectacle of his dashing friend is almost too much for Luke, but suddenly he snaps out of it. LUKE DEAK EXT. TATOOINE - ANCHORHEAD - SETTLEMENT - POWER STATION - DAY The group stumbles out into the stifling desert sun. Camie and The Fixer complain and are forced to shade their eyes. Luke has his binoculars out scanning the heavens. LUKE Biggs takes the electrobinoculars from Luke as the others strain to see something with the naked eye. Through the electrobinoculars Biggs sees two small silver specks. BIGGS LUKE Camie grabs the electrobinoculars away banging them against the building in the process. Luke grabs them. LUKE CAMIE The Fixer gives Luke a hard look and the young farm boy shrugs his shoulders in resignation. FIXER Luke agrees, although it's obvious he isn't sure why. The group stumbles back into the power station, grumbling about Luke's ineptitude. |