My ROGUE ONE Inside Look at Skywalker Ranch and LucasFilm HQ #RogueOneEvent

December 7, 2016 Kristin

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On Saturday, December 3rd, I took the trip of a lifetime – heading to San Francisco, CA for the press day on the release of ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY!

Skywalker Ranch & Skywalker Vineyards

Now understand that watching the movie itself is a dream for any Star Wars fan. “The story of a boy, a girl and a universe”…words that ring true in my mind today as much as they did when I was 5 years old and saw the original movie in theaters for the first time. This journey took me by “Force” to the amazing Skywalker Ranch AND LucasFilm Headquarters for a more in-depth look at the new movie, interviewing the cast and crew, viewing the merchandise and so much more.

The trip started right from the get-go with an advanced screening of footage of ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. One of the press even had the fortunate pleasure of sitting right in the middle and we were told that is where George Lucas would sit each and every time he was creating and reviewing the Star Wars movies. Following our movie screening, we took a small tour of the Skywalker Ranch, visited the gift shop and even had dinner with some Stormtroopers…they took me away to face Darth Vader!

Dinner included an fabulous display of the costumes designed for the movie. They really took me back to the look and feel of the original Star Wars: A New Hope movie. Most particularly the clothing for Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn).

As the day wound down and I retired to my room, I lay in awe of the entire night’s events and how much it meant to be able to visit Skywalker Ranch, dine on some foods and preserves from ingredients grown right in the Skywalker Vineyard and even talk candidly with the director, Gareth Edwards.

LucasFilm HQ and Industrial Light and Magic Studio Tour

Just as I was reeling from visit to Skywalker Ranch, the next day included a tour of LucasFilm Headquarters and Light and Magic Studio Tour. We also interviewed several cast and crew members of the movie, but more detailed interviews will come in the following days.

As we pulled up to the lot, the first thing that caught my eye was this Rogue One vehicle parked right in front. Can you imagine flying down the road in this beauty?!As we stepped up to the doors, I immediately caught a sight of the beautiful Yoda fountain in the front. This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for me.Once inside, I was taken aback with all of the Star Wars decor and products lining every wall and shelf. From statues to real artifacts, this was every Star Wars fans dream room! Of course you know that Boba Fett caught me and took me straight to Darth Vader himself!
One of my favorite parts of the studio was seeing a Christmas tree covered in classic and new Star Wars ornaments, including a Yoda topper! Heading back into the studio, we got to see amazing props from TONS of other movies throughout the years. Here are just a few samples of what we had in store.Final leg of our tour included an inside look at the computer graphic detail of creating K2SO and how Alan Tuydk mastered his moves for the movie. We also got to talk with graphic designers on how they modeled and created a lot of the ships and other items found in the movie. The detail put into it to make it as if you walked right out of STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE, and right into ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, was nothing short of amazing.