50 Fun Facts About The Phantom Menace

Which actor plays Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn?

Lucas originally wanted an American for the role but chose the Irish actor for his 'strength' and presence.

How old is Anakin Skywalker in the film?

Lucas first wrote him as twelve, then lowered the age so the separation from his mother would hit harder.

Which organisation blockades the planet Naboo at the start of the film?

Its viceroy, Nute Gunray, is secretly taking orders from Darth Sidious.

What is the name of the Gungan outcast Qui-Gon rescues during the invasion?

The actor behind him was hired after the casting director saw him in a Stomp performance in San Francisco.

Why does the group have to land on Tatooine?

Watto refuses Republic credits for the replacement part, which is how a podrace bet ends up deciding the boy's fate.

Who is the junk dealer who owns Anakin and his mother as slaves?

His expressions were based on footage of voice actor Andy Secombe and of animation supervisor Rob Coleman imitating him.

Who is Anakin's main rival in the Boonta Eve podrace?

Lucas described the design as 'a spider crossed with an orangutan crossed with a sloth' with a camel-like face.

What does Qui-Gon wager on the podrace, besides the hyperdrive part?

Anakin wins and leaves with the Jedi, but Shmi stays behind because Watto would not include her.

Who plays Padmé Amidala, the fourteen-year-old Queen of Naboo?

Over 200 actresses auditioned. Portman had never seen a Star Wars film before she was cast.

Which future star plays Sabé, the handmaiden who serves as the Queen's decoy?

She was cast partly for her resemblance to the Queen's actress; their own mothers reportedly could not tell them apart in costume.

Which director's daughter, then preparing The Virgin Suicides, appears as the handmaiden Saché?

She asked Lucas if she could tag along on the shoot and he gave her a spot in the royal entourage. It earned her a Razzie nomination.

Ewan McGregor was chosen from a shortlist of fifty actors compared against photos of which actor?

He also worked with a vocal coach to bring his voice closer to the older Obi-Wan's.

Which actor nearly won the role of Obi-Wan until George Lucas's daughter rejected him during auditions?

According to Iain McCaig, the two Jedi's names were originally swapped in the first draft.

Which actor was initially cast as Darth Maul but left when the character's lines were cut?

Ray Park, a martial arts champion on the stunt crew, got the part after Lucas saw his test footage. Peter Serafinowicz dubbed the voice.

Which pop star wanted to play Jar Jar Binks in prosthetic makeup rather than CGI?

Lucas insisted the character be computer generated, so the deal never happened.

Which rapper was considered for the role that went to Samuel L. Jackson?

Samuel L. Jackson, who had said he would take any role down to a Stormtrooper, did not learn which part he had until his first day on set.

Which member of the Jedi Council was played by Samuel L. Jackson?

Ki-Adi-Mundi was played by Silas Carson, who also plays Nute Gunray and two other roles.

Concept artist Iain McCaig eventually based Darth Maul's face on what?

His first design, a 'ghost crossed with a serial killer', terrified Lucas, who asked for his 'second worst nightmare' instead.

Which Star Wars veteran was surprised to be asked back to play Palpatine sixteen years after Return of the Jedi?

He had assumed a younger actor would play the senator in the prequels. Lucas said the film's title refers to Palpatine hiding behind a public-servant facade.

Who plays Supreme Chancellor Valorum, a character Lucas compared to a 'beleaguered' Bill Clinton?

Amidala's vote of no confidence removes him, clearing the way for Palpatine to be elected Chancellor.

Which famously loud actor voices Boss Nass after being judged 'too loud' for the part of Sio Bibble?

He called the Gungan leader a 'reluctant hero'.

Which actress made her uncredited screen debut as a villager in the film?

Other small parts went to Dominic West, Celia Imrie and Mark Hamill's son Nathan, who plays a Naboo royal guard.

In the first draft of the script, the names Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were reportedly assigned to whom?

The younger Jedi was going to adopt his master's name after the elder's death; the roles were swapped late in filming.

What was the film's working title until shortly before completion?

The making-of documentary on the DVD kept the old name: The Beginning: Making Episode I.

Which three directors did Lucas approach to direct the film, all of whom told him to do it himself?

Each found the project 'too daunting'. It became Lucas's first directing job since the original Star Wars in 1977.

At which English studio was most of the film shot in 1997?

It was leased for two and a half years so the sets could stay standing for pick-ups. Naboo's forest was Cassiobury Park in Watford.

The interiors of Theed's palace on Naboo were filmed at which real-world location?

It was closed to visitors for four days of filming. Explosion scenes were shot on replica sets back in England.

What destroyed many of the Mos Espa sets on the third night of shooting outside Tozeur, Tunisia?

The schedule was reshuffled for repairs and the crew still left Tunisia on the planned date.

Roughly how many of the film's shots contain visual effects?

Only one sequence, the toxic-gas attack on the Jedi, has no digital alteration at all. Editing took two years.

To research the podracer designs, the effects crew scavenged four engines from what kind of aircraft?

Life-sized replicas were sent to Tunisia for reference. Lucas told the crew to model the crashes on Formula 1 wrecks.

The podrace was the first major use of which technique, essentially 3D animated storyboards?

Animatic supervisor David Dozoretz spent nearly three years on it and once had a 25-minute cut of the race; the film uses nine minutes.

How many R2-D2 models were built for the film?

One was for Kenny Baker to sit in, seven ran on wheelchair motors, and a British pneumatic unit could switch from two to three legs to cross Tunisian sand.

Which 1959 epic does the podrace sequence deliberately echo?

Anakin's rivalry with his podrace nemesis mirrors Ben-Hur and Messala, and the closing parade resembles the film's Roman triumph.

The name 'Qui-Gon' is adapted from which Chinese discipline of meditation and energy cultivation?

The 'qi' is the vital energy of Chinese philosophy, a clear cousin of the Force.

Which John Williams track, featuring a chorus, accompanies the climactic three-way lightsaber fight?

Williams recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices at Abbey Road. Anakin's Theme quietly hints at The Imperial March.

The first teaser trailer debuted in November 1998 before which film, with people paying full price just to see it?

Some theatres replayed the teaser after the feature to stop fans walking out. The second trailer's download record stood until Fellowship of the Ring.

What does the teaser poster show?

The theatrical poster was a drawn piece by Drew Struzan that foreign distributors were contractually forbidden to alter.

The film opened May 19, 1999. Roughly how many US employees reportedly skipped work to see it?

Challenger, Gray & Christmas put the productivity loss at $293 million; many companies simply closed for the day.

How much did the film gross worldwide in its original run?

That made it the highest-grossing film of 1999 and second all-time behind Titanic. The 2012 3D reissue pushed it past $1 billion.

Which film beat The Phantom Menace to all three of its Academy Award nominations?

The nominations were for Sound, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects. It did win Saturn Awards for costumes and effects.

The film received seven Razzie nominations. Who won its only Razzie, for Worst Supporting Actor?

Best later said the backlash left him contemplating suicide; Neeson, Daniels and others have since publicly defended him.

Which 'American Pie' parody retold the film's plot from Obi-Wan's point of view?

Weird Al Yankovic's video was later included as a bonus feature on the 2011 Blu-ray.

Which South Park episode from June 1999 mocked Jar Jar Binks with a family of annoying aliens?

Matt Stone and Trey Parker made no secret of their dislike for the character.

The Phantom Menace launched which long-running licensed toy line?

It has become one of Lego's most successful licensed brands, spawning video games and TV specials.

On the 2001 DVD, what code entered while the THX Optimizer is highlighted unlocks a blooper reel?

THX 1138 was Lucas's first feature film. The disc briefly became the fastest-selling DVD ever before Shrek overtook it.

In the 2011 Blu-ray release, what was replaced with a CGI model to match the other prequels?

Frank Oz's puppet was based on Stuart Freeborn's original design; a computer-generated Yoda had appeared only in two distant shots in 1999.

What is Nute Gunray's accent modelled on?

Lucas and McCallum listened to several languages before choosing how the Neimoidians should sound.

Which Swedish actress plays Anakin's mother Shmi Skywalker?

August, a veteran of Swedish cinema, won the part after auditioning with Liam Neeson and feared being rejected for her accent.

Who provides the voice of Darth Maul, physically played by Ray Park?

Park, a martial artist, performed the role on set while Serafinowicz supplied the few lines Maul speaks.

Its 2012 3D reissue pushed the film's worldwide gross past what milestone?

The original 1999 run had already made it the highest-grossing Star Wars film at the time, before inflation.