in a galaxy far, far away...today, skellig michael is home to thousands of seabirds. one species,...
TRANSCRIPT
24 December 2019/January 2020 | Scholastic Action
Or maybe not! The makers of Star Wars have found backdrops for their imaginary planets—right here on Earth. BY TOD OLSON
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PAIRED TEXTS
harshest: most unpleasant and difficult to experience
graphics: pictures or images
landscapes: areas of land that have a particular appearance
monks: members of a religious group of men who live apart from other people
species: a group of animals or plants that are similar
VOCABULARY The Wadi Rum desert, in
the Middle Eastern country of
Jordan, is one of the harshest places on Earth. Temperatures
can climb above 100 degrees,
and the sun bakes everything in
sight.
But last fall, the Wadi Rum
came to life with activity. Robots
rolled through the orange sand,
and a giant, furry creature
named Chewbacca stomped
around in the heat. For several
weeks, the Wadi Rum was not
just a desert on Earth—it was
IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY. . .the Star Wars planet Pasaana.
A film crew was making The
Rise of Skywalker, the last movie
in the famous series. The job
was a major challenge for the
crew. They had to build roads
into the desert and huddle in
tents during sandstorms. The
actors sweated through chase
scenes.
Of course, they all could have
stayed home and filmed the
movie in a Hollywood studio.
The landscapes could have
been added to the background
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THE PLANET: Ahch-To THE REAL PLACE: Skellig Michael, Ireland
In The Force Awakens, the
character Luke Skywalker is
found hiding out on the distant
planet Ahch-To. But Ahch-To is
actually a rocky island called
Skellig Michael, about 7 miles
off the coast of Ireland.
Skellig Michael rises
715 feet above the Atlantic
Ocean. Nearly 1,500 years ago,
a group of Irish monks rowed
to the island and carved more
than 600 stairs into the rock. At the top, they built a home out of
stone. Luke lives in the huts that the monks once lived in.
Today, Skellig Michael is home to thousands of seabirds. One
species, the puffin, seemed especially cute to the creators of Star
Wars. The porgs, the little creatures that live with Luke on Ahch-To,
were inspired by the puffin.
Or maybe not! The makers of Star Wars have found backdrops for their imaginary planets—right here on Earth. BY TOD OLSON
www.scholastic.com/action | December 2019/January 2020 25
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MOVIE MAGIC Star Wars movies are often
filmed in real-life locations like this one. Can you guess why?
IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY. . .later by computer graphics
experts. But the movie’s
director—the person who
leads all the actors and crew
members—wanted everything
to look real, with sand in the
actors’ hair and sun shining in
their eyes.
Over the years, the creators
of Star Wars have made dozens
of imaginary planets seem real.
How? With help from some
strange places right here on
Earth. Here’s a quick tour of
a few.
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AFRICA
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ATLANTICOCEAN
Skellig Michael
Puffin A scene from The Last Jedi
1
SKELLIG MICHAEL, IRELAND
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26 December 2019/January 2020 | Scholastic Action
THE PLANET: Hoth THE REAL PLACE: Hardanger Glacier in Norway
If you love Star Wars, you’ll remember the icy planet Hoth in The
Empire Strikes Back. But you don’t have to be a fan to be amazed by
the planet’s real-life location.
The Hoth scenes were filmed in Norway on the Hardanger Glacier,
a field of ice and snow that stays frozen all year. No roads lead to
Hardanger, so visitors must travel by train—if they dare. Deep
cracks called crevasses are hidden in the ice.
No one on the Star Wars crew fell into a crevasse, but
the worst storm in 50 years blew in while they were there.
However, the weather didn’t halt production. The crew
needed to shoot a scene of Luke escaping from an ice
monster’s cave. So they filmed him emerging from
the hotel’s door into the storm!
THE PLANET: Crait THE REAL PLACE:
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia The end of The Last Jedi takes you to the planet Crait. Giant robots
from the evil First Order attack across a huge, white field that is
extremely bright. It can’t possibly be real, right?
But it is. The Crait scenes were filmed in Bolivia on the salt flats of
Salar de Uyuni. Long ago, the area was covered with saltwater lakes.
However, thousands of years ago, the water dried up, leaving behind
10 billion tons of salt in a field the size of Connecticut.
In the rainy season, this flat, white field floods with water, which
reflects the sky. The water turns the salt flats into the world’s largest
mirror—and the coolest battlefield in the galaxy. •
U.S.
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HardangerGlacier
U.S.
SOUTHAMERICA
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Salar de Uyuni
ATLANTICOCEAN
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HARDANGER GLACIER, NORWAY
2
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www.scholastic.com/action | December 2019/January 2020 27
CO
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Until the 1970s, most movies
and TV shows were filmed on
giant sets inside studios. The sets
were built to look like faraway
places. But many moviemakers
today like to film out in the
world to make their movies look
real. How did they find that
creepy forest for Stranger Things?
Or mountains for the imaginary
country of Wakanda in Black
Panther?
That’s a job for people like Ilt
Jones, a location manager for
films. To find Wakanda, Jones
traveled all over South Africa,
exploring beaches and climbing
mountains. At one point, he
spotted a rhinoceros that was
“as big as a bus.”
In addition to finding the
locations for films, location
managers also set them up
HEY, WHERE’S THE ACTIVITY? It’s now online! Teachers: Look for the
Synthesizing Skill Builder at scholastic.com/action.
ACTIONACTIVITY
SEARCHING FOR WAKANDAHow do moviemakers find the perfect places to film? Ask Ilt Jones.
for filming. For
one movie, Jones
selected a location in the jungles
of Vietnam. He had to transport
the equipment and crew there in
tiny boats—on a river filled with
snakes.
Still, not everything presented
on-screen is filmed on location.
Filmmakers regularly use
computer-generated imagery
(CGI). For example, most
of Black Panther was shot in
Georgia, but CGI experts used
photos from South Africa to
create the backgrounds.
That certainly made Jones’s
job easier. Still, he would hate
to see CGI take over completely.
“I’m paid to find the most
interesting, beautiful parts of the
world,” says Jones. “It’s a great
job.” •
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FIND MORE ACTIVITIES
THIS IS WAKANDAThe city is CGI—but the mountains are real!
A scene from The Empire Strikes Back
A scene from The Last Jedi
INFORMATIONAL TEXT
SALAR DE UYUNI, BOLIVIA