May 10, 1999 - An adaptation of a film into a novel is simply following the film and transcribing it into words, right? Wrong. Although the script exists, the film itself may not exist while novelization is proceeding.
For Episode I: The Phantom Menace, George Lucas and Lucasfilm chose fantasy writer Terry Brooks, known for his "Shannara" series. The Episode I novel became available in bookstores only days ago. Some avid fans have already finished it. (Keep in mind that the movie hasn't even been released yet.)
Brooks participated in a hour-long chat at Talk City, on Monday, May 10, 1999, starting at around 6pm PST. Fans asked him questions about the novelization of The Phantom Menace, working with Lucasfilm and George Lucas, etc.
Talk City used a chat engine which was Java-powered on the browser side. Our crude unscientific estimate puts the number of participants in the audience at around 100.
Some tidbits from the conversation...
Audience: How was writing the book for Episode One different from writing any of the other Star Wars novels?
Brooks: Difference is that there are bigger expectations for this one, and the parameters of development are somewhat different. If you're writing an original novel in the Star Wars universe, you must write it in agreement with how George Lucas has developed the world. An adaptation of the movie has a skeleton outline in place already. What was most interesting was that George allowed me to develop the character of Anakin and others more fully than the movie did, so instead of a strict novelization, this was more a free adaptation.
Audience: Star Wars is fantasy. But it is also science fiction. Did you have any problems reconciling your writing styles with the technology of Star Wars given that most of your work is pure fantasy with very little science fiction influence.
Brooks: I would argue that Star Wars is neither fantasy or science fiction at heart. My work and Star Wars are both adventure stories, and from that perspective, I think George and I were right on target, in sync with each other right from the beginning. Obviously, not being a sci-fi writer, and not even really familiar with Star Wars books, I had to rely on Lucasfilm for the technical terms.
Audience: What kind and how much background information did George Lucas give you to work with?
Brooks: He gave me a lot of background information. Reams of paper came my way with details of rocket ships, and weapons, and creatures, and planets -- you name it. I had a CD-ROM they gave me from the movie with 6000 images, costumes, scenes, etc. Descriptions of all the principal and secondary characters, and I saw about 20-30 minutes of rushes from the movie at various times. Particularly, ones George thought I would appreciate in unfolding the story. Then there was the time we spent talking about the background of the Jedi, and the Empire, and I could ask where the stories were going. Some I was allowed to explore, and some is being held back until we get along further in the movie-making process.
Audience: Did you use Darth Vader as a model to research young Anakin?
Brooks:
I used Darth Vader from the perspective that everyone knows Anakin
will become him. The development of these three episodes is how
can this happen? So I wanted to explore his weaknesses and his
strengths, so that you could see how he might be turned to the
Dark Side. The next movie episode will spend much more time on
that particular issue.