Amy Earhart stars as Stacey in the Pink Five Saga, one of the most popular Star Wars fan films ever made.
A long time ago (well, actually it was just more than a decade ago now) that a fan film created a stir in a galaxy not so far away.
Pink Five became an Internet sensation in 2002 and went on to win the George Lucas Selects Award at the Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards. Creator and director Trey Stokes won a trip to Skywalker Ranch, where Pink Five was remixed at Skywalker Sound.
Since then, it has been viewed millions of times online and spawned three short sequel films, the last of which hit YouTube in 2009.
But the fifth and final chapter has sat unfinished … until now.
Stephen Stanton, who stars as old Ben Kenobi and Emperor Palpatine in the saga, told the Star Wars Book Report podcast the full Pink Five Saga will debut at Dallas All-Con, which runs March 8-10 deep in the heart of Texas.
A recurring voice actor on Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, Stanton said fans should find the final installment well worth the wait.
“I think he did a fantastic job on it,” Stanton said of Stokes, who is also a visual effects supervisor and the co-writer of the Pink Five scripts. “I think everybody is really going to be pleased with how everything turns out.”
Stanton, who has voiced characters including Moralo Eval, Col. Meebur Gascon and the young Wilhuff Tarkin on The Clone Wars, was as puzzled as anyone by the absence of the final chapter. He had already shot scenes as both Kenobi and Palpatine for the fifth short.
“I would look at the footage and say, ‘This is so good. The fans are going to love it. Why doesn’t Trey finish it?’ ” Stanton said. “He filmed most of it … but (Trey) ran out of money, life got in the way. Things like that. It was always just sitting there in stasis.
“Last year, myself and my managers contacted Trey because we were just curious what he was going to do with it. He said I’ve been thinking of a way to try to finish it.”
What followed was a Kickstarter pitch, which fans flocked to support, raising more than $28,000. At a convention in Long Beach last year, the rest of the scenes were filmed in a ballroom.
Stanton said Stokes built sets, such as the interior of the Death Star, and had members of the 501st Legion participate in the film. Then, the live action footage was combined with visual effects shots in post-production.
Each chapter of the saga has been longer and more expensive to produce. The premiere in Dallas is a thank you to the fans and the 501st who have supported Stokes’ efforts for the past 11 years. After All-Con, the entire saga will be released online for anyone to see.
Stanton said he’s anxious for people to get a look at the finished product.
“I’ve seen some of the new stuff he shot and it looks phenomenal. It looks like the next Star Wars movie,” the veteran actor said. “Trey was kidding me. He said, ‘You know, J.J. Abrams may be directing Episode VII, but I’m the person directing the next Star Wars film right now.’ It looks so much like the Original Trilogy stuff that it just knocks your socks off.”
Check out the first four chapters of Pink Five Saga:
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And you can download the full Stanton interview on Star Wars Book Report here: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-64-stephen-stanton/id372000895?i=133281549&mt=2
Wayne Chamberlain is the co-host of the Star Wars Book Report podcast, available on iTunes, and a contributing writer with Postmedia News and Canada.com.