Ewan McGregor stopped by the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta, GA to surprise fans attending a 25th anniversary screening of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. As part of the Atlanta Film Festival lineup and in celebration of Star Wars Day aka May the 4th (be with you), Obi-Wan Kenobi himself appeared before the special screening for a Q&A with a packed theater.
McGregor took questions from the audiences and spoke for more than 30 minutes as he told stories from set, reminisced about his fellow cast members, and revealed how he got into character. I was in the audience and it was quite the night to remember. McGregor is a wonderful and captivating storyteller. The highlight of the Q&A was when he recalled one day on set of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in which they filmed the scene where Obi-Wan delivers a baby Luke to Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine. He reveals that nearly the entire scene was filmed using green/blue screens and the visual effects would be added later. As he’s telling the story, he’s reenacting all the movements he had to do with little to no context on set such as riding in on a blue gym horse that didn’t move at all. It was just one of many stories he told that evening that I and all the other fans in the theater will remember for a long time.
The 2024 Atlanta Film Festival may be over for in-person screenings, but you can still watch the virtual catalog of films now through May 12th.
