The Elephant Named Mardji
The ponderous bantha was initially presented in the original trilogy, but most spectators could be forgiven for thinking they were puppets or CGI. They were originally drawn as horse-like creatures, but they were subsequently scaled down to elephant-like proportions. The elephant’s hairy clothing was made of yak fur and palm fronds, and he wore a head mask and horns fashioned of ventilation tubes. Mardji, a female Asian elephant who didn’t seem to enjoy her part and tended to shrug off the suit due to the heat, was the star.
The Elephant Named Mardji
The Man Behind It All
Before commencing production on the epic space opera Star Wars, George Lucas was fresh off his unexpected success with American Graffiti. After failing to pitch his vision to studios, 20th Century Fox decided to take a chance on the brilliant director. The final draft, however, would take another five years to finish due to rewrites. The studio allocated Lucas a $7.5 million budget for the film, which grew to $11 million, but it was a calculated bet that paid off handsomely as it launched one of the most popular film franchises in history.
The Man Behind It All
