Star Wars lands at Fermilab

Parody: Sandbox Studio

Star Wars lands at Fermilab
Fermilab physicist Darren Crawford shares a birthdate, May 25, with the first Star Wars movie release. Now he is making his own mark on the fabled sci-fi fantasy series. Crawford is producing a Star Wars fan movie and plans to shoot scenes at Fermilab this spring. “I’ve already scouted some spots,” says Crawford. “A lot of Star Wars characters will be wandering around for a few days.”

Crawford is writing, casting, shooting, directing, and editing the 2 1/2-hour film, Star Wars Forgotten Realm. The story fits into the Star Warstimeline between Episode 3 and Episode 4, at the start of the rebellion against the Empire. “Two rebels are shot down on a planet and they come across a Jedi who has been stranded there for years,” says Crawford. “The Empire finds the Jedi, and Darth Vader confronts him.”

Crawford says he knew the film would work the moment a local fan arrived to audition for the part of Darth Vader. “He was about 6’5” and he had the fiberglass helmet…the whole thing,” says Crawford. “His reading just blew me away.” In addition to hundreds of other local actors and family members (Crawford’s six-year-old daughter will play the young Princess Leia), nine Accelerator Division employees will act, provide music, create computer-generated special effects, and construct the sets. Fermilab’s Bruce Worthel, who is trained in martial arts, will provide light-saber choreography.

Like other fan projects, Forgotten Realm benefits from the goodwill of George Lucas, Star Wars director and executive producer. He encourages fans to contribute their own stories as long as they don’t make money using the Star Wars trademark.

Crawford doesn’t mind having to pay for his film project out of his own pocket.

“I’ve wanted to do this for years,” says Crawford. “That first day, when everyone was assembled…it was like a feeling of euphoria.” 

Siri Steiner