President of Lucas Licensing, and Lucasfilm stalwart for almost 30 years, Howard Roffman spoke to Jedi News late last week.  We discussed Star Wars - A Musical Journey and other things besides.

A few tickets for Star Wars - A Musical Journey are still available for the 10th and 11th April at the O2 Centre, you can get them at www.theo2.co.uk or by calling 0844 856 0202 now!

In the meantime, this is what Howard had to say...

JN: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.  So, how did Star Wars - A Musical Journey come about?
HR: Well, the idea has been kicking around for a while.  Years ago it was suggested by Peter Gelb who’s now head of the Metropolitan Opera in New York and at the time was running Sony Classical, who was our soundtrack record company.  It then got put on the back burner because we were busy with releasing the films and then a couple of years ago Another Planet Entertainment came to us proposing a very similar idea and I always had a passion for this and thought it was a great thing to do.  And when they came to us, I sort of realised that here was somebody that had the wherewithal to put it together and make it happen.  So we decided to make a go of it, we went to John Williams and got his buy in and participation and we were off.

JN: So, it’s been in development for a couple of years, or longer?
HR: A couple of years.
JN: And does the musical follow the order of the films from Episode 1 through to Episode 6?
HR: Roughly it does.  The process really began with John Williams putting together a suite of music, the ‘best of the best’ of Star Wars music from all of the six films and then he turned that over to Lucasfilm to create videos that would correspond to each of the sections.  We faced the decision creatively of whether to just try to tell a story narratively which actually would be very difficult to do so it’s a combination of a narrative thread but also delving deeper into themes and ideas from the films.  I think the end result lets you hear the music of Star Wars in a way that you’ve never heard it before and see the movies in a way that you’ve never seen them before.
JN: We’ve heard it’s not just the films, there are also a lot of stills, photographs, production art...
HR: There’s some of that woven into it.  We tried to make it broader but the essence is about the films and the story they tell.
JN: Bearing in mind that there was music done for Shadows of the Empire and some of the other expanded universe material, is any of that included?
HR: No, this is really about the music that is in the films.
JN: Was it difficult to determine the order of how the musical was going to be put together?
HR: Not terribly, once we had the music selections it was really a question of what would be the best experience for the audience and there are two acts in the show.  There’s the first act and then an intermission, or as you would say, an ‘interval’, and then the closing act.   Each act has been structured so that it’s kind of satisfying in itself and it follows an arc so there’s a little bit of back and forth in how to create that and I think it comes together really nicely. 
JN: Is the first half dedicated to the prequel films and the second half dedicated to the original trilogy?
HR: Pretty much so, yes.
JN: And how long is each half?
HR: Each one is about 45-50 minutes.
JN: So, why London for the premiere?
HR: You know, that was really a question of availability, you know, just all the elements came together in London.  The O2 had an opening in its schedule, the Royal Philharmonic was available, and Another Planet just came to us and said “we think this is the place to begin”.  We love the idea because London is the home of so much Star Wars legacy, between the filming of most of the movies there and every one of the soundtracks was created there.
JN: We spoke to Anthony Daniels last week, who told us about the rehearsals at Elstree, actually on the George Lucas Soundstage.  Are you coming over for that?
HR: I am coming over for this, but I’m going to miss the Elstree rehearsals because I have to be here in San Francisco during that week, but I’ll get there in time for the rehearsals at the O2 and I’ll be there for the live shows.  I think it’s going to be quite historic, the rehearsals at Elstree and it’s a shame I can’t be there for that.
JN: So, where next with the musical?
HR: We’re planning to tour it through Europe first, and we haven’t set the itinerary yet.  We’re all working on that as we speak.  And then, hopefully, a world tour from there, including the United States.
JN: And will Anthony Daniels tour with the musical or will you have people narrating in the local languages?
HR: We discovered that even though Anthony’s character is fluent in over six million forms of communication, he himself is not!  So, for some of the international dates, we will have to use other narrators, although we’re hoping to use Anthony wherever we can.
JN: How long do you think the musical will go on tour for?
HR: I’m hoping this is something that will play for years to come.  I think it’s such a remarkable experience and it’s so timeless, and I love the idea of bringing the experience of seeing this music performed by a live orchestra to audiences around the world and it’s an experience that few people get to see and it’s a shame that these things are getting less and less attended.  This is something that I think would be wonderful for families to share with their kids for a long time to come.
JN: The closest I ever got to seeing something like this was when Disney brought out Fantasia 2000 and did four live performances around the world.
HR: It’s a remarkable experience.  You know, I’ve seen shows like Fantasia.  You know, there’s one that I saw at the Hollywood Bowl with the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein set to scenes from some of the movies and it was just magical, absolutely magical.  You know, as you were saying, Fantasia 2000 played in just four locations.  Ultimately, that means that not many people got to experience it, and I’m really hoping that we can make this available to lots more people. 
JN: Will the music [as we hear it in Musical] be available on CD, and will we see the musical in its entirety on DVD some time?
HR: At this point we’re not planning to put it on DVD, in a way it contradicts the whole thing of what this was about, which was the live performance.  Obviously, the music from all six films is available on CD now. 
JN: What’s George’s reaction to it?
HR: Oh, he’s excited about it.  He’s really happy that we’re doing it.  Needless to say, he’s a huge fan of John Williams’s music and I think he loves the idea of seeing it performed live in so many places.
JN: Is there any new music that John had to write for the show in terms of segues, as you move from scene to scene?
HR: No, there was no new music.  There is some music, though, that’s never been performed live but it’s all music from the films.  The segues actually are the province of the narrator, that’s where Anthony comes in.  So there are several different pieces of music that are played during the course of the show and each one is introduced by narration. 
JN:  We’re surprised that John Williams isn’t able to attend the premiere of the show.
HR: The O2 shows came together in late 2008 and by that time John’s schedule was pretty committed.  He’s a much in demand person and coming over to London is a lot for him, so unfortunately he won’t be there for the first shows, but I’m sure he will join us up at some point during the tour.
JN: Has George seen the completed show yet?
HR: The truth is, nobody’s seen it completed yet.  Its being kind of done in pieces and the stage, as you can imagine, is very elaborate.  It’s been designed by a man named Steven Cohen who has done a lot of major tours including most recently Elton John and Billy Joel, and features among other things the biggest LED screen ever put together.  So that’s all being assembled right now in Elstree.  We did a couple of weeks back a run through of the show just with the music and the video in Los Angeles.  It was the first time that we’d put an orchestra together to play the music live with the video, and it was mesmerising.  It’s just going to be an incredible experience to see it all come together.
JN: I’m really looking forward to seeing it!  Can you elaborate a little bit on the exhibition that will be shown as part of the Musical Journey?
HR: This is a very unusual thing for a concert but Another Planet thought it would be great to have an exhibition of artefacts from each of the six films and they’ve created a beautiful exhibit, the exhibit cases, the audio visual material with it is really something and there will be some things that have never been seen before.  So it’s a very nice compliment to the show and I think it just helps to immerse people in the world of Star Wars.
JN: Will the exhibition be open to anybody or is it just people who have tickets to the musical?
HR: No, it’s just for the people who have tickets to the show.
JN: Another great reason to get tickets whilst there’s still a few left!  Moving away from the Musical... Clone Wars season one has been a huge success everywhere.  Are you pleased with the fans’ reactions and with the number of new, especially younger viewers who have been introduced to Star Wars?
HR: I’m ecstatic about it on every level.  When George said he was going to create an animated series we all knew that because George was going to be personally involved this was going to be better than anything that’s been seen in television animation before.  What he’s achieved has astounded all of us.  It’s just remarkable and the shows keep getting better and better as they go along.  Whenever you watch something new you hope it’s going to find its audience and be well received and we’ve been most pleased by the reception it’s getting, both critically and just, especially, by the number of kids it’s bringing into the franchise.  My own experience has been that initially the fans were a little bit sceptical, wondering whether this was just something for kids and not for them, and it’s really great that I see more and more fans embracing and watching the shows and seeing how great they are.
JN: I completely agree.  How’s the live action TV series coming along?  There’s been some talk recently that casting has started.
HR: I think that we’re really not at the point of doing actual casting.  We may have looked at who we’re going to use to do the casting.  But casting won’t be for quite a while.
JN: How are the scripts coming along?
HR: They are coming along very well.  I know George has devoted a lot of time to this; it’s another pet project of his.
JN: When are we likely to see the series on our screens?  Is it still a couple of years away?
HR: Yes, I’d probably say not before 2011.
JN: It’s important to get it right...
HR: Yes, it is important, and as you might imagine with George, it’s very ambitious.  He asks the impossible and then we all run around and try to figure out how to do it. 
JN: And you always seem to manage it.
HR: [laughs] That’s the beauty of what George has created. 
JN: Is there any news on Celebration 5 yet, or even a return to Europe?
HR: No news yet, but it is something that we’re working on.  We definitely want to keep creating these types of destinations and gatherings for fans.  We love it and we think it’s a great experience and we definitely want to keep doing it.
JN: Will you come back to Europe?
HR: That is our hope, yes.
JN: Where are we with Star Wars in 3D?
HR: We have experimented with it.  At this point, the state of the 3D market is such that it doesn’t really make sense for us to do today and we’re watching it closely, and we’ll see if there is a point if it makes sense to do it. 
JN: Can you tell us a little bit about the Frames project?  It’s come out of nowhere really.
HR: This was a pet project of George’s.  It was really conceived and created by him and what he wanted to do was literally go through each film and look at it rather than as a film look at it more from the point of view of an art director, and the composition of the various frames that he’s created in the making of the films, looking at them as pictures and he hand-selected hundreds of frames from each film that we’ve had reproduced in the highest quality that together form a narrative of the films that allow you to look at them visually as pieces of art in ways that you really haven’t been able to before.  And we’ve been working with Palace Press who do an absolute best job in terms of reproduction and printing so we’re pretty excited about this project, it’s really ambitious.
JN: And when’s that coming out?
HR: We’re hoping later this year.  We’re working with Palace to determine the optimum release schedule.  It’s an expensive book – to call it a book is really understating it.  It’s actually a collection of books presented in a very elaborate way.  It’s being done in a limited edition of eleven hundred and thirty eight.
JN: So, what is George working on right now?
HR: Red Tails is about to go into production and that’s really it for stuff outside of Star Wars. 
JN: What next for Star Wars?
HR: Wow, well there’s lots more Clone Wars coming.  The live action is going to be another milestone which I’m really looking forward to.  We’ve got a lot of interesting things coming on the gaming front for Star Wars.  We’ve recently announced The Old Republic, the MMO that we’re doing with Bioware and there’s going to be other gaming news coming.  We just launched Fate of the Jedi, the new book series, through Del Rey and that is taking the story post-Return of the Jedi to a whole new place.  So there’s lots happening in the world of Star Wars.  It’s a very vibrant galaxy. 
JN: Just before we finish up, what’s your favourite Star Wars film?
HR: For me, I would say, the original first Star Wars film, Episode IV is my favourite.
JN: And your favourite character?
HR: That’s a lot harder because I see Star Wars very much as an ensemble piece and I think what I love most of all about Star Wars is the relationship between the characters, so I don’t have a favourite.
JN: There must be someone...
HR: [laughs] Well I would have to say in light of my years of friendship with Anthony Daniels that if I don’t say that C-3PO was my favourite character I think I’d be having a very unpleasant visit to the UK in a couple of weeks.
JN: Thank you very much for your time, we appreciate that you are a really busy and we look forward to seeing you in London very soon.
HR: Thank you.