The Bearded Trio

The Documentary That Led To The Bearded Trio The documentary The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I is more than just a behind‑the‑scenes look at The Phantom Menace — it’s the reason this page and our website exist at all. I’ve been a fan of Spielberg, Lucas and Williams since the 70s. Their films, their music, and especially the behind‑the‑scenes magic have always grabbed me. This documentary is one of the best windows into filmmaking I’ve ever seen. No commentary, no narration — just the feeling that you’re standing in the room with the incredible people who brought the film to life. I first watched it around the time The Phantom Menace came out, but when I revisited it in 2009 something clicked. It sparked the urge to create a place that celebrated the work of these three legends. A way to say thank you for the decades of movie magic they’ve given us. That spark became The Bearded Trio. So yes — this documentary is partly responsible for everything we’ve built here togethe...

On the opening weekend of The Phantom Menace, Rumours Were Already Happening for Episode II If there's one thing I like doing is reading a magazine from years ago just to see what wild rumours were doing the rounds back then.  Back in '99 the hype was of course for Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace.  But in July's edition of SFX the attention was already leaning towards the sequel!   The article on page 13 (shown above) was obviously written on the opening weekend of The Phantom Menace where it states the movie had toppled "The Lost World's" record of most successful opening day in screen history.  "While Steven Spielberg's dinofest took $26.1 million on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 1997, Episode 1 bagged a gross of $28,542,349 in its first 24 hours, a litle short of the $30 million confidently predicted by industry insiders.  One estimate puts its potential worldwide gross at $1.5 Billion." The Lucasfilm President of the time, Gord...

BRAD'S APRIL ESCAPE #1 - Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace Each weekday this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Starting this month-long series is perhaps the most-anticipated film of the past 25 years, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999). The Phantom Menace - An Introduction I count myself as a survivor of the Prequel Message Board Wars of the early 2000s, when the backlash to TPM and Attack of the Clones was loud and palpable. I relentlessly defended the first two episodes of George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, and am proud having done so. I consider TPM to be the quintessential George movie. Meant for a young audience, but heavily layered in mythology and the Star Wars lore,...

EVA Pod From 2001: A Space Odyssey In Star Wars The Phantom Menace Qui-Gon Jinn walks through Watto’s junk pile at Mon Espa, Tatooine.  A scene from Star Wars - Episode 1: The Phantom Menace .  It's not the most interesting photo from a movie, but wait!  What's that?  Is that a prop from another movie?  Why, yes it is.  That is a pod from Stanley Kubrick's, 2001: A Space Odyssey .   To be more specific, it's actually an EVA Pod used for extra-vehicular activity.  The Jupiter spacecraft Discovery One carries three on-board. What's strange about this prop from the 1968 sci-fi classic ending up in the 1999 Star Wars movie is Stanley Kubrick insisted that all props for 2001: A Space Odyssey be destroyed.  It's a mystery how this ended up in a movie 31 years later.  Perhaps it's not an original but a replica but its still a nice nod to Kubrick's classic. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, Georg...

Last week I was taking a look at my Lucasarts collection and my attention was grabbed by one particular title,  Star Wars Episode 1 Insiders Guide .  This was a two disc CD-Rom reference title all about Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.  Released in June 1999 it featured video clips, audio clips, articles and behind the scenes images from the Star Wars movie.  The two discs contained 500 entries to the characters, technology, vehicles, and locations of The Phantom Menace. I was intrigued to see if this 18 year old piece of software would run on a basic Windows 7 32-bit laptop.  I recorded it live on Facebook and you can watch it below. Rob Wainfur @thebeardedtrio The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORG...

Mark  Hamill has admitted in an interview with Vulture that he is 'still angry' about the amount of criticism that was directed at Jake Lloyd's performance as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. “He was only 10 years old, that boy, and he did exactly what George wanted him to do,” Hamill added “Believe me, I understand clunky dialogue.” Hamill speaking at the Sundance Film Festival, where he was promoting his comedy Brigsby Bear also defended George Lucas and how he was almost tricked into speaking for a documentary (The People vs. George Lucas) that criticised the Star Wars director. “I almost got hornswoggled into that documentary. … I have issues with George, but I love that man. I would never! And I don’t talk outside the family...Hollywood is a vicious place. “It’s just brutal. One of the reasons I would never let my kids be in show business,” he said. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whol...

Here's a short video showing George Lucas introducing a Battle Droid to Steven Spielberg for the first time while making Star Wars The Phantom Menace. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

The Beginning is a documentary on the making of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, originally produced for the film's DVD release. It covers the entire production of The Phantom Menace, from preproduction to casting to visual effects, editing, and theatrical release. The Beginning starts with early production work on the film, as George Lucas (returning to the director's chair for the first time since Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope) and Lucasfilm plan how they will bring his vision to the screen. Jake Lloyd auditions for the part of Anakin Skywalker and is eventually cast in the role, joining Natalie Portman (Padmé), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn). Lucas leads several meetings with ILM, including visual effects supervisor John Knoll, in an effort to figure out how Episode I's many CGI effects would be accomplished -- Jar Jar Binks, in particular, was a challenge, as digital characters were still new at the time. Other highlights f...

Sad news as Star Wars and James Bond actor, Kan Bonfils has died. Bonfils appeared as Jedi master Saesee Tiin in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.  The BBC tell us: An actor who appeared in James Bond films and as a Jedi master in the Star Wars franchise has collapsed and died during a theatre rehearsal. Kan Bonfils was rehearsing for Dante's Inferno, which was due to open at The Rag Factory in London this week. Members of the production's Craft Theatre company and paramedics were unable to resuscitate Bonfils. Chris Hislop, the company's spokesman, said the cast and crew were devastated by the death. ''Kan collapsed during a rehearsal and the director Rocky Rodriguez Jr performed CPR on location." Mr Hislop added: "The entire company are in shock. There is absolutely severe sadness, it is a real tragedy." The cause of death is not known. Sad news and our thoughts are with his family and friends in these difficult times. Rob @t...