Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What's the deal with these seven Sith? Are
they true Sith? How come they're not following the "rule of two" like a good
Sith Scout?
A: There are two reasons for this, to be honest. One is a design decision and
the other is my pathetic attempt to explain it within the constraints of that
continually morphing beast that is the Star Wars continuity...and bear in mind
that my two main bibles in this regard are the Del Rey Essential Guides and the
official site at
http://www.starwars.com.
Insofar as the SW continuity is concerned, one of the catalysts in this
particular fanfilm story thread is Darth Moloch, who is also referred to as "the
Host". This particular entity (since he is clearly NOT human) has actually
existed for a fairly long time, persisting through increasingly powerful
manifestations since his power over the dark side was exploited by the Sith. As
to who was his trainer (or trainers)? That much is not known, but it's a good
bet that one of them was Lord Kaan, the leader of the dark side forces in the
Battle of Ruusan...a fight which Darth Bane managed to survive.
To go into detail as to how Moloch survived for so long is something that will
be explained in Chapter 9 of the serial, so it is against that logic that Moloch
was charged with the protection of the other catalyst...Darth Shataan, the
ex-Jedi clone prototype turned clandestine Sithlord. It was through Shataan that
Venemus Tull became Darth Szaal and, well, the chief bad guy behind the events
of the entire serial became Darth Vaus.
It was not until Darth Vaus offered them rulership over the three planets of the
Vaus System that they came to take their respective apprentices, all of them cut
from the cloth of the multiple Jedi apprentices taken by the Jedi Master Deign
Corona(which, as SW-philes know, breaches the strictures of the conventional
Jedi code) in hopes of forming the desired Jedi protectorate. Voldo Dracian was
quick to fall in with Darth Vaus, while the other two apprentices...the human
Padawan Jared and the Mirialan Padawan Leilanai Kulan...fell to darkness through
circumstances orchestrated by Szaal and Moloch, respectively.
And Valkyra? She was yet another reason why the Emperor didn't crack down on
these silly splinter Sith(try saying that ten times fast ). Palpatine had
actually learned of how the creature calling itself Moloch persisted for so
long, but at the same time he was curious as to why the Host did not seek him
out in some mad bid for ultimate power. After having tested the combat
capability of the Host through his notorious apprentice, he trained and
dispatched a Zabrak "Hand"...Darth Valkyra...to seek out the Host. She
eventually found him in the Vaus System where the Emperor struck his bargain
with these splinter Sith: stay out of the affairs of the Empire in Republic
space, and they will be allowed to persist...and in the event that the Empire
should fall, they are to avenge this unlikely event in as clandestine a manner
as possible.
The design decision? Well...that extends to the project's original title:
"Principles of the Sith".
Basically, we have seven Sith advocates here. Each Sith, by design, represents a
deadly sin, of which there are seven. If you listen closely to the dialogue, you
will see that each of the Sith characters are identified against the deadly sin
they represent.
Are they all true Sith? Well...to be honest, that's up to individual
interpretation. I'll leave you, the viewer, to judge this. The enigmatic Darth
Shataan, however, presumably received his training from Sith knowledge, perhaps
by way of Sith Holocrons. Darth Sidious may have also contributed to Shataan's
skill over the dark side, and then there's the knowledge that Moloch may have
contributed.
So...do you have any Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sith Scout Cookies? I love
those...
Q: How did Garrick Solace, a Jedi Knight,
survive Palpatine's purge of the Old Republic's Jedi Order? Weren't Yoda and
Obi-Wan the sole survivors?
A: Again, gotta base this inquiry on individual interpretation. You also need to
bear in mind some of the Expanded Universe material...as well as other fanfilms,
like "Revelations"...in which other Jedi characters are revealed to have
persisted beyond the fallout of Revenge of the
Sith.
In Garrick's case, he was charged with protecting important Jedi territory in
the latter half of the Clone Wars. Overwhelmed by Separatist Super Battledroid
armies under the control of Commander Kolth Dracian(Voldo's uncle), the captured
Jedi was subsequently kept alive for approximately 20 years under the watchful
eye of Darth Shataan himself until the planet-killing Death Star was completed.
It was then that Shataan, who had foreseen Alderaan's destruction, forced Solace
to watch the Death Star obliterate his peaceful homeworld. In that moment,
Garrick fell to the dark side and commenced a murder spree that began when
Solace cut Shataan down in one furious swing of his saber. Only Shataan's
"apprentice"...Xandrileth, a Nightsister of Dathomir...stopped the rampage and
subsequently relocated Garrick to Dathomir, where the Nightsisters made him
their slave.
SW-philes should confirm that the Nightsisters persisted through the Emperor's
reign without provocation from the Empire. As to how Garrick was freed from his
captivity? It is revealed that Garrick's childhood buddy...the ex-Jedi Vector
Gambit...factored primarily into his freedom and his return to the light side of
the Force (and it is suspected that a clan of the Dathomir Witches may have
assisted Gambit in the campaign to free his friend), but the details?
That, my friends, is another story for another time.
Q: What
were the recognized characters of the STAR WARS series...Han, Leia, Luke,
etc....doing during the events of this fanfilm?
A: Read the SW Expanded Universe novel "Truce at Bakura" by Kathy Tyers, and
you'll find out. The events of this fanfilm pan out sometime after the Rebel
fleet has left for the Bakura system with the heroes of the Galactic Civil War
in tow. The fanfilm postulates that the Alderaan memorial was the final ceremony
performed in the wake of the celebrations that commenced past the destruction of
the second Death Star.
Q: How
come the Patriot looks so darn similar
to the Millenium Falcon?
A: Its chief designer, Chaucer Gambit...Vector's father...marveled at all the
modifications the smuggler Han Solo had made to the YT-1300 Corellian Transport
to the extent that he was willing to construct the next incarnation of the
YT-class Corellian vessel in the image of the
Falcon. The result...with all its Jedi-centric mods and design
quirks(chief among them a scaled-down Ion propulsion system similar to that of
an Imperial Star Destroyer) that separates it from being a complete carbon copy
of the Falcon...was the
Patriot.
Q: When
you answered that question about the Sith, you mentioned that "Palpatine's
notorious apprentice" tested the Host's fighting prowess. Are you referring to
Vader?
A: Yup! Vader had all of one battle with Moloch. Alone. Sometime before Episode
V, in fact. While Vader obviously survived the duel, the psychological scars
left by the Host during the duel ran deep, much to Palpatine's pleasure.
Physically speaking, Vader was the victor. Mentally speaking, Vader lost. Why?
Again...another story for another time. Want a Sith Scout Cookie? They're
delish!
Q: Is
Darth Salacius related to Barriss Offee or Luminara Unduli?
A: Apart from the three characters being of the same species and their mutual
association with the Jedi Order, Salacius has no familial ties to the
Master-Padawan team that appeared in Episode II and the
Clone Wars cartoons.
Q: Is
Darth Valkyra related to Darth Maul?
A: Man, these Sith Scout Cookies are really
good...sorry, next question?
Q: How does the bounty hunter Bane Razak compare
to Boba Fett? Or any of the other popular jobbers, like IG-88 or Dengar?
A: Bane, truthfully, is at the lowest rung of the totem pole...although she
certainly has the potential to become a very dangerous jobber. She's certainly
better, though, than the bounty hunter aspirant L'Yeen Ner'Gaal, the red Twi'lek
of chapter 1 who tries to shoot Garrick during the Cantina firefight...
Q:
Geonosians and Kaminoans were given payments, using Voldo Dracian's money, for
services rendered as per Chapter 1. What services?
A: The Geonosians were funded for their assistance in the development of the
Geothermal Detonator, while the Kaminoans were paid off for their help in
establishing cloning facilities on Vaus I.
Q: What is
that tattoo on the leg of "Padawan", the blue Twi'lek slave Garrick trains in
the Jedi arts?
A: That is actually an ownership brand that was placed upon her by Varela
Dracian when she was the property of Voldo's sister. It indicates that she's the
exclusive property of the Dracian family.
Q: Voldo
Dracian's "crimelord" aspect looks an awful lot like Count Dooku. Coincidence?
A: Actually, no! Truth be told, Voldo's admiration of the wealth and influence
of the ex-Jedi turned Separatist leader and Sith apprentice compelled the
younger Voldo to aspect himself to Dooku. Almost like a kind of hero worship,
but also owing to the Dracian penchant for greed. He liked Dooku's fashion
sense, so he just HAD to have a semblance of it.
Q: Delta
kind of reminds me of Seven-of-Nine(from "Star Trek - Voyager"). Are you a
closet Trekkie or something?
A: Oh hell, no. Truth be told,
Seven-of-Nine was hardly the inspiration
for the Human Replicating Droid. The HRD character Guri from the SW story
"Shadows of the Empire" was more of an inspiration than the half-Borg...and I
haven't even read that story!
Honestly, though...any relation Delta has to Seven-of-Nine is purely
coincidental. In fact, would you believe I haven't seen a single episode of that
watered-down, politically-correct Trek
series that features Seven-of-Nine? Heck, my sophomore knowledge of
Trek was born of the better movies in
the theatrical Trek series and the
old-school Trek that my older
sister...who is ten times more of a Trekkie than I am(although she's not the
costume-wearing, convention-attending variety of Trekkie)...force-fed me in my
youth.
Q: What's
that metallic thing on the back of Darth Moloch's head?
A: That is actually a bio-mechanical creature called a vokul, and it's more than
just the means by which the Host can communicate. This fast little beastie is
actually a nasty little gremlin if it ever detaches from Moloch's head.
The vokul provides Moloch with a wealth of different alien languages from all
over the galaxy. Ithorian, Huttese, Rodian, Manaanese...you name it, Moloch's
vokul has digested it.
I mean that literally, too.
See...the uniqueness of this little beastie is that it bears a voracious hunger
for languages. Not ones conjured on the fly or coded transmissions, but
legitimate alien tongues from organic species. If there is a language that the
vokul has not digested, it awakens from a hibernation state(in which the vokul
provides Moloch with his voice) and crawls, silently and spider-like, towards
the source of this new language and then leaps out at lightning speed in an
attempt to latch itself to the victim's head, wherein it burrows a collapsible
auger into the victim's brain. The unique senses of the creature give it the
capacity to figure out where the brain matter of any given species is located
prior to its attack.
It's not a messy feeding, either, as the creature's auger absorbs any and all
liquid matter before it leaks from the wound(and yes, the notion of "having wine
with your dinner" theoretically applies here).
Once it has "fed", the creature heads back to its point-of-origin...and in the
case of Moloch's vokul, it is his head. The true origins of this creature is
unknown. It is possible that this is a sentient species found in subterranean
lairs deep beneath the surface of one or more of the planets of the Vaus System.
Q: The
Force is like air and water? Are you trying to re-define things here?
A: Not at all. Garrick Solace was trained by the Jedi Master Deign Corona(Aria's
father). Deign had a unique perspective on the Force as passed down to him by
the late Jedi Master Korydan Nol. It is an element-based perspective that
maintains the ideals expressed and taught by Obi-Wan and Yoda.
All things considered, the elemental approach embodies both the light and dark
sides...both of which constitutes the same thing: the Force. Two halves of a
whole. Air and water are not harmful things and in fact provide life. Surrounds
us and binds us. Rock(Earth) and fire, on the other hand, are more destructive
and conducive to the dark side. Just look at Mustafar, the planet wherein
Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader have their last little spat prior to Anakin's
reincarnation as the Vader we all love to hate. The planet is a molten hell, and
it's meant to symbolize what all who have been pre-educated by the original
trilogy are already aware will happen...Anakin will be consumed by the dark side
just as molten lava consumes a human being.
Q: Were
you ever tempted to throw in a "grab-oid"? Maybe make it the sentient species of
the Vaus System?
A: Why? Because I'm using the word "Tremors" in the title? I could have gone
down this road had the likes of Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward expressed interest in
being a part of this project...
Tell ya what. If we do a sequel, I'll create a sentient species that burrows
beneath the ground and pulls its victims into their waiting mouths a la the
Sarlacc.
NOT!
Q: While
we're on the notion of sequels, any chance of a "Tremors 2"?
A: At this point, any notion of a follow-up exists solely in
concept. I already have an idea where to
take the survivors of the fallout from the serial, and if a sequel does
manifest, it won't go any farther than the second story...so if we do another
one, I'm not pulling a Lucas. This WILL be the last chapter of this particular
fanfilm thread.
It may not exist, though. The deciding factor, ultimately, will be whether or
not all those who participated in the serial(in addition to the actors who
played characters that survived the serial) want to do it all again. Understand,
too, that a LOT of time is being invested in this project for something that is
ultimately non-profit, never mind whatever funds are unavoidably, yet willingly
being laid out. If everyone who survived "Tremors" wants to commit themselves to
another one, I'll start writing a script...but not before figuring out how I
want to present it.
In the absence of a fanfilm-based sequel, perhaps I'll lay out my sequel
concepts by way of a big ol' chunk of Fan Fiction while I prepare for a
more...original film project.
Failing this, I'll just have a section added to our dedicated website detailing
the destinies of the surviving characters.
Q: I'd like to make a fanfilm. Would you be
willing to help me out?
A:
I'd be honored to offer advice to aspiring filmmakers. Feeling let down by all
the egos on TFN's infamous Fan Film Forums? Trust me...I'll provide you with
better answers rather than to generalize it with "Google is your friend".
Serious FAQ's
Q: What is Tremors of the Force and who wrote it?
A: Tremors of the Force is a Star Wars story written by director & producer, John Bardy.
Q: I want to audition for Tremors of the Force. How do I go about doing this?
A: Auditions for TOTF were held over 4 days in January 2005 in New York City. All principal roles have been cast. We still are looking for extra's for cantina scenes, and other local outside scenes.
*IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN STORMTROOPER ARMOR (The real ABS kind, no rubies Halloween costumes) YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE WHEN WE NEED EXTRA STORMTROOPERS.*
Q: Is this movie going
to be in theatres?
A: No. This is an independent film not meant for theatres. Like other
fanfilms, ground zero is the internet. The first nine chapters of this
serialized project will be 16 minutes each, and the last chapter will clock in
at 20 minutes...and yes, we will be petitioning for hosting on TFN.
Q: How can I be an extra in Tremors of the Force?
A: When you see a casting call on the main page for extra's, come on down! If there is a request for a specific type of clothing, look, age group, please do not come down without the clothing, look or if you are not that age. We will not have extra clothing and we might not be able to use you if you do not have the look or are the age we need. When you get there, you will be required to sign a release form stating that you will follow some basic rules (No drugs, smoking or alcohol on the premises or while on set. You can smoke outdoors only.) as well as a release for injury and the use of your image.
Q: Is George Lucas in on this?
A: We wish. But no. This film in no way is related to Lucasfilms LTD. We want to thank George Lucas for letting us play in his playground he created for us though. Thank you Mr. Lucas!
Q: How much money are you making off of this film?
A: None at all. The budget for the film is coming out of director John's pocket and credit cards. Some cast members supply there own costume supplies as well as props. None of the extras or cast members are paid. No stipend is offered.
Q: Where will shooting take place?
A: Most shooting will take place within 20 miles of NYC. Most shooting scenes will take place near some form of public transportation. (NYC/NJ bus, NYC Subway, LIRR, PATH, Metro North)
Q: How long will
shooting take place over?
A: Shooting is scheduled to take place starting in June 2005, and run through
the end of 2006. We cannot estimate at this time when the entire project will be
completed, but we expect principal photography to be done, holding to our
shooting habit of two Saturdays per month, by at least 2007, give or take a
year. Aside from principal photography, there are a lot of CGI sequences that
need to be done and it will take a lot of time.
Q: I want to be in the
film, but your shooting on days I can't attend. What can I do?
A: There will be plenty of days when we
need extras. We will be holding to a two-Saturdays-per-month shooting schedule.
Towards the end, we might also throw in Friday nights depending on our progress
and/or availability. If you know ahead of time when we are shooting, try and
arrange your schedule accordingly.
Q: You have John
Williams music on the title page of the site. Does this mean we will be using
music snatches from the soundtracks of the saga?
A: We will be using the opening crawl music, and small snatches of music from "A
New Hope" to open and close each chapter. Apart from that, all music will be
original and I have approached a Las Vegas-based music composer named Frank
Klepacki...who aside from scoring the fanfilm "Essence of the Force" has done
the music scores for Westwood computer game classics like the "Dune" computer
games and the "Command & Conquer" (both regular and "Red Alert") titles...to do
the music score for "Tremors". Samples of his work can be found on his own
webhome at http://www.frankklepacki.com.
Q: I want to sponsor the film and donate some money, how can I do this?
A: Please contact the director, John Bardy. In doing so, you will receive an Executive Producer's credit and a full DVD copy of all ten chapters of the finished project.