Dispatches from the set of Solo: ‘Star Wars never felt like a job you could have. It’s a place that you go’

At a special preview screening of Solo: A Star Wars Story, trainees from the BFI Film Academy joined stars Thandie Newton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge to talk about their unique experiences behind the camera on Lucasfilm’s latest blockbuster.

24 May 2018

By Matthew Thrift

BFI Film Academy graduate Nathan Lloyd with Thandie Newton at a preview of Solo: A Star Wars Story

As the audience made its way into screen one at BFI Southbank for last night’s event, the Wookiee stayed in the bar. It was probably for the best. His wasn’t a head anyone wanted to be stuck behind. This cardboard cutout was just one of the special guests for a unique preview screening of the new Star Wars adventure, Solo.

The reason? A celebration of the BFI Film Academy Future Skills programme, which saw 28 trainees, most of whom had graduated from the BFI Film Academy, work behind the scenes on the mega-production at Pinewood Studios last year.

With the next round of the programme seeing even more BFI Film Academy graduates take on roles in various departments for the upcoming production of Star Wars: Episode IX, two of Solo’s trainees took to the stage alongside cast members Thandie Newton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, producer Simon Emanuel and Ben Roberts, Director of the BFI Film Fund, to discuss the pioneering partnership with Lucasfilm.

On the Film Academy

Ben Roberts: “The Film Academy is for 16 to 19 year olds. We run about 50 courses round the country every year, through lots of different partnerships. Those courses take place in school breaks and are different shapes and sizes. Some are quite specific, in terms of focusing on a particular skill; some, helpfully, are quite general, because at that age we’re pulling in participants who haven’t done anything formally. So it’s about familiarising yourself with the various roles. When you think about film, you think you might want to write, act or direct; you don’t think about the hundreds of roles that are required. It’s an industry!”

On the Lucasfilm partnership

Solo producer Simon Emanuel: “It came about for two reasons. We’re super fortunate that the UK film industry is booming like never before. It’s really busy, and there is a genuine need to bring more people into the film industry. Kathy Kennedy, who’s the president of the company and producer on all the films, has been a champion of diversity, and she’s always said to us it’s not just about diversity in front of the camera, it’s about diversity behind the camera as well. We spoke to the BFI and said we wanted to introduce this scheme where we can bring trainees in to sit across an entire production, the idea being that when you leave, you can go and get a job somewhere else and you’re ready to go.”

On getting the Star Wars call

Thandie Newton (Val): “It’s the stuff that dreams are made of. I was maybe six or seven when the first film came out. You almost don’t want to imagine yourself in that place because it’s so special. So when I was asked to take part it was completely surreal.”

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (L3-37): “Star Wars never felt like a job you could have. It’s a place that you go, it’s such a fantasy world, it never felt like a thing you could be a part of, in a wonderful way.”

Nathan Lloyd (Film Academy trainee): “I don’t think any of us who originally applied knew what we were getting into. I thought it’d be a short, small feature film for a few weeks. I knew we’d get paid but I just thought it’d be expenses or something. I had no idea it’d be anything big… I went for a face-to-face meeting with the production manager at Pinewood and kept the Lucasfilm parking ticket in case I didn’t get in.”

On the importance of diversity behind the scenes

Phoebe Waller-Bridge: “It’s particularly important in an industry made up of storytellers, the idea that you can get the same story told over and over again by the same group of people. As long as it’s a closed shop and there’s only one type of voice telling the stories, it’ll just start eating itself. It already has, and it’s boring and it’s suffocating. We instantly grow, the more voices we have access to. There’s so much more authenticity; there’s much less stereotyping and cliché. The truth can sing louder.”

BFI Film Academy trainees at the Solo: A Star Wars Story event at BFI Southbank
Tim Whitby

Thandie Newton: “I realised that there are only six dark-skinned Star Wars lead characters, and there are many, many, many lighter-skinned characters. I found myself in Star Wars, and it wasn’t until after the film finished that a friend of mine informed me that I was the first woman of colour to have a leading role. There have been many other actresses who have had smaller roles, but I was absolutely shocked. Not only was I then very proud of how significant this was, but i also thought about the people who 40, 30, 20 years ago stood proud on the set of Star Wars, and I wanted to remember those people.”

On finding work opportunities in the film industry

Simon Emanuel: “One of the really important reasons that we’re here tonight is to try to say to a much larger part of the country that there really are opportunities in the film industry. It’s a growth industry. There are 10,000 jobs that need to be filled over the next 5 years. Talent is everywhere and opportunities aren’t, so this is about creating those opportunities. A lot of what we’re doing is about demystifying the film industry. Many people think of it as an unattainable dream, but it’s really important that we draw from talent from every walk of life and every part of the country. The message is, there are opportunities, come find them.”

Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the Solo: A Star Wars Story event at BFI Southbank
Tim Whitby
Solo: A Star Wars Story producer Simon Emanuel with Ben Roberts, Director of the BFI Film Fund, at BFI Southbank
Tim Whitby
Amanda Nevill, Nathan Lloyd, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maria Moss, Ben Roberts, Gaylene Gould and Simon Emanuel at the Solo: A Star Wars Story event at BFI Southbank
Tim Whitby
Thandie Newton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the Solo: A Star Wars Story event at BFI Southbank
Tim Whitby
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