Just forget the words and sing along

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

The Code Names of Star Wars Films

 So over on my social medias -- that would be Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram -- I started doing this thing called Trivia Tuesday.  Every Tuesday, I post an info-graphic about a trivia bit I picked up over the years.  Today, I posted this one.

 

Trivia Tuesday!  The code names of Star Wars movies.  Return of the Jedi - Blue Harvest.  The Phantom Menace - The Doll House.  The Force Awakens - Avco.  The Last Jedi - Space Bear.  Solo - Red Cup.  Attack of the Clones - Jar Jar's Big Adventure

I just wanted to ramble more about it, because it's just one of those things that I always found interesting.

When George Lucas was making The Empire Strikes Back, he noticed that two things would happen when word got out that the new Star Wars movie was filming in town.

1)  Fans would start coming by, hoping to get a glimpse of the proceedings.

2)  Local contractors would price gouge.

So, when it came time to start work on Return of the Jedi, he decided to give the production a code name.  This way, word wouldn't get out, or at the very least, be slow to get out.  The code name he came up with was Blue Harvest.  But this was more than just a code name.  A fake logo was made up that adorned all the crew jackets, and crew members were given a cover story to tell people about how it was just a slasher film.  But, word still got out, and the name Blue Harvest became part of Star Wars mythology.  It was eventually used as the title of an episode of the 1980s Ewoks cartoon, and of Family Guy's 2007 Star Wars spoof.

It has since become tradition for, not just Star Wars films, but all manner of event pictures to have a code name.  I'm thinking about doing another one of these info-graphics for the Marvel movies, or just other blockbusters that had code names that interested me.  

Anyway, since I found all the code names when I researched this, I figured I'd share the complete list.

The Phantom Menace - Both "The Beginning" and "The Doll House" were used at various points

Attack of the Clones - Jar Jar's Big Adventure

Revenge of the Sith - The Bridge

The Force Awakens - Both "Foodles" and "Avco" were used at various points

The Last Jedi - Space Bear

The Rise of Skywalker - trIXie

Rogue One - Los Alamos

Solo - Red Cup

The Mandalorian - Huckleberry 

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