Power is a State of Mind: For the Love of Sci Fi '22

Anthony Daniels, C3PO in the original Star Wars Trilogy, takes the mic in the main hall of Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester.

“Why does C3PO have red arm in rise of Skywalker?” asks an audience member. “Is it to do with Metal Gear Solid?”

“No,” he replies. “Stupid answer.”

Comically self-important, suave and quite camp, Mr. Daniels makes a great opening Q+A session at For the Love of Sci Fi, a movie convention now in its 6th year of running, back after a 2 year hiatus. It's day 2, Sunday 4th. (As for the arm, it turns out the limb change derives from a stand-alone Star Wars comic, in which another droid sacrifices himself to save C3PO and others, donating the arm. It’s nothing to do with the aforementioned video game, which Mr. Daniels hasn’t even heard of.)

“I have so many favourite moments,” says Mr Daniels. “You have to make sure you know which way to fall when everyone is pulling you in different directions. In Empire we had fun laughing at George’s terrible script.”

Through the session we learn Mr. Daniels “isn’t allowed to say” if he’ll play C3PO again. The C3PO design was slightly different before the first Star Wars film was shot. “I took part because of a painting I’d seen, then George turned it into something you ended up seeing.” (It was probably this one by Ralph McQuarrie.)

AQ: What was it like inside the costume?

AD: Horrible. The first day, I’d asked to practice with the costume. The first morning I was bumping into everything. They took it away for fixing. You put on one piece at a time. The neck joint took 30 minutes. But the effect was amazing. The US crew were like, “This is amazing!” The UK crew went, “pretty good.” Then the costume fell apart.

During one take George Lucas came eye-to-eye with Daniels, staring into his suit with a frightening intensity and stated… “The lights are out.”

The cast and crew had somewhat of a different prediction for the film’s outcome. “We all thought it would be rubbish,” admits Mr. Daniels. “But it was fantastic. I want to apologise for the Ewoks, though, after 45 years of watching.”

Prior to this, the cast of Back to the Future set up for photo ops. Sadly James Tolkan (Mr Strickland) has fallen ill and couldn’t make it, but here’s who I did meet:

Harry Waters Jr

Claudia Wells. She said I was very handsome. Charmer.

Don Fullilove

Taking over from Mr. Daniels, the cast of Back to the Future take the stage for a Q+A panel. Harry Waters Jr (singer Marvin Berry), Claudia Wells (love interest Jennifer), and Don Fullilove (milk bar assistant and, later, Mayor, Goldie Wilson) arrive, 38 years after the film’s release. Over to the audience...

AQ: Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty: did you work with him?

Mr Fullilove did, presumably the milk bar scene.

DF: It took a month to do Eric Stoltz’s scene. With Mike Fox it took 4 days.

AQ: What does the movie mean to you?

HWJ: I had more fun than you can possibly imagine. The movie is changing my life as we speak, because I can come here.

AQ: Have you seen the musical?

HWJ: Yes, they did a good thing. They made it different and it worked out well: they’re going to Broadway in 2023.

DF: It actually started in Manchester, but the Zombie Apocalypse (I’m guessing he means the COVID-19 pandemic, unless another major news story passed me by) shut it down.

AQ: Favourite Scene?

DF: My own! The building (the school hosting the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance) still exists.

AQ: What if you had your own time machine?

DF: I’d call it ‘The Goldilorean!’ I’d come back here, with Jean Claude Van Damme. (More on this later.) I’m changing the present!

CW: I’d meet Jesus Christ, then see my daddy in school. He was a parasitologist in UCLA. He went to heaven in 1997.

AQ: What was the casting process like?

DF: I got a call from (director) Bob Zemeckis, met him and Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment. He said, ‘can you sing?’ I said, ‘no.’ Guess who became Marvin Berry?

He glances over at Waters Jr.

HWJ: I took the part. My jaw dropped because it sounded so good.

AQ: If you could keep a prop from the film, what would it be?

CW: The car.

DF: I’d keep Hill Valley. That’s where it all began.

The BTTF panel doesn’t end there though: Mr. Waters Jr treats us to a rendition of his career-defining song. Please excuse my emotional state (and singing).

The final main stage event: The Universal Soldier panel with Dolph Lundgren and Jean Claude Van Damme. They’re already bantering back and forth.

‘Why you looking so much younger than me?’ asks Lundgren.

The compere asks about the end fight scene on the farm, in the dark and rain. (As it happens, I caught the scene earlier in the day in the cinema room, a small installation in Bowlers showing movies from the two actors’ back catalogue.)

DL: We shot the night scene for 2 weeks. It was a tough, hard scene. Not many actors would have the physical strength for it.

JCVD: When the truck (carrying the UniSols) was empty, we had machines put in and trained. I was drinking protein shakes as we didn’t stop.

DL: Some scenes we were competing to see who was the most cut.

The mic is handed out to the audience, first going to a young Spanish man.

AQ: Do you still train in martial arts?

DL: I used to; now I have injuries. I still do bag, not sparring, but I do regular training. Respect is most important.

AQ: What’s your favourite character you’ve played?

JCVD: You’ve got to give every character a background story. Your first close-up is your most important.

AQ: Who’s the fittest out of you two?

JCVD: I run faster.

DL: He’d better run.

AQ: Who would win in a fight between Ivan Krushensky (JCVD’s character) in No Retreat No Surrender and Ivan Drago (Lundgren’s character in Rocky IV)?

JCVD: Write it, send it to us!

AQ: When people dub movies into your language (The Belgian JCVD’s first language is French, DL’s is Swedish), have you ever thought, ‘I could do better?’

JCVD: They used one guy, but he passed away. Parts of the JCVD Movie (in which he played himself, in parts speaking in native French) were completely off.

DL: I lived in Spain, and caught a movie on TV. It was (he impersonates) ‘Buenos Dias!’ a little too much. I hope he doesn’t hear this!

AQ: Favourite memory from Universal Soldier?

DL: The camaraderie we developed. We had fun with the final fight scene, but it was so cold and wet with the wind.

JCVD: I was doing push ups non-stop. You come home, you have bruises. The most important thing in life is flexibility. Stretch your chest daily. It’s good for your heart.

COMPERE: Any plans for the future?

DL: I’m going to Norway to celebrate Christmas with my wife and parents, and Sweden for New Year. Then Hollywood to film Expendables 4 and Aquaman 2.

JCVD: I’m shooting a movie before Christmas. I’ll take Christmas day off, in LA. I’ll try my best to do a martial arts movie like Bloodsport.

A brilliant day, all in all. I’d have loved to have met more guests, but you’ve got to be fast when booking tickets. Van Damme and Lundgren sold out of photo ops, as did Mads Mikkelson. I had some problems booking tickets online, and booking by phone meant a long queue to get through to Ticketline, which is only open limited hours. Plus, that Universal Soldier double photo was £225, so you’ve got to decide how much you want to pay.

Bring on 2023!