COUPLE WHO MADE SCI-FI HOME MOVIE... STRIKE BACK
SCI-FI fanatic David Nutley is making a sequel to his amazing Star
Wars home movie -even though his first effort brought him death
threats.
The graphic designer spent a year filming his own space adventure in
a spare room and nearby woods and roped in his family to star in it.
The 18-minute masterpiece, Star Wars: The Dark Skies, cost just
Pounds 500 and got rave reviews when he hired a 300-seat cinema to
show it last November.
But David and his family were bombarded with angry e-mails from
upset sci-fi purists who claimed he was committing blasphemy by
tinkering with the Star Wars legend.
One even claimed he would die and go to hell for crimes against
sci-fi.
But despite the flak, self-confessed Star Wars "nut" David is now
hard at work on the follow-up, Storm Ahead.
As our still from the film, above, shows it will feature even better
special effects, even though much of it was filmed in his kitchen.
Storm Ahead is sure to outrage the obsessives again as it explains
why stormtroopers cannot shoot straight.
David, of Otterbourne, Hants, said: "Everyone who is into Star Wars
knows stormtroopers are appallingly bad shots.
"In every film they manage to miss the easiest targets from
point-blank range."
In Storm Ahead the rebels get wind of the Empire's plan to create
the perfect clone army by using DNA from a Sith warrior -the ultimate
fighting machine.
To put a spanner in the works the rebels embark on a mission to drop
some of Jar Jar Binks's DNA into the stormtrooper mix.
David, 34, explains: "Obviously Jar Jar Binks is a complete moron
and if the rebels can get his DNA into the mix it will mess
everything up.
"This will safeguard the rebellion and ensure stormtroopers become
incompetent morons, incapable of hitting barn doors with cricket
bats."
The film stars David's wife Nikki, also 34, as Jade Taren, whose
mission is to infiltrate the Death Star, the empire's ultimate weapon
of destruction, and switch the DNA samples.
David has already made a stunning one-minute trailer, filmed with
Nikki lying on the kitchen table and wearing a Pounds 500
stormtrooper outfit.
He then painstakingly added computer-generated images to make it
appear she is fighting off an army of droids.
He expects the ten-minute film will take about 1,000 hours to make
and hopes it will be ready for a premiere in November.
After the angry reaction to Dark Skies, David is already bracing
himself for another backlash.
He said: "There were certainly a few people who didn't like what we
had done with our first film because it changed the storyline of the
originals.
"For some obsessives it was as if it wasn't just a film but we had
messed with their lives.
"I like Star Wars but to these people it must be like a religion. We
got death threats every other day for a while. A guy called Jessie
kept e-mailing us, saying stuff like, 'You have got to die and go to
hell.' I was a bit taken aback. He obviously didn't like it much.
"This time I have put a warning at the start of the film which tells
obsessive Star Wars fans to look away now or they may be offended."
Unlike the Nutleys' first effort, Storm Ahead does not feature the
couple's children -Jack, nine, and six-year-old Sophie.
Nikki's mum Ann Mears, who played Emperor Palpatine, and her dad
Chris, alias Obi-Wan Kenobi, have also been given a break this time.
Nikki added: "Last time was very hard work with the children and
parents and everything, so this time I'm acting opposite computer
graphics, which is easier.
"Having said that, I have had to spend four or five hours flailing
around on our kitchen table in a stormtrooper outfit, which is a bit
odd."

© News Group Newspapers Limited 2002. All rights reserved. You may read articles downloaded from The Sun and The News of the World archive on-screen or print them once for your own personal use. You may not make further copies, forward them by email, post them on an internet or intranet site or make any other use of them without written permission from The Sun Newspapers Limited. Please contact NI Syndication at enquiries@nisyndication.com.

STAR WARS: THE DARK SKIES (PG...that's Pure Genius) 0hrs 18mins.
10/10 FORGET Harry Potter, there's only one truly magical movie this
year -director David Nutley's dazzling debut.
It's a stunning mix of brilliant special effects and riveting
performances. I couldn't make head nor tale of the story -so full
marks to David for keeping up the Star Wars tradition. From what I
could make out, it picks up the story years after The Phantom Menace,
when Anakin Skywalker has turned bad and wants to corrupt his missus
Amidala and kids Luke and Leia.
David's wife Nikki is great as the plucky Queen and Jack and Sophie
are equally convincing as two kids who have been bribed and bullied
by their dad. The action sequences are great -in particular a
lightsaber duel that appears to have been filmed among the rubber
plants at a garden centre.
And the droids and robots are in the great sci-fi movie tradition,
i.e. made of old biscuit tins wrapped in sticky-backed plastic.
HOT OR ROT: It Lukes amazing.
To see the film go to www.thesun.co.uk Neil At The Movies -Pages
32-33

© News Group Newspapers Limited 2002. All rights reserved. You may read articles downloaded from The Sun and The News of the World archive on-screen or print them once for your own personal use. You may not make further copies, forward them by email, post them on an internet or intranet site or make any other use of them without written permission from The Sun Newspapers Limited. Please contact NI Syndication at enquiries@nisyndication.com.

David's home-made Star Wars a smash
STAR Wars fans showed up in Force for the world premiere of the next
movie instalment -made for just Pounds 500.
And the 300 enthusiasts liked David Nutley's version so much they
made him screen it TWICE.
The Sun told last week how graphic designer David, 34, shot The Dark Skies in his spare room and nearby woods because he was so fed up
waiting for the next official film -Attack Of The Clones.
He paid Pounds 200 to hire The Point cinema at Eastleigh, Hants, to
show off his creation starring wife Nikki, 34, son Jack, eight,
daughter Sophie, six, and other family members.
Postie Martyn Biddiscombe, 44, of Chandler's Ford, Hants, said: "It
was brilliant." David, of Otterbourne, Hants, said: "I'm amazed that
so many people turned up."

© News Group Newspapers Limited 2002. All rights reserved. You may read articles downloaded from The Sun and The News of the World archive on-screen or print them once for your own personal use. You may not make further copies, forward them by email, post them on an internet or intranet site or make any other use of them without written permission from The Sun Newspapers Limited. Please contact NI Syndication at enquiries@nisyndication.com.

DAVID NUTLEY COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT JEDI BLOCKBUSTER...SO HE
MADE HIS OWN
SCI-FI fanatic David Nutley got so fed up waiting for the next Star
Wars film he decided to make his own -and roped in his entire family
to appear in it!
The amateur movie buff spent more than a year filming his 18-minute
masterpiece Star Wars: The Dark Skies in his spare room and nearby
woods for just Pounds 500.
Now he has splashed out a further Pounds 200 hiring his local cinema
for a premiere screening next Wednesday. Graphic designer David, 34,
has beaten the "real" Star Wars flick to the screens by six months.
The latest Hollywood instalment of the space saga, Episode II
-Attack Of The Clones, is not released in Britain until May.
Besides conjuring up some brilliant special effects David has shown
an amazing degree of technical skill using only a digital video
camera and a home computer to fill in the background sets.
He cast his wife Nikki as Queen Amidala, kids Jack, eight, and
six-year-old Sophie as Luke and Leia, father-in-law Chris as Obi-Wan
Kenobi and mum-in-law Ann as the evil Emperor Palpatine. David, from
Otterbourne, near Winchester, Hants, said: "There was something very
poetic for me about having my mother-in-law star as the most evil
person in the universe -and she certainly did it very well."
Son Jack revealed that his perfectionist dad made him repeat one of
his lines 54 TIMES until he was happy with it.
Chore
David said: "They say never work with children and now I know why.
Sophie and Jack's enthusiasm began to wane after a couple of months
of filming.
"Directing could be a real chore at times because I did moan at
people and sometimes I had to be a little harsh because it was
important to get it right". The movie mogul revealed he sacked his
brother-in-law Russell Mears from playing Anakin Skywalker after
three days.
He said: "I did it because he lacked dedication and wouldn't get out
of bed.
"Russell became a bit of a prima donna but he's hardly Brad Pitt so
he had to go. Luckily my friend Jason Penny, who looks the part,
agreed to play it."
David's wife Nikki, 34, said: "Thankfully I love Star Wars almost as
much as David, otherwise his project could well have landed us with a
rather unusual divorce hearing."
David added: "It wasn't easy, running around the woods with light
sabres dressed in Star Wars costumes, as we got lots of funny looks
from dog walkers."
According to David, The Dark Skies charts the Skywalker family as
they go through "a bit of a rough patch" and begin bickering.
The film culminates in a woodland showdown between Anakin Skywalker
and Queen Amidala over the destiny of their children.
David is already planning a sequel and said: "Plenty of friends who
thought I was a wally for making this film are queueing up to be in a
sequel.
"But where were they when I was desperately seeking extras to
scrabble around in my garden for this one? I will use the Force
wisely to find my next cast."
See clips of the movie at www.thesun.co.uk
HOW THEY MEASURE UP
THE latest Hollywood Star Wars saga is about seven times longer than
David Nutley's film -while the budget for the British version would
barely pay for a coffee break in the megabucks US production. Below
we compare the two flicks.
TITLE:Star Wars: Episode II -Attack Of The Clones.
PREMIERE:Hollywood, May 14, 2002.
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: George Lucas, 57.
COST: Pounds 90million.
FILMING TIME:Three months.
LENGTH: Two hours 15 minutes.
LOCATION SHOOTS: Australia, England, Italy, Spain, Tunisia.
TAGLINE:"The saga continues."
DISTRIBUTOR: 20th Century Fox.
OSCAR TIP: Ewan "Obi-Wan" McGregor.
TITLE:Star Wars: The Dark Skies.
PREMIERE:Eastleigh, Hants, November 28, 2001.
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: David Nutley, 34.
COST: Pounds 500, plus Pounds 200 to hire cinema.
FILMING TIME:12 months.
LENGTH: 18 minutes.
LOCATION SHOOT: A Hampshire wood.
TAGLINE:"It is a dark time for the Skywalker family."
DISTRIBUTOR: David Nutley.
OSCAR TIP: Ann Mears as Palpatine.

© News Group Newspapers Limited 2002. All rights reserved. You may read articles downloaded from The Sun and The News of the World archive on-screen or print them once for your own personal use. You may not make further copies, forward them by email, post them on an internet or intranet site or make any other use of them without written permission from The Sun Newspapers Limited. Please contact NI Syndication at enquiries@nisyndication.com.