The Clone Wars: Episode 9 - Cloak of Darkness
Date: December 04, 2008 at 03:32 PM ET Topic: Movie and TV News
It's
an all girl fight this week on The Clone Wars! Click
here for information on this weeks episode: Cloak of Darkness...
Female Jedi Take the Spotlight
for the Dec. 5 Episode of STAR
WARS: THE CLONE WARS
Acclaimed animation-and-comics writer Paul
Dini (the “Justice League,” “Superman,” “Batman” animated
series) amps up the action for Jedi heroines Luminara Unduli and Ahsoka Tano in “Cloak
of Darkness,” an all-new episode of the hit animated series STAR WARS:
THE CLONE WARS, premiering at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Dec. 5, on Cartoon Network.
In “Cloak of Darkness,” Ahsoka and Jedi Master Luminara escort captured
Viceroy Nute Gunray to trial – but they’re unaware that Count Dooku has
dispatched his deadly assassin Asajj Ventress to free the prisoner and eliminate
the Jedi.
Supervising director Dave Filoni, who also
directed “Cloak of Darkness,” and
story editor Henry Gilroy have made concerted efforts to grow the series’ expansive
universe of characters throughout the first season. When the focus turned to the
strong female fighters of the Star Wars galaxy – both heroes and
villains – they felt writer Paul Dini was a perfect choice to create the scenario.
Dini’s work in animation and comic books have built him a strong following
among enthusiasts, and he is noted for creating stunning, memorable female characters.
Dini, who has taken time away from the animation realm to be a story editor on ABC’s “Lost,” said
he didn’t hesitate to take the assignment from Lucasfilm Animation.
“It was interesting to take Ahsoka, who plays by her own rules, and put
her under the tutelage of a more established Jedi,” Dini says. “She
can’t get around Luminara the way she plays with Anakin and Obi-Wan. It’s
not just their generational difference, it’s a difference in methods – Luminara
is very much by the book, and expects any padawan to follow the rules. Ahsoka grabs
a lightsaber and runs into battle, whereas Luminara wants to take a moment and assess
the situation through her mastery of the Force. Throw in the wildcard of Ventress
and you’ve got a very interesting mix.”
Filoni says the Star Wars galaxy
is filled with compelling female characters, but many of them have not had major
roles – so far. “This series gives
us an opportunity to use them in a much larger capacity,” he says. “In
this episode, the focus is on how Luminara, an old-school Jedi master, would work
with a young padawan like Ahsoka. Putting Luminara and Ahsoka together offers a real
contrast in learning for both characters.”
In both comics and action-driven animation, Dini says, a preponderance of male
characters provides a challenge to develop their underappreciated female counterparts
with equal complexity and motivations.
“A lot of times, female characters – particularly the villains – come
off as very one-dimensional,” Dini says. “They get the short shrift in
that they’re only given the snappy comeback, or they’re relegated to
a very stereotypical role. I want to know what’s driving them – that’s
what’s really interesting. If you can find that human moment, then attach a
human element of motivation, the character becomes more relatable and, even if she’s
a villain, more sympathetic.”
But Dini says viewers won’t find much sympathy for Ventress – and
not because she lacks crystal clear motives.
“Ventress has a savage desire to prove herself,” he explains. “She
really wants to be the next Sith Lord, and she’ll do anything to achieve her
goal. She’s as ruthless, cunning and merciless as any character in the series,
and that intense, loose rage makes her a wild card. When she unleashes it, she becomes
a berserker. When she fights, she’s like a snake, almost reptilian in some
ways. If she kept her rage in check, she might win. But she gives in to that rage,
and that is her undoing, her weakness.”
Jedi Knight Luminara Unduli confronts vicious assassin Asajj Ventress in “Cloak
of Darkness,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiering
at 9 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Dec. 5, on Cartoon Network.
Ashley Eckstein brings
Ahsoka Tano to life...
Standing saber-to-saber with some
powerful female enemies and allies, young Padawan Ahsoka Tano features prominently
in “Cloak
of Darkness.”
A veteran of hit live-action films and TV shows such as Sydney White, Blue
Collar TV, That’s So Raven and Drake & Josh, Eckstein
is a relative newcomer to voiceover work, but she has enthusiastically embraced the
craft – as well as her role within the Star Wars galaxy.
“It’s such a fun line of work because you really get to tap into your
imagination,” Eckstein says. “The action is in your mind and it has to
come through your voice, so you have to envision everything. I have to think, ‘How
would I sound if I were fighting Ventress right now? How would I sound if I
were picked up by a giant bird, flown across the room, and dropped on the floor?’ It’s
like imagination boot camp when you go into a session with (supervising director)
Dave Filoni and the rest of the cast.”
While the role-play offers the opportunity to stretch her imagination, Eckstein
admits that acting from a recording studio has its difficulties, as well, particularly
in a project as epic in scale as STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS.
“The physical sounds are hardest because, well, you don’t think about
these things in everyday life,” Eckstein says. “We talk all the time,
so the dialogue is easy compared to figuring out what sound you’d make if you
got hit by a lightsaber or fell out of a spaceship. I definitely have to get physical
in the booth, and I probably look like the biggest nerd in there, using a pencil
as a lightsaber. I really try to get into it, and it just helps to sound like
you’re in the heat of battle.”
Ultimately, though, it is the character’s coming-of-age experience that
helps to ground Eckstein’s performance. Despite her planet-spanning adventures,
Ahsoka remains relatable thanks to her universal foibles and fumbles.
“Ahsoka’s emotions are very raw, and kids and teens can look at what
she’s going through and really understand it,” Eckstein says. “Even
though they’re not fighting in life-or-death battles, they may be dealing with
bullies or trying to make the sports team or trying to impress a teacher. All of
those situations easily mirror her emotions. That’s one of my favorite things
about Ahsoka – while her experiences may be different, the personalities and
the emotions are the same for everyone.”
Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Jedi Master Luminara Unduli discuss methods
of dealing with their uncooperative prisoner in “Cloak of Darkness”
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