INTERVIEW: KEN LAWTON (DISASTER AT NABOO, EPISODE III FAN TRAILER "OOBI", WHY ALDERAAN?)
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interview conducting began 11/21/2003

From quiet beginnings to a veritable multimedia portfolio, Ken Lawton's come a long way from the guy who promoted his film with the thread title of "New Star Wars fan film".

Okay—basics. Name, age, location, favorite Star Wars movie.

Basic answer: Ken Lawton, 34, Mercerville, NJ, Return of the Jedi for overall 'wow' factor—The Empire Strikes Back for the darkness of it.

What do you think sustains the fan film community? What makes people want to see fan films? What makes people want to MAKE fan films?

The present trilogy (as it's come to be called) is currently keeping a big flame under it. Anticipation for that last film is making Star Wars fans hungry for anything and everything Star Wars related. Fan films are some of the best fiction for the fans because it's made by fans for fans to enjoy. (Okay, no more blatant overuse of the word "fan"). But, that really is the gist of it. There was an unreal surge of new fan film makers when The Phantom Menace came out. And, I'm quite sure that once the last movie is finished, there will be along line of people like me that will keep the fans happy and the genre alive.

Now why do people make fan films?!? I suppose it's different for everybody. I think there's a huge pile of people who want nothing more than to see themselves wielding a lightsaber. For others, it's because they are aspiring writers, directors, actors, etc... And this is an excellent starting point.

For me? Well... I'm neither of those people. In fact, I have no intention of ever doing this for a living. It's purely for fun. I've always been a huge fan of special effects. But, more than anything, I've always felt the need to entertain. I was a musician for many years. Since I stopped doing that, my creative outlet switched over to film making. It's an odd switch for sure... The bottom line is my need to entertain people. Hearing that people enjoy my work, and it made them crack a smile; well, that's what makes me want to keep doing it!

Why do you think there are far more Star Wars fan films made than other kinds?

Easy one: Built-in audience.

If you're an artist, the bottom line is exposure. You want your work to be seen. You know what? Let me explain this in an analogy. Music.

I know a little about what it means to play in a band. I know remember when I first started playing. I played cover tunes. Why? Because I gained experience, and because people were more inclined to listen to familiar music than original music. As time went by, I stopped playing covers entirely. People came to shows to here my band play our songs...

Filmmaking is a similar experience process. You need to get exposure and feedback from as many people as possible before you can branch out and do something totally original.

Now couple this with the sheer fan base that exists for Star Wars. There's bound to be quite a bit more Star Wars fan fiction than any other.

What was the last really good fan film you watched?

This is going to sound strange, but the thing I was most impressed by lately is not even a complete film yet. The trailers for Tydirium. Not a single Star Wars fan film has captured the look and feel of the original trilogy like that film has. My jaw literally fell open when I saw the trailers. They had damn well better finish that one, or I'm gonna be crushed!

Complete film? Hmm... That New Zealand Matrix one, The Fanimatrix. Exceptionally well done. And I'm not really an outrageous Matrix fan. It was just cool. Not Star Wars, but excellent.

And what's been excellent on the mainstream silver screen recently?

Kill Bill. I maintain that Tarantino is one of the greatest storytellers of our time. The entire movie—like most Tarantino movies—is a series of related shorts, and each of those shorts could stand on their own as a complete story. I envy the ability to do a short like that, even more so, a bunch of them that actually fit together.

Besides ones you've worked on, what's your favorite fan film and why?

Well, it used to be Troops. Then I saw Duality. I don't know whom reading this has ever been privy to the long, blown-out arguments as to how valid that film is... But, for my taste it satisfied a number of qualifiers.

It's short. It has a great short story. The FX are nearly flawless. And the environments are all virtual—a first for fan films. The film has a life of its own.

What do you foresee as the next big development in fan films?

Technology is getting to a point now, that you can do damn close to anything with your home computer that the big boys can do with theirs. Budget and manpower are the only place a line is drawn.

What would you like to see this technology do for fan films?

Space battles. I am ever so enamored with well-done space battles. And there are far too few of them in fan films. I realize that this is not a simple task. And I understand the reasons why. It's friggin' difficult and time consuming to do a space battle! So let's set that aside for a moment.

What do I really want to see above all else? I want to see a totally different spin. I want to see something that makes me say "Damn, I wish I'd thought of that!"

And what are you less enamored with?

I thought long and hard about this question... Honestly, I can't think of a way of answering it without sounding condescending.

Let me expand on what I would like to see instead...

Originality. I want to see a story told from an unexpected angle. I want to see previously unexplored parts of the existing universe. I want to see clever takes on popular existing works.

In short... There is so much to offer in the Star Wars universe that does not involve a lightsaber duel in the forest. Or, anywhere else for that matter. There are so many other angles to explore. Politics, bounty hunters, shipyards, scientists/engineers, individual squadrons, extended family of known characters, etc... Really... The list goes on and on... I think that, by and large, the community has grown absolutely sick of lightsaber battles. It's actually come to a point now where no one wants to see it anymore. Rotten shame as it might be, that's what happens when one single effect (or idea) is done to death.

Shipyards! Yes! Oh, the excitement!

Enough pussyfooting around. It's time for the big question.

What the hell does DurbnPoisn mean?

Uuggghhh... I've been dodging this question for too long. Here's the full story for all who really want to know.

Story: About 10 years ago, I was sitting in my home office trying to find a 10-letter screen name for AOL (the only realistic option at the time). I looked around the posters on my wall. I had a poster from High Times that was nothing more than a huge picture of, well, you know what they have pictures of.

Naked women, I hope?

In small letters at the bottom, it told the story of this particular strain from Durban, South Africa. Durban Poison. I'm sorry, but the name really struck me. I cut out the last vowel from each word, took it as my online alias, and it's been with me ever since.

This just about kills your chances in running for public office, now, you know that?

Would you believe that I still get e-mails from all over the world from people saying stuff like, "Huh, huh, great screen name!" I always know what those guys are doing!

What, precisely, prompted the idea for Disaster at Naboo?

Ever since I saw Troops, I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to do a film of my own. But, I wanted a totally unique idea. Considering that I had never actually attempted something like that, I just kinda let it simmer. Always there, just waiting for the right idea that was worth pursuing—worth producing. The inspiration finally hit me while I was at the Millville airshow.

It was while I was standing there watching all of those awesome flying machines—the F16s especially - doing their thing, that the idea started to percolate. I happened to have my camera with me... I filmed Thunderbird F16s doing that crazy crossover maneuver. I zoned out for a moment... On them not doing it successfully. What would that have looked like? How would the news handle it? How would the fans react? And then, I thought about Naboo fighters. Well... that's never happened in the Star Wars universe! That's it!

Once inspiration set in, the ball started rolling.

As a funny side note. I remember sitting there one night with my wife. I said, "I have a really good idea. And I want to follow through with it. But, what the hell do I know about making a short film?" All she said was, "If you have a good idea run with it." Awesome advice!

Yeah, I bet she's regretting speaking up. Now she's lost you to the fan filmers. Did you know there'd be such a world for you to get sucked into?

I knew of a few films. Troops, Bracewell's South Park fan trailers, a couple of others... I had no friggin' clue that the community as it was existed, until I started seeking places to promote Disaster. I really had no idea how big the fan film community was.

Frankly, it was kind of shocking to me. Maybe that's one of the reasons I got so involved in the community soon after.

It turns out that the TFN forum has been therapeutic to me for another outlet. That being my need to help people. I believe that any way that I can help someone bring their artistic vision to life is a good thing.

It's my outlet too, to type ad nauseum and pretend I'm funny.

So what's it like knowing that some of the creative forces behind "Oobi" have seen and enjoyed your take on their work?

Honestly, I nearly crapped my pants when I got the e-mail from the creator. Not long afterward, I heard from the puppeteers and one of the network execs. I was thrilled beyond words to hear how much they all enjoyed it!

To put it very simply, it was really the greatest validation I could have ever wanted for that film. I thought people might find it quirky and amusing. It never occurred to me that the creators would see it, much less like it as much as they did!

As one of the rare fan filmers to work in both live-action and animated media: what do you like and dislike about the two forms?

Man, it really is two totally different worlds.

I like animation because you can pull off an effect without being photorealistic, and no one minds. It's all about getting the impression across. Of course, the obvious flip side of this is that, you can only make it look so good. It will never look real.

What I dislike is that it's a whole lot more complicated and time consuming than I expected it to be. Something as simple as showing a character from a different angle is a colossal undertaking.

I like live action because it looks, well, alive. Manipulating the real world into something unreal is a very cool thing to be able to do. And with today's technology anything is possible. If you can imagine it, it can be done.

What I dislike is the hours and hours of monotonous frame by frame tweaking of thirty seconds of footage to get a desired effect. That sort of thing will test your resolve and dedication! Anyway... I think it's a matter of feel. Certain things are more entertaining drawn than filmed, and vise-versa. The bottom line is that the medium I choose is really a matter of "How could I pull this off?"

How would you say having children informs your sensibilities as a filmmaker?

It's brought to my attention the need to censor the F word. My 4 year old is a parrot.

Other than that, I can't say that my view on appropriate content is any different than before.

Simply put, it's a matter of responsibility. For better or worse, some things in film are accepted by society more easily than others. You, as a filmmaker, have the right to do whatever you want. But, if you want the majority of people to watch and enjoy your creation, you must keep a handle on potentially objectionable material. If your key audience is males 18-40; explosions, the F word, and big bouncing boobies, are the way. If your key audience is everybody, including them, you must keep a handle on offensive content.

Big bouncing boobies are ALWAYS the way. Speaking of boobies, let's move on to Fark. It's time to talk Ackbar.

I can almost sense him groaning.

You're a regular in Fark.com's Photoshop games, so of course you're familiar with people's enjoyment of using Ackbar in Photoshops. What do you think it is about Ackbar, or perhaps Star Wars in general, that makes him so rife for Photoshopping?

I've always been a little confused by that trend... I like Ackbar. Donna getta me wrong... I just don't think it's amusing. Why is he so ripe for Photoshopping? I think it's, as they say on Fark, a cliché. Nothing more. Maybe that blank, monotone, Muppet face look, fits in any situation.

Star Wars in general is rife for Photoshop contests for a lot of the same reasons that I said before about familiarity and fan base. The key to making something funny in those contests is in 3 parts:
1) Make it something that a lot of people can relate to.
2) Make it funnier than anything in the universe.
3) Make it obscure, but not like Dennis Miller obscure. People need to get the reference.
Number 2 is damn hard to achieve. Number 1 is a given, if you aim for a Star Wars reference. Number 3 is the tricky part. And for a lot of reasons, it is what divides good comedy from lame.

When do you expect the Ackbar trend to hit fan films?

As soon as Fark starts pushing fan film contests! Could he? Could the Calamari actually show up in a fan film? I'd love to see it!

Well, it could work. After all, it's all about amusing the fan base.

And as long as Star Wars is around, there's a fan base for Ackbar. And for Ken Lawton.

It's a trap, Ken. It's a trap.