THE MAN WHO WOULD BE TARKIN . . .AND CUSHING TOO!

IT IS WONDERFULLY TOUCHING to hear and see the name PETER CUSHING on the radio, on television and in newspapers over the last two days.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

ONE NAME THOUGH that we mentioned quite early on during the 'smoke and mirrors' of the months leading up to the Cushing / Tarkin reveal in #ROGUEONE was GUY HENRY. We learn now, it was he who helped to make the magic in bringing, Cushing and Tarkin back to the big screen. The UK television listings magazine, The Radio Times has published a feature on how Tarkin's Ressurection came about and Henry's role in the scenes that has everyone talking . . . . The following are some extracts from the feature :  

REASONABLY EARLY ON, Ben Mendelsohn’s new villain Director Orson Krennic is brought to meet his superior officer – Governer Wilhuff "Grand Moff" Tarkin, played in the original 1977 by veteran Hammer horror actor Peter Cushing. Obviously, it makes total sense for Tarkin to be there – the film is set only shortly before the original Star Wars, and he was in charge then – but Cushing passed away in 1994, so you might have expected director Gareth Edwards to recast the role. 

BUT THAT'S NOT what Edwards did. Instead, audiences may be surprised to see Cushing once again performing the role, brought back to the screen more than 20 years after his death through a combination of live-action acting, cutting-edge special effects – and an actor from the UK BBC tv series, Holby City.“It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears from [special effects and animation studio] Industrial Light and Magic,” Edwards told Radio Times of Cushing’s return. “John Knoll, whose idea it was to make this film, pitched the idea of doing the opening text of A New Hope as a movie, to Lucasfilm.

“AND HE'S ALWAYS been very aggressive pushing the envelope with what visual effects can do. We were talking about it, and you sort of lay out the movie, and as you start laying it you go ‘you know what, you’ve gotta have these certain characters in there, and I dunno how we’d do it'. “John was always like ‘no we can do this, we can do it, we can do it,’” the director recalled. “He was very confident, and we… you know, to be honest, a lot of people were nervous the whole time, like ‘is this gonna happen?’ And then we went all or nothing in.”So with the effects idea committed to, the team just needed an actor to portray Tarkin’s physical presence before being altered in post-production – and in a surprising development, they looked no further than classic BBC hospital soap opera Holby City.

“IT WAS PLAYED BY an actor called Guy Henry [above], who’s in Holby City, and he was amazing,” Edwards revealed. Rumours of Henry’s involvement have been circulating round Rogue One for some time, as well as the possibility that he could play a younger Grand Moff Tarkin – though no-one predicted that he would be bringing Cushing’s version of the character back so directly.

“IT WAS A MASSIVE THING FOR HIM, it was very gracious of him, because essentially he’s doing this big performance and getting zero credit for it,” Edwards went on.“He was gonna be totally replaced, and then had to keep it all secret. So, um, that was a big ask.”Still, in the end we have to say Henry pulled it off rather well – and without giving too much away, we can say that his Tarkin is not the only original series character to come back with a little movie magic.process for all of that as well.”

'AS FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED, it’s time, effort and copious special effects money well spent.' - Radio Times December 2016. #ROGUEONE is in cinemas everywhere now.

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NEWS: EDWARDS LET SLIP ON TARKIN RETURN USA TODAY

IN A RECENT INTERVIEW, HAS DIRECTOR GARETH EDWARDS LET SLIP, THAT VADER ISN'T GOING TO BE THE ONLY ONE RETURNING IN DECEMBER'S 'ROGUE ONE : STAR WARS STORY?‘

The British director may have revealed some interesting details of  a surprising return in an interview with USA Today, while discussing the film’s main antagonist, Orson Krennic. He revealed that Krennic, the head of Empire’s advanced weapons research wing, played by actor Ben Mendelsohn, will it seems, clash with the upper echelon’s of the Galactic Empire. “It feels like if the Empire ever have a job vacancy, they go to the Royal Shakespeare Company to headhunt people,” Edwards joked. He’s is of course,referring to the upper-class authority of actors such as, our very own Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin in the original movie.

WHEN EDWARDS WAS ASKED, whether he wanted Mendelsohn to adopt a similarly posh accent, Edwards said: “I like the idea that Ben’s character was much more working-class,” adding that he ascended through the Imperial hierarchy “through sheer force of personality and ideas.”

IT WAS THEN that Edwards potentially, reveals the return of a younger Grand Moff Tarkin . . . .“[Krennic] hits a brick wall in the hierarchy, where they won’t let him in the club and it’s going to turn into a them-or-us situation: either Krennic or Tarkin and the others,“ Edwards says.

REPORTS DATING BACK TO August last year have suggested Tarkin’s return, but no official word has come from the filmmakers or the film’s marketing. Some believe the figure seen from behind in 'Rogue One’s trailer (below) could be Tarkin. The hair and head shape certainly appear to be a match, if it were to be a younger Tarkin, maybe . . . A Mail Online UK newspaper feature back last year, reported that the Cushing - who sadly passed in 1994 - would be brought back to life digitally.

 

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ROGUE WARS: TALKING TARKIN: MORE CASTING SUGGESTIONS

Two more suggestions from friends and followers of our Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page  

GUY HENRY: An English stage and screen actor, with roles in Rome and John Adams. He appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2 and, more recently, the hospital drama Holby City as the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Henrik Hanssen. In 1987, Henry appeared in the episode 'Rumpole and the Official Secret' from Season 4 of Rumpole of the Bailey.

In the early 1990s, he played the acerbic, demonic Dr Walpurgis in The Vault of Horror, a BBC Halloween special. His make-up was provided by Hellraiser veteran Geoff Portass. Guy also introduced a few series of cult horror films in several BBC One Friday night horror seasons (with a name change to 'Dr. Terror'), with scripted introductions written by horror novelist and film historian Kim Newman. He appeared in the 1996 schools series Look and Read: Spywatch, the BBC's 1996 adaptation of Emma.

In 1998 he made one appearance in the medical soap opera Peak Practice and in two episodes of The Grand. His film credits include appearances in Another Country with Rupert Everett, later in Stephen Fry's 2003 film Bright Young Things (appearing in the poster for it, top left) as Archie, in V for Vendetta as Conrad Heyer, in Starter for 10 as a university professor, in Expresso and as Pius Thicknesse in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2. In 2014 he appeared in the critically acclaimed short film Done In.

Paul Benjamin "Ben" Mendelsohn (born 3 April 1969): An Australian actor, known for his work in the films Animal Kingdom, The Dark Knight Rises, Killing Them Softly, The Place Beyond the Pines, Starred Up, Exodus: Gods and Kings, and Lost River. Mendelsohn currently stars in the Netflix series Bloodline, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe nomination.

After several early television roles, including The Henderson Kids, he attracted notice in his breakout film, The Year My Voice Broke (1987), winning him the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actor. His next major role was in The Big Steal (1990), and Spotswood (1992) co-starring with Anthony Hopkins; this was followed in 1996 by Cosi and Idiot Box. In 2000 he was in two contrasting films, the Australian Mullet and the Hollywood Vertical Limit. In 2005, he was preparing to play Mark Antony in the Sydney Theatre Company-produced Julius Caesar, and he was in the Terrence Malick-directed film The New World. 

In 2007, Mendelsohn starred in the third season of the TV series Love My Way and in 2008, he appeared in Baz Luhrmann's Australia and filmed the 10-part Melbourne series Tangle, which premiered on Showcase in 2009. In 2009, he appeared in the American science fiction film Knowing directed by Alex Proyas. The same year, Mendelsohn starred as Ned in Beautiful Kate, directed by Rachel Ward, opposite Bryan Brown and Rachel Griffiths.

In 2010, he appeared in Animal Kingdom, starring in the film as Andrew 'Pope' Cody, a criminal on the run from the law living in the notorious Melbourne Underworld. This role won him many awards including IF Award's Best Actor and the AFI's award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He was also named GQ Australia's Actor of the Year for 2010.

He was selected as one of the entrants to the Who's Who in Australia 2012 edition^. In 2012, Mendelsohn played the supporting role of John Daggett in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

In 2012, he appeared in Florence + the Machine's music video for "Lover to Lover". The video was directed by Vincent Haycock. In 2013, he guest starred in the TV series Girls as the father of Jessa, played by Jemima Kirke. In 2014, Mendelsohn joined the cast of Bloodline, a Netflix original from the creators of Damages. The first season premiered on the site on 20 March 2015 and was well received. Mendelsohn's performance on the series has been critically lauded, with IGN reviewer Matt Fowler saying in his review of the first season "Everyone on the show shines...but it's Mendelsohn's lanky, damaged, bitter Danny Rayburn that truly drives the show into harrowing places. Spectacular work that I hope gets recognized come awards season."

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