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| Mythbusters |
I first met Grant way back in 2004, when I was sent down to Los Angeles for StarWars.com to cover Junkyard Mega-Wars: At The Movies which the ILM rock stars were asked to compete in. Grant and his ILM team made a gigantic, flame-throwing R2-D2, and of course won the competition.
Grant has also been featured over the years on StarWars.com for PuttingStar Wars to the MythBusters Test, for being a big fan of The Clone Wars and for his w00tstock spoken word performance about dressing up as C-3PO.
So it was a real treat to see my old friend and past co-worker Grant get inducted into one of the coolest Star Wars groups in the galaxy — The 501st Legion. I chatted with Grant about his induction and whether this means we can expect his droids to be moonlighting for the Empire…
Was it a complete surprise?
Actually yes! You kept hinting at a surprise during WonderCon, with a specific time and place that I needed to be. If you watch the video, I don’t actually realize what’s happening until they announce it! You know, I talk on camera all day long and I’ve done tons of public speaking, but I was so surprised and overwhelmed in that moment that I feel like I was a bit tongue-tied.
If you’re now in the 501st, does that mean all robots you build will be secretly working for Darth Vader?
Ha! I think all my robots secretly work for me! Think about it: the Energizer Bunny, Geoff Peterson (the robot skeleton sidekick from The Late Late Showwith Craig Ferguson), my combat robot Deadblow, and certain R2 units… that would be a pretty formidable army!
Why are you proud to be part of the 501st Legion?
It’s a real honor to be inducted into a group that not only strives for accuracy in representing these characters from a saga that I love, but also does volunteer community service and is considered a part of Lucasfilm’s “extended family.”
Sources: http://starwarsblog.starwars.com
