Five minutes into Attack of the Clones, one thing is perfectly clear. Someone is trying to kill Senator Amidala. Two major attempts to assassinate her are made early in the film. The second takes place in her Coruscant bedroom. The ensuing chase leads the Senator’s Jedi protectors through various areas of Coruscant, eventually ending up in an alley outside of a nightclub . Let’s take a look at some of the deleted/altered scenes involving this second attack and the events that follow.
CALM BEFORE THE STORM
Amidala has retired to her room for the night and her Jedi protectors are on watch. In this brief deleted shot, Anakin is quietly meditating in Padmé’s apartment before Obi-Wan enters and asks if there’s been any activity.
I’m including images from Starwars.com, the Episode II Comic Adaptation, The Art of Attack of the Clones, and Cinelive Magazine. Thanks to Sluggo and Sil for some of them.
Here’s the corresponding excerpt from The Art of Attack of the Clones:
INT. APARTMENT BUILDING, AMIDALA’S APARTMENT, MAIN ROOM – NIGHT
Anakin is standing in the living room. He is in a meditative state. It is quiet. We hear distant footsteps in the corridor outside the apartment. Suddenly Anakin’s eyes pop open. His eyes dart around the room. He reaches for his lightsaber, then smiles and puts it back on his belt.The door to the apartment slides open, and Obi-Wan enters.
OBI-WAN AND THE ASSASSIN DROID
When you’re a Jedi Knight, leaping out of a window after a naughty droid is no big deal, as Obi-Wan demonstrated in Episode II. Originally, the tricky droid had a few tricks up its non-existent sleeve in order to rid itself of the Jedi nuisance. It tried things like using electric shocks and burning him off with another vehicle’s exhaust, but nothing seemed to work. Obi-Wan, not to be outdone, tried killing the droid’s power at one point. He soon discovered this wasn’t a very good idea (being thousands of feet in the air) and plugged him back in.
Issue #68 of Star Wars Insider magazine has an article about the pre-visualization of Episode II featuring an interview with the head of the pre-visualization department, Dan Gregoire. In the article, Gregoire talks about some of the shots that were lost in Episode II. Here’s an excerpt:
“Much of Gregoire’s work on the Coruscant speeder chase sequence, including an entire section in which Obi-Wan gets dragged across a roof as he’s hanging from a droid, was cut.”
Many of these little moments appear to have been filmed but left out of the final version of the movie.
If you’re curious about these moments, they are still intact in some early versions of the script and evidence of them remains in some publications like the tiny Mighty Chronicles.
Take note that Obi-Wan originally spoke the famous “I have a bad feeling about this” line in this screenplay excerpt from The Art of Attack of the Clones:
EXT. CITYSCAPE, CORUSCANT – NIGHT
The Probe Droid sends several protective electrical shocks across its surface, causing Obi-Wan to almost lose his grip. As they dart in and out of the speeding traffic, Obi-Wan disconnects a wire on the back of the Droid. Its power shuts off! Obi-Wan and the Droid drop like rocks. Obi-Wan realizes the error of his ways and quickly puts the wire back. The Droid’s systems light up again, and it takes off.EXT. SENATE APARTMENTS, ENTRANCE – NIGHT
Anakin charges out of the building and runs to a line of parked speeders. He vaults into a open one and takes off, gunning it fast toward the lines of speeder traffic high above.EXT. CITYSCAPE, CORUSCANT – NIGHT
The Droid bumps against a wall, hoping to knock the Jedi loose. It moves behind a speeder afterburner to scorch him. It takes the Jedi wildly between buildings and finally skims across a rooftop as Obi-Wan is forced to lift his legs, then run across the roof, tenaciously hanging onto the Droid. The Droid heads for a dirty, beat-up speeder hidden in an alcove of a building about twenty stories up. When the pilot of the speeder, the scruffy Bounty Hunter, Zam Wesell, sees the Droid approach with Obi-Wan hanging on, she pulls a long rifle out of the speeder and starts to fire at the Jedi. Explosions burst all around Obi-Wan. Zam runs to her speeder, jumps in, and takes off.OBI-WAN
I have a bad feeling about this.Finally the Droid suffers a direct hit and blows up. Obi-Wan falls fifty stories, until a speeder drops down next to him, and he manages to grab onto the back end of the speeder and haul himself toward the cockpit. The Jedi struggles to climb into the passenger seat of the open speeder and sit down next to the driver, Anakin.
In the images from the Episode II Comic Adaptation, you can see Obi-Wan mentioning the assassin droid’s “electro-defense grid.” You’ll also see him cut the droid’s power.
CHASING ZAM
An action sequence with many parts to it is bound to be trimmed down during the editing process. The scene where the Jedi chase Zam Wesell is no exception. Much of what was trimmed consists of simple dialogue and reactions from Obi-Wan and Anakin, but there were a few extra moments that were deleted as well.
In one example, Obi-Wan climbs outside the speeder to clear off a flag that got caught in their speeder’s engine. At times, words like “wacky” and “gonzo” are used. In a funny moment, Obi-Wan mutters to himself, “I’m crazy…” several times.
The lengthy excerpt below from The Art of Attack of the Clones gives an idea of how the scene was originally supposed to flow:
ANAKIN
That was wacky! I almost
lost you in the traffic.OBI-WAN
What took you so long?ANAKIN
Oh, you know, Master, I couldn’t find
a speeder I really liked, with an
open cockpit… and with the right speed
capabilities… and then you know
I had to get a really gonzo color…They zoom upward in hot pursuit of Zam as she fires out the open window at them with her laser pistol.
OBI-WAN
If you’d spend as much time working
on your saber skills as you do on
your wit, young Padawan, you would rival
Master Yoda as a swordsman.ANAKIN
I thought I already did.OBI-WAN
Only in your mind, my very young
apprentice. Careful!! Hey, easy!!As this conversation is going on, Anakin deftly moves in and out of the oncoming traffic, across lanes, between buildings, and miraculously through a construction site. Zam Wesell continues firing at them.
ANAKIN
Sorry, I forgot you don’t
like flying, Master.OBI-WAN
I don’t mind flying… but what
you’re doing is suicide.They barely miss a commuter train.
ANAKIN
Master, you know I’ve been flying
since before I could walk.
I’m very good at this.OBI-WAN
Just slow down! There!
There he goes.Zam Wesell and the Jedi race through a line of cross-traffic made up of giant trucks. The speeders bank sideways as they slide around right-angle turns between buildings. Zam races into a tram tunnel.
OBI-WAN (continuing)
Wait! Don’t go in there!
Take it easy…ANAKIN
Don’t worry, Master.Anakin zooms into the tunnel after Zam. They see a tram coming at them. They brake, turn around, and race out, barely ahead of the charging commuter transport.
OBI-WAN
You know I don’t like
it when you do that!ANAKIN
Sorry, Master. Don’t worry, this
guy’s gonna kill himself any
minute now!Zam Wesell turns into oncoming traffic, deliberately trying to throw the Jedi off. Oncoming speeders swerve, trying to avoid Zam and the Jedi. Zam does a quick, tight loop-over and ends up behind the Jedi. She is now in a much better position to fire at them with her laser pistol. To avoid being hit by the laser bolts, Anakin slams on the brakes and moves alongside Zam. She now fires point-blank at Obi-Wan.
OBI-WAN
What are you doing?
He’s gonna blast me.ANAKIN
Right – this isn’t working.Anakin slides underneath Zam’s speeder. They race along in traffic, one speeder right on top of the other. The Bounty Hunter skims over the rooftops, causing Anakin to drop behind. Anakin goes through his gears, zooming around traffic. They race at high speed across a wide, flat surface of the city planet. A large spacecraft almost collides with them as it attempts to land.
OBI-WAN
Watch out for those banners!They round a corner and clip a flag, which gets caught on one of the front air scoops.
OBI-WAN
That was too close!ANAKIN
Clear that!OBI-WAN
What??ANAKIN
Clear the flag!
We’re losing power! Hurry!Obi-Wan leans out of the speeder, then crawls out on the front engine and pulls the flag free of the scoop. The speeder lurches forward with a surge of power.
OBI-WAN
Whooooaaa! Don’t do that!
I don’t like it when you do that!ANAKIN
So sorry, Master.They chase the bounty hunter through a power refinery. Zam shoots a power coupler causing voltage, like lightening, to jump across a gap from one coupler to another. Anakin stays on course, piloting the speeder directly through the arc. Anakin and Obi-Wan’s bodies ripple with blue power.
OBI-WAN
Anakin! How many times have I told
you to stay away from the power
couplings! Slow down!
Don’t go through there!Huge electrical bolts shoot between the buildings as the speeders pass.
OBI-WAN (continuing)
Yiiii, what are you doing?ANAKIN
Sorry, Master!OBI-WAN (sarcastically)
Oh, that was good…ANAKIN
That was crazy!!!Zam slides around a corner sideways, blocking an alley, firing point-blank as Anakin approaches.
ANAKIN (continuing)
Ahh, damn.OBI-WAN
Stop!!ANAKIN
No, we can make it!Anakin barely misses the Bounty Hunter’s speeder as he dives under it, and through a small gap in the building hitting several pipes and going wildly out of control. Anakin struggles to regain control of the speeder, narrowly missing a crane, barely clipping a pair of giant struts. A giant gas ball shoots up, causing Anakin to spin and bump a building, stalling the speeder.
OBI-WAN
I’m crazy… I’m crazy…
I’m crazy.ANAKIN
But it worked… we made it.OBI-WAN (angrily)
No you didn’t! We’ve stalled!
And you almost got us killed!ANAKIN
I think we’re still alive.Anakin works to get the speeder started. It races to life.
OBI-WAN (very angrily)
It was stupid!ANAKIN (sheepishly)
I could have caught him…OBI-WAN (furious)
But you didn’t!!! And now
we’ve lost him for good.Suddenly, there is an ambush. Laser bolts are everywhere. Explosions surround them. They look up and see Zam Wesell take off.
ANAKIN
No we didn’t…Out of a cloud of smoke and ball of flames the Jedi tear after Zam. They are smoking. Obi-Wan slaps out a small fire on the dashboard. Zam goes up and down, through cross-traffic. There is a near miss as a speeder almost hits them. Zam turns down and left between two buildings. Anakin pulls up and to the right.
OBI-WAN
Where are you going?!…
He went down there,
the other way.ANAKIN
Master, if we keep this chase going,
that creep’s gonna end up deep fried.
Personally, I’d very much like to find
out who in the hell he is and who he’s
working for…This is a shortcut…
I think.OBI-WAN
What do you mean,
“You think?”Anakin turns up a side street, zooms up several small passageways, then stops, hovering about fifty stories up.
OBI-WAN (continuing)
Well, you lost him.ANAKIN
I’m deeply sorry, Master.Anakin looks around front and back. He spots something. He seems to start counting to himself as he watches something below approach.
OBI-WAN
Well, this is some kind of shortcut.
He went completely the other way.
Once again, Anakin…ANAKIN
…excuse me for a moment.Anakin jumps out of the speeder. Obi-Wan looks down and sees Zam’s speeder about five stories below them cruising past.
OBI-WAN
I hate it when he does that.Anakin miraculously lands on top of the Bounty Hunter’s speeder. The Speeder wobbles under the impact. Zam looks up and realizes what has happened.
Zam takes off, and Anakin slides to the back strut and almost slips off, but he manages to hang on. Anakin works his way back to the speeder’s cockpit, just as Zam stops suddenly, and Anakin flies forward to the left front fork. Zam shoots at him with a laser pistol. There is a blast near Anakin’s hand, which breaks off a piece of the speeder. Anakin slides to the right fork of the speeder, where Zam can’t reach him, then he scrambles to the top, holding onto an air scoop.
Obi-Wan has jumped into the driver’s seat of his speeder and is deftly gaining on the rogue speeder. The two speeders dive through oncoming traffic and then through cross traffic. Finally, Anakin is able to get hold of his lightsaber and starts to cut his way through the roof of the speeder. Zam takes out her laser pistol and starts firing at the helpless Jedi, knocking the sword out of his hand. Obi-Wan races under the speeder and catches the Jedi weapon in the passenger’s seat.
Anakin sticks his hand into the cockpit and, using the Force, pulls the gun out of Zam’s hand. She grabs the Jedi’s hand, and they struggle for the weapon. It goes off, blowing a hole in the floor of the speeder. The speeder careens wildly out of control. Zam struggles to pull the speeder out of it’s nose dive. Obi-Wan gets slowed down by traffic and loses sight of the Bounty Hunter’s Speeder.
Just as the speeder is about to nose dive into the ground, Zam pulls it out, and it slides hard on the pavement in a shower of sparks. Anakin goes flying into the street.
On a digital side note, my friend Greg Rossiter attended an SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers) seminar some time ago and many of his footnotes have made their way onto this site in various places. Here’s a little something he had to say about the chase scene:
Another thing to come out of the SMPTE seminar was that in the chase scene, where Obi-Wan catches Anakin’s lightsaber midair, a background vehicle originally flew too close to the flying weapon. Lucas thought that might be confusing, so the digital version of the film has the vehicle either removed or edged to the side somewhere. I haven’t actually done a side-by-side comparison of the shot to confirm it.
My friend Skot actually did a comparison between the original and digital versions and can confirm that there is at least one ship missing from the shot. One ship flies by his hand right before the saber in the theatrical version. On the DVD, it’s clearly not there. You can compare the shots in the image here. Many thanks to Skot Kirkwood and Greg Rossiter for their research.
LIGHTSABER MISMANAGEMENT
In the finished film, before Anakin and Obi-Wan enter the Outlander nightclub in pursuit Zam Wesell, Obi-Wan gives Anakin a little speech about losing his lightsaber. For some reason, one line of Obi-Wan’s was deleted. It’s still present in the Episode II: Forbidden Love mini-trailer, but in the final version of the film it’s definitely missing.
In Episode I there was supposed to be a similar scene in the Naboo swamps where Obi-Wan was the one being taught this lesson in lightsaber management by his master, but it was also deleted.
Here’s the excerpt from The Art of Attack of the Clones:
OBI-WAN
This weapon is your life.ANAKIN
I’ve heard this lesson before…Obi-Wan finally holds out the lightsaber and Anakin grabs it.
OBI-WAN
But, you haven’t learned anything, Anakin.
The image from the Episode II Comic Adaptation includes Obi-Wan’s deleted line to Anakin outside the club.
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Download: Episode II: Forbidden Love mini-trailer. |
ZAM IN THE ALLEY
After Obi-Wan “disarms” Zam Wesell inside the Outlander club, the Jedi drag her outside for a little impromptu interrogation in an adjacent alley. There seem to be a few lines of dialogue that were either removed or changed when comparing an earlier version of the script.
Here’s the excerpt from The Art of Attack of the Clones:
EXT. ALLEY OUTSIDE NIGHTCLUB – NIGHT
Obi-Wan and Anakin carry Zam, into the alley and lower her to the ground. Obi-Wan attends to her wounded shoulder. She stares up hatefully at Anakin. She winces in pain, then nods.OBI-WAN
Do you know who it was
you were trying to kill?ZAM WESELL
The Senator from Naboo.OBI-WAN
Who hired you?Zam glares at Obi-Wan.
ZAM WESELL
It was just a job.ANAKIN
Who hired you? Tell us!ZAM WESELL
That Senator’s gonna die soon anyway,
and the next one won’t make the
same mistake I did…OBI-WAN
This wound’s going to
need treatment.ANAKIN
Tell us… tell us now!Zam glares hatefully.
ZAM WESELL
It was a bounty hunter called…
The images here are from a French Lucasfilm Magazine and Starwars.com. I’m not sure if the Zam Wesell shots are simply publicity stills but they don’t appear in the film from this angle. The stills of Anakin and Obi-Wan inside the club are from the Episode II documentaries available at Starwars.com and on the Episode II DVD. These appear to be alternate takes/angles just like the shot of Zam running up the steps of the nightclub.
Starwars.com also adds this trivial note for the Zam fans out there:
In Episode II, Zam Wesell is played by Leeanna Walsman. Very early draft scripts did not identify Zam by name, but instead referred to her as a C.A.T., a type of Corporate Alliance Trooper.
DON’T CALL HIM ANNIE
The conversation with Anakin and Padmé while she’s packing her bags was originally a little longer. There were a few lines of dialogue removed as well as a short group of shots where Padmé and Dormé have a laugh at Anakin’s expense. Compare the script excerpt to the theatrical version and you’ll clearly see the changes.
Here’s the excerpt from The Art of Attack of the Clones:
ANAKIN
Sometimes we have to let go
of our pride and do what is
requested of us.PADMÉ
Pride?!? Annie, you’re very young,
and you don’t have a very firm
grip on politics. I suggest you
reserve your opinions for
some other time.ANAKIN
Sorry, M’Lady. I was
only trying to…PADMÉ
Annie! No!ANAKIN
Please don’t call me that.PADMÉ
What?ANAKIN
Annie…PADMÉ
I’ve always called you that…
it is your name, isn’t it?ANAKIN
It’s Anakin. When you say
Annie it’s like I’m still a
little boy… and I’m not.PADMÉ
I’m sorry, Anakin.
It’s impossible to deny you’ve…
(looks him over) …that
you’ve grown up.Padmé smiles at Anakin. He becomes a little shy.
ANAKIN
Master Obi-Wan manages
not to see it…PADMÉ
Mentors have a way of seeing
more of our faults than we
would like. It’s the only
way we grow.ANAKIN
Don’t get me wrong… Obi-Wan is
a great mentor, as wise as Master
Yoda and as powerful as Master
Windu. I am truly thankful to be
his apprentice. Only… although
I’m a Padawan learner, in some
ways… a lot of ways… I’m ahead
of him. I’m ready for the trials.
I know I am! He knows it too.
But he feels I’m too unpredictable…
Other Jedi my age have gone
through the trials and made it…
I know I started my
training late… but he won’t
let me move on.PADMÉ
That must be frustrating.ANAKIN
It’s worse… he’s overly critical.
He never listens! He just
doesn’t understand.
It’s not fair!Padmé cannot suppress a laugh. She shakes her head.
PADMÉ
I’m sorry… You sounded exactly
like that little boy I once
knew, when he didn’t get
his way.ANAKIN
I’m not whining!
I’m not.Padmé just smiles at him. Dormé laughs in the background.
PADMÉ
I didn’t say it to hurt you.ANAKIN
I know…There is a brief silence, then Padmé comes over to Anakin.
PADMÉ
Anakin…They look into each other’s eyes for the first time.
PADMÉ (continuing)
Don’t try to grow
up too fast.ANAKIN
I am grown up.
You said it yourself.Anakin looks deep into Padmé’s eyes.
PADMÉ
Please don’t look at me
like that.ANAKIN
Why not?PADMÉ
Because I can see what
you’re thinking.ANAKIN (laughing)
Ahh… so, you have Jedi
powers too?Dormé is watching with concern.
PADMÉ
It makes me feel
uncomfortable.ANAKIN
Sorry, M’lady.
I found the final edit of this scene to be quite interesting. When Anakin says, “It’s not fair,” he looks up as if he’s a little embarrassed, as he should be if Dormé and Padmé are laughing at him. Then to cover up the removed laughing, they took a small line of Padmé’s from a little earlier and inserted it. It worked beautifully and still made perfect sense. In fact, it appears that they really played around with this scene. Go line by line with the film and you’ll find some interesting differences.
The images included here are from the French Lucasfilm Magazine, Starwars.com, a promotional package sent out to the media and a website called Stopklatka.pl. These exact angles are not in the film as far as I can tell. The close-up of Padmé was a tough one to check, but I’ve reviewed the film closely and judging by her eyelines and the background, I’d say this was either from one of the deleted lines or from an alternate take. It’s VERY close to the shot that’s in the film but not exact – especially her eye line.
See also: The Making of Episode II Documentary, #4 called “Trying to do my Thing” from the DVD. You’ll see some of dialogue from this scene there.
