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Anne Polland
Costume/Wardrobe/Creature Project Manager, ILM
Anne Polland’s first Star Wars experience was the midnight show on the first day of release of Star Wars: “I loved it. But I had no idea how it would come to affect my life.” However, working on Return of the Jedi had the greatest impact on Polland: “I realized what a great place and what greatly talented people are at ILM and knew that this is where I wanted to be.”
Anne Polland has worked with Lucasfilm Ltd. since the production of More American Graffiti in the late ’70s and now is with Industrial Light and Magic. Raised on a ranch in California, she left college to work in professional theater. A position at the American Conservatory Theater led to a job working on tour, where she “saw the U.S. and world by bus and truck.” Polland then worked in movies, episodic TV, and commercials, which led to a position at ILM.
For the past two years, Polland has been working on costumes, creatures, and props for the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition. Her challenge was twofold–to refurbish original costumes and creatures to be used in filming new elements to be combined with original footage, and to create new costumes and creatures to be used in totally new footage. Working with the ILM Effects Supervisors and the Art Departments, Polland and the team of artistic technicians in the model shop have created new creatures for the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition: the Wampa, the Rapper, and Jedi Rocks.
Of her work on the Special Edition, Polland is most proud of the new footage in the musical number for Return of the Jedi. Her team built creatures and costumes for the new musical number: three background dancing singers, two band members, two drummers, and a great traditional puppet to be used in footage that would be incorporated into an existing scene with CG-created characters.
Polland says that her most challenging experience during her work on the Special Edition was a live action shoot combined with an IMAX documentary “Special Effects” shoot. The temperature was 125 degrees in the desert. This experience brought back memories of Polland’s first visit to the desert for the original Return of the Jedi barge shoot, her favorite Star Wars moment: “Sandstorms, cameras everywhere, the Sarlacc Pit, Boba Fett flying–what a time!
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