R2-D2: Beneath the Dome

R2-D2: Beneath the Dome is a 20-minute mockumentary telling the never before told life story of the fictional robot R2-D2 from the Star Wars film series. The movie was made as a fun project by the cast and crew of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Using interviews, fake archive photos, film clips, and behind the scenes footage the "true" story was told of Artoo's life.

Story
The movie is narrated in a tongue-in-cheek E! True Hollywood Story style, giving the ups and downs of Artoo's life, from his humble upbringings in England to his successful life as an actor. The mockumentary achieves this by using interviews by those who "know" him, such as: George Lucas, Ewan McGregor, Francis Ford Coppola, Richard Dreyfuss, Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen and more. It introduces his human "family," complete with a brother and a sister. His birth name, "Reginald Dillingham," was changed for show biz. As it is revealed, the Star Wars series wasn’t his first roles, as he had had many leading parts in plays and movies. He is shown to be quite the lady’s man, with plenty of bikini clad women riding in his Limo. He is said to have a human girlfriend who fears she might be pregnant. After a successful career in movies and theater, the shortage of new work sends him into a depression. He goes so far down the spiral, and in an attempt to prove his worthiness, he bungee jumps and is nearly killed when the cord breaks. His career then is reinvigorated when asked by George Lucas to do Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Inspiration
The idea for this mockumentary was originally proposed by Don Bies, ILM Modelmaker and lead of the R2 prodcution unit. George Lucas later gave the project his OK, as he has many times proclaimed that R2 is his favorite character, and he knew the fans could appreciate the joke.

"R2-D2: Beneath the Dome" continues in the footsteps of Return of the Ewok, a similar fun film made by the cast and crew during the filming of Return of the Jedi in 1982.

Cast

 * Bob Hesse .... Narrator (voice)
 * Kenny Baker .... R2-D2
 * Robbie Edwards .... Robbie Dillingham
 * Jennifer Weil .... Claudia Dillingham-West
 * Elizabeth Tulloch .... Bitsie Tullock
 * Dave Murphy .... Artoo's Buddy (at age 45)
 * Morgan Hamilton-Lee .... Artoo's Buddy (at age 10)
 * Bernie Hamilton-Lee .... School Principal
 * Mary Jo Hamilton-Lee .... School Teacher
 * Cecilia Hamilton-Lee .... School Kid
 * Phyllis Eblan .... School Mom
 * Brittany Eblan .... School Kid
 * Benjamin Bies .... Cute Kid
 * Anna Bies .... Emergency Room Technician
 * Kara Glieden .... Emergency Room Technician
 * Wendi Thomas .... Emergency Room Technician
 * Mark Havens .... Emergency Room Technician
 * Kathy Fischer .... Emergency Room Technician
 * Nelson Hall .... Artoo's Trainer
 * Grant Imahara .... Artoo's Technician
 * Fon Davis .... Artoo's Technician
 * Marilisa Lokna .... R2's Girl
 * Gina Rudometkin .... R2's Babe
 * Cheryl King .... R2's Chick
 * Zeynup Selcuk .... Artoo's Bungee Assistant
 * Justin Dix .... Artoo's Bungee Assistant
 * Trevor Tighe .... Artoo's Bungee Assistant
 * Barry Kite .... Scrooge
 * Brian Lockwood .... Bob Cratchit
 * Karen Kenepp .... Mrs. Cratchit
 * Alicia Peters .... Cratchit's Daughter
 * Steve Sansweet .... The Mayor
 * Lauren Vogt .... The Mayor's Wife
 * Bob Canning .... City Official
 * Les David .... City Official
 * Andrea Biklian .... Artoo Fan Club Member
 * Paula Nederman .... Artoo Fan Club Member
 * Sarah Peacock .... Artoo Fan Club Member
 * Billy Brooks .... Coffee Shop Patron
 * Steve Gawley .... Coffee Shop Patron
 * Salvatore Belleci .... Cop #1 (Starsky)
 * James Cotner .... Cop #2 (Hutch)
 * Michael Murnane .... Bad Guy (as Michael P. Murnane)
 * Ahmed Best .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Don Bies .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Ben Burtt .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Hayden Christensen .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Candy Clark .... Herself (uncredited)
 * Francis Ford Coppola .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Anthony Daniels .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Richard Dreyfuss .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Carrie Fisher .... Herself (uncredited)
 * Harrison Ford .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Nick Gillard .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Alec Guinness .... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
 * Robin Gurland .... Herself (uncredited)
 * Mark Hamill .... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
 * Samuel L. Jackson .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Christopher Lee .... Himself (uncredited)
 * George Lucas .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Rick McCallum .... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
 * Ewan McGregor .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Dennis Muren .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Natalie Portman .... Herself (uncredited)
 * Steven Spielberg .... Himself (uncredited)
 * Leeanna Walsman .... Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Original release
This mockumentary was originally made available, begininng on November 25, 2001 in the US on FOX. Internationally, it was released on the same day on starwars.com as three web featureettes as part of the lead up to the release of Episode II. It debuted first as a trailer accompanying the Thanksgiving television airing of Episode I, and then in three weekly installments on US TV and through the Internet. It is still currently available under the Episode II section on the website. A trailer was released for it on the FOX channel not long before its premier on US TV and on the site. This trailer was later put as a special feature on the Episode II DVD to in turn promote the low-profile release of the mockumentary itself on DVD.

Trivia

 * Artoo's bungee jump was performed three times at a real bungee jump attraction located at Fox Studios, Sydney, Australia. The first two times a bungee cord was used, but was not on the third try, which is the footage in the documentary. A special R2 was created for this scene, and was completely destroyed. The emergency room follow-up scene was shot seven months later at Petaluma Valley Hospital, Petaluma, California.

General Information

 * R2-D2: Beneath the Dome was released as a complete DVD, containing all three segments that were originally aired on US TV and on Starwars.com, plus the ending credits and an easter egg of photos of Artoo.
 * Region 1 Encoding
 * Release Date: December 26, 2002
 * The DVD was a low-profile, non-advertised release. It was made available exclusively at Best Buy and Musicland stores, which includes SunCoast Motion Picture Company, MediaPlay and Sam Goody outlets.

DVD Easter Eggs
On the 2002 DVD, there is a hidden bonus that is easy to access on the main menu. On the main menu that looks like a newspaper about Artoo, moving to the top selection and pressing the right button on the DVD remote will illuminate a blue shape inside Artoo’s dome. This allows the viewer access to a gallery of R2-D2 Star Wars production photos.