R2-D2: Beneath the Dome

R2-D2: Beneath the Dome is a 20-minute mockumentary telling the never before told life story of the astromech droid R2-D2. The film 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.

Synopsis


The film 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, Steven Spielberg 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 he forgets to use the cord. His career then is reinvigorated when asked by George Lucas to do Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Memorable quotes
"George said 'What are you doing to Artoo?' I said 'Well, I'm trying to throw my styrofoam cup away in this trash can.' He said 'That's not a trash can! That's R2-D2!'"

- Steven Spielberg

Cast

 * Bob Hesse .... Narrator (voice)
 * Kenny Baker .... R2-D2
 * Robbie Edwards .... Robbie Dillingham
 * Jennifer Weil .... Claudia Dillingham-West
 * Bitsie 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)

Inspiration
The idea for this mockumentary was originally proposed by Don Bies, ILM Modelmaker and lead of the R2 production 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.

Production
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. Coincidentally, the footage was mistaken in early Episode II spy reports to be that of a stunt Artoo would perform in that movie.

Television
This mockumentary was originally made available, beginning on November 25, 2001 in the US on FOX. Internationally, it was released on the same day on starwars.com as three web featurettes 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.

DVD
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome was released on DVD in Region 1 on December 26, 2002. It contained all three segments that were originally aired on US TV and released on StarWars.com, plus the ending credits and an easter egg of photos of R2-D2 on the sets of the Star Wars films. 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.

To access the easter egg, navigate to the main menu, move to the top selection, and press the right button on the DVD remote. This will illuminate a blue shape inside R2-D2's dome. Clicking on this allows the viewer access to a gallery of R2-D2 Star Wars production photos.