As audiences around the world eagerly await the December release of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Howell filmmakers are using the force, filming in Jackson and anticipating the release of their own “Star Wars” movie.
“Star Wars: Venatus” is a fan film set several years after Order 66 (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) and follows three young force users as they grapple with Imperial Jedi hunters and their past. “Star Wars: Venatus” is set seven years prior to the events depicted in “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
“What I love about our film is that the 19-year gap between ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘A New Hope’ is barely explored and barely touched,” said Howell native Stephen Doucette.
Doucette, 25, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in radio, television and film from Rowan University, Glassboro, in 2014. He is directing, producing and acting in “Star Wars: Venatus.”
“This is a total nonprofit film, everything has been self-funded. I built the props myself out of my own money, everybody is volunteering their time, crew and actors alike, nobody is being paid, we are students, so this is purely for education and love of film. We understand totally that all rights to the franchise are owned by LucasFilm and Disney,” Doucette said.
The producers are hoping to release the independent fan film on Christmas.
“We want our release to coincide with the release of ‘Last Jedi,’ which will be released 10 days earlier,” Doucette said.
Initially, the plan is to release the film via the internet on services such as YouTube and Vimeo. The “Star Wars: Venatus” crew will search for venues around Monmouth County where the film can be screened.
Doucette began writing a story treatment for “Star War: Venatus” in October 2015. His friends Joshua Harasty, James Wolff and Laura Vedder helped write the story and Doucette wrote the screenplay.
“The version we are filming now is not too far from where it started. It started as a couple of pages of a story treatment, went to about a 14-page script, at some point it became 30 pages, and I think we landed somewhere around 25 pages once everything was edited.
“I spent a good deal of time by myself making everything more concise, making it more of a tighter narrative and making those emotional points very, very impactful,” Doucette said.
All of the writers of “Star Wars: Venatus” grew up as fans of “Star Wars.” They watched episodes four, five and six (the original trilogy) on videotape and attending the prequels (episodes one, two and three) in theaters.
“I enjoy the historical allusions of the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, that I appreciate,” Doucette said.
Following in the footsteps of “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, the writers of “Star Wars: Venatus” want their film to be the first chapter in a trilogy.
“This is the first of a series of three; ‘Venatus’ focuses on the Jedi purge survivors,” Doucette said.
The screenwriter said the key to making the film has been simplifying the story. He acknowledged that a lot of the effects needed for the film are “not too hard” to do.
“You see ‘Star Wars’ and there are a lot of spaceship battles. We decided not to do any of that. We kept everything very simple, just light sabers, rudimentary force effects like maybe pulling light sabers off the ground, or force chokes, nothing that would require extensive wire work or anything like that,” Doucette said.
The film is planned to have a run time of about 40 minutes and feature several light saber duels. The crew is working on a trailer for the film and hopes to have the trailer online by Halloween.
