Hi Tom, this is a great interview. I enjoyed it extremely and it just so happens that I am the one who introduced Chris and Bob together to go to this trip to Japan in 1985. It was quite a trip and Kathy and Bob were so wonderful and gracious. That is the trip where Chris and Bob really bonded as he said. That his how Bob ended up with so many cool items gifted to him from Chris such as Gremlins, Enemy Mine, etc. There are some great stories about this trip and you may have heard some of them from Bob. Such as when we were all eating dinner, and they had a giant wok on the table in front of us, and we were all taking from the wok with our chopsticks, and Bob, toward the end when there was almost nothing left, thought that this big piece of bacon fat that was in the wok to keep everything from sticking, he grabbed it with his chopsticks and popped in his mouth and everyone was like noooo Bob that was fat! lol, ;) We all had a good laugh after that one. I really loved that trip, Kathy was wonderful, God rest her soul.
This is so inspirational!! Chris Walas has been inspiring me with his artwork for such a long time, and hearing him in this video, especially regarding the alien and creature designs from RETURN OF THE JEDI, makes all kinds of fireworks go off inside my brain. Also reminds me that sometimes when you are at your busiest and dont have time to overthink things, you might spit out some of your best & purest works. Mr. Walas here is a great example of human generosity in sharing these stories so openly, and his humor and wisdom from these experiences and memories are being preserved and passed forward. I’m very grateful to both Mr. Walas and to Tom Spina for producing this wonderful document of a video. THANK YOU!!
Jamie, thank YOU so much for that kind note. It was an absolute joy chatting with Chris and hearing how he's still staying creative and exercising that passion... and of course getting the inspiration and backstory on all the ROTJ concepts which we love so much!
Fascinating to understand just how many were made compared to used, I must say I preferred his original Ewok design more than the final teddy bear look.
What an interesting interview! What a great time for you to have gotten into that era when you did Chris! Sounds like you just made one right move after the other, bigger and better. Have loved seeing your art throughout the years, you certainly have the talent! Enjoy your retirement to do many more of your own creations!
Thank you for this interview, Chris is an absolute legend!
He is! We were lucky to chat with him :)
Wonderful interview! Thank you!
thanks!
Such iconic work!
Chris is a legend!
Hi Tom, this is a great interview. I enjoyed it extremely and it just so happens that I am the one who introduced Chris and Bob together to go to this trip to Japan in 1985. It was quite a trip and Kathy and Bob were so wonderful and gracious. That is the trip where Chris and Bob really bonded as he said. That his how Bob ended up with so many cool items gifted to him from Chris such as Gremlins, Enemy Mine, etc. There are some great stories about this trip and you may have heard some of them from Bob. Such as when we were all eating dinner, and they had a giant wok on the table in front of us, and we were all taking from the wok with our chopsticks, and Bob, toward the end when there was almost nothing left, thought that this big piece of bacon fat that was in the wok to keep everything from sticking, he grabbed it with his chopsticks and popped in his mouth and everyone was like noooo Bob that was fat! lol, ;) We all had a good laugh after that one. I really loved that trip, Kathy was wonderful, God rest her soul.
That definitely sounds like Bob! Wonderful stories there and thanks for sharing! Kathy was one of the greatest indeed...
Oh and thanks for the kind words about the interview!
This is so inspirational!! Chris Walas has been inspiring me with his artwork for such a long time, and hearing him in this video, especially regarding the alien and creature designs from RETURN OF THE JEDI, makes all kinds of fireworks go off inside my brain. Also reminds me that sometimes when you are at your busiest and dont have time to overthink things, you might spit out some of your best & purest works. Mr. Walas here is a great example of human generosity in sharing these stories so openly, and his humor and wisdom from these experiences and memories are being preserved and passed forward. I’m very grateful to both Mr. Walas and to Tom Spina for producing this wonderful document of a video. THANK YOU!!
Jamie, thank YOU so much for that kind note. It was an absolute joy chatting with Chris and hearing how he's still staying creative and exercising that passion... and of course getting the inspiration and backstory on all the ROTJ concepts which we love so much!
Fascinating to understand just how many were made compared to used, I must say I preferred his original Ewok design more than the final teddy bear look.
Thanks! We love exploring "what could've been"
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to make this happen, Tom. Chris still remains one of my biggest inspirations♥
It's an honor to chat with all of these legends. They inspire us every day!
What an interesting interview! What a great time for you to have gotten into that era when you did Chris! Sounds like you just made one right move after the other, bigger and better. Have loved seeing your art throughout the years, you certainly have the talent! Enjoy your retirement to do many more of your own creations!
Wonderful sentiments... We agree!
Fantastic interview, thanks Tom!
thank you, Anders!
This is great! I didn't realize how many of those designs were his.
quite a few iconic ones in there!
Nice interview, very informative.
We really appreciate how in-depth Chris went with his answers! He's amazing.
Brilliant.