What do you get if you combine an uncanny talent with a sensational script? You get Han Solo – A Star Wars Story – A Smuggler’s Trade.
There are lots of Star Wars fan films, but there aren’t very many this good. The arduously long title aside, this short film is breathtaking. The actor playing the title role is Jamie Costa, a voice over artist who made waves last year with his impression of Robin Williams, and who also happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to a youthful Harrison Ford. A successful IndieGoGo campaign raised about $21 thousand last April, and they banged the film in a bit under nine months.
Another feather in the cap of the filmmakers is that famed actor Doug Jones, now cast as a regular in the new Star Trek Discovery television series, appears as the film’s antagonist (yes, Jones plays yet another alien).
The danger that all fan films must deal with is clothing their actors in enough of the trappings of the original source material that they’re accepted as the characters they’re trying to portray. With a film based on a character like Han Solo, though, it all hinges on that one actor’s performance. There just aren’t that many actors out there, in the fan production circuit or the professional one, that could even attempt to pull this off. I think Jamie Costa is the one guy they could have found to do this. When I first saw Costa on screen it was one of those “oh my god” moments as he brought Han Solo to life for me, much like that sharp intake of breath I experienced when Grand Moff Tarkin had his surprise reveal in Rogue One.
Every tiny piece of it is pitch perfect, the attention to detail is stunning. So much of it works at this level, in fact, that it reaches that magical tipping point that all fan films try to reach. When you’re watching it, any doubt that you’re watching something authentically Star Wars is swept away in seconds. Costa carries scene after scene, and we are transported, transfixed, and everything else good storytelling should do.
Hollywood tends to make casting decisions based on previous market draw rather than specific suitability for a specific role. Disney, if you’re listening, have a look at Jamie Costa as Han Solo in this remarkable film. I’m sure the makeup department could do something about adding that little signature scar on Han Solo’s chin. Work with him, and take our breath away.
Directed by
Keith Allen – youtube.com/user/KFaceTV
Executive Producers & Produced by
Jadon Gauthier – instagram.com/jadononthego
Jamie Costa – www.jamie-costa.com
Starring
Jamie Costa – www.jamie-costa.com
Doug Jones – www.facebook.com/actordougjones2
Kristine Gerolaga – www.facebook.com/kristine.a.gerolaga
Cory Daniel – www.facebook.com/CoryVader501st
Story by
Nathaniel Nauert
Screenplay by
Nathaniel Nauert
Jared Bell & Kieth Allen
Produced by
David Oakes – instagram.com/droakes
Keith Allen
Director of Photography
Kristopher S. Kimlin – kriskimlindp.com
Production Designer
Addi Esson – www.imdb.com/name/nm5517452
Original Music by
Andrew Gerlicher – andrewgerlicher.com
Lead Character Costumes by
Mercedes Roberts
Makeup Artist
Jessica Vergon – instagram.com/jessicavergon
Edited by
Keith Allen
Jadon Gauthier
Sound Design & Mixing by
Michael Winters
Stunt Coordinator
Matt Mullins – www.istunt.com/matt-mullins
VFX Supervisors
Aaron Sorenson – vimeo.com/aaronsbot
Brandon Johnson – vimeo.com/brandonrjohnson
VFX Artists
Wesley Campbell – Compositor
Ryan Printz – Hologram UI
KiJeon Nam – Compositor
Lukas Rooney – 3D Artist
Alexa Mini Camera Provided by
Redefine Rentals – redefinerentals.com
Associate Producers:
Kristopher Caetta
Megan Wren
John Hepner
Ken and Sue Allen
Collaborators
Redefine Rentals
BrainBox Cameras
Director
KFaceTV
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