John Knoll's Cameo

John Knoll, the special effects lead on The Phantom Menace, also doubles as a pilot that gets killed with goatee in TPM final space battle. This screenshot actually appeared on the Official Site as one of their snapshots of the day. Sure wish I (Josh) could stick myself into the movie somewhere. Too cool.

Little Droids

Tom remembers the second time he saw TPM he noticed these little droids walking in the Federation battleship. I also saw them at the end of the movie right before the Battledroids surround Jar-Jar and Captain Tarpals They are seen picking up the old destroyed droids. Can't remember their name right off hand, but a cool and quick cameo some might miss.

More writings on Battledroids

A lot of battledroids have something written on their backpacks. Right before Jar Jar surrenders, there's one that's clearly visible. It says KILLER. It's also been reported that in the scene where Qui-Gon confronts the battledroids guarding the Queen's ship, one says KIDDO, but it's a little fuzzy so it could be something else.

There are a couple other battledroid backpacks with writing you can almost make out but not quite either due to lack of focus or because they are shown too quickly to be read. Of course, that's where to TPM video will come in handy.

Watch Your Step

In the sequence when the Queen fakes out the Neimoudians with her decoy, one of the battle droids gets shot, then in a hurry as the other pursue, one trips over the fallen comrade. Check out the screenshot, on the right hand side of the screen! Cool - and thanks to Mike for the alert!

Queen Amidala is slipping

Many fans have reported this "blooper" in TPM: It takes place in the Throne Room right when Panaka says, "Jam the doors!" Well, Amidala comes around the table and slips! A wet floor or bad boots?

1138 on the back of the droid

Several readers have asked us about the significance of 1138 in TPM. (You likely know that THX-1138 was the title of Lucas' first feature he directed.) Here's a picture of the movie showing the battledroid and 1138, and a simple explanation of the cameo: Lucas has added the number 1138 into the movies he has directed. It was on a license plate in American Grafitti, and was a cell block in the original Star Wars. After viewing the movie for a third time, I realized the number "1138" in The Phantom Menace, too. Check out the backpack of that Battledroid! There it is!

Identical Gungan Movements

In the shot above, you'll notice two Gungans near the middle of the screen with their hands above their heads. So what's the big deal? They are both doing the exact same movements!! Just delayed slightly so most people won't notice, these two Gungans not only look identical, but also move exactly the same way! Go check out the re-release next week or when you get this on video - it's true!

That's not Samuel L. Jackson or Oliver Ford Davies!

At the end of the film, when Palpatine is congratulating Obi-Wan and Anakin, the Jedi Council can be seen in the background exiting the shuttle. You'll notice that Mace Windu is not being played by Sam Jackson, but by a stand-in. The funny thing is, there's a guy who's obviously supposed to be Mace Windu, tall, bald black man with Jedi robes, but there's one problem. He's not Samuel L. Jackson! I'd assume that Jackson wasn't available at the time this scene was shot, so they just used this guy in the background. Also, many readers have pointed out that Oliver Ford Davies, the character who played Sio Bibble must have also been busy, as he seems to be replaced as well.

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