A Word from Christopher Pico
Director of "STAR WARS: PATHWAYS"

I've always been fascinated by movies. One of my first memories is of seeing the original Star Wars back in 1977, and ever since then I've been hooked. I actually caught the filmmaking bug back in Junior High, when I received a Fisher Price PXL-2000 for Christmas (one of those small black and white video cameras that recorded on high bias audio tapes). I had so much fun making little fan films with my friends that the day the camera stopped working was quite upsetting for me, regardless of how terrible the movies we made were. A VHS camcorder purchased for my father for Christmas was my next new toy, but we were only able to make one film with it. Time and money for such hobbies was hard to come across after that. A DV camera and a souped-up computer was all it took to bring back the bug.

After seeing a few of the more popular Star Wars fan films online (namely Broken Allegiance and KnightQuest) I decided to make a fan film of my own - Path of Betrayal was the end result. While it was originally supposed to be a standalone fan film, I was convinced by friends to expand the script into a trilogy in order to fully develop the characters and overall plot. I've always enjoyed stories with a dark twist, and that spilled over into the script (and the scripts for the other two films in the trilogy). I think that's what attracted all the talented people that have spent countless hours taking part in the films, both behind and in front of the camera.

Just a few interesting facts... I tried to stay away from CGI and special FX since I wasn't sure if I could get someone to provide us with what we'd need. I only wrote in what was necessary to tell the story and nothing more. Also, you'll probably notice that there's no John Williams music in the film. Don't get the wrong idea... I love the Star Wars film scores, but since the story was going to be dark and moody, I needed music that would reflect that. I made the decision to use nothing but industrial metal as the score. Now don't get all freaked out... all the tracks I selected are instrumental (except the song played over the end credits) and actually work quite well in the film. I wanted these fan films to stand out, and you'll find that I've made subtle changes to what you'd expect from a Star Wars film. I like to think it makes it just that much more interesting. It's different from the real Star Wars films, as well as other fan films, and yet it seems to fit right into the established mythos.

I found that using the universe George Lucas created to be a fun place to set the story and gave me some great ways to develop the characters. It's also helped me stretch my creativity to a place I never knew existed, from the writing to the prop making. I've had some of the best times of my life making these films, and I hope that I continue making movies long after the Pathways trilogy is finally complete. Myself, and the rest of the cast and crew, hope that you will enjoy Path of Betrayal, as well as the rest of the trilogy.

Thank you!

Christopher Pico

Director, Star Wars: Pathways