Scott's Rating:   4 out of 4

Mythmaking follows the creation of Attack of the Clones from the beginning of the script to the final theatrical release. It contains in-depth looks at the design process, construction of the sets, CGI animation, and more. The origins of Jango Fett, the Kaminoans, Count Dooku, and others are described. Jody Duncan follows the production from California to Australia to Italy, Spain, and the UK. Along the way we are treated to stories on the set, musings by Lucas and McCallum, interviews with the cast, and more. The book is jam packed with movie photos, concept art, and behind the scenes shots. Mythmaking is presented in the chronological order of the movie itself, not necessarily the timeline of the filming. It is also offered in both paperback and hardback formats.

Scott:

    I wondered why Mythmaking was not released along with the blitz of other Star Wars books during the opening of Attack of the Clones. Now I know why. By waiting until after the theatrical release, this book ends up having an advantage over other Star Wars books. It has significantly more stills from the movie itself and many more shots of the final CG elements. The previous books couldn't use them because they weren't completed yet. Duncan is also freed up to talk about the enormous fan reaction to Yoda as well as the differences between the ending in the digital version and the regular film version. She gets into some detail about how Anakin's hand was mechanical in the digital version and she talks about how it will be in the DVD release. The fact that it is so thorough makes it one of the better behind-the-scenes books.

I particularly enjoyed the stories from the set. For example, Duncan relates Anthony Daniels' first day back in the C-3PO costume and George Lucas' reaction to seeing him. Another story talks about how Ewan McGregor gave Daniel Logan tips on how to react distastefully to the Jedi upon meeting him in a scene. (Pretend the Jedi farted.) Another story relates how a Star Wars fan stopped to help the production crew transport equipment when their truck broke down in Spain. Duncan also talks in detail about the first day of production and the final day of production and what scenes were being filmed. Lucas' repeated trips to the UK for pick-up shots are also discussed.

Other items of interest to fans will be discussions of scenes cut from the film, ways scenes changed over filming, and plot changes during pick-up shots. Lucas also talks about ideas he had and discarded such as a female Sith, different Yoda fighting techniques, and more. You get a good understanding of why he did what he did (even if you don't agree with it).

Overall this book is well worth picking up and will be a great addition to the collections of Star Wars fans.

Scott:

    I personally would have liked more stories from the set. I found them to be most interesting, but they weren't the main focus of the book. Fans may also prefer to pick up the paperback version of this book. Mythmaking is good, but I'm not sure it's worth the $40 price tag for the hardcover.

Scott:

    Nothing to add.