Two imposing Star Wars figures have made a bizarre guest appearances in the High Court at the opening of a £10m legal battle over the costumes used in the sci-fi films.
Court 52 resembled the deck of Darth Vader's imperial warship as mannequins clad in stormtrooper armour and fighter pilot costume stood at the side of the room, while more than £3,000 worth of helmets, breastplates and gauntlets were arranged before the judge.
They were key exhibits in the case involving the film's creator, George Lucas, and the British prop designer, Andrew Ainsworth, who is accused by Lucasfilm of making illegal replica outfits and selling them for hundreds of pounds.
At the opening of the trial Michael Bloch, QC, for Lucasfilm, likened the characters to "high brow mythology".
He said: "You will hear a lot about helmets and armour. There are no helmets; there is no armour. As far as we know, indeed, there are no half-human, half-cloned warriors such as stormtroopers.
"What we are dealing with are characters of the imagination. They are no more and no less part of a fantastic world than would be a Centaur or Cyclops or Methuselah. It is the stuff of fantasy which may be relevant when one considers the issue of whether they are works of sculpture or artistic craftsmanship."
Like any good blockbuster the trial has been promised a stellar cast. Mr Bloch said it would be hearing from a number of "extremely talented people" and even mentioned Popeye and Roadrunner in passing.
advertisement
Among those expected to appear to give evidence are Norman Reynolds, Brian Moore and John Mollo, who all won Oscars for their behind-the-scenes roles in the 1977 science fiction classic.
The court heard that Mr Lucas began working on the Star Wars concept in 1973-74 and by 1975 he, along with Ralph McQuarrie, his illustrator had a fairly clear vision of how the stormtroopers – Darth Vader's henchmen – should look.
It was shown paintings by McQuarrie which were used to guide set and costume makers.
Mr Bloch said Mr Ainsworth, who was recruited in 1976 as a young prop designer for the stormtrooper outfits, took his cue from these paintings.
Among them was the cantina scene in which Chewbacca and others are confronted by stormtroopers.
"By the time Ainsworth was brought in to make the stormtrooper helmet the look to be created had been worked on by a large group of people for perhaps more than a year…It was one of the key images," he said.
Mr Bloch added: "The helmet and armour are among the most iconic images in modern culture. I refer to it as a helmet face as well as a helmet because Ainsworth notes that the paintings convey an idea of something between human and non-human."
The proceedings were punctuated by humour as the barrister described the armour.
Referring to Harriet Harman's recent appearance in her Lambeth constituency wearing police body armour, he pointed to the characters at his side and said: "This suit would not hold you in good stead if you were in outer space. Indeed, it wouldn't be of any great assistance to a secretary of state in Peckham. It offers no real protection – it's suggestive."
The judge, Mr Justice Mann, who confirmed that he had watched the film, asked him if the props would remain in the room.
"They are not going to rustle their papers and they don't have telephones," replied Mr Bloch.
He also observed that "there is nothing to suggest the stormtrooper is not teetotal", and said the masks were designed to show different facial expressions, although he admitted: "I am not sure how a stormtrooper expresses anger."
Mr Ainsworth is believed to have received £30,000 for his work on Star Wars.
His dispute with Mr Lucas dates back four years when he began recreating masks and armour from original moulds at his base at Shepperton Design Studios in Twickenham, south-west London.
Mr Lucas has already won the equivalent of £10 million in damages in a US court but needs the support of the High Court to enforce the order on Mr Ainsworth as he lives in Britain.
Mr Ainsworth claims the design rights have expired and is also countersuing for a share of the £6 billion generated by Star Wars merchandising over the last 30 years. The case continues and is expected to last 10 days.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment