AS DIRECTORIAL CAMEOS go, George Lucas’ long-awaited bow in a Star Wars movie is perhaps not quite up there with your average Hitchcock appearance or, indeed, his own turn in Beverly Hills Cop III as ‘Disappointed Man’. As Anakin Skywalker rushes into the space opera to hear Chancellor Palpatine pontificate about Darth Plagueis The Wise, he passes a bunch of bystanders; two of whom are Baron Notluwiski Papanoida (Lucas) and his daughter, Chi Eekway (played by Lucas’ daughter, Katie). They’re on screen for about seven seconds, and do nothing. Yet this is the beginning of a significant recurring character in the Star Wars universe. Well, maybe not that significant, but Baron Papanoida did show up (voiced by Corey Burton) in an episode of The Clone Wars. Beat that, Hitchcock.
CHRIS HEWITT