Willow (1988)
Willow was the link movie connecting Paul, Apostle of Christ and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Linked through Joanne Whalley and Warwick Davis.
Both Joanne Whalley and Warwick Davis appeared in Willow.
About Willow
"A world where heroes come in all sizes and adventure is the greatest magic of all."
The evil Queen Bavmorda hunts the newborn princess Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring about her downfall. When the royal infant is found by Willow, a timid farmer and aspiring sorcerer, he's entrusted with delivering her from evil.
Directed by Ron Howard
Written by Bob Dolman, George Lucas
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Awards
The article states Willow received two Academy Award nominations; no wins are listed in the article.
Soundtrack
Score by James Horner
James Horner composed and conducted the score performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, drawing on influences such as Janáček, Mozart's Requiem, Bartók, Grieg and Prokofiev. "Willow's Theme" references Schumann's Symphony No. 3 and "Elora Danan's Theme" references the Bulgarian folk song "Mir Stanke Le." An expanded two-CD score was released by Intrada in June 2022.
Movie trivia
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1
George Lucas conceived the story in 1972 and originally titled it Munchkins, but delayed production until the mid-1980s because he felt visual effects technology had to advance to realise his vision.
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2
Lucas first approached Warwick Davis about playing Willow during Return of the Jedi's 1982 post-production; Davis was cast five years later as Lucas wanted a little person in a lead role as a literal 'little guy against the system.
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3
Bob Dolman wrote seven drafts of the screenplay between spring and fall 1986 during lengthy story conferences at Skywalker Ranch, with Lucas actively involved; the script was finished in late 1986.
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4
Major studios initially turned down distribution citing a weak fantasy market; MGM head Alan Ladd Jr. advanced half of the $35 million budget for theatrical and television rights, while RCA/Columbia paid $15 million for home-video rights.
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5
Principal photography ran April–October 1987 with locations at Dinorwic quarry (Wales), Elstree Studios (Hertfordshire) and sections in New Zealand; China refused a location shoot so Lucas used South China photographs for blue-screen backgrounds.
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6
Industrial Light & Magic developed a breakthrough digital morphing technique for the Fin Raziel transformation sequence using software begun by Doug Smythe in September 1987; by March 1988 Muren and David Allen achieved a result later reused on other ILM projects.
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