I TALKED TO R2-D2 TODAY:

I TALKED TO R2-D2 TODAY: Yes, just another day in the Galactic Empire, talking to everyone’s favorite astromech droid.

Err, actually, I talked over the phone with Don Bies, who is Lucasfilm’s chief droid wrangler, and the man who operates R2-D2’s radio controls, when actor Kenny Baker isn’t actually inside R2. (Basically, whenever R2 rolls, he’s radio controlled by Bies. When he walks, it’s more likely to be either be Baker, or increasingly, digital animation.)

The interview is for the debut issue of Servo, a magazine devoted to robotics. The article will be about robots in the movies, and I wanted to find out the details behind what makes Artoo tick. Incidentally, Bies mentioned that there is an R2 builders’ club on the ‘Net, if you need someone to co-pilot your X-Wing.

(Why yes, it was hard keeping my inner Star Wars geek under wraps. But fortunately, Bies says he’s used to that when he does interviews.)

Here’s the Servo Website; I’ll let you know when the issue actually debuts in your local galaxy.