Insider Ahmed Best Interview Posted By Joshua on June 6, 2002
Starwars.com has reprinted a Star Wars Insider interview with Ahmed Best from several issues ago. Here's the final two paragraphs about Episode II:
For Best, Episode II was easier to make than The Phantom Menace, as Episode I served as a trial run, a learning exercise for everyone involved. At the time preparations for Episode I began, much of the technology used to bring Jar Jar and other special effects to the screen had not been perfected, much less invented, so everything was a bit hectic and frenzied. This time around, Best tells Insider, filming was a lot more comfortable. Rob Coleman and John Knoll (Industrial Light and Magic's Animation Director and Visual Affects Supervisor, respectively), made the process almost routine and much more relaxed. Best felt that the technical processes being more streamlined, and being able to build upon his prior knowledge of the character's background, made his job as an actor in Episode II that much easier.
However, one thing that hasn't changed much for Best is the purely physical aspect of playing Jar Jar. A typical day on the set for Best begins bright and early, at 6:30 a.m., with a few hours to get into costume, and then four or more set-ups (scenes to be staged and shot). The physical demands of playing Jar Jar in a hot and constricting costume were the same as his first experience, with one notable exception--the shoes. While filming Episode I, Best wore large, cumbersome prosthetic feet to accommodate the animators who would later add the computer generated Jar Jar to the scene. This time around, thanks to technological advances, Best was able to wear more accommodating shoes. In Episode II, Best reports, Jar Jar wears Air Jordans, even if the audience will never actually see them.