The Mercury News interviewed Terence Stamp, and he talked about his role in Star Wars:

""When they told me I would be playing the President of the Universe, that sort of caught my attention,'' he says, laughing. He also looked forward to acting opposite Natalie Portman, a young actress he had come to admire.

""But when I walked onto the set, no Natalie. "We've given Natalie the day off,' they said. "That bit of paper on the post? That's Natalie. Deliver your lines to the paper.' ''

After exhaling a few choice epithets, Stamp asked Lucas to explain his president -- what's he like?

""Lucas seemed rather astounded to be asked that. He paused, thought about it, then said, "He's a good man . . . but beleaguered . . . a bit like Clinton.' That was it! No more direction. And no contact with actors.''

This impersonal approach to filmmaking -- plus all the digital effects -- took their toll, in Stamp's opinion. ""The movie was a bit disappointing. But then it's not possible to feel empathy when you're watching something done digitally: You're not responding to a human. You can't put yourself up there, the way you could when you saw a Gary Cooper or a James Dean or a Brando. It's like the difference between an electric fire and a log fire. You can never get the same sensation.''

Sounds like he had a lot of fun, eh! Visit the link above for more of the interview. Thanks to Dennis from www.southbaystarwars.com for the alert!