Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Ahsoka and Ventress
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' introduces two new important female characters to the franchise - one good, one bad. Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) is a Padawan in training with Anakin. Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) is a major baddie out for Jedi blood.
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Transcript: Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Ahsoka and Ventress
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the U.S. Premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Ashley Eckstein – The Voice of Ahsoka Tano
You don't have to worry about anyone else ever voicing this character before.
Ashley Eckstein: "No, no. It was definitely surreal to hear that they gave me the opportunity to help create this new character, so I feel so blessed to have the opportunity."
She is young and cute and energetic, so how easy is it to tap into that voice?
Ashley Eckstein: "They definitely let me bring a little bit of myself to the character so we had fun. It was definitely a collaboration between this guy here to my right, Dave Filoni, and Catherine Winder and Henry Gilroy. We all just worked together to bring Ahsoka to life."
And you were actually in the booth with the other actors doing the voices so you didn't have to do this yourself?
Ashley Eckstein: "Yes, yes. We all record together as a cast. It really helped create like the banter and the wit, just the relationships. I mean, Anakin and Ahsoka have a very brother/sister type relationship and it really helped to create that."
What do you like about her?
Ashley Eckstein: "I could go on and on. She's just so spunky and funny and confident and positive. I love how positive she is. The cup is always half full and she always wants to know, 'Well, why not? Why can't we win this battle?' And I just love that about her."
Were you a big fan of the Star Wars movies before you started?
Ashley Eckstein: "I was. I grew up and I watched them as a kid, so this is just a dream come true for me."
And your favorite character growing up?
Ashley Eckstein: "You know what? I have to say Princess Leia, of course. But I have to say my brother and I used to pretend that we were C-3PO and R2D2 so… We would walk around and I would be R2D2 and he would be C-3PO so I liked them all, really."
Nika Futterman – The Voice of Asajj Ventress
How much fun is it to voice a villain?
Nika Futterman: "It's the best. It's easy to be good. It's hard to be bad."
How did you find her voice?
Nika Futterman: "Well, it was actually pretty easy because she's sort of this sexy, sophisticated… I just thought sort of sexy and intelligent, but she's sort of got this past that comes through in her voice. I don't know. For some reason I just tapped into it. Like, boom, I knew what she was."
What does it feel like to be part of the Star Wars franchise now?
Nika Futterman: "It's amazing. I grew up watching Star Wars, you know, the first Star Wars, so it's so different. But I knew nothing… I mean, I really don't know anything about Star Wars besides watching the movies so I didn't realize it was such a huge deal."
What made you realize it was?
Nika Futterman: "Well, they were very secretive about everything about the whole project. They're like, 'There's a big world out there that wants to know what's going on.' I was like, 'Really? And I'm in on it?' Signing like a pile of papers that big, and just lots of fan letters already. People just love it."
You're getting fan letters already and it's not even out yet.
Nika Futterman: "No, it's not even out yet. Just all the hype on the internet. People just love it. It's a whole world. I'm reading things about her online that I had no idea about, because I haven't …"
Like what? What has surprised you?
Nika Futterman: "Just that she had this whole past. I sort of created a past for her in my head without knowing what her history was. And then I went online and I mean she's got a whole life. Her parents…what happened with them. I didn't know any of that. They didn't tell me any of that. She's got a lot of depth. I'm still discovering her. I mean, when they create this world, they really create the world. The characters since they were born. The planets, all of the planets, ones that people don't even know about yet. It's insane. It's totally freaky."
Is it true you guys worked on this for two years without telling anyone you're doing this?
Nika Futterman: "Yeah. I mean I know they were working on it longer than we were, than the voices were. But yeah, the last two years. We weren't allowed to say anything to anybody – even our families. It's like working for the government."
Is it a release now to actually be able to talk about what you've been working on?
Nika Futterman: "Yeah, because then you realize how excited people are about it, which is really fun. It's so much fun."
Have you filmed a lot of the TV series already? How far into that are you?
Nika Futterman: "We finished the first season already."
So you know where she's going?
Nika Futterman: "Well, no, I don't really know what's going to happen to her. I just keep saying, 'I hope she doesn't die.' She's fun. Maybe she'll get good somehow…"
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