The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Star Wars a smash hit with audiences around the globe BUT JUST WHY WAS ADAM DRIVER IN KERRY?
STAR Wars The Last Jedi has divided fans of the blockbuster science fiction franchise but, even so, it has proved a smash hit with global audiences.
The film – much of which was filmed on Skellig Michael and at Ceann Sibéal in west Kerry – has been out for four weeks now and so far it has taken in over $1.2 billion worldwide including over $600 million in the United States and over £100 million in the UK.
As it stands the film is the 11th most successful film ever released in terms of pure income and, if it continues to perform well globally in the final weeks of its release, it could edge its way into the top ten highest grossing pictures of all time.
The caveat to that list being that it does not account for inflation and so films like ‘Gone with the Wind’ –which took in around the equivalent of $3billion in modern terms – aren’t included.
Even so The Last Jedi – which has suffered a backlash from some particularly hardcore members of Star Wars famously enthusiastic fan base – is still a remarkably successful film which has showcased Kerry’s stunning scenery to an audience of well over 10 million cinema goers across the globe.
For those who have yet to see the film and who are conscious of such things the following few paragraphs contain SPOILERS for the movie. You have been warned; proceed at your own risk.
Those who are familiar with the details of the films shoot in west Kerry in May 2016 will be aware that Adam Driver –who lays villain Kylo Ren in the film – was in Kerry while filming took place.
The actor spent several days in the Dingle area and the 33-year-old trained daily at the West Kerry Fitness gym on John Street in Dingle town.
Those who have seen the movie will know that Driver’s character doesn’t actually make an appearance on the planet Ahch-To – the island portrayed by the Skelligs and Ceann Sibéal – where new franchise hero Re, played by Daisy Ridley, tracks down Star Wars original hero Luke Skywalker.
The one incredibly brief scene where Driver and Ridley are seen together in a mock up of one of the Skellig’s famous beehive huts was actually filmed in Pinewood Studios.
So why was Driver in Dingle? Well the answer has been provided by none other the Last Jedi Director Rian Johnson.
In the film, Rey and Ren have a trans galactic psychic connection – which sees them communicate telepathically.
Rather than have Daisy Ridley acting against nothing, something original Star Wars director George Lucas was often criticised for forcing actors to do - Johnson decided asked Adam Driver to up sticks from Pinewood Studios and to come over to Kerry so his co-star would have someone to act out the scenes with.