International Talk Like Jar Jar Binks Day

Yesterday at Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019, Ahmed Best was interviewed on stage at the Star Wars Show Live, hosted by Andi Gutierrez and Anthony Carboni. It's a great interview and Ahmed, as always, comes off as a wonderful individual.

They discuss this being Ahmed's first Star Wars Celebration, the changing perception of Jar Jar, the collaborative process of bringing Jar Jar to life, working with George Lucas, working with Frank Oz on Ahmed's One Man Show, and how motion capture has changed in the last 20 years. There's even a reference to the Darth Jar Jar theory. No mention of International Talk Like Jar Jar Binks Day sadly, but maybe someday.

You can check out the full interview here:

Some quotes from the interview:

On Star Wars Celebration:

"Everyone is so wonderful, and it's just great to be in this room. The energy is palpable and exciting, and so very positive."

On the perception of Jar Jar:

"You know, George, years ago, told me that this is how it was going to be, you know and he said, he was like 'The kids that grow up with Jar Jar, they're not even gonna think about all the critism that happened back then', and you know it was very prescient the way he said it because that's what's happening now. There's an existence of Jar Jar that is very different. You know everyone who was a child at the time was... had so much endearment for Jar Jar and they just grew up with that, and they kind of looked at their parents like 'What are you talking about?'"

When asked about one takeway he'd like people to have about the Jar Jar character:

"The thing about Jar Jar that I think really resonates with me, and really was how I played the character was the fact that regardless of everything that he's been through, regardless of who he's with, where he is, or decisions that he's made, he'll never let you down, and as you watch the movies, and each scene that Jar Jar is in, Jar Jar is just making everyone know and everyone believe, that regardless of what you say to him, what you do with him, he will always be there for you and he'll never let you down."