XPost: alt.fan.starwars

From ComingSoon.net ...

All About Porgs: The New Star Wars Obsession
--------------------------------------------
The obsession with Star Wars' new fluffy characters, porgs,
exploded after one of the black-eyed "seabirds" was revealed
flapping its wings and crying out beside Chewbacca in the
Millennium Falcon in the official trailer. Before even
hitting the big screen, porgs have already been immortalized
in memes, tweets, fan art, and more.

Porgs are from planet Ahch-To, which happens to be where the
first Jedi temple is located. According to Entertainment
Weekly, Rian Johnson, writer and director of Star Wars: The
Last Jedi, says that the porgs were inspired by puffins that
he saw while visiting the Irish island of Skellig Michael,
which lies west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry,
Ireland.

The island is the setting for the final scenes between Luke
Skywalker and Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Johnson
saw how the native puffins were "part of the island" as he
was scouting, and he wanted the porgs to be a part of "that
realm." Having the creatures there also prevented Skywalker
from being isolated on the island. Who wouldn't want a murder
of porgs as your only companions?

A "murder" is what a group of porgs is being referred to,
with their babies known as porglets, according to Wired.
Johnson also revealed through his twitter that porgs have
varying colors, and that "males are slightly larger than
females." The inquisitive creatures are capable of flying
"short distances" as well. According to Vogue, the porgs also
nest.

Neal Scanlan, the Oscar-winning special effects artist that
assisted in creating the porgs and who also runs the Star Wars
Creature Workshop, provides further details on Chewbacca's new
pal. Speaking with Empire, Scanlan revealed that the porg
audiences saw crying out in the cockpit of the Millennium
Falcon in the trailer is "befriended by Chewie," and even has
coloring and patterning on his fur that is similar to the
Wookiee's.

Pablo Hidalgo offers a look behind the scenes, saying: "The
porgs are realized through a variety of effects, depending on
what's needed. Sometimes they're puppets, with the puppeteers
digitally removed from the shot. Other times, they're entirely
CGI." The creative executive of Lucasfilm Story Group goes on
to discuss the draw of the new characters, saying that with the
porgs being so cute, you "fall into those deep, soulful eyes."
Hidalgo predicts that fans are going to want to have a porg as
a pet, and from the strong reactions online, the man is
certainly onto something.

Besides being adorable, it will be interesting to find out if
a porg's only purpose is keeping Luke company on the island,
providing comic relief, or becoming best buds with our
favorite Wookiee. No matter what the future holds for the
fluffy lifeforms, fans will certainly enjoy every time they
pop-up onscreen.

<http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/903229-all-about-porgs-the-new-star-wars-obsession>

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