Star Wars

[LotB]

I just completed reading the recently released "Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader." This book was well-written; to the point where I've forgiven the author for his not-as-good work in "Labyrinth of Evil." Quite a few questions are answered within, even some of those that we've discussed in this very thread. I highly recommend all of you Star Wars fans go pick this up. There are plans to release more books filling in the gaps between Episodes III & IV, the next to be released at the end of January, and I'll be looking forward to reading them.

[The Duke]

Thanks for the tip, LOTB... I just picked up "Dark Lord", and plan on starting in on it soon.

[muthagoose]

To "The Duke"...



Love -

Muthagoose

[The Duke]

hahahahahahahahahaha

[stallion]

Earl's probably the only person other than George Lucas who knows when "Hug Your Rancor Day" and "Feed Your Saarlac Day" are.

[The Duke]

What about Jerking with Jabba day? Or Love a lesbian with Lando day starring Billy Dee Williams?

[stallion]

All you need is some lesbian action and some Colt 45 for a party with Billy Dee!

[muthagoose]

'Star Wars' Uncle Phil Brown Dies at 89


LOS ANGELES - Phil Brown, who played Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen in the 1977 hit film "Star Wars," has died.

Brown died of pneumonia Thursday at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, said his wife, Ginny. He was 89.

Though Brown worked in stage and film for more than 30 years, many remember him best for his brief role as the loving uncle who tries to give Skywalker a normal childhood and keep him from knowing he has Jedi roots. Uncle Owen and his wife Beru meet an early end at the hands of imperial storm troopers.

It was "a very small part by comparison to the roles I had previously played. To be quite frank, I never gave it a thought again," Brown told the Baltimore Sun.

Brown got the part through unusual circumstances.

He moved his family to London in the 1950s after being blacklisted during the communist scare in the United States. A longtime progressive, Brown always denied being a Communist.

In London, he found work on stage and in such films as "Tropic of Cancer" (1970) and "Twilight's Last Gleaming" (1977).

In the mid-1970s, George Lucas was filming interior scenes for "Star Wars" at a London sound stage and needed an actor with a strong American accent.

Brown got the role, then spent a month or so in Tunisia filming a handful of scenes.

He returned to California in the early 1990s, quickly discovering that the role had made him a celebrity. He became a popular figure at science fiction conventions.

The son of a doctor, Brown was born in Cambridge, Mass. and graduated from Stanford University.

He was accepted in the Group Theatre in New York in 1938, and first job on Broadway was as a dancer in the play "Everywhere I Roam."

The Group Theatre folded in 1941, and Brown moved to Los Angeles looking for work in the movies.

Along with other former Group Theatre members, he formed the Actor's Laboratory, which produced critically acclaimed works in Hollywood.

He directed plays by Arthur Miller, Nikolai Gogol and Arthur Laurent. In 1948, he moved to London and played opposite Helen Hayes in Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie."

Returning to Hollywood in 1949, Brown found work as a director. Two years later finished his first feature film, "The Harlem Globetrotters," starring Dorothy Dandridge and members of the famous basketball team.

But that promising start ended with the "Red Scare" and the government focus on some members of the Actor's Lab. Brown and his wife left for London and stayed for 40 years.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years; a son, Kevin, of Hawaii; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

[muthagoose]

Die-hard Star Wars fans soon can see the original theatrical versions of the first three Star Wars films on DVD.

Even though George Lucas adamantly declared 2004's digitally restored Star Wars Trilogy DVDs the definitive versions of his movies, fans have held out hope for DVDs of the originals.

Their wishes will be granted Sept. 12 when Fox releases new two-disc DVDs ($30 each) of Star Wars (since retitled as Episode IV: A New Hope), The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi that include the films as they first appeared in theaters, along with the new, restored versions (now available in the four-disc $70 Star Wars Trilogy).

The individual DVDs will be taken off the market on Dec. 31, a strategy that Disney uses on many of its classic releases.

Lucas re-released his original three Star Wars films in theaters in 1997 with inserted scenes and improved special effects. Those "special editions" were further enhanced for the four-disc DVD set. With the original versions coming to DVD, here's what you'll see again:

* In Star Wars, Han Solo shoots a bounty hunter named Greedo. Lucas changed the scene later so it seemed that Greedo draws first, and changed it again for the DVD so that they appear to shoot simultaneously.

* In Empire Strikes Back, the ice creature that captures Luke Skywalker gets less screen time.

* In Jedi, Sebastian Shaw returns as Anakin in the movie's final scene. Lucas substituted Hayden Christiansen, who plays Anakin in the more recent films, for the 2004 DVD.

Back in 2004, Lucas told the New York Post, "The special edition is the one I wanted out there."

This new set of DVDs does not constitute "George changing his mind," says Lucasfilm's Jim Ward. "What we've always said is George viewed the revised versions of the films as the definitive versions."

Fan attachment to the originals is strong. The movies topped entertainment website IGN.com's recent chart of Top 25 Most Wanted DVDs.

"People want the option of having the movies that they remember and people are opposed to George Lucas' revisionist tendencies," says the site's Chris Carle.

The original films' video quality will not match up to that of the restored versions. "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006," Ward says.

[The Duke]

Can't wait to buy those!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CaticusRex]

GOD DAMN RIGHT THE EWOK SONG SHALL RETURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MASON]

YES SIR!!!!!!

I still have a VHS copy WITH the EWOK SONG!

[muthagoose]

Some new life for an old favorite thread...

Lucas readies 'Clone Wars' for TV

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The wars aren't over for "Star Wars" creator George Lucas.

Lucas said Wednesday he's making an animated TV series of "Clone Wars" that could air next year, although he hasn't sold the show to a network yet.

The series is set during the time when the Republic is fighting a civil war against separatists led by Count Dooku.

The mythic period hasn't been dealt with too much in the popular "Star Wars" movies, so "it's a fun place to go," Lucas said.

"It basically has all the main characters" such as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lucas said, but the stars who played them in the movies won't voice them for the TV show.

"There's nobody famous," Lucas told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The show is planned as a continuation of the Emmy-winning "Clone Wars" that aired in 25 episodes on the Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005. That series used limited animation. The new version will use 3-D computer graphics.

It's one of many projects being pursued by Lucas, including a fourth "Indiana Jones" movie.

"We're working on it. We haven't agreed on a script yet," Lucas said.

[The Duke]

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Duke]

It would be perfect if Billy Dee Williams was voicing a character.

[muthagoose]

The 'Star Wars' Stamps Ready To Take Over Your Mail

The 30th "Star Wars" anniversary will be celebrated with a set of iconic stamps featuring the well-known characters of the "Star Wars" movies, including Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and R2-D2.

The US Postal Service unveiled 15 new first-class stamps featuring the whole gang from Chewbacca to Darth Vader, which were previewed at the Graumans Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

"'Star Wars' is just an American icon," said Rodger Matcham, a "Star Wars" fan and co-owner of UC Comics in Palm Desert, "I think it's awesome."

Designed and painted by Drew Struzan, the same artist who created the "Star Wars" posters for all six movies, the stamps will go on sale on May 25 at a "Star Wars" fan convention in Los Angeles, after a contest to choose the most popular of the stamps.

"Star Wars" geeks, philatelists and other stamp enthusiasts can vote at www.uspsjedimaster.com for their favorite design.

"Everyone recognizes Darth Vader whereever you go in the world,” Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, was quoted by ITV as saying.

"Because Star Wars has such a strong following, it's amazing to see how many secondary characters are known as well. It speaks to people on lots of different levels and I think that's one of the strengths of the Star Wars series," he added.

David Failor of the US Postal Service is certain that the "Star Wars" characters are enough to ensure the stamps will be a hit.

"These stamps are really going to capture the imagination of the American people," he said.

"The whole Star Wars saga is iconic. To be able to capture their image on the postal stamps is a big deal. A lot of attention is being paid to it," he added.

"We're hoping that it really grabs a lot of attention. There are certainly a lot of 'Star Wars' fans out there," Failor said.

Another spokesman for the US Postal Service, Mike Canone, said that "Over the last eight or nine years, you have seen an increase in the use of pop culture images on stamps instead of the usual Ivy League, centennial-type stamps."

"Stamp collectors are mostly in their 50s and 60s, and young people aren't growing up doing it anymore," he added.

In addition to the stamps, it was announced earlier this month that about 400 million mailboxes around the country were designed to look like R2-D2. Fans have already posted snapshots of themselves with the funny-looking mailboxes on starwars.com website.

The Postal Service also plans to sell "Star Wars"-themed Express Mail envelopes, available May 6. They feature Darth Vader, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi as played by Ewan MacGregor.

[muthagoose]

The ultra productive people at the USPS have rolled out a new Star Wars themed look on their site...

www.usps.com/

Enjoy

[The Duke]

That is pretty cool. I can only hope that there are some Billy Dee Williams stamps out there.

[muthagoose]

Dark Lord of the Sky: Darth Vader Balloon

When the Belgian 501st Legion FanWars Garrison first suggested that one of its members, Benoît Lambert, create a Death Star-shaped PVC helium balloon, he was not only thrilled but already envisioning a chance to show off his artistic talents as well as his love for Star Wars--and his skills as a hot-air balloonist.

Ironically, Lambert had already been thinking of building a Darth Vader hot air balloon when FanWars leader Nicolas Lelong (TK-2054) first brought up the idea. "For me, it was more of a joke and a fantasy, but Nicolas took it seriously and found the idea wonderful," Lambert says. "He made contact with Lucasfilm in order to try to get their agreement."

Lucasfilm gave its approval for Lambert to have the balloon built with his own funds, using one of the most recognizable characters in cinema, as long as the balloon was not used for commercial pursuits. "We contacted Cameron -- the world's largest manufacturer of hot air balloons -- and a Darth Vader helmet replica was sent to their engineers to help them recreate every detail," Lambert recalls. "A vector file representing the Vader helmet in 3-D was also sent to the engineers. Once the first draft was in our hands, several shape and color modifications were discussed and made in order to be sure that the balloon would look as much as possible like the real Darth Vader helmet. Colors were chosen to optimize 3-D effects once the balloon is in flight. For aesthetic reasons, grey shades around the face are slightly different from the official shape."

"Once the last visual draft accepted by our team and by LFL, the manufacturing could begin," Lambert continues. "Eight weeks were necessary to give birth to the balloon. To keep this project secret at Lucasfilm's request, the English manufacturer called it 'Head One.' This name allowed us to keep the project secret until the balloon's first public appearance, and was also used for the official Belgian registration."

The balloon measures 26 meters (86 feet) high with the basket included, 21 meters (69 feet) wide and with a depth of 24 meters (78 feet). The estimated hot air volume 3.000 m³ (106,000 cubic feet) and estimated weight 320 kilos (705 lbs). The balloon can carry two passengers and a pilot. If the planets align, the Darth Vader balloon will be a major presence at an upcoming fan convention.

[muthagoose]

Lucas, Hamill reunite for 'Star Wars' spoof

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- George Lucas and Mark Hamill will reunite for "Robot Chicken: Star Wars," a 30-minute stop-motion animation special for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network's late-night programming block.

The special spoofs key scenes and favorite characters from the "Star Wars" universe. It was done in collaboration with Lucas' production company Lucasfilm. Lucas, the creator of the "Star Wars" franchise, will voice a cartoon version of himself, and Hamill will resurrect Luke Skywalker.

The special, set to premiere at 10 p.m. on June 17, comes from "Robot Chicken" creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. Green directed.

The voice cast also includes Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Robert Smigel, Malcolm McDowell, Hulk Hogan, James Van Der Beek, Donald Faison, Abraham Benrubi, Breckin Meyer and Joey Fatone.

The special stems from three "Star Wars" skits on "Robot Chicken," including the popular "Emperor's Phone Call," featuring Darth Vader calling Emperor Palpatine to tell him that the Death Star has been blown up.

Representatives for Lucasfilm wanted to post that sketch on StarWars.com, and they set up a meeting with Green and Senreich that turned into a pitch meeting for a special.

"We were big fans of the work that Matt and Seth had done, so when they approached us about the idea to make a 'Robot Chicken' episode dedicated to 'Star Wars,' we were really enthusiastic about it," said Tom Warner, Lucasfilm's senior director of marketing.

The "Star Wars" special was developed with Lucasfilm's approval at every stage. The company also helped with sound files on Chewbacca and R2-D2.

Green has been a big fan of the "Star Wars" universe.

"It informed my whole creative sensibility, and the 'Star Wars' toys I played with in my childhood inspired my imagination," Green said. "I've always wanted to be a part of a 'Star Wars' project, and I got to make one."

And he got to direct Lucas.

"It was really exciting," Green said. "He was very shy but very playful."

[muthagoose]

Lucas Talks "Wars" & "Indiana"

Briefly talking with Fox News this week, Lucas confirms he plans to make two more live-action films set in the "Star Wars" universe.

Not so fast fan boys, this is no major Summer blockbuster on the way - rather two, hour-long each, made for television movies which "won't have members of the Skywalker family as characters. They will be other people of that milieu."

No word either on what channel they will air. Lucas is currently preparing the "Clone Wars" animated series and the upcoming fourth "Indiana Jones" film.

Asked about the rumor that Shia LaBeouf will play the son of Karen Allen in the fourth Indy, Lucas deflected - "I can't say." Indy's dad has a small role in the script, and if Sean Connery doesn't return he will be excised.

Clone Wars is scheduled to air in 2008, and the live action "Star Wars" series remains scheduled for 2009.

[muthagoose]

"Star Wars" Movie Talk Shot Down, Series Updates

A report a few weeks back that TV movies were in the works based on the "Star Wars" franchise have been officially shot down.

Talking with Movieweb, Lucasfilm fan relations head Steve Sansweet dismissed the talk and cleared up the status of current projects.

"I can absolutely tell you that is not true... There are going to be two more Star Wars television series. One of them is well into production. That is Star Wars: Clone Wars. It's a CG animated show, which we suspect will be on the air sometime next year. And then George and Rick McCullen were just now starting work on a live action series. A drama. That will probably be coming out in 2009 or 2010. He is actively at work on both of those. But the CG animated series is more adult. It has a lot of humor in it. It is very cinematic."

Sansweet also confirms that there's no plans to air footage at the upcoming SW Celebration convention - "The TV show has not yet found a home on television. Until that happens, they are telling me that they are unable to show any actual footage."

[muthagoose]

Fans celebrate 30 years of ‘Star Wars’
30 years after its release, fans, actors celebrate anniversary of ‘Star Wars’

LOS ANGELES - More than 20,000 “Star Wars” fans are expected to converge on downtown Los Angeles during the next few days to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary.

In recognition of the May 25, 1977, opening, series creator George Lucas’ Lucasfilm production company and convention organizer Gen Con are presenting “Star Wars Celebration IV” at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which will be open to the public Friday through Monday.

The event — which kicked off Wednesday with a marathon screening of all six films — includes live entertainment, cast-member appearances, film and video presentations and an exhibit of movie props and costumes.

Carrie Fisher (a.k.a. Princess Leia) will attend, but Lucas is out of the country, said Tom Warner, senior director of marketing at Lucasfilm.

Warner said the event will include a preview of a new video game, “The Force Unleashed,” which will be available on multiple game platforms in early 2008. In the game, the player takes on the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice.



“Star Wars” was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 1978 and won six. In 2005, the American Film Institute named John Williams’ iconic score the most memorable of all time. The film has shown up on additional AFI lists, including the “100 Greatest American Movies” list, where it ranked No. 15.

“Star Wars” marked a milestone in visual effects. Its makers pioneered groundbreaking visual effects techniques, and the work inspired many of today’s VFX talent. Among the weekend program events is a Saturday session featuring the five visual effects supervisors from the 1977 classic through 2005’s “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.” Scheduled to appear are Richard Edlund, John Knoll, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett.

Edlund, who won Oscars for his work on all three films in the first trilogy, said: “‘Star Wars’ woke up a sleeping giant. ... Since ‘Star Wars,’ its audience salivates for new effects movies.”

Knoll, VFX supervisor on the more recent trilogy (as well as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series), said he was in high school when the first “Star Wars” debuted. “Suddenly, there were new exciting things happening in the (VFX) field,” he said, adding that he was then invited to tour Lucas’ operation. “It was a life-changing experience. It helped me to decide that I wanted to do this for a living.”

[muthagoose]

Lucas welcomes the Dark Side: Star Wars mash ups

More than almost any other film series - with the possible exception of The Godfather - the Star Wars saga from George Lucas has inspired an entire generation of young filmmakers. And now virtually any fan will have a chance to create their own online video and become a part (however small) of the Star Wars empire.

Some fans inspired by the movies have taken the traditional route by going to film school, or by submitting their short videos to competitions such as the Worldwide Short Film Festival (which is taking place in Toronto from June 12 to 17).

Ben Murray, for example, has a 10-minute short called Wookie at Work showing in the Toronto festival, in which the hairy alien from Star Wars tries to fix a photocopier. Darth Vader and R2-D2 also make cameo appearances.


Other fans inspired by the Star Wars saga have taken what they hope will be a more direct route to fame: they've uploaded their videos to YouTube, the video-sharing site. Fan creations - such as Chad Vader: Dayshift Manager, a series about Darth Vader's less-talented brother - have been seen over four million times.

"The cool thing to me is that there's now this whole subculture of fan videos out there," says Murray, a Toronto native. "And a few of them, like Chad Vader, have really gone beyond the typical Star Wars fan thing and gone almost mainstream."

Now the Lucasfilm empire is reaching out to the fan-film community with a new version of its official StarWars.com website, which was scheduled to launch on Friday in honour of the 30th anniversary of the first Star Wars movie.

Not only is StarWars.com creating what it hopes will be a home for all of the fan videos floating around on the Internet, but Lucasfilm says it is also giving less technically-inclined fans the video-editing tools they need to create their own shorts (uploaded material will be screened by Lucasfilm for offensive content).The film company has licensed software called EyeSpot, which provides simple, Web-based tools that allow users to upload material and combine it with other content to create their own clips or Star Wars "mash-ups."



"A screenshot of the soon to be released "Space Mackin'" by Muthagoose Escobar."

The new site "sounds really amazing," says Murray, who admits Star Wars has been a huge part of his life, as it has been for most of his generation. "It was the first film I sort of became obsessed with...it was this massive thing while I was growing up."

Lucasfilm says it will provide more than 250 snippets from the movies that aspiring short-film creators can include in their "mash-ups."

"We want the new StarWars.com to empower fans to make and watch Star Wars videos, play games, and share their love of Star Wars like no other site on the Internet," Bill Gannon, director of online operations for Lucasfilm Ltd., said in a news release.

StarWars.com already features blogs, special in-depth sections for kids, video games, a fan section called Hyperspace, and an online retail operation called StarWarsShop.com. The site was the first to host the online premiere of a trailer for a new movie, in 1999.

Lucasfilms has effectively sanctioned the fan-film genre for some time, by sponsoring competitions such as the annual Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge (co-sponsored by AtomFilms). The new website will include five years' worth of those films.

In a special treat for fans, every year Lucas selects his favourite film from the festival (Chad Vader is one of the entries this year). The winner will be screened on Sunday as part of the Star Wars Celebration IV fan convention in Los Angeles.

[Ponyone]

STAR WARS GANGSTA RAP

youtube.com/watch?v=yH8b5ruc_-E

Has anyone seen this? It's damn funny, but very clever...

Check it out Duke! You wont be disappointed