Last week, prices on the Celebration V tickets went up – an extra $8 on the four-day pass, and $4 on everything else – and today Reed’s Lance Fensterman has a reason: State and local taxes. However, there are two bits of good news here: Folks who’ve already purchased tickets don’t have to pay the extra (Reed will take care of it: Think of it as an early bird special?) and there’s no sliding scale, so the online prices won’t raise until the convention begins and the on-site prices kick in. (That’s an additional $17 on a four-day pass, so you’re still saving by buying early.)
Video: Nostalgia Chick on ‘The Smurfette Principle’
No, we’re not familiar with this at all.
Fairies in Red Tails? CBC gets some wires crossed
Confirmed and acknowledged: George Lucas has been working on Red Tails, a movie about World War II’s Tuskegee Airmen that’s currently in post-production.
Unconfirmed: Lucasfilm is making a CGI animated musical involving fairies.
And CBC News is a little confused:
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lucas is working on the movie Red Tails at his Skywalker Ranch in California.
Plot details for the computer-animated film are not being released, but it is known that fairies play a role.
This is an actual, professional news outlet, not one of us fly-by-night, pants-of-our-seat bloggers. Bravo.
‘Lightsaber Lost’ gets found by reviewers
Not only do we have Stooge’s guest review of last week’s Star Wars – The Clone Wars episode, ‘Lightsaber Lost’, other reviews of the Ahsoka-centric episode have been found, with a little of Master’s Sinube’s patient detective work:
- Big Shiny Robot points out that the episode is an homage to the Akira Kurosawa noir film, Stray Dog, and despite simplifying the original plot, is still a fun episode with well-done action and suspense.
- TheForce.Net called it ‘really excellent’ for both story and message, and loved the visuals of Coruscant.
- Television Zombies gives it 4 out 5 sabers, liking the new characters, and good intention, but felt it lacked vibrancy.
- Galactic Binder points out some plausibility issues (like Ahsoka not using a Force grab to get her saber back), but likes the new characters.
- IGN felt that it lacked the spark of other recent episodes, but was still strong enough to warrant a 7.5, with a stronger second half to it.
- MTV’s movie blog calls it a good one, with great action and a few pleasant surprises.
Tune into Clone Wars tonight for ‘The Mandalore Plot’
Two of the most anticipated/controversial aspects of the second season begin tonight, bringing along some star power… And a few Moulin Rogue jokes.
Zekk to appear in Fate of the Jedi; TFN claims we’ll hear about an old pal in Allies
Sue Rostoni was out on the boards today, and though she didn’t say much, she did say that Zekk, left adrift after the cancellation of the standalone Blood Oath, will make an appearance in Fate of the Jedi. She also clarified that the lack of an epic series post-FOTJ will not mean any less books.
Meanwhile, in the fan realm, TFN has a source that claims we’ll find out the fate of a familiar face in book five, Golden’s Allies. I don’t find this particularly worrying, mainly because Backlash is an Allston book. Sorry, I misread this originally, and honestly now I’m a lot more doubtful of this ‘spoiler.’ Not because of Golden, but because it seems too early for Allies ARCs, the most likely source for something like this.
In any case, this news is going to be blown totally out of proportion by the fandom. Thanks, Paul. :P
TGIF: Snoopy takes on the Death Star
(via)
Wizards of the Coast jumps off the Star Wars ship
In what I’m sure is not a shock to any and all active gamers, Wizards of the Coast will not be renewing their Star Wars license.
They picked up the RPG license back in 2001, redoing the game twice, and some say they never quite captured the spirit of the original West End Games line that was an important launching point for the modern EU, and many writers still working with the franchise today.
I don’t think we’ve seen the end of a Star Wars RPG: StarWars.com’s line about “announcements regarding future products” almost guarantees it – so here’s hoping that Lucasfilm can find a company with the enthusiasm they – and the fans – need.
The Clone Wars review: ‘Lightsaber Lost’
Ahsoka has finally come into her own. Not as a Jedi, mind you – she actually seems to be getting less mature as time goes on, no doubt due to prolonged exposure to a Skywalker. But in terms of her status as a character, ‘Lightsaber Lost’ marks a definite turning point: it’s the first episode where she’s really on her own, with the action following her the entire time and not cutting away to any of the “classic” movie characters. Yes, Jocasta Nu puts in a cameo, but she’s hardly one of our regular heroes. Anakin also makes an appeareance for the first minute or so, but after that, he ducks out for good. But is it for good? Ahsoka, without Anakin for support and/or moral confusion, turns out to be a mixed bag. Continue reading “The Clone Wars review: ‘Lightsaber Lost’”
Box Office: Avatar beats Titanic, but still lags behind The Phantom Menace
Avatar may have beat Titanic in terms of cold hard cash, but it still has yet to catch up with The Phantom Menace when it comes to the amount of tickets sold, Entertainment Weekly points out. And when the domestic box office numbers are adjusted for inflation, it’s only #26 – all three original trilogy films and TPM are higher, along with Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., The Exorcist and all-time champ Gone With the Wind. (A New Hope is #2.)
Granted, all this stat-pushing is petty and useless, but hey: We’re interested, aren’t we? And on that note, check below the cut for a blast from the past: The ad George Lucas took out in Variety when Titanic took the top spot from Star Wars. Continue reading “Box Office: Avatar beats Titanic, but still lags behind The Phantom Menace“