Club Jade

George’s zen. George Lucas gave a resounding “whatever” to the whole PT vs. OT matter the other night, and apparently a grown man acting like an adult about the subject is something shocking. Oh, internet. (If only he’d worn that ‘Han Shots First’ shirt!) Also, he was on NPR’s Fresh Air.

Another shocker. PC Zone asked Mark Hamill why he’s never voiced Luke Skywalker in a video game. Turns out? He’s never been asked. But then, hasn’t the quality and cachet of video games grown quite a bit since the last time (ever?) LucasArts did anything that featured Luke as more than a cameo…?

Presented without comment. Christopher Lee is making a symphonic metal concept album.

This isn’t the best Nostalgia Chick, but it’s The Last Unicorn! It was my favorite movie as a kid – I watched it so much that my mother hates it to this day – so I couldn’t not post it. And hey, Christopher Lee!

I can’t believe that it was made by the same guys who did that horrible animated Lord of the Rings. That cartoon is why it took Peter Jackson four-plus hours and a cliffhanger to get me to actually read the trilogy.

Meanwhile, the Nostalgia Critic has a tribute to two other staples of my childhood, Siskel and Ebert. (Is that weird? That the syndicated tv show of two movie critics is a staple of my childhood? TOO BAD.)

The Prince of Wales did the deed Friday at Buckingham Palace. Lee’s service to the genre extends far back his recent resurgence in Attack of the Clones and the Lord of the Rings trilogy – he’s appeared in 267 films, most notably the title role in Hammer Films’ Dracula (with Peter Cushing as Van Helsing,) The Wicker Man, and The Man with the Golden Gun. My generation’s introduction to him was probably as a voice in 1982′s animated The Last Unicorn. (It took me more than a year to figure out why Dooku/Saruman sounded so familiar…)

The genre acting legend, who played Count Dooku in two of the prequels, has received one very big honor: He’s among those knighted Saturday by Queen Elizabeth II.

Lee is not the first Star Wars player to be knighted, of course: Sir Alec Guinness had already held the title for almost two decades when he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977.

Christopher Lee reads Tim Burton’s original poem. (via)

I’m having a hard time buying into The Clone Wars hype, but the new trailer is really, really good and gives the ladies a good chunk of screentime. (You even see Padme for a second.)

Also, Christopher Lee! There’s nothing quite like the real thing…

Galactic-Voyage spotted an exchange on the forums of Christopher Lee’s official site that confirms the actor is providing the voice of Dooku for the movie.

The site’s administrator, Juan Aneiros, had this to say:

Mr. Lee has recorded the voice of Count Dooku for this movie a couple of months ago.

It was however, the first time he had to lip synch to a character because they had produced the animation before recording his voice.

(via)

• The Death Star is one of io9′s top five high-tech lairs of evil masterminds.

• SF Site reviews Death Star.
• Lost’s Jorge Garcia entranced by A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy
• Mark Hamill and Natalie Portman in Heckler Spray’s worst cinematic hairdos. Bonus appearance by Christopher Lee!

• Interview: Christopher Lee talks about his roles in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.

• Star Wars brought Chris Scarabosio to Skywalker Sound.
• Lucasfilm hires former Apple executive Richard Kerris as chief technology officer.
• More Star Wars namesakes: Alpacas Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker.
• Crave reviews Legacy #18 and Knights of the Old Republic #24.

Okay. Don’t post for a couple of weeks and you end up with quite the stack of things to tell you about. I hope your budgets are doing well.

Books
Jedi Trial by David Sherman and Dan Cragg – This is a Clone Wars hardcover novel leading up to events in Episode 3. Your position in or out of the spoiler cave will determine if you want to read this one. The premise sounds intriguing.

Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy by James Luceno – The cool Cross-Section books from DK go back to the worlds of the Classic Trilogy. Many nifty things to explore. I always enjoy these books.

Long Way Round – by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman – Okay. So this isn’t strictly Star Wars. But it’s Ewan McGregor, isn’t it? And the book is as interesting as the show appears to be. It’s a hardcover, so it might be placed oddly in your local bookstore.

Magazines
Amazing Stories – December 2004 – Hey. We’re kinda partial to Paizo, the publisher of Amazing Stories. But the magazine is full of all sorts of great stories. And we like that they’re willing to give little guys a chance. Like this one guy: Aaron Allston. Oh, wait. We know him! Actually, Aaron is a much-beloved Star Wars writer who was given the chance to write a 1,000 word story to go with a picture. If you were at DragonCon, you might have heard about it.

Dreamwatch – November 2004 – Well, Dreamwatch has started officially publishing in the US. Will it remain as good as its UK counterpart? We’re hoping so. It looks intriguing this issue with its interview of Gary Kurtz and his views of the creation of the original trilogy. No Ep3 spoilers spotted, but there is discussion about the TV show. (Sorry. Can’t seem to find a US website.)

Film Review Special – #54, The Sex Issue – See where your favorite Star Wars actors rate on the Top100 sexiest actors list. (There’s a good number of the men of Star Wars on there.) And find out all sorts of salacious stories about your other fandom favorites, as well.

Starburst – Issue 316 – Christopher Lee is doing video games, now. Is there any medium he has yet to conquer? There’s also coverage of the rumor mill about Episodes 7 through 9.

Until next week!