Club Jade

Untruths! An article about Jake Lloyd has been floating around in which claims he called his post-Star War childhood a “living hell.” Lloyd took to Facebook on Sunday to deny it: “The quotes in the article do not accurately reflect my feelings for the time I spent on Star Wars or the time I spent in high school.” The article says the quotes came from “a magazine” and also attributes comments from his mother to a (defunct) domain similar to Sci Fi Channel Australia, which did do an interview with Lloyd (though not his mother) in 2009.

Culture. In The New York Times, Matt Richtel takes a look at how Star Wars is still captivating kids. (Did no one tell him about The Clone Wars, which doesn’t get a single mention?) Last week in the NYT: The New York Jedi. Pity about the headline fail. (Jedi is the plural. Tell your copy editors.)

Interview. George Lucas chatted with Sen. Bill Bradley on his “American Voices” radio program last week. Topics included filmmaking technology,Red Tails, good and evil in Star Wars and education.’

Randomly… Actor Topher Grace (That 70′s Show) edited all three prequels into one 85-minute film. The cut was shown only to “a private gathering of Topher’s industry friends.” There are no plans to show or release it publicly – Grace refuses to do so without permission, which seems unlikely.

Also: Play The Old Republic for free this weekend | Amanda Lucas on ESPN | What Star Wars teaches us about creativity.

The Sci Fi Channel Australia talked to Jake Lloyd at Supanova in Sydney last month.

Lightsabre has nabbed some big names for their latest Star Wars interviews: The Phantom Menace’s Jake Lloyd and prequel stuntmaster Nick Gillard. And EUC is scouting questions for The Force Unleashed’s Maris Brood, Adrienne Wilkinson.

Trivia masters rejoice: Jeopardy! added a Star Wars category today. It’s already aired here (curses!) so I have to ask: just how obsessed does one have to be to make the $1000 question laughable?

In the News

• Add David Cronenberg to the list of directors who could have made Return of the Jedi. (via)

• TFN reports that Christine Hewett, who played one of the Tonnika sisters in ANH, has past away.
• Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker tops New York Magazine’s list of ten annoying child actors they’d love to send to Kid Nation. I must object – one film, no matter how disapointing, simply isn’t enough to justify putting Lloyd above any prepubescent cast member of Full House. That show terrorized American airwaves for eight years, not counting syndication.
• AFI is sponsering 11 screenings in Hollywood to celebrate its 40th anniversary, including George Lucas presenting A New Hope. Alas, tickets “sold out faster than the Falcon made the Kessel Run,” as Stooge pointed out on Wednesday.
• IGN’s featured Dead Ewok (colloquially known to fandom as Corpsey) as their Obscure Character of the Day for (again) Wednesday.
• The Jedi Assembly celebrates fifth anniversary.

On the TOS

• The runup to Family Guy: Blue Harvest continues with an interview with writer/producer Alec Sulkin and giclée prints on Star Wars Shop.

• Pete Vilmur takes a look at the ‘pointy W’ logo.
• Hyperspace: Bantha Tracks covers Dragon*Con, while the Source Archive explored the insignia of Rogue Squadron and The New Republic as well as two more NewsNet articles: Ralltiir Uprising Quelled and Imperial Senate Suspended.

Jake Lloyd is the latest confirmed guest for Celebration. I was in the area when he was scheduled to appear in the Fan Lounge at CIII – that place was packed.

Also, Star Wars Shop will be offering an exclusive Gentle Giant animation-style Boba Fett maquette at CIV and CE.