Club Jade

Does he still have it? Watch and see.

Director Anthony Hemingway tweeted a few days ago that Red Tails, the George Lucas-produced film about World War II’s Tuskegee Airmen “hits screens January 2012.” Meanwhile, it seems that Lucas himself may be in Prague to oversee the film’s score.

3-D on the wane? The New York Times says the pricey format is fizzling, which could spell bad news for next year’s Phantom Menace rerelease. Scalzi is more optimistic; Maybe Star Wars can be part of the solution here.

Good news, bad news. People checks in with Carrie Fisher’s Jenny Craig-powered weight loss. Spoiler: It’s going well! The news is less good for Hayden Christensen… His lawsuit over USA Network’s Royal Pains was thrown out by a federal judge.

Whatever happened to… Those kids who got suspended for the lightsaber fight? They did get to walk at their graduation and even got to complete their ‘fight’ at a senior assembly.

Fannishly. An interview with the Mike Litzenberg and Bridge Stuart, the guys behind ‘George Lucas Strikes Back.’

Two Massachusetts students were suspended for a mock lightsaber battle in the school cafeteria. The stunt was a hit with their fellow students, but school officials were not amused – the two have been banned from attending their own graduation ceremony as well. A Facebook page supporting their right to walk has more than 2000 fans, and a hearing will be held next week – perhaps the administration will change their minds. (via)

Sure, it’s all fun and games now, but arming the robots just seems like a bad idea. Or maybe I’ve just watched too much sci-fi.

A survey by the Birmingham Science City finds that “over a fifth of adults” surveyed believe lightsabers are real. Nearly a quarter believe that humans can be teleported, 50% believe that memory-erasing technology (ala Men in Black) exist, and more than 40% believe in hoverboards. Remember them from Back to the Future Part II? Granted, we can probably blame Robert Zemeckis himself for that one. Science fiction, what have you wrought?

Santa Maul is delightfully elite in his tastes, but he cannot help but be charmed by this Death Star Ornament. It will add just the perfect touch of destructive whimsy to any Sithmas tree. The creator has even posted instructions if you desire to create one yourself – or for an internet-unsavvy friend.

Also interesting, for those who require their presents to stimulate even the most jaded of grown-up children, is perhaps io9′s guide to holiday lightsaber shopping.

Just the thing to round out a lightsaber collection. (via)

Fanmade. Check out this version of Tenel Ka’s rancor tooth lightsaber by Heather (@hexterah) who dressed up as the character at DragonCon.)

Riptide. Paul S. Kemp broke out another brief excerpt from his Crosscurrent sequel on Friday.

Comics. Dark Horse has revealed the cover to Legacy: War #2; Writer John Jackson Miller talks Knight Errant at The Sci-Fi Block.

Further reading. EU Cantina has a new column by Chris (@VileZero) and so far he’s addressed the Darth Plagueis novel and upcoming comics as well as some gaming/Clone Wars stuff. Check it out.

Street date shuffle. It was a slow news week, so Random House moving Denning’s Fate of the Jedi: Vortex up a week got a lot of ink. Still months away, but I did update our book schedule.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@clubjade) for updates and discussion.

About halfway through this video I just started laughing uncontrollably. It’s just so… Random. (Also, it was late.)

While we’re on the topic of utterly random things: The Alderaan Trail and Darth Schwarzenegger.

Ashley Eckstein is getting some ink for Her Universe in the most unlikely of places: ESPN! I don’t doubt being married to an MLB player helps widen the field of interest, but let’s not forget we’re the only fandom with a noteworthy gender disparity. (Sports-loving ladies can see the Alyssa Milano line that Ashley mentions as an inspiration at Fandalia.)

Not the lawsuit you’re looking for… Lucasfilm has backed down from their legal threat against Wicked Lasers, which makes a (you have to admit) very lightsaber-looking laser. But elsewhere in the world, the march continues…

Horrors of the audition tapes. Sylvester Stallone auditioned for Han Solo? Sounds like he didn’t get far enough for tapes, but that’s probably a good thing.

Presented without commentary. Are Jedi Knights Libertarian or Socialist?