Club Jade

The Episode VII frenzy has finally slowed down a bit as we wait for news of a director and confirmation of the Kasdan rumors – or maybe it’s just the upcoming holidays – but there are still a few things floating around.

Alumni. We already heard from him way back on D-Day, but Ewan McGregor reiterates that he’d be happy to come back “if they need me.” Samuel L. Jackson is up for it as well/ “I can come back as one-armed or a one-handed Jedi that’s still around that didn’t actually die,” he told E!

Directors. It was briefly speculated that The Prince of Egypt’s Brenda Chapman might be a dark horse in the director’s race, but the tail end of a recent profile in the Daily Record reveals that she’ll be returning the Dreamworks in the new year. Meanwhile… Peter Jackson?

Distribution. It was big news last week that Netflix and Disney had signed a pretty big agreement, but is Star Wars included? Well, distribution rights to the first six films remain with 20th Century Fox, but the Netflix deal doesn’t start until 2016 – so look for Episode VII to air on Disney’s current partner, Starz, first.

Box office. Here’s a little more kissing cousins competition for Episode VII – the Fantastic Four reboot.

Rumor! Pocket Lint report that sources at the Panasonic conference in Hamburg are saying that The Phantom Menace 3D will be coming to Blu-ray in the spring.

Being Ackbar. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub catches up with Erik Bauersfeld, the radio dramatist who provided the voice of Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna.

Sports. Sports Illustrated features Amanda Lucas. She claimed an open-weight women’s championship Saturday in Japan.

Honors. George Lucas accepted a Vanguard Award from Samuel L. Jackson at Saturday’s NAACP Image Awards. In his presentation, Jackson talking about lobbying for a role in the prequels: “I’ll be a Storm Trooper and just run across the screen. Nobody even has to know I’m in it.”

Records. The Guinness Book of World Records has named Samuel L. Jackson the world’s highest-grossing actor. His films – which include not only the prequels but other blockbusters like Jurassic Park, The Incredibles and Iron Man 2 – have brought in a staggering $7.42 billion dollars.

Strange saberfellows. Noel Gallagher of the band Oasis was a neighbor of Ewan McGregor when he got the part of Obi-Wan – and he was the first to teach Ewan how to fight with a lightsaber. “I just happened to have two of those lightsaber toys, so I said, ‘Come on – in the back garden.’”

Uh-oh. Peter Serafinowicz – the original voice of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace – told Digital Spy that he didn’t think the film was very good. “”But it was certainly an extremely exciting thing to be a part of,” he goes on to say.

Technology. Learn a little more about Prime Focus, the company doing The Phantom Menace’s 3-D conversion, from India’s Economic Times

Samuel L. Jackson – aka Mace Windu, Nick Fury, Jules Winnfield and a host of other iconic characters – has joined Twitter as (what else?) @SamuelLJackson. Yes, the account is verified, so it looks like the real thing. With The Avengers gearing up, I’m sure he won’t run out of things to say.

You can find more Star Wars names with our handy Twitter list.

I heart prequels: What makes the prequels so great? International House of Geek picks their top ten great things from the Star Wars prequels, from the Jedi Order to the score to battle scenes to Ewan McGregor. Not quite sharing the love (though sharing a few favorites), one of Tor’s bloggers picks five great things from the prequels, and five classic trilogy fizzles. Over at Big Shiny Robot, Bryan makes the case that Episodes I-III are more liked than is generally thought.

The soft side of the Force: Check out these plush Star Wars characters and these crochet granny square TIE Fighters.

This Artoo unit has a sweet motivator: Two times the R2-D2! Check out this remote controlled LEGO Artoo and place an order for a custom knitted R2-D2 sweater.

The planet that it’s farthest from: A war photojournalist visits some of the Star Wars filming sites in Tunisia this summer, and comes across the Mos Espa set, Owens farm, Jawa rock and more.

Making the lists: General Grievous pops up in io9′s list of computer generated characters that actually look cool, Darth Vader is on Total Film’s list of horrible movie bosses (Hey, if your boss chokes you on the job and you die, there’s no workman’s comp claim!). And of course, Jabba the Hutt makes Andrew Liptak’s list of sci-fi gangsters not to mess with.

Who’s scruffy looking? Ewan McGregor’s facial hair in Revenge of the Sith (along with the beards of Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson and Ian McKellan) gets rated on The Men of Whisker Wars Rate Famous Screen Facial Hair.

Speaking of beards, Sunday is the Star Wars Day at the San Francisco Giants ballgame, where the cool giveaway is a three-sided statue of Brian “Fear the Beard” Wilson in carbonite, a more traditional Han Solo in carbonite and a Giants / Star Wars logo.

Parody children’s book Go the F**k to Sleep has been generating a ton of buzz across the internet lately, and that certainly won’t be harmed by getting pop culture’s most acclaimed dropper of the f-bomb, Samuel L. Jackson, to read the audiobook version. It is, if I may say, glorious. (via)

UPDATE: The full video version has been copyrighted, but you can download the uncensored audio for free at Audible.

Someone got stabbed with a pen in Hall H this evening; There’s a report from San Diego’s NBC affiliate and Comic Book Resources and Entertainment Weekly are on the case. (Harrison Ford is not a suspect.) The rumors have been flying over Twitter, including allegations that seat-squatting (a common practice) was a factor.

• In the wake of our first glimpse at the cover, StarWars.com has a clearer look and the blurb for John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant paperback.

• The prequels are safe from Family Guy; Indiana Jones, not so much. Their Return of the Jedi spoof is named… wait for it… “It’s a Trap!” Oh Family Guy, your creativity is boundless.
• Even putting The Clone Wars aside, there were a few EU figures in Hasbro’s presentation – more than I was expecting, anyway. The Comic Packs continue (as Entertainment Earth exclusives) with Legacy’s Deliah Blue/Darth Nihl. Knights of the Old Republic’s Jarael/Rohlan Dyre (image 50,) Jaster Mereel/Montross from Jango Fett: Open Seasons and Rogue Squadron’s Baron Fel/Ysanne Isard (51.) I suppose the Jodo Kast on 35 counts, too.
• Hungry for The Old Republic news? Here’s Pablo’s report from the MMO’s panel.
• Oh, hey, Avengers.

TFN spotted this amusing novelty product at – where else? – Thinkgeek. Taunt your pets and coworkers with them for a mere $14.99.

In less wacky and far more pricey lightsaber news, a Master Replicas saber signed by George Lucas, Samuel L. Jackson, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Nick Gillard is being auctioned on eBay to raise money for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.

People: Samuel L. Jackson received the American Cinematheque award earlier this week, along praise from George Lucas, Denzel Washington and Justin Timberlake .

Even Artoo and Threepio showed up!

• Har har har: The Los Angeles Times has a bailout plan for Star Wars. My only question is, does George have a private jet?

• Books: Looking for some light reading? Lawrence Lessig’s Remix: Making Art and Culture Thrive in the Hybrid Economy touches at least a little on Star Wars copyright issues, according to The Mercury News review. In any case, it looks like a must-read for anyone with copyright concerns.
• Crime: Chewbacca Calvin Johnson of Georgia is racking up quite a criminal record. (Thanks, Paula.)
• Travel: Wired takes a look at geek hotels, starting with the Sidi Driss and continuing with some places a little closer to home.

Spike TV’s SCREAM 2008 awards rewarded The Maker with the Comic-Con Icon Award Saturday. Since the SCREAM awards honor the best in fantasy, sci-fi, comics and horror, plenty of our other faves also took home awards, most notably 12 for The Dark Knight. The awards will air on Spike tomorrow night at 9pm. (via)

UPDATE: StarWars.com has a report