Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
The very latest in the constant parade of extremely puzzling merchandise is Stormtrooper and Vader golf gear. From Japan, naturally. Gotta give them credit for not just slapping a silkscreen on a generic bag, at least in the case of the Stormtrooper.
Spike promotion puts lightsabers on the streets of New York. Or, well, wrapped fluorescent bulbs anyway. Clever idea, but unlike Urbanite I can’t see anyone bothering to steal them. At least, not anyone with half a brain.
The New York Post got wind of the “Deadwood meets The Sopranos” rumor, and they also report that Lucas met with cable channel executives, including HBO, last year… Though that could easily have been for The Clone Wars.
On that note, Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross ponders Star Wars cartoons.
A Bothan spy informs me that NBC shot a two-hour Star Wars-themed episode of the game show Deal or no Deal yesterday. Three guesses as to how they dressed the briefcase models, and the first two don’t count.
Air date unknown, but I would guess sometime this summer.
Spike TV has been advertising Star Wars for a few weeks now, and now we have some definite times for the movie showings… The Phantom Menace will start Friday, April 4 at 8pm, with Attack of the Clones following on Saturday at the same time, and Revenge of the Sith Sunday. A New Hope starts Friday, April 11, with Empire Strikes Back on Saturday and Return of the Jedi on Sunday. All six will be shown in HD where available.
They paid a record fee ($65-70 million) for the rights to run the whole saga back in 2005.
UPDATE: Spike’s advertising, including billboards, on StarWars.com.
Coming Soon and StarWars.com weren’t the only folks talking to George at ShoWest – Entertainment Weekly got to sit down with the Maker as well. Although mostly focused on the two TV shows, he also talks Indy IV and Red Tails.
Coming Soon gets to talk to George Lucas. He talks about The Clone Wars and the live action series, which we won’t be seeing until 2010, now. He even talks about the EU, sort of:
But there’s no story past “Episode VI”, there’s just no story. It’s a certain story about Anakin Skywalker and once Anakin Skywalker dies, that’s kind of the end of the story. There is no story about Luke Skywalker, I mean apart from the books. But there’s three worlds: There’s my world that I made up, there’s the licensing world that’s the books, the comics, all that kind of stuff, the games, which is their world, and then there’s the fans’ world, which is also very rich in imagination, but they don’t always mesh. All I’m in charge of is my world. I can’t be in charge of those other people’s world, because I can’t keep up with it.
“They don’t always mesh.” Understatement of year! But hey, we knew what we were getting into, right?
Right?
The Deadbolt’s Tom Burns on what he wants from the live-action series. So, what do you want? Let us know and there might be a poll in it for you…
Frosty at Collider.com has dug up some information on the live-action show. A lot of it is stuff we’ve already heard, but here’s a key part:
I’ve heard they’re talking about the show being on HBO or even Showtime. Which jives with the slugline for the show…think Deadwood meets The Sopranos. Want a bit more? Could the live action show feature Gangsters? Could it follow the underworld of the Star Wars universe? Perhaps even a crime family? Have I said too much?
Intriguing, no? Oh, would that I had time to Photoshop someone’s head on Tony Soprano or Al Swearengen’s body. Maybe later.
Season three of Robot Chicken is premiering in Canada tonight, leading off with their Star Wars special, which explains why articles on the show are appearing on both CBC and the Times Colonist. Check your local listings!