Who doesn’t love a dancing, lip-syncing puppet?
Balls! Bowling balls, that is, the latest tie-in merchandise to make me ponder LFL Licensing’s collective sanity.
Gollum Raps!
No, really.
Thanks to Jessa for the head’s up!
Sith, Spidey showdown a draw
Sith has tied the Spider-Man 2 record for fastest to $200 million, and it’s now (officially) the biggest movie of 2005.
The Associated Press asks what’s left for fans to fawn over with Star Wars and Star Trek both at an end. They suggest Harry Potter, perhaps not realizing that HP is already the biggest fish in the fandom pond these days. Not to mention Serenity and Battlestar Galactica, which are poised to be the ‘new’ Wars and Trek, respectively.
Aside from box office tidbits, SW news is getting to be scarce again. I’ll have to go back to normal posting, oh horrors!
Live Aid 2!
Both NME and the UKs “Top of the Pops” are confirming that Live Aid 2 is all but a done deal. It won’t be called “Live Aid 2,” but Midge Ure and Bob Geldof will be organizing the event again. The likely date is 2 July. Possible venue is Hyde Park.
The concert is rumored to feature U2, Madonna, Paul McCartney, and a reunion of the Spice Girls (uh…). More bands are sure to be added.
Look for confirmation of the event on Tuesday. Weeeeee!!!
Oceanic Airlines… welcome aboard!
ABC has put up a mock website for Oceanic Airlines which contains character information and a preview for next season.
You can find a link to another site that will tell you where to find the Easter Eggs here. Warning: there are spoilers and speculations on this site as well.
Also worth checking out is DriveSHAFT’s official website. I so want a T-shirt!
BBC pioneers TV/radio downloads
The BBC will launch the second phase of its iMP (interactive Media Player) program (er… programme) in September. This will allow test viewers to legally download BBC television and radio programming to their computers for seven days after original broadcast.
“iMP could just be the iTunes for the broadcast industry, enabling our audience to access our TV and radio programmes on their terms – anytime, any place, any how,” said Ashley Highfield, BBC director of new media and technology.
Wahoo! This is great news for fans for Brit shows like Dr Who, Ab Fab, Book at Bedtime and Eastenders.
Rumor Control!
Let’s be very clear: This is bullshit. George Lucas is done making new Star Wars movies, and he’s said so multiple times over the last few years. And I’m betting he’s going to stick to that, at least until the next huge technical advancement in the world of CGI.
Onto more positive topics… Box Office Watch: $191 million domestic at the moment; $347 million worldwide.
ROTS Easter Eggs on starwars.com.
Dork Tower has been running Star Wars strips all week, but I find this one to be most amusing: “It’s only because I’m so in love.”
Classified Imperial memo! NOOOOO!!!!!!
And last but certainly not least… Selection from William Shakespeare’s “Celestial Battles: A Fantom Menyce.” I demand someone do a performance of this at Jadecon.
That’s why they call me the space cowboy
They are totally serious about this BitTorrent thing… the first criminal BitTorrent bust in USA.
Watchdog group wants Burger King to stop promoting Star Wars. Yeah, right.
Threadbared, a great new blog that mocks clothing patterns, takes on Star Wars rip-offs.
A feminist ponders Padme in Revenge of Sith. The author isn’t quite as up on the GFFA as she could be (it’s a laywoman’s perspective, if you will) but there’s some interesting stuff in the comments.
Apparently there was a Star Wars-branded car at the Monaco Grand Prix, which I’m sure most of us could care less about, but check out the pit crew’s Clone Trooper outfits!
Does Sith Perky have to choke a bitch?
Star Wars, politics, blah blah blah. No doubt you’re as sick of hearing about is as I am: at least we’re not alone. I’ve heard that it’s come to a flame war in the bowels of TFN over this, but I’m just not that dedicated. (And let’s face it, the only day TFN won’t erupt in flame is when they stop paying the server bills.)
Elsewhere in the galaxy… Even BitTorrent isn’t safe; FOX will find you. Besides, I’ve heard it’s a totally crappy copy. Just let it go. The DVD will probably be out by Christmas. (And no, not this DVD.)
And lastly, if you have the overwhelming urge to add lightsaber effects to your home movies without the need of expensive post-production software, meet LSMaker. It’ll also do sound effects and ‘flying text’, by which I assume they mean an opening scroll. I predict lots of geek-spawn having especially epic birthday vids this year.
Everyone Loves Aaron
Aaron Allston gets press love from hometown paper, and fan love from the folks at clonewarz.com.