Roundup: Getting ready for May the 4th

emperorUSA Today has done a handful of stories celebrating May the 4th and previewing the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi on the 25th. They talked to Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Jeremy Bulloch and blogger Whitney Matheson got a visit from Chewbacca. And on that note, they want your best Chewbacca impression.

Back to ROTJ, Jalopnik has a peice on how they filmed the speeder chase.


Need to convert a friend? Amazon has the Original and Prequel trilogy box sets (but not the saga?) slightly more on sale than usual. And hey, you can alleviate at least some of your Episode VII fears with a discount on J.J.’s Star Trek, too!

And you can save 50% on a subscription to the Star Wars Insider tomorrow as well by using the promo code MAY4TW.


Events. In addition to Entertainment Weekly’s ROTJ screening and the Toledo Mud Hens, Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando will be celebrating, and Change.org is hosting a Star Wars screening in San Francisco.

Still not sure what you’re doing? Find a local May the 4th event on StarWars.com.

Anthony Daniels announced for Celebration Europe; “not sitting by the phone” for Episode VII call

Anthony DanielsReed announced today that Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) will be among the stars at Celebration Europe.

He also did an interview with Digital Spy, where he sidestepped sequel talk:

“Look, it’s all very early days and I don’t want to wear anybody out by speculating or letting you waste your energy by saying ‘What do you think?’

“I’m certainly not sitting by the phone, but it’s always nice when it rings. Do you know what I mean?”

Still, he can certainly afford to be vague: C-3PO is one of the characters that few expect to be totally absent from the new movies.

Review: LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace

LEGO Star Wars -The Padawan Menace: Visiting Mos Eisley

Turning to Star Wars for comedy value is nothing new – in the past few years, three Family Guy parodies and three Robot Chicken specials have mined the saga for laughs. But LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace breaks some new ground for Star Wars entertainment: not only is it funny and full of jokes, it also tells a new adventure that builds on both the classic and prequel trilogies. It breaks from the style of the LEGO Star Wars video games by having the characters talk rather than just use gestures and non-word vocalizations, but it would be slow to tell a story if all the dialogue had to be pantomimed. The Padawan Menace in two words, stolen from one of the younglings: Totally Awesome! Continue reading “Review: LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace

Celebration V: Last Tour to Endor

Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios created a fantastic evening with their Last Tour to Endor party, commemorating the last day of the Star Tours attraction. Fans were treated to their final rides on the Starspeeder 3000 before it closed for a revamp as well as some unique other experiences.

The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular hosted a one-night-only special mashup show called “Raiders of the Lost Jedi Temple of Doom” where two fan film makers combine Indiana Jones and Star Wars in making the ultimate fan film. Special cameo performances were made in the three shows by such stars as Seth Green, Mark Hamill, Warwick Davis, Anthony Daniels, Jaime King, and Jeremy Bulloch. George Lucas attended the second show, where Seth Green announced that Anthony Daniels would be voice acting in the third Robot Chicken Star Wars special.

Also brought out was some shows from Star Wars weekends: the Jedi Academy training and the Star Wars dance contest. The evening was capped off by a supremely awesome fireworks show set to Star Wars music. “Duel of the Fates” and the assault on the Death Star were my favorites.

Roundup: All the Celebration V news you can shake your broken droid leg at

Anthony Daniels and his famous gold jacket at the 2007 Disney Weekends / Photo by Ron Riccio / starwarsblog @ flickrGuest list. Anthony Daniels is coming to the autograph hall and on stage. (WTF moment: “He was the voice of Legolas in the 1978 animation, Lord Of The Rings.” The awful one that turned me off Tolkien for decades? What what?)

Panels. And the collecting track just keeps on coming. Don’t fret, folks: I’m sure there’ll be something for the rest of us. (Right?)

Costumes. Register your fabulous duds for the Costume Pageants. If you don’t, they might send the 501st after you.

Book now! There’s no time to waste!

Guide. The folks at Reed have put together Orlando 101.

Star Wars in Concert treks on

Photo by thornmonkey @ flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0Star Wars: In Concert has continued to wind its way through the country, leaving lots of local press coverage in its wake: Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City. Dallas, Tulsa, Houston, Tampa, Philadelphia, and Charlotte. (Anthony Daniels was no slouch either.) And don’t forget Paula’s review!

The show will be in New Haven on Tuesday, and Toledo got an early jump on things by profiling the 15-year-old fan who won their prize pack. And there are a couple chances to win tickets for Detroit, Toronto, and New York.

(Picture from Cowboys Stadium by ThornMonkey)

Media watch: Star Wars: In Concert storms the west

As Star Wars: In Concert rolls along (Los Angeles and San Jose last week,) the press has caught wind and treated us to a few articles and the traditional oh-so-inspired headline choices. So far, the biggest treatment is out of Denver, which uses the concert tour as a hinge to play the dueling franchise game. With infographics! It’s familiar territory but one can’t help but appreciate the enthusiasm.

You can expect the expected (twice) from the San Jose Mercury News, while the Sacramento Press plays it safe. Next up is the northwest, where the Seattle Times and The Oregonian both offer interviews with Anthony Daniels. (The San Francisco Chronicle also nabbed him – on their baby blog? ) Don’t expect much from the east coast or midwest yet (it’s football season,) but Toledo and Cleveland have nods.

Of course CNN, being CNN, got George.

In the news: Fisher takes ‘Drinking’ to New York, Dirty-minded neighbors peg Prowse film as porn

Buns over Broadway. Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show ‘Wishful Drinking’ opened on Broadway this weekend, and the reviews are in. Not too shabby! Let’s not forget the woman herself is still blogging away… And not pulling any punches, either.

Why is the goofy news always from the U.K.? Two stories involving David Prowse… In the first, his car breaks down. Okay, maybe not so wacky, except the part where it used to belong to Kenny Baker, thus allowing all the ability to write a silly headline. In the second, a house where the actor was filming a drama was raided by police after neighbors reported the film crew as being there to shot a porn flick.

Behind the CGI. The New York Daily News has a nice piece profiling the Clone Wars voice talent.

In Concert. Naturally the tour is getting some (digital) ink; L.A. Times’ Hero Complex talked to several folks, including host Anthony Daniels; Pheonix New Times’ Benjamin Leatherman was not particularly impressed, though he did give the masses a say. (Ahh, Twitter. Removing the journalist’s need to actually talk to people for comment since 2006.) As for the places where it’s yet to come, Chicago Now’s Geek to Me and The Ottawa Citizen have taken notice.

The quick guide to Star Wars on Twitter

Match the icon with the username! Okay, it's easy.

As the legion of Star Wars accounts on Twitter grows, it’s getting harder to keep track of. It’s impossible to list everyone, but here are a few accounts that may be of interest.

Please note that although we provide this page as a service to fans to find official accounts and other people they may wish to follow, we do not encourage pestering or harassing celebrities and/or other fans. Please be respectful to the celebrities and each other.

And if you’re wondering about hashtags, StarWars.com has some suggestions (though I’m not about to give up on #EpisodeVII!)

Marquee names
  • Carrie Fisher (@CarrieFFisher) Played Princess Leia in the original trilogy.
  • Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) Played Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy.
  • Anthony Daniels (@ADaniels3PO) Played C-3PO in all six movies.
  • Ewan McGregor (@mcgregor_ewan) Played Obi-wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy.
  • Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) All -around badass; Played Mace Windu in the prequel trilogy.
  • David Prowse (@isDARTHVADER) Played Darth Vader (in the suit) for the original trilogy.
  • Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) Played Chewbacca in the original trilogy and ROTS.
  • Bonnie Piesse (@BonniePiesse) Played Beru Lars in AOTC and ROTS.
  • Ahmed Best (@ahmedbest) Played Jar Jar Binks in the prequels.
  • Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) Played Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi as well as several characters in The Phantom Menace and many other films.
  • Ray Park (@PARKYBOY74) Played Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace.
  • Richard LeParmentier (@AdmiralMotti) Played Admiral Motti in A New Hope.
Crew
  • Joel Aron ( @joelaron ) Visual effects on Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars
  • Bad Robot (@bad_robot) Home base of Episode VII director J.J. Abrams.
  • Dave Filoni (@dave_filoni) Supervising director of The Clone Wars, Rebels.
  • Phil Tippett (@PhilTippett) VFX artist who now heads Tippet Studio; Did stop motion effects for ANH and ESB.
  • Greg Weisman (@Greg_Weisman) Writer on Rebels. Worked on Gargoyles, Young Justice.
  • Matthew Wood (@matthewood) Skywalker Sound; Voice of General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars.
Voices
  • Matt Lanter (@MattLanter) Voice of Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars
  • Ashley Eckstein (@HerUniverse) Voice of Ahsoka Tano. Used mostly for Her Universe business, and also listed under licensees, but Ashley shares other stuff here as well.
  • James Arnold Taylor (@JATactor) Voice of Obi-Wan in The Clone Wars
  • Catherine Taber (@cattaber) Voice of Padme Amidala in The Clone Wars
  • Sam Witwer (@SamWitwer) Voice of Darth Maul on The Clone Wars, Galen Marek/Starkiller in The Force Unleashed.
  • Dee Bradley Baker (@deebradleybaker) Voice of The Clone Wars clonetroopers.
  • Phil LaMarr (@phillamarr) Voice of The Clone Wars’ Kit Fisto.
  • Meredith Salenger (@MeredthSalenger) voiced Barriss Offee in The Clone Wars.
  • Simon Pegg (@simonpegg) Voice of Dengar in The Clone Wars. Director/Actor, Shaun of the Dead, Scottie in Star Trek prequel/reboot.
  • Greg Proops (@GregProops) Voice of Beed Annodue in The Phantom Menace.
  • Peter Serafinowicz (@serafinowicz) Voice of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace.
Lucasfilm and licensees
Other official types
  • Chris Argyropoulos (@ThatChrisA) Lucasfilm Publicist
  • Dan Brooks (@dan_brooks) Works for StarWars.com
  • Tracy Cannobbio (@Tcann13) Lucasfilm Publicist
  • Mary Franklin (@MaryLFL) Sr. Event Lead for Lucasfilm, queen of all she surveys
  • Jennifer Heddle (@jenheddle) Senior Editor (fiction) at Lucasfilm.
  • Pablo Hidalgo (@infinata) Brand Communication Manager for Lucasfilm, author, internet rockstar
  • Leland Chee (@HolocronKeeper) Keeper of the Holocron, Lucas Licensing
  • Matt Martin (@missingwords) Works for StarWars.com
  • Erich Schoeneweiss (@Darth_Duff) Del Rey editor
  • Randy Stradley (@Randy_Stradley) Vice President of Publishing, Dark Horse Comics
Writers
  • Aaron Allston (@aaronallston) Author, X-Wing, Legacy of the Force, Fate of the Jedi series.
  • Kevin J. Anderson (@TheKJA) Author, The Jedi Academy Trilogy
  • Corinna Bechko (@CorinnaBechko) Writer, Legacy
  • Haden Blackman (@HadenBlackman) LucasArts / Writer, The Force Unleashed
  • Jeremy Barlow (@Jeremy_Barlow) Writer / Dark Horse editor
  • Bonnie Burton (@bonniegrrl) Writer, You Can Draw: Star Wars
  • Nathan P. Butler (@swfanworks) Writer, ‘Equals and Opposites’ / StarWarsFanWorks.com
  • Chris Cassidy (@Yav14) Writer, ‘Precipice’
  • James.S.A.Corey (@JamesSACorey) aka Daniel Abraham (@AbrahamHanover) and Ty Franck. Authors, Empire and Rebellion: Honor Among Thieves.
  • Paul Ens (@paulens) Writer, R2-D2: Beneath the Dome, ‘Evasive Action’ webstrips / Owner of Red 5 Comics / Former Director of Lucas Online
  • Jason Fry (@jasoncfry) Author, The Essential Atlas
  • Christie Golden (@ChristieGolden) Author, Fate of the Jedi
  • Kevin Hearne (@KevinHearne) Author, upcoming Empire and Rebellion Luke novel.
  • Helen Keier (@HelenKeier) Writer, The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
  • Drew Karpyshyn (@DrewKarpyshyn) Author, Darth Bane novels.
  • Paul S. Kemp (@Paulskemp) Author, Crosscurrent
  • Tim Lebbon (@timlebbon) Author, Dawn of the Jedi novel
  • John Jackson Miller (@jjmfaraway) Writer, Knights of the Old Republic, Kenobi
  • Abel G. Peña (@ThePhilodoxer) Writer, things fanboys love
  • J. W. Rinzler (@jwrinzler) Writer, The Making of Star Wars, other nonfiction.
  • Joe Schreiber (@joeschreiber1) Author, Death Troopers
  • Mike Stackpole (@MikeStackpole) Author, X-Wing series
  • Matthew Stover (@MWStover ) Author, Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, Revenge of the Sith novelization.
  • Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorMade) Writer, Invasion comic.
  • Paul Urquhart (@quhart) Writer, The Essential Guide to Warfare
  • Dan Wallace (@danwall88) Author, The Essential Atlas
  • Martha Wells (@marthawells1) Author, Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge
  • Sean Williams (@adelaidesean) Author, The Force Unleashed novelizations
  • Ryder Windham (@ryderwindham)
  • Brian Wood (@brianwood) Writer, Star Wars, the comic that began in 2013
Artists
Organizations
Fan sites and the like
Notable fans
‘Characters’
Misc
Other notables