Pete Vilmur explores early Star Wars press in three parts: 1974-1975, 1976 and 1977.
Eye Candy: Searching LIFE for Star Wars
A couple months ago, the LIFE photo archive went up in Google, fully searchable. Plenty has been done with them since then, but it didn’t occur to me to look for Star Wars until today. There isn’t a ton there – the bulk of images that come up are from The Phantom Menace premiere – but there are a few things of interest, like Time covers, some vintage toy pics and this shot of Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness and Mark Hamill at a party celebrating the tenth anniversary of A New Hope. You get about the same amount of shots searching for just George Lucas, and even more for Harrison Ford, but clearly Sir Alec wins. (Wait! Was it really a party for ANH? Now I doubt.) But perhaps most amusingly: Jar-Jar and Madeline Albright? Or Peter Cushing in Hamlet?
Off the fannish track, two of the more interesting uses I’ve seen around the web have been Jezebel’s The Way We Were features and Typophile’s book cover meme.
The ghosts of Star Wars Christmas past
StarWars.com takes another trip into the Lucasfilm Archives to check out what fans would be getting (or least, asking for) way back in 1978.
And while collectors today may have a hard time getting their hands on those late-70’s gems, they can at least console themselves with Gus and Duncan’s Comprehensive Guide to Star Wars Collectibles, which can be pre-ordered from Paizo now.
More adventures in Holiday Special archeology
The StarWars.com crew did some digging and unearthed several Holiday Special props and other detris – even an animatic reel of the cartoon. There’s also a handful of old articles – one on the art directors and concept art, kicking off with Ralph McQuarrie and an interview with Patty Maloney, who played Lumpawarrump, and Stan Winston on Wookiee makeup/costuming. And finally, learn to draw Chewie’s family.
Bask in the horror of Holiday Special week
The fact that there is anything that can be qualified as Holiday Special collectibles is chilling at best. But in a month that has brought us the Darth Vader toaster, it’s impossible to be surprised – except perhaps by the lack of a Ackmena Cantina playset.
Those desiring words over pictures can head over to interviews with the special’s scriptwriter and directors.
Nostalgia for a future that never was
Be prepared for the inevitable robot uprising with these nifty rayguns.
A GFFA PSA
Star Wars drunk driving PSA from 1979. God, I love YouTube. (via Scrubbles)