In the news: Billy Dee, Carrie and Harrison, plus Star Wars in sports and politics

Billy Dee Williams shared his insight with El Paso’s What’s Up Weekly about Lucas’ modifications to the original trilogy, and his relationship with the character of Lando Calrissian, and with Colt 45 commercials. On parodying Lando in Robot Chicken:

“I make fun of myself, so why shouldn’t I make fun of Lando? It worked, and the fact that I can make fun of it means it worked. And people enjoy it. When I do Seth Green’s Robot Chicken, I enjoy doing that stuff. It’s a lot of fun for me, and it keeps the character alive.”

Meanwhile, Carrie Fisher has mentioned that maybe she’ll don Princess Leia’s metal bikini once again, with one condition:

“I will do it if a whole bunch of women over 40 come to Yankee Stadium. We’ll put everyone in metal bikinis, and we will sit around and laugh and talk about the old days when we ate a lot.”

Harrison Ford revealed that he no longer sees people as fans, but as customers, and that “I don’t see myself as a sex symbol these days.”

Star Wars in sports: We know that one of George Lucas’ daughters, Katie, has followed her father’s footsteps in writing for The Clone Wars, but what of Amanda Lucas? She’s a MMA cage fighter, and gets the win in a recent bout in Japan (complete with Yoda-speak headline).

Star Wars in politics: Part of a headline from Talking Points Memo: Rick Perry’s Star Wars Problem: Apparently, it’s Al Gore. Meanwhile, on The Colbert Report, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice compares September in the United Nations to the Mos Eisley Cantina – do they both have a pesky no-droids-allowed policy?

We’ve got the entertainment, sports, and politics covered. Stay tuned for Star Wars in weather and traffic.

Fandom minute: Hooray for the prequels, space crafts, and beards

Obi-wan KenobiI 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.

Giants & Star WarsSpeaking 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.

In the news: Fans love the Yoda statue, ILM may establish Canadian outpost


Emily Lewis, right, and her pal Jason at the Yoda Fountain. (Photo by Emily Lewis.

A dispatch from the mainstream. The Yoda statue at the Presidio is a landmark for Star Wars fans, an Associated Press article says this week. No, really? Other key Star Wars locales, like Tunisia and Lake Como, are also mentioned.

ILM looking north? The Hollywood Reporter says that Industrial Light + Magic is looking into opening a facility in Vancouver.

Your daily dose of stormtroopers. The Illinois 501st get profiled in the Chicago Tribune.

Baseball. The San Francisco Giants are freezing pitcher Brian Wilson (not the Beach Boy) in carbonite for the Star Wars day on September 4th. Wouldn’t it make more sense to freeze the visiting team’s pitcher?

Science! Spoilers are good for you, says a study by UC San Diego. Okay then!

In the news: Giddy Portman wins Golden Globe

Honors. Natalie Portman took home a Best Actress Golden Globe last night for Black Swan. We’ll chock up her joyful but rambly acceptance speech to pregnancy hormones.

Goals. Carrie Fisher is Jenny Craig’s newest celebrity spokesperson. “I would like to have the option of getting back into the metal bikini. I won’t be doing that, but I’d like the option,” she told UsMagazine.com.

Sports. I don’t get this in the least and it’s no doubt irrevelant at this point, but the deep thinkers at the New York Post pulled out a Return of the Jedi spoof/thing last week. I hear the Jets won, if that means anything.

In the world… Hollywood cameras keep rolling in Tunisia (Tatooine) through political turmoil.

Roundup: Clone Wars day is here

Tonight’s the night for The Clone Wars’ return, and the fannish interwebs are hopping. Here’s some stuff to get you pumped.

Even I’m going to attempt to watch – and hopefully stick with it this time – with the help of TFN’s live chat.

Star Wars in the news: Ashley Eckstein talks Star Wars, Her Universe, and baseball with ESPN

Ashley Eckstein is getting some ink for Her Universe in the most unlikely of places: ESPN! I don’t doubt being married to an MLB player helps widen the field of interest, but let’s not forget we’re the only fandom with a noteworthy gender disparity. (Sports-loving ladies can see the Alyssa Milano line that Ashley mentions as an inspiration at Fandalia.)

Not the lawsuit you’re looking for… Lucasfilm has backed down from their legal threat against Wicked Lasers, which makes a (you have to admit) very lightsaber-looking laser. But elsewhere in the world, the march continues

Horrors of the audition tapes. Sylvester Stallone auditioned for Han Solo? Sounds like he didn’t get far enough for tapes, but that’s probably a good thing.

Presented without commentary. Are Jedi Knights Libertarian or Socialist?

In the news: Yoda hates the A’s, Hollywood and the 12-year-olds, movie music, Ming-Na, and George

I guess that explains the billboard. The Dodgers having a Star Wars night on October 3rd, while they play the Rockies. Doesn’t the Bay Area have a baseball team? Security better keep a close eye on Yoda that night, is all I’m saying.

…And the smell. Hollywood is courting 12-year old boys. Uhh, they stopped?

Fanboys turn the tide yet again. Star Wars has the best movie music, internet poll says. Well, I’m shocked. Are you shocked?

I should leave this for Paula, but… Stargate Universe’s Ming-Na “wanted to be Luke Skywalker.”

Obligatory George item. He could buy Guyana. Information you can use. Thanks, Forbes!