Author: jawajames

San Diego-based Jawa.
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Analysis: The ‘Noooooo’ heard around the world is still a win for Lucasfilm

Nooo!

So last week, it was leaked, and then substantiated that the Blu-ray edition of Return of the Jedi would contain a change that set the fan world into a buzz: As Palpatine zaps Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader would now say “Nooooooooooooo!” as he decides to shaft the Emperor.

Many fans were taken aback by this change by George Lucas – not only does it feed into one of the most laughed-at lines from Revenge of the Sith, it changes the tone of the scene, from Vader as the silent man of action, to him giving voice to his emotional turmoil. Some fans bemoaned the general state of constant changes with each re-release of the movies, while others felt that it is fine for the creator to update his work to help tie the saga all together. Celebrity fan Simon Pegg called it a “clueless revision” – but was it really clueless? Continue reading “Analysis: The ‘Noooooo’ heard around the world is still a win for Lucasfilm”

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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.

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Out this week: Heir to the Empire 20th Anniversary Edition and more

On Sale Today!Today is the release day for the 20th anniversary of Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. As Erich points out on Facebook, this new edition contains:

  • Special annotations from author Tim Zahn and editor Betsy Mitchell
  • Crisis of Faith, Zahn’s new novella featuring Thrawn
  • Foreword by Lucas Licensing President Howard Roffman, an Afterword by Betsy Mitchell, and an introduction by Zahn

Also out today: Paperback version of Sean Williams’ The Force Unleashed II.

Comics: Out this week (check your store for possible Labor Day-induced shipping delays): Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #2

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Gaming news: Kinect Star Wars delayed, Star Wars Galaxies ending to be determined by players

Obi-wan KenobiBoth the Kinect Star Wars game and the limited edition Kinect Star Wars themed XBox 360 bundle won’t be launched for the 2011 holiday season, Microsoft announced. OXM suggests that the delay is for the best, allowing more time for game development to fix lag-related issues that would leave your Jedi defenseless. No new release date for the Artoo-Detoo skinned game console or the standalone game has been announced.

As the Star Wars Galaxies MMO heads towards shutdown, Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the fate of the galaxy will be settled by the players, reports 1up.com. Player actions will determine whether the Empire or the Rebel Alliance will emerge victorious in the Galactic Civil War with celebrations for the winners and a chance for “going out with a bang” for the losers. Launched in 2003, Galaxies will be shutting down on December 15.

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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.

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EUbits: Shadow Games mini-excerpts, looking at recent SW comics, and a real Crystal Star?

While a lot of talk this week has been focusing on the changes coming in the Star Wars Blu-ray release, there’s also been some news and chatter in the world of the Expanded Universe:

Shadow Games: Del Rey has posted two mini-excerpts from Shadow Games on the Star Wars Books account on Facebook. The novel, by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, comes out at the end of November.

Mini-excerpt #1 (from last week):

“Confidence,” Dash retorted, annoyed at being pulled out of his pleasant reverie. “The Outrider is twice the ship the Falcon is.” As far as he was concerned Solo’s boat was a scow compared with Dash’s heavily modified YT-2400.

Mini-excerpt #2:

“Then where am I supposed to come by these steely-eyed, laser-toting…characters?”

A smile curved Kendara Farlion’s lips and her teeth showed, white and even in her face. “I never thought I’d say this, but there are advantages to being from Mos Eisley. I know exactly where to look for that kind of character.”

Comics:

Favorite Scenes: Del Rey asked fans on Facebook to identify favorite scenes from the novels. A lot of deaths pop in: Anakin Solo, Ganner, Chewbacca (I guess fans have mellowed a bit on that) and Thrawn, as well as scenes from the X-Wing (both comedic and action scenes), Republic Commando, and Darth Bane series. Did not see any mentions of Waru or the Black Fleet Crisis, and that makes me sad.

Fact mirrors Star Wars fiction: Discovered: A real life “Crystal Star” (well, a crystallizing former star) – Formerly a white dwarf star, this planet is believed to be turning into one giant diamond. At 4,000 light-years away, it’ll take a while for this rock to be a girl’s best friend. Also, did not see any mentions of Waru, and that makes me sad again.

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And the rest: Wonder Woman, BSG: Blood and Chrome, Angel, and Damon Lindelof loves Raiders

Wonder Woman: Erika Peterman demands a Wonder Woman movie on the CNN Geek Out! blog. The co-founder of Girls-Gone-Geek.com addresses different theories as to why we haven’t gotten one yet: lack of a good story? Finding the right costume? Having an action movie led by a female? Casting for the perfect Princess Diana of the Amazons?

Battlestar Galactica: There’s talk that the upcoming BSG prequel series, Blood and Chrome, may end up a web series instead of airing on Syfy. Because they need more airtime for paranormal researching wrestlers. Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome focuses on a young William Adama during the first Cylon war.

Comics: Angel, the vampire with a soul, returns to Dark Horse Comics with this week’s release of Angel & Faith #1. For the past few years, while Dark Horse and Joss Whedon had been busy with Buffy Season Eight, IDW Comics and Joss Whedon had been publishing stories in the Angel franchise, including Angel: After the Fall and several Spike arcs. Now the Buffyverse is re-united back under Dark Horse as Angel and Faith team up to fight evil after the tumultuous events of Season Eight.

Raiders of the Lost Ark:Damon Lindelof (of Lost and 2009’s Star Trek) writes a love letter to the perfect movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and describes when he last peed in his pants.

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Protesters want Lando in The Old Republic MMO

At Penny Arcade Expo this past weekend, a group of Calrissian aficionados held a protest against the lack of Lando in the Star Wars: The Old Republic online game. Members of The Lando Society chanted “Never forget!” and donned mustaches and capes to draw attention to their cause: to ensure that everyone’s favorite baron-administrator (or a distant relative, which is more likely for a game taking place 3,500 years prior to Lando’s time) appear in the upcoming Bioware MMO title.

Want to support their drive to have the galaxy’s smoothest businessman (or his ancestor) included in the game? The Lando Society’s got a petition. Although, judging from this video of the society encountering a TOR developer, Bioware has its own in-house Lando fans, with Lando Calrissian’s moustache and outfit in mind for the game, due to release this holiday season. At least we now know who bought all the excess Lando ‘staches from Celebration V.

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Inside the Indiana Jones museum exhibition

It belongs in a museum. So do you!The LA Times interviews the creative forces behind the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology exhibition tour, currently at the Montreal Science Centre until September. While no U.S. dates are on the schedule yet, the Indiana Jones exhibition, which features real archaeological artifacts alongside movie props, costumes and artwork, will travel for the next six years. Interviewed are the exhibits manager at Lucasfilm, Kyra Bowling; National Geographic’s archaeology fellow, Fredrik Hiebert; and co-project manager at X3 Productions, Geneviève Angio-Morneau.

Along with the interview, there’s a photo gallery of some of the props and artifacts on display. Some of the iconic props in the exhibition include the Ark of the Covenant, Holy Grail, and Crystal Skull. X3 has been producing a series of video clips related to the show – Fredrik Hiebert talking about the influence of the films on would-be archaeologists, and James Mathieu about the Penn Museum’s contribution to the exhibit’s real archaeological contents.

The exhibition, produced by X3 Productions, is a collaboration of Lucasfilm and the National Geographic Society. Stay in the loop on the exhibition with the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology Facebook page. One of Dr. Jones’ rivals once told the man in the fedora that he belonged in a museum — and now he’s been proven right.