Nah, I don’t think so. And her list of the Top Ten Most Eye-Sporking Moments in the EU is pretty damn hilarious.
Spores!!!
It’s love, baby!
Even Jedi turn to Dr Love to help sort out their pathetic love lives.
Things don’t look too good for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon…
… Siri Tachi and Obi-Wan might do all right…
… Mace and Obi sitting in a tree…
… but, booyah, Obi-Wan and Padme rock the house. Scandal!
This entry brought to you by Liz and Yav and a whole lot of caffeine.
Desperate for Vader
Seems some fans are just a bit too keen to get their hands on Burger Kings toys.
“They warned me before it started someone may try to steal my Darth Vader off the roof,” said Chris Hamilton, manager at a Columbus Burger King. But Hamilton wasn’t ready for thieves to break into his Plexiglas display case to steal “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” toys during the promotion. His restaurant is on its third case.
PG denies being in the vicinity. Yav isn’t even on the continent.
Hamill to play Joker?
The Internet Movie Database reports that Mark Hamill is in the running to play the Joker in the sequel to “Batman Begins.”
The actor, who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, has become a fan favorite to play Batman’s colorful foe. He joins Crispin Glover and Aussie actor Lachy Hulme on the three-strong internet shortlist.
Hamill became an obvious choice for some Batman fans after voicing The Joker for the Batman cartoon series. A spokesman for top Batman website Darkhorizons.Com points out, “The net basically picked Christian Bale to play Batman, so who knows.” Batman Begins opens across America and Europe this week.
Make Poverty History
Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor have both done promos for Make Poverty History. Neeson narrates and appears in the spot called “Click,” while McGregor is featured in a parody ad for Orange that will be appear in British cinemas.
Both spots and more information about Make Poverty History can be found here.
McGregor to host Youth G8 Summit
Sixteen kids from some of the richest and poorest countries in the world will meet in Scotland on July 3 to hold the first “Youth G8 Summit.” Ewan McGregor and violin prodigy Nicola Benedetti will host the event.
Topics of discussion will include poverty, HIV/AIDS, and education. The youngsters will create a manifesto, which will be presented to world leaders when they arrive in Scotland later in the week for the G8 Summit.
McGregor, from Crieff in Perthshire, said: “Whenever I meet children as Unicef ambassador, I am amazed at their eloquent, articulate and passionate views.
“They really have a unique perspective on the world. Many living in other countries have had direct experience of issues such as poverty, education, HIV and Aids and deserve to have their voices heard.”
Thanks to Ewan News for the head’s up.
Spackle for the spackle-meisters
Finally… someone who understands us! Todd Seavey has written a brilliant (and hilarious) article on the need of sci-fi geeks to spackle our universe(s).
For example:
Yet sometimes the editors and writers responsible for such series barely care about maintaining continuity, so busy are they with more mundane tasks such as writing entertaining dialogue and coming up with interesting new characters. That is why such universes desperately need the obsessive, crank-like fan, the fan willing to concoct rationalizations that make sense of the apparent continuity errors. Indeed, without such fans, I question whether the continuity of these universes could be maintained at all. The fate of entire fictional worlds, the very cohesion of the space-time continuum, hinges on the selfless efforts of fans like myself to keep track of what the hell is going on and explain the slip-ups by the so-called “professionals!”
And:
If Scotty witnesses Captain Kirk’s death at the beginning of Star Trek VII, it is extremely troubling to some of us—those who care, those who have intellectual integrity and the discipline of logic!—if Scotty is awakened from suspended animation approximately seventy years later in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and asks whether Captain Kirk is still alive. Scotty should know that Kirk isn’t! Something is wrong! It doesn’t add up—yet it must! It must!
There is also some wonderful stuff about Star Wars. Go read. What are you waiting for? Todd Seavey, we salute you!
Thanks to Michelle for the head’s up on this gem!
Shatner serenades Lucas
At the AFI Lifetime Achievement award presentation. Really. Like we could make this up.
William Shatner — Capt. Kirk from another great space saga, “Star Trek” — offered a musical number “from one star voyager to another.” He performed a variation of “My Way,” telling Lucas “you did it your way” while dancers in “Star Wars” stormtrooper costumes did a chorus line routine.
Thanks to Jessa for the head’s up!
Edit: The AFI show honouring Lucas will air June 20 on the USA Network.
London or Bust: a review of “Guys and Dolls”
Last weekend, I was lucky enough to catch the new production of “Guys and Dolls” playing at the Piccadilly Theatre. Before I go any further, let me produce my union card for the International Federation of Geeks now and get it out of the way. While I always make the effort to see a show when I am in London, this time I made the journey from Switzerland to England for the sole purpose of seeing Ewan McGregor sing and dance around on stage.
Art? Culture? Support the theatre? Nah. I was in it for the Scotsman.
Now on to the show. It was quite simply marvellous! I didn’t expect it to be so wonderful. I had thought it would be good. Very good, even. I had also thought that Ewan would be the standout. He wasn’t. He was one strong part of a stellar cast. It was so amazing there were points in the play where I forgot Mr McGregor was in it. I admire him for being brave enough to select a project where he was part of a larger whole instead of seeking out a “star vehicle.”
During the “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” number the guy singing the lead (Martyn Ellis) was so amazing that he got a three or four minute wildly enthusiastic ovation. Some people were even standing. This was in the middle of the show! I’d never seen anything like it. The actors had to stand frozen on the stage for the duration waiting for it to be quiet enough to start up again.
But back to Ewan. He was fabulous as Sky Masterson. The only time I made a SW/Ewan connection was when Sky belted out “Luck, be a Lady Tonight” and I heard Obi-Wan up there singing “Luke be a Jedi tonight!” I blame “The Simpsons” for that. The rest of the time I saw and heard Sky. He could sing. He could dance. He was funny, sarcastic, and earnest — a compelling combination.
We asked about the possibility of a cast CD and were told that it is in the works. They hope it will be ready in the next few months. There are also plans underway to sell it via the internet.
I asked at the box office about ticket availability. They said that the show is sold out (except for Weds. matinees) until August. But that they release the front row (18 seats) and standing room space (2X18) at 10 AM the morning of a show (at the theatre box office). The tickets cost £20 and each person can buy a maximum of two. He said people were queuing starting at 5 AM. The theatre is dark on Sundays.
So, in short, London or bust! If there is any way you can get there, do it.
Pirates and Clones!
With all the fervor over ROTS it’s easy to forget other movies to be excited about.
The trailer for Ewan McGregor’s next movie — “The Island” — is now available online. It’s different than the one that’s been playing before some showings of ROTS.
And Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley recently talked about the sequels to “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Spoilers, ahoy.