Category: lucasfilm

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Seth Rogan says George Lucas thinks the world is going to end in 2012; LFL snarks back

The actor told the Toronto Sun about a recent encounter he had with the director… About the end of the world.

“George Lucas sits down and seriously proceeds to talk for around 25 minutes about how he thinks the world is gonna end in the year 2012, like, for real. He thinks it.

“He’s going on about the tectonic plates and all the time Spielberg is, like, rolling his eyes, like, ’My nerdy friend won’t shut up, I’m sorry…’

“I first thought he (Lucas) was joking… and then I totally realized he was serious and then I started thinking, ’If you’re George Lucas and you actually think the world is gonna end in a year, there’s no way you haven’t built a spaceship for yourself… So I asked him… ’Can I have a seat on it?’

Oh, George.

Counterpoint: Here’s what Katie Lucas has to say about it:

I have no idea if the conversation actually happened. But he would TOTALLY say that. As a joke, obviously. Geez people, its funny. Get over it!

UPDATE: Word from LFL themselves! Beware of snark.

“I spoke with George,” said Lucasfilm rep Lynne Hale in an e-mail to Wired.com about this issue of obvious intergalactic importance.

“He was not serious when he talked about the end of the world in 2012 but he is an adamant believer that the world is flat, that Stonehenge was built by aliens, and that the sun revolves around the Earth,” Hale said. “These are among the many subjects he commonly discusses at length with Elvis, who he’s going to digitally insert into Indy 5 along with a roster of famous dead actors.”

So dare I say this means that George trolled Seth Rogan? So many LULZ.

UPDATE #2: Further your LOL with the snark-deficient.

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Star Wars in the news: Seth Green, Ben Burtt, Lucasfilm Singapore, and TOR’s ten-year plan

Anamayhem. Seth Green talks Robot Chicken: Star Wars III and the comedy show that he and Matthew Senreich are doing with Lucasfilm. Which we’ll hear about in two years. Yay?

The audience is listening. A ten-minute segment on NPR this weekend featured J.W. Rinzler and Ben Burtt on – what else – The Sounds of Star Wars. You can listen or read about it! Oh, glorious text!

Upsizing! Lucasfilm’s facility in Singapore gets some love – and do I spy a hint at that World War II fairy musical we’ve been so wildly anticipating?

And in your gaming corner… EA CFO Eric Brown said at a gaming industry event that they hope Bioware’s upcoming The Old Republic MMO will last ten years. With even the less-than-wildly-successful Galaxies still (technically) up and running 7 years on, TOR making it a decade can’t be that far-fetched.

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George Lucas planning to resurrect dead movie stars with digital magic? Lucasfilm says no.

Mel Smith (who directed Radioland Murders) told British tabloid The Sun that George Lucas plans to breathe new life into stars of the past.

“George has been buying up the film rights to dead actors in the hope of using computer trickery to put them all together, so you’d have Orson Welles and Barbara Stanwyck alongside today’s stars.”

UPDATE: The quote is originally from an interview in The Daily Mail. Not sure that’s much better as far as reliability goes.

All I can say to this is: Wha? It’s not completely far-fetched, but my doubt circuits are fully engaged on this one.

UPDATE: And Lucasfilm has called bull. Spokesman Josh Kushins told Underwire that “this rumor is completely false.”

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In the news: Vader costume going on the auction block

Costume for sale. An original Darth Vader costume – believed to have been from The Empire Strikes Back – will soon be going up for auction at Christie’s in London. It’s being put up for sale by “an American private collector” and is expected to fetch at least $250,000. A percentage of the sale price will go to cancer research.

In spaaaaace. A stable planet orbiting twin stars has been found 49 light-years away. (Alas – it is a gas giant.) Still, researchers have named the planet “Inrakluk,” which sounds pretty Wookiee to me.

Partnerships. Lucas Online has a new partner, Big Spaceship, for some of their digital endeavors. Maybe this means we’ll see a kickass StarWars.com app?

People. USA Weekend interviews Matt Lanter, the actor who angsts enough for two on The Clone Wars and 90210.

Books. Visions is getting some nice press… Check out a profile of contributing artist Robert Bailey, who got to meet George Lucas, from The Edmonton Journal.

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Steve Sansweet is retiring from LFL

Today, StarWars.com has broken the news that Steve Sansweet will be leaving Lucasfilm in April 2011. We’ve always been great fans of Steve, so I feel pretty safe in saying that all of Club Jade might be shedding a tear or two in tribute come spring.

He’s not stepping away from Star Wars entirely: “I intend to remain actively engaged with Star Wars and fandom,” he says. We’ll be sad to see him go, but I’ve no doubt that Steve will flourish.

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In the news: Carrie’s Hoth confession, Sandcrawlers in Singapore, and George speaks out for education

I doubt this was the kind of revelation that Lucasfilm was hoping would make waves in the wake of the new Making of book, but it’s been tough to miss Carrie Fisher’s disclosure down under that she did cocaine on the Hoth set of The Empire Strikes Back. “I didn’t even like coke that much,” she says. “It was just a case of getting on whatever train I needed to take to get high.” She goes on to talk about John Belushi and (of course) her show ‘Wishful Drinking,’ which she’ll be performing in several Australian cities through November.

UPDATE: Fisher blogs about the cocaine incident with her characteristic zing:

So, a long time ago, in a nostril far far away, I ventured outside the perimeters of the appropriate by inhaling a substance that would render me less than professional by abusing the privilege of playing the powerful space princess that I had been given.

And yes, she goes on to say, “I suggest you stay away from ingesting this anxious making powder.”

Wait, what’s that? Lucasfilm is building a new facility in Singapore that resembles a chromed Jawa sandcrawler. Pretty interesting, particularly given that the company seems to prefer a more vintage look when it comes to architecture (or maybe that only applies in California.)

The Maker… blogs? George Lucas has come down from on high to blog for The Huffington Post on the importance of education. Note: He probably wrote it on a yellow pad and had one of his many employees type it up, so don’t start holding your breath for his tweets.

Spreading the word. Ashley Eckstein talks Her Universe in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers.

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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?

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Lucasfilm C&Ds makers of ‘real lightsaber’

It BURNS FLESH. No thanks.The makers don’t call it a lightsaber (though the internet certainly does) but the Spyder III Arctic laser certainly looks like one, and that’s prompted Lucasfilm to send the Hong Kong company Wicked Lasers a cease and desist.

I’m no lawyer, but the appearance of the laser is pretty blatantly inspired by its fictional forbearer. And anything that might keep “the most dangerous laser ever created” out of the hands of stupid geeks is fine by me.