Category: people

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Ewan McGregor on The Force Awakens, the broadsaber, and (maybe) returning as Obi-Wan

Not Obi-Wan: Ewan McGregor in Last Days in the Desert
Not Obi-Wan, really: Ewan McGregor as Jesus in Last Days in the Desert.

“I’m excited about it as much as anyone else. I saw the trailer and it looks like he absolutely nailed it and it feels right,” Ewan McGregor said on The Force Awakens at the 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival this weekend.

He’s not sure about Kylo Ren’s lightsaber crossguard, though: “If you fight with a lightsaber properly you don’t need one.”

As for Obi-Wan Kenobi:

Would McGregor return to the role, if asked? “I’ll say it publicly, here, now. I’d be happy to do the story between Episode 3, that I finished in, and Episode 4 that Alec Guinness started in. I think that would be good. Disney should definitely do that.” McGregor’s tone suggested he was half-quipping.

We’ve known that McGregor would be down to return since the very day we learned there’d be new movies, but it’s nice to know that his interest hasn’t waned, at least.

McGregor was at the festival for the U.K. premiere of Last Days in the Desert, where he plays a duel role as Jesus and Satan. At least one upcoming role keeps him in the Disney family – he’s playing Lumiere in the live-action Beauty and the Beast that’s slated for 2017.

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Jake Lloyd arrested, jailed after high-speed car chase

Jake Lloyd (Colleton County Detention Center)Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace was arrested after a high-speed car chase in South Carolina on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.

The man gave his name as Jake Broadbent, Strickland said. The man’s birthdate matched the actors’ listed by movie database IMDB.com and a hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado, where Lloyd was born.

The man was charged with failing to stop for officers and reckless driving after hitting speeds over 100 miles an hour, Sgt. Kyle Strickland said.

The chase spanned two counties and at least 25 miles before Lloyd drove off the highway onto a parallel road and eventually hitting “several small trees.”

Lloyd remains in jail Sunday, and has not posted bail. His arrest was first reported by TMZ.

All the obvious jokes regarding pod-racing and midiclorians have been made extensively.

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Christopher Lee passes away at age 93

christopher-lee-dooku

Veteran actor Christopher Lee, who counted Star Wars’ Count Dooku among his hundreds of film roles, died Sunday in London.

In the ’50s and ’60s, he was best known for his work in the Hammer Horror films, where he famously played Count Dracula, often alongside another actor who eventually showed up in Star Wars, Peter Cushing. In the ’70s, he upped his profile with pivotal roles in The Wicker Man and The Man with the Golden Gun.

(My personal introduction to Lee was 1982’s The Last Unicorn, where he voiced the villain, King Haggard.)

In the early 2000s, he gained a whole new audience in two of the decades biggest franchises, playing Dooku in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and the wizard Saruman in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings adaptions. He also appeared in several Tim Burton films.

Films aside, Lee led a intriguing life: He served as an intelligence officer during and just after World War II, where his duties involved hunting down Nazi war criminals. (In an infamous bit from the Lord of the Rings extras, he tells Peter Jackson how it sounds when a man is stabbed in the back.)

He also released several heavy metal concept albums, the last in 2013.

Below the cut, a handful of tweets. Continue reading “Christopher Lee passes away at age 93”

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John Boyega roamed the Celebration Anaheim floor in disguise

Moving through the crowds at celebration grabbing all the merchandise a fan boy needs.

A video posted by @john_boyega on

The Force Awakens star John Boyega returned to Twitter and Instagram on Thursday, where he revealed – after the fact – that he’d spent some time roving the convention while wearing a clone trooper helmet.

john_boyega: “Moments #Starwars #Forceawakens”
john_boyega: “Lightsaber fight with SW fan at convention…blending in nicely.”

Who’s the lucky fan who got to duel with him, I wonder?

UPDATE: He wasn’t the only one…

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Harrison Ford stable after crash landing

Officials have confirmed that Harrison Ford was indeed involved in a crash landing at an L.A. area golf course this afternoon. Ford is in stable condition, People reports. A family member told the local NBC station that the actor is fine and suffered only a few gashes. And his son, Ben Ford, tweeted “At the hospital. Dad is ok. Battered, but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man.”

UPDATE: Ford’s publicist has released a statement:

Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which had engine trouble upon take off. He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely. He was banged up and is in the hospital receiving medical care. The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.

The pilot’s injuries were classified as “fair to moderate” by first responders. TMZ was first to report the crash.

You said it, Chewie.