Category: people

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Original trilogy swordmaster Bob Anderson dies

Bob Anderson, who did Darth Vader’s fighting in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, has died at age 89.

Anderson’s work on the Star Wars films was originally supposed to be a secret, but Mark Hamill outted him in a 1983 interview.

“It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told (director) George (Lucas) I didn’t think it was fair any more,” Hamill told Starlog magazine. “Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man.”

An Olympic fencer for Great Britain in 1952, Anderson staged fights, coached actors and worked on stunts for dozens of movies, including Highlander, The Princess Bride, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

UPDATE: Hamill posted a dedication to Anderson on Twitter Tuesday afternoon:

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Harrison Ford returns to space in Ender’s Game

It was rumored several weeks back that the producers of the Ender’s Game movie were pursuing Harrison Ford to play Colonel Hyram Graff, and today it’s been confirmed that he’s signed on for the role.

The adaption of Orson Scott Card’s well-known novel, which will star Hugo’s Asa Butterfield as Ender, has been in the works for years – soon after The Phantom Menace, Jake Lloyd was being considered for the lead.

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Ewan McGregor lands The Corrections pilot for HBO

Yet another reason to get HBO. Obi-Wan actor (and favorite of many in Club Jade) Ewan McGregor will play the role of Chip in The Corrections. The show is based on the award-winning 2001 novel by Jonathan Franzen, which was a best-seller and early pick of Oprah’s Book Club. (Franzen was the author who was infamously less than thrilled for his book to be chosen by the talk-show host.)

While the article states this is McGregor’s first television series, it’s technically not true — one of his first jobs was starring in the UK series Lipstick On Your Collar.

Not that we’re obsessed, or anything.

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The catchup: Jedi and Sith in love, Vader in Ukraine

A very Star Wars engagement. This unnamed Bay Area Jedi/Sith couple put aside their differences for a Star Wars themed photo shoot by photographer Michael James. We have every faith those crazy kids will make it work, one way or another. (via)

Stunts. ‘Darth Vader’ submits a claim for 1,000 square meters of Ukraine. Good luck with that.

TV. Why is Chewbacca hanging out with the Glee folks? On second thought, having finally given up on the show this season, I don’t want to know.

People. James Earl Jones received an honorary Oscar.

Blast from the past. The internet has unearthed a 1978 interview with Mark Hamill.

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In the news: Will 300 sequel make a movie star of Joel ‘Uncle Owen’ Edgerton?

Rising star. Joel Edgerton has worked steadily in Hollywood since Attack of the Clones, but a big name he isn’t – yet. He’s currently in talks for a role that could change that, Vulture reports – the lead in the sequel to 300, Battle of Artemisia. (UPDATE: Vulture is now saying Edgerton is also being offered the role of Ilya in Steven Soderbergh’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. remake. )

Edgerton starred in September’s Warrior, last month’s The Thing and will play Tom Buchanan in next year’s high-profile adaption of The Great Gatsby alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan.

Home entertainment sales up. A trade group reports that home entertainment spending has risen 5% in the third quarter – the first increase since 2008. Helping drive the rise are Blu-ray sales, up a whopping 58% from a year ago. I can think of one recent release that may have helped with that…

Science! NASA has awarded three scientists $100,000 to “study the ability to trap and move objects using laser light,” aka tractor beams. Evil overlord wannabes everywhere are plotting in joy. For inspiration, check out Gadget Review’s list of Star Wars tech that now exists.

Commercials. British electronics retailer Dixons is the latest business to borrow Darth Vader for an ad campaign. The spots will debut Saturday.

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Out this week: Inside ILM, Fisher’s Shockaholic

Here’s one to put on your holiday wishlist: Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Innovation should be appearing in stores Tuesday. (It sounds like a companion piece to 1987’s Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects, which I recall thumbing through in Waldenbook’s as a kid.) Also keep an eye out for Carrie Fisher’s latest book, Shockaholic, which should find its way into stores this week.

Our next book release is Drew Karpyshyn’s The Old Republic: Revan on November 15th. I spotted a few minor date changes for 2012 books on Random House’s online catalogue – see them in our book release schedule.

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All-prequels in the news with Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, and Peter Serafinowicz

Records. The Guinness Book of World Records has named Samuel L. Jackson the world’s highest-grossing actor. His films – which include not only the prequels but other blockbusters like Jurassic Park, The Incredibles and Iron Man 2 – have brought in a staggering $7.42 billion dollars.

Strange saberfellows. Noel Gallagher of the band Oasis was a neighbor of Ewan McGregor when he got the part of Obi-Wan – and he was the first to teach Ewan how to fight with a lightsaber. “I just happened to have two of those lightsaber toys, so I said, ‘Come on – in the back garden.'”

Uh-oh. Peter Serafinowicz – the original voice of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace – told Digital Spy that he didn’t think the film was very good. “”But it was certainly an extremely exciting thing to be a part of,” he goes on to say.

Technology. Learn a little more about Prime Focus, the company doing The Phantom Menace’s 3-D conversion, from India’s Economic Times