Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
The Time’s Dave Itzkoff interviews George Lucas (and pals!) about the new series, the old series, movies and whatnot. There’s also a handful of new stills and a slide show of Asajj Ventress concept art.
He himself namedropped Chicago as a possible location for Celebration V, and the speculation to that effect has been flying fast and heavy ever since. So there’s a possibility that something might get announced or at least hinted at this weekend:
4-5 p.m.
STAR WARS: WHAT’S COMING WITH LUCASFILM’S STEVE SANSWEET
The Steve Gerber Room: 1-3 12-14
With “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” movie and TV series hot on the horizon, not to mention all the other events and projects in the works at Lucasfilm, Steve Sansweet, the entertainment company’s head of Fan Relations, will have much to share with fans at Wizard World. Sansweet’s presentation will reveal exciting looks into the upcoming animated movie and series, as well as into LucasArts’ breathtaking new game, “The Force Unleashed.” Don’t miss this hour covering all the Star Wars excitement to come.
Remember: Heavy on the ‘possibility’ and ‘might.’ (via)
Since I’m a romantic sap, I’m going to kick off this week’s update with pictures from David Hewlett‘s wedding to The Lovely (TM) Jane Loughman. Being a true geek, David knew the importance of getting coverage out online before horrible camera phone pictures snuck out. Best wishes to them both!
More pictures, but this time of the official variety with the official promo shots for Season 5.
While Stargate Atlantis enjoys a hiatus before its July 11th return, the official site teases us about Continuum by posting a video touting the return of the great Richard Dean Anderson.
Yesterday, George Lucas spoke up for educational broadband at a Congressional hearing in his guise as chairman of the George Lucas Educational Foundation:
“Telecommunications provides the new learning platform of this century and is replacing the textbook as the medium through which a modern education is provided,” he said. “The world’s knowledge is now available online, far beyond what books and materials can provide in schools and libraries themselves.”
The LA Times did a Hollywood Backlot feature on the set of Stargate Atlantis from an episode shot in May. Lots of cool pictures. (If you don’t like to know who’s in an episode, then you might not want to go.)
More cool stuff in the form of Michael Shank‘s eBay auction benefiting the Canadian National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Great stuff from SG1 and other Vancouver-area shows. Go! Be tempted!
Numerous media outlets today reported the death of Stan Winston, the Oscar-winning special effects master whose work included Terminator, Jurassic Park, and Aliens. He was 62.
ILM’s Dennis Muren, who supervised Jurassic Park’s digital effects, told Variety:
“When you put (Winston’s creatures and digital effects) together, the audience was confused, and sometimes we were, too, about who had done what.
“But Stan had always said, ‘It shouldn’t be all one or all the other; it should be a combination of the two.'”
Michael Heilemann over at Binary Bonsai has a brief tribute – and a book recommendation.
It’s time for Forbes to break out this year’s Celebrity 100 list… And this year, George Lucas comes in at #46. He wasn’t on 2007’s list, but he was #15 in 2006 and #4 in 2005.
Other ranking geek idols include J.K. Rowling (#9,) Steven Spielberg (#13,) Stephen King (#34,) Keira Knightley (#47,) Daniel Radcliffe (#64,) Cate Blanchett (#77) and Tina Fey (#99.)