Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Ashley Eckstein’s Her Universe will be selling these Course of the Force t-shirts and hoodies at the race’s “conival’ events and San Diego Comic Con.
$5 from each tee and $10 from each sweatshirt will go to Make-A-Wish, and it looks like they’ll be sold online as well.
On that note, if you’d still like to donate directly, Hondo has raised James’ donation goal to $750. Support Team Hondo and Make-A-Wish!
Will Star Wars be gaining an ex-hobbit for Episode VII? Bleeding Cool thinks they might be. They point to some potentially suspicious behavior from Dominic Monaghan at The Lone Ranger premiere, and note he could be a good fit for the thirtysomething intellectual role in last week’s casting call.
Naturally he’s a big Star Wars fan (who isn’t?) but Monaghan may have an in with the Bad Robot team from his days playing Charlie Pace, one of the original castaways on Lost. He’s also known for playing Merry in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings.
It’s only speculation, of course, but I can see where they’re coming from… Particularly if the role turns out to be a supporting one. Look, I generally hate this kind of thing, but the idea of Monaghan in Star Wars does not make me immediately say ‘nope,’ and that a rare thing.
As for other actors who’d like a go at Episode VII, Totalfilm has released a third edition of their video series.
Street date shuffle The release of Martha Wells’ Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge has moved up a week again, this time to September 24, Del Rey tweeted yesterday. Meanwhile, the paperback for Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels is set for November 26. As always, the dates hang out on our schedule page.
Elsewheres… Time Traveled Tales, a book of short stories that features Aaron Allston, Mike Stackpole and Timothy Zahn among others (like CJers Janine K. Spendlove and Bryan Young) may have passed its original Kickstarter goal of $7,500, but with 17 days to go you can back it now to help add second stories from Stackpole, Allston and Zahn. Meanwhile, a $5 donation guarantees you an eBook version of the anthology.
Toys. We already knew that a Mara Jade Skywalker figure was in the queue, but these inventory lists found by Jedi Temple Archives list a Darth Plagueis as well!
Reviews. Great dialogue and fun characters highlight James’ enjoyment of Legacy #3, he’s impressed with Jan Duursema’s action art in Dawn of the Jedi: Prisoner of Bogan #5, was caught off guard by Dark Times: Fire Carrier #5 and wonders if a boom is too big for Star Wars #6.
We’re back, baby! Please insert liquor. No, wait. That was last week. Alas, vacation time is over, and the roundup has returned. Head below the cut for last week’s best casting snark and other gems from Twitter since the last time we looked.
In his latest blog entry, J.W. Rinzler looks back at George Lucas’ evolving thoughts on the Force and the ever-controversial midi-chlorians.
On a fictional grammar note, ‘midi-chlorian’ bothers me, though I have to assume if Rinzler is using it, it is indeed the kosher spelling. ‘Midichlorian’ just seems far more naturalistic.
Despite earlier reports that the wedding may happen on the 29th in Chicago, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson got married this weekend at Skywalker Ranch.
The Huffington Post has our first look at the happy couple and details from the ceremony. Lucas’ son Jett served as best man, while daughters Katie and Amanda were bridesmaids. The service was conducted by journalist Bill Moyers, who worked with Lucas on the acclaimed PBS documentary series Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth.
“Let’s give a Galactic shout out to Master George Lucas & his Bride,” Samuel L. Jackson tweeted on Saturday.
The “wedding was joy to behold,” Ron Howard tweeted Sunday.
Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Senator Bill Bradley (who gave away the bride) were also among the attendees. Musicians Van Morrison and Janelle Monae performed.
Lucas and Hobson, who have been together for several years, announced their engagement in January.
Tuesday brings the paperback edition of Aaron Allston’s X-Wing: Mercy Kill. OCD fans rejoice: the first X-wing novel in a decade or so will now match the others on your shelves. Mostly. (It’s still silver.)
Meanwhile, Legacy: Prisoner Of The Floating World #4 will be in the comic shops on Wednesday.
Our next Star Wars book, out July 2, is William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, followed by Troy Denning’s Crucible on the 9th.
Recently added to the schedule is National Geographic Angry Birds Star Wars, a bizarre hodgepodge which apparently explains “the science behind the saga.” Why exactly you need Angry Birds for that, I don’t know. (Seriously, Rovio, I’ve played these games – they’re barely educational. You’re not fooling me.) In any case, it’s coming out in both hardcover and paperback on September 17 and will probably outsell most of the other stuff in this post.
After a brief lull in new trailers, the past few weeks have given us quite a variety. First up, released while we were in JadeCon mode, is our first look at The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Below the cut, the first look at 300: Rise of an Empire, a teaser from Disney’s Frozen and second trailers for Elysium and Riddick, plus… A LEGO movie?
Continue reading “Trailer park: The Hobbit, Frozen and more”
Knights Archive spotted that Random House has posted the blurb for Joe Schreiber’s Darth Maul: Lockdown:
Set before the events of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, this new novel is a thrilling follow-up to Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
It’s kill or be killed in the space penitentiary that houses the galaxy’s worst criminals, where convicts face off in gladiatorial combat while an underworld gambling empire reaps the profits of the illicit blood sport. But the newest contender in this savage arena, as demonic to behold as he is deadly to challenge, is fighting for more than just survival. His do-or-die mission, for the dark masters he serves, is to capture the ultimate weapon: an object capable of obliterating the Jedi and conquering the galaxy.
Sith lords Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious are determined to possess the prize. And one of the power-hungry duo has his own treacherous plans for it. But first, their fearsome apprentice must take on a bloodthirsty prison warden, a cannibal gang, cutthroat crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and an unspeakable alien horror. No one else could brave such a gauntlet of death and live. But no one else is the dreaded dark-side disciple known as Darth Maul.
Announced back in January, the book is currently on the schedule for a January 21st release.
Screen Daily today says that Episode VII production is already moving into Pinewood Studios.
They corroborate an earlier report that Episode VII would be filmed at the studio. It was confirmed in May that the movie would film in the U.K.
With casting underway now, Episode VII is expected to start filming in the new year.