In the news: George Lucas takes in some fashion

Random… George Lucas at Fashion Week? Yes, indeed: Lucas was spotted at the Rodarte show on Tuesday with girlfriend Mellody Hobson. According to one report, Lucas is “obsessed” with the work of the women behind the label, sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy. (Maybe George is thinking about costumes for one of his art films?)

Also at the show was Natalie Portman, who was wearing Rodarte when she got her Oscar for Black Swan last year – they designed the movie’s costumes.


Sith strategists? Forbes’ Alex Knapp looks at five leadership mistakes of the Galactic Empire.


It’s an industry. In his latest Film Critic column, John Scalzi looks at why Star Wars just won’t go away.


Haters gonna hate. Has-been mouth-frother Glenn Beck went on a rant about Star Wars this week. In addition to hating on The Phantom Menace (so last week) he also hated on… Red Tails? Really? For what it’s worth, Rick McCallum is thrilled.


Listen. Geeky band The Board of Education has a cute song about Star Wars called ‘Why Is Dad So Mad?’

Serial-based movie gets cereal prizes

My daughter is five and loves Cheerios.  I can’t complain, they’re healthier than other alternatives and a handful makes a great snack after school while waiting for dinner.

One thing though, as a kid I never cared for Cheerios and I’ll admit one of the reasons was this:

Cheerios never had good prizes.

I’m a kid of the 80’s and back then Cheerios was the cereal for moms who ranted about other cereals having too much sugar and other negative quantities.  Luckily, for my brother and I, my mom was a little more open to options- she just wanted us fed and out the door to school on time.  So our mornings were a bit more colorful with Trix, Lucky Charms, and Cookie Crisp making the rotation.  It was always a matter of grave discussion who would get the treasured prize in the box when making our selection at our local grocery store.

So color me surprised when a recent trip to the store changed my cereal world!  I had heard about the General Mills Big G cereals doing a tie-in with the 3D re-release of The Phantom Menance.  I was expecting the usual on box pictures, maybe a mask, or a send off item similar to the Ghost Obi-Wan.  However, this trip I found for the purchase of a box of cereal I could get a pretty cool pen!  There are eight different pens to collect which look pretty great for a freebie in a cereal box.  Additionally, unlike McDonalds, Big G cereals are inclusive with Amidala being one of the options.  There’s a little to love for anyone- Jedi, Queen, Gungan, droids- your desk will look great or homework will be just a little more fun with one of these pens.  Who knew something good for you would also be fun too!

Additionally on my trip to the store, while my Cheerios boxes were bare of any Star Wars fun, the Honey Nut Cheerios had a different offer- a free poster with each purchase.  The post came wrapped to the box and is located in the back.  You could use it for play, decorate your locker, or hang it in your cube to geek things up a bit.

Bravo to General Mills Big G Cereal for getting it right! Star Wars items for girls and boys without insulting anyone.   Can’t wait to dive into some Cookie Crisp for me and some Cheerios for the kiddo – just hope we get different pens!

Out this week: Dawn of the Jedi #1

No books this week, but Wednesday does bring a major release for comic fans: Dawn of the Jedi #1: John Ostrander and Jan Duursema’s follow-up to the Legacy series.

Ostrander and Duursema talked about the series with Hero Complex’s Jevon Phillips earlier in the month.

The next book release is the Red Harvest paperback on the 28th. Regardless of the teasing, there’s still almost a full month until Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse comes out on March 13.

Roundup: Valentine’s Day is obligatory

Is it love, or just KJA? Only the Holocron knows for sure.It’s Valentine’s Day! Alas, we’re all pretty tied up here (not a euphemism, pervs) but feel free to check out our past sappy stuff, particularly James’ look at Star Wars Valentine’s Day cards and love in the Expanded Universe.


StarWars.com has a bunch of valentiney stuff as well.


Roqoo Depot dreamed up some Star Wars romance novels, a few of which gave me the giggles. Just remember, nerds: They’re not suggestions.


Over at EU Cantina, Nanci takes a look at some of the heart-breaking romances of the Expanded Universe. Includes snarking on Luke’s romantic track record, because that shit is never not funny.

Lane at Roqoo Depot isn’t having any of this romance crap: Instead, he’s looking at bromances in Star Wars. However, I’m pretty sure there’s slash out there about all those dudes. Sorry, Lane.


My Valentine nausea kicked up real hard on this one, but the art is nice, if you’re into the whole Captain Cardboard thing. Have at it, Jag/Jaina fans.


Head on over to Topless Robot to bask in their list of 8 villainous couples. No Star Wars, but I’m sure you’ll recognize a few.

EUbits: Considering Padme Amidala and Jaina Solo

The blogside. On Livejournal, Chameleon Irony takes a look at what implications the events of Darth Plagueis may have had on Padme throughout the films. (Contains Plagueis spoilers.) Meanwhile, at Rooqoo Depot, Lane considers fandom, Jaina Solo, and ‘strong female characters.’

Fate of the Jedi. The latest mini-excerpt from Apocalypse features Luke and a Sith.

Celebration VI. Two more authors have been confirmed to be attending: James Luceno and Jason Fry. Paul S. Kemp, not so much.

Art. Two more looks at the interior art of The Essential Gude to Warfare: An Imperial refueling and a fantastic Dave Seeley title page spread showing the Battle of Couscant from Revenge of the Sith. It’s better than the actual cover!

Reviews. Over at Big Shiny Robot, James considers Agent of the Empire #3, Crimson Empire III #4 and Knights of the Old Republic: War #2.

Phantom Menace comes in #4 for weekend with $23M

The weekend box office estimates are in, and it looks like the 3D rerelease of Episode I came in with a respectable $23M. Fox isn’t saying anything about further Star Wars 3D rerelease plans yet, but I’d bet that we’ll be seeing Attack of the Clones this time next year.

As predicted, The Vow and the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds thriller Safe House were the top movies this weekend with $41.7M and $39.3M respectively. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island came in #3 with $27.6M. Overall, theaters took in $190M this weekend, an almost 30% increase over this time last year.

Reflecting on The Phantom Menace 3D

So I’ve been out to the theaters now twice to see The Phantom Menace 3D and what do I think? It had been a while since I had popped in this episode to watch at home, and seeing on the big screen in 3D with my friends and fellow Star Wars fans was the thing to do. I took in both a midnight show and a regular evening show on opening day, and got some popcorn and a great seat and enjoyed. Here’s are my thoughts on seeing The Phantom Menace in 3D.

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Mara Jade Skywalker is Hasbro’s 2011 Fan Choice. Yay?

Toy Fair is going on this weekend, and according to multiple reports, Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker was voted the Fan Choice figure. (You might remember the contest from last fall.) Unfortunately for those of us hoping to finally get a Mara figure without that blasted catsuit…

Yeah. That artwork. (Again?) Sigh. I’m not hearing anything about a a prototype yet, but as always, we’ll have an eye out for updates.

The other Star Wars talker of Toy Fair? A Jar Jar in Carbonite figure will be a SDCC 2012 exclusive. Teehee.

UPDATED! StarWars.com has posted photos of Hasbro’s Toy Fair offerings, and sure enough, there’s no sign of Mara. (Though there is some nice Clone Wars stuff, if that’s your thing.) Needless to say, we’ll be watching Hasbro’s presentations through summer con season with great interest.