Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
The first is labeled ESPN Fantasy Draft and features some funny (probably funnier if you have any idea who the non-Star Wars guys in it are.) The next two, Every Moment and Vader Fan are standard clip shows from the movies and extras. Enjoy them under the cut. Continue reading “Three new Star Wars Blu-ray commercials”
It’s been just over 11 years since the release of Dark Tide: Ruin, Michael Stackpole’s last Star Wars novel. With a new X-Wing novel by Aaron Allston on schedule for next spring, naturally thoughts have turned to thoughts of seeing Stackpole return. As many of us witnessed at Dragon*Con last weekend, he still has his share of fans – right up there with Allston and Timothy Zahn, both of who have been steadily producing Star Wars novels over the past few years.
‘Will you return to Star Wars‘ was one of the top questions he was asked at the con, and some dedicated fans have started a petition. Want to go on record? Now’s the time.
So last week, it was leaked, and then substantiated that the Blu-ray edition of Return of the Jedi would contain a change that set the fan world into a buzz: As Palpatine zaps Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader would now say “Nooooooooooooo!” as he decides to shaft the Emperor.
Many fans were taken aback by this change by George Lucas – not only does it feed into one of the most laughed-at lines from Revenge of the Sith, it changes the tone of the scene, from Vader as the silent man of action, to him giving voice to his emotional turmoil. Some fans bemoaned the general state of constant changes with each re-release of the movies, while others felt that it is fine for the creator to update his work to help tie the saga all together. Celebrity fan Simon Pegg called it a “clueless revision” – but was it really clueless? Continue reading “Analysis: The ‘Noooooo’ heard around the world is still a win for Lucasfilm”
A new extra is up on Youtube, this time featuring the AT-ATs of Empire.
Billy Dee Williams shared his insight with El Paso’s What’s Up Weekly about Lucas’ modifications to the original trilogy, and his relationship with the character of Lando Calrissian, and with Colt 45 commercials. On parodying Lando in Robot Chicken:
“I make fun of myself, so why shouldn’t I make fun of Lando? It worked, and the fact that I can make fun of it means it worked. And people enjoy it. When I do Seth Green’s Robot Chicken, I enjoy doing that stuff. It’s a lot of fun for me, and it keeps the character alive.”
Meanwhile, Carrie Fisher has mentioned that maybe she’ll don Princess Leia’s metal bikini once again, with one condition:
“I will do it if a whole bunch of women over 40 come to Yankee Stadium. We’ll put everyone in metal bikinis, and we will sit around and laugh and talk about the old days when we ate a lot.”
Harrison Ford revealed that he no longer sees people as fans, but as customers, and that “I don’t see myself as a sex symbol these days.”
Star Wars in sports: We know that one of George Lucas’ daughters, Katie, has followed her father’s footsteps in writing for The Clone Wars, but what of Amanda Lucas? She’s a MMA cage fighter, and gets the win in a recent bout in Japan (complete with Yoda-speak headline).
Star Wars in politics: Part of a headline from Talking Points Memo: Rick Perry’s Star Wars Problem: Apparently, it’s Al Gore. Meanwhile, on The Colbert Report, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice compares September in the United Nations to the Mos Eisley Cantina – do they both have a pesky no-droids-allowed policy?
We’ve got the entertainment, sports, and politics covered. Stay tuned for Star Wars in weather and traffic.
Entertainment Weekly has footage from an extended version of Han and Leia’s corridor scene on Hoth..
Today is the release day for the 20th anniversary of Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. As Erich points out on Facebook, this new edition contains:
Also out today: Paperback version of Sean Williams’ The Force Unleashed II.
Comics: Out this week (check your store for possible Labor Day-induced shipping delays): Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #2
Both the Kinect Star Wars game and the limited edition Kinect Star Wars themed XBox 360 bundle won’t be launched for the 2011 holiday season, Microsoft announced. OXM suggests that the delay is for the best, allowing more time for game development to fix lag-related issues that would leave your Jedi defenseless. No new release date for the Artoo-Detoo skinned game console or the standalone game has been announced.
As the Star Wars Galaxies MMO heads towards shutdown, Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the fate of the galaxy will be settled by the players, reports 1up.com. Player actions will determine whether the Empire or the Rebel Alliance will emerge victorious in the Galactic Civil War with celebrations for the winners and a chance for “going out with a bang” for the losers. Launched in 2003, Galaxies will be shutting down on December 15.
I heart prequels: What makes the prequels so great? International House of Geek picks their top ten great things from the Star Wars prequels, from the Jedi Order to the score to battle scenes to Ewan McGregor. Not quite sharing the love (though sharing a few favorites), one of Tor’s bloggers picks five great things from the prequels, and five classic trilogy fizzles. Over at Big Shiny Robot, Bryan makes the case that Episodes I-III are more liked than is generally thought.
The soft side of the Force: Check out these plush Star Wars characters and these crochet granny square TIE Fighters.
This Artoo unit has a sweet motivator: Two times the R2-D2! Check out this remote controlled LEGO Artoo and place an order for a custom knitted R2-D2 sweater.
The planet that it’s farthest from: A war photojournalist visits some of the Star Wars filming sites in Tunisia this summer, and comes across the Mos Espa set, Owens farm, Jawa rock and more.
Making the lists: General Grievous pops up in io9’s list of computer generated characters that actually look cool, Darth Vader is on Total Film’s list of horrible movie bosses (Hey, if your boss chokes you on the job and you die, there’s no workman’s comp claim!). And of course, Jabba the Hutt makes Andrew Liptak’s list of sci-fi gangsters not to mess with.
Who’s scruffy looking? Ewan McGregor’s facial hair in Revenge of the Sith (along with the beards of Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson and Ian McKellan) gets rated on The Men of Whisker Wars Rate Famous Screen Facial Hair.
Speaking of beards, Sunday is the Star Wars Day at the San Francisco Giants ballgame, where the cool giveaway is a three-sided statue of Brian “Fear the Beard” Wilson in carbonite, a more traditional Han Solo in carbonite and a Giants / Star Wars logo.
In this Blu-ray extra, creature designer Phil Tippett discusses the origins of the dejarik chess scene in A New Hope. The holographic chess scene is one of my favorites from Star Wars in terms of showing a full universe – there’s recreation, and important life lessons about the differences between droids and Wookiees.
