In the wake of two futile C&Ds, Lucasfilm has filed a $5M trademark lawsuit against Jedi Mind, Inc., a company which “touts a wireless headset that detects brainwaves on both a conscious and non-conscious level.” But apparently they lack the foresight to talk to a lawyer before formally naming their company. (via)
Sansweet: 28,000 attendees at Celebration V
In a Facebook post this afternoon, Steve Sansweet pegs the attendee numbers of Celebration V at 28,000 – the lowest since Celebration I in 1999. Celebration IV in 2007, which also had no movie to boost awareness and attendance (but did have the advantage of being in movie-loving Los Angeles) weighed in at 35,000.
It’s no shock that the numbers are lower for this round – in addition to the economy, the late announcement and a less-than-inspiring locale, August is smack dab in the middle of convention season – most notably in that CV was bracketed by the biggest cons of all: San Diego Comic-Con in July and Atlanta’s Dragon*Con coming up on Labor Day weekend. Both are huge draws for much of the same audience, and we even had a Jader or two choose D*C over CV.
Really, between all that, 28,000 doesn’t look all that shabby!
Wherever Celebration VI may be (and I am not asking for suggestions) I hope they return to a late-spring date – if nothing else, because that would make almost any location fairly palatable. (And a note to our delicate warm-weather flowers: Orlando’s life-sapping humidity has more than paid back the midwest’s debt for CIII’s ridiculously light snow, okay? We’re even.)
UPDATE: Steve in the comments of his FB post:
For those of you questioning the attendance number at Celebration V, there are several things to remember. Lucasfilm and Reed are thrilled with the final total; I had been predicting a max of 25,000. We are still in the worst economic times… since the Great Depression of the 1930s. We had less than 8 months to promote the show, and many European fans—who have to make August vacation plans a year in advance—could not change those plans. And we had 8,000 more attendees than the last event, Celebration Japan. The Orange County Convention Center was a perfect location: its layout, total cooperation from all the great people who work there, and because Orlando is the ideal family vacation spot.
Celebration V video: James Arnold Taylor and Tom Kane
Amazing impressions from The Clone Wars ‘Behind the Microphone’ panel.
Celebration V book and comic news: Wraith Squadron, Fate of the Jedi, Crimson Empire 3 and more
Del Rey brought plenty to the table for Celebration, but the biggest EU news is without a doubt the reveal that Aaron Allston will be writing a brand-new Wraith Squadron novel. It’s too early for details, but expect a spring/summer 2012 release date.
We also learned that Thrawn will appear in Zahn’s Hand of Judgment, Drew Karpyshyn will be writing a third Old Republic novel, Jeff Grubb’s 2012 paperback will feature Hutts, and Han Solo will appear in the Dash Rendar/Holostar novel. And TFN reports that something is in the works for the 20th anniversary of Heir to the Empire, to which I say: Damn straight.
As for Fate of the Jedi, we learned that the final book will be titled Apocalypse. Cheery! Also addressed was the heightening of drama, Vestara’s role, and (sigh) the whole Jacen/Tahiri thing. Except, not really. (I do love the Mando quote, of course.)
Meanwhile, the comic fans got a surprise of their own: Crimson Empire III is a go, for real this time. The 6-issue series will begin in March with Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley scripting and Dave Dorman on covers.
Knight Errant got a big push, complete with a costumed representation, but if the EUC report is anything to go by it’s too soon for much of a reveal.
As for Legacy, there are currently no plans for anything after the War mini – Ostrander and Duursema will “will be working on something entirely different.”
The rest of the news rehashes much we’ve already heard, but a hardcover edition of Dark Empire will commemorate the comic’s twentieth anniversary. And the return of Dark Horse Presents may yield some Tales-like stories.
Also getting some love at the con (but not enough for their own entry) was The Force Unleashed (Yoda? Really? That Muppet needs a better agent.) and The Old Republic.
Celebration V: Everything Clone Wars
The Clone Wars was everywhere at the con, and with good reason: As we heard just before Celebration started, Season 3 will start September 17. So naturally we got a lot of bombshells at the con.
The most buzzworthy was the announcement of a new character, Savage Opress. Is he really Darth Maul’s brother? George Lucas said it outright (4:45 here) when talking about the cartoon at the Main Event, but Filoni hedged around it, so we’ll see what the series actually brings.
But! “There will be some connections to the original trilogy in Season 3,” Filoni said (on video!) Looks like I’m going to be increasing my TCW count.
Also making waves was the appearance of Kamino, Dathomir and even some Republic Commandos. But fan or not, I have to admit that just sitting around and watching Pablo and Dave talk was worth the price of admittance.
Interview: Ashley Eckstein talks Her Universe at CV
James and I were able to grab a quick interview on with Ashley Eckstein at the con! It would be hard not to be impressed by the strides that the company has made in so short a time. They had a great product that was literally all over the con, from all the t-shirts that were near-ubiquitous on female attendees to the limited edition Empire Strikes Back necklace, even down to the (reusable!) shopping bags. As I said in the video, it’s something we’ve been wanting for years, and I won’t lie: I got a little choked up. I can’t wait to see what’s coming: Thank you so much, Ashley!
Out this week: Year by Year, Legacy
Both Amazon and DK’s site gives Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle the release date of yesterday, so it ought to be in stores now. Penned by the all-star team of Pablo Hidalgo, Daniel Wallace, Ryder Windham and Gus Lopez, the book has been picking up lots of good buzz.
Tomorrow brings the final (or, not so much) issue of Legacy, #50. I’m pretty sure I heard that there were copies in Orlando, but… Well, let’s just say I barely got out that way. In any case, we can all pick it up in the comic store in the morning.
Videos: Preview new Clone Wars, Star Tours
A few Celebration videos to tide you over through our travel/recovery period. First up, The Clone Wars S3 trailer, above. Below, a commercial played in the ‘Star Tours’ queue for the revamped ride. (I hope someone bought those Ewoks some beers.)
Celebration 5: Over and out
Suitcases are packed, pictures are shredded, and somewhere I’m sure reports are being filed. But not here, and not tonight: Socialization and sleep won out, and tomorrow’s first priority is getting back to a (slightly) less humid state. We’ll return in a day or so with more reports and links. They might even be coherent! Stay tuned.
Celebration V: Last Tour to Endor
Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios created a fantastic evening with their Last Tour to Endor party, commemorating the last day of the Star Tours attraction. Fans were treated to their final rides on the Starspeeder 3000 before it closed for a revamp as well as some unique other experiences.
The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular hosted a one-night-only special mashup show called “Raiders of the Lost Jedi Temple of Doom” where two fan film makers combine Indiana Jones and Star Wars in making the ultimate fan film. Special cameo performances were made in the three shows by such stars as Seth Green, Mark Hamill, Warwick Davis, Anthony Daniels, Jaime King, and Jeremy Bulloch. George Lucas attended the second show, where Seth Green announced that Anthony Daniels would be voice acting in the third Robot Chicken Star Wars special.
Also brought out was some shows from Star Wars weekends: the Jedi Academy training and the Star Wars dance contest. The evening was capped off by a supremely awesome fireworks show set to Star Wars music. “Duel of the Fates” and the assault on the Death Star were my favorites.