Repaying a debt to the master

As the deadline to vote for your favorite Star Wars Fan Film approaches, Wired magazine sits down with Trey Stokes, director of fan film Pink Five Strikes Back, who credits Star Wars with inspiring him to go to film school and become a visual effects supervisor. The article takes a look at how fan films have proliferated over the past few years, and it notes that Lucasfilm’s response to the growing “art form” — giving fan films a distribution outlet and a stamp of approval — is unusual for a production company.