Don’t forget about A Force for Change – if you enter by today, you’ll also have a chance to win a trip for two to Celebration Anaheim! Maybe not as great as going to the Episode VII set, but still pretty cool.
Celebration Anaheim stage hosts announced
The new Insider has named the stage hosts for next year’s Celebration Anaheim. Returning are James Arnold Taylor (Celebration Stage,) David Collins (Digital Stage) and Gus Lopez (Collecting Track.) There are new hosts for the Behind-The-Scenes stage, which has been the domain of Pablo Hidalgo for the past several cons: Jason Swank and Jimmy Mac McInerney of RebelForce Radio. Is Pablo too busy with his Story Team duties? Will he only be acting as a panelist, in line with his Story Team duties? We worry.
Rumors: Spy hints at Episode VII actors, planets
Jedi News’ Jedi Master SQL has emerged yet again for a lengthy Q&A about Episode VII. There’s a fair amount of speculation on his part, but here are the bullet points:
- Lucasfilm is sitting on “a stack of news that could be released at any moment that they please.”
- On returning actors, he’s “only seen evidence for one of [the Big 3] having signed,” and it “would not surprise me if they did not all come back for Episode VII but maybe came back at varying points in the new trilogy.” Last time we heard from him he said Harrison Ford’s deal was nearly in place.
- He says “the Expanded Universe won’t be disappearing anytime soon,” Dark Horse is likely to keep the comic license and “you can expect to see their logo on a lot of very different Star Wars products than just comics.”
- He hints “The Old Republic has added a planet that has long been mentioned but never seen on film,” and that has something to do with Episode VII. (UPDATE: Lightsaber Rattling thinks this may be Corellia, which will be familiar to EU fans but has never been seen on screen.)
- As for new actors, he says an “exceptional level of work going into finding the right cast for the new films.” Names he’s recently heard attached to roles are Emmanuelle Chriqui, Alexis Dziena, and American Horror Story’s Taissa Farmiga.
He also chatted about the next Celebration, saying that it may be the launchpad for the real Episode VII blitz.
So that’s a few things to chew on… but as always, just rumors!
Let’s not lose our heads over the lack of Episode VII news this summer
For all intents and purposes, convention season is now over for Star Wars fans. At least, con season in the sense of expecting big announcements.
In all honesty, it’s a bit of a relief. There are no more obvious ‘deadlines.’ News could break at any time, and it probably will. But I fully expect that John Williams returning will remain the biggest officially sanctioned news of the summer… And let’s not forget the rumors will only get bigger from here – just look at the Ian McDiarmid one we got last night.
Is it frustrating that we didn’t get any further announcements at Celebration Europe and D23? Yes, of course. But as Bleeding Cool points out, they don’t owe us anything at this point. They’ll tell us something when they’re ready to tell us something, and not a moment before. As Pablo Hidalgo said in our comments yesterday:
There are no casting ‘secrets’. If someone hasn’t been signed, they haven’t been cast. That’s what triggers an announcement. That’s why everyone who has been announced has been announced when they were.
That’s why these things emerge as ‘rumors’ first – because Lucasfilm can’t say anything until the ink is dry. So the rumors aren’t going away, and yes, some of them will be complete bullshit because that’s the way the game is played. That’s our lot, if we’re going to be following the films this closely.
I know this is a fandom of mighty whiners, but can we please, please, please just learn already to be patient for official news and confirmations? We have years of this roller coaster ahead of us, and the hand-wringing act is already getting old. I pretty much guarantee you that the folks in charge know far more about making a film than any of us do; We don’t need to ‘worry’ about them under the guise of wanting things revealed.
It’s not wrong to want things; we all want official casting confirmations. We’ve all got carried away at one point or another. Everyone in geek media is starved for more: Actors simply saying that they’d like to be in Episode VII regularly make headlines; last night’s Ian McDiarmid rumor is making the rounds today. But we have to stop demanding. Lucasfilm and Disney owe us a movie sometime in 2015 and that’s about it. I assure you they want this thing made just as much as we want to see it, and when the time comes to promote it, they will do so. But it’s not quite that time yet, so: Patience.
It’s still early, after all, and I’m sure we’ll get yet another rumor – crazy or not – before the end of the month in any case.
Celebration Anaheim ticket prices released
Reed has updated with the prices for the Celebration tickets that go on sale Wednesday. A 4-Day adult pass is $140 and the rest of the regular prices seem in line with what they were charging for Celebration VI. The VIP prices have both gone up $50, though – Jedi Master is $900 while the Knight package is $450.
Celebrations to go without numerals from here on out
Verifying what many of us had already guessed, TheForce.Net says that Lucasfilm has told them that future Celebrations will no longer use the roman numeral designations, but be called by their location and/or year – so instead of Celebration VII, the 2015 convention is offically “Star Wars Celebration 2015” or “Star Wars Celebration Anaheim.”
The decision seems a little odd as, with Episode VII, the cons would still actually line up with their corresponding movies. Is it a hint that the conventions will be moving to a yearly schedule to keep up with the spin-off films as well as the Episodes?
The Celebrations began with Episode I in 1999, and were tied to movie release years during the prequels. After Revenge of the Sith and Celebration III (2005) the U.S. Celebrations kept to the triennial schedule with Celebration IV (2007) and Celebration V (2010.) With 2012’s Celebration VI, the con was moving to a biannual schedule. What the future holds for them after 2015… Well, we’ll see, I guess.
Still, Celebration VII will remain Celebration VII in our hearts… Or at least, our tags.
Move along, move along: Best #StarWars, #EpisodeVII and #StarWarsCelebration tweets for July 22-28
Casting rumors. Bitching about casting rumors. Celebration Europe. Bitching about getting up at 4 a.m. on a Saturday. Celebration VII. Bitching about Celebration VII. It’s been a busy one.
Sunday roundup: Looking forward to 2015 and Celebration VII at Celebration Europe
As one Celebration ends, another is announced… Celebration VII (which may not be the official name, but we’re going to call it that, damnit!) is set for Anaheim, California in April 2015. Star Wars Celebration Anaheim (the official name, apparently?) will be held at the Disneyland-adjacent Anaheim Convention Center from April 16-19, reverting us back to schedules of the original Celebrations. Does this guarantee us a May release date for Episode VII? Let’s hope so. Tickets will be on sale August 7th.
What else went on in Essen today? Well, Mark Hamill spoke, and while it didn’t make the official recap, apparently he did do a voice on The Clone Wars – a Darth. But he’s also open to voicing a villain on Rebels.
Speaking of… Here’s Dave Filoni and Warwick Davis.
Other panels today included ‘The Fett-Tastic Four’ (with surprise Temeura Morrison!) and the Jabba’s Palace reunion and, of course, the closing ceremonies.
This isn’t the end of coverage – we expect the usual flood of nightly additions as folks wind down, plus more as people return home and get a chance to think, upload pictures and etc – so check back!
Celebration VII is coming to Anaheim in 2015!
The announcement… pic.twitter.com/Hh5Gx6uZ9c
— swactionnews (@swactionnews) July 28, 2013
Just announced: Celebration VII will take place in Anaheim on April 16-19, 2015! Back to April, and back to California!
Tickets are going on sale August 7th. This August 7th. Better get ’em fast, because Anaheim’s convention center isn’t as big as Orlando and with Episode VII, this could be big!
More? Dan Brooks is liveblogging the Celebration Europe closing ceremonies.
Convention tip: The quick guide to Q&As
Everyone loves a Q&A, but here are a few thing we’ve picked up over the years.
The key, the big uno, the biggest thing you should do: Keep it snappy. The more succinct your question is, the more time the panelists have to answer it. Andrew: “Know what your question is ahead of time, and don’t ramble.” Bethany: “One question. Not a three part question, no follow ups. Numero uno is the way to go.” Nancy: “Have a second question in mind in case someone ahead of you asks your first question,” and “Avoid “yes/no” questions.”
Plenty more beneath the cut!