- People: Emmy-winning comedic actor Harvey Korman, who died on Thursday, is probably best known for his work on The Carol Burnett Show… But he also had a role in The Star Wars Holiday Special as the four-armed chef Gormaanda. Over at StarWars.com, Bonnie Burton pays tribute.
- Technology: Yahoo’s Ben Patterson ponders when Star Wars and Indiana Jones will make it to Blu-ray. He’s way more optimistic than I am, not that I even own a Blu-ray player.
- Disney: An article on ILMer Hayden Landis’ work on Indy IV confirms that a Star Tours makeover is underway. (via)
- Jediism: Time interviews Jedi Church co-founder Daniel Jones.
- Music: Nerdcore in The Guardian.
Dead men tell no tales…
But fired men do.
Los Angeles Magazine has a great feature on a former Jack Sparrow’s account of working at Disneyland. It’s a really interesting read, addressing everything from the audition process, to Disney “cleaning up” Jack Sparrow, to the fabled Magic Kingdom fascism towards their employees. Welcome to the regime-iest place on Earth!
The Clone Wars sneak peek at Disney
Attendees at Disney World’s Star Wars Weekends will get a look at an exclusive clip from the upcoming movie.
The fandom minute: Worms, mice, sidekicks
- Weird: ‘The Tatooine Exchange’ wins worm charming trophy.
- Space: Star Wars beats Star Trek on the International Space Station.
- Event: Fourth Annual Unofficial SW Fan Day at Disneyland is set for June 28. (via)
- Lists: R2-D2, Wicket, and Short Round make io9’s list of cutest sci-fi sidekicks (and why they fail.)
Fan Art: Snow White and the 7 Stormtroopers
Ceth Stifel aka Thumper-001 combines classic Disney with Star Wars in his Star Tours series. People, I need to see someone make that outfit for the next Celebration. Or maybe a whole legion of Leia/Disney Princess mashups. Please? (via)
When You Wish Upon a Death Star
StarWars.com goes behind the scenes at Disney’s new, expanded Jedi Training Academies, talking to writer/director Mark Renfrow and technical director Marcus Hurst.
Rumor mill: Disney and Lucas continue to plot?
Blue Sky Disney has a bluebird friend (err, ‘Bothan Spy’) who reports that “George Lucas is working with Disney on some very interesting designs for the sequel” to Star Tours, as well as additional GFFA-themed concepts to keep it company. Not surprisingly, a big promotion for Indy IV is also in the stars for spring.
Links for breakfast: Bite-size news
With blackjack! And hookers!
- Hot rumor mill action! Jim Hill wonders if Lucasfilm and Disney are plotting something. Oh, oh! A land war in Asia!
Elsewhere in the media…
- David Lynch (briefly) talks about George’s offer to direct ROTJ. Sadly lacking in wacky Lynch-ness. (via)
- Star Wars-inspired shoes much less Star Wars-looking than expected. I am underwhelmed. Really, you could throw a SW logo on pretty much anything made of shiny black leather and call it Vader-inspired.
- Video of George Lucas at the D5 conference.
- I bet Phil knows this guy. Also every time I see the headline I think it says Mary Franklin.
- Star Wars namechecked in column on movie soundtracks, surprisingly absolutely no one.
- Artist re-envisions critic as a Hutt. Naturally. (via)
On StarWars.com
Jedi to be permanent fixture at Disney
The Jedi Training Academy moves above and beyond Star Wars Weekends. A new stage is being constructed and may host up to eight shows a day for young would-be Jedi.
Nitpicking Star Tours
The posters advertising a “tour” to Yavin are somewhat inaccurate, as Yavin was actually a gas giant, and the Rebel base was on Yavin IV, one of the moons. Duh. They also feature a shot of Luke on a tauntaun on the poster for Hoth, as well as shots of Bespin, but the ride itself renders that nonsensical, since the tour clearly takes place during the Battle of Yavin, before the Alliance relocated to Hoth or anyone went to Cloud City. Again: Duh.