Tag: lasers

Posted on

Today in The Force Awakens: You’ll shoot your eye out, kid

wicked-broadsaber→ Of course there’s a 3-way ‘crossguard’ from the real-life Wicked Lasers. (Who we first heard from way back in the day.) Of course. (via)

→ J.C. Chandor, who directed A Most Violent Year, talks about keeping Oscar Isaac’s X-wing secret with Screencrush.

→ At the Huffington Post, Domhnall Gleeson talks about losing weight for Unbroken – and seeing The Force Awakens trailer.

→ Market Saw has what they claim to be the ‘final iterations’ of concept art for Han Solo and Chewbacca. Funny how with the rushing river of concept art leaks the only stuff we ever see regarding original trilogy alumni is the terribly predictable Han and Chewie stuff.

→ Something Awful has ‘discovered’ more trading cards for The Force Awakens. It’s all very nonsensical, but hey: It’s Something Awful.

Posted on

In the news: Lucasfilm puts the brakes on “AT-AT for America”

Not so fast… Michael Koehler wants to build a life-size, working AT-AT. His project quickly got (l)ink from Cnet and the New York Daily News. A mention on Attack of the Show certainly didn’t hurt his cause… But it looks like it’s not exactly kosher with Lucasfilm. At least Koehler can solace in techies saying the feat is not impossible.

Paint it black? Plants on worlds with double stars – like Tatooine – would probably evolve plants that would look black to us, says National Geographic.

Blast-offs and could-have-beens. Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz writes in The Guardian’s film blog talks about the devotion the film inspired. Elsewhere on the site, Danny Leigh wonders what if Star Wars never existed?

A sandcrawler for Singpore. Remember the sandcrawler building that Lucasfilm was planning for their folks in Singapore? They announced details of the project last week.

Science, defense division. The U.S. Navy has made a significant leap forward in testing offensive lasers. A “solid-state, high-energy laser beam” successfully disabled a small vessel off the coast of California. There’s video!

Posted on

Lucasfilm C&Ds makers of ‘real lightsaber’

It BURNS FLESH. No thanks.The makers don’t call it a lightsaber (though the internet certainly does) but the Spyder III Arctic laser certainly looks like one, and that’s prompted Lucasfilm to send the Hong Kong company Wicked Lasers a cease and desist.

I’m no lawyer, but the appearance of the laser is pretty blatantly inspired by its fictional forbearer. And anything that might keep “the most dangerous laser ever created” out of the hands of stupid geeks is fine by me.

Posted on

Star Wars in the news: Lawyers, marriage and lasers

The Star Wars kid is all grown up. Ghyslain Raza, who rose to unwilling internet fame as the subject of one of the internet’s first and most famous viral videos, hasn’t done too badly for himself. He’s pursuing a law degree (perhaps inspired by the lawsuit that he filed against the classmates who uploaded the infamous video?) and is the president of a conservation society in his hometown of Trois-Rivières.

Wedding bells. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart got hitched Tuesday! The pair made it legal in New Mexico, where Ford is shooting Cowboys and Aliens. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, a friend of the couple, performed the wedding at the Governor’s Mansion in Santa Fe.

…And not so much. In less happy news, Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson, who also got engaged in 2009, are “taking a break.”

Don’t try this at home. No, seriously, don’t. A company in Hong Kong is selling a laser “home theater projector” that resembles a lightsaber and is strong enough to burn skin and cause “irreversable retinal damage.” It can be purchased online for a mere $200. What could go wrong?

Posted on

In the news: Auctions, exhibit crowds, TFU

The TIE fighter model in the Profiles in History auction is expected to fetch up to £100,000, the highest-priced (or, well, estimated) item in the collection. That’s about about $200,000 American. Gotta love the exchange rate… The Crusade Grail is only expected to go for about £12,500, or $25,000.