Lando came to town in tonight’s Rebels, “Idiot’s Array.” Does Lando lend a certain something to the show? Are we down with the canon pronunciation of “sabacc?” And how jealous are we of Pablo’s sweet VII jacket?
Today in The Force Awakens: You’ll shoot your eye out, kid
→ 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.
Today in The Force Awakens: 3D print your own broadsaber
→ Now you can 3D print your own collapsible broadsaber, because of course you can. (via)
→ In addition to this morning’s Andy Serkis rumor, we have Da7e at Latino Review looking at the 4chan stuff, and pulling stuff out of them that he actually thinks are true/interesting. (I get a strong whiff of too much endless-message-board-debate about his lightsaber opinions, though.)
→ For the Tumblr folks, I put together a Star Wars Stylebook entry on how stormtroopers aren’t clones, since there’s been a lot of confusion on that front lately.
Disney is selling a lot of lightsabers
Disney is selling a lot of lightsabers. 10 million a year, in various forms from keychains to the expensive collectibles. We can also expect to start seeing Rebels products in August.
Swordmaster Nick Gillard says Episode VII return “very very unlikely”
Nick Gillard, who worked as a stunt coordinator on the prequels and is largely responsible for the trilogy’s lightsaber choreography, said on Twitter today that his return is “very very unlikely.”
Roundup: Bind matter, create lightsabers? Science!
SCIENCE! Physicists have discovered “photonic molecules,” which could allow something like a lightsaber to really exist. “When these photons interact with each other, they’re pushing against and deflect each other,” Harvard Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin says. “The physics of what’s happening in these molecules is similar to what we see in the movies.” Lukin and his colleague, MIT Professor of Physics Vladan Vuletic, have published their findings in the scientific journal Nature.
Episode VII. IMAX CEO tells IMAX investors that they’re “talking to J.J. Abrams” about filming the new Star Wars in IMAX. Alrighty then.
Whedon. Entertainment Weekly asks Joss Whedon if he’d turn down a Boba Fett movie if offered. “I can’t say for sure, because that’s a tasty morsel,” he answered. “But right now my heart doesn’t go that way.” Ugh. Lucasfilm, if you ever do decide to call up Joss Whedon, please don’t waste him on a Boba Fett movie.
Video. This “open letter” to J.J. Abrams is gorgeous and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Wacky merchandise: Lightsaber toothbrushes
These lightsaber toothbrushes from Gum come complete with LED lights to light up the ‘blade’ and make sure your padawan brushes for at least a full minute. Of course.
Video: They made a real lightsaber
Wicked Lasers (remember them?) has found a way to turn their questionably legal laser into a ‘Lasersaber.’ Do Not Taunt LaserSaber. (via)
Wacky merchandise: Lightsaber night light
Well, of course there’s a lightsaber night light. Of course.
In the news: Jake Lloyd denies negative article
Untruths! An article about Jake Lloyd has been floating around in which claims he called his post-Star War childhood a “living hell.” Lloyd took to Facebook on Sunday to deny it: “The quotes in the article do not accurately reflect my feelings for the time I spent on Star Wars or the time I spent in high school.” The article says the quotes came from “a magazine” and also attributes comments from his mother to a (defunct) domain similar to Sci Fi Channel Australia, which did do an interview with Lloyd (though not his mother) in 2009.
Culture. In The New York Times, Matt Richtel takes a look at how Star Wars is still captivating kids. (Did no one tell him about The Clone Wars, which doesn’t get a single mention?) Last week in the NYT: The New York Jedi. Pity about the headline fail. (Jedi is the plural. Tell your copy editors.)
Interview. George Lucas chatted with Sen. Bill Bradley on his “American Voices” radio program last week. Topics included filmmaking technology,Red Tails, good and evil in Star Wars and education.’
Randomly… Actor Topher Grace (That 70’s Show) edited all three prequels into one 85-minute film. The cut was shown only to “a private gathering of Topher’s industry friends.” There are no plans to show or release it publicly – Grace refuses to do so without permission, which seems unlikely.
Also: Play The Old Republic for free this weekend | Amanda Lucas on ESPN | What Star Wars teaches us about creativity.