News

Everyone is awaiting the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which has been marketed quite a bit before its release on December 31, 2011. But right now, they are soliciting beta testers and have already gotten 1.5 million, which is a good start to the game’s success. Execs at Bio-Ware and EA have a lot riding on this huge undertaking and have been quite careful to keep the public involved. For instance, they recently put up a section of their site where guilds can be formed in anticipation of the game.

They hope to get at least a few million to be able to be profitable and compete in the marketplace with Worlds of Warcraft. To do this, they know that they may have to introduce the idea of MMO to people who’ve never played WoW or any other MMO, but are interested in Star Wars. This will involve not only good marketing and communications, but less intense and easier entry systems in the game itself. In other words, discouraging players with instant kills...

Last news we featured Star Wars Uncut, which featured a fan based recreation of the first Star Wars movie in 15 second increments. Today, we find another gem from a couple of fans of the film, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Both actors are starring in the new film Paul about an alien landing on Earth. They’ve put together a short film in which they try and recreate the scene where R2D2 and C3PO are out in the desert. Their original intent was to reshoot scene by scene, but only managed to finish one, and that one went a bit awry itself. This is definitely fun stuff from College Humor.

One of the highlights of the Star Wars video games is the Lego ones and on March 22, 2011, Lego: Star Wars III hits the console games. One of the things we love about them is the humor that is in them, and of course the latest installment is loaded with such fun. This TV ad, entitled Charge, shows just what length they’ll go. Check it out...

Star Wars Uncut, if you haven’t heard about it, is a remake of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in which they asked people all over the world to contribute their version of scenes in 15 second increments. The interpretations could be in any visual style or with any tools that they had to do so. Some clips are using Legos, others are using anime action figures of the Star Wars characters. There is live action, animation, and a whole lot of other techniques.

Casey Pugh, who worked for Vimeo, had the idea of crowdsourcing as he calls it. That is to take something that the world already enjoys and get volunteers to create something wonderful. And since Star Wars is one of the best known and most interactive of all the movies, it seemed like the logical place to start his Uncut series. So with the help of thousands, he and his crew took in submissions via a website for 15 second scenes, for which A New Hope was divided up. One could then take the scene and...

As we’ve said before, Lucas will be releasing the six episodes of Star Wars once again in glorious 3D, jumping on the bandwagon of all the other movies that will be rereleased like Titanic. The problem is that movies that are converted to 3D from 2D are not very impressive, at least not so far. Of course, if anyone is going to have the technical knowhow to do it, it would be Lucas and Industrial Light and Magic. The good news is that the theatrical release, starting on February 10, 2012 with Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace, will bring the Star Wars movies to a whole new generation. And many of the children that see the movies really liked the first three episodes, versus episodes 4,5,6 because they are more modernized, where to them, the original trilogy seems a bit out of date even with the enhancements. The only scary thing is seeing Jar Jar’s tongue coming out of the screen to grab a fruit. How rude.

Bounty Hunters have been announced for Star Wars...

It’s truly a testament to George Lucas that his legacy keeps on, despite not having any dogs in the hunt for Oscar gold. His legacy’s presence was commonplace at this year’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards (or in other words, Oscars). In the 83rd giving out of the golden man trophies, Lucas didn’t have a single nomination, and yet he was still a big part of the night’s festivities, perhaps even more so than those that did, like Disney.

While many of the references were not so much directly related, but had a part of the movie juggernaut at one point or another. One could make this argument on just about any connection to anything else in Hollywood. If Kevin Bacon won, would they spend time talking about Footloose or Tremors, because he was in them? Probably not, but the world of George Lucas is just so expansive that it’s hard to separate out it’s alumni without the connection coming to mind.

There were some very direct references...

LucasFilms has purchased the domain name and filed for a trademark for Star Wars Detours. The trademark lists a whole lot of items, but mostly interactive media covering everything from video games to music to DVDs and even leaves open the possibility for merchandise. Whatever it is, they sound like it’s going to be big. Some people are speculating that it might have to do with the Kinect video game that is due out by the end of the year, but it’s unlikely, although a real name for the title has not really surfaced as of yet. Still, the trademark is way too extensive to be just for a single console game. No, it sounds as if it will be more of a whole synergistic behemoth, judging from the scope.

What that behemoth could be is anyone’s guess. There are so many possibilities in the Star Wars universe that to even make a prediction would be difficult. The word Detours though does lead one to believe that whatever it is, it has something to do with...

In recent days, Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia Organa, has been very open about her life, her famous family, and her bouts with depression. Her latest revelation, which she revealed on Oprah sitting next to her mother, actress and dancer Debbie Reynolds, is that the undergoes shock treatment every six weeks to help her deal with her chronic illness. Fisher, who is 54, says that it clears her mind, blows out the cement to use her terms. She also mentioned that it’s not the horrid treatment it once was with mad scientists in asylums, but a civilized procedure where one is put to sleep, with no convulsions or seizures. When the treatment is complete, Fisher says she feels much better and has a much clearer mind. It should be noted however, that results vary and one should consider all treatment options with their doctor to see what is right for them.

The Toy Fair 2011 was this weekend and Star Wars had their usual presence there, but it was certainly the year for The Clone Wars, with much of the new toys being targeted toward that show rather than the movies in general, which was somewhat of a disappointment for some fans. However, it was quite a boom for fans of the animated series with new characters, new character looks a spiffy new large scale Attack Shuttle and other toys. For those that have a fondness for your own lightsaber, Hasbro introduced a plastic hilt version of the FX Light Saber for $35 which is a big savings off the collectible metal model. Darth and Luke’s sabers will hit the stores soon. Star Wars, by the way, took in a record total for 2010, even though there was no movie released, mostly in part to the Cartoon Network series.

Not to let other film franchises get all the glory, in 2012, Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace will be updated to 3D and rereleased, with the whole series to...

During the Super Bowl, there was a commercial for Volkswagen in which a young boy plays a small Darth Vader who is trying to test his powers. When he tries his luck on the car and it starts, he’s amazed, even though it was his parents that started the car by remote. Max Page, the lad who plays the Dark Lord, is actually 6 years old, born with a pacemaker. But what people didn’t see during the commercial is that he bears a strong resemblance to Mark Hamill, who played Darth Vader’s son, Luke Skywalker. He probably would have made a great Anakin. Either way, he's quite the star today appearing on Today and other shows.

Speaking of the Sith Lord, did you know that in Norwegian, Vader means father? Perhaps George Lucas was giving us a hint all along.

We’re often on the lookout for fan based art in the Star Wars Universe and this one definitely caught our eye. It’s a AT-AT made exclusively from recycled computer parts. Sage Werbock, a past sideshow...

Walt Disney World’s Star Wars Weekends have become a fan favorite ever since Star Tours, Disney’s ride based on the films, became a reality. Since then, it has given guests opportunities to meet such stars as Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and more. It is also filled with great memorabilia and character interactions.

Not only are there stars, but special events as well. You may have seen our video in the last post of Darth Vader doing a bit of lightsaber fencing (where normally his lightsaber does stay intact) and the Dark Lord and his stormtroopers dancing to Thriller. These are some of the many interactive type entertainment that they put on every year during the special days. Also much more of the characters from the films are out and about to sign autographs and pose for pictures. At night is the Hyperspace Hoopla, a dance party which allows visitors to get up close and personal with the characters...

Sorry, we were off yesterday, but we present you with this week’s Star Wars news.

Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is EA’s venture into the largest Star Wars MMO ever, has been one that the fans have been clamoring over for quite awhile and while no official word has come down that Spring 2011 is not the timeframe for the release, some sites are saying that unnamed sources are whispering that EA may be setting that back to September. If true, this is bound to disappoint the gamers waiting for this title, and probably do more to scare EA investors, who are already wary on the massive project that EA has thrust itself into, with no track record for success in the MMO world, having failed with Warhammer earlier. We’ll have more as it comes out.

Don’t run to your local spaceport just yet. George Lucas, who Seth Rogen recently claimed when on a rant about the end of the world in 2012, has stepped forward to dispel the rumor. It seems that both are having a...

Qui-Gon Jinn, as many remember, died at the end of Phantom Menace, but as Obi-Wan showed us in the original trilogy, Jedi have the power to come back as spirits and in this case, young Obi-Wan’s mentor does just that. The reason? To make sure that Anakin is being trained and to warn his once apprentice that other’s see young Skywalker’s ability to fulfill the prophecy. The ghostly Jedi will make his appearance in two upcoming episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series on the Cartoon Network on January 28th and February 11th. But the biggest news is that he will be played by none other than Liam Neeson, who played Qui-Gon Jinn in the films.

While the original movie that served as the springboard for the series was able to get stars like Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) and Christopher Lee (Count Dooku) from the trilogy, the series has not been so fortunate. So Liam Neeson is a big deal here because he is virtually the only one that has reprised...