“OUT OF THIS WORLD–Seven-month-old Stephanie Pardo is pushed by Chewbacca (her costumed father Bret) to join forces with several Darth Vaders at contest in North Hollywood to mark opening of the third engagement of “Star Wars” at southland theaters. Everyone appearing in costume was admitted to film free.”
…it’s funny to think that Stephanie must be 27 years old today. But I bet that Bret still loves Star Wars, because some things don’t change.
“Fox’s animated hit will kick off its fifth season this September with an hourlong episode that retells the “Star Wars” saga using “Family Guy” characters. Lucasfilm has blessed the event, which will have the Griffin family acting out all the key scenes and narrative from “Star Wars: A New Hope,” the first installment of the franchise. “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane is a major “Star Wars” fan and was personally involved in getting Lucasfilm on board, an exec from 20th Century Fox TV said.
Not surprisingly, family patriarch Peter Griffin will play the role of Han Solo, while mom Lois will appear as Princess Leia. Evil baby Stewie will be Darth Vader, natch. Brian the family dog will serve as Chewbaca, while son Chris is Luke. Robots R2-D2 and C-3PO will be handled by Cleveland and Quagmire, respectively, while creepy old guy Herbert gets the Obi- Wan character.
Plot of the episode has the Griffin family stuck at home during a blackout. With no TV to entertain them, Peter decides to tell a story — leading to the “Star Wars” flashback. Planning for the seg began more than a year ago, with the “Family Guy” execs getting Lucasfilm on board. MacFarlane is set to show off footage from the episode at this weekend’s Star Wars mega-convention in Los Angeles.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 25, 2007 in Star Wars
This is a great slide show from a Star Wars collection that a devoted fanboy has put together over the years which includes everything from a Star Wars slot machine to a Lego Darth Vader:
“Meet Steve Sansweet, the ultimate fanboy. Thirty-some years ago, he started collecting all things Star Wars while working as a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Now he has a 5,000-square-foot, climate-controlled barn in Northern California packed with goodies from the iconic space saga. His stockpile is rivaled only by the personal stash of George Lucas himself.”
“Fanboys has been delayed. As a Star Wars fan, I am devastated. Fanboys is the love letter to the greatest movie franchise of all time. And this year marks the 30th Anniversary. I wanted the film to be my gift back to Star Wars and to the fan community. But ultimately the shift in release will be a good thing for the movie. We made Fanboys for under five million dollars. And the studio has given us the go-ahead to do the things to it that we couldnt do with our initial limited schedule and budget. There are one or two hilarious things that I wanted to shoot and they are giving me the funds to do it. Which is great!!! As a filmmaker, it’s not often someone says — here’s more money – what else do you want to do? But that’s the situation we are in. Unfortunately, I dont get the actors back together for four months! (The one drawback to having such a hot young cast at the top of their game.) But rest assured fans won’t escape Fanboys this year. We kick it off with our presence at Celebration IV in a big way (sneak-peaking scenes, releasing our prequel comic book and teaser poster)… then we will heat things up at the San Diego Comic-Con in July. And from there we just keep building toward January. I am so excited to unleash this movie. It’s going to be huge!”
…I blame the slacker culture associated with Star Wars for the delay, you know full well that a film about Star Trek fanboys would be out on time! Not so high and mighty are we now with our Death Star vs. the Enterprise showdown arguements?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 23, 2007 in Star Wars
With the 30th anniversary of Star Wars fast approaching (May 25th), it ‘s time to begin celebrating the galaxy far, far away all over again. Images from ‘The Making of Star Wars, the Definitive Story Behind the Original Film’, to be released by Ballantine Books on April 24. Check out an amazing sneak peak at the book here:
“The idea of creating a balloon symbolizing the SW saga has been on my mind for a long time. But I was too shy to ask George Lucas (Lucasfilm) permission to do it.
Then I met with FanWars in 2005. They wanted me to make a Death Star – shaped PVC helium balloon. While discussing with FanWars leader Nicolas Lelong aka TK-9999, I spoke of my idea of a Darth Vader – shaped hot air balloon. For me, it was more of a joke and a fantasy, but Nicolas took it seriously and found the idea wonderful. He took contact with LucasFilm in order to try to get their agreement.
As soon as we got Lucasfilm’s approval, we made contact with the world largest manufacturer of hot-air balloons, specialized in special shapes and based in the United Kingdom. A Darth Vader helmet replica was sent to their engineers to help them recreate every detail. A vectorial file representing the Vader helmet in 3D was also sent to the engineers.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 7, 2007 in Star Wars
The 30th anniversary of Star Wars will leave no merchandising opportunity unturned, and the exclusive Space Slug Enviorama (seen above) is an example of this in action. I mean I love Star Wars as much as the next fanboy, but in all my many years of hanging out at conentions I never heard one person blurt out “Ya know, I wish Lucas would put out a Space Slug model!” The other odd thing is that slug looks oddly, well somewhat, err, I’ll say it: somewhat phallic looking:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 29, 2007 in Star Wars
Great news for Star Wars fanboys, the US Postal service will be coming out with Star Wars stamps (seen above, click to enlarge). Here’s a bit of the official press release:
“Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Darth Vader and, of course, R2-D2 are among the unforgettable Star Wars characters debuting on 15 new 41-cent postage stamps unveiled today at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, where the first Star Wars movie opened nearly 30 years ago.
The commemorative stamps feature images from all six movies in the Star Wars saga: Luke Skywalker; Han Solo and Chewbacca; Princess Leia Organa with R2-D2; C-3PO; Yoda; Queen Padmé Amidala; Obi-Wan Kenobi as seen in Episodes IV through VI; Anakin Skywalker battling Obi-Wan Kenobi; Darth Vader; Emperor Palpatine; Darth Maul; Imperial Stormtroopers; Boba Fett; the Millennium Falcon; and an X-wing fighter. The stamps will be released at a first-day-of-issue ceremony on Friday, May 25, at Star Wars Celebration IV, the biggest Star Wars event in the galaxy, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
“The UK’s Jedi community today expressed concerns that government plans to ban Samurai swords could hinder their freedom to wield lightsabres in public. The UK’s Home Office today issued a consultation paper ahead of legislation intended to ban Samurai blades by the end of the year. In a bid to “protect the public”, replica Samurai swords will become illegal to import, sell and hire in Britain.
Breaching the new rules could mean six months in prison, and a £5,000 fine. Anyone carrying such a weapon in public could faces up to four years in prison, the consultation paper suggests.
The paper notes that genuine Samurai swords would not attract the same penalties, and there are also exemptions for other specific martial arts weapons. “We recognise it is the cheap, easily available Samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts,” Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker. “As such as we are putting forward exemptions for these groups.”
The key word here is ‘replica’. No one has yet built a working lightsabre, leaving the UK’s would-be Obi-Wans inevitably having to wield plastic, flick-of-the-wrist-to-extend weapons in duels with Sith Lords, remotes and, occasionally, each other.
But Jedi fear that the Samurai ban would leave them exposed to future legislation against other forms of imitation weaponry that would, Jedi Temple (Neasden) spokesman Indi-Anna Jones warned today.”
“The Star Wars saga continues this November in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a videogame developed by LucasArts, which casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi – and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.”
“A man dressed as Chewbacca was arrested after police said the street performer head-butted a tour guide operator in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Frederick Evan Young, 44, of Los Angeles, California, was booked Thursday for investigation of misdemeanor battery, police Lt. Paul Vernon said. Police said the 6-foot-4 street performer was seen arguing Thursday afternoon with a tour guide who had expressed concern that the Star Wars wookie impersonator was “harassing and touching tourists” in violation of city law.”
…my favorite quote from this story was “You can’t tell this wookie what to do!” You have to admire an actor that stays in character!
“The cloak worn by Sir Alec Guinness in Star Wars, along with Madonna’s dresses from Evita and several of James Bond’s suits are to go under the hammer.Costumes from productions including the Indiana Jones films, Titanic and Doctor Who will also be auctioned on 6 March. Some 350 lots are being sold by London-based costume maker Angels. Bonhams auctioneers said the cloak was expected to surpass its £50,000 reserve price. Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, died in 2000.”
“Nikko has a solution for the Star Wars fans that need to stay connected while gripping a weapon of Jedi justice. The company’s Lightsaber USB phone compliments the R2D2 projector we covered back at CES. The handset features a full keypad hidden under the rotating rubberized hand grip. The business end of the lightsaber glows blue when powered on and turns red when a call is made, apparently in tune with the likely sinister nature of your communiqué.”
