Gallery: Empire Invades AT&T Park for San Francisco Giants’ Star Wars Day

• By Angela Watercutter
• From http://www.wired.com/

SAN FRANCISCO — A steady stream of Darth Vaders, Princess Leias, Boba Fetts and, of course, Stormtroopers descended on AT&T Park here Sunday as the world-champion San Francisco Giants played host to the Empire for Star Wars Day.

In a city known for its geek fascinations, seeing Jedi mix with hard-core baseball fans is not an uncommon occurrence, but the Giants' game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was the first-ever Star Wars Day for the franchise.

And the team went all-out. Fans got a pre-game costume contest, a post-game screening of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in the stadium, Stormtroopers guarding the field during the "Star-Spangled Banner," giveaway statues of Giants closing pitcher Brian Wilson — frozen in carbonite, Han Solo-style — and the opportunity to generally geek out throughout the game.

"We don't even know what the score is," said 33-year-old Ryan Flores, above right, who came in a Giants bounty hunter uniform. Flores told Wired.com that he and his Boba-Fett-meets-Giants-costumed friend, Robin Lopez, 31 (above left), were distracted from the game's play-by-play due to fans wanting pictures with the pair.

Not that Flores minded. He noted that he and Lopez had been happy to take pictures, making them each a Star for the day.

"I'm a geek and if I can make a little kid smile, that makes my day," Flores said.

During the game, Giants players were shown in Jedi garb in their photos on the stadium's giant screen. Between innings, the park showed Star Wars clips, including one featuring the team's mascot, Lou Seal, inserted into key scenes from the film franchise — changes that went over better with fans than last week's addition of Darth Vader screaming "No!" in the upcoming Blu-ray version of Return of the Jedi.

In the end, though, the Force was stronger with Star Wars fans than with the Giants, who lost to the Diamondbacks 4-1 after an 8th-inning rally by the Arizona team.

Click through the gallery above to get a taste of San Francisco baseball's geekiest day, and, as one fan's sign said, "May the SForce be with you."

Vader’s New Blu-Ray Voice Will Make You ROFL

From: http://furiousfanboys.com/

Still reeling with nerd rage over George Lucas adding “NO” to Vader’s murder of Palpatine? Well new footage from the Blu-Ray has leaked out that reveals the real dialog that has been dubbed over the scene, and it’s possibly one of the funniest Star Wars things you’ll see all week.
Check it out:

For Star Wars fans, Calif's Yoda statue is a mecca

By GARANCE BURKE - Associated Press
From http://news.yahoo.com/

• 

  In this Aug. 2, 2011 photo, a life-sized replica of Yoda, George Lucas’ master of …

• 

  In this Aug. 2, 2011 photo, Matt Tolosa, left, who is dressed like the Star Wars …

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Within sight of the Golden Gate Bridge lies another landmark cherished by a small but fervent group of travelers: a full-size replica of Yoda, George Lucas' master of the Force.

Since the statue of the Jedi sage went up amid the Presidio's landscaped lawns in 2005, Star Wars fans have made a pilgrimage to take pictures with their beloved character and take in Lucasfilm Ltd.'s sleek headquarters.

Given the franchise's huge impact not only on pop culture but on the tourism industry, the diminutive Yoda fountain is just one of dozens of location shoots and special sites visited by Star Wars acolytes. Others include Luke Skywalker's desert home in Tunisia, Guatemalan pyramids and a Tuscan lakefront villa.

For the Van Zweiten family of Oploo, Netherlands, a stop to see the pointy-eared master was a key part of their summer holiday in the United States.

"The Dutch guidebook said 'Love it, you will,' and we decided we had to come," said Tom Van Zwieten, a tax attorney who has also visited another shoot site in Tenerife, and who brought up his children watching the trilogies.

In "The Empire Strikes Back," Yoda builds Luke's confidence to harness the Force, an energy field that Jedis use to perform supernatural feats. "You must unlearn what you have learned," he tells Luke. "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you."

Some visitors to this corner of the park, flanked by towering palms and eucalyptus groves, hope to absorb such lessons through sheer proximity to the statue, poised atop a rushing fountain.

"Yoda is the source of wisdom and gravitas for the whole trilogy," said fan Dale Tolosa, 37, an underemployed actor who often dresses as a Star Wars biker scout with his chapter of the 501st Legion, an international, all-volunteer costuming group. "It's almost like he's a religious symbol or the Statue of Liberty, or a representation of all the positive fantasy that George Lucas has brought to the world since 1977."

Tolosa and his older brother, Matt, who dons the tunic of Luke's father Anakin Skywalker, also have visited numerous other location shoots, and are planning a trip to Death Valley, where R2D2 cruised the sand dunes.

Gus Lopez, a Star Wars collector in Seattle who runs an online memorabilia museum, has already been there, as well as to the Yoda fountain and to nearly every major Star Wars location shoot the world over, including sites in Norway and the Arizona desert.

Lopez's favorite? A redwood grove near Crescent City, Calif. where Lucas filmed the speeder bike chase scenes for "Return of the Jedi".

"It took friends and I a year to research and find the location because the forest that got logged looks so different today," said Lopez. "For all of these sites, it's about how you connect with the movies and how you actually feel like you're closer to it by being in a place that was involved in making them."

Some passionate fans choose to get directly involved at the locations they visit.

Belgian fan Mark Dermul has been raising money to visit the Tunisian salt lake Chott El-Jerid, which Lucas transformed into the desert planet of Tatooine. So far, nearly 400 donors have contributed $10,994 to repair the weather-worn plaster, wood and chicken wire holding together the iconic "Lars Homestead" where Luke Skywalker was raised and fans plan to do the restorations next summer, Dermul said.

Along with an entree into the fantasy world, other filming sites offer tourists special services and accommodations.

On the sweeping grounds of Villa del Balbianello, visitors can get married in the setting overlooking Italy's Lake Como where Queen Padme Amidala married Anakin in "Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones".

The epic film series has spawned a franchise including collectables, books, television series, video games, and comic books that Forbes magazine estimated in 2007 had earned more than $22 billion.

Lucasfilm is among several businesses and nonprofits that have relocated to the Presidio, the one-time military base turned national park overlooking the bay and the Pacific. Run-of-the-mill fans, however, aren't invited past the plush company lobby without invitation.

"The Yoda fountain is the public face of Lucasfilm, the one picture-taking opportunity that they have with something from Star Wars," says Steve Sansweet, a fan relations advisor to Lucasfilm who houses a trove of collectables on his land in Northern California, dubbed Rancho Obi-Wan.

Jay Shephard, a manager at an online testing company in Baltimore, went a step further, calling the fountain a mecca for fans.

"Yoda's like what I would like to aspire to be in the way that I live my life and the way I raise my kids," said Shephard, who founded a fan site called Theforce.net. "Here's this little guy who's really unassuming, and you think 'how could this little creature be a warrior'? But the messages he shares with Luke in the movie really resonate with all of us."

___

Follow Garance Burke at http://twitter.com/garanceburke

UK Storm Trooper armourer can go on selling his gear; Brit copyright on Star Wars costumes has lapsed

Posted by Cory Doctorow

From http://boingboing.net/

Andrew Ainsworth is a Londoner who designed the original Storm Trooper helmets for George Lucas’s Star Wars. Ainsworth has been casting new armour from his original moulds for the past eight years, selling them to fans at up to £1,800 a throw. Lucas sued Ainsworth in a US court, which held that he had violated Lucas’s copyright; but because Ainsworth has no US assets, Lucas had to bring suit in the UK to collect. However, UK law affords only limited copyright to costumes, and the UK Supreme Court held that costumes are not sculptures, and only get a 15 year term of copyright in the UK, meaning that Storm Trooper armour is now in the public domain in Britain. The court also found that Ainsworth had violated US copyright.

Mr Ainsworth sells his Stormtrooper costumes for up to £1,800
A prop designer who made the original Stormtrooper helmets for Star Wars has won his battle with director George Lucas over his right to sell replicas.
Andrew Ainsworth, 62, of south London, successfully argued the costumes were functional not artistic works, and so not subject to full copyright laws.

George Lucas loses Stormtrooper battle at Supreme Court
(Thanks, @erichhugo!)

Star Wars Deleted Scenes Sneak Peek

R2 getting chased by a wampa?

The Star Wars franchise feels like a aging cocker spaniel these days. Always able to bring a smile out of us, in truth it is tired, confused, and looking for a quiet corner in which to die.
Cheer up though because George Lucas is wheeling it out again, this time insisting you buy 9 Blu Ray discs known as Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Annoyingly it actually looks quite good, particularly after this sneak peek at some deleted scenes was released.

Available to buy in September. Groan, if we have to...

30 Things You Might Not Know About 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'

By Sharon Knolle

From: http://blog.moviefone.com/

In honor of the 30th anniversary of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' we've unearthed 30 little-known facts about the beloved action-adventure movie.

Diehard 'Raiders' fans already know that Tom Selleck, not Harrison Ford, was the first choice to play Indy, but some other big names were in the running too, including a recent Oscar winner who turned down the role of a lifetime.

And you probably know that Indiana Jones got his name from George Lucas's dog, a malamute who also inspired him to create Chewbacca, but did you know Steven Spielberg also had a hand in creating the iconic name?

Read on for more 'Raiders' trivia.

1. Although it sounds like movie legend, 'Raiders' was born as Lucas and Spielberg built sandcastles on the beach in Hawaii, where both were vacationing as 'Star Wars' opened. Spielberg wanted to make a James Bond film, but Lucas told him he had a better idea: something called 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'

2. Our hero's original name? Indiana Smith. It was changed on the first day of production when Steven Spielberg told Lucas it just didn't sound right and suggested "Jones" instead.

3. Lucas first dreamed up Indy in 1973 with a treatment called 'The Adventures of Indiana Smith,' inspired by 'Buck Rogers' and 'Flash Gordon' serials.

4. Lucas asked Philip Kaufman, director of the 1978 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' to develop a script. "Phil Kaufman had provided the [plot device] of the Lost Ark of the Covenant, which his orthodontist had told him about when he was 11 years old," 'Raiders' screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan said in 1993. Kaufman was originally set to direct, as well.

5. Besides Selleck, actors considered for the lead included Nick Nolte, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Tim Matheson, Nick Mancuso, Peter Coyote, and Jack Nicholson, all of whom would have made for a very different film. The actor who turned it down, by the way: Jeff Bridges.

6. Harrison Ford was cast less than three weeks before principal photography began.

7. Amy Irving (who would marry Spielberg in 1985) and Debra Winger were considered for the role of Marion. Sean Young played Marion in the screen test for all the Indy auditions, as seen in the DVD extras. The next year, Young would star opposite Ford in 'Blade Runner.'

8. Sallah's name means "sprout," which is probably due to the much shorter Danny DeVito being offered the role first instead of John Rhys-Davies. (Perhaps this helped him get the part of Gimli?)

9. The role of Nazi interrogator Toht was offered to Klaus Kinski, who instead chose to appear in the horror film 'Venom' because the salary was better. Spielberg then picked Ronald Lacey because he reminded him of Peter Lorre.

10. Indy's well-worn leather jacket was actually brand new. The costume director "aged" each jacket (there were 10 in all) with a metal brush and Ford's own pocket knife. Same with Indy's trademark fedora: It came from Savile Row of London and various members of the cast (including Ford) took turns sitting on it to make it look as battered as necessary.

11. In the classic opening shot of the movie, the mountain of the Paramount logo dissolves to a real peak, which is Kalalea Mountain on Kaua'i, Hawaii, stunt man Vic Armstrong confirmed to Moviefone. Interestingly, it's nicknamed "King Kong," because it resembles the giant ape's profile.

12. 'Raiders' was Alfred Molina's screen debut. His first scene involved being covered with tarantulas. Unfortunately, the spiders, which were supposed to swarm in a creepy fashion, didn't move. The reason: They were all male. A female spider was put on Molina's chest and the male spiders immediately started to crawl towards her.

13. The giant boulder was Spielberg's idea and was supposedly based on a Scrooge McDuck cartoon called 'The Seven Cities of Cibola,' in which an idol is lifted off of its pedestal, triggering a giant rock, which nearly crushes the thief.

14. In the novelization, it's revealed that Marion was only 14 when Indy first romanced her, lending a creepy truth to her line, "I was a child. It was wrong!"

15. Also in the novelization, Marcus Brody finds Indy in his bathrobe at his house because he's just entertained a co-ed. (Possibly the girl who writes 'I Love You' on her eyelids in the film.)

16. Burly British wrestler Pat Roach gets killed twice in this film, once as a giant Sherpa who perishes in the Nepalese bar and again as the German mechanic who's done in by the plane's propeller.

17. The same actor who plays Indy's guide who tries to kill him in the jungle also plays the monkey keeper with the eye patch in Cairo.

18. When everyone else was struck with dysentery on the Tunisia set, Spielberg was the only one who didn't get sick, thanks to the fact that he avoided the local cuisine and ate only canned Spaghetti-O's.

19. The sound of snakes slithering was achieved by the sound designer running his fingers through a cheese casserole, and he created the sound of the heavy Ark lid being lifted with the lid of his toilet at home. He found the perfect sound effect for the rolling boulder by sending a Honda Civic coasting down a gravel hill.

20. The scene in which the monkey executes a "Heil Hitler" salute took 50 takes. A grape was attached to a fishing line and held just out of reach of the camera shot to get him to "salute."

21. To save money, Spielberg rented stock footage: The DC-3 flying over the Himalayas is from 1973's 'Lost Horizon' and a 1930s street scene was taken from 1975's 'The Hindenburg.'

22. The snakes in the Well of Souls sequence not only weren't afraid of fire, they kept trying to get closer to the flames to warm themselves! At one point Spielberg picked up a snake and told it, "You're ruining my movie." Spielberg also admitted the sight of all those snakes (even though many weren't real) made him nauseous.

23. The set of the Well of Souls: Also used as the hotel room set where Jack Nicholson does all his writing in 'The Shining.'

24. Ford really was in pain in the scene aboard the freighter where Marion tries to find a place on his body that "doesn't hurt." He'd bruised his ribs being dragged behind the truck (he was needed for close-ups), and had torn his ACL when the plane in the fight scene with the bald German rolled over his left knee.

25. The canyon where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark is the same one where the Jawas take R2-D2 in 'Star Wars.'

26. You probably know that R2-D2 and C-3PO appear in hieroglyphics in the Well of Souls scene. Lucas also put in these Easter Eggs: When Indy gets off the Nazi Sub, over the loudspeaker you can hear, 'ein, ein, drei, acht.' (German for one-one-three-eight) and his friend Jock's airplane at the beginning of the film has the registration number 'OB-CPO.'

27. How does Indy survive the U-boat's plunge? A scene was filmed where he lashes himself to the periscope with his whip. Presumably it was cut for continuity since Indy had left the whip tied to the Nazi truck.

28. According to the novelization, the writing on the headpiece of the Staff of Ra included a specific warning not to look into the Ark, which is how Indy knew to avoid the same fiery fate that befell his Nazi captors.

29. The film was originally given an R-rating because of the graphic nature of Belloq's death. To earn a PG (PG-13 didn't exist until after 'Temple of Doom') Spielberg had flames superimposed over the image of Belloq's head exploding.

30. An early draft of the script had Indy traveling to Shanghai to recover a piece of the Staff of Ra. Two sequences set in Shanghai -- a mine chase and Indy using a gong to shield himself from gunfire -- were used

Lucasfilm Animation’s New Building is a Sandcrawler

From: http://furiousfanboys.com/

Lucasfilm Animation, who produces The Clone Wars, is located in Singapore and they’re receiving a brand new building designed to look like a Sandcrawler. Lucasfilm broke ground on the eight story building this week that will include Star Wars decor, a 100-seat theater, and state of the art production facilities.

The 10 Best Pieces of Star Wars Music

From: http://furiousfanboys.com/

There’s no doubt that Star Wars has the best movie soundtracks of all time. There’s really no debating that actually. But if you were to burn a Star Wars “mix tape” CD to listen to in your car, what are the ten tracks that absolutely should go on it? Below we’ve collected the ten pieces of Star Wars music that are an absolute must on such a CD.

Star Wars Main Title

Um, duh? Does this really need an explanation? The only real decision is which track version of it to use as on the soundtracks each movie has a different ending to the main theme as it transitions into the first scene. Personally, I always use the one from A New Hope, but the decision on this one is up to you.

The Imperial March (The Empire Strikes Back)

No Star Wars CD would be complete without what has become Vader’s theme. It’s one of the best things to come out of the amazing Empire Strikes Back soundtrack, and with it Williams gave the Star Wars saga yet another classic theme that will last for all eternity.

The Throne Room (A New Hope)

When I die, this is one of the pieces that will be played at my funeral. The finale to A New Hope is an amazingly powerful piece and another one of the themes that Williams crafted for the saga that will be immortal. As with the Main Title and the Imperial March, this is one of those themes that you see popping up in unexpected places; such as NFL highlight reels.

Clash of Lightsabers/Escape from Cloud City (The Empire Strikes Back)

The entire finale to Empire is epic, and is probably the best of all six movies; the Endor battle included. There are two tracks on the soundtracks that are specifically good. The first is this one which covers the Luke/Vader battle and the escape by Lando, Leia, Chewie, and the Droids. The second one is…

Rebel Fleet/End Title (The Empire Strikes Back)

Anyone who played Star Wars Galaxies at beta and launch will have this track burned into their head as the first part is what is used on the character select screen of that game. This is the finale of Empire with Luke & Leia on the medical frigate, and then the end credits. The Empire credits are great as they give you the major themes of the movie from Vader’s to Leia’s and Yoda’s.

The Forest Battle (Concert Suite)

This one isn’t actually in Return of the Jedi. It’s a concert version of the Endor forest battle that was done just for the soundtrack, but it’s by far the best version of it. Lucasfilm likes to use pieces of this a lot in trailers, specifically the last bit of it, and it was used in trailers and commercials for Episode II.

Leia’s News/Light of the Force (Return of the Jedi)

This is the part where Leia tells Han that she is really Luke’s sister, thus Han’s confused look as to why they were sucking face on Hoth. The awesome part of this track is actually the Vader funeral pyre. The bit from the movie is there, but the official soundtrack actually has an extended version of it where the Force theme flares up to full.

A New Hope & End Credits (Revenge of the Sith)

While the track above is just a fraction of it; the full version of this on the soundtrack CD is an epic 13-minute goodbye to Star Wars that was seriously cut down in the actual film’s end credits. Yes, Williams revisits the Throne Room here, but that’s his way of saying goodbye to Star Wars. This track is also the only time in the prequels where we heard Princess Leia’s theme, but the epic Throne Room finale (with the Force theme in there) is what makes it amazing.

Anakin’s Betrayal (Revenge of the Sith)

The only Prequel track on this list, and while some may have wanted me to include Duel of the Fates or Battle of the Heroes, if I had to pick only one Prequel track; this would be it. The Order 66 scene in Revenge of the Sith is where that movie set itself apart from the Prequels that people thought were somewhat childish as the Jedi Purge began.

Yoda’s Theme (The Empire Strikes Back)

Finally, I had to include Yoda’s theme on the list. After the Imperial March, it’s one of the more memorable themes in the entire saga and it also came from Empire. Williams made Yoda’s theme the perfect fit for an aging Jedi Master who saw the time generations ago when the Jedi were at their prime. Before the dark times. Before the Empire.

'Star Wars: Episode I' 3D Gets Theatrical Release Date From Lucasfilm, Fox

By Pamela McClintock

From: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic is supervising the 3D conversion.

Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox will release the 3D version of Star Wars: Episode I:The Phantom Menace on Feb. 10, 2012.

George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic is supervising the 3D conversion, with an eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions.

Lucasfilm believes Star Wars is perfectly suited to be seen in 3D.


The Hollywood Reporter first reported that Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace would be converted to 3D.

Lucas hopes that releasing the film early in the year, outside of summer blockbuster season, will give it an open run at the box office and also set up the opportunity to sell merchandise through the balance of the year. The plan under discussion would make the release of the subsequent films in the series an annual event on the film calendar.

If the first in the series meets with success, the remaining five films would follow a year apart on comparable dates. However, depending on how the first release performs, the companies could also decide to open the subsequent entries in different spots on the calendar.

When the new special-edition version of the original three Star Wars movies were re-released in 1997, that cycle began with a re-release of Episode IV: A New Hope on Jan. 31, followed by Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back on Feb. 21 and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi on March 14.

Launching the movies during the first quarter of the year would also give Lucas Licensing the opportunity to launch new licensing programs that could run throughout the course of the year.

These aren't the beers you're looking for: Leia Gets Luke a Beer

by Nattyb

from: http://unrealitymag.com/

I don’t know about you guys but this might be one of the best Star Wars clips I’ve seen in a very long time.    I mean when you really think about it, it’s gotta be tough going up against that Death Star day after day.  Guys must be parched by the time they get back.

However, something tells me that this is before take off so what the hell man?  Are we to believe that Star Wars was promoting drinking and flying?  Not cool Mr. Lucas.  Not cool at all.

Harrison Ford goes on Conan while completely drunk

From: http://furiousfanboys.com/

Harrison Ford appeared on Conan last night in a surreal interview that left many wondering just how many trips to the bar the two made before sitting down, but towards the end the talk went to the possibility of Indiana Jones 5, and once again he reiterated that Lucas was working on a script and he conversation then went into hilarity when Ford said making Indy 5 would be “More than fun” while making “money” motions with his hands. Right now there’s no word as to when Indy 5 may hit, but you can check out Indy himself lushing it up in the video below:

'Star Wars' saga set for 3D release starting 2012

Films will roll out in order, starting with 'Phantom Menace

By Jay A. Fernandez and Kim Masters

From: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

"Star Wars"

Big news on the 3D front.

Sources indicate that George Lucas is set on rereleasing the "Star Wars" franchise in new 3D conversions beginning in 2012. Although 3D versions have been rumored for some time, Lucas purportedly was waiting until there were enough screens available to make the release a sizable event.

Fox, which released all six original "Star Wars" films, also would release the 3D versions.

Episode I, "The Phantom Menace," would be first out of star-dock during early 2012. After that, each film would be released in order at the same time in consecutive years, depending on how well the first rerelease does.

Each conversion takes at least a year to complete, with Lucas overseeing the process to make sure each is as perfect as possible. He has said that the "Avatar" experience convinced him that "Star Wars" is ready for the state-of-the-art 3D treatment.

Starting with "Phantom Menace," Lucasfilm would use several higher-end conversion houses to work on the project. By late winter or early spring in 2012, the exhibition industry should have all the 3D screens anyone could want for such a release.

At present, pics are limited to 2,000-2,500 3D locations owing to an insufficient installed base of projectors and screens. Movie theaters are adding 3D screens at a clip of 500 a month in the U.S. Foreign exhibitors also are pushing into 3D as quickly as possible now that financing for the installations is flowing.

Also pushing the timetable is a potential breakthrough in 3D TV technology. With Samsung penetrating the market with 50,000-plus 3D-equipped sets and Sony recently sending its version to market, the home-viewing experience could be primed for 3D DVD versions of the films by the time the new 3D theatrical releases have run their course.

Lucas purportedly is lining up the theatrical rereleases as a lead-in to the ultimate home-viewing experience. Beyond that, the property would launch to other 3D media.

In the meantime, Lucas plans a comprehensive Blu-ray Disc set of the six films next year, which would include upgraded picture and sound quality, new deleted scenes and special features.

Alex Ben Block, Carl DiOrio and Borys Kit contributed to this report.

Jon Stewart Is the Star Wars Toy We Were Looking For

by Gonzalo Cordova
From: http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/

I think all Star Wars fans can agree, the most exciting and awesome scenes in all the films were the interminable political senate hearings in the second trilogy. My favorite is pretending all the weird aliens are just a race of Joe Liebermans. So it makes sense that Jon Stewart, with his political savvy, would be chosen to interview George Lucas on stage at Star Wars Celebration V

in Disney World.

The best part is that George Lucas presented Jon with an action figure of a "Stewart trooper," a storm trooper with Jon's head.

As you can see the figure is awesome. It's in the old school packaging. It's specifically from The Empire Strikes Back, the best film of the series and arguably the Citizen Kane of films where puppets help fight space rebellions. And it comes with three replaceable heads. That's two more than the real Jon Stewart has!

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.

Click after the jump to see more pictures.

The action figure switches between a clean shaven Jon and a goateed Jon, as well as a third generic Storm Trooper head.

As a special bonus, here's a video clip from the time George Lucas appeared on The Daily Show.

[Images via Collider]

‘Star Wars’ Is Coming To Blu-ray!

‘Star Wars’ Is Coming To Blu-ray!

Posted by The Movie God From: http://geeksofdoom.com/

Earlier today at Star Wars Celebration V, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox announced something fanboys have been wanting to hear for what feels like a millennium: the beloved Star Wars saga will be finally coming to the realms of high definition Blu-ray.

A bit of a wait is still in your future as the set isn’t marked for release until the fall of 2011, but the wait sounds like it will be worth it. The Blu-enhanced Star Wars box set will consist of all six films, bathed in the highest possible visual and audio formats. Also included will be a wealth of special features including documentaries, unseen footage from the Lucasfilm archives, retrospectives, interviews, and rare behind-the-scenes moments.

While speaking about the exciting announcement, the creator himself George Lucas said “Blu-ray is the absolute best way to experience Star Wars at home – in pristine high definition. The films have never looked or sounded better.”

It’s unclear at the moment if the only available set being released next fall will be the above-mentioned six-film package, or if all movies will be offered individually as well. It’s obvious that the individual films and separate trilogies will likely get a Blu-ray release at some point, but a little more waiting may be involved there.

[Source: Lucasfilm]

How Much Money Will Converting the Star Wars Films to 3D Make?

From: http://www.swtorstrategies.com/

Apparently, LucasFilm has decided to covert the Star Wars Trilogies into 3D. This is not exactly a surprise, as Hollywood is an a rush to make every movie 3D. But how big of a money maker will it be for the franchise?


The cost to convert a traditional 2-D movie into 3D can range between $50,000 and $100,000 per minute. If you split the difference, and say the cost would be $75,000 per minute, then the total price tag to convert all six films would be around $59 million.


In 1997, George Lucas released the special editions of Episode IV, V and VI into theatres. Star Wars opened in January and sold $138 million worth of tickets. The Empire Strikes Back opened a month later, but only had $67.6 million in tickets sales. Finally, Return of the Jedi opened in March, and ended its run with $45.5 million in sales.

Now, if you assume that the Original Trilogy films bring in exactly the same money in tickets sales for a re-release in 3D, then LucasFilm would stand to bring in $250 million in ticket sales on a $37 million investment. My guess is that if they do the 3D right, and do it quickly, then they are looking at tickets sales much higher than $250 million for this new release.

Clearly Lucasfilm will make their money back and then some, but is it worth doing? Does anyone care to see this or is it just another case of Lucas screwing around too much with the franchise?

The People vs. George Lucas Is Really a Twisted Love Letter

• By Lewis Wallace

There’s a fine line between love and hate, and some Star Wars fanatics have crossed that flimsy divide with blasters a-blazin’ when it comes to George Lucas, the visionary filmmaker who dreamed up the franchise.

The upcoming movie The People vs. George Lucas gives disgruntled Star Wars fans a chance to vent their frustrations about the direction the franchise has taken over the years. Thousands of fans submitted video clips for the crowdsourced film, which will have its world premiere this March at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas.

“We’ve taken great care to show respect for a filmmaker who continues to inspire generations, and who has certainly inspired us to make this film,” The People vs. George Lucas writer and director Alexandre O. Philippe told Wired.com in an e-mail interview after the announcement. “It’s really hard to imagine what our pop-culture landscape would look like without Star Wars. So our film is a love letter of sorts, but it’s a rather twisted one, as we’re looking at George through the prism of his fans.”

The fan-fueled filmmaking process, enabled by the internet and easy access to video-editing technology, made it possible for Phillippe and his crew to connect with legions of fanboys and fangirls around the world, then stitch together a crazy-quilt indictment of Lucas’ handling of the Star Wars legacy.



The movie looks at Star Wars as the cultural cornerstone it’s become, Phillippe said. “Is George the sole owner of it, or does it now belong to the ages?” he said. “And what happens to your role as a creator when your audience claims it owns your art?”

Fan debate over the extensive changes made by Lucas in special editions of the films released long after the original theatrical runs gets pretty intense in The People vs. George Lucas, Phillippe said: “As documentary filmmakers, we had to distance ourselves from the fact that we’re fanboys and fangirls at heart, to deliver an objective, uncensored, no-holds-barred examination of a unique cultural phenomenon.”

Crowdsourcing a ‘participatory documentary’

After launching a website in 2007 with an open call for fan contributions, the filmmakers received the predictable “hours and hours of webcam rants,” Phillippe said, as well as more advanced and creative materials: puppet skits, 3-D animation and claymation segments, grindhouse-style commercials, children’s drawings, vintage 8mm films, fanedits and other treasures. In all, Phillippe’s team gathered an astonishing 600 hours of raw footage with which to construct the “fully participatory documentary.”

“In many ways, The People vs. George Lucas is a tribute to the YouTube generation, which Lucas’ advances in technology helped create,” Phillippe said. “On a more profound level, it’s about how new media interacts with old media, as well as ownership and copyright in the digital age; and it was our intent from Day 1 to give the fans a prevailing voice in the doc.”

Phillippe, who runs his production company Cinema Vertige out of Denver with his wife, Vanessa Philippe, called the South by Southwest film fest an ideal place for his movie’s launch. “The festival’s unique convergence of indie films, music and interactive totally reflects the participatory nature of our doc across various media and forms of expression,” he said.

The People vs. George Lucas has grown into something “much larger than a documentary,” Phillippe said. It’s become a “very powerful grassroots movement” fueled by amazingly supportive Star Wars fans, he said, adding that this week’s announcement about the movie’s SXSW premiere spurred a flurry of e-mails from fans around the world suddenly considering a trip to Texas next month.

“Because we only have so many screenings, my fear, of course, is that we won’t be able to accommodate everyone,” he said, “but that’s why we’re hoping for a solid worldwide festival run, followed by a wide release, to give fans around the world the chance to see the film. George triggers such strong emotions from so many people, and though I think we’ll find people responding in different ways, I personally hope that this doc will be cathartic on some level.”

Read More http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/02/people-vs-george-lucas/#ixzz0fAA1TeoN

A Star Wars Fan’s Collection of Action Figures

Just what the hell are you looking at here? Why that would be a collection of roughly eighty billion Star Wars figures, which I actually think features more characters than the actual movies had in them. The dude could man a 1/12th size Death Star with that compliment of Stormtroopers alone!

There are a ton more pictures of the details of this collection, which you can find here. Good God.

Funny Cards between, Spielberg, Lucas, & Cameron

1982: Spielberg sent this to Lucas, E.T / R2D2


1977: Spielberg sent this to Lucas, when Star Wars took over Jaws



1998: Lucas sent this to Cameron, when Titanic dethroned Star Wars at the box-office


Whats next. Cameron sends himself a card...