The Raven - Star Wars

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Apparently you can see the new Episode I footage of CGI Yoda during the US leg of Star Was in Concert. If you can't get to it, check your local PBS station for The Making of Star Wars in Concert for a brief look.

The program states that it "premiered" in the US.

Ordinarily, I'm philosophically opposed to this kind of pointless revisionism, but the TPM Yoda puppet just looked like ass.

And, besides, it's "the Phantom Menace." Hardly the defacement of a sacred cultural touchstone.

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Originally Posted by Rocket Surgeon

Thank you so much Rocket. I'll look into this.

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Originally Posted by Lance Quazar

I hear ya, what did you think of Empire's puppet?
Amazing how things could go so wrong...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocket Surgeon

I hear ya, what did you think of Empire's puppet?
Amazing how things could go so wrong...

I did not mind it to much. However I liked Yoda best in Episode V: The Empire Stikes Back and even better in the Clone Wars programs.

Here's where R2 appears in Star Trek...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocket Surgeon

I hear ya, what did you think of Empire's puppet?
Amazing how things could go so wrong...

The Empire puppet looked amazing then and still looks amazing today.

Timeless. And extraordinary.

Yoda has never been used to as great effect. Not even close.

hell, the empire puppet looks better than the episode 3 yoda! That puppet is timeless, and it looks completely real, he's older so he has less movement, and color has faded so he looks older.

It was an extraordinay leap in filmmaking effects:up:

so what exactly s this theard about anyways... just anything star wars? Or just the yoda puppet?

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Originally Posted by lao che & sons

As the title implies, anything Star Wars...

So,Anyone else see Star Wars in concert besides me?

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Originally Posted by metalinvader

So,Anyone else see Star Wars in concert besides me?

Mitch Hallock was there...money made it impossible for me. Where did you see it? Where were your seats and how much, (if you don't mind)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocket Surgeon

Mitch Hallock was there...money made it impossible for me. Where did you see it? Where were your seats and how much, (if you don't mind)?

I was at the Boston show and it was freakin' INCREDIBLE.Absolutely breathtaking to hear those tracks live. My seats where probably 100 yards or so from the stage they were perfect for such an event,Price...I think I paid about $160 for the two tickets.Well worth it.

Not sure if you've seen it or not but in the 'Ugly mugs of Raveners'' thread,There is a picture of me with the Han in Carbonite display from the show.I've got a few more pics from the show if anyone cares to see them.

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Originally Posted by metalinvader

I got to see John Williams conduct the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fischer Hall. Martin Scorsese and Steve Spielberg were hosts. The music in the first half was Bernard Herrmann scores, and the second half John Williams/Steven Spielberg colaborations. One of the encores was Star Wars.

Unfortunately no Raiders March, but they did an extended "lession" in film music using the Last Crusade prologue set to the film. It was very cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocket Surgeon

I got to see John Williams conduct the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fischer Hall. Martin Scorsese and Steve Spielberg were hosts. The music in the first half was Bernard Herrmann scores, and the second half John Williams/Steven Spielberg colaborations. One of the encores was Star Wars.

Unfortunately no Raiders March, but the did an extended "lession" in film music using the Last Crusade prologue set to the film. It was very cool.

Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and John Williams in the same room? I'm so jealous of you at the moment Rocket Surgeon.

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Originally Posted by avidfilmbuff

Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and John Williams in the same room? I'm so jealous of you at the moment Rocket Surgeon.

It was everything you could have wanted, (virtually)from a wide variety of films. I got the songlist/schedule from an usher and the photos are posted on the Indy Cast flickr page. Screw it, here's a bit:

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

LucasArts and Traveller's Tales have announced the third Lego Star Wars title

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will be developed by the same team that worked on previous games in the series, as well as Lego Indiana Jones. Lego Star Wars III will hit all formats in the Autumn. The game will combine elements from both the Star Wars films and spin-off Clone Wars animated series.

You know I love the idea of another Lego game. How bout Lego Indiana Jones 3? After Part V hits theaters of course. :up:

'The Empire Strikes Back' and Harrison Ford at the ArcLight on May 19

A yearlong Lucasfilm charity campaign called "The Empire Gives Back" begins with the ArcLight event, where Ford will be interviewed on stage by Hero Complex blogger Geoff Boucher.

This is a longer version of my article in Friday's Los Angeles Times...

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of "The Empire Strikes Back," Lucasfilm is planning a yearlong charity campaign that kicks off in the U.S. on May 19 with the hottest fanboy ticket of the year: A one-night-only digital screening of the 1980 "Star Wars" sequel at the ArcLight Hollywood and an on-stage Q&A with Harrison Ford.

The ArcLight screening will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a cause that persuaded the 67-year-old Hollywood icon to participate despite his long-standing reluctance to revisit the "Star Wars" universe and his role as rakish interstellar smuggler Han Solo.

Although almost every other cast member from the George Lucas films has worked the convention circuit or made appearances at themed film festivals and fan celebrations, Ford has shown little interest in revisiting his cinematic adventures with Jedi knights, wookiees and droids.

Earlier this year, while doing press for the medical drama "Extraordinary Measures," he practically groaned when asked if he would return to the role as a voice actor in an animated or motion-capture project. "Han Solo was very good to me at a certain point in my career, but I'm done with him," he told a television crew.

That's not to suggest that Ford isn't proud of his work in "Star Wars" or unaware of its massive impact on his Hollywood trajectory. The space-opera and the Indiana Jones films established Ford as a movie star of the highest order; at one point, the list of the five highest-grossing movies of all time included four films starring Ford.

"Empire Strikes Back" is viewed by many fans as the most compelling of the six "Star Wars" live-action feature films. It introduced Yoda, Boba Fett and Lando Calrissian and was visually striking, with settings on an ice planet, a swamp world and a floating cloud metropolis. It also revealed that Darth Vader was the father of Luke Skywalker, the signature moment in the family melodrama the sits at the very heart of the intergalactic epic.

Ticket for the ArcLight screening are $100 or $175 for "premiere seating" and on sale now at the St. Jude's website.

The ArcLight event, which is sponsored by Junk Food Clothing, is the beginning of "The Empire Gives Back" campaign, which will raise money for a number of charities. The schedule of events includes "Empire" screenings May 7-8 at the Field Museum’s Ernst & Young Theater in Chicago and auctions and other events that tie thematically into the 1980 film. Information on the programs can be found on the "Star Wars" website.

“'Star Wars' has received such an amazing show of love and support throughout the years, from fans all over the world,” said Mich Chau, president and chief operating officer of Lucasfilm. “This anniversary gives us a wonderful opportunity to give back to our fans, and to work with some truly worthy organizations in a combined effort to support those in need.”

-- Geoff Boucher

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance Quazar

The Empire puppet looked amazing then and still looks amazing today.

Timeless. And extraordinary.

Yoda has never been used to as great effect. Not even close.

I could't agree with you more. Indeed timeless.

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (Leigh Brackett Draft)

While Han Solo goes in search of his father-in-law who has political ties with Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker heads to the Bog Planet where he meets a Jedi named Minch, who teaches him the ways of the force.

http://www.mypdfscripts.com/screenpl...brackett-draft

NOT what I meant when I said take care of the princess!

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Originally Posted by Rocket Surgeon

NOT what I meant when I said take care of the princess!

Is this for real? Has it been verified or authenticated or whatever...?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance Quazar

Is this for real? Has it been verified or authenticated or whatever...?

I don't know, just sharing it as soon as I saw it! I do love this picture though:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocket Surgeon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance Quazar

Is this for real? Has it been verified or authenticated or whatever...?

To my discerning eye, tell-tale signs suggest that this is nothing more than well done fan-wankery and a fake.

Did 'Star Wars' become a toy story? Producer Gary Kurtz looks back

Films vs Toys, his celebration inteview should be interesting...

Quote:

There was a bittersweet tinge to Kurtz’s voice, and it’s no surprise. This year is the 30th anniversary of “The Empire Strikes Back,” the “Star Wars” sequel that many fans consider the pinnacle moment in a franchise that has pulled in $16 billion in box office and merchandising. But 1980 was also the year that Kurtz and Lucas realized the Jedi universe wasn’t big enough for the both of them.

“I could see where things were headed,” Kurtz said. “The toy business began to drive the [Lucasfilm] empire. It’s a shame. They make three times as much on toys as they do on films. It’s natural to make decisions that protect the toy business, but that’s not the best thing for making quality films.”

He added: “The first film and ‘Empire’ were about story and character, but I could see that George’s priorities were changing.”

This weekend, Kurtz steps back into the “Star Wars” galaxy as a special guest at Star Wars Celebration V, a massive convention in Orlando, Fla., organized by Lucasfilm and expected to draw thousands of fans who will come to buy collectibles, attend panels, get cast-member autographs or even visit the event’s themed tattoo parlor or wedding chapel.

Kurtz’s presence speaks to his vital role in the franchise’s history — he is, for instance, the one who came up with the title for “The Empire Strikes Back” — but the Lucasfilm leadership is already fretting about the Jedi galaxy expatriate’s appearance. They may have good reason; during a recent visit to Los Angeles, the filmmaker, who just turned 70, showed a willingness to speak out against the priorities of an old partner.

“The emphasis on the toys, it’s like the cart driving the horse,” Kurtz said. “If it wasn’t for that the films would be done for their own merits. The creative team wouldn’t be looking over their shoulder all the time.”

No fan of conflict, Kurtz has remained relatively quiet through the years but over coffee on a sunny Southern California afternoon he spoke at length about his lightsaber days.

Philippe said the departure of Kurtz was a major moment in “Star Wars” history and deeply unsettling to all involved. “The cast and crew were crushed when George and Gary went their separate ways,” said Philippe, who added that Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker, later explained it in broken-family terminology. “He said it was like mom and dad getting a divorce. They were both equally loved and respected on the set.”

For Kurtz, the popular notion that “Star Wars” was always planned as a multi-film epic is laughable. He says that he and Lucas, both USC film school grads who met through mutual friend Francis Ford Coppola in the late 1960s, first sought to do a simple adaptation of “Flash Gordon,” the comic-strip hero who had been featured in movie serials that both filmmakers found charming.

“We tried to buy the rights to ‘Flash Gordon’ from King Features but the deal would have been prohibitive,” Kurtz said. “They wanted too much money, too much control, so starting over and creating from scratch was the answer.”

Lucas came up with a sprawling treatment that pulled from “Flash Gordon,” Arthurian legend, “The Hidden Fortress” and other influences. The document would have required a five-hour film but there was a middle portion that could be carved out as a stand-alone movie. Kurtz championed the project in pitch meetings with studios and worked intensely on casting, scouting locations and finding a way to create a believable alien universe on a tight budget.

“Our plan was to do ‘Star Wars’ and then make ‘Apocalypse Now’ and do a black comedy in the vein of ‘M*A*S*H*,’" Kurtz said. “Fox insisted on a sequel or maybe two [to ‘Star Wars’]. Francis [Ford Coppola] … had bought the ["Apocalypse Now"] rights so George could make it. He eventually got tired of waiting and did it on his own, of course.”

After the release of “Empire” (which was shaped by material left over from that first Lucas treatment), talk turned to a third film and after a decade and a half the partners could no longer find a middle ground.

“We had an outline and George changed everything in it," Kurtz said. “Instead of bittersweet and poignant he wanted a euphoric ending with everybody happy. The original idea was that they would recover [the kidnapped] Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. George then decided he didn’t want any of the principals killed. By that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason.”

The discussed ending of the film that Kurtz favored presented the rebel forces in tatters, Leia grappling with her new duties as queen and Luke walking off alone “like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns,” as Kurtz put it.

Kurtz said that ending would have been a more emotionally nuanced finale to an epic adventure than the forest celebration of the Ewoks that essentially ended the trilogy with a teddy bear luau.

He was especially disdainful of the Lucas idea of a second Death Star, which he felt would be too derivative of the 1977 film. “So we agreed that I should probably leave.”

“I took a master class with Billy Wilder once and he said that in the first act of a story you put your character up in a tree and the second act you set the tree on fire and then in the third you get him down,” Kurtz said. “ ‘Empire’ was the tree on fire. The first movie was like a comic book, a fantasy, but ‘Empire’ felt darker and more compelling. It’s the one, for me, where everything went right. And it was my goodbye to a big part of my life.”

-- Geoff Boucher

Rest of the article...

Yep, Star Wars became a marketing dream. In the early days I was so in love with the concept of the movies that I wanted every Star Wars toy. And in the early days it was also possible to collect every single Star Wars figure - but now it's a case of which colour Clone Trooper do I need next? The pink one with yellow stripes or the yellow one with pink stripes? :confused:

The series began to lose it's charm from the moment the Ewoks appeared in ROTJ. The three prequels, though impressive visually, are cold, charmless, badly written facsimiles of the original trilogy. The completist in me picks out the best bits, but they can't compete with my nostalgia for the first three.