Jake Lloyd: Young Anakin Ten Years After Star Wars Episode One

Jake talks candidly about growing up in the shadow of Star Wars.

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Star Wars The Old Republic Timeline trailer 3: The Return of the Mandalorians

The Keeper of the Jedi Archives has entered a new holorecord. Continuing his investigation, Master Gnost-Dural delves deeper into the history of the galaxy after discovering that the blockade that Hylo Visz helped end was a result of the actions of the new Mandalore.

During a Republic resurgence in the Great War, a bold young warrior rose to fame in the Gladiatorial arenas on Geonosis. Adopting the ancient and infamous title of Mandalore, this young leader amassed an army of Mandalorian mercenaries and bounty hunters. The new Mandalore led his forces to form a blockade and challenge the Jedi Order, effectively turning the tide of the war back in the Sith Empire's favor.

Watch the third Timeline holorecord, The Return of the Mandalorians, narrated by actor Lance Henriksen.

TV Squad also say George Lucas may be at this years Comic Con to talk about aht live action Star Wars TV show that is due to start filming in Australia soon.

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Harrison Ford, what are you doing?

Words fail me on this one. Think of a good caption and whack it in the comments.

Thanks to Tommy Salami for digging this up.

Check out this photo of Harrison looking a bit smarter and with some other familiar faces. Oh and his reaction here when William Shatner sings to George Lucas is priceless.

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UPDATED: George Lucas: Maker of Films - Rare interview from 1971

Love him or hate him, at one point many of us thought George Lucas was the best thing in the world. Then came Jar Jar and things would never be the same.

Before a galaxy far, far away Lucas was just a young filmmaker making films any way he could. Quiet Earth found this excellent interview that Binary Bonsai dug up. Check out the Binary Bonsai site as they have lots of info on Lucas and the interview, however to introduce you to it here is a some of the background to it.

It is 1971, THX 1138 was released on March 11, American Zoetrope is spiraling towards certain doom, Lucas has become even more disillusioned with Hollywood than he was during his stint on McKenna’s Gold, and where exactly things go from here for the upstart and its members is all up in the air. And while American Zoetrope and Coppola had slowly started to cause waves — mostly due to THX’s failure as it were, though also because Coppola wasn’t afraid of touting American Zoetrope a state-of-the-art facility which could outmatch Hollywood, and that the company (and thus himself) was the future of filmmaking — Lucas was little more than a promising student who had made an obscure sci-fi film which opened small and died fast.

During the summer of ’71, as all of this is happening, Gene Youngblood interviewed the then 27-year-old Lucas for a Los Angeles-based educational TV station, KCET in an hour-long program called George Lucas: Maker of Films.

It is almost an hour long, but well worth a watch.

UPDATE: The original video on Vimeo was pulled but hopefully this new one should work.

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What an incredible smell you’ve discovered! Star Wars Bookends

I love these. Sure Lucas did a great job of throwing Star Wars in the trash with his last few efforts (did you see what I did there), but some of The Clone Wars animated series has been pretty good - as is anything else that he doesn't actually direct. Plus the merchandise associated with Star Wars is often excellent (as the recent Storm Trooper Adidas Originals show).

These 6" x 12" x 7.5" hand painted Trash Compactor Bookends are available for pre-order (shipping April 2010) from the Star Wars Store for $190.
Source: Gizmodo

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George Lucas then and now

Source: uberpix

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Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by David Lynch

George Lucas approached David Lynch to direct the third Star Wars film. He of course, turned it down. What if he hadn't?

Source: Topless Robot

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Star Wars vs new Star Trek

The similarities between A New Hope and J. J. Abrams new take on Star Trek.

Watch My Favorite Movie (Star Trek vs. Star Wars) on CollegeHumor

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Admiral Ackbar outtakes

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William Shatner Sings. George Lucas looks on as Harrison Ford laughs.

William Shatner opens the 2005 AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to George Lucas with a song performed the way only Shatner can perform it. Complete with backup Stormtrooper dancers and a cameos by Chewbacca.

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Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr join George Lucas' Red Tails

The Lucasfilm Ltd. production of "Red Tails" – a fictional story inspired by the historic and heroic exploits of America’s first all black aerial combat unit – has completed casting and will soon begin principal photography in Europe.

Produced by Rick McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson, directed by Anthony Hemingway (“The Wire,” “Battlestar Galactica”) and written by John Ridley (Three Kings) from a story by executive producer George Lucas, "Red Tails" will star Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire), Oscar nominee Terrence Howard ("Crash"), Emmy winner Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Nate Parker ("The Secret Life of Bees"), David Oyelowo ("The Last King of Scotland"), Tristan Wilds (“The Wire”), Cliff Smith aka Method Man (“The Wire”), Kevin Phillips ("Pride"), Rick Otto (“The Wire”), Lee Tergesen ("Monster"), Andre Royo (“Heroes”), Grammy award winner Ne-Yo ("Stomp the Yard"), Elijah Kelley ("Hairspray"), Marcus T. Paulk ("Take the Lead"), 
Leslie Odom Jr. (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Michael B. Jordan (“The Wire”), Grammy nominated singer Jazmine Sullivan, Edwina Finley (“Law and Order”), Daniela Ruah ("Midnight Passion") and Stacie Davis (“The Wire”).

“I’ve been wanting to do Red Tails for 20 years, and we’ve finally got the means to showcase the skill of the Tuskegee pilots,” said Lucas. “We’re working on techniques which will give us the first true look at the aerial dogfighting of the era. And our top-notch cast will really make this story special.” “I’m thrilled to have such a fantastic cast of actors and such a talented director to work with,” said McCallum. “The story of the Tuskegee Airmen represents a milestone in American history, and we’re all proud to be paying tribute to their heroic efforts. That cultural significance is not lost on anyone in this great young cast.”

World War II rages and the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile the black pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program are courageously waging two wars at once – one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home.
Racial prejudices have long held ace airman Martin "Easy" Julian (Nate Parker) and his black pilots back at base - leaving them with little to do but further hone their flying skills - while their white counterparts are shipped out to combat after a mere three months of training.

Mistakenly deemed inferior and assigned only second-rate planes and missions, the pilots of Tuskegee have mastered the skies with ease but have not been granted the opportunity to truly spread their wings... Until now.

As the war in Europe continues to take its dire toll on Allied forces, Pentagon brass has no recourse but to reconsider these under-utilized pilots for combat duty. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) awards them the ultimate chance to prove their mettle high above.

Undaunted by the prospect of providing safe escort to bombers in broad daylight - a mission so dangerous that the RAF has refused it and the white fighter groups have sustained substantial losses - Easy’s pilots at last join the fiery aerial fray.

Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies in a heroic endeavor to combat the enemy – and the discrimination that has kept them down for so long.

Source: Dark Horizons

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David Prowse has been diagnosed with prostate cancer

David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" films, has revealed he is suffering from prostate cancer but is still feeling "fantastic."

Prowse, who wore the black suit and helmet to play the Dark Lord of the Sith, told a British radio station he had been undergoing radiotherapy at a hospital in south London and was helping its fundraising appeal.

"I'm involved with the Royal Marsden Hospital appeal because I'm undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, would you believe," he told Absolute Radio. "I'm having my very last treatment this morning."

"I've had two months' radiotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden. It's the most fantastic hospital you could ever wish to go to."

James Earl Jones did the voice for Vader, Luke Skywalker's father in the films as Prowse's western English accent was thought to be unsuitable for the part.

Prowse, 73, added he was fighting the disease. "The only thing I've had is hot flushes and my wife tells me I'm going menopausal," he said. "It's amazing what can be done so long as you catch it early."

"Every man over the age of 50 should have a PSA test (a blood test for prostate cancer) and that just gives you some indication of whether you have prostate problems.

Source: CNN

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Star Wars Live-Action TV Series Casting Underway

We all got burnt with the Star Wars prequels and our faith in Lucas was rent asunder. Indy 4 didn't help matters, but the Clone Wars TV show (both 2D and 3D) has been bringing the Star Wars universe back, as has the recent Force Unleashed video game. One of the main things they have in common is that people other than Lucas have directed them. Now some news on the live action Star Wars show has hit the web via MTV.

A live-action TV series set in the “Star Wars” cosmos has been an elusive, tantalizing prospect for years. News of the potential production first surfaced in 2005 while George Lucas was promoting “Revenge of the Sith.” Work on the “Clones Wars” animated feature film and Cartoon Network series, though, took creative precedence. In late 2007, Lucas revealed that he and his team were about to begin writing scripts for the live-action show. Now MTV News has learned that casting for the series is currently underway.

During the junket for the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing,” star Rose Byrne let slip that Team Lucas is casting a wide net for actors to join the show. “A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it,” she said.

According to Lucas, the show will focus on minor characters from the saga and be set in the time period between “Revenge of the Sith” (Episode III) and the original “Star Wars” (Episode IV). The action will follow the Rebel Alliance as it slowly gains strength against the Empire. There will be Stormtroopers, but no Jedi or Darth Vader will appear on screen. As he did with the “Clone Wars” series, Lucas will write and shoot an entire year’s worth of episodes before looking for a cable channel on which to air the series.

Thus, with casting just now moving forward, it looks to be quite some time before fans will be able to catch some live-action “Star Wars” on the small screen.

Bryne couldn’t have been more pleased about her time working with Lucas on 2002’s “Attack of the Clones.” “My experience was wonderful,” she said. “George is a great guy. I was just there for a week, standing behind Natalie [Portman] looking very demure and supportive. 95% of the fan mail I get is from ‘Star Wars’ and I’ve never seen them.”

As much as she enjoyed the “Star Wars” experience, Byrne, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on FX’s “Damages,” will not be auditioning for the live-action series. “I’m on a show,” she said. “I don’t know if I look that good in space.”

What characters would you like to see in the TV show? Who would you cast in it? What planets, aliens and space craft do you want to see and what bits of the Star Wars myth would you like to watch unfold on the small screen?

Artwork by Travis Charest

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The Whitest Kids U Know - Star Wars VII

Episode VII - The Secret of the New Death Star, Boba Fett goes to the Sun and R2-D2 fights a Lava Snake.

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Chewbacca is a Wookie. He's trapped in this guys cupboard

Guys Cabinet Door Sounds Exactly like Chewbacca! - watch more funny videos

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Darth Vader beheads George Lucas tattoo

Source: Gizmodo (via Geekologie)

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The People vs George Lucas

Slated for release in 2010, The People vs George Lucas delves into the impassioned feelings and opinions expressed by fans and foes of legendary screen icon George Lucas, and the many debates surrounding his legacy.

Revered by some, demonized by others, George Lucas is undoubtedly the most talked about and criticised filmmaker in movie history.

Why have so many Star Wars fans turned against him to decry the release of the Special Editions and the Prequel Trilogy? Why is George Lucas the constant target of bloggers, critics and self proclaimed devotees? And why are millions of others staunchly prepared to defend him in the face of innumerable accusations?

The People vs George Lucas aims to answer these questions, and to impartially deconstruct the cultural legacy of a man whose life, feelings and creative impulses remain largely shrouded in mystery.

Paying tribute ot the YouTube culture in unprecedented fashion, this groundbreaking documentary feature will utilize professional hi-def footage and amateur homemade videos in equal amounts to craft one of the most anticipated portraits in the history of the medium - the world's first digitally democratic documentary.

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Fanboys - New Poster. Check out the Leia Gold Bikini

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THX 1138 - Cool poster

Check out this amazing poster for George Lucas' THX 1138. The artist who did it is called Martin Ansin and I think it is brilliant.

The print is available for purchase on InPrint.com, $25 for 13 x 19, $40 for 18 x 24 and $80 for $24 x 36.

Source:/film

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Exclusive Interview: Kenny Carpenter - Salvaging Outer Space

I posted the trailer for Salvaging Outer Space a while back. The comments posted for it where both positive and negative. I was intrigued by the thing.

Then I got an email from the Kenny Carpenter, the filmmaker behind Salvaging Outer Space. He provided me with lots of information about the making of the film and was also happy to do an interview for the site.

I think it gives some idea as to what goes into making an independent film. Hopefully this will inspire some budding filmmakers out there to go out there and make that film they always wanted to make.

Have a read about the making of the film followed by my interview with Kenny Carpenter, then whack your thoughts in the comments section. If you have seen the film then let people know about it. Now over to Kenny:

With a sci-fi feel like "Startrek The Motion Picture", "A Scanner Darkly", & "Serenity", this stylish feature film combines live acting & anime to deliver a comic-style universe.

It's a film that's unrated, yet very family friendly!

While Captain Laruge (Kevin G. Cooper) & his crew are in search of a valuable salvage in deep space, armed ships appear out of nowhere & attempt to destroy them. Proper teamwork means success or death. However, in space.......trust is a rare find!

http://www.salvagingouterspace.com/

This is an independent feature that cost less than $20,000 US to produce, but was all that we had and treated it like a million, considering most Hollywood flicks cost 100M+ to make these days. It was done using HD cameras and live acting via greenscreen and almost all the cast were shot separately, eliminating scheduling issues and any cast switches. This is why greenscreen is awesome to use in filming independent features where no unions are involved to protect all parties involved during principal!

CGI was used for backgrounds and blended with live acting into pseudo cartoon using rotoscope type software, which we had to wait a year to catch up with our editing system's compatibility. All dialogue was captured like interviews, using consistent clip-on mics. While one documentary filmmaker was getting genius praise in magazines for using Cineform's Intermediate codecs to efficiently edit High Definition on PC's, we were already doing the same on an effects heavy scale in 1080 resolution. It was the only way at the time to keep resolution pure without noticeable video compression.

Storywise, when I wrote the movie, I wanted to fill a gap in Sci-Fi that was lost. That 70's into 80's space flick feel went out with all these space marine and horror/scifi one-offs. Many Startrek/Star Wars fanmade films were made, but let's face it...they are simply that! Salvaging Outer Space is original as I could get it, with exception to there being a ship in outer space with a captain and crew, albeit.....very small ship...the size of a large yacht, which it kind of looks like. It begged to be a pieced together look.

I wanted paranoia, mutiny, tragedy, love, friendship, greed, dark comedic humour, long-winded tech talk, advanced technology that could exist in the future even when watching the movie a few years from now, a darker time in a semi-post apocalyptic setting, comic book-style look and feel, sequel possible, classic sci-fi feel, getting personal with the characters, having the audience use character interactions to guage the 3D perspective of the background environment in the ship to get acquainted, good mix of music from symphonic keyboards to progressive rock, and honestly...a way to pull the audience away from their everyday lives altogether.

Making independent films is a tough business just to get produced, let alone making money back with hopes of some profit to share with cast/crew. Making a niche market product, like a science fiction piece, can either totally make or break you, I've come to find out.

Live for Films: Salvaging Outer Space makes the most of modern technology on a limited budget. Apart from the money side of things what was the most challenging aspect of the shoot?

Kenny Carpenter: Making the characters converse smoothly, despite most never met each other on shoots. The acting was mostly monologue style or acting off of me. They were all greenscreened. The other part was keeping all the angles matching between acting and virtual set backgrounds. Keeping everything pure High Definition from start to finish was challenging as the whole movie was done using limited computer resources available during HD's infancy! We also had to cartoonize the cast, which wasn't available in batch renderable software until a year after the initial cut.

LFF: What will you do differently when making your next feature?

KC: I always push the envelope, but part of that is increasing quality in image/sound, story continuity, acting, edit flow, budget constraint and allocation, and more. It's not about doing it differently as much as a continual growth and progression towards meeting Hollywood's set quality standards on budgets that they use for production's toilet paper.
It's most independent's dream to make the best movie with no budget, right??? Imagine what we could do WITH a budget!!!!!

LFF: If you could pass on one piece of advice to a novice film maker what would it be?

KC: Be paranoid to complete your art and maintain your own visions. (mostly for indie filmmaking, not large studio productions) Don't trust everyone with your project. A cast member could lose interest after signing on, a fight between actors could break out and they refuse to work together, or any number of problems and times where you rely on others to help. Unless you are unionized and working on a stronger budget that can support/handle dramas, keep as many aspects under your control as possible! I can't stress or say enough about this topic, but there's no time in this to do it justice. That's why I write, direct, edit, partially score, do visual effects....mostly myself!

LFF: What are your top 5 science fiction films of all time?

KC: Aliens, Star Wars episode III (despite some points), Fifth Element, Startrek II, Jason X.

LFF: Your favourite science fiction novel?

KC: Robot City.... it's a spin-off from the original I Robot novels. It's not edgy enough for theatrical, but I'd love to make it for Direct To Home Video.

LFF: What are your views on the current legal wrangling going on between Fox and Warner Bros over the distribution rights for Zack Snyder's Watchmen film?

KC: I only glanced at the controversy, but if 20th Century Fox had purchased rights to DC in the 80's...it would almost seem a shut case! Everyone involved should have been smart about it from the beginning and checked who owned what! Same as getting your cast/crew to sign proper waivers...you just do it!!! Hey...it keeps the giants at each other's throats and from attacking the little guy for a moment, right?

LFF: To the general public science-fiction is often looked on as something a little geeky, yet big budget science-fiction films are often incredibly successful. Why do you think this is?

KC: When you get cool actors to use cool gadgets with cool special effects and plenty of cool television and print promos tied into everything, the nerd factor goes out the door. We all use computers now, but before...it was strictly nerds and businesses. It's all about peoples' comfort levels and perceptions! Look at the Matrix... get rid of K.Reeves, the sunglasses, fancy clothes and unrealistic karate hype and you are left with a very bleak world that almost resembles a horror movie more than a sci-fi. The oracle belongs in horror genre more than sci-fi anyways...with all those predictions. It's all perception!

LFF: What is your favourite piece of science fiction technology in film or TV?

KC: Definitely the lightsaber as you can rob banks at night in 2 minutes! I wouldn't want to pass gas near a saber, though!

LFF: If money was no object and you could have any actor alive or dead to star in it, what film would you make?

KC: Christopher Walken! He's just badass! What he does with voice and attitude is phenomenal! I'd make any movie I could with him in it, but if I had to choose a role.... supernatural twin brothers, one evil and running half of a post-apocalyptic world, the other an outcast sorcerer gathering a team of powerful misfits to take him down. Cliche in many ways, but a good story and movie experience can be made out of it.

LFF: What was the first film you ever watched? Do you think that it has had any influence on your later work?

KC: You know, I've been watching soooo many movies with my folks as a kid that I don't even remember the first. I will say that Ghostbusters and Return of The Jedi were very important to me as a kid. Special and Visual effects are strong with me.

LFF: Star Wars v Star Trek?/span>

KC: If this were about who'd win, I would say Star Wars...only because the jedi and sith could hyperdrive directly to Earth and the federation, seduce and knock up all the women they could with their mind tricks, and with all the children being born, well...the federation would have to collapse.

LFF: If you were going to be killed by any movie villain or monster who or what would it be? What would your last words be?

KC: 20th Century Fox's Aliens..... I wouldn't have words, as I'd be the victim that gets the inner mouth through the skull!

LFF: If you were Supreme Overlord of the Earth what would your first decree be?

KC: Get me a venti cafe mocha and cancel all 90210 style television programming

LFF: Who would you thank in your Oscar acceptance speech?

KC: I would thank George Lucas for creating and pushing the envelope on great digital tools we all use, despite the competition and segregation that also spun off of it in instances such as Avid versus Adobe. Without his contributions, we'd be completely stuck without visual effects and less chances of independents showing off their talent. Also, science fiction would be more drab without his visions.

LFF: Where and when will we be able to see Salvaging Outer Space?

KC: For the moment, www.Createspace.com is home to DVD sales until Salvaging Outer Space gets picked up by distributors. We may just split rights globally and keep control, but we'll see.

LFF: What is your next film as a director going to be?

KC: It depends on people and money! If I don't get stronger industry or financial connections, it will be a tight science fiction flick that will mostly be photo-realistically done in computer with some chromakey live acting mixed in. There are 2 concepts going in separate directions, but feasible on micro-budget. I would like to be brought into a remake or sequel to low-budget horror or sci-fi of popular 80's titles, personally as a step.

LFF: What film are you most looking forward to seeing in 2009?

KC: I think the Terminator IV film or Transformers II. I love robots destroying robots and things like that! It's one thing to watch a person shoot another person, but to watch high tech things whip out lasers or huge machine guns....hand me some popcorn!

LFF: Thanks very much Kenny. Good luck with the film.

Check out my previous interviews with Neal Asher and Will Stotler and Marc Robert who are the creators behind the zombie movie, Able.

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