|
|
|
(Scroll down for recent and previous news stories)
5/12/08 LA Times Top Ten of the Expanded Universe Hey, finally the Expanded Universe gets some love and attention in a major media source. This 'essential' list of about eight works (odd choice; why not 10?) includes not only the standard clichés (Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy and KOTOR), but the oldies, like the Marvel series and Splinter of the Mind's Eye! Anyone who knows me or this site knows how how strongly I feel those are essential stories. Kudos to authors Patrick Kevin Day and Geoff Boucher for remembering the expanded universe began in 1978 not 1991. Admittedly, the authors makes a small gaffe claiming that fans were outraged over the cloned Emperor in Dark Empire (which was hardly true across the board), but it's a minor point in an otherwise nice nod to Star Wars stories outside the movies. Check out the article here!
5/7/08 Clone Wars trailer tomorrow
Keep your eyes open tomorrow for the Clone Wars trailer, which should be debuting online (likely on the official site). Chances are the this is the same trailer that leaked a few weeks ago in Polish, but we'll see. To the left is the new Clone Wars poster. Not bad. It'll be nice to have a Star Wars movie back in theaters, and just a little over three months away (August 15)! And on July 26th, we can expect most of the tie-in material to the film to be released as well. And for those who've seen the leaked trailer and were wondering, that is Sam Jackson's voice for Mace Windu! That was confirmed by an article in the recent LA Times.
5/6/08 Giant Falcon Spotted I don't usually report on toys, but this is a particularly cool one. Come July 26, Hasbro will release a new giant-sized Millennium Falcon ship for your 3 3/4" figures. If this is your kind of thing, start saving your pennies. Interestingly, there will be a new hardcover novel by James Luceno called Millennium Falcon that will take place after the Legacy of the Force series. This likely confirms that Del Rey will continue as Lucas' book publishing partner. December 30th is the release date.
I forgot to list the latest Hyperspace exclusive: "Precipice". This short story deals with Obi-Wan's emotional struggle while he's imprisoned on Geonosis. Check it out here.
5/3/08 Clone News Dark Horse will be having a quarterly Clone Wars digest coming out in September, the first one, The Shipyards of Doom is written by Henry Gilroy (who's one of the writers on the upcoming Clone Wars TV series) and illustrated by the Fillbach Brothers (who illustrated the well-received Clone Wars Digests -- no word on whether they'll be updating their style to that of the movie and TV series), and a regular monthly Clone Wars series with back-up features by the writers of the series. Karen Traviss (Republic Commando series, Sacrifice) will be penning the novelization of the upcoming Clone Wars movie. As reported on 4/8, there should be some nice tie-ins. More on this as it develops.
4/24/08 It's Officially Official... ...as in the contracts are signed. Guillermo del Toro is moving to New Zealand for the next four years, from which will emerge a two-picture film adaptation of The Hobbit! Happy news indeed! And in a bit of serendipity, April 25 is the day Gandalf knocked on Bilbo's front door, the very opening scene of the Hobbit! Check out www.theonering.net for more info.
Now, as regards the Tolkien's Estate's lawsuit against New Line Cinemas, word has it that they're in talks and are not preempting the making of these films during this period. Hopefully, a deal will be worked out, and everyone comes away a winner.
4/12/08 Hot New Trailer... ...for the upcoming Clone Wars film is up on Youtube! It looks pretty amazing!! August 15th can't come soon enough. Check it out here! * Update: It appears LFL has had the trailer removed. No doubt we'll see it again in the coming weeks, and in much nicer quality.
4/9/08 Exclusive Fiction Hyperspace has published its first piece of exclusive Star Wars short fiction: "Labor Pains" is by John Jackson Miller and takes place in between Knights of the Old Republic #12 and 13. An additional treat is that it's illustrated by Pablo Hidalgo himself! If you're a Hyperspace member of the Official Site, you can check it out here.
Lucas Interviewed Total Film's May 08 issue has a good interview with George Lucas talking about Indiana Jones, Clone Wars and the upcoming live-action series. Highlights:
Lots of good stuff in this interview, including a refinement of his statement about the three pillars of Star Wars. Noting he'll likely get in trouble for saying it, he likens the three pillars to the Trinity, with him as the father, Howard Roffman (in charge of Lucas Licensing) as the Son, and the holy spirit as the nebulous world of fans inventing stories in their heads. He says that his world (the films and TV series) are consistent with themselves. Roffman tries to keep his world (the EU) consistent with his, but occasionally goes off on tangents. "They created this whole amazing universe that goes on for millions of years!" He does say there will be no Episodes VII-IX, and that the novels have gone there, although they aren't necessarily what he would have done (Luke getting married, the Emperor being cloned). He admits, however, that he never thought of any story for that period. "The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader." Of course, what's interesting about that statement is that the upcoming live-action Star Wars series "is not about the Skywalkers or any of that stuff... It's a completely different kind of idea." Check it out here!
4/8/08 Clone Wars Still Raging With the upcoming Star Wars animated film in theaters on August 15th in the US and an animated series to follow on the Cartoon Network and TNT, there will be some interesting tie-in books for young and adult readers. Here's the scoop: Mark July 26th on your calendars for a trip to the bookstore. If you've got 'em, bring the younglings because there will be a more concerted effort to provide titles for them. Aside from movie tie-ins (such as from Grosset and Dunlap), there'll be sticker books, activity books, coloring books and read-along books. But adults need not feel left out either. NY Times Bestselling author Karen Traviss will pen the film's novelization from Del Rey, along with some additional TV show adaptations from her and her friend and sci-fi/fantasy author Karen Miller. Dark Horse will produce a graphic novel tie-in. We may also see an Art of Star Wars saga book covering all six films.
Speaking of Dark Horse, keep your eyes on Amazon and other bookstores for the next Omnibus collection, called Early Victories. This will cover some never before collected mini-series and single-issues:
4/2/08 Sansweet at LA Wizard World Con Head of fan relations, Steve Sansweet discusses plans for the upcoming Star Wars Saga box set. He says they've "always been looking at a deluxe box set with all six movies." He goes on to say that they look at the market, what fans are asking for, and he's sure that will be coming up at some point, but they have "no specific plans for that right now." When asked about a Blu-Ray release, he's far cagier, saying "we're always looking at all of our options." Click here to see the video.
2/26/08 Book of Revelation In this case, the Star Wars book, Legacy of the Force: Revelation comes out today! I'm off to grab mine!
Rumors of this book have been circulating for some time, but Amazon.com just listed this item for a November 4th release date. The original Star Wars Encyclopedia came out in 1998, 10 years ago when the Star Wars Universe was much smaller than it is today. This new version is double in size, coming in at a whopping 800 pages! Should be fun! Update: Steve Sansweet confirmed that Pablo Hidalgo has been co-updating the book with him, and that Amazon's date might be off.
2/04/08 New Star Wars film in Theaters! The recent UK Toy Fair is lending further fuel to the fire of the theatrical debut of the Clone Wars series in theaters (see the 12/5/07 news). According to the latest information, the first three episodes will be presented as a theatrical feature in the US and UK in August/September, and will feature... (potential spoilers)... a story involving the kidnapping of Rotta the Hutt (Jabba's nephew or son). Head over to www.theforce.net for the full story.
**Update: It's confirmed: August 15th in the States will see the 7th Star Wars film to hit theaters. The 100 or so minute feature length presentation will be followed in the Fall by a half-hour series on the Cartoon Network. TNT will then rebroadcast them. And it really looks good! Check out the web documentary on the Official Site for scenes from the upcoming Clone Wars animated theatrical film and subsequent TV series. And TV Guide has provided an article answering some questions as well.
Click here for Archived News 2007 Click here for Archived News 2006 Click here for Archived News (2005) Click here for Archived News 7/04 - 12/04 Click here for Archived News 1/04 - 6/04 |
Save a life: Rescue a dog or cat today
Visit the Freeport, NY "no-kill" shelter 2 Rider Place, Freeport, NY 11520 516-378-4340
New Yorkers for Companion Animals, Inc.
|
