"A California man who legally changed his name to 'Obiwan Kenobi' was released from jail yesterday after spending five days in custody following his arrest on a hit-and-run count. Kenobi, 37, has been charged with leaving the scene of a five-car accident last month in Roseville. According to cops, Kenobi’s reckless driving triggered the chain-reaction collision. [...] Formerly known as Benjamin Cale Feit, Kenobi changed his name in 1999 in response to a radio stunt tied to the release of Star Wars: Episode I. A California station offered $1000 to the first listener to legally change their name to that of the fictional Jedi master." Nice work! He's got a ways to go before catching up with Yoda's four DUI's, but still. [The Smoking Gun via Geekologie]
"There's this expression that it's written three times: during the script, when you're filming it and when you're editing it. And I believe that's wrong. I think it's written once, in editing — and everything is clay for that. And I wanted to learn about it — I thought it would be neat. It's like learning to play the piano and I need a lot of clay. And I thought if I did one movie out of these three ... whatever. [...] But I'm never going to show it to anyone. So I think that's why they were cool with it. By the way: It doesn't make fun of Star Wars at all." Also: Close Encounters is apparently Grace's next. Now you know. [Huffington Post]
Okay, Terryl Whitlatch: We'll forgive you now for Jar Jar Binks. Take a gander at the neat-o sketches by the illustrator and Lucasfilm creature creator (who's responsible for concocting the most annoying character known to the Star Wars universe and maybe mankind) in which members of Marvel's The Avengers are re-envisioned... as dinosaurs. Why not?
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According to the experts at CVG, the Kinect gaming system has added a few "play-throughs" that allow users to dance along to numbers featuring Star Wars characters. It gets better (worse?): The backing tracks have been adapted from hit songs, resulting in such borderline Weird Al-style parodies as "I'm Han Solo" and "Hologram Girl." Play along, weep, etc. after the jump.
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Thanks to the magic of DVD and editing software, Star Wars fans have had their way with George Lucas's space saga for years now, re-editing bits and parts of the films into fan cuts to celebrate their favorite parts of the franchise (and fix its most cringeworthy bits). So why should famous fanboys be any different? Like, say, Topher Grace, who this week hosted a one-time only screening of his Star Wars: Episode III.5: The Editor Strikes Back, edited down from the prequels into an 85-minute cut that leaves most of the snoozey old space politics (and Jar Jar Binks' screen time) on the cutting-room floor. To the blogs!
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"Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this.'" [via WSJ]
"What the box office success of the re-released Special Editions told Hollywood is that the only way to create another global phenomenon is to make a new STAR WARS movie. 1997 was the start of the modern-day fanboy/geek culture that now runs Hollywood. Fanboy culture (Comic-Con, Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings, J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Marvel comics, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Glee, Aint-It-Cool-News, Attack of the Show) is a groupthink mentality that claims to be democratic, what with its we-know-what’s-best-because-we’re-fans ethic, but is really pop culture fascism. And it’s the fans’ demand (remember, fan is short for fanatic), that led to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace — the most hyped (and possibly most reviled) blockbuster in movie history." [Some Came Running]
Congratulations to Hollywood for taking back the weekend from pop stars extant, dead or otherwise and shattering the record for Valentine's Day weekend movie attendance. What a great time to be alive! Ahem. Your Weekend Receipts are here.
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The re-release of The Phantom Menace opens with that exhilarating blast of John Williams's famous theme, the Star Wars title zooming off into the distance in 3-D before the familiar text crawl creeps across the starry backdrop, revealing the words we've all been longing to see back on the big screen:
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The five-time Oscar-winning (and 47-time Oscar-nominated) composer and conductor John Williams was born 80 years ago today in Flushing, Queens. Somewhere a concertmaster is no doubt preparing a 100-piece orchestra for a rousing, booming rendition of "Happy Birthday," but for now, we can send our own regards with a discussion of his finest composition for the screen. You only have, oh, 130-something projects to choose from.
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Those were the days: "So much for the long-standing rumor that Obi-Wan would be played by Kenneth Branagh, or the latest gossip that Charlton Heston would sign on as another Jedi or perhaps even -- good Lord -- the young Yoda." [Moviefone]
I don't know who makes this stuff up, but either way, this Super Bowl spot for Volkswagen featuring a fat dog, the interspecial scalawags from Star Wars's Mos Eisley cantina, and a certain climactic cameo is A) superior to any of that 3-D Lucasian mess heading to theaters next weekend and B) just refreshing enough to flush the taste of Matthew Broderick's Honda ad from one's mouth.
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“I’m retiring,” Star Wars media emperor George Lucas recently told the NY Times, having toiled through today's difficult indie film climate to get his ambitious Red Tails into theaters. “I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.” Or, as Lucas producer Rick McCallum put it: “Once this is finished, he’s done everything he’s ever wanted to do. He will have completed his task as a man and a filmmaker.” Say it ain't so, George! Wait, what's that? It's not really the end? Oh, you tease.
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Candidates campaigning for the Presidential ticket usually opt for safe campaign songs carefully chosen to align themselves consciously and subconsciously with certain sets of values, but last night, Ron Paul went a different route: He and his supporters celebrated their second-place victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary to the sounds of "The Imperial March" from Star Wars. Yes, Darth Vader's theme song.
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If Yoda shilling for cup noodles made your skin crawl and your soul cry “Nooooo,” get ready to feel the Force sell-out even harder, and weirder, with a recent spate of George Lucas-approved shameless Star Wars marketing tie-ins. First, there’s Darth Maul and Yoda stumping for Lipton iced tea. Embarrassing, but that’s nothing compared to the super disgusting idea of a Darth Vader-themed hamburger featuring black-dyed buns. Blech. These are not the burgers you’re looking for, at least not to eat.
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