This was, oh, five years in coming, but the long-time Village Voice film critic J. Hoberman has been let go from the paper. Fun fact: Hoberman's 34-year relationship with the Voice commenced with a high-low glimpse at David Lynch's experimental blast Eraserhead ("Eraserhead's not a movie I'd drop acid for, although I would consider it a revolutionary act if someone dropped a reel of it into the middle of Star Wars") and concluded this week with a high-low glimpse at Ken Jacobs's experimental blast Seeking the Monkey King ("This homemade slingshot has the capacity to resist and pulverize the idiotic visual aggression of a commercial behemoth like Transformers. It's a '60s vision happening today—beautiful, terrifying, and determined to storm the doors of perception"). Anyway, don't sweat it, he'll be back. [Capital New York]
The best-known Hollywood swordsman this side of Warren Beatty passed away on New Year's Day: Bob Anderson, an Olympic fencer who once wounded Errol Flynn on set and whose subsequent swordfight choreography spanned 60 years and such franchises as Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and the James Bond series, is dead at the age of 89. Wind up your day rewatching a few of his finest battles.
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Lonely sci-fi nerds, listen up: It was only a matter of time following the recent influx of geek-themed porn, but Dennis Hof, the professional pimp and entrepreneur behind the Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel seen on HBO's Cathouse, is about to make your fantasies come true. Soon, in the not-so-distant future (ok, a few months from now), Hof and partner/"chief alien design queen" Heidi Fleiss will open the Alien Cathouse 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas -- a legal brothel with a science fiction theme. Bring on the green-skinned Orion hotties!
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With the nasty back and forth between William Shatner and Carrie Fisher arguing the eternal question -- Star Wars or Star Trek? -- it seemed peace was all but a fantasy in the world of science fiction. Enter George Takei, the erstwhile Mr. Sulu and the voice of reason in this galaxy-splitting debate, to unite both fandoms in the hatred of their "ominous, mutual enemy" -- Twilight. "And it is really, really bad."
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First, George Lucas loaned Yoda to a Japanese instant noodle company in need of a marketing face (and wisdom applicable to ramen). And now, in an even bigger burn to U.S. Star Wars fans, the franchise creator has shipped Chewbacca to the set of Glee for a one-episode arc. What is this world coming to?
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Edgar Rice Burroughs created the planet-hopping hero John Carter of Mars way back in 1912 in his serialized novels about a Southern gent transported to an alien world. So why does the new trailer for John Carter, directed by Pixar vet Andrew Stanton, feel so familiar? Shades of Avatar and Attack of the Clones distract from what should be nonstop ooh-ing and aah-ing over giant CG creature effects and Taylor Kitsch in a loincloth. Then again, Taylor Kitsch in a loincloth... thank you for that, Mr. Stanton.
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"Believe in your own power, you must." Words of wisdom from Star Wars guru Yoda have finally found their true purpose: Instructing a nation of instant noodle-eaters to activate their inborn power... to boil water! Seriously. You thought Vader's "Nooooo!" was blasphemous? Where's your god now, nerds?
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And now, allow Carrie Fisher to break up your busy work day by pointing out the differences between the epic film franchise in which she starred as Princess Leia, Star Wars, and the television sci-fi series Star Trek. "They're not in the same league. I mean, they have the word 'star' in the title. And there is space travel. Where do they go to? [...] Klingon? That sounds like a laundry detergent." Click here for the rest of Fisher's inspired diatribe which also touches on Star Wars merchandising, her Princess Leia metal bikini and Dick Cheney's penis, of course. [YouTube via EW ]
I've said it before: Next Movie's "Rappers Review Movies" video series is ingenious. The latest rhymer to play Ebert with Hollywood's new releases is NYC-based Immortal Technique, a lyricist who frequently uses his songs to draw attention to socio-economic and political disparities. Taking on Tarsem's Greek actioner Immortals, he drops some serious conscious commentary on even greater issues: Namely, how much Clash of the Titans and the next-gen Star Wars movies totally sucked. PREACH!
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As a fledgling artist in his teens, Drew Struzan took to illustrating movie posters to make a living; decades later, his work in the world of visual film art has become not only iconic, but a part of the way we celebrate many modern cinema classics of the past few decades. This month's release Drew Struzan: Oeuvre collects more than 250 pieces of Struzan's art from films including Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings, and Movieline has a special exclusive preview of rare pieces from the forthcoming book.
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After an excerpt of his Vanity Fair interview hit yesterday in which he compared being photographed to being raped, Johnny Depp (whose Rum Diary hits screens in a few weeks) thought better of his word choice. ""I am truly sorry for offending anyone in any way. I never meant to. It was a poor choice of words on my part in an effort to explain a feeling. I understand there is no comparison and I am very regretful. In an effort to correct my lack of judgment, please accept my heartfelt apology." No worries, Johnny. It's Apology Wednesday! Stick around for more Buzz Break.
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File under Adorbs: Four-year-old Faris watched Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back for the first time and was shocked, shocked by its big reveal. Watch his little jaw drop in the video below and hearken back to the first time you saw the sci-fi classic. Just wait til he watches Return of the Jedi and figures out why that Luke-Leia make-out session was so, so wrong.
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The crowded backdrops of Star Wars movies aren't just populated by Frank Oz puppets, interns, and robots in Rick Baker makeup: There are genuine stars (and famous directors) running around there! We've pinpointed nine folks who made cameos in Star Wars films, and I'm willing to bet you couldn't catch most of these players upon first viewing. Sofia Coppola is practically hiding.
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· George Lucas has been disappointing Stars Wars fans and cast members for years now with his trilogy tweaks and his profit hoarding, but these crimes have never been captured in a hilariously simplistic Taiwanese animation video. Until now! Click through to enjoy news organization NMA's take on Lucas -- which includes the Star Wars creator power drilling Harrison Ford from behind, raping the childhood memories of his fans and cutting Carrie Fisher out of Princess Leia laxative profits -- and then, stick around for more Buzz Break!
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Remember that adorable Star Wars-themed VW Super Bowl commercial that went viral, about a tyke in a Darth Vader costume who's duped into thinking his Force is strong by a dad with a remote-controlled keychain? (Ah, deceiving kids. Always fun.) Well, here comes Little Thor, whose frustrated attempts to similarly use Mjolnir on unsuspecting household appliances and a golden retriever culminate in a decidedly different ending.
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