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Archived News
September 2004
Week 4
Saturday
September 25, 2004 |
Ewok
Adventures on DVD |
The
Official Star Wars Site has announced the Ewoks are coming.
After the cinematic adventures of the original Star Wars trilogy
ended in 1983, audiences were still eager to visit the far-away
galaxy. They got their chance through a pair of
made-for-television movies starring the furry heroes from the
forest moon of Endor, the Ewoks.
Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor tell the story of
young Cindel Towani (Aubree Miller), whose family has crash-landed
on Endor. She is protected by the brave Ewoks from the dangers
that lurk in the forests.
The first film, directed by John Korty, has Cindel and her
brother Mace (Eric Walker) looking for their parents, who have
been captured by the giant Gorax. The second film, directed by Jim
and Ken Wheat, unleashes the fearsome Marauders against the Ewoks,
as Cindel meets a helpful forest hermit named Noa (Wilford
Brimley). Both films star Warwick Davis as Wicket the Ewok, and
feature award-winning visual effects by Industrial Light &
Magic.
The DVD double-feature containing both films is scheduled for
release on November 23, 2004. These Ewok movies will be great for
those who love Ewoks, but I have them on VHS and I can never seem
to make it very far before turning it off. I won't be wasting my
money on these because they are very slow, and what can I say...
they are Ewoks!
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Friday
September 24, 2004 |
Best
Buy Insider |
On
Tuesday I bought the Original Trilogy DVDs from Best Buy. The DVDs
came with a special edition Star Wars Insider that had details
about the Revenge of the Sith movie trailer.
On the last page at the bottom it reads: "Don’t miss the
members-only online premiere of the Revenge of the Sith trailer
this fall!" The trailers were free last time, but this might
be a good reason to sign up for Hyperspace in order to be one of
the first fans to see it. It will surely be free later on, but you
would have to settle for seeing it on Entertainment Tonight
instead. |
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Thursday
September 23, 2004 |
Star
Wars Celebration III |
The
Official Star Wars Site has announced information about
Celebration III! On Monday, Sept. 27, Star Wars fans officially
can get their plans underway for Celebration III, the event that
promises to be the most electrifying Star Wars extravaganza ever.
Tickets for the 4-day festival, slated for April 21 - 24, 2005 in
Indianapolis, are scheduled to go on sale at approximately 12 noon
PDT at starwarscelebration.com.
Reservations for hotels in Indianapolis for Celebration III also
will be available starting September 27, exclusively for those who
purchase tickets for the event.
Scheduled just four weeks before the worldwide premiere of Star
Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Celebration III has been
eagerly anticipated by fans since Celebration II entertained more
than 26,000 in May, 2002. Celebration III promises to be even more
exciting, with more guests, more activities, and more events
spread over the entire Indiana Convention Center -- over half a
million square feet of Star Wars! Be sure to read the full
article for all the goodies!
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Wednesday
September 22, 2004 |
$115,000,000
in Worldwide Sales for DVDs, Battlefront |
The
following was released by Lucasfilm this afternoon:
$115,000,000 DAY ONE WORLDWIDE SALES FOR STAR WARS
Star Wars Dominates Global Retail As Consumers Snap Up
DVD and Games at Light Speed
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. September 22, 2004 -Shattering all records
for entertainment franchise spending in a single day, STAR WARS
fans around the world have spent more than $115,000,000 on in-home
STAR WARS entertainment. Single day sales for the most requested
DVDs of all time, the STAR WARS TRILOGY, combined with the release
of the new STAR WARS Battlefront videogame have set yet another
benchmark for the most popular entertainment franchise in the
world. This phenomenal achievement will continue as the DVD debuts
in Japan, Australia, Benelux and Mexico and the LucasArts game
launches internationally later this week
Easily setting a record for the best selling film collection ever
released on DVD, the STAR WARS films boasts global box office
performance in excess of $3.4 billion, not adjusted for inflation.
Worldwide home entertainment sales for the STAR WARS franchise
stand at more than 125 million units inception to date.
STAR WARS Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes
Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi are available in a
four-disc set that includes a bonus disc filled with all-new
special features - including the most comprehensive feature-length
documentary ever produced about the STAR WARS saga and
never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films. Each
of the three films in the STAR WARS TRILOGY has been digitally
restored and re-mastered by THX for superior sound and picture
quality.
The films of the STAR WARS TRILOGY are available exclusively as a
collection and feature Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX. All three
films are closed-captioned and subtitled in English, French and
Spanish in the U.S. Internationally, sound and subtitling
specifications will vary by territory.
Star Wars Battlefront is an action/shooter game that gives fans
and gamers the opportunity to re-live and participate in all of
the classic Star Wars battles like never before. Players can
select one of a number of different soldier types, jump into any
vehicle, man any turret on the battlefront and conquer the galaxy
planet-by-planet online with their friends or offline in a variety
of single player modes. Single player modes include “Instant
Action,” “Galactic Conquest” and the story-based
“Historical Campaigns” mode that lets gamers experience all of
the epic Star Wars battles from Episodes I-VI, fighting from the
perspective of each of the four factions within the game. The game
is available for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system,
Xbox video game system from Microsoft and the PC.
More than 7,000 pages of information about the Star Wars saga can
be found at StarWars.com.
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world’s leading film and
entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a
privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In
addition to its motion picture and television productions, the
company’s global businesses include Industrial Light & Magic
and Skywalker Sound; LucasArts Entertainment; Lucas Licensing; and
Lucas Online. Lucasfilm’s feature films have won 19 Oscars and
its television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox
Home Entertainment International are operating units of Fox Filmed
Entertainment, a News Corporation Company. |
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Wednesday
September 22, 2004 |
More
on Sound & Vision's Exclusive Interview with George Lucas |
Shavonne
Harding reported earlier of a George Lucas interview in Sound
& Vision. Here are some quote Highlights from Fisher's
Interview with Lucas:
?
On the Star Wars films, Lucas says "I still enjoy the films
quite a bit. They
still hold up for me."
?
Does Lucas watch films over and over again on his home theater
system? "The
most I've ever seen a film was about ten times, and that was Hard
Day's Night
in film school. Now, if I see a film more than once, it's by
accident."
?
Of today's movie theater experience he comments, "In some
cases, it's getting
better, but in a lot of cases it's the same as it has been. It's
very
hard to get people to understand that if they would use digital
projectors,
the quality of the prints -- the quality of the film itself --
would
stay high rather than degenerating over the few weeks it runs in
the theater."
?
With the advances in technology and sophisticated home theater
systems, will
people ever stop going to the movies? Lucas believes,
"...people will always
go to communal events because humans are social animals. They'll
always
go to the opera and the ballet, and they'll always go to the
movies."
?
On the timing of the Star Wars Trilogy DVD release he explains,
"It was supposed
to come out later, but piracy being the way it is, it's getting
harder
and harder to release DVD's. Soon, it's going to be impossible
because
they'll all be pirated."
?
Is he surprised by the advancements in home theater systems?
"No. It's an
inevitable evolutionary process. I expect them to get bigger and
better, with
more storage. We've already reached the acceptable side of things
in terms
of image quality."
?
Have Lucas' tastes changed over the years? "Um, I seem to
like younger and
younger girls as time goes by. It's not that I'm getting older;
it's just
that they seem to get younger." Fisher then reveals her
famous father's
[singer Eddie Fisher] own fondness for younger girls. "Do you
know
after your birthday party, I called my father? I go over to see
him and
he has a 40-year-old girlfriend - he's 76...he takes something out
of the
freezer. It's a bottle -a vial- ...and he says 'It's for sex.' I
hope that's
not in your future," she tells Lucas
Thanks
Shavonne! Be sure to click
here to see the full article! (You will need the Adobe Acrobat
PDF reader for this article.)
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Tuesday
September 21, 2004 |
Homing
Beacon-Special Edition |
The
most anticipated DVD set of all-time has finally arrived. Get your
copy of the Star Wars Trilogy set, including the stunningly
remastered A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the
Jedi, and a bonus fourth disc filled with all-new special features
-- including the most comprehensive feature-length documentary
ever produced about the Star Wars saga and never-before-seen
footage from the making of all three films.
Once you've seen the movies, you can live the battles in Star
Wars: Battlefront, on sale now for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC.
Immerse yourself in the classic Star Wars battles in any vehicle,
on any planet, from any side.
Star Wars Trilogy on DVD and Star Wars: Battlefront are on sale
now at major retailers.

Star
Wars Trilogy
(Widescreen Edition)
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