Archived News
April 2005
Week 3
| Thursday April 14, 2005 | |
| Homing Beacon #134 | |
The latest issue of the Homing Beacon has arrived and in this issue Palpatine Speaks! Due to his demanding performance schedule, actor Ian McDiarmid was not able to make the trip to Indianapolis for Celebration III, the Star Wars party of a lifetime. Still, McDiarmid did want to share his insights with the fans in attendance. During the Episode III scoring sessions in London, he sat down for an exclusive interview with starwars.com Hyperspace and spoke candidly and at length about his role as Palpatine throughout the Star Wars saga. This interview will appear on video during Celebration III and online for members of starwars.com Hyperspace. Here's a sample: "When we were doing Return of the Jedi there was a rumor that George Lucas had nine films in his head, and he'd clearly just completed three of them," recalls McDiarmid. "Someone said that, 'Oh, I think what he might do next is go back in time, and show how Vader came to be.' It never occurred to me in a million years that I would be involved in that, because I thought, 'oh well, then he'll get a much younger actor.' That would be obvious." McDiarmid carried on with his stage career after the success of Jedi. His connection to the saga was kept from being overly publicized due to his being obscured under heavy makeup for the role of Emperor Palpatine. Years would pass before Star Wars entered his life again. "I heard that George was indeed going to make those prequels, and that he was coming to London and he wanted to see me. I had no idea, I suppose, that the Emperor in some form would be in it." After a brief meeting with Lucas (10 minutes in length, McDiarmid recalls) it became clear that Palpatine was not only returning, but that he would be central to the events in this new trilogy. "I was sort of reeling," McDiarmid says. "Then he explained to me, not in great detail, about the trajectory of the three movies, and my character in relation to that. But he talked about two people. He talked about this perfectly ordinary, rather charming, politician who one day became Emperor. And that story would be seen in films 1 and 2, and in film 3 he would move closer to the center as he got closer to power." Unlike the face-obscuring role of the Emperor, this time McDiarmid would keep his own features for the role of Palpatine. "This only happened because I was the right age," says McDiarmid. "I was the right age, ironically, for the first prequel when it was made. I wouldn't have been if he'd started with [Episode I]. So I was in the very strange and rather wonderful paradox of playing myself when young at my own age, having played myself previously when 100-and-I-don't-know-what. So that was, of course, extremely interesting and a challenge, and it was wonderful to think that I'd be part of the continuing saga. And of course I went home and refused to believe it. But bit by bit it became a reality." For the complete interview, catch the 5 p.m. screening on Thursday April 21st at the 500 Ballroom of the Indiana Convention Center during Celebration III. You can also find it online as part of the extensive starwars.com coverage of the event. It will be exclusive to Hyperspace members. |
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| Wednesday April 13, 2005 | |
| The Expanded Universe | |
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Hello Star Wars fans! By the Force, we have just over a month to go until the release of Episode III! I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been a member of Hyperspace for over a year now and just LOVE all the Making Of movie-ettes and the KnollVision! Really has my midi-chlorians in an uproar! Speaking of the Making Of, Number-16 is up for viewing...but unfortunatly the links aren't working, for me anyway. It is titled "Going to the Darkside". I'll post a comment on it whenever I am able to watch it! Now then, for those of you, like me, who enjoy the Expanded Universe, His Greatness Timothy Zahn has a new novel comming out October 25th of 2005. It is titled Outbound and yehp, you guessed it...it is the story of the ill-fated Outbound Project that was briefly mentioned in Heir to the Empire and more elaborated in Zahn's other novel, Survivor Quest which starred Mara Jade Skywalker and Luke Skywalker. The cover and a little bit more about the new book can be found on the Official Star Wars Site here For those of you not up on this tid-bit of Expanded Universe, the Outbound Project was a collection of Dreadnaughts connected by a central ring and living/storeage container. It comprised something like 6 Jedi Master, 12 Jedi Knights and some 50,000 men, women and children who were to travel through the unknown Regions to colonize and search out a new Galaxy. However, the Emperor and the young Chiss, Thrawn had other ideas :( Also comming for you EU book lovers is a brand new trilogy starring Luke and the gang, and may proove to add more insite into the Chiss. The first of the three novels, DARK NEST: The Joiner King is due out August 25th, 2005 and will be followed by the next two chapters of the series, The Unseen Queen and The Swarm Warm. From what I have read on StarWars.Com is that it is basicly another alien invasion...of sorts. Apparantly a mysterious alien hive-species is edging toward Chiss space and while our daring heroes go forth to thwart yet again another danger to peace and prosperity to the galaxy, the Chiss view their meddling in Chiss space as a potential for war....And for those of you who like to take a look into the inner workings of the Prequels, a new book due out this Fall: Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars, showcases the out-of-this-world designs of Star Wars Costume Designer Trisha Biggar- that boasts over 300 photographs and illustrations! MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU ALL! |
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| Wednesday April 13, 2005 | |
| New Wallpaper | |
Abrynne from our affiliate site A Master and Apprentice sent in two new wallpapers. Thanks Abrynne! Great job! These great pieces can be found over at the Wallpaper section!
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| Wednesday April 13, 2005 | |
| Moviefone's Star Wars Countdown! | |
John Angelo from Moviefone.com sends in word of some cool Star Wars features at their site. The
countdown is on! Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith hits
theaters in 37 days, but in the meantime, Moviefone.com helps pass
the time with a number of exclusive Star Wars videos, galleries
and features. Each week until the release of Episode III, the
Moviefone Star Wars Countdown will showcase a new exclusive
feature guaranteed to whet the appetite of Star Wars fans around
the globe for the final installment on May 19. * Original Trilogy Video Vault: Check out a series of exclusive behind-the-scenes featurettes about the making of the original Star Wars trilogy featuring interviews with the cast and crew. |
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| Tuesday April 12, 2005 | |
| Movies Section Update | |
Today I have loaded a great Fan Film called "Contract of Evil" and Lou Klien has been gracious enough to allow us to host it in the Movies Section.
For years, the Sith were thought to be extinct - but on a remote desolate planet, vengeful spirits of chaos have decreed a battle for power, for only through a trial of pain can the hidden Sith masters find one worthy of the title Dark Lord. Two brothers, Wroth and Anarcis, have boasted of their ability to pass the trials - but someone else has also answered the challenge... I would really recommend downloading this one because it is one of the best films on the Internet!
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| Monday April 11, 2005 | |
| Holy Sith! | |
Nicole Perri, the Senior Online Editor for PremierMag.com has informed me that there is now a portion of the article on their website for Star Wars fans to read.
For more on this article, be sure to read about it here! |
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