The Pepsi promo, Call Upon Yoda, has been in-effect for several weeks now. Buy the Pepsi products with Star Wars logos and recieve a code that you can place on line for great Star Wars prizes (including an intergalactic translator) and cash prizes! Head over to STARWARS.COM for the Pepsi promo rules, website and prize pictures and may the Force be with you!

"I am writing a story about passionate Star Wars fans. I hoped you might poll your members and ask if any were willing to chat on the phone with me for five minutes this week about what the films have meant to them."

If you are interested in speaking with David, be sure to contact him via the information listed below.

Thank the Maker: George Lucas
The hands-down highlight of the event was George Lucas' first convention appearance since 1987. The Star Wars creator sat down with host Jay Laga'aia and producer Rick McCallum to discuss the future of Star Wars, and fielded questions from inquisitive fans. He had much to say about the future of the Force on television, and other potential projects from Lucasfilm.

Rick McCallum's Spectacular Spectacular
Producer McCallum brought with him over 10 minutes of footage -- finished images and behind-the-scenes pieces -- from Episode III, and played them throughout the weekend in crisp digital clarity and booming sound. At his earlier sessions, he also answered questions from fans, which you can read here.

General Rumblings: Matthew Wood
It's time to meet the man behind the voice of General Grievous. Supervising Sound Editor Matthew Wood brought with him examples of his work on Episode III, including an amazing clip of Grievous in action. Hear how a pleasant speaking voice was transformed into a snarling villain in this story, complete with audio clip.

Behind the Art of Revenge
Episode III is the most visually dynamic film in the Star Wars saga, and the artists behind the visuals were there for a series of panels throughout the weekend. In addition to group panels, Concept Design Supervisor Ryan Church started off the convention with a solo panel detailing his art.

Effects Deconstruction with Roger Guyett
On May 19th, Episode III will hit the screens with over 2,100 visual effects shots. One of Sith's effects masters, VFX Supervisor Roger Guyett, took fans through the layered effects process with a guided tour of his key effects sequences.

Effects Secrets from John Knoll
Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll revealed secrets of not only the Star Wars movies he worked on, but the original trilogy classics that he has extensively researched for his upcoming book. Learn what's behind some of the classic magic and latest digital innovations in his presentation.

Live from Italy: Hayden Christensen
The star of Episode III, Hayden Christensen, could not make it to Celebration III, but had such a blast at the last convention that he wanted to participate even though he was half-a-world away. From on-location of his latest movie, Christensen phoned the stage at Indianapolis for a question-and-answer session.

Previsionary: Daniel Gregoire
Before the final visual effects fill out the frames of Revenge of the Sith, Dan Gregoire and his team of animatics artists flesh out the visuals with their computer-generated moving storyboards. His presentation included versions of the popular Episode III television spots cut with animatics footage instead of final effects for an eye-opening example of his work.

Dawn of a New Era: Legacy of the Force
The mantra of Celebration III was "Star Wars is Forever," and fans of Star Wars literature know that best. For decades, they've been reading the ongoing adventures of the Star Wars heroes, and a panel of novelists and editors unveiled plans for the future of the Expanded Universe. The Legacy era begins here!

Return of Thrawn in Outbound Flight
Timothy Zahn, the author that jumpstarted the Star Wars novel publishing program in 1991 is back with some of his most enduring characters. Read about the return of Thrawn, this time in the prequel era, with the much anticipated novel, Outbound Flight. Also, get the first news about Allegiance, Zahn's proposed novel set right after the events of A New Hope that will feature Mara Jade.

The animated covers feature:

• Episode III Anakin Skywalker holding his lightsaber changes to the hooded Anakin then to Darth Vader.
• Padmé Amidala that changes to her daughter Princess Leia.
• Animated Wookiee Battle on their home planet of Kashyyyk.
• Chancellor Palpatine transforming into to the shrouded Emperor.
• The epic duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin on Mustafar.

While these collectible covers can be found where TV Guide is sold, the non-animated cover will be mailed to subscribers directly.

Fret not, Force faithful, there is a new hope.

Jedi master George turned up over the weekend at Celebration III, a mega-gathering of 30,000 Star Wars geeks in Indianapolis, where he announced plans to move his space opera to the small screen.

For his first appearance at a Star Wars convention in 17 years, Lucas made a big splash. During a Q&A session, he announced that he is going to produce a 3-D animated action series expanding on the Cartoon Network's Emmy-winning Clone Wars. Then he dropped a bigger bomb, confirming a live-action Star Wars spinoff series is in the works.

Does that mean we'll get to see Darth Vader duking it out with the Donald on the next Apprentice?

Not quite.

According to Lucas, both shows will take place during the period between the end of Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars (aka Episode IV--A New Hope), when the Emperor became all-powerful and started hunting the Jedi down.

Lucas said the live-action series is the more ambitious undertaking, attempting to translate the magic of the Star Wars universe to the small screen via supporting characters that fans have only briefly come to know from the movies. The filmmaker added that the show will also be similar in tone to the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, the TV adventures inspired by his other mega-franchise.

"We're probably not going to start that for about a year," Lucas said. "Like on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, we want to write all the stories for the entire first season all at once. I'm going to get it started and hire the showrunners and all of that, then I'll probably step away."

It is not known whether the two TV projects were the basis of a highly publicized Internet rumor a few months back speculating on future Star Wars adventures.

Lucasfilm has yet to make an official announcement on the new shows. The company doesn't even have a deal in place with a network to air either series because it's been marshalling all its minions for the hugely anticipated May 19 release of Revenge of the Sith, the final prequel.

This isn't the first occasion Lucas has packaged Star Wars for the boob tube. First, there was the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978, which Lucas has disowned. Then, after 1983's Return of the Jedi, he hatched two made-for-TV spinoffs, 1984's The Ewok Adventure and 1985's Ewoks: Battle for Endor, both of which were largely derided by Star Wars fans for focusing on the relatively tame deeds of the furry critters at the expense of action-packed escapades of cooler characters.

Lucas' infatuation with Ewoks continued with the Ewoks cartoon series, which was paired with another kiddie-themed 'toon, Droids, focusing on the mishaps of R2-D2 and C-3PO. Those shows ran from 1985 to '87.

It's expected that the new standalone animated series will showcase the same kind of epic battles as seen in the more action-oriented Clone Wars series of shorts--with the added benefit of adding potential new Star Wars enthusiasts and giving merchandisers the chance to sell even more action figures.

In some related Star Wars news, premiere fan site TheForce.net quotes Lucas telling people backstage at last weekend's confab that he's prepping yet another box set--this one will include all six films, plus a possible seventh disc featuring deleted scenes from the original trilogy. He says he doesn't expect to make any more tweaks to the films as he did with the last box set.

And lest you think you've seen the last of Darth and the gang on the big screen, think again. Lucas appeared at last month's ShoWest exhibitors convention in Las Vegas and announced that, starting in 2007, he'll rerelease all six episodes, beginning with the original Star Wars, in IMAX digital 3-D.

Meanwhile, the typically media-shy filmmaker is gearing up to make his own splash on the small screen. He's scheduled to guest star as himself on the May 12 episode of Fox's The O.C.. The plot: Lucas becomes interested in a graphic novel written by Seth (Adam Brody) and invites him to dinner to offer some sage advice. Seth is forced to choose between taking Summer to the prom or hanging with George.