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Archived News-June 2005
Week 4
| Friday June 24, 2005 | |
| Homing Beacon #139 | |
The latest Homing Beacon has arrived and today we get to find out more about the Mace and Sidious Duel! The following is a sample entry of the new Set Diary series now available for Hyperspace members. In the summer of 2003, correspondent Pablo Hidalgo filed daily reports on the making of Episode III, but by necessity most of the plot details were obscured as to not spoil any secrets. Now that the movie is out, much of what was too hot in 2003 can be discussed, with further insight into the making of Revenge of the Sith. It's one of the fieriest debates of online fan forums: when Palpatine was cornered in his office's giant window-frame, was he really overpowered by Mace? Or was he faking to lure Anakin? Could Mace really have gotten the upper hand on the Sith Lord? George Lucas is the ultimate keeper of the true answer, and he's not telling... yet, anyway. If you had asked me in the Summer of '03, when the sequence was first shot, I would have had a solid answer. But, if you asked me in the Fall of '04, when the sequence was re-shot, well... for those who want to debate, it's best to know more of the story of how this scene came to be. This entire sequence changed significantly during postproduction. What we witnessed in Sydney told a different story. Anakin did not earn Mace's trust by ratting out Sidious right away. He did not agonize over his decisions while sitting alone in the Jedi Council chamber. He did not rush in at the last minute to witness a questionable balance of power. Instead, he stayed at Palpatine's side, in the Chancellor's private office, as Mace and his posse of Jedi barged in. "Stand behind me," ordered Mace, in Sam Jackson's demanding tones. But Anakin didn't budge. Instead, he watched passively as Palpatine used the Force to snatch Anakin's lightsaber from his belt and attacks Mace and the Jedi. There's ample evidence of this original version for those with sharp eyes and behind-the-scenes photos. Heck, even Hasbro action figures with Palpatine packaged with Anakin's lightsaber got out there in the initial shipments. So, if Sidious' entire duel played out before Anakin's stunned eyes, I'd be inclined to think that his fall was just for show. This changed after a screening George Lucas held for a few key colleagues. Their reactions underscored the shortcomings of the way this duel was constructed. Anakin's inaction was hard to justify cinematically. "The story was there, but it wasn't clear," said Lucas at the time it came to rebuild this scene. "It was too abstract. We opened up that part and looked at what we could do." When word of the change came down, the keepers of continuities started carefully tracking the evolving consequences. Palpatine had two lightsabers, then, since he loses this one in the duel with Mace. I still have in my inbox a tentative email from one of the authors asking, "um, have we figured out yet whose lightsaber Palpatine uses in the fight with the Jedi?" At first, it was feared it was impossible to CG the small svelte-handled weapon over Anakin's relatively chunky handle, but nonetheless, that was the lightsaber given to McDiarmid for the pickup photography. The shots of Palpatine rising from his chair and extending the weapon were reshot. The bulk of the duel between Sidious and Mace stayed from principal photography, except for a new touch -- a kick to Palpatine's face, done with stunt double Michael Byrne. This was shot on a partial set of just a piece of window-frame on Friday, August 27. So... with this revised duel, if Sidious threw the fight, it places an awful lot of faith on Anakin's timing ...and he suffered a kicked-in face to boot. For what it's worth to those arguing, I doubt there's anyone who thinks Palpatine's serious when he claims he's too weak. That's obviously a lie. But was the fall into the corner that preceded his pleas for help a lie as well? What else changed in this scene? There are a few more interesting details, particularly where it moved in the sequencing of the story. But that will have to wait for another entry. |
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| Friday June 24, 2005 | |
| Official Links Updated | |
Today I have updated the Official Links section with two new websites featuring Thomas Hodges who is a well known Star Wars artist, and Ryan Church who was the Concept Design Supervisor for Episode II & III. I also updated a few broken links to their new addresses and or sites. If you have links to any Official Web Sites for actors, artists, etc. please send them in so we can share them with everyone. Please send the links to official site links. Thank you for your help and contribution to Galactic Voyage! Together, we can make Galactic Voyage one of the best fan sites on the Net. |
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| Thursday June 23, 2005 | |
| Movies Section Update | |
Today I have updated the Movies Section to fix some broken links and to add the Episode III Trailers. The Official Star Wars site has made it more difficult to find these, so I have added a direct link to them which should make for easier access. Enjoy! |
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| Thursday June 23, 2005 | |
| New Fan Art | |
Hannah Brown, Matt C., and Jon Alan sent in some new fan art pieces a while back. Thank you all for your contributions and sorry for the delay. These pieces and others can be found over at the Fan Art section. Enjoy!
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| Wednesday June 22, 2005 | |
| AFI's Top Movie Quotes | |
Last night AFI presented the top 100 movie quotes. Star Wars comes in at #8 with "May the force be with you." A pretty solid finish considering some of the other movies listed. |
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| Tuesday June 21, 2005 | |
| Character Section Updated-General Grievous | |
Today I received a request from Judy Shepherd saying that I needed to add General Grievous to the Characters Section. I have since updated the Characters Section with General Grievous from Episode III. Thanks for the request Judy! You can get a listing of characters using their picture by episode at the Characters Section. Or, if you would like to see an alphabetical listing of all of our characters, you can check out the Character Index. If you have a character or ship request that you would like to see posted, please feel free to send me an e-mail and I will do my best to post it for you.
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| Monday June 20, 2005 | |
| A Little More Star Wars T.V. News | |
Ain't It Cool News has a little more information about the Star Wars TV series. Rick McCallum, the co-producer of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, revealed the details of Star Wars TV series when he was at the press conference in Japan yesterday. The article was from the Mainichi Shimbun (Mainichi Paper) web site, a reputable newspaper in Japan. He said, The story will take place in about 20 year span between Episode 3 and Episode 4. It will depict how characters end up being together (didn’t mention who). It will depict how Luke grows up. George Lucas will start working on it as soon as he finishes Indy Jones, he said. The production will start next year, and the whole series will be about 100 hours long. He also mentioned 3-D version of all six movies “within two to three” years. Well, it doesn't sound too exciting to me. I hope we see a lot of other things going on in the galaxy other than just Luke growing up on Tatooine. I also thought the 3-D movies were being pushed out a little farther due to technology issues, but hay... Rick should know! |
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| Monday June 20, 2005 | |
| Master Replicas First 2005 Collectors Society Exclusive | |
Luke Skywalker LightsaberTM Episode IV: A Elite Edition (Available "Your father wanted you to have
this when you were old enough." Master Replicas proudly unveils one of our
most anticipated Elite Edition Replicas ever - the Luke Skywalker
lightsaber as seen in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.
The lightsaber that inspired a generation of
kids to run around their homes wielding flashlights or paper
kitchen towel rolls can now be yours to own... FOREVER! Made from the finest stainless steel, our
replica features authentic detailing unique to this film prop,
including seven hand grips and a one-rivet D-ring assembly.
Created directly from archival reference photographs, this
beautiful prop replica faithfully reproduces the alternate version
of Luke's lightsaber as seen in Star Wars: Episode IV A
New Hope publicity photographs. Only 1000 units are available worldwide!
So embrace your destiny, and like Luke before
you, be ready to begin your Padawan training at Our last Elite Edition sold out in less than
three hours so don't sit on your mouse! *Only available to CS members. Please allow
7-10 business days to activate your membership. Limit two per
membership. |
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| Monday June 20, 2005 | |
| 2005 Master Replicas Collectors Society Membership | |
Master Replicas announces the launch of their NEW 2005 Collectors Society membership kit. Sign up for their team and they promise they'll share with you a galaxy of excitement in the coming months as they celebrate the great and the good of prop collecting. As a member of our alliance,* you'll receive
a variety of exclusive benefits available in no other system:
A full Darth Maul .45 Scaled Replica LightsaberTM**(MSRP
$50)
A personalized Membership Card and ID Number
An exclusive CS 2005 embroidered patch
The Replica Report featuring behind the scenes on how we
make your favorite replicas
Advance purchase on all Master Replicas releases
Exclusive contests with the chance to win prototypes and
Artist Proofs
Special offers, discounts, & invitations
The chance to purchase CS Exclusives * Existing memberships will still be honored
and you will remain eligible for early ordering and CS membership
exclusive offers. Additionally, you'll receive:
One $100 credit toward the purchase of a Studio Scale
Replica
Two $50 credits toward a Limited Edition Replica or Helmet
(sorry, not redeemable on Elite Editions)
One $30 credit toward a Force FX Lightsaber
Two $10 credits toward a .45 Scaled Replica This combined value of $300 (one credit
redeemable per purchase - valid on new orders only) can be yours FOR
THE GREAT PRICE OF $59.95 (Domestic S&H included, additional $20
for international) |
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