Happy (I)B-Day, Star Wars!

Star Wars, wow.  You’re how old now?  Oh yeah – the older you are, the older I am.  Nevermind.

A few people knew I had to write something today.  Especially since I did make reference to it on the “unofficial” Star Wars Day, as I deemed it.

Some wondered what amazing thing I could bring to the table which would blow the minds of fans, geeks, G-to-the-L haters, and even film or tech aficionados.  I know the last thing(s) to blow me away were the “home movies” inside an Academy Award-winning commune the dirty couches, poor lighting, and plethrora of facial hair which went on to become the ILM we all know and love [or as I would say, they put the ILM in film™].  For those who never saw this footage, here’s some love.

Star Wars has a lot of names, abbreviations, and in-the-know jargon.  Today I’m talking about SW:ANH, I mean A New Hope – er, episode IV, um… 4 four.  Old school 1977 Star Wars (which I shall further call “Star Wars” to ease confusion).

I’m not going to call myself a hater, a purist, a convert.  I loved Star Wars as a whole and I still do.  I choose what I like and often my opinion can change.  Let’s set out to have an open mind – possibly unlearning, and rethinking spoon(s).

People have been complaining about Star Wars being changed and different.  Sure you have a laserdisc copy which is this and that, or you have this or that remix and you know what the original was.  Do you?  What if I was too tell you there there is another.  One which actually gets hunted down by the real-life version of Emo Anakin Vader’s posse of Force-user extinguishers?  It’s out there.  And its initials are IB.  Still curious?  Keep reading…

Happy Mother’s Day 2012

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!  In a galaxy full of empty promises, I hope mine rings close-enough-to-true by saying I’ll do my best to cause less chaos than the guy above.

In addition to echoing The Pietà, I like how this image “returns the favor” so to speak; when Anakin last spoke with his mom.  Her coming back to offer comfort while he’s stranded on Mustafar speaks volumes – especially considering the depths this boy from Tatooine plummeted by this point.  That goes to show why so many cards get purchased around this time in May.

Don’t forget to pause a bit to think of at least one time mom was there for you – especially a time when it seemed nobody else was.

I came across this image when seeking out some Star Wars propoganda poster art.  Joe Corroney is a talented artist; doing work for a variety of licenses including Doctor Who; Marvel; Star Trek; 24; True Blood.  See lots more here.

Click the image above or here if you want the full color version.  For the larger black and white sketch, click here.  Added note: the original art for the color version is available for $600.  How’s that for a Mother’s Day card?

Happy Star Wars Day!

Many not “in on the joke” might question this post.  Especially people like me who are Star Wars OrThodox [*ahem* Original Trilogy, grammar police] and celebrate the actual Star Wars Day.  But why pass up a totally cromulent occasion to post something SW; even if it’s on the eve of free comic book day.

Enjoy the day.  Catch a cool fanfilm – or Episode IV of course.  I do have a post about A New Hope…  But that will wait for a less rushed time.  Epic can’t be rushed.

“May the Fourth be with you” – as is said today.

Pencils Down: Ralph McQuarrie (1929–2012)

Any kid (or kid at heart) who passing through the eighties had some sort of indelible impression made by Ralph McQuarrie.  He influenced so many decades before and after, but the obvious is any walking out of a theater during blockbuster season and spending all week trying to keep the imagery from flooding their heads.  If you randomly chuckle when saying you need to phone home, imitate breathing behind a black helmet, or mention something about an object among ‘top men’…then indirectly you have this guy to thank.  Anyone worth their lore knows the tale of this guy’s concept work being the only reason Lucas got a green light concerning a space opera.

If you read this and you agree with the statement(s) above at all, doodle something on a napkin and say thanks to McQ. Even post it as a comment.  Maybe I will too.

One of the cool things about Mr. McQuarrie was turning down doing the prequel Star Wars episodes because he felt it should be passed to a new artist for the next generation.  Very classy (even if I can’t remember when/where I read it).

To read a little more, check this great writeup from tor.com by Irene Gallo:
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/03/ralph-mcquarrie-19292012

The comments at the bottom are fantastic as well, so do a favor and scroll down if you peek there.

(Hit the jump to see familiar imagery.)

Did ‘Star Wars’ become a toy story? Producer Gary Kurtz looks back

In case you haven’t heard, the title was from an article in the LA Times; ran August 12th 2010.  Not many hear how Gary Kurtz looks at the trilogy he left…and the prequels.

Most interestingly to me?  How Kurtz described the original ended.   I think the Special Edition Jedi ending was the best…but I wonder how much closure there would have been back in the day if the originally-devised ending was the counterweight to Empire.

Read it all here:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/08/star-wars-was-born-a-long-time-ago-but-not-all-that-far-far-away-in-1972-filmmakers-george-lucas-and-gary-kurtz-wer.html

EPIC Star Wars movie – behind the scenes

This above screen grab is from a movie compilation of BEHIND THE SCENES footage of making A New Hope back when it was simply known as Star Wars.  It also has some cool scenes of the motion picture’s aftermath as well.

What makes it epic?

- It names names, as in labeling people to show who all these legendary FX folks are (liberal pausing may be required).
- It shows kit bashing in progress.  As Neo may say, “Whoah.”
- It shows testing out the starfield (breathtaking).
- It shows the Death Star surface being cast.
- It shows rotoscope testing.
- Check out the couches in the viewing room.
- The “trench run” as you’ve never seen it before.
- It shows the pre CU   pre nge   pre CGI  pre Blu-Ray version   Han-shot-first-era of-  Er, nevermind…

Described by the uploader:

“Crude home movies from the 1970s depicting activities at a certain location in the San Fernando Valley.”

As a bonus, here’s a link to this amazing find, which has more screen grabs, and also has the historical artifact embedded (via the Star Wars blog):

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2009/07/09/ilm-the-early-years

And now, here it is..!

 

5757 from David Berry on Vimeo.

If the embed code is temperamental, use this link:
http://www.vimeo.com/5494280

It’s worth the effort – trust me.