REACHING OUT TO A (BATTLE) STAR...

By Scott Weller

The birthday anniversary celebrations continue- this is one, though STAR WARS related, that is not actually about the saga itself. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, often considered as almost the seventies bastard child of the original STAR WARS movie, has, as of 17^th September 2008, now reached that mighty milestone many people thought it never would. Originally conceived in the mid sixties (according to it’s creator, Glen A. Larson), and first known as ADAM'S ARK,  then, in the seventies, as the bold STAR WORLDS (you couldn't get a more catchy I wonder what that sounds like title, eh?), before post-WARS finally settling as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (and getting a mighty story polish with the visual impact of the theatrical release and success of Lucas’s film at the same time!!), the series, a space age re-telling of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbour, tells the story of the last remnants of humanity making a run for the sanctuary of the far off planet Earth, away from the rampaging hordes of the evil robotic/lizard Cylon Empire chasing them, was, on its original 1978 transmission and European theatrical release (it was released by UNIVERSAL in SENSURROUND sound in selected cinemas -remember that!!?), quickly to become one of the most costly pilots and regular episodic series of all time to make-and that was also one of the main reasons why it was eventually cancelled way too early in it's one and only season run.

It may not have had the commercial success and wide ranging appeal of STAR WARS, but the legacy of the show, quickly commissioned by UNIVERSAL after their disastrous move in turning Lucas’s “sci-fi project” down in 1974/75 (and seeing how much money they now had to gain in that medium), has endured in many ways due to the huge amount of talented people from the first STAR WARS movie who went on to work on it- Ralph McQuarrie on the conceptual art (check out the artists excellent book for some of his stunning work on the project), John Dykstra as producer, and Dennis Muren and Richard Edlund on model camera work, all of whom worked on the critical first seven hours of the show (when it was originally planned as a mini-series).

It also created/ induced a frenzy of paranoia in George Lucas that has remained to this day-the idea of having to protect his saga from the army of film studio rip-off artists that would need only one blurbed out secret from his production camp to ruin an entire film and audience's surprises for his future WARS sequels-and possibly damaging future box office sales as well. Ideas of security that would create conditions that, at the time, and even since (with the arrival of RETURN OF THE JEDI, where things were at their zenith) were unheard of, and continue at his organization to this very day on all of his other projects. By the time of GALACTICA’s transmission, the new show was deemed a heavy threat to FOX/LUCASFILM. And yet, the year before, both Lucas and Producer Gary Kurtz had been aware of the show and the that their artists/visual effects people, many of which were not under any firm contracts, out of work with no idea at that time as to when the next WARS sequel would be happening after the first films completion, and with ILM as a company not totally cemented, were working on Project: GALACTICA. By the time of the series first three hour pilot, SAGA OF A STAR WORLD, Kurtz even saw/ made some recommendations to its creator Larson about things that should be changed in the series so that they didn't clash with the unique visual aspects of STAR WARS. Hell, Lucas originally gave his blessing to it and indeed let his out of work people work on it (including Dykstra, though their relationship had probably deteriorated to the point where Lucas was probably never going to re-hire him for a possible STAR WARS sequel anyway) and said in an interview quote in 1977, after the first WARS release and continuing success at the Box Office, its creator was going to take a step back and enjoy watching all of the sci-fi films that would be spawned in his films wake. That mindset changed when GALACTICA came out, though, cutting a little too close to the bone with it's Cylon warriors that looked like Darth Vader, heroes Apollo and Starbuck that both had elements of Han and Luke in their characters, and ships that darted about with the visual and fast paced effects similarities to X-wing fighters.

And then there was that infamous copyright infringement court case between Lucas and FOX against UNIVERSAL, which, after three years, Lucas and FOX were destined to lose (after UNIVERSAL unleashed their trump weapon: the Huey, Lewey and Dewey robots from their earlier sci-fi flick SILENT RUNNING, which Lucas in the seventies would actually, to some degree, use as an inspiration in part for the development of Artoo Detoo (as revealed in THE MAKING OF STAR WARS book from J.W.Rinzler), and that all parties, at the end of the day, probably thought they'd whished they'd never bothered to go to court and waste so much money on in the first place. Ultimately, the only ones who enjoyed the court case were the world's press vultures, always hungering and leaping on their prey and any other dead carcasses in their wake, when it comes to a good old fashioned courtroom battle they can report on ad nausea.

Like STAR WARS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has spawned off into many other new avenues over the years-there has been a healthy amount of merchandise, a spin off show-GALACTICA 1980-which could almost be considered it’s own version of THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL (only BG’s fan base had to endure a more painful thirteen episodes of that instead of WARS one and only slice of bad-ness)- and, to many fans joy, spawned a new re-take on the original series, with a further spin-off to come-CAPRICA, produced by wunderkid Ronald D. Moore of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION fame which, in many ways, has been more successful with a modern audience of viewers, and critically, than the original parent that spawned it.

Yes, the modern version of BG has great effects and terrific acting, but the storylines at time are so serious and depressing, and the characters so grumpy and unhappy that it makes you want to slash your wrists watching it. I'll stick with the happy go lucky, brave and adventurous storytelling of the original-the re-hashes of THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, THE TOWERING INFERNO and SHANE-yep, I love 'em- and the brave heroics of the boys and girls of Blue Squadron. Yes, they all wore flares and long hair styles that would make a 1977 Mark Hamill envious… Yes, the Cylons weren't dangerous enough (the result of Network viewing standards interference), and the great model effects were re-used time and time again…but the original series still has a tremendous, exciting charm and it feels very STAR WARS'y thanks to the input of the aforementioned production personnel that worked on it. There was also the riding the crest of the STAR WARS wave which was, to me, as an eight year old sci-fi adventure nut, very appealing- I loved collecting the BG bubble gum cards and the figures and the toys, and, whist waiting for the next stage in STAR WARS theatrical future, it as a very welcome diversion in my life- and an interest in that first season that has continued on to this very day..

So, whatever your poison is, let's raise a glass in toast to the thirtieth anniversary of BATLESTAR GALACTICA and all the STAR WARS people who worked on it.

To Cylons, Starbuck, the Pegasus and it’s Commander Cain, “Felgercarb”-possibly the daftest swear word in sci-fi history!!!, fighter pilots wearing scarab like helmets, and the Imperious Leader, amongst so many other notable characters and moments- A GREAT BIG CHEERS, AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

STARLOG AND STAR WARS: A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

By Scott Weller

I popped into my regular London sci-fi bookshop yesterday (Friday 19th September) to purchase my essential regular reading requirements in the world of science fiction and fantasy and noticed the latest copy of STARLOG magazine-one of my old faithful favorite magazines. On its cover was something that made my heart warm-THE CLONE WARS. Yep, I know, everyone else has in the world of science fiction magazines already done it with covers and inside features/exclusives in the last few months, but there’s always something special about STARLOG when it covers the STAR WARS universe, especially when it has it on the cover-it just makes its place in the science fiction universe a little more important and relevant. I have a huge energy rush of warm nostalgia as well, as this new cover follows a long line of marvelous STAR WARS covers from STARLOG stretching right back to the beginning- to issue seven of the title, way back in 1977 when its first cover boasted the magnificent ILM effects composited image of the TIE fighter firing on the X-wing, with lettering to it’s left  proudly beaming out the words STAR WARS, and it’s inside materials providing some of the most comprehensive behind the scenes coverage of that time that you were going to get, against pretty much all full colour spreads -and with so many of the sci-fi/ horror magazines of the time not in full colour, many in black and white only, STARLOG’s wonderful printing of the films photos and artwork showed the film in a terrific visual glory the likes of which magazines like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and HAMMER HOUSE OF HORRORS magazine just couldn’t deliver. To me, over the last thirty years, STARLOG has almost become quite synonymous with STAR WARS, and vice versa.

The magazines hasn’t been without it’s difficulties over the years-it’s had it’s ups and downs as the science fiction universe, especially of film, has changed and evolved around it, circulation has dropped and several of it’s sister magazines collapsed like dead flies in the late eighties, and it has faced heavy competition from other junior upstart titles that are a bit more edgy and glossy, but STARLOG has always been one of the best magazines around covering the realms of science fiction and fantasy entertainment in all its mediums-its team of worldwide writers have an enjoyable, lively, award- winning prose-they present the facts without any bias, they present everything as it is with clarity, and they love their work-it shows in all the pages. They’ve never been too controversial, but there’s no BS, nor an overload of opinions like a lot of these modern science fiction magazines, though they haven’t been afraid to venture their opinions from time to time as well. The design of the magazine was, and still is, nicely presented-never over cluttered or dull. STARLOG remains a consistent quality publication. And when it came to coverage of the STAR WARS saga from 1977 to now, we’ve always been well served, and it has always been pretty much unbeatable. It’s behind the scenes material and exclusive interviews (with stars such as Mark Hamill, Dave Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Harrison Ford, Ralph McQuarrie and, from 1982, one of the most in depth and revealing multi part interviews with George Lucas you’ll ever get to find) have been ground breaking –as a reference work to the history of the saga’s making over the years it continues to be superb, alongside some of the rarest colour and black and white photos you can get (and backed up with some very funny comedy skits/ cartoons over the years- a tradition in the magazine that very few other magazines have pulled off anywhere near as well), almost as strong a behind the scenes resource for fans as anything produced from the official LUCASFILM archives. And, even now, it’s one of the few magazines in the world to have ever had a cover and major feature dedicated to the 1978 STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL-think what you like about the programme now, but back then, when I was an eight years old (and STARLOG was quite hard to come by in the UK shops), I was absolutely enthralled by the new images of the Cantina aliens and Bea Arthur on the front cover of issue 19 (I didn’t know who Arthur was-I didn’t care-only that it was the Cantina aliens and that it was new STAR WARS and that was all that mattered, with all the gang of heroes I loved returning) and its behind the scenes feature whetted my appetite to see it even more (we never did get to see it in Blighty, though, and any clip I see on UK TV documentaries of the recent past have always been gladly welcomed, especially in their very good picture quality after years of seeing blizzardy type VHS quality presentations). For many the HS feature was, until the advent of the internet and several excellent resources linked to the show that would arrive in the mid 90’s/ early 2000’s, one of the few magazines to provide in depth info on its making and story. After issue 18, the coverage would continue with EMPIRE and JEDI and then, in 1987, there was the amazing, and now highly sought after, STARLOG STAR WARS TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE, followed in Los Angeles that year by the magazines specially organized anniversary tribute convention, honoring the Saga and their special guest George Lucas-an event many remember as one of the best STAR WARS conventions ever organized.

As STAR WARS has continued beyond the Tenth Anniversary, to the Twentieth, and now the Thirtieth, so has STARLOG been there to cover it as a loyal companion…

So, thank you STARLOG for continuing to be enthusiastic about, and celebrating, the rich, evolving tapestry of the STAR WARS legacy. And may you also continue to thrive as a magazine covering and enjoying the amazing worlds of science fiction and fantasy for a long time to come…

INDY 5!!!???

By Scott Weller

So, according to Harrison Ford in comments made a couple of weeks ago, it looks like our beloved George is “thinking” about the story and “macguffin” for the next Indiana Jones adventure.

Having grossed $700 million worldwide and expected to do incredible business on the just released in the US DVD, does the world, after the fairly critical reception the film got story-wise, want another Indy film after the audience tastes seemed to have change to the perhaps more dramatically demanding and darker film noir type movie that was THE DARK KNIGHT-which has, unfortunately, topped STAR WARS as the number 2 film of all time? Has the euphoria that greeted the return of our hero after such a long wait died down resulting in the movie going public now saying, big deal!!?

Don’t get me wrong, I loved THE DARK KNIGHT a great deal- a tremendous follow up to the equally good BATMAN BEGINS, but I did think it ran out of juice story wise before it’s two and a half hours were up,  and a lot of the Two Face plot material could have been saved for the inevitable third film? For me, Indy was still the top film of 2008-it had a strong balance of story and character for the most part-a story with a satisfactory beginning, a middle and end, it had the right pace and running time, had some terrific action sequences that only the Spielberg/Lucas combo could have dreamt up and delivered, and the film had that lovely tinge of nostalgia around it. Added to that, Harrison Ford, at 66, still proved he could seriously kick ass as a believable, and human, action hero. Just as Sean Connery is still James Bond, and Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. I think the audience will forgive any problems they may have had with the alien factor of CRYSTAL SKULL-as long as Harrison is fit enough and wants to do it, that George and Steven still enjoy making them, that the adventure is sound enough, the characters are good enough and the action has the Indy-ness we all love, then I think audiences will still be interested. Certainly, INDY 4 won the best action film at the UK's NATIONAL FILM AWARDS for 2008 months after it's release and critical reaction, so our faithful hero must still have some kind of clout in the hearts and minds of the viewers.

As for me, would I like to see another Indy?

Hell, yeah!!

I’m even up for a trilogy of older Indy adventures!!

But, please, let’s see it in three years time, and not twenty five!!

Opposite image: Prime Ford!! Harrison as Indiana Jones in THE TEMPLE OF DOOM-with thanks to Ian Trussler for the great pic.

WHEN SIR ALEC MET DAVE!!

By Scott Weller

Trawling through the YOU TUBE universe I found this surprising little gem of a clip featuring the late, great Sir Alec Guinness. Promoting his then recent book in the early eighties, Sir Alec, who, in his life, gave very few interviews, actually appeared on THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN!! To find that he had appeared on the show surprised and intrigued me-I’m so used to serious interviews with the late actor, and in this clip he seemed to have a lot of fun anecdote wise with a seemingly equally enthused Letterman-for a change the king of US chat seemed to have actually have read the book being promoted-most of the time you can see that he is just winging it to the sometimes annoyance of his guests!!

Though he doesn’t talk about STAR WARS, anything involving Sir Alec is always worth watching.

Head over to YOU TUBE at:www.youtube.com/watch   

SILAS CARSON AT THE F.A.C.T.S CONVENTION - GHENT BELGIUM. 11.10.2008

By Ian Trussler

The F.A.C.T.S. Convention in Belgium has been running for several years now and gets a wide selection of guests. This year their only Star Wars actor was Silas Carson, a man who has done very few conventions and is a rare signer.

I decided to make the long day trip with the sole intention of meeting Silas, someone whom I had wanted to add to my collection for a long time.

I was not disappointed; Silas was very friendly and more than happy to talk about his career and time on the Prequels. We had a few chats over the course of the day and here is the info I gathered.

To clarify, Silas Carson played the following characters:

Ki- Adi Mundi - Episodes I, II and III

Nute Gunray - Episodes I, II and III

Lott Dod - Episode I

Jedi Cruiser Pilot - Episode I

Silas is the only member of his family that is in the acting business, nobody before him or since has joined the profession. His exotic looks come from his mother who is Indian and father who is Anglo-Irish. Many casting directors mistake him for Moroccan or Middle Eastern and he has been offered many roles in that vain.

During Episode I he spent the vast majority of his time playing the part of Nute Gunray, which he described as being very difficult and at times a bit of a nightmare. He told me the animatronic head they used required an off screen operator to attempt to radio control the mouth to lip synch with the dialogue he spoke on set. The mechanics would frequently break down causing delays and frustration. Silas provided the voice for both Nute Gunray and Ki- Adi Mundi. He only played the costumed body of Lott Dod as the voice was done by Toby

Longworth. Silas doesn't like to lay any claim to the role of Lott Dod as he didn't do the voice and doesn't sign pictures of that character.

The accent for the voice of Nute Gunray was in fact based on that of Thailand and not Japan as many people mistakenly think. George Lucas had actors from Thailand record the lines of dialogue and then gave the tapes to Silas to mimic. For Ki- Adi Mundi he just used is own voice but made it a bit more stilted. All of the dialogue for Nute Gunray was re-recorded after filming as the on set sound was very poor through the mask.

Silas feels that the fact he provided the voices for his characters had a major part in him being retained for the second and third episodes, unlike Jerome Blake who did not return for Episode II and only did one very small pick up scene as Mas Amedda in Episode III.

On Episode II, the situation was reversed and he spent more time as Ki- Adi Mundi than Nute Gunray, mainly due to the extensive fight sequence.

With the exception of the Droid Control Ship sequence, Silas doesn't recall any other major scenes of his being deleted. As with all movies little bits here and there get trimmed from scenes but most of what he filmed was used for the whole saga. He was amazed when I told him the deleted Droid Control Ship sequence had been shown on the STARWARS.COM website, he had no idea.

On Episode III he split his time equally between Nute and Ki- Adi as both characters had fairly small amounts of screen time. Episode III is the film Silas enjoyed making the most as it was basically a three month paid vacation in Australia. The production kept extending his schedule yet didn't use him for any extra scenes. Another reason he enjoyed this film was that by this time they had created a brand new Nute Gunray mask which was more comfortable and reliable. For Episode III he recorded all his dialogue before filming and the tracks were used to programme the lip synch on the Gunray mask, making filming quicker and easier.

Although he hasn't been approached, Silas would love to be involved in either of the Star Wars TV shows. He has in fact done a lot of voice work for TV and recently has spent a lot of time voicing many different aliens on Doctor Who.

He enjoyed being part of the Star Wars universe very much, however he didn't particularly make any lasting friendships on the production. He has occasionally run into people at conventions but much of his filming experience was a fairly lonely one with large amounts of time in make up or hidden behind a mask.

He is currently working on a new British TV cop show called "Barclay" and last week auditioned for a part on Holby City, which, if he gets, will see him reunited with his old Episode I co-hort, Hugh Quarshie.

Silas is happy to do conventions and feels that when you do, you should always be positive and friendly to your fans. He disagrees very much with the actors that go to conventions and complain or moan about how they feel they were not treated right or not paid enough and the like.

I have to say that personally, Silas was one of the nicest actors I have ever met in the many years of convention going. He is up there with the likes of Jeremy Bulloch and Dermot Crowley-my other favourite signers.

Many thanks to Silas for being so pleasant to talk to and sharing his memories with me.

TITAN PUBLISHING: SHAME ON YOU!!

By Scott Weller

Meeting up with my good buddy/AFICIONADO correspondent Ian Trussler yesterday, he gave me a copy of the latest French LUCASFILM MAGAZINE (their version of the STAR WARS INSIDER)-the September/October issue- which he kindly purchased for me whilst in Belgium. Ian told me when I started reading the magazine that I’d get angry once I looked at all the inside material.

He was right.

Basically, from looking at this one issue, it’s time for STAR WARS INSIDER readers in the UK and the US to get together and complain. The LUCASFILM MAGAZINE may have had similar features and pictures to the last few issues of our own INSIDER but their magazine is so much better-a real quality item –unlike the garbage we’ve been getting for the last two years-it’s a situation that make me sick to my stomach. The layout of the French magazine is very well designed-there were more photographs-some very rare. In fact, the whole magazine treated the STAR WARS universe with respect, professionalism and enthusiasm. All of the features were in depth, with no pages wasted on unnecessary spreads, and designed to appeal to an intelligent readership of all ages-there was no dumbing down, and you’d be appalled with the INSIDER comparing the way the French publishers have done the feature pages so well for their versions of the recent Robert Watts, Phil Tippett and Nick Dudman interviews. The UK/US INSIDER had no pictures of Dudman for their interview, including using incorrect pictures, whereas the LUCASFILM MAGAZINE had a superb array of rare pics of Nick Dudman at work on Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor from JEDI and his work on THE PHANTOM MENACE-even some great pics of Dudman with the 1989 mouth moulds done for Jack Nicholson on BATMAN!! But the most criminal feature waste by the INSIDER was the Watts article-the UK/US article was okay, but the design was hideous- the French version design is superb, using excellent pictures and really going into detail including lots of Watt’s other work and some terrific shots of the Producer at work on the INDIANA JONES pictures. Even the merchandise sections of the French magazine are better designed and accessible-with more on offer to fans.

The LUCASFILM MAGAZINE has a unique publishing identity, and though they obviously have to use certain sections of the magazines as the UK and US INSIDER, they way they handle the designs and details is far different in places and much better-their presentation of THE CLONE WARS interviews and character features was superior-again using pictures that our INSIDER either didn’t have or couldn’t be bothered to use. The printing of the French magazine is also far superior- in comparison our slightly glossy paper makes all the feature pages and photos look so drab and uninteresting, whilst the LUCASFILM MAGAZINE’s printing is lovely-in this issue, a prime example being for THE FORCE UNLEASHED feature, of which the artwork was very discernable and didn’t look dark at all-it looked terrific and got me much more interested in it product-wise. In the UK, the feature, taking up the same amount of feature space as the French magazine, looked so drab and boring, especially on the print stock TITAN uses.

STAR WARS INSIDER UK/US is in serious trouble and needs help. It needs love. It needs someone at LUCASFILM to turn this mess around-THE INSIDER is now a lazy, low quality product that is not recognizing STAR WAR at it’s very best, especially as the saga and LUCASFILM enters this all important new phase of the two new weekly TV series.

I have always felt passionately about STAR WARS in all its aspects, and I have never felt more strongly and angrily about the poor treatment this magazine and its readership is receiving.

George Lucas has always talked about quality products in relation to STAR WARS. STAR WARS INSIDER is not a part of that mission statement. LUCASFILM PLEASE ACT NOW!! Someone else can do this magazine better!! Don’t rely on TITAN just because they have a track record of doing Sci-Fi Film and TV tie ins in the UK-think about the readers who are paying good money for this low quality magazine and a fan club that is appallingly run with a customer service team that doesn’t care at all about it’s members apart from the money they can rake in!! Looking at this French magazine and comparing it to the UK and US INSIDER it’s clear to me now that the TITAN PUBLISHING company really are in it for a quick buck, and to have the STAR WARS brand at any cost, producing a magazine with nowhere near the time and dedication they should be giving its readers.

We need A NEW HOPE.

LUCASFILM and its Publishing department must sort this disaster out!!

CHARTING THE DARK TIMES: SEARCHING FOR THE MAKING OF “EMPIRE” MOJO…

By Scott Weller

Now that THE MAKING OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK by J.W. Rinzler has been properly, undeniably, tantalizingly and officially confirmed for a street release date of 2010, in time for its thirtieth anniversary, fans of the darkest, deepest chapter of the original STAR WARS Saga can finally sing and dance in the streets and begin singing hallelujah!!  

I won't be doing this as it wouldn’t be a pretty sight to behold, but I'm equally excited as all of you are by the news and am hoping that Rinzler will deliver a visual and detailed copy feast that will have us all salivating, gossiping, blogging and fact-checking over it for years to come (until the subsequent making of JEDI book, of course, in 2013!!)

Just like being a part of the Impossible Missions Force, Rinzler has become his own in house LUCASFILM version of Jim Phelps and has to now try and top himself with this next volume, which I feel will be quite a challenging task-just as EMPIRE was a bigger film in scope and larger in the hearts of audience expectations, this book will, I feel, mirror those same lofty goals. Just what wonders can we expect to see in it, I hear you all asking. Well, here's what we at AFICIONADO are hoping for.

On the interviews front, Rinzler this time doesn't have the “ace in the hole” that he had with the first tome- the unpublished Charles Lippincott interviews from 1975-1978, though he does have access to all of ESB’s 1979-80 unit publicist Alan Arnold’s interview notes and transcripts from the excellent, and now long since out of print, ONCE UPON A GALAXY: THE MAKING OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK to play with-and a longer uncut version of the original book manuscript, and possibly transcripts?, does exist in the LUCASFILM ARCHIVES.

Additionally, Rinzler should also be able to make the most of all the footage and interview publicity that French camera man/ film maker Michel Parbot did on the film during its 1979 making (footage of some of this can be found at the STAR WARS ARCHIVES website), including interviews with all the main cast.

There’s also written material from the likes of STARLOG, CINEFANTASTIQUE, AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER and STARBURST from the time that should also prove most helpful and relevant research wise. We'd love to give Mister Rinzler a copy of our highly detailed MAKING OF EMPIRE issue but, as an official representative of LUCASFILM, he sadly wouldn’t be able to accept it…

Pictures wise, thousands of rare colour and black and white images have become available from the LUCASFILM Archives and Rinzler himself told me in 2007 that he already had a preliminary look through the files and found lots of terrific photo material to reveal. OFFICIAL PIX have also been recently dipping their toes, albeit too little too late, into the thousands of black and white rare images from the saga that they have the rights to release via their autograph signing batches-hopefully I won’t have retired or gone senile when the first batches of their MAKING OF EMPIRE portfolio set images have finally been released.

Other treasure to be included, we hope, are full info synopsis, and perhaps chunky excerpts, from Leigh Brackett’s work on the screenplay, perhaps a detailed interview with Lawrence Kasdan about his work on the film and the changes/developments he initiated in 1978/79.

Design wise let’s hope the layout uses the pictures and key art a bit bigger, more in the style of Rinzler’s MAKING OF THE INDY FILMS book, though by doing that could it result in the loss off all important copy? It’s a very delicate balancing act putting a book of such weight and fan importance together…

Lets hope on the rare concept art we see more of the work that McQuarrie, Johnston and other talented people like John Mollo did-especially when they started work in the Fall of 1977- the early character plans and designs for Boba Fett, Yoda, and Lando Calrissian, more on the amazing looks, used and unused, of Hoth, Dagobah and Bespin, and the original ideas for the Ice battle, when the action was being formulated in 1978, originally when there were tanks instead of Walkers, and Imperial Snow Troopers took on Rebel Soldiers on the snow plains.

One additional plus for the book is that, unlike the first film, from EMPIRE onwards there was more of a conscious effort on LUCASFILM’s front to keep props and information for the sequels, a lot of it for security concerns, so there should be a veritable goldmine to be ploughed through-which they are already doing for the upcoming BLU-RAY DVDs anyway.

Also, how about some more interviews with people who are still alive who have worked on the film and have rarely been interviewed-Rinzler may want to keep it in the 1977-1980 world of the film-making but extra interviews may help. And let’s finally get to the truth about some of the films behind the scenes myth’s, too (i.e. who really came up with “I know” and the real story behind Wampa’s attack on Luke-whether it was to disguise Mark Hamill’s 1977 car crash injuries or just to start the film off in a dramatic style).

And more please on the actual live action shooting at ELSTREE in general-the difficulties of the film when it went months over schedule and the frictions between cast and crew that resulted- ONCE UPON A GALAXY didn’t shy away from this (like the material on the Carbon Freezing Chamber filming) and neither should this book. Let’s also find out a bit more about the contributions of Gary Kurtz, and his and Lucas’s plans when they decided to work on the sequels once STAR WARS became a bona fide hit-when it started off as a twelve part series-lets see if this mythology can finally be confirmed and all sorted out for the benefit of fans like me still lighting a candle in the hope for MORE FILMS!! And let’s not forget coverage of all the STAR WARS related events going on between the two films, and that includes THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL-try as you might J.W. but you can’t escape it, any more than an asteroid can escape the pull of a black hole!!! THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL is so important to cover- it may not be Lucas’s greatest hour, but it is still STAR WARS, and is an intriguing what if alternate sequel in some ways to the first film-lets get some more info on how it all came together-for better or worse!!

At the end of the day, though, we all know the books gonna be terrific anyway. But, hey, speculation’s always fun!!

MUSINGS FOR A “HAPPY LIFE DAY!!”

By Scott Weller

George Lucas may hold his arms, his head, his entire body in shame over THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL, but I think Steve Sansweet’s pretty much official comment at JEDI –CON 2008 this year that it will never, ever, be released on DVD, especially during it’s anniversary year, because it’s so bad, was probably both a little harsh, and, on LUCASFILM’s part, a wasted opportunity for making additional revenues on the Original Trilogy-the main breadwinner for the corporation.

Yes, there are moments where the Special can be cringe- inducingly awful- the Wookiee scenes are too long, Jefferson Starship and Dihanne Carroll!!!, musical numbers, off tangent plotting, and other factors that are too many to mention, but who would have thought LUCASFILM, despite a few measly limited edition STARWARSSHOP.COM trading cards of the animated segment, would have missed it’s marketing potential-at least at the possibility of a DVD release of said animation-which could have been successfully linked to the release of THE CLONE WARS series-imagine the ads for it if it had happened-“the cartoon that inspired THE CLONE WARS!!- I can just imagine the mighty promotional blurb!! With a little bit of extra stuff like trailers, a documentary on the animation, some decent clips from the special thrown in (there are some very good sequences),perhaps clips like Harrison Ford attacking Conan O’Brian over it a few years back, then you’ve got a nice hour length DVD release for $14.95, and a lot of people would be made happy at finally getting hold of the best copy of the animation possible, and the majority of the bootleggers out there selling it may lose revenue that could go to funding future LUCASFILM projects instead (As well as the cartoon, even Ben Burtt, as far back as early 2000, thought THS could have been released officially-stating that it could easily have been truncated down with careful editing).

Away from a DVD release, I’d love to see THS adapted as a comic book or novel and taken seriously (and not too kiddie orientated like the similarly themed early STAR WARS kids adventure book A WOOKIEE HOLIDAY) – looking beyond the lunacy of my suggestion there’s some good stuff story and ideas wise that I feel could be mined for adaptation-the attempt to break the Imperial blockade to reach Kashyyk, the siege drama with Chewie’s family, the chance to make the Wookiee planet much more like that seen in REVENGE OF THE SITH. You could have Luke and Leia coming in to help at the end, Vader could be added to the mix in a way far more interesting that that cut scene clip shown in the programme, and you could even weave the Boba Fett animated short into the adventure’s timeline somewhere. You may snigger at my thoughts, but this could be a really nifty and cool addition to the STAR WARS EXPANDED UNIVERSE, improving on what had gone before and might even give it a bit more respectability in Lucas’s eyes..

Let’s also not forget that, though he disowns it, Lucas came up with the original story for the Special, which begs the question, being from its creator, can it be considered cannon within the events of the STAR WARS universe and between STAR WARS and EMPIRE. Well, despite it’s kooky nature at times, the general story could well be, and I think it’s time some serious thought was given to this-there are lots of times and selected moments where you could assume it was cannon, the look and feel of it is certainly STAR WARS in places thanks to re-used props, costumes, aliens and sound effects, and let’s not forget the concept work and art done for it by Joe Johnston and Ralph McQuarrie (the latter having thoroughly enjoyed the experience of it). And there is further continuity with Chewbacca that continues into EMPIRE (note the way Luke reaches out to Chewie in a gesture of friendship in the Rebel Hangar in the same way Han does in THS-we are assuming that this may have been improvised by Hamill on set (much to Kershner’s delight-he loved improvisation and any attempts to give our heroes more character) in reference to what he remembered for the special-or was it even in the script-either way, the fact that that moment is in EMPIRE makes THS cannon with the film series).

And then there’s Boba Fett, an official character introduced in THS before returning in the flesh for EMPIRE. This appearance, promoted in THS as being the next villain in STAR WARS II makes THS more legitimate-though any type of THS/STAR WARS cannon continuity relating to him is now damaged circa 1997 onwards- with Fett being in THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL, how come Solo didn’t remember him earlier in Docking Bay 94-as seen in THE STAR WARS TRILIGY SPECIAL EDITION?).

So, what you think of this debate (or debacle?) on STAR WARS cannon is up to you–me, I’m ready to accept it as part of the live action, and Expanded Universe, STAR WARS in more, but also different, ways than SPLINTER OF THE MIND’S EYE (though, with my love of that first EU book, that is one very healthy debate that can be saved for another time..)-but I hope it gets you thinking more about THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL. And if it’s not going to be released, the worst you can do to celebrate it’s Thirtieth is slip it into your DVD/VHS player and enjoy it for both its good times, and its very bad ones!!!

Celebrate the appearances of our heroes in sequences that are mostly okay for them, revel in Carrie’s singing, have a laugh at the sheer bananas of so much of it. Above all, celebrate a happy life day!!!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VXcb7VPw59s

“STAR”-DUST MEMORIES!!

By Scott Weller

It’s not very often these days that rare STAR WARS interviews with the original cast and crew appear online, so its terrific to let you guys know about, via DIGITALFREAKNYC at ORIGINAL TRILOGY.COM, some excellent clips that have surfaced on YOUTUBE recently. The first couple are from a Miami TV station (WTVJ) programme called MONTAGE that did interviews with the main three cast in 1977 (Fisher-young and lovely-bright and smart, Hamill-still very much the totally friendly, accessible and innocent pup like Luke was, and Harrison Ford, again like Han and very much the enthusiastic, but smart-arse smuggler type-but in the cool way that we liked him for), and in May 24^th 1980 for EMPIRE (this, though, feels like a less fun affair and a bit different in tone-with Ford and Hamill, out of the main cast interviews, a bit more serious and, despite their friendliness and the Hope/Crosby comedy routine, do I detect the first stirrings of rivalry between them? Billy Dee is equally subdued but still thrilled with EMPIRE as a finished film, and Carrie is starting to show the wry and funny wit, humour and sarcasm that she’d be famous for later. Anthony Daniels is yet to be the convention guest to be afraid of and Irvin Kershner appears briefly almost like a Zen-type Yoda figure!!!). The interviewer, who does both segments, may be far more serious than he should be, and at times I felt a little patronizing, especially to Carrie in 1977, but they are great nostalgic clips that’ll make you young again.

The third is an anniversary piece linked to the Saga’s Tenth Anniversary in 1987 (at least you guys in the US celebrated-we in the UK pretty much had nothing!!) and talks with all three main stars reflecting about what they felt about the films, as well as a terrific clip interview with Sir Alec Guinness-he may tell the same story about how he was involved in the film, but the final moments when he shows his enthusiasm for STAR WARS are priceless-if only he could have have remained as happy to have been associated with it in later life.

Enjoy!! Before they get taken off!!!

STAR WARS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpoSZRySLc8&feature=channel_page

EMPIRE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkVzRLcQJc8&feature=related

ANNIVERSARY:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s93iBgijzEs&NR=1

IN MEMORY OF NATASHA RICHARDSON...

By Scott Weller