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Anyone else get chills when they see the THX logo come on before a movie, even if it's not Star Wars? The THX logo sound reverberates right through my very bones. I think the following is the best THX promo ever, with a little help from Pixar. Turn the volume up and lock s-foils in attack position:
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Click on the picture above... I dare you. The official website for the Indiana Jones franchise has gotten a face-lift as it gears up for the next installment, Indy IV. Check it out along with some recent production video peeks courtesy of Steven Spielberg.
Woah! Check out the video from Comic Con as well. Indy cast and crew! Hoot hoot! I read this transcript but really wanted to actually see it. Well, there I go. A very special lady makes an appearance, and Shia is hilarious - "I don't know what I'm doing in this movie". If this gets removed, don't worry... I downloaded it. ;)
Indy stuff was part of the rage at Comic Con. Look for some pics of Indy set props in this photo collection from the Official Star Wars.com Blog (the entry linked has some more Indy news from the Star Wars publishing panel at SDCC, as well as cool SW stuff... as always). Here's some video from the sw.commers too:
Very nice!
Some more reports from Comic Con panels thanks to TOSWCB (looks like there's still no Kirk for Star Trek XI, but they got a young Spock!).
And last but not least - Kudos to starwars.com on the new Clone Wars addition to the website. I haven't combed through it yet, but I'll be getting to that soon. Now, can we have some live action show news peeps? I guess we'll have to wait until Indy IV goes to post before that. *sigh*
It's not quite a landspeeder, but I think with a little design tweak, we could have one sooner than later. Hover-craft is now available! Starting at $90,000. Low interest! (But, go ahead and see what your insurance company has to say about it) :P
For more info, read here on TMZ, and coolestgadgets.com, and check out the crazy video below. I wanna see it go 50mph!
Alternate headline: Dream vacation jkthunder style
I've always wanted to travel to Tunisia, and it's always been because of Star Wars. Maybe I should rephrase that slightly (but I don't really think I need to). I've always had an attraction to world travel, and the closest taste I've gotten is going to school in France for almost a school year, which was a pretty good taste.. of Europe at least. If anything, the attraction blossomed from the exotic places portrayed in Star Wars that I was exposed to as a little kid. The Indiana Jones movies didn't hurt either. I remember somewhere around late elementary or middle school, dreaming about making a break someday to travel to the Middle East, possible studying abroad when I got to college. That, specifically, was definitely spawned by the world of Tatooine from Star Wars and Indy.
I've seen a couple of other obscure journals of fans who have made the pilgrimage to Tunisia. I tucked it away in my mind that I would get there some day too, somehow. Recently, an article popped up on a site called Lost Weekend, called: Tatooine Isn't a Hyperspace Ride Away - Star Wars Filming Locations.
Ah, to dream again. Some day. I've been through the California Redwoods once or twice already. I'm not all too interested in the Italian villa that was Naberrie Palace. Everything on Naboo always seemed too Earthly to me, more than we've really ever seen in Star Wars before. As soon as I saw Episode I and/or II, I think I even said out loud "That looks like an Italian villa!". I can definitely do without visiting the Norway location for Hoth, as not only have I heard all the horror stories about filming there in treacherous conditions, but I've also been living in a region that gets just about as cold and intolerable in the winter months and I am really done with that. But the China location for Kashyyyk... now that's a place I've long wanted to visit, and well before any Star Wars inspiration. Maybe I'll have to stop there on my way back from Tunisia. ;)
I just hope the person sacked out on the floor in the picture is okay>>
Whilst viewing this cool little gem from Celebration Europe, that has been posted around at some of the Star Wars sites:
I then saw this one as well, in some of the similar entries youtube offers, also from Celebration Europe. I thought it was a pretty fun thing to do, and these blokes did a bloody good job of it:
Here's part two, if you're too stubborn to use the new youtube beta tools :p
... and if you look around youtube and some of the other video sites, you'll see Celebration Europe coverage aplenty. It just doesn't seem to be as heavily covered at the official site, by the bloggers at least ;)
I was just browsing through some of the Celebration Europe pictures the official starwars.com blog had posted in their Flickr pages, and look who I found waving at us...
Everyone wave to Neil! Hi Neil :)
Heh, heh! Just wait 'til he comes home and sees this :p
CE seems overall maybe slightly more... mellow than what I had seen for C4 in LA - ? All I have to work with is the coverage I get from the above mentioned blog, other fan blogs, etc. I guess we'll see more stuff after the event ties up. Maybe it is just that there are less of our fellow bloggers giving us heavy coverage this time round.
Here's a little clip from the opening ceremonies for CE from the starwars.com blog. Fun!
There's been a little hubbub and a lot of anticipation concerning the Superman Returns sequel, and as to exactly when Bryan Singer is going to get that frakker made. Last week, someone somewhere said that Singer was going to finish two other projects before Man of Steel, which would push the projected 2009 release even further. Those rumors were squelched more recently when someone somewhere else heard from some other guy or girl somewhere that the former rumors were false, and Singer is in fact in pre-production now while he works on other projects, and plans principal photography for Steel in 2008, and yes... Kevin Spacey will be back. Awesomeness.
More superhero stuff to look forward to:
Wolverine - This isn't X4. It's written. Now all they need to do is get a director and shoot it. A 2008 release? Hmmm.
The Dark Knight - Batman Begins sequel. Not much on that link, but they say to keep checking back. Supposedly the release is about a year out. Just give it to me now please.
Wonder Woman - They ditched Joss Whedon for this project, bought a noob spec script, and it's currently on ice. I can't see this actually being released in 2009... unless *I* make it :D. I like what Lynda Carter has had to say about all this. She roxx.
Bourne Ultimatum - Not your regular superhero, since Jason Bourne wasn't bourne from the pages of a comic book. But I love this franchise as cheesy-cliche as it might be. Great action... and the first movie, Bourne Identity, kept me coming back for more. The second, Bourne Supremacy, started with high intensity but kind of, well, you know... it was the second movie. Nevertheless, this will be the next thing I will *definitely* go to the theater to see... on August 3rd, 2007. That's a few weeks away!
... An interesting side note: When I saw Transformers, there was a trailer for this nameless JJ Abrams directed, Bad Robot production movie. It's um, to be released 1-18-08 I guess. Or is that the title?
The following is a carbon copy of a post over at FRAK. Sorry, but I get a little too excited when they feed me anything "Battlestar Galactica" that's new in the media...
THANK YOU Club Jade for bringing this to my attention. As I commented there, I haven't been watching the Sci Fi Channel much of late since BSG hasn't been on the air (well, I haven't been watching much TV at all anyway). What we've all been waiting for, a first glimpse at Razor to be aired this fall:
Apparently this was aired on SciFi last night during the season premiere of Eureka. It's also up to view on the official BSG site (look over on the lower right side of the page for featured video - there's some other cool newer stuff up there too).
And here's an interview with Ron Moore, posted at iF Magazine yesterday, discussing season 4 and Razor (spoilers likely if you haven't seen the series up to the end of season 3).
So say we all!
I finally caught Transformers...
AWESOMENESS!
I recommend this movie to everyone, and I mean even kids. One of the first things that struck me with Transformers was that there is really no realistic gore and death as far as humans are concerned. You'll probably see more shooting, car crashes, giant robots crashing into buildings, and explosions in this movie than anything before it, but no one really dies or gets hurt (a couple of small exceptions, but they are really not graphic in any sense - on the other hand, they are more noticeable perhaps since they are they only instances). The destruction of city buildings is probably a pretty touchy subject in this day and age, but this movie is really like comic book or anime done up live-action style, so the only reality has to do with the fact that it is live action.
I don't know, maybe all the shooting, explosions and destruction is just as bad for kids to see. The fact that no one is visibly hurt or killed by all the ruckus (and there is A LOT of ruckus throughout the movie) might be a bad example that could lead kids to think its okay to shoot and blow stuff up. All I know is that when I saw it, there was a 6 or 7 year old kid with his mother in the seat behind me that was shouting out the events of the entire movie as it happened, so I guess some people think it's fine for young kids... but these are the same people who think it's okay to let their kids be disruptive during a movie people payed good money to see. Seriously, this kid was shouting and the mother wasn't stopping him. She was even encouraging him by engaging in his 6-7 year old commentary of exactly what was happening on screen. Grrrr.
After a quick seating relocation, I enjoyed the rest of the movie in total bliss. I tried to soak in every second, because really every second had something to offer. I have to see it again, maybe a couple of times more. This will be a must have for HD enthusiasts when it hits DVD (and I hope to see it that way too). Finally, a summer blockbuster really worth the price of a ticket.
Shia LaBeouf is one of my new favorites by the way. He was just so relateable, but at the same time he acted in complete accordance to the genre/style of the movie, as if he jumped right off the pages of a comic book. Shia is on this month's Vanity Fair cover, and I might just have to pick that one up for the article. Please though - PLEASE! Let's not compare him or try and make him into "the next Tom Hanks". Just let the kid come into his own already. I can't wait to see him in Indy IV and anything else he might be working on in the future.
Transformers is a must see for anyone who enjoys astounding effects on the big screen (about half of the end credits, which were very long, were allotted for the extensive SFX crews, including that of ILM), and for anyone who loves the franchise, robots, technology, cars, planes (there are some incredible flying scenes), action, good comic book-style fun, and more. I saw it about a week after it opened (which is a sore subject for me, since it ended up having a last-minute opening 2 days earlier than scheduled, which made it impossible for me to go to the midnight premiere on the night I had previously planned), and the theater was probably only about 1/4 full, but the crowd still gave applause at the end of the movie. How often does that happen? Even on an opening night that's pretty rare.
I hadn't really kept up with Transformers since watching it when I was a kid. Even so, I love this movie as a grown-up and without too much memory of any story arcs for any of the bots. Maybe that's a good thing since I've seen a few die-hard fans dissect some of the changes from the series that came before. Bah! I haven't enjoyed being in a theater this much since... Star Wars actually! Steven Spielberg is executive producer, so go figure.
Definitely see it on the Big Screen while you can. It's the only way and it's really worth it. If your kids are gabby types though, please, hire a baby sitter and just get them the DVD when it comes out ;)
Featured article for Transformers from July 13th Entertainment Weekly: When Robots Attack
Since I am a big fan of the new Battlestar Galactica (see previous entry) and loved the movie and book I, Robot, I have some mixed feelings about the idea of developing robotics to perform human and super-human jobs, but aside from that... it's really frakking cool! I guess in respect to the new Transformers movie, and the droids we know and love from Star Wars, there is some hope for robots... as long as the former aren't Decepticons.
Robocup is an organization focusing on the development of AI, and what makes them even cooler, although still a little creepy, is that they use one of my favorite sports to perform field testing: soccer.
The heat is on this week in Atlanta, where Robocuppists come together to put their bots to the test. This is really cool stuff!
There's always a ton of Star Wars news to report on, but lately I've been back on a new series Battlestar Galactica kick again. If the Celebration IV and Star Wars 30th anniversary buzz is starting to wear off, come join in on another sci-fi high. I've been rewatching the entire series (what's on DVD) again, and so has our geeky rebel leader RJ. Come join us by the frakking fire, over at the very frakked site FRAK.
Yes, you read the title correctly... I actually meant "Trek" and not "Wars". I can respect the Trek.
I don't follow the series at all, but I have been feeling a mild interest (mostly on my left side, and it acts up during rainy weather) in the forthcoming Star Trek movie Star Trek XI, that's a whopping number eleven for the un-roman numeral savvy, as well as the most recent series Star Trek: Enterprise for all it's realism, updated FX, and brand new jumpsuits.
I've recently become aware of several sites, of which I am sure there are gallons more, that are all about Trek. I've been trying to catch the bits and pieces that get churned up in the rumor mill about the next movie, particularly as to what actors may be cast, and which series it may coincide with. At one point I thought I heard Matt Damon was being considered for a young Captain Kirk, but I think the dust settled on that rumor.
Of course there's the official site: startrek.com
I would think this would be the first stop for any breaking news on Trek XI. There is certainly all the info I need on every series and movie there, and they do have some great articles with the writers and director J.J. Abrams. But I wanted more... even though I knew I shouldn't, especially since I'm actually a Star Wars fan.
So I gandered around the web a bit, and found another great Trek source for both movie news and the fandom in trekweb.com.
TrekWeb reports that our very own ILM (I say that as a Star Wars geek of course) is considering doing FX for Trek XI. Talk about torn allegiances! There hasn't been any confirmations yet, but I would have to wonder - who the heck else would they have do it? Check back there for lots o' Trekadelic updates, like more talk from the Trek XI writers.
And speaking of FX, I also have an interest in the work that has been done in remastering the older Trek series and films. I think this has been a point of contention for some of the Trekkies, just as the Star Wars special editions have ups and downs for most fans. I really have no idea what I'm talking about but I thought this would somehow segue into an introduction to a sweet little domain called The Trek Movie Report, which as you can probably imagine keeps frequent updates for Trek XI. What may not be so obvious is that its a little hub of info about remastering the original series.
That's about all the Star Trek I can handle for one entry. There's a whole world out there of people who watch this show and the movies. They dress up and go to conventions and stuff. I know! I thought it was kind of crazy too! They may just have more websites out there than Star Wars does as well, so in my short and not-so-inspired look into the matter at hand, I basically found that the script for Trek XI is basically complete, they may be filming in Iceland, William Shatner may get a cameo, and I may actually have to watch Enterprise from the beginning of the season.
Trekkies... and I thought they smelled bad on the outside!
Sorry. That last line wasn't meant to offend. I'm a Star Wars fan (did I mention that already?). I couldn't help it :)
This one has been around the net already, but I had to post it. The cos-players united in the groove, but otherwise the citizens of Tokyo don't want to admit to noticing. Must be an average day for them...
Being the geek I am, I try and keep up on what's going on in the world of science fiction, and that includes the feed from the SciFi channel itself. Some cool top stories...
Actually, I'm torn as to how cool this story really is. My favorite show ever, the new Battlestar Galactica, has won many an award within the realm of sci-fi and even acclaim and recognition outside the sci-fi multiverse. With the Emmy nominations coming up, there was even a buzz about BSG being considered, which would be a huge leap for any sci-fi genre TV show. Sadly, BSG didn't make the cut, but a couple of pseudo sci-fi shows did (although I wouldn't consider these true sci-fi): Heroes, Lost Make Emmy Cut
Being a filmmaker myself, I found this insight on the production of Michael Bay's Transformers movie to be interesting.
More on Transformers... some video from the premiere featuring blurbs from cast and crew.
I have to say, I'm a little perturbed at the release of Transformers. For the last... forever, they were touting the release to be on July 4, but just this past weekend they supposedly pushed the release to the 3rd right under my nose, and what did they do? They had evening releases on the 2nd (Monday)! It kills me because I had planned my schedule for the longest time for a midnight viewing on the 3rd (well, technically it would have just turned to the 4th at 12am - I'm sure you get what I mean). And now, not only have I not seen it yet (and really want to), I probably won't be able to actually go until this weekend since I couldn't change any of my plans as of this weekend. Gah!
This isn't part of SciFi Wire, but because we all love Steven too: Spielberg on Spielberg airs on TCM on July 9 at 8pm and midnight. I don't think I will be able to get that (unless it's aired on a subsidiary network my cable carries), so if anyone wants to DVR it and P2P to me, that would rule :)
This little trailer created quite a buzz on youtube recently. It seems that the smoke has lifted mostly, and this animation is now allowed (or maybe they couldn't stop the signal :p). If only they had incorporated a disclaimer IN the video itself that it was not a product of any Lucas company, life would have been easier. Basically, it's so good, most people thought it was a leak of some secret Lucasfilm animated project. In case you haven't figured it out yet, it's not. This is a fan made animation from Tales of the New Republic (check out Thrawn too! sic). Here's the quote from the creator's youtube post:A fan produced teaser trailer in the style of an animated cartoony Star Wars series.
www.TalesOfTheNewRepublic.com. This is 100% NOT Official (Just incase people get confused again :-)) Inspired by the look of Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars and Gentle Giants Animated Statues. Production assistance provided by the Digital Animation and Visual Effects School www.DAVESchool.com
Yoga Action Squad is on the loose, so watch out cos they got shiny spandex!
(In one of my other lives I practice traditional Ashtanga yoga, and I always found western yoga culture to be hideous, hilarious, and really frustrating all at once. These videos just crack me right the heck up! I just had to share this. It has nothing to do with Star Wars, but if you challenge me to it, I will somehow relate it back in less than 6 degrees :p)
Episode 1: Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Vibrations
The Yoga Action Squad, an elite team of yogis and yoginis from Santa Monica, spring into action to stop the very negative Dr. Bad Vibes and his overpaid bitchy assistant, Lethargo (LOL @ "Hator-ade"):
Episode 2: Lacivio
When Mantra takes a new vinyassa flow class - it turns out to be a vinyassa BRO class, and Johnny Lotus and Crystal fly to her rescue.
Episode 3: Pila-tease
When Johnny Lotus goes deep undercover to see what Pila-tease is up to, he gets a smoothie with a secret ingredient way more sinister than protein or a femme-boost. Mantra and Crystal come to his rescue ... but are they too late?
