Archive news: April/May 1999 June/July 1999 August/September 1999 October/November December 2000 January February March April May June July
Aug 30 STAR Wars fans are to get the chance to chat to LucasArts president Simon Jeffery on September 5. Subscribed members to the official site will get to hear about current and future company projects. The chat room will open around 6:30 pm (PST).
FOLLOWING reports that Kenny Baker would have a limited role in Star Wars: Episode II, the official site today announced he would be joining Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) as the only actors to appear in the entire original trilogy and both prequel films.
It said Baker will be joining the production in a few weeks, and in an indirect response to reports that Baker felt R2 would be largely computer-animated in the next film, George Lucas said: "The character of R2-D2 continues to play an important role and requires much more movement in Episode II. The robotics technology inside the Artoo models have advanced to the point where they can achieve most of the performance I need right along side the other actors.
"Still, there's an element of humanity to Artoo that comes from having Kenny Baker inside. We've always had Kenny scheduled for a number of shots during the final week of shooting at Elstree Studios."
THE original Star Wars Trilogy is to be released on video for the first time in three years on November 21. The official site said: "The millions of new fans who discovered Star Wars for the first time with the release of Episode I, can now continue the adventure and explore the most popular film saga of all time."
TWO new Star Wars books are out later this year. First up in October is The Shattered Peace, the tenth book in the young Obi-Wan series. It involves the neighboring worlds of Rutan and Senali which have lived in a lasting peace but are now on the brink of war. Heir to the Rutan throne Leed does not wish to return to his people. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan must prevent this rift from turning into bloodshed.
And out just before Christmas will be Due out in December is The Deadly Hunter. It tells the tale of a mysterious bounty hunter who suddenly appears. The only thing known about her is her target: a friend of Qui-Gon's. Both books are by Jude Watson and feature cover art by Cliff Nielsen.
Aug 27 LOOKS like Nicolas Cage is being lined up for the new Spiderman movie. According to scifi.com he could be the villainous Green Goblin.
"He'd be a great Green Goblin," Spider-Man co-executive producer producer Stan Lee said.
SYDNEY'S Morning Herald paper has been chatting to Star Wars producer Rick McCallum. In the piece he spoke of the impressive work carried out by the local crew and their approach. "The fact that everybody is so laid back, that it's not taken so seriously, that 'it's not the end of the world, it's only a movie', is a nice perspective to have."
He also spoke about the photos of the set that made it to the papers. He denied that there would be a claim against Fox Studios for a breach of security and said the problem was down to "some parasite" with a telephoto lens. Rick said: "Because we have such a long post-production period, it is very worrying to us." .
THE latest photo from the set of Episode II has had several people scratching their heads over what it could be. It looks like a bearded Obi-Wan lying on the floor and Jedi.net has come up with the idea that he's soaking wet in the shot, but quite why they don't say.
Aug 26 PRINCIPAL shooting for Star Wars: Episode II has finished ahead of schedule in Australia. It marks the end of an extensive nine-week shooting programme at Foz Studios in Sydney. Work now shifts to Italy for location shooting.
RICK McCallum has strongly denied suggestions that George Lucas has been asking for help from fans on the way Episode II should go. On the official site Rick retorted, unsurprisingly: "Absolutely not. How ridiculous. George has a very clear vision about the story of Star Wars that he won't allow to be swayed by the whims of the Internet, the media, critics or anyone. The Internet rumors this time around are possibly even more funny and off base than they were for the first film."
Aug 25 THE Star Wars site has made an appeal to try and save the life of fan Nick Harrison, a 38-year-old man in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Nick worked on mechanical effects on the original trilogy and then ran a business storing and renting film props in England.
The site said: "Nick is suffering from a recurrence of multiple myeloma (a cancer of the bone marrow) and urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. A past transplant was successful for a number of years, but failed, and now Nick needs an exact match." It urges fans to give a blood sample and find out more about being a donor.
Aug 23 A NEW feature on the Star Wars official site today seems to confirm that we'll not see a fully complete C-3PO in the new film. There was speculation a full 3PO would be in operation for Episode II after quotes that putting the mask on Anthony Daniels was one of the best parts of filming.
But the latest look behind the scenes with Ahmed Best talks about Daniels being a puppeteer for the none-complete droid...
HEAT magazine has a few Episode II shots this week. There's one of Jango Fett(Temuera Morrison) wearing a long coat and armour. Jango is rumoured to be Boba's dad.
Aug 22 A WHOLE host of new actors have been added to the cast list for Episode II. Among them are Jack Thompson, who will be a 'modest farmer', Graeme Blundell, Trisha Noble, Claudia Karvan, Christopher Truswell and youngsters Keira Wingate and Hayley Mooy. Not much detail on what they're going to do though.
SPECIAL effects don't get much better than Star Wars, but what software is used to get them looking that good? That's the poser answered by the Jedi Council today. It seems that much off-the-shelf software is ok for animatics, but when things get tricky they use ILM's own brand of magic.
Aug 21 CLACTON Air Show is the town's largest tourist attraction - and now there's an extra reason for sci-fi fans to go along. The free show is held over this coming Thursday and Friday, with the Red Arrows being the main attraction.
And anyone who goes to the council's stand by the main arena can pick up tickets to the Clacton Sci-fi Convention for less than anyone else. Normally tickets are £5 beforehand and £6 on the day, but for the air show only they'll be even less.
IT had to happen, Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman are apparantly in love. Not the apparantly bit there, cos this would be a little too much like real life imitating art. TFN quotes a NYPost article saying: "Word on the Australian set of Episode II is that Queen Amidalla and Anakin Skywalker are in love - really.
"Sources say Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen are "crazy about each other." Christensen's manager Robbie Kass, however, disputes the two 19-year-olds are smitten. "I was on the set and heard those rumors too, but I didn't see anything. I can't substantiate that at all," Kass said. "I don't think it's happening." Interesting idea, but more likely to be in the heads of a reporter than on the set of a film.
MORE winners from the official Star Wars site today. Best community site went to the brilliant Star Wars Remake site, and best cast and characters site went to 2-1B. The remake site shows an original fan film from 1977 and superb details of how it was created. 2-1B highlights the efforts of this much under-rated medical droid.
Aug 20 DAILY Radar goes back in time today with a reminder of the original Star Wars trailer. For anyone who's never seen it, it's incredibly corny, with big booming voices and scary music. Catch it here.
MAY The Force Be With You has been voted the eigth most memorable phrase from a movie, according to a poll in the Sunday Telegraph. In first spot was Arnie's "I'll be back". Others ahead of Star Wars include lines from Gone With the Wind, Forest Gump and, curiously, Jerry Maguire.
SAMUEL Jackson, in Australia at the moment shooting his scenes as Mace Windu, has been speaking openly to one of the local papers about Jar Jar and Jake Lloyd. SirStevesGuide reports him saying: "Every kid ain't (Sixth Sense star) Haley Joel Osment. George didn't have time to work closely with Lloyd but I did think it was unfair for the critics to deal with a child that way."
And on Jar Jar he said: "That's just more bull****. One person says it's racist, then everybody jumps on the bandwagon. You ask anytnine or ten-year-old who their favourite character was - it was Jar Jar Binks."
NATALIE Portman could be in another Lucas production - the fourth Indiana Jones film, according to Corona. At the bottom of their long piece on the film is a line saying Portman, Queen Amidala in the Star Wars prequels, has asked Lucas for the role of Indiana's daughter in the new movie.
DESPITE several sites reporting that the name of the new Star Wars movie will be Rise of the Empire, it's news to Lucasfilm. Scifi.com said a Lucasfilm spokeswoman had squashed the rumour, saying the film's working title was still Star Wars: Episode II.
Aug 19 SOME strange images from the official Star Wars site. As part of its regular look at scenes from Episode II there's an image from Lucas' first major film, American Grafitti. Presumably it's there as a joke but doubtless someone will speculate that Ron Howard is about to turn up in Episode II.
AND talking of speculation there's an interesting rumour that Mark Hamill may have a minor role in the new film too. His son was in the pod racing crowd in The Phantom Menace and word has it that the Luke Skywalker actor is on the Australian set now.
Pernilla August, Shmi Skywalker in The Phantom Menace, has returned to Sweden after Star Wars: Episode 2 in Australia, TFN reports. It added that she spent two weeks there and that she doesn't have a major role in the movie.
Aug 12 OUR latest guest for the Clacton Sci-fi Convention has been announced. He is Kenneth Colley, who played Admiral Piett in both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He will be chatting to fans and signing autographs on September 9 at our show. For details call 01255 253220 or go here for the convention's main page.
RAY Park's official site has updated, with photos from his two latest appearances. There is also news of a new UK television appearance and signing event, more interviews, personalised Toad items, and it's his 26th birthday on the 23rd!
NEW to the Episode II Select gallery is a photo of a female alien, looking similar to Oola the dancer or Bib Fortuna from Jedi. The red-tentacled beast can be seen here.
Aug 10 THE latest Star Wars homing beacon is out, telling news of what it's like filming in Australia, and with a partly new art team. It said: "Many involved in the production of Episode II have likened the experience to school. Specifically, they cite Episode I as the freshman year, and now Episode II is the sophomore year."
Production designer Gavin Bocquet added: "I think Rick McCallum is an incredibly sensible producer and understood that there are certain skills and experience lacking in Sydney, more on the Art Department side.So we brought down a few skills in the Art Department, like the Art Directors and the head of paint, head of plaster, head of carpentry and construction, just to cover those. Underlying that, you have a very new, youthful business down here. There’s a great enthusiasm amongst the crew that comes with that."
Aug 9 AHMED Best continues his look around the set of Episode II with a look at stunt co-ordinator Nick Gillard. There's also a new snapshot of Obi-Wan and Darth Maul doing battle.
Aug 8 ALL of Britain's papers were full of stories about the late Sir Alec Guinness today. In the Daily Mail there was a fascinating article about his career, which told of his dislike for Obi-Wan and all things Star Wars. Part of the piece, written by Sir Alec, said: "The bad penny first dropped in San Francisco when a sweet-faced boy of 12 told me proudly that he had seen Star Wars more than a hundred times. Looking into the boy's eyes I thought I detected little star-shells of madness begining to form and I guessed that one day they would explode.
"'I would love you to do something for me' I said. 'Anything, sir, anything!' 'Well, do you think you could promise never to see Star Wars again?' He burst into tears. His mother drew herself up to an immense height. 'What a dreadful thing to say to a child' she barked, and dragged the poor child away. Maybe she was right but I just hope the lad, now in his 30s, is not living in a fantasy world of second-hand, childish banalities.
Last night there was an interview with Sir Alec on the BBC recorded in 1977, just after he had filmed Star Wars. In it he revealed he nearly turned the script down as he 'didn't do science fiction' but that he couldn't put the script down and finally agreed, after fellow actor Michael Caine told him to ask for two per cent of the profits.
Elsewhere in the papers The Sun told how Sir Alec comforted his distraught wife Merula as he lay dying. It said: "Lady Guinness, 85, was at the 86-year-old actor's hospital bedside when he lost a battle against cancer."
The Times ran a piece from his former publisher Chrisopher Sinclair-Stevenson, in which he told of his problems in avoiding the issue of Star Wars. He said: "His appearance had earnd him a great deal of money, but less satisfaction. So, because the majority of unwanted artefacts connected with his role came from America or Germany, any parcels, however innocent in content, were turned away from the door. And any questions about Star Wars, when his books were published, had to be crushed. It was a small price to pay for his friendship."
In a separate piece it added that West End theatres in London dimmed their lights in memory of the great actor.
Aug 7 TRIBUTES from the world of entertainment have been pouring in for Sir Alec Guinness, who has died at the age of 86.
Sir Alec, best known for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy, died after being taken ill at his Sussex home last week.
Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2, told the BBC he only took the part as he knew Guinness was in the film too. Sir Alec famously declined a fee for his appearance, and opted for two per cent of the profits, a move which made him millions.
However he is said to have disliked the effect the Star Wars films had and once begged a boy who boasted he had seen them 200 times never to watch them again. Only last year he was quoted as saying he hated the lines he was given and couldn't wait to be killed off.
Guinness made his name playing cool and calm English parts, and won fame for his roles in Bridge Over the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago and A Passage to India. For more details on the man widely regarded as one of England's greatest actors, and on Obi-Wan, go here.
Aug 4 SOME new Episode II pics have arrived on the official site. The latest one shows the inside of a room, a little like a larger version of the Lars' homestead from A New Hope. Other recent shots have shown Natalie Portman with some blue screen images and Hayden Christensen running in full Jedi gear.
LOOKS like the Star Wars site has had an attack of humour. The Jedi Council question today asks simply: "Are you an especially dangerous Doug?" To which designer Doug Chiang replies: "Only in the morning before coffee :-)"
And they followed that up with their new poll. It asks the rather unlikely question of which of the following phrases do you find yourself saying most often - Okiday, May the Force be with you, Never Tell Me The Odds, I love you/I know or I have a bad feeling about this. And just as worrying is that Okiday is in second place, behind MTFBWY, with 32 per cent.
Aug 3 ANYONE coming to Clacton Carnival on Saturday can get a glimpse of the two baddest Sith in the galaxy - Darth Maul and Darth Vader. Both characters will be in the procession, which start at about 6.30pm from the West Road car park.
They will be handing out flyers and information about the convention. And you may also see Maul around the town centre during the daytime.
A NEW batch of posters submitted for our convention competition have been posted on this site. Go here to see some of the entries so far, but be patient, they may take a few seconds to load.
Aug 2 AFTER the Star Wars site offered fans the chance to be on the set of Episode II earlier this week, they've now explained themselves a little more. What fans can actually do is see video clips of Ahmed Best and co wandering around the set. Not quite the same, but still interesting.
Aug 1 CHRISTOPHER Lee, who has just arrived in Australia to shoot Episode II, now has own web site. www.christopherleefanclub.com has had nearly one million hits in less than two weeks. The site's got a message from Lee himself, and has details of his last few films, such as The Lord of the Rings and Sleepy Hollow, as well as other news on the legendary English actor. Lee is due to release a single later this year and you can hear some of his earlier impressive efforts on the site too.
A CREW member working on The X-Files' was killed after a scaffolding he was on became electrified with a 4,800 volt charge, Yahoo said.
Jim Engh was pronounced dead after being transported from the set while in full cardiac arrest. Five other people working on the scaffolding and one on the ground were injured during the accident. The scaffolding seemingly came in contact with a high-tension power line.
Chris Carter, `X-Files' executive producer, said: "`All of us are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague Jim Engh. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.