Feb 25 FOLLOWING a series of trailers on Sky TV, Star Wars fans can now make some definite dates for their diary. The British TV premier of The Phantom Menace will be screened on Sky Premier on April 7 at 8pm. But before that you can catch the original trilogy (though presumably everyone's got them on video anyway...). A New Hope is on March 17, Empire on March 24 and Jedi on March 31.
WITH the final parts of Star Trek: Voyager coming up, the official site has given a clue as to what will unfurl in the grand finale. They're staying tight-lipped over the two-hour finale itself, but there is news on the three shows leading up to that.
The site says that n Episode 268, "Natural Law," Seven of Nine and Chakotay are marooned in a hostile primitive environment, in "Destiny" episode 269 Neelix is reunited with his people as he tries to save an imperiled Talaxian settlement and in Voyager's penultimate episode, "The Doctor must become a master of disguise to save Captain Janeway" in episode 270, Renaissance Man.
It added: "Details about the two-hour series finale (episode numbers #271 and #272) are being closely guarded. No doubt there are spies and spoilers out there trying to ruin the surprises for Voyager's fans, but until you see it here at Startrek.com, it's just a rumor.
Feb 23 Dave Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader, has been admitted to hospital with a mystery illness. The former bodybuilder was on the way to a convention in Germany when he was taken ill, with a sharp pain in his right arm. The Times said he was undergoing tests in hospital to establish exactly what was wrong with him. TFN added: "Though the loss of use of the arm is a typical symptom of a stroke, Dave's wife, Norma and US assistant, Maxwell Patterson have stated that this is not the case."
Dave himself said he hoped
to be back out on the convention circuit by the weekend, so as not to disappoint his many
fans. Dave appeared at the Clacton show last year, and we'd like to wish him a speedy
recovery.
LOOKS like we can all forget about any more Star Wars films after Episode III. George Lucas gave a fascinating Q&A session with USA Today, in which he was asked about the prospect of filming Ep 7-9. He replied: "No way. I guarantee that. After the next one (Episode III), I'll move on. I've got some ideas for movies, but I have much more that I want to do than I have time."
He spoke widely about ILM, his special effects house, and how the effect Star Wars had back in 1977 was totally unexpected. Lucas said: "I really had no idea. At that time (Hollywood) studios had closed all their effects shops. To try to pull off a major-scale special-effects film at that point in time was considered ludicrous and naive. I hired a bunch of kids basically; the average age of the company was 23. We had 30 or 40 guys and we set out to make this science-fiction film. I never thought it would go any further." For the full article go here
SEVENTIES sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica could be making a comeback. X-Men director Bryan Singer is to executive produce an updated version of the show for Studios USA, which obtained the rights to the cult show from Universal.
It is thought Singer will direct the pilot providing it doesn't conflict with plans to head up X-Men 2. The original series, starring Lorne Greene, was created by Glen Larson and ran on ABC for two seasons starting in 1978. Singer's plans would appear to torpedo earlier efforts to revive Galactica by both Larson and original series star Richard Hatch, Sci-fi.com said.
Feb 19 IT seems Star Wars fans are some of the most creative types around. The official site has put up a list of the top 100 most visited fan sites. In at number one spot is Clone Wars, a reference to the future battles of Episode II. There's plenty of theories and ideas about what goes on, and is definitely worth a look, unless you want to remain spoiler-free.
Feb 10 SORRY for the delay in updates, I've been away in India for a week, but am back now, so am trawling through stuff to see what's been going on.
E-ONLINE has revealed the top quote from the last century of film entertainment was from Star Wars. In number one place was the line: "May the Force be with you". Although the site credits Obi-Wan Kenobi as uttering the line in Star Wars, he actually didn't, and General Dodonna lays claim to being the first to say it (there, don't you feel better for knowing that?)
Clark Gable came second with "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn" and third was Bugs Bunny's "What's up Doc?"
IN New York the annual American International Toy Fair has been launched. The official Star Wars site showed off some of Hasbro's collection, displayed this year in a Cantina bar backdrop. The show lasts from Feb 11-15, for photos of what's in store this year, go here.
THERE'S a relatively clear Select photo from the Episode II file just appeared. It looks like somewhere on Coruscant, check it out here.