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Archive news: April/May 1999 June/July 1999 August/September 1999 October/November December
Jan 31 Seems the Sun newspaper in England has gone a little Star Wars crazy. First it had a crossword clue which read "Which Star Trek planet did Queen Amidala rule over?" - when of course it should be Star Wars.
And today it has pictures of the aforementioned Amidala, or Natalie Portman, bathing off the paradise island of St Barts in the Caribbean. The pun-tastic headline was "Well worth a luke, skywalker".
Pictures are by Eliot/J Fraser
Jan 29 Anyone who bothered to tune in before the Tyson fight last night would have seen Suffolk's David Starie take to the ring to the tune of Star Wars.
Seems like Catherine Zeta Jones won't be in Ep II after all. She had been rumoured to be playing a Sith as she had cancelled her summer's movie dates. Looks like it due to her pregnancy though.
Jan 28 Brian Blessed (Boss Nass) is returning to the small screen to host a hi-tech game show. Sky reports that Blessed will be presenting Nexus, which returns for its second season on February 2 at 7.30pm. Players battle in a series of rounds which each contain a different technological challenege.
To mark the launch Blessed
will be hosting a live web chat on February 2 from 8pm-9pm.
Jan 28 An actor from Essex, England, is to audition for the role of Anakin Skywalker in Episode II. Philip Stevens, 20, who lives near Halstead, is waiting to hear when he will go to America for a shot at the role. A screen test, which had been supplied by the BBC, was seen by a Lucas associate and he then received a call saying he was under consideration for the role of Anakin.
Philip seems confident of his chances. He sent Lucasfilm a photo of himself aged nine and one of Jake Lloyd with the caption "I am Anakin Skywalker". He is currently appearing at The Quay Theatre, Suffolk in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.
Interestingly Philip has been told he will know if he was successful or not by mid-February. Which should mean an announcement soon after by Lucasfilm.
Subscribers to the official site have been sent a Homing Beacon, offering them the chance to pre-book The Phantom Menace on video. There is also updates of recent news and figure releases.
Jan 27 UK Teletext tells today how Ewan McGregor took method acting to a new extreme for his new film, Eye of the Beholder. He plays an agent in the movie, with Lesley Judd. Seems he took to stalking her when she went shopping and taking Polaroid snaps of her without her knowing.
Wonder
what he did to become a Jedi Knight?
Jan 26 LucasFilm has at last commented on the 'lack of Star Wars DVDs situation'. The official site has a quote from Rick McCallum which said there was no conspiracy at work. He added: "It's really about exploiting an exciting medium in the best possible way. George hopes to do something special with the DVD release but he isn’t available to work on it right now since we’re in pre-production on Episode II, with principal photography scheduled to begin this summer in Australia.
"Until George has some time to concentrate on it, we don't anticipate releasing any of the Star Wars movies on DVD in the foreseeable future." So now we know.
The BBC has confirmed that the original Star Wars trilogy will be re-released this autumn. Book company Dorling Kindersley announced it could make a £25 million loss in the last six months of 1999. One of the prime reasons is its over-optimism regarding the Star Wars books. It has sold three million out of the 13 million printed.
One plan though is to use the video re-release of The Phantom Menace and original trilogy in the autumn to flog more books. For the full article click here.
Jan 25 More news about Mr Park. The Ray Park official site is finally off the ground after several months of waiting. It looks pretty good, with promises of more pics to follow soon. There's a biog, video of Ray, details of his appearances and plenty of offers for 'exclusive' signed merchandise.
Jan 23 Ain't-it-cool news has put up a pic of Darth Maul actor Ray Park in his new role in The X-Men.
Jan 22 Barely news this, but worth a mention. Jedi.net and TheForce.net seem to have had a bit of a falling out. Jedi has put an anti-TheForce.net sign up. Both are good sites, all seems a bit petty...pity
Jan 21 The official site has a particularly cool looking shot of the Horox Ryyder costume. It's also changed the hover buttons that link to Ep 1, 4,5 and 6.
Residents in Los Angeles, America, will have the rare chance to see some of the costumes used in The Phantom Menace, according to the official site. The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design is holding an exhibition with film clips, sketches and other items from the movie.
Jan 20 Leonardo DiCaprio has added to the mounting speculation that he is to play Anakin in Episode II and III. While speaking about his new film The Beach he confirmed he was interested in playing the part and had held talks with Lucas about the possibility. As the next film is principally a romance there's some sense in talking about Leo - despite a strong feeling that he is not suitable from fans - but as for him becoming the menacing Vader? Chances are Lucas will still go for a total unknown and fox everyone.
The Sun newspaper in the UK today reported that Star wars fan Julie Cuyyers, 27, went on hunger strike after a council in Belgium banned her from naming her son Anakin- and officials gave in.
Catherine Zeta Jones is rumoured to be up for a part in Episode II as a Sith seductress. The ex-Darling Buds of May and current darling bud of Michael Douglas is said to have shelved plans for a forthcoming film with Kevin Costner so her diary is free this summer.
Jan 19 The official site has had a few updates. Tickets for The Art of Star Wars, which will be held from April 13 at the Barbican, London, are now on sale from the Barbican web site.
The exhibition, as
this site revealed a few months ago, will feature more than 200 original items from all
four Star Wars films.
Among the main attractions will be the Millennium Falcon, Amidala's gowns and C-3PO. And there'll be plenty of hands-on stuff too. However viewing is limited so visitors are advised to book early. Tickets are £10 adults, £6.50 children. For details call 020 7638 8891.
The official site is also asking how designers decided how much 'blue screen' to use and how much actual set. The Jedi Council explains that although much of the film's locations were computer generated there were also 64 sets built.
And last but not least the official site also has a new snapshot of Ian McDiarmid, Natalie Portman and Terence Stamp relaxing during a break at Leavesdon Studios.
Jan 18 The latest Empire magazine in the UK has an intriguing interview with George Lucas. Among other things he predicts that Episode III will be the least successful of the films as it is a tragedy. And he feels that the next film may not appeal to young children as it is a love story.
Lucas also admitted that The Phantom Menace got some stick from fans who were disappointed. He responds by saying: "The fans' expectations had gotten way high and they wanted a film that was going to change their lives and be the Second Coming. I can't do that. It's just a movie."
Jan 17 The Phantom Menace is now officially the second biggest-grossing film of all time, according to reports. In the past few days it has moved ahead of Jurassic Park, with takings of $919.7million. The figures also show that the film took more abroad than in America, where it grossed $430million.
In case anyone's into Star Trek as well, Ain't It Cool has some ideas for the new movie.
Jan 16 Had an e-mail from Chaz, who has a 7ft Naboo Fighter on his hands. He's keen to get in touch with some Star Wars fans who may like to buy it. He's in Michigan, USA. Anyone interested, e-mail me here and I'll pass on your details.
Jan 15 The Official Site has been busy, telling how George Lucas received an award from the American Jewish Committee's Sherrill Corwin Human Relations Award in California. The group promotes religious harmony and fights discrimination. Wonder what they thought about Jar Jar and the Neimoidians?
There's also an updated snapshot of some Jedis and Yoda posing behind a blue screen.
I've received an e-mail from a fan who's been making a documentary about the build-up to the release of The Phantom Menace last year.
Jeff Cioletti has made The Fandom Menace and it will preview at Imagine Con in America soon.
ImagineCon said of the effort: "During the two years prior to the release of Star Wars: Episode I, independent filmmaker Jeff Cioletti, through his Far Away Discourse Productions, chronicled the anticipation among fans throughout North America in a full-length documentary, Millennium's End: The Fandom Menace. The recently completed project features the insights of supercollectors, writers, artists and the creative forces behind the most popular fan-run web sites as they awaited the May 19, 1999 arrival of what quite possibly was the most anticipated film in history. Time and Date will be posted soon!"
We may try and get a copy for the next Clacton Sci-fi Convention, which is set to take place on September 9 2000.
Jan 14 Entertainment Tonight in America had a few comments about Leonardo DiCaprio and the role of Anakin. They said he'd been to Skywalker Ranch and met Lucas to discuss the role, which I'm sure I heard somewhere else months ago...
Anyway, for those of you who can't stand the thought of him having the part, go here to do something about it...
Jan 13 X-Files star Gillian Anderson has again been mentioned as a name for Episode II. ITV's Teletext pages in the UK said Anderson was rumoured to be in line for the role of a Jedi Knight in the next movie.
Jan 9 Although The Phantom Menace will be out on video soon enough, it could be years until you see a DVD copy - unless you fancy a trip to Japan for a pirate copy. There's a few schools of thought behind the decision: LucasFilm say they want to wait until the technology is better and George hasn't got time anyway cos he's busy writing the Episode II script.
The cynics claim it's merely a marketing ploy, allowing us fans to buy widescreen, normal, special edition versions of the film - and then buying the all-singing, all-dancing DVD version when it finally arrives in 2006 or so.
To try and throw some light into muddy waters (yeah, I know, mixed metaphor) Hollywood.com has obtained a Lucas quote, as close to them saying it as you're going to get.
It said: "George would love to do something special with the DVD release, but he won't do it until he has time to concentrate on it," said a spokeswoman for Lucasfilms Ltd.
"Right now he's writing the script for Episode II, then we go right into principal photography this summer in Australia. And after that, he'll be working on Episode III, so it could be some time before he's able to devote the time needed to work on the DVD."
Empire Magazine is looking for its best film/actor etc of 1999. And TPM is among the nominees. If you want to vote for Lucas et al, go here.
Jan 8 One of the actors hotly tipped to be the next Anakin has rejected claims that it's a done deal. Jonathan Jackson, star of America's General Hospital show, is thought to be among the top contenders for role in Episode II. However he said: "obviously it's not a done deal since I haven't even met with them. I don't presume anything, and I don't think any assumptions should be made about any of it." So that's all clear then...
Jan 6 The Phanton Menace will be released world-wide on video between April 3-8. The long-awaited news was a surprise in some ways as it will be the first time a video has been released virtually simultaneously around the globe. However if you're in France it's tough luck as the release date is in the autumn. And as expected, there's no news on a DVD release.
The North American version will include a collector's book, a behind the scenes documentary and a an authentic 35mm film cell.
Jan 5 British actor Jonathan Brandis is being tipped as a possible contender for the role of the next Anakin. The actor, who featured in TV's Seaquest DSV and Ride With The Devil, told a net group he had been for an audition. Casting proper is thought to start at the end of the month.
Samuel Jackson (Mace Windu) has been voted the hardest working man in show business, according to USA Today. Jackson was in 36 films in the 90s, including The Phantom Menace and Pulp Fiction.
The UK has its eighth record-breaking year at the box office, with 17 films earning more than $100million (£62.5million) in ticket sales.
The official site is now back up and running and that pretty dull cartoon has gone.
4 The Clacton Sci-fi Convention has been mentioned in high places - the official magazine!
In this month's letters page is an article by X-Wing Pilot John Chapman, who we recently revealed has launched his own web site. John was also a guest at our convention in September.
John wrote: "Following your article on me in Star Wars Magazine issue
23, during September 1999 I was a guest at the Clacton-on-sea Star Wars Convention,
sponsored by the local council. It was a great success. Just under 1,000 people attended
and everybody was in full Star Wars spirit, helped by the beautiful weather.
Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) was the main attraction and rightly so, as he is a great character both on screen and off. I met many new fans and a few I had previously met. A fan from New Jersey e-mailed the promoter to say he was sorry he missed the show and was John Chapman coming to the USA? I feel flattered with that sort of interest in such a short time of being on the Star Wars circuit. I have met some great fun-loving Star Wars fans and I thoroughly enjoy being in their company."
Have to say John was equally helpful and friendly throughout the day and it was great to have him there.
Total Film has revealed the results of its Millennium Poll, and Star Wars had mixed results. It was voted the film most people could first remember seeing, but came a curious third in a list of all time sci-fi films - behind Blade Runner and winner Aliens. The Empire Strikes Back was fourth.
Harrison Ford had more joy as Han and Leia were the fifth best on-screen couple, they were number two in the all-time best kiss stakes and Ford was voters number two action hero. Vader was the second best villian ever, behind Die Hard's bad guy.
Jan 3 As it's a bit quiet on the SW front, I've created some extra pages. There's now a new characters/actors section, providing details from the Star Wars universe.
The official SW magazine for Jan/Feb 2000 has been released in the UK. Inside is an interview with Natalie Portman and Pernilla August, news about casting for Ep 2, an unusual short film - no pun intended with Warwick Davis and a Star Wars survey.
Jan 2 Had a message from a Lee Richard Massie who has been helping to design a web page for John Chapman, who was an x-wing pilot in Star Wars. John appeared at the Clacton Sci-fi Convention last September and now has his own web site up and running for fans to look at.
It's got some signed merchandise to buy and information on John himself. Click here for the new site.