June/July News Archive
July 29 1999 We're all set to have our very own Dalek for the day at the Clacton Convention, and we may also have an original Cyberman head for all Dr Who fans to look at. It may be much rarer to see Daleks in the future as the BBC are recalling them all for a revamp as shooting will start soon on a new film.
July 28 1999 Received news today that the car registration plates D4ARTH and VAD3R are up for sale - but at a price...
The DVLA guys are selling the plates, expected to reach about £2,000 each, at Leeds Town Hall on September 3 - 4. Call 0800 60 30 90 for a £7 catalouge.
Also had an e-mail from a Brit in Oklahoma who has just set up www.scifitraders.com a cool new site to advertise or pick up items, or just find out what's going on.
July 27 1999 Finally got back from Orlando today. Sorry the news page hasn't been updated as a result, I'll do my best to catch up with what's been going on. There'll be more details on the new 3.5'' figures in the US on the toys page.
Star Wars fever is still manic out there, with people regularly queuing up from 8am at different stores in the hope of finding something different.
July 23 1999 New Model and Collectors' Mart is on the shelves today, complete with a full page advert on the Clacton Sci-fi Convention.
July 15 1999 Saw The Phantom Menace at the Odeon Leicester Square, along with hundreds of others who had taken the day off work. The reception it got was as good, if not better, than the movie was given in the US. The audience seemed to like Jar Jar and were more animated than normal.
July 14 1999 I'll be at the Odeon Leicester Square, London, tomorrow for the 11am screening and will be handing out flyers for the convention. If you're there be sure to say hi.
Had an interview on BBC Essex this morning. They wanted to know about the hype behind the film and also about the convention.
Royal Premiere night is here now, with only hours to go before everyone in the UK can finally see The Phantom Menace.
July 13 1999 What we already knew has been confirmed - Star Wars has been voted the greatest film of all time. Out of 60,000 voters a staggering 35 per cent gave Lucas' masterpiece the number one spot, easily beating second-placed Titanic. What was even more remarkable was that all three films from the trilogy were in the top 30. Don't recall seeing any Star Trek movies up there...
Dave Prowse, the body behind Darth Vader, has announced he wants to be in the new trilogy. "There is no-one else who can play that character. I was Darth Vader and I am still Darth Vader," he said. Dave has overcome chronic arthritis to be fit again but he'll be 64 when they start shooting Episode 2 and 67 when the do Episode 3. It's a nice idea but after Dave's well-documented run ins with Lucasfilm, don't hold your breathe.
July 12 1999 The Big Breakfast called to ask for anyone who has home-made costumes to contact them. They have been running an excellent series of Star Wars articles, including interviews with Liam Neeson and Rick McCullum, and want costumes for their Star Wars in Their Eyes feature. If you can help e-mail me and I'll put you in touch.
And what we always knew has been confirmed, Star Wars is the greatest film of all time. That's according to a Sky Movies poll of 60,000 fans - 35 per cent of which opted for Star Wars: A New Hope as their fave film of all time. Perhaps slightly more surprisingly, Empire and Jedi also featured in the top 30.
July 11 1999 Many of the papers are getting in on the action with The Daily Mail having a magazine dedicated to Episode One.
July 10 1999 Declan Mulholland, the actor who played Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars: A New Hope, has died.
Declan, known to many fans thanks to his appearances at conventions, never actually appeared in the final movie although he filmed opposite Han Solo when Jabba confronts him in Mos Eisley. His figure was later replaced by the real Jabba in the Special Edition cut.
July 7 1999 A firm called Inknet has been in touch offering a free Phantom Menace screensaver to anyone who wants it. It takes a while to download and while the pics are cool, there's a limited amount of them. Click here to check it out.
July 4 1999 Star Wars will get more of an airing thanks to the BBC's Omnibus show - A
Long Time Ago - on Thursday July 8 from 10pm-10.55pm.
And on MTV Europe there's another feature on July 13 as the build up to release day grows.
Trading standards officers have seized the first batch of pirate copies of The Phantom Menace in Britain.
Havering Council in east London said it had seized a number of copies of the movie in a joint raid with local police in north Romford.
There is growing concern that illegal copies of the film are flooding into the UK from the Far East, where they have been selling for around £1.
July 3 1999 The Power of Myth exhibtion arrives in London's Wembley Exhibition Hall. Pics of the event will be here shortly, but in the meantime here's my take on it, for what it's worth.
First thing is remember the title, it's about myth as well as Star Wars, so with that in mind there's posters of St George et al in the first room. In the first room you can also hear all the noise from the second room, which is a continuingly annoying theme throughout the display. From there it's onto a cinema area where the trailers and a short interview with Lucas is screened. After that the exhibtion picks up speed with a hall full of costumes and models from Star Wars, the highlight of which is a genuine Anakin pod racer in the middle.
Around the sides there is the Boba Fett costume, Tie Fighter helmets and X-wing/Death Star kit. Darth Vader and his stormtroopers appear with Vader speaking several lines from the film (none of which make much sense in context) before wandering off.
Then it's on to see a Naboo starfighter come out, looking a bit flimsy, and finally dozens of Nintendo sets to play Racer on. Overall it's not bad, but it's equally not great either. It's fairly obvious sponsors Kellog's are out to plug themselves to death, for which you can't blame them, and the rest of the show is a bit haphazard. It's Star Wars, but not as we know it...
July 2 1999 Twentieth Century Fox, distributors of The Phantom Menace, is not allowing cinemas to open at midnight at July 15 for the launch of the new movie.
It is thought Lucasfilm and Fox fear poor turnouts if they do so and therefore the first time UK fans can see it will be about 9am on the 15th. Ironically if you go to Mexico you'll be able to stay up till midnight and see it.
I got a ticket for 11am on the 15th for the Odeon at Leicester Square, where the staff there confirmed that would be their first showing.
July 1 1999 Tickets are finally on sale for The Phantom Menace in the UK. Cinemas opened their doors, phonelines, web sites for fans to snap up tickets at 00.01.
June 25 1999 Hasbro has recalled its Qui-Gon Jinn lightsabers after discovering a fault. Batteries inside may short and overheat if the inner spring dislodges and rubs against the battery.
Call Hasbro on 00 800 22 42 72 76 if you are concerned. Alternatively if you have one (with the product number 84-102) that you'd like to sell e-mail me here.
June 24 1999 Special effects master John Stears, inventor of C-3PO and R2-D2, has died aged 64. He not only dreamed up the droids but also the laser-powered lightsabres, landspeeders and the Death Star.
He also worked on The Mask of Zorro, Dr No, Goldfinger and The Guns of
Navarone. He lived in England for most of his life and retired to California in 1990. He
leaves a wife of 39 years and two daughters
June 21 1999 Many British cinemas will be opening at midnight July 15 and have 24-hour shows for the launc of The Phantom Menace, it was revealed today.
Apparantly our convention got a mention on Radio One this weekend, the word is growing...
June 18 1999 The Phantom Menace gets the Jonathon Ross seal of approval on last night's Film 99. An interview with Lucas and McGregor ("People see me and say May the Force Be With You and mean it - and I'm like **** off!") Clips from the movie and a Phil Jupitus appraisal, they both loved it, even if Phil thinks Yoda sounds like Fozzie from the muppets...
June 17 1999 A whole new batch of Episode One toys hit the shelves today with many stores opening at midnight to meet the demand.
June 15 1999 Lucas has revealed that as production ended on The Phantom Menace the special effects guys were told things had to be "good, not perfect". Which now means there could be a Special Edition Phantom Menace with the good bits made perfect. (can you hear the cash tills go ker-ching from here?)
June 13 1999 Dennis Muren, Industrial Light & Magic's senior visual effects supervisor, will soon be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Muren is the first visual effects artist ever to be honored in this manner.
Muren has created ground breaking effects in movies such as the Star Wars Trilogy, ET, Close Encounters, Indian Jones and more recently Twister, Terminator 2 and of course The Phantom Menace.
June 12 1999
"From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic", a one-hour special hosted by Samuel Jackson, will air on Fox TV in America on June 15. The show features exclusive interviews with George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, and many other figures involved with movie special effects, including legendary visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen.
The inner workings of the Episode I Podrace, among other selected movie scenes, are presented in detail. "From Star Wars to Star Wars" is written, directed and executive produced by Jon Kroll and produced by Alberta Chu in association with Film Garden Entertainment.
11 1999 Twentieth Century Fox has announced that The Phantom Menace will be released on July 15 in the UK - a day earlier than expected. Some chains are already making plans for advance ticket sales, check with your local theatre for precise details.
June 5 1999 Post arrived today and with it the last ever Star Wars Official UK Newsletter. Seems Lucasfilm have been having a shake-up and only want one official publication in the UK - the magazine. They do have a sale on so it's not all bad news, and to be honest the newsletter itself was little more than an 8-page advert for collectibles.
June 4 1999 The Phantom Menace goes totally digital. For the first time ever a widely released film will be available to fans via a digital projector. CineComm Digital Cinema and Texas Instruments have joined forces to screen TPM on June 18 in LA.
Producer Rick McCallum enthused: "This is a milestone in cinematic history."
June 3 1999 The Phantom Menace has opened in Australia and smashed all records on its opening day. It took 41 per cent more on its first day - $1.5million - than its nearest rival, Independence Day.