November 15th, 2017, 06:55 AM | #651 |
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'Star Wars' winning war against 'Star Trek'
journalgazette.net Nov. 13,2017 Michael Cavna For four decades, “Star Trek”-or-“Star Wars” has been one of pop culture's most consistent binary conversation starters among nerds, right up there with Marvel-or-DC. The thing is, shortly before 2015, you could reasonably argue that “Star Trek” had gained the upper hand as a cultural force, thanks to J.J. Abrams's hit reboot of the film franchise coming on top of the more recent television successes. But now, three years after Abrams took his rebooting powers to Disney/Lucasfilm and scored huge with “The Force Awakens,” “Star Wars” has surged ahead and gained a lead that might be insurmountable for generations. Game over, “Star Wars.” Thanks to Disney's new deal, you just won. Disney and Lucasfilm announced Thursday that they will embark on a fourth “Star Wars” trilogy, with “The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson at the helm. Not only does that move plot a course for unbroken “Star Wars” momentum on the big screen – as creator George Lucas' critically drubbed second trilogy disappears even further in the rearview mirror – it also sets up the perpetual relevance of Everything Else “Star Wars” for many years to come. The franchise, in effect, becomes a cultural steamroller altering what millions of people see and hear and visit. Consider the newly announced original “Star Wars” TV series that Disney will feature on its entertainment streaming service, which is set to go live in 2019. Consider, too, that come that same year, Anaheim's Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida will open “Star Wars”-themed areas, as well as an “immersive” “Star Wars”-themed hotel at Walt Disney World that will encourage cosplay. (Even Lucas' coming graphic-narrative museum in Southern California will be a fan destination that features “Star Wars” art.) As Disney moves forward on all these fronts, it bears noting that “Star Wars” also appears poised to move beyond the Skywalker family line that has anchored the films for four decades, from Darth Vader through Kylo Ren. The Rian Johnson announcement signals the fourth trilogy will move beyond Lucas' narrative DNA, perhaps shedding weighty backstory like a junked Millennium Falcon. So where does that leave “Star Trek”? CBS is streaming its new “Discovery” series, so there's a glimmer of hope there. Yet since Abrams left Paramount's “Star Trek” franchise, it's become a story of box-office decline. Last year's “Star Trek Beyond” grossed $343 million worldwide – a significant dip from the previous two films, both guided by Abrams. This is not a debate over superior philosophical storytelling or tech effects. This is a battle for mainstream cultural domination. And as with so many things Disney these days, the commercial Force favors “Star Wars” for decades. Live long and prosper, “Star Trek.” We need your narratives, even if they lack the cultural supremacy of multibillion-dollar trilogies. |
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November 26th, 2017, 03:21 AM | #652 |
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Star Wars-themed pop-up bar opens in select cities
abc7.com Nov. 25, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY2_gOXk5Ro The Dark Side is coming to Los Angeles. Dancing Darth Vaders and storm troopers are just a few of the characters that can be found at the DarkSide, a Star Wars-themed bar that is popping up in three cities for a limited time. The pop-up will take place on Hollywood Boulevard, as well as in New York and Washington D.C. The short-lived space will offer nightly events and parties such as themed dance and DJ nights, trivia, speed dating, and games. The bar will serve up six costume cocktails, all with playful names like Red Force, Blue Force, The Imperial, The Dark Side, the Galaxy and the Mindtrick. Party-goers are encouraged to dress in costume, but it's not required to enjoy a cocktail or two. Reservations for the bar are $33 per person and include two signature cocktails. Walk ins are $40 per person. The pop-up bars will be open until Jan. 14. |
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November 30th, 2017, 02:00 PM | #653 |
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The last jedi trailer spoof
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December 13th, 2017, 08:57 PM | #654 |
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Ever wondered what 1975's 'The Star Wars' would have looked like?
arstechnica.com Jonathan Gitlin 12/13/2017 While most Star Wars articles you'll see this week are focused on the soon-to-be-revealed adventures of Finn, Rey, Poe, and BB-8, today we've got a blast from the past to share with you—sort of. As any self-respecting nerd will tell you, the whole look-and-feel of the Star Wars universe owes a lot to Ralph McQuarrie. In 1975, George Lucas hired the conceptual artist to create the characters and worlds that then only existed on the pages of his scripts. So McQuarrie's paintbrush created the first images of C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader, stormtroopers, and others, not to mention all those TIE fighters, X-Wings, and Y-Wings. His paintings and concept art heavily informed Lucas' filmmaking, and the director reproduced many of McQuarrie's pieces in Star Wars. But quite a lot changed between the earlier scripts McQuarrie was working from and the film that audiences saw in 1977. Stormtroopers used lightsabers. Luke Skywalker was a girl. And the Millennium Falcon looked very, very different. Now, thanks to the 2017 graduating classes of the DAVE School, we have an idea of what a 1975-era movie—"The Star Wars"—would have looked like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AWgzNfzRCk In Mark Cotta Vaz and Shinji Hata's book, The Star Wars Archives, McQuarrie said "my job, as George defined it, was to capture the grand theme, scale, the complexity of structures. After that, they'd worry about the effects and whether it could be built or not." Advances in CGI—in part driven by Lucas and the stories he wanted to tell—can now free the artist's vision in a way that simply wasn't possible 40 years ago. McQuarrie went on to work with Lucas on the next two Star Wars films, and he had a hand in the spacecraft we saw in Battlestar Galactica, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and E.T. But his early work remains relevant; in theThe Star Wars Archives, we also learn that a sketch for R2-D2 depicted "the droid perched on a large ball bearing." Lucas ditched this idea for the tripod undercarriage we know and love, but that sure sounds like a description of the adorable BB-8 to me. |
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December 14th, 2017, 09:51 PM | #655 |
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Astronauts will watch 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' in space
space.com by Hanneke Weitering Dec 14, 2017 There may not be any movie theaters in space, but that won't stop the Expedition 54 crew from watching the new "Star Wars" movie aboard the International Space Station. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" hits movie theaters on Earth today (Dec. 15), and NASA has beamed up a digital copy of the film to the space station, so the astronauts on board won't miss out on any of the action — and they won't need to worry about any spoilers from those who have seen the movie on Earth. "I can confirm that the astronauts will get a chance to view the film in space, but [I] don't have a timeline for when at this time," NASA spokesman Dan Huot told Space.com in an email. There are currently three crewmembers aboard the space station: NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. Three more crewmembers are expected to arrive on Sunday (Dec. 17), so the crew may hold off on screening the film until all six members of Expedition 54 can watch the movie together. Another trio of space travelers departed the space station and returned to Earth early this morning, arriving just in time for the worldwide release of "The Last Jedi." While the astronauts in space don't have a movie theater with a giant screen, they do have a special projection screen and a high-definition projector that they can use to watch movies and the occasional football game. In 2015, astronauts al on their zero-g projection screen. |
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December 20th, 2017, 08:05 AM | #656 |
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The Force is Strong in Texas Holiday Lights
ap.org Dec 13, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TejSNVgBXA A San Antonio man has finished a tricked-out Christmas light display with a Star Wars theme. It features more than 15,000 lights galactic-style music. |
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December 20th, 2017, 02:08 PM | #657 | |
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Quote:
And wouldn't it be a little more appropriate if the display was themed around Luke, Leia and the others? Something a little more hopeful, not as ominous? It's still a cool display.
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February 15th, 2018, 12:00 PM | #658 |
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May the 4th Be With You GIF
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March 2nd, 2018, 11:46 AM | #659 |
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March 7th, 2018, 06:41 PM | #660 |
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Too soon ?
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