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The Lightsabre Interview
Jedi News
Welcome to Lightsabre. Our latest guests are the minds behind the UK’s fastest growing Star Wars site, and a bunch of guys we’re proud to call friends. With links to Hasbro and Gentle Giant among others they are forging their way in the Star Wars online world and making their mark. Please welcome to Lightsabre the staff of Jedi News. Q - Guys, welcome to Lightsabre.
A – Hi Mark, thank you for the kind introduction. Q – Where did your interest in Star
Wars begin? James - Well my interest began when my
Aunt took me to see Star Wars in December 1977 at the Odeon in Southend. I loved the first film and whilst I don’t
remember where I saw The Empire Strikes Back I was fortunate to go to the
premiere of Return of the Jedi with a friend at the Dominion in Adam - My story is quite similar; my Dad took me to
see Star Wars at our local cinema in a town called Spalding in Lincs., which
has long since shut down and according to him, I already knew a lot about the
film, happily pointing out characters and vehicles, much to the annoyance of
those people around me, I’m sure! I got
to see Star Wars and Empire as a double-bill in Skegness and my Dad again took
me to see Return of the Jedi whilst staying with him in Q – In 2007 you launched Jedi News.
And in a few short months it became the
James - Adam and I had been discussing it for nearly
18 months. We’d both been writing and reporting for another Adam - I think that the other thing to
say would be that although we had been talking about it for a long time, it
really took us putting a stake in the ground in terms of giving ourselves a
target to aim at for things to finally happen.
If we’d not done that, there’s a good chance that we would still be
talking about it! I’d also like to say
that we’ve been overwhelmed with the response to the site and it has more than
exceeded our expectations.
Q – You’ve forged close ties with
Hasbro and a number of other licensees. How did you develop those
relationships? James - This is something I’ve worked
really hard to do over the last few years. Living in Adam - James is so good at that side of
things that I tend to leave it to him. Q – With new product still being
released off the back of the 6 films, what unreleased material would you like
to see produced? James - I still want to see a proper Jabba the Hutt released with
throne, for me this is one of the biggest omissions from the modern era and
much needed. I’d also like Hasbro to revisit some of the pop-up displays
they’ve made such as Jabba’s Palace and the
Cantina. I think these could be made on thicker cardboard and also bigger
– at the right price point and including a figure or two these would sell very
well. Adam - It’s something that keeps
cropping up, but I would like to see more playsets. I thought that the diorama set that Pride
Displays released a few years ago had a lot of potential so I was disappointed
that the Q – The new TV shows start
soon. Do you worry of the potential for licensing overkill, a’la The Phantom Menace, or do you think Lucas Licensing
has learned from prior mistakes? James - Right now I think we’re seeing
too much product. Hasbro alone is releasing about 250 figures this year
of which quite a lot are re-packs. In my opinion this is too much, I
agree there needs to be core characters on the pegs at all time but 250 figures
is just too many. I think a more realistic amount is about half of
that. It’s getting very difficult for even hardcore collectors to keep up
and whilst the number of licensees grow so does the number of products.
We have (in no particular order) Sideshow - 12” line, Premium Figures, Statues
and Dioramas, Medicom 12”, Kubricks,
Hasbro - 3¾“ figures, Unleashed, Lightsabres,
Galactic Heroes and Potato Heads, Master Replicas – Scaled, Full-size, Helmets
and Power FX Lightsabres, Chubbies,
Gentle Giant – Busts, BustUps!, Statues and Maquettes, Attakus, Koto, Nikko, LEGO – Regular and UCS Sets, Books and Artwork – I’m
sure I’ve missed a few and that’s just off the top of my head. That’s a Adam - I think that James has summed
things up perfectly. I wouldn’t have a
problem in buying any of the products that he has mentioned if money were no
object. Sadly, it is and I know that
there are very few people out there who could keep on top of everything. For me, the crux of the matter is that when
collectors have little chance of getting the things that they want, they lose
interest and at that stage, you run the risk of seeing the brand die. Q – It was very clear at
Celebration Europe that there is a very healthy communal spirit in the UK Star
Wars community, better than ever before. What part can sites like Jedi
News, Lightsabre and Galactic Empire play in pushing
this even further? James - I think we all play a pivotal
role in the UK Star Wars community. The licensees and retailers come to
us now and ask us for help and advice, I’m amazed at some of the calls I get; a
few weeks ago I had a call from a journalist writing an article for the
Independent on Sunday, she wanted my opinion on the collectability
of Star Wars products in the UK (the article was published a week later).
Jedi News is a communal voice and we can reach out to all the Adam - In my opinion, each of the sites
help to contribute to the UK Star Wars community by keeping fans here
up-to-date on the various goings-on in the Star Wars universe and by
maintaining a level of interest in ‘the brand’.
While that continues, Star Wars will remain prominent in people’s minds,
although I also think that it has now become such an integral part of fan’s
lives that it may well become self-propagating to the point that Star Wars will
go on forever!
Q – Star Wars sales are going up
year on year. Why do you think this is? Quality of product, a
continued love of the saga or something else? James - As more and more people from our
generation have children we are introducing them to Star Wars and they are
growing up with it. We now have our children wanting to collect and buy
the merchandise and I think that’s a good reason as to why sales are
growing. It was so great to see so many families at Celebration Europe,
to date we’ve not seen that at any of the US Celebrations. Also, the
product is getting better; the figures are more lifelike and have more of a
playability value for a younger audience. The love of the Saga is growing
too and the events surrounding the prequel trilogy and the 30th
Anniversary have all helped to fuel this. Adam - I couldn’t agree more. My wife and I are expecting our first child
and I very much look forward to introducing he/she to Star Wars and buying them
toys from the movies. I also think that
in today’s culture, it is more acceptable for adults to collect toys, so that
there are now more people than ever buying, whether it be the kids for playing,
or the adults for collecting purposes (and maybe a little playing as well!) Q – Which of the myriad Star Wars
characters do you feel the most affinity for? James - I think I’d have to say the
Jedi. They are the peace keepers of the Galaxy. They are there to
prevent war and defend peaceful nations/species against evil tyrants and the
Empire. I like the whole back story, how their intricate lightsabres are made, how their trials are conducted etc. Adam - I’m inclined to say Obi-Wan
Kenobi. I like the fact that he’s
painted as a very noble character, and is someone who is reliable and can be
trusted with matters of the utmost importance.
Of course, it might also have something to do with being born on the
very same day as Ewan McGregor! Q – Tell us something of your other
interests outside of Star Wars? James - My other interests include
spending quality time with my wife and two boys, I also collect all things
relating to the rock group Queen & its members and Sarah and I also collect
some Disney artwork. That’s a lot of collecting! I support Arsenal and the whole family shares
a passion for F1 motor racing (go Lewis go!!!). Adam - I’m very passionate about
football and in particular, Liverpool FC.
I try to see them play at home at least once a season (not easy with Anfield being the opposite end of the country), and watch
as many games on TV as I can. My wife
and I enjoy going to the cinema, although that’s not likely to happen very
often once the baby’s born. I also enjoy
listening to music and attending gigs, although again, I’ll be doing less of
that after next month.
Q – What’s next for Jedi News? James - Where do we start?!
There’s lots coming, but most of that is still under wraps. We have lots of competitions coming up with
some really great prizes – we’ve lined up some special stuff already to
coincide with the release of the Force Unleashed. Lightsabre
already know about some of the things we have planned for next year as we’re
working together on them (although neither parties are ready to spill the beans
just yet) and we’re very excited to be working with you on them. We
intend to go to as many events next year and get out there and meet the fans;
this is really important! We’re happy to answer the fans’ questions where
we can and if not pass their questions on to the relevant people and get
answers for them. We’re already the Adam - James has pretty much covered
everything, but I’d just like to add that we’re looking to make some
enhancements to the site in the next couple of months. We wanted to ‘bed’ the site in for a while
before making any changes, but we’re approaching the 6 month mark and plan to
add in some extra features in the not-to-distant-future.
Q – Now it’s in the past, what are
your feelings on Celebration James - Celebration The show
itself was great, I think Barry did an amazing job and should be
applauded. Yes, I know he’s a friend of mine but if he’d done a bad job I
wouldn’t have told him that too!!! For me there was so many great things,
top of my list was meeting and making so many good friends. People have
asked me what I’d change about the event and only three things spring to mind
a) make more of the room in the main hall – use it all (although I’m sure that meant
more cost to the organisers) b) the Palitoy archive
was lost upstairs and should’ve had a place on the main floor and c) add an
extra day for the fan club on the Thursday. Roll on Celebration Adam - My wife and I attended
Celebration Q – A quick question about our
site, Lightsabre. Any comments? James - I think it’s great offering fans
from all over the world a glimpse into the world of so many of the people
involved in all aspects of Star Wars. Whilst Jedi News may interview
people from time to time we see no real point in trying to copy what you
already do so well and in your own unique style. Adam - What I like about Lightsabre, is that in my opinion, it caters for the Star
Wars connoisseur and the more sophisticated reader. The writing is of a very high standard and the
site as a whole provides a good mix of material to appeal to a wide variety of
fans. Q - It's been a great interview,
and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre.
Just one final question. You have a time machine set for the past,
allowing you to go back in time and bring back one and only one item of classic
original trilogy merchandise back with you in mint condition. What would
that item be? James - For me it would have to be the
original Early Bird Kit. This was such a bold idea and actually worked
well, giving the young (and old) fans a glimpse of what was coming even though
it was essentially an empty box. Who would have believed that Star Wars
didn’t see any merchandise for 6 months following its release! Adam - James beat me to the punch, so instead, I’m going to say the vintage Imperial Shuttle. I don’t ever remember seeing it over here and it’s such a cool vehicle. I was really glad that Hasbro released this again in the modern line.
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