news

  
tuesday 28th february 2006 5 days until our otis frampton star interview, 12 days until our albin johnson webmasters interview...
>>>setnin select reaches number 182 with a piece by jonathan hicks.   this shows a vodon class battleship trawling through deep space.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>dennis weaver, star of gunsmoke, mccloud, gentle ben and most memorably steven spielberg's duel has died of complications due to cancer.  he was 81.  weaver, best known for playing chester goode in gunsmoke, went on to great acclaim as mccloud, playing the role for 7 seasons.  but between both iconic roles came the part of the terrified man hunted down the highways of america by a seemingly evil truck.

weaver in spielberg's classic 1971 television movie duel
monday 27th february 2006  
>>>star wars day ten is only a few short days away.  organised by the guys at exewing.co.uk, this fundraising event is due to take place on 12th march at the honiton sports centre in devon.  confirmed guests are kenny baker (artoo-detoo), jeremy bulloch (boba fett), jerome blake (mas amedda), caroline blakiston (mon mothma), garrick hagon (biggs darklighter), warwick davis (wicket), peter burroughs (stunt ewok), john mollo (oscar winning costume designer of the original trilogy), brian johnson (special visual effects on empire strikes back), christian simpson (bravo 6/anakin stand-in), and hans jenssen (incredible cross-sections artist).  it looks set to be a memorable day, and all in honour of the late michael sheard who was president of the group. 
>>>this month in empire magazine there lies a treat for any fans of the man himself harrison ford.  an in-depth and exclusive interview, where ford discusses star wars, indiana jones 4, firewall and many various subject matters.  so, get yourself down to your local newsagents and grab a copy.

what lies beneath the cover...
sunday 26th february 2006  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview star wars legacy creator, pink five composer and prominent star wars fan mike verta.  mike's answers can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at our forums or at smugglers rants on blogs.starwars.com.

mike verta
saturday 25th february 2006  
>>>march 25th and 26th once again brings the memorabilia fair to the nec in birmingham.  this year gifts us, as well as wwe superstar mick foley, a number of guests from the world of star wars.  michael kingma, general tarfful from revenge of the sith, boss nass himself brian blessed and ewok actor kiran shah as well as artoo detoo himself kenny baker.  so, if you're in the vicinity, get yourself down there for two fantastic days.
friday 24th february 2006  
>>>shipping 22nd june 2006 the australian market will have the chance to own the original star wars trilogy...in a metal tin.  exactly the same content as the september 2004 dvd release, this set fits neatly into a smart metal tin embossed with the fearsome visage of darth vader.  but there are only 6000 copies of this gem, so get in quick and order your copy right now.
>>>today we highlight one of the smartest sites out there for collectors, spotlighting the huge variety of american based star wars merchandise that's out there.  the star wars collector's bible is an a - z listing of anything and everything you could hope to find in the star wars universe, from gift cards to magazines, all separated by company names.  so get over there and take some time browsing the many pages of product housed at the star wars collector's bible.
thursday 23rd february 2006  
>>>industrial light and magic once again rule the blockbuster roost, with the top four films of 2005 featuring ilm effects.  take a look below at the top ten us domestic grossers of 2005 and bask in lucas' dominance...

pos.

title

studio

gross

1

 revenge of the sith 20th century fox $380,270,577
2 harry potter and the goblet of fire warner brothers $288,060,759
3 the lion, the witch and the wardrobe buena vista $287,153,504
4 war of the worlds paramount $234,280,354
5 king kong universal $216,326,425
6 wedding crashers new line $209,255,921
7 charlie and the chocolate factory warner brothers $206,459,076
8 batman begins warner brothers $205,343,774
9 madagascar dream works $193,595,521
10 mr and mrs smith 20th century fox $186,336,279
>>>our look at selected characters of importance from the history of the setnin sector continues with boah galletti, older brother of goah galletti and a man born to constantly attract trouble...

boah galletti

  

Double-crossing older brother of Goah Galletti and a noted smuggler.  Boah Galletti once double-crossed Jabba the Hutt and ended up with Boba Fett on his trail for a brief time, Fett mistaking Boah for his younger brother Goah.  Father to Kessik, he was constantly on the run and a point of embarrassment to both the genuine and clone Goah Galletti. Boah was also a target of Ryath Centaurs, appearing on the list he compiled relating to the death of his own younger brother Torath.  Despite his apathy towards his brother, Goah stood up for his sibling against Centaur in a fierce fight.
wednesday 22nd february 2006  
still under any doubt that steven spielberg and george lucas are keen to make indiana jones 4?  well, read this snippet from an interview spielberg gave israel's yedioth ahronoth newspaper and see for yourself.  "i haven’t given up making entertaining films, but over the last decade i have been making some films that express the respect i have for history.  i am about to make indiana jones 4, which is, as far as i am concerned, the sweet dessert i give those who had to chow down on the bitter herbs that i’ve used in munich."

steven spielberg - promising us the sweet dessert...
tuesday 21st february 2006  
>>>setnin select reaches number 181 with a piece by mark newbold.   this shows the city of chancai from across the mutumbarr lake and top lawyer trace dallagra .  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
monday 20th february 2006  
>>>firewall continues to under-perform at the american domestic box office, taking a weekend haul of $10,320,000 for a total of $28,640,000.  in this weeks 15th position sits the chronicles of narnia - the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, with a total american take of $287,021,000, just a fraction behind fellow ilm showcase harry potter and the goblet of fire, currently sitting on $287,265,347 and surely to be overtaken by narnia.  king kong, the biggest disappointment in box office takings over the winter now sits on $216,328,000, although the film looks certain to garner many awards for it's amazing effect of the king of the apes.
>>>john williams won another award at the annual bafta ceremony, from the odeon, leicester square last night.  williams took the bafta for best music for his amazing work on memoirs of a geisha.  williams must be a hot bet for the oscars next month.

williams nets yet another award
sunday 19th february 2006  
>>>we're thrilled to bring you our latest interview with empire strikes back actor christopher malcolm. his answers can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at our forums or at smugglers rants on blogs.starwars.com.

christopher malcolm
saturday 18th february 2006  
>>>the official site have posted an interview with the worlds greatest rock band the darkness, which can be read here.  currently promoting their second cd, one way ticket to hell...and back, the band chat about their love of star wars, their thoughts on revenge of the sith and an ewok village made out of coconuts and plastic bottles. 

the darkness - permission to rock has been granted...
>>>revenge of the sith has garnered 10 nominations in the saturn awards, a great showing from an academy that appreciates the true value of the final star wars film.  also, ilm's work on war of the worlds won three visual effects society awards.

category

nominees
best science fiction film producer rick mccallum
best actor hayden christensen
best actress natalie portman
best supporting actor ian mcdiarmid
best direction george lucas
best writing george lucas
best music john williams
best costume trisha biggar
best make-up dave elsey, lou elsey, nikki gooley
best special effects john knoll, roger guyett, rob coleman, brian gernand
best special effects war of the worlds, harry potter and the goblet of fire, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe
best science fiction video game battlefront 2
best science fiction video game knights of the old republic 2
friday 17th february 2006  
>>>we bring you another gorgeous image from leah mangue, friend of the site, webmistress of nerf-herders-anonymous and interview guest in our webmaster interviews section. this week she brings us a pencil drawing of sy snootles, wowing the crowds at jabba's palace.

the luscious art of leah mangue
thursday 16th february 2006  
>>>a look at the all-time adjusted box office chart makes for interesting reading.  take a glance at the table below to see how well your favourite star wars film, or related movie, would hold up in today's market.  of course, the number one movie is 1939's gone with the wind, with an adjusted gross of $1,293,085,600.
position

film

adjusted gross

unadjusted gross

year
2 star wars $1,139,965,400 $460,998,007 1977
4 e.t $907,867,700 $435,110,554 1982
7 jaws $819,704,400 $260,000,000 1975
12 empire strikes back $628,356,100 $290,475,067 1980
14 return of the jedi $601,980,200 $309,306,177 1983
16 raiders of the lost ark $564,107,900 $242,374,454 1981
17 jurassic park $551,717,400 $357,067,947 1993
19 the phantom menace $542,885,200 $431,088,301 1999
41 american graffiti $420,571,400 $115,000,000 1973
55 revenge of the sith $380,270,600 $380,270,600 2005
66 close encounters... $355,683,500 $132,088,635 1977
80 indiana jones and the temple of doom $342,610,000 $179,870,271 1984
81 attack of the clones $342,198,200 $310,676,740 2002
89 the lost world $319,423,700 $229,086,679 1997
90 indiana jones and the last crusade $316,265,600 $197,171,806 1989
100 saving private ryan $292,781,300 $216,540,909 1998
>>>our look at selected characters of importance from the history of the setnin sector continues with hijjin lomona, the elder surviving brother of jan lomona and a man who's death weighed heavily on jan's conscience...

hijjin lomona

  

A-desandian brother of Jan Lomona and Captain of the Imperial Star destroyer Barbarian.  Hijjin was a young recruit in the A-desandian Security Services before joining the Imperial Navy, much to the satisfaction of his parents. He swiftly moved up the ranks and was first stationed aboard the ISD Vanquo and then the Barbarian.  Hijjin hadn’t seen his youngest surviving brother for several years until he apprehended Lomona in the Berone Sunrise.  After a heated argument concerning their frail and withering mother the brothers engaged in a fistfight, which resulted in the accidental death of Hijjin. Hijjin left behind a wife, Carriee Larn-Lomona, a son Narn Jan Lomona and a guilt-ridden brother.
wednesday 15th february 2006  
>>>andreas katsulas, best known as g'kar from babylon 5, commander tomalok of star trek - the next generation and the one-armed man in the 1993 fugitive remake starring harrison ford has died age 59 of lung cancer.  a consummate professional and genre fan favourite, katsulas was a towering presence and will be sorely missed.

the late great andreas katsulas
>>>harrison ford appeared on late night with conan o'brien last week, and conan brought up the subject of the legendary star wars holiday special.  click here to watch ford's reaction to mention of this infamous television event...
>>>we all love humour, especially star wars humour.  click here for a top, top prank...you won't believe this stuff.
tuesday 14th february 2006  
>>>setnin select reaches number 180 with a piece by michael longlands.   this shows bounty hunter turned jedi tarr ranth in a  pensive mood.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>interesting news from wondercon, straight from the mouth of steven sansweet.  the new television series will be set around the original trilogy, so perhaps the rumours of being between revenge of the sith and a new hope are misplaced. 
monday 13th february 2006  
>>>firewall opened to a disappointing take of $13,830,000, taking 4th position in the weekend chart behind the pink panther, final destination 3 and curious george.  falling below industry predictions firewall opened on 2840 screens, and the low opening weekend bodes ill for it's long term takings.
>>>phil brown, the actor behind luke skywalkers surrogate father uncle owen has died peacefully after a long illness.  a showbusiness veteran, brown leaves behind a lengthy body of work but will always be known for his portrayal of the gruff owen lars, who along with the late shelagh fraser grounded a new hope with a gritty realism that made luke's loss all the more poignant.

the late phil brown
sunday 12th february 2006  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview prime of the jedi creator and prominent star wars fan david guivant.  david has been a great friend of the site for a long time and his answers can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at our forums or at smugglers rants on blogs.starwars.com.

david guivant
saturday 11th february 2006  
>>>hollywood's master storytellers honour the work of ilm this week with an event held at mann's chinese theatre, a key location in ilm and star wars history.  featuring 8 time oscar winner dennis muren, the man with the most oscars of any living artist, with 14 nominations and 2 special achievement awards, as well as pablo helman, randal dutra and daniel sudick the show will highlight their oscar nominated work on war of the worlds, followed by a questions and answers session.
friday 10th february 2006  
>>>more news comes from the firewall promotional events that harrison ford has been so busy promoting this week.  jeff long, writing in to theforce.net, wrote this about the screening at the amc 25 in new york city on 42nd street "then joel said "what's going on with indiana jones 4?", which the audience erupted with applause and hollering (big smile by harrison). he said the script is done, in steven (spielbergs) hands, and he's just waiting. no mention of his 2 years or forget it stance. they talked a little about raiders, the full story of the famous scene where he shoots the swordsman. i knew the story that he was sick and just wanted to be done with the day, but there's actually more to it. i never heard this before, so sorry if this is old news. yes, he was sick (as were others) from the local cuisine. he had just finished shooting some of the prior scenes the day before where he's saving marion, fighting 7 or so bad guys with his whip, etc. this had taken a lot of time and rehearsal. the original scene with the big swordsman was much of the same, fighting with the whip, and it comes to him that he has a gun on his holster, why can't he just shoot the guy. he mentions it to steven the morning of the shoot and he says  "i was thinking the same thing" and the rest is history. harrison added that he felt bad because the actor/stuntman had been training for months and wasn't told about the change until that morning, like everyone else. they took two takes - the first one the swordsman took 2 minutes to die, the second one is the one on film."  fantastic anecdote about the second greatest trilogy in film history.

ford discusses firewall at the amc 25 in new york city on 42nd street
>>>dark horse bring us the definitive guide to star wars comics.  written by ryder windham and illustrated with new art and classic images, this chronological compendium contains a glut of useful information. spanning over 25,000 years of star wars history, this covers everything from the beginnings of the jedi order to the yuuzhan vong invasion.  star wars - the comics companion trade paperback is published wednesday 15th february 2006.

the comics companion - art by tsuneo sanda
thursday 9th february 2006  
>>>our look at selected characters of importance from the history of the setnin sector continues with squiz, the dwarf smuggler from the shattered zone who teamed up with the coryarthanax baz for a series of adventures...

squiz

  

Sometime partner of smuggler Bad Luck Beon Odiss.  A dwarf, Squiz was gruff, argumentative and short tempered. Squiz later hooked up with Injevido, a man formerly from the Shattered Zone who came to Setnin during the New Underworld Age.   With Injevido he found NIK, Anzai Karoo’s droid deactivated for three years aboard the Cannon Angel on the world of Trefnare, but was betrayed by Injevido and left for dead.  Squiz teamed up with the sentient Coryarthanax experiment Baz and continued his travels.
>>>we bring you another superb image from leah mangue, friend of the site, webmistress of nerf-herders-anonymous and interview guest in our webmaster interviews section. this week she brings us a pencil drawing of luke skywalker, in training and preparing to face his destiny in the empire strikes back.

luke skywalker, as drawn by leah mangue...
wednesday 8th february 2006  
>>>the maestro john williams celebrates his 73rd birthday today.  many happy returns to the man who's music became soul of the saga.  to celebrate, here is the stunning music video a hero falls, from revenge of the sith.

 

>>>keira knightley, oscar nominated for pride and prejudice and best known to us from the phantom menace has landed on the cover of the latest vanity fair.  alongside fellow oscar nominee scarlett johansson and tom ford, keira shows us a bit more than usual...

the handmaidens tale...
tuesday 7th february 2006  
>>>setnin select reaches number 179 with a piece by jonathan hicks.   this shows the black clad assassin goah galletti preparing to go to work.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>spongebob squarepants vocal star tom kenny hosted the 33rd annual international animated film society's awards show at the alex theatre in glendale, california on 4th february, and cartoon network's clone wars 2 came out a winner.  unlike at the oscars, star wars was recognised for it's technical and storytelling brilliance, taking home the prize for television production.  film of the night was wallace and gromit: the curse of the were-rabbit, which took home a haul of 10 awards, including best feature.
monday 6th february 2006  
>>>it's time for setnin radio episode 11.  presented by mark newbold and louis turfrey and hosted by star wars fanworks, setnin radio brings you thoughts, musings, news and information from the world of star wars, Lightsabre and sci-fi in general.  setnin radio is available in two ways - click on your choice of media and listen to a live stream in windows media player or mp3, or alternatively right click, choose save target as and save to your hard drive.  and please note, this episode is unedited for language.
sunday 5th february 2006  
>>>we're thrilled to bring you our latest interview with prequel conceptual artist iain mccaig.  iain gave us some very insightful answers, and those answers can be found here or by going through the sidebar and hitting interviews.  then discuss it at our forums or at smugglers rants on blogs.starwars.com.

iain mccaig
saturday 4th february 2006  
>>>harrison ford is certainly a busy man this coming week.  along with the building rumours concerning indiana jones 4 he is actively promoting firewall, which hits theatres friday 10th february.  listed below are just three days of his forthcoming appearances.

monday 6th february
7:00 am today interview with matt lauer
4:30 pm late show with david letterman
9:30 pm florence gould gall, bafta screening q&a

tuesday 7th february
9:15 am live with regis and kelly interview
10:00 am reel talk interview with jeffrey lyons
10:45 am cnn american morning with soledad o'brien and miles o'brien.
11:45 am fox and friends
4:00 pm cnn headline news showbiz tonight.
5:30 pm late night with conan o'brien

wednesday 8th february
9:30 am the early show
12:15 pm cnbc the big idea with donny deutsch
2:00 pm martha interview with martha stewart
6:00 pm the daily show with jon stewart
>>>staying on the subject of firewall, here's a look at the films official poster.

the official firewall poster
>>>last week we brought you indiana jones and the temple of doom from the guys at foldsfive over at barbelith.  now we end the trilogy with indiana jones and the last crusade.  thrill at young indy's escape with the cross of coronado, flinch at the near escapes in venice and gulp with fear as indy chooses the holy grail...

thanks to ian manders
friday 3rd february 2006  
dark horse have an announcement to make.  over to dark horse vp of publishing randy stradley: "it's time for all of the rumors to end and for all of the wild, unsupported speculation to begin.  below is a peek at what's coming your direction this summer.  you'll be reading about it shortly in diamond previews, and by tomorrow on many of the fan and retailer websites.  but, for once, we wanted to be the first to announce one of our own projects (it seems fair, right?).  so, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, i give you star wars legacy."
>>>could this be the face of the heroine of indiana jones 4?  virginia madsen, harrison fords co-star in firewall and sister of tarrantino legend michael madsen is rumoured to be leading the running for the part of the heroine in indy 4.  "she was an absolute delight - professional, very talented and simply, very sweet. she also took what could have been a fairly one-dimensional damsel in distress role and added so many layers to it - there isn't many who could do that. i'd work with her again in a heartbeat. i'm actually hoping she'll come over for indiana jones. we've talked about it."

virginia madsen
>>>keith ryan kappel of fandom comics