news

 
tuesday 31st january 2006 5 days until our iain mccaig star interview, 12 days until our david guivant webmaster interview...
>>>setnin select reaches number 178 with a piece by louis turfrey.   this shows the world of leogard after the dispersal of its protective dustcloud.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>2006 promises to bring more to Lightsabre than ever before, and that promise is borne out by the announcement of our keystone project for '06.  for the first time since ferrerean warriors back in 1987, Lightsabre are embarking on an audio project.  as yet untitled, this will bring together state-of-the-art recording techniques, along with some old 1980's know how to bring a fresh, 30 minute star wars adventure from the setnin sector.  click on untitled audio drama for an on-going look at the development of this new show.
>>>we also make an alteration to our sidebar.  now, instead of shop, which you will find under assorted, you'll find our audio section.  given extra prominence due to this years new audio drama, you will also find news on past nhp projects and future shows.
>>>the oscar nominations are in and revenge of the sith has garnered just one, in the field of best make-up.  amazed that it hasn't been nominated for best special effects?  so are we, but at least ilm's work on war of the worlds has been acknowledged, along with the phantom menace's keira knightley for best actress, and john williams for both memoirs of a geisha and munich.
monday 30th january 2006  
>>>we add the 173rd story to the Lightsabre site, the 224th in total, with the new underworld age yet to be uploaded.  caught in the act is a humorous farce starring jan lomona, his daughter paige and four of her best friends.  once again jan has managed to get himself into a tight situation, but how will he get out of it this time?  to find out click on the timeline section on the sidebar, scroll down to new alliances era and read on, or click on the chronology section on the sidebar and read of the events preceding and following this story.
>>>coming soon have this snippet of news regarding harrison ford and the forthcoming indiana jones 4 project everyone is so eager to get news about.  "i can't tell you anything about indiana jones, but i think you've just seen a film in which i perform physically to an extent (that will be) sufficient for indiana jones," says ford, referring to the forthcoming firewall. "the audience is there, and everybody involved is anxious to make the film again."  great news for those people eager for more indiana jones.
>>>ign.com have posted an interview with harrison ford, promoting his new warner brothers picture firewall.  in the interview he mentions the further adventures of a certain archaeological explorer.  for a closer look, click here...

harrison ford in the forthcoming firewall

sunday 29th january 2006  
>>>Lightsabre continues its new interview section today - webmaster interviews.  this week we interview star wars fanworks webmaster and prominent star wars fan nathan p butler.  nathan has been a great friend to the site, inviting us to join the gang over at star wars fanworks, 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.

nathan p butler

>>>last week we brought you raiders of the lost ark, from the guys at foldsfive over at barbelith.  now, staring a slightly less sprite-ly harrison ford we present indiana jones and the temple of doom. marvel at the fight at club obi-wan, thrill at the mine car chase and close your eyes as indy cuts the rope bridge...

thanks to ian manders

saturday 28th january 2006  
>>>from the imagination of john jackson miller and the drawing board of brian ching comes a brand new dark horse series.  launching the revamped star wars line, freshened up to celebrate dark horses 20th anniversary, the first issue of knights of the old republic arrives.  set eight years before the lucasarts game the series opens with the story of zayne, a young padawan framed for a crime he didn't commit.  now he has to go underground and mix with the very criminals he's sworn to bring to justice, in order to clear his name.

cover by travis charest

>>>artists allied is a fresh site that specifically highlights the works of all the official star wars artists.  listing names familiar to Lightsabre fans such as matt busch, cynthia cummens, randy martinez and forthcoming guests otis frampton and jan duursema, this site brings the latest news from their own sites as well as their appearances and latest works.  take a trip to artists allied, it's well worth your time.

artists allied

friday 27th january 2006  
>>>the aol moviephone moviegoer awards are announced, and revenge of the sith is prominent in many of the categories.  for a chance to vote for 2005's greatest film, click here and join in the vote.
>>>it's mad, it's crazy - it's the animated remake of revenge of the sith.  don't ask, don't question it, just click here and go right to squirrels ink productions site and watch the craziest cartoon in the galaxy...

the cartoon remake of sith...

>>>empire magazine have listed their 201 most popular films of all time, and star wars film featured high on the list.  click here for a look at empires site...

the worlds best movie mag...

thursday 26th january 2006  
>>>our look at selected characters of importance from the history of the setnin sector continues with jomobol pocock, the gangster who was adversary to both duze jostenn and glann cipple...

jomobol pocock

 

Rival gangster to Duze Jostenn and later Glann Cipple and one of the major players in the various Gang Wars.  Running his operation out of Chancai, Pococks operation was a moderately large concern and he hired many, including the treacherous Pillot. A cordial character, he was the silent backer in the Derrelex Swoop racing team and was usually the first gangster in the sector to give jobs to fresh talent, taking prominence in the Setnin Sector once Cipple had left the after the debacle surrounding the Heed, alongside Dressel and Bessa Cipple.  Many years later during the Ki-Ki/Setnin War Pocock decided to go legit and made an excellent trade running through the local sectors. 

>>>the visual effects society hold their 4th annual awards ceremony on 4th february 2006, and revenge of the sith is nominated in a number of categories.  for a closer look at the many ilm nominations, click here.
>>>bullz-eye.com bring you an interesting list, their pick of the 15 greatest movie sequels, and guess which film tops the tree?  for a detailed look, click here and step through to bullz-eye.com.

c'mon, admit it, you'd have never guessed...

wednesday 25th january 2006  
>>>we bring you another stunning 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 boba fett and rystall from the return of the jedi special edition.

the stunning art of leah mangue

>>>it's well known that george lucas is a genuine petrol head, and just to prove it here are a number of photos showing him in his second home.
"nah, he'll never fit in the cockpit." "so this is right-hand drive, yeah?"
"george, say hi to your pit crew." 'life in the sith lane.'
tuesday 24th january 2006  
>>>setnin select reaches number 177 with a piece by mark newbold.   this shows a huge setnin bulk cruiser leaving the garyra station under the glare of sunlight.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
monday 23rd january 2006  
>>>the chronicles of narnia - the lion, the witch and the wardrobe continues to gobble up large chunks of box office as it reaches the dizzy heights of $271,852,138 for 6th position in this weeks chart and  a worldwide take of $593,340,138.  while far behind harry potter and the goblet of fires worldwide haul of $874.9 million, now the 9th most profitable film in cinema history and just $2 million behind forerunner chamber of secrets, narnia is now only $23.6 million behind in us domestic box office takings, a gap that will probably not be bridged but an amazing haul nonetheless - and far outstripping the under-performing king kong, which has a us take of £209.9 million and a worldwide haul of $519.1 million, less than half of jackson's previous film return of the king.
sunday 22nd january 2006  
>>>welcome to Lightsabre as we roll out our latest interview with republic commando author karen traviss.  karen is never anything less than great value and her 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.

karen traviss

saturday 21st january 2006  
>>>after we brought you the release of the gif versions of a new hope, empire strikes back and return of the jedi back in november last year we bring you more from the guys at foldsfive over at barbelith.  staring a sprite-ly harrison ford we present raiders of the lost ark. marvel at the deadly rolling rock, thrill at the desert chase and close your eyes as the ark is opened...
thanks to ian manders
friday 20th december 2006  
>>>it's time for setnin radio episode 10.  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.
>>>the years are passing by and harrison ford's not getting any younger, so when, exactly, are we going to see the long-promised fourth indiana jones movie? "we just keep working on it," says indy co-creator george lucas.  "you know, we just write and write and write and write and write. but we are getting closer, and hopefully this year we will have a start date and we will have a script that we all love and hopefully it will come out next year." jeff nathanson of catch me if you can fame is the latest addition to the numerous screenwriters who have been attached to the project, which includes m night shyamalan and frank darabont. ford recently stated that if the script and project wasn't ready to go by next year that he wouldn't be reprising his most famous role.  steven spielberg is locked in to direct.

the man without the hat...

>>>we make changes to our setnin radio main page, bringing it in line with the layout of our other key headline pages.  now, scroll down the setnin radio main page and find the episodes either by date, episode number, recording or broadcast date or by the listing of topics tackled.
>>>the maestro john williams won yet another golden globe this week, for his stunning work on memoirs of a geisha.  an atypical piece of work for williams, this was his 19th golden globes nomination and his 4th win. 

the maestro john williams...

>>>to commemorate john williams latest awards triumph we bring you john williams filmography, a complete listing of all of williams film and television works, as well as his numerous awards and nominations.  this can be found in the various articles section by going through assorted on the sidebar.
thursday 19th january 2006  
>>>our look at selected characters of importance from the history of the setnin sector continues with darwyn t'rella, the smuggler who, after a great career, taught jan lomona everything she knew about free trading...

darwyn t'rella

 

Female smuggler from Mos Banely on the world of Tatooine.  Leaving her homeworld at the age of twenty, Darwyn journeyed to the Setnin Sector to find adventure and employment in her ship the T’Rellers Run.  With brown hair and elfin features she was skilled runner who passed much of her experience onto other smugglers, primarily Jan Lomona and Petrol Merritch.  After agreeing with Lomona that she would retire when he could prove that he had surpassed her in skill she did indeed retire from the lanes, opening a tapcafe called the Struggling Jawa in her home township and later agreeing to run for the Alliance in her new ship, a YT-1500 called the Whyte Heart.

wednesday 18th january 2006  
>>>fandom comics is an up and coming fan comic site brought to you by keith kappel and ryan brooks, two of the original credited play testers for the wizards of the coast d20 star wars rpg core rule book, and artist steve criado.  bringing original stories based around the adventures of the cracken's crew, general airen crackens elite intelligence operatives, fandom comics is also designing and building a sizeable clone wars source book, a guide to the characters and events of the galaxy's most savage conflict.  so, for a visually stunning tour of the star wars galaxy, head on over to our links section, click on artists for a look at fandom comics.
>>>not only is leah mangue a friend of the site, webmistress of nerf-herders-anonymous and this weeks interview guest in our webmaster interviews section but she is also an amazing artist, as shown by this stunning pencil drawing of shaak ti.

the beautiful art of leah mangue

tuesday 17th january 2006  
>>>setnin select reaches number 176 with a second piece by tim wann.   this shows the enforcer himbimimam, a hulking alien who worked for glann cipple in many capacities, including that of mentor to weale gallettifor more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.

tim's himbimimam artwork

>>>we update the gallery section with a trio of new pictures by louis turfrey, depicting the bounty hunter tar ranth and the heads of the raven corporation lord and lady raven.  for a closer look at that and even more art, click here.
lord raven tar ranth lady raven
monday 16th january 2006  
>>>we add our 172nd story to Lightsabre, the 223rd in total.  body of evidence is a stark tale of a gangland hit viewed in different ways by goah galletti, ryath centaur, tarr ranth and jan lomona.  but who killed the man, and why?  to find out click on the timeline section on the sidebar, scroll down to the hellion conflict era and read on, or click on the chronology section on the sidebar and read of the events preceding and following this story.
>>>within a few short months the magic of harry potter and the goblet of fire and the chronicles of narnia - the lion, the witch and the wardrobe will be available on dvd, proving that the phenomenon of lord of the rings wasn't the be all and end all for fantasy movies.  showcasing ilm effects, these two amazing films have eaten up the box office, with potter taking $283,378,000 us domestic and $865,878,000 worldwide and narnia $257,771,000 domestic and $544,366,000 worldwide.  below are the various dvd covers for the forthcoming releases.
sunday 15th january 2006  
>>>Lightsabre launches a new interview section today - webmaster interviews.  it's not only the stars, authors, crew and artists who have a story to tell, star wars was made for all of us and it's had a deep effect on anyone reading this site, anyone who has run a website, produced a fan film, written fan fiction or put a costume together.  to launch our new section we interview nerf-herders-anonymous webmistress and prominent star wars fan leah mangue.  leah has been a friend of the site for a long while now and her 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.

leah mangue

saturday 14th january 2006  
>>>we add to our reviews section with a review of clone wars volume 2 by mark newbold.  following on from the acclaimed and award winning clone wars volume 1 genndy tartakovsky forged ahead, bridging the gap between attack of the clones and revenge of the sith to great effect.  to read that review, click here.

clone wars volume 2

>>>we update our Lightsabre - 1999 to now section with a look back even further into the past with screen shots for our first two sites, fantawar and the q continuum.  for a nostalgic look at the history of Lightsabre, click here.
friday 13th january 2006  
>>>it's time for setnin radio episode 9.  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.
>>>we update and refresh our gallery sections to include new pieces by louis turfrey and tim wann.  take a browse through the gallery to see some of the deepest, darkest corners of the setnin sector.
thursday 12th january 2006  
>>>our look at selected characters of importance from the history of the setnin sector continues with blake de'athe, the jedi warrior who fell prey to the dark side of the force...

blake de'athe

 

Jedi warrior who travelled the stars on various ships including the Dark Phoenix to escape the attentions of the local authorities and the Empire.  The son of Jedi Knight Notami De’Athe, Blake was abducted by his aunt Garani Allafson, a dark force user in league with fellow darksider Astorr Gorre.  For a brief time Blake was abducted by these dark warriors until he was freed by surviving Setnin Jedi Knight Ade-arr B’erain, who slayed the darksiders.  Taken into foster care on Foron he left as a young man and endeavoured to become a member of the Imperial Guard. De’Athe came into possession of a case of Lightsabre crystals - powerful enough to cause havoc in the right hands.  A friend of Jan Lomona and Roarkasha, De’Athe made his living with one hand on his blaster, and one eye on his back whilst living up to the legacy of his mother Seranomi and his father Notami De’Athe.   After much training Blake learned the Jedi skills, although he fell prey to the dark side twice, training a batch of initiates including Gordal Anunes and Nera Deniz.  Redeeming himself, Blake became a fully-fledged and highly respected Jedi Knight after time spent at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV and trained his friend and cousin Tarr Ranth as well as Ranths clone Tar Ranth.  Married to Nera De’Athe Blake had a large extended family that also wielded the powers of the force and used it for good, primarily against the invading forces of the Ki-Ki Sector.

>>>speaking of important characters we open a new section in our guides character spotlight takes a closer look at prominent characters from the setnin sector.  while initially detailing their entries in the characters guides, these more detailed documents will expand with extra information.
wednesday 11th january 2006  
>>>we add a new section to our stories link - synopsis.  now you can check out the abbreviated versions of a number of stories yet to hit the site, many of which were originally either written back in the 1980's or were nhp audio stories.  so for a blast of 80's action go to the sidebar, click on stories and choose either stories for our 171 full stories or synopsis for our 8 abbreviated stories.
>>>take your cursor for a wander across our new main picture and learn a bit more about the five characters that inhabit that table in zythlies dropout parlour on amagad.  click away for details of their appearances on the site, and an in-depth dossier on their character.
tuesday 10th january 2006  
>>>setnin select reaches number 175 with a piece by tim wann.   this shows weale galletti as she usually appears, not in the guise of a tatooine slave dancer but as a deadly shadow warrior, one of glann cipples assassins.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.

tim's weale artwork

>>>we update our guide section with a listing of the awards Lightsabre has won since her inception back in july 1999.  now listed are all 23 awards handed out to the site by generous fellow star wars sites.  click a here to take a look.
monday 9th january 2006  
>>>we update our chronology with another era from setnin sector history.  now bringing our on site story total to 171 we add the prelude to invasion era. with just two era's left to add to the site, this brings the history of setnin closer to its online completion.
>>>harry potter and the goblet of fire managed to do something this weekend that no other film in 2005 managed to do - outgross revenge of the sith.  with its weekend take of $2,858,384 it reached a worldwide total of $851,816,498 taking it beyond siths $848,466,829 and into the all-time number 11 slot.  the lion, the witch and the wardrobe continued to rack up great numbers, now totalling at $247,777,824 us domestic and $474,109,824 worldwide, with king kong keeping steady just behind on $192,678,805 us domestic and $464,678,805.  with narnia outdoing expectation and kong falling far behind, this has been an unusual few weeks to predict, apart from the powerhouse performance of the potter franchise.
sunday 8th january 2006  
>>>it's been a while but we finally present our interview with official lucasfilm artist randy martinez.  randy was a blast to deal with 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.

randy martinez

>>>we refresh and update our audio section with a more detailed look back at the nhp audio era of the 1980's.  between 1986 and 1987 mark newbold and jonathan hicks recorded 20 audio dramas that formed the basis of what was to become Lightsabre.  to find out more about that era, click here.
>>>google earth has become immensely popular on the internet this past year, and for good reason,  much of the planet is covered and the thrill of seeing your own home town from space, and then direct to your desktop is undeniable.  so i wonder what george lucas makes of this aerial view of skywalker ranch, ewok lake and surrounding buildings?

skywalker ranch, thanks to google earth and louis turfrey

saturday 7th january 2006  
>>>Lightsabre has been on the internet since july 1999, just 6 weeks after the release of the phantom menace, and ever since then we've brought you the latest happenings from the setnin sector and the star wars universe at large.  now you can take the chance to go back a few years and view the site as it used to appear with Lightsabre - 1999 to now, a nostalgic look at its evolution, from the small and basic site of 1999 to the huge site of today.  you can find the article by going to the sidebar, clicking on assorted and going through articles.

Lightsabre, circa 10th december 2002...

>>>george and me is a documentary by sky wilson of inside report, made about star wars fandom that will be of interest to anybody visiting this site and its trailer can be viewed here
friday 6th january 2006  
>>>it's time for setnin radio episode 8.  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.
thursday 5th january 2006  
>>>our look at selected characters of importance from the history of the setnin sector continues with tarr ranth, the man who was bounty hunter, jedi and hero of the ki-ki/setnin war all rolled into one...

tarr ranth

 

Mandalorian-armoured Bounty Hunter and son of Lord Tarr Ranth.  Sometimes using the alias of Tarrion Randelle, Ranth owned the starship Prodigal Son before losing her in a fire fight with the Bounty Hunter Queed over Gista and taking the Dark Star, which belonged to his father out of mothballs and refitting it enormously Instantly recognisable in his jet-black armour, Ranth pursued many quarries, including the smuggler Canen Luone - and rarely failed to bring them back.  Hunted himself for years by the Imperial Captain Nerain, Ranth preferred to keep his prey alive in case they ever escape so he could capture them again, Ranth aided Jan Lomona, Ryath Centaur and Goah Galletti on a number of occasions, and the starship thief Nias Derril on numerous occasions.  Born on Corellia, Ranth inherited his armour from his father Lord Ranth, who inherited it from Tarr’s Grandfather.  An adversary of the famed bounty hunter Boba Fett, Ranth could more than hold his own with the best.  Later in his life he studied in the force at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV under his cousin, the Jedi Knight Blake De'Athe.  Now a dedicated Jedi Knight, Ranth accepted a mission of danger to the world of Leogard to discern the number of Ki-Ki Sector vessels in wait.  Ambushed, he met his death in the destruction of the Dark Star III, but returned to aide his cousin Blake De’Athe as a Jedi spirit.

wednesday 4th january 2006  
>>>we alter our main image utilising another stunning piece of art by dan biesel and design work by louis turfrey.  showing the underworld grouping of terrie saffra, dressel, glann cipple, frans latka and mister spyte this is our 8th major design change since our inception back in 1999, and we sincerely hope you like it.
>>>star wars fanworks  have added a page chronicling the 1980's audio dramas recorded by newbold-hicks productions, the company that ultimately morphed into Lightsabre.  to learn more about the 20 dramas recorded by mark newbold and jonathan hicks between 1986 and 1987, click here and go back in time.  and remember, 2006 may very well bring about the return of the audio drama to this site...
tuesday 3rd january 2006  
>>>setnin select reaches number 174 with a piece by jonathan hicks.   this shows two of the ki-ki attack vessels that were deployed against the setnin sector during the ki-ki/setnin war, a conflict you'll soon be reading a lot about once the new underworld age chronology era is finally loaded back onto the site.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, just click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>our characters guide continues to grow, now reaching a total of 1083 with the addition of four new characters from the forthcoming caught in the act short story by mark newbold.

>>>fi-sci.net bring us some interesting, if unsubstantiated news regarding the new star wars television series. while admitting that the news from this anonymous source could well be bogus, nevertheless it makes for interesting speculation.  the opening crawl will appear at the beginning of each episode in titled chapters instead of numbered episodes.  boba fett is the rumoured title of the first episode of the series.  the phantom menace's aurra sing will make an appearance.  midichlorian counts will be used by the empire, as a means to further persecute the remaining jedi and any future potentials.  darth vader may make cameos, and although hayden christensen has said he would like to appear in the series, it is unlikely he will play the dark lord, due to budget constraints and always being hidden by the mask.  the emperor will appear, very likely played by ian mcdiarmid. take this with a large pinch of salt, as much of this news could easily be extrapolated from the dvd interviews conducted by the cast and rick mccallum back in october.

monday 2nd january 2006  
>>>we add our latest retrospective look back at the movie scripts of the original and prequel movies with the script for revenge of the jedi.  for a read of the final chronological star wars movie, click on the sidebar, go to assorted, click on various articles and movie scripts

revenge of the jedi

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