news

 

 

saturday 31st may 2008  
>>>indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull gave way on the top spot yesterday to four women of a certain age as sex and the city opened to a terrific $26,100,000 friday launch.  indy followed closely, raking in $12,250,000 for a north american total of $183,131,000 in just 9 days.  the third sequel now boasts a worldwide total of $330,103,020 in its openeing 9 days, a figure that's sure to at least double before the dvd hits shelves worldwide in november...

indy does his best hank marvin impression (ok, that bad pun is for old uk readers only...)

>>>it seems that, one year on from celebration europe, celebration japan will have just as stellar a guest list.  joining the already announced carrie fisher, peter mayhew and dave prowse at the july 19-21 convention in the makuhari-messe convention centre near tokyo comes anthony daniels and mark hamill.  with matthew wood, temeura morrison, daniel logan, jeremy bulloch, kenny baker, jake lloyd, ray park, tim rose, orli shoshan and amy allen this looks set to be an amazing weekend...

luke skywalker - appearing in japan this july as mark hamill...

friday 30th may 2008  
>>>harvey korman, the comedian who brought the character gormaanda to life in 1978's star wars holiday special, has passed away.  famous for his performances in blazing saddles, the carol burnett show and latterly as a childrens tv voice over artist, korman was best known to star wars fans for his performance in the uniquely remembered '78 special.

star wars holiday special...

>>>legendary star trek composer alexander courage has passed on. with a career dating back to the 1950's, courage had the rare accolade of creating a theme tune that was not only instantly recognisable from the first bar, but one that would also be lovingly adapted right through the various incarnations of the show.  working alongside such composers as john williams and the late jerry goldsmith, courage joined the composing greats and he will be sorely missed...

the late alexander courage...

>>>futurama is back - well, it should never have gone away - so for all you star wars maniacs who want a good laugh but can only stand to watch jabba flicking the nuna off the balcony so many times, we present the trailer for the beast with a billion backs, on dvd june 24th.  buy it, or bite my shiny metal...oh, you know the rest...

 

thursday 29th may 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with nogard, the world where yullm was rescued by shadow warrior malleta...

nogard

 

Hot and sunlight sister world of Afagard and Leogard in the Garda System.  Negarde Town was the planetary capital where most illegal business was conducted – although not much was, given the almost constant presence of the Empire during the Galactic Civil War.  Glann Cipple's information agent Yullm once crashed there along with the crazed assassin droid BB-6174, before being saved by the Shadow Warrior Malletta.  Years later, after the Empire had been removed Nogard became a prosperous planet once again.

>>>troy denning is a man in demand.  following on from the release of his hotly anticipated final legacy of the force novel invincible, denning chats to the rising stars of the eu cantina in a live chat taking place june 13th at 19.00pm est.  get on over to eu cantina, see what all the fuss is about and make a date to join in with the chat.

wednesday 28th may 2008  
>>>it will be a day long remembered.  the star wars outer rim alliance - swora - launches to the public, with the official opening of the swora website.  formed by a grouping of 7 nations, with websites covering all aspects of star wars, the aim of swora is to reach out across europe and the world and embrace the many and varied facets of star wars fandom.  so, from mongolia to mauritius, alaska to azerbaijan and everywhere in between we're waiting for you to contact us.  the site is www.swora.net and we can't wait to hear from you.
>>>we make more additions and alterations to our guides with our latest planet guide, a look at the underworld planet of amagad.  controlled and run by ganglord glann cipple, amagad is the central hub for underworld activity in the setnin sector, second only to zelon in influence and importance.  click here for a look at amagad, and take a roll through the scroll bar above and our setnin sector section for more information from the mid-rims wildest locales...

take me down to amagad city where the grass is green and the trandoshans are damn ugly...

tuesday 27th may 2008  
>>>setnin select reaches number 291 with artwork by jules corellia.  this shows terrie saffra arriving on tantum v for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>if this isn't cool enough for you then nothing is.  millennium falcon by james luceno will be hitting stores december 30th 2008 in a 320 page hardcover edition.  with a teaser at the end of the final legacy of the force novel this looks set to be another thrilling dive into the star wars universe...

all hail the fastest piece of junk in the galaxy...

monday 26th may 2008  
>>>indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull is really setting the box office on fire with a stellar $151,081,072 in the hole by the end of its opening five days, making it the fifth biggest five day opening after  revenge of the sith, pirates of the caribbean - dead mans chest, spiderman 3 and spiderman 2.  worldwide the film made a further $146,455,434 - beating revenge of the sith $145,500,000 international opening for the fifth best ever international opening - making a five day worldwide total of $297,536,434.  and for a memorial day opening, only pirates of the caribbean - at worlds end beat it, opening with $139,802,190 last year, as well as becoming the 10th biggest opening weekend with $101,000,000, narrowly beating out last current box office star iron man which opened with $98,618,668.  if mouth is good, the third sequel to raiders of the lost ark could feasibly bring in north of $350 million in the states alone, and potentially $800 million worldwide - figures comparable to revenge of the sith three years ago.  and with another two indiana jones films in the pipeline, the future is looking rosy for the jones boys...

all in the family...

>>>we've been hard at work updating our guides sections.  check out our chancai page for some more detailed information on the setnin sectors prime trade city as well as our ki-ki sector, janos, squadron indigo and a-desando, and take a look at our fast expanding roleplay section for even more d-20 stats and information...
>>>have a listen to this, it's weezers new single pork and beans from their forthcoming red album, out june 3rd.  watch for some very familiar youtube faces, and a bit of tasty lightsabre action...

 

sunday 25th may 2008  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview one of the founders of the hot new site eu cantina, austin blankenshipaustin has overseen the creation and growth of of the site, turning it into one of the web's must-visit star wars sites and his interview can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews.  then go and discuss it at smugglers rants at blogs.starwars.com.

austin blakenship

>>>indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull continued it's stellar box office assault with an estimated $31 million dollars on friday, bringing its total to a meaty $56,041,000 in just two days.  that makes it the third highest friday for any film opening on a thursday, behind revenge of the sith and the matrix reloaded, and the 14th best ever friday total, sandwiched between the simpsons movie and x2 x-men united.  check out box office mojo to keep track of the latest facts and figures, and stay tuned to Lightsabre for the very latest box office information as indy rolls out across the globe...

the gang reunite for a 2008 version of chorus line...

>>>may 25th 1977 saw the release on 32 screens of a future cinema legend.  star wars came to our galaxy and dominated that summer, and every year since.  happy birthday to the greatest space fantasy of all time and happy 25th to return of the jedi which hit screens may 25th 1983...

happy 31st birthday star wars...

saturday 24th may 2008  
>>>louis turfrey adds a new review to the site, a look at the first legacy of the force series, betrayal by aaron allston.  for louis review of the landmark novel click here or the assorted button on our redesigned menu bar above...
>>>you may have noticed a slight change when visiting Lightsabre today.  well, that's because we've had a bit of a facelift, courtesy of matt turvey and quantoniq group.  have a browse around, get used to the new menu bar and keep on delving into the setnin sector and the world of Lightsabre...
friday 23rd may 2008  
>>>we continue our four-issue online comic adaptation of quest for freedom, drawn to celebrate not only the 30th anniversary of the original star wars but also the 25th anniversary of that very first Lightsabre story.  drawn and designed by richard skidmore, with cover art by craig burt and logo design by tim wann, this mark newbold written story takes places between the events of the empire strikes back and return of the jedi, as lando calrissian and chewbacca search the galaxy for their lost friend han solo.  click the mini banner below to reach the comic book archive and the ninth page of issue two of our comic strip adaptation of quest for freedom.
>>>indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull opened to an amazing start, posting the fourth highest ever thursday with $25,041,072 in the bank by end of business and a further $2.2 million overseas.  with a $185 million dollar budget, the film has to really fire on all cylinders this weekend, but reviews are generally positive and the word of mouth is excellent, so a high $100 million weekend seems highly likely. 

"look!  over there!  someone who doesn't know the films coming out!"

thursday 22nd may 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with moot, the world that boasts the enormous villall trade canopy...

moot

 

The planet that Glann Cipple sent mercenary Ryath Centaur to straighten out trade disputes that threatened to disrupt his business.  Industrialised and heavily populated, Moot is also one of the residences of Torona Formoon in the Setnin Sector.  Also located on Moot is the massive Villall Trade Canopy, the largest outdoor market in the sector and almost as huge in ground size as Chancai.  Formoon had a huge hand in the running of the Trade Canopy and skimmed profits off the top to fund his own operation.

>>>it looks like jimmy smits will be once again involved with the star wars universe, by voicing his character in the force unleashedadam kahn of lucasarts has confirmed smit's involvement, so keep an ear out for jimmy in the force unleashed and hopefully samuel l jackson in the clone wars later this year.

out on bail for the force unleashed

wednesday 21st may 2008  
>>>well, it opens worldwide tomorrow and Lightsabre was lucky enough to be invited down to london last night for the exclusive press screening of indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull at the odeon leicester square.  click here for our joint review with good pals and comrades-in-arms jedi news and then get yourselves down to the local cinema and queue up for the 12.01am screening to welcome back the worlds greatest action hero...

there was much munching of popcorn...

>>>our good friends over at star wars poland have snagged a great interview with wes janson himself, ian liston.  click here for the interview, in english, and learn about ian's excitement for wes' post-empire strikes back life and his adventures in fandom...

two faces of ian liston

tuesday 20th may 2008  
>>>setnin select reaches number 290 with artwork by tim wann.  this shows the millennium falcon and the berone sunrise swooping in to chancai in a scene from 2009's lydon legacy adaptation.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>on may 11th harrison ford appeared on the tonight show with jay leno to promote indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull and his ecological concerns.  watch below for part two and harrison on absolutely top form...

 

monday 19th may 2008  
>>>turning to the dork side 43 hits the site direct from neil bakers own dork side blog. you can view it there or go to our assorted section on our dropdown menu above where for one week only jedi mind tricks work on toydarians and hutts...
>>>today is a very important anniversary day in the world of star wars. as three of the six films saw their release on this date  28 years ago today in 1980 saw the release of the empire strikes back, may 19th 1999 saw the relaunch of the saga with the phantom menace and three years ago saw the conclusion of the six movie saga with the opening of revenge of the sith...

happy birthday star wars...

>>>back on may 11th harrison ford appeared on the tonight show with jay leno and much hilarity ensued.  watch below for the first part...

 

sunday 18th may 2008  
>>>we welcome back to the site the executive editor at lucasbooks, jonathan rinzler.  we caught up with jonathan this week to chat about his latest book, the making of indiana jones, the results of which can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews.  then go and discuss it at smugglers rants at blogs.starwars.com.

j w rinzler

>>>george lucas has been speaking about not only the new indiana jones film indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull but has also weighed in on the possibiity of a fifth instalment in the series.  "i haven’t even told steven or harrison this but i have an idea to make shia the lead character next time and have harrison come back like sean connery did in the last movie. i can see it working out.  and it’s not like harrison is even old. i mean, he’s 65 and he did everything in this movie. the old chemistry is there, and it’s not like he’s an old man. he’s incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me."  click here for the full report on the new film and also lucas' comments on the clone wars movie - 20th century fox were given first refusal but turned it down...

uncle george and companion at the cannes last thursday

>>>while george lucas, steven spielberg, harrison ford, cate blanchett, shia lebeouf and karen allen may be receiving the red carpet treatment this evening for the world premiere of indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull it seems that the weather won't be so kind.  with torrential rain forecast, plans for a 400 seat outdoor dinner have been moved indoors.  let's hope that the weather is the only obstacle the film has to overcome and the road to box office fortune and glory is more straightforward.

indiana jones and the cannes washout...

saturday 17th may 2008  
>>>it's been a while - almost two years - but Lightsabre is proud to present the first chapter in a new tale from the setnin sector - setnin star chapter one - hijack, by louis turfrey.  in the twilight of the all-consuming ki-ki/setnin war tar ranth finds himself in trouble.  out of the sector and travelling far the bounty hunter come jedi finds himself embroiled in a sinister plot.  click here or on the image below for chapter one of setnin star...

tar ranth

>>>any regular visitor to Lightsabre knows what a great artist tim wann is - and there will be a lot more of his brilliant art hitting the site during the coming year - but it's a safe bet to say that he needed his wife amy to cook up their best masterpiece.  welcome to the world samuel logan wann, the newest member of the ever extending Lightsabre family...

wann plus wann plus wann equals family...

>>>the daily mash seem to have unearthed an amazing discovery.  apparently, darth vader is a baptist.  surprised?  you will be when you click here and read the evidence, but beware of some course language on the page...

vader tries to altar his ways...geddit?

friday 16th may 2008  
>>>can indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull beat out revenge of the sith and nab the biggest opening day in box office history?  well, tracking data for crystal skull seems to show that the numbers are amazing with un-aided awareness at 15%, definite interest at 63% and overall first choice at 28% - figures all that add up to box office dynamite.  with figures like that the film can comfortably expect a 5 day gross of $160-$170 million dollars in the united states alone, and if it reaches the upper end of the predictions it could outreach even current 5 day champ sith.  so, all eyes turn to the box office...

lightsabre vs whip

>>>our good pals at eu cantina have dropped us a line regarding a new interview they have on the site.  over to austin.  "eu cantina.net has a new interview up with audio lead/voice director of lucasarts, david collins.  currently, only the first part is posted. in this section, david discusses what it's like in his position, the work he has done on the force unleashed, and his voicing of the secret apprentice’s droid sidekick proxy. some very interesting information about proxy and his role in the plot are revealed in the interview."  our thanks to austin for passing on that info.  the interview can be found right here, so click through and get updated...

david collins

thursday 15th may 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with marner, the world where jan lomona gained his revenge...

marner

 

Home of the ex-Trac-Tran Transit Company employee Larna, near to the Matuubii ruins.  Marner was the world where Jan Lomona finally caught up with the murderous Kee-livinees, and where Lomona gunned him down

>>>it seems harrison ford isn't getting the freebies that movie stars are usually afforded - especially when they are transformed into a potato.  here we see ford balancing two coffee's, some indy lego and a mr potato head - quite possibly his most dangerous mission yet...

who needs a p.a with balancing skills like this...

wednesday 14th may 2008  

when i get older losing my hair
many years from now
will you still be sending me a valentine
birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
if i'd been out till quarter to three
would you lock the door?
will you still need me, will you still feed me
when I'm sixty-four?

>>>yes george, we will - happy 64th birthday

the day they made the maker...

>>>our good buddies over at jedi news have been in the news this week - literally.  they were featured on five news here in the uk yesterday discussing the new clone wars trailer.  have a watch...

 

>>>it seems troy denning is going to be a busy guy this week, with the invincible tour promoting the final chapter of the new jedi order series.  click here to see the full list of stores he is visiting over the next few days...

invincible

>>>just in case you think you're seeing things we have indeed changed our interview guest for this weekend.  lorne peterson will be on the site in two weeks, but this week we have a chat with j w rinzler, executive editor of lucasbooks who spoke to us today about the new making of indiana jones book.
tuesday 13th may 2008  
>>>setnin select reaches number 289 with artwork by jules corellia.  this shows commander terrie saffra deep undercover on a covert mission.  for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner above and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>it's only a few days away now, but the soundtrack is yet to be released, so here we present some indiana jones midi files.  want to know how irina's theme sounds?  or mutt's theme?  click on the links back there and find out...

irina spalko - would you ask this lady for the first dance?

>>>the original trilogy of indiana jones films arrives on dvd again this week, as raiders of the lost ark, indiana jones and the temple of doom and indiana jones and the last crusade are released, both as individual sets of in a collected box.  with new extras including introductions from steven spielberg and george lucas, featurettes and photo galleries, this looks like an indy collectible not to be missed...

indiana jones rides on to dvd again...

monday 12th may 2008  
>>>turning to the dork side 42 hits the site direct from neil bakers own dork side blog. you can view it there or go to our humour section through our assorted section on our dropdown menu above where order 66 isn't a whopper burger, large fries and a shake...
>>>we have a new link, and it's a doozy.  creature cantina is a news site that also runs the brilliant 'the cantina' comic strip.  click through and check out the seven years worth of 'the cantina' as well as all the latest creature cantina news.  oh, and we're honoured that we suck not.
sunday 11th may 2008  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview one of the original four members of Lightsabre back in 1999 and the creator of ryath centaur, paul squire paul is always on hand to run ideas past and his interview can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews.  then go and discuss it at smugglers rants at blogs.starwars.com.

paul squire

>>>over at jedi news our pals have managed to snag a brilliant interview with the director and force behind the clone wars, dave filoni.  talking about everything from the film and television series to george lucas, it's a great chat and part of their month-long first year anniversary.  click here and take a look...

dave filoni

saturday 10th may 2008  
>>>now we are only 12 days away from indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull we can start looking forward to the end of the summer and the clone wars.  sit back and enjoy the second trailer and begin the countdown...

 

>>>staying on the subject of the clone wars, july 26th brings a new 90 card set from topps.  focussing on the theatrical feature of the clone wars you need to click right here, visit the topps site and check it out...

clone troopers, trying to find the tanks that climb walls...

friday 9th may 2008  
>>>rachel devenport of rachel devenport pr has contacted us about a very interesting event happening in london this weekend.  over to rachel  "who shot darth vader kelvin pike did. and that's not all...this saturday - 10th may 2008 - raindance are welcoming veteran cameraman kelvin pike bsc to the kodak masterclass at bafta. his work includes 2001: a space odyssey, the shining, the empire strikes back, dr. strangelove and heaven's gate.
kelvin will speak about his filmmaking career and show examples of his work giving an lorne behind the scenes look at what it was like working on some of the most iconic films of the 20th century.
 and yes don't worry, we've made sure to save some time for all your questions about kubrick and lucas.
when? saturday may 10th from 2.00 - 4.00pm
where? bafta, piccadilly london w1j 9ln
price? £10.00
to book a place ring 020 7287 3833 or go to www.raindance.co.uk and look under 'upcoming events'. be quick - space is very limited so tickets are in short supply."  thanks rachel and we'll be sure to keep you updated on the event.

pot shots just out of frame...

>>>coming later this year is the 800 page dark horse mega omnibus luke skywalker - last hope for the galaxy.  presented here is the cover for the collection, replete with amazing tsuneo sanda cover art.

luke skywalker - he may not look like much, but he's got it where it counts...

thursday 8th may 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with maquina, the world where the durathosin prisoners were held...

maquina

 

Site of Jan Lomona and Terrie Saffras mission to rescue rebel prisoners-of-war from an Imperial jail.  After numerous missions to rescue the Durathosin prisoners, captured years before the Battle of Yavin, Lomona and Saffra are dispatched on what is effectively a suicide mission.  Dry and arid, Maquina was one of the Empires largest outposts in the sector during the Galactic Civil War and still held a large number of troops even after the Battle of Endor

>>>"don't faint!" - that was the headline of the email i received yesterday from co-owner and co-webmaster of Lightsabre louis turfrey.  after a protracted spell without any original fiction hitting the site, hijack - chapter one of the five part setnin star story will be hitting the site next week.  set out of the setnin sector towards the end of the ki-ki/setnin war, tar ranth is in big trouble, but how will he manage to get out of it?  stay tuned and find out...

louis, don't cross the streams!

wednesday 7th may 2008  
>>>excited much for indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull yet?  posters, billboards and bus hoardings are cropping up all across the uk at the moment and the trailers are starting to rain down.  click here for a page at the brilliant theraider.net for links to two more indiana jones television spots...

"i run 'a' wing, you run 'b' wing!  luke skywalker runs x-wing..."

>>>august 15th - set the date, that's when the clone wars hits the big screen, and in advance of that here we have the latest poster alerting you to that fact - as if you didn't already know.  further to that, click here and visit our good friends at jedi news with some spoilerific news on the plot and here for a piece from the