news

 

 
Setnin Select - your direct view into the Setnin Sector... Lightsabre comics - a new way to view the setnin sector...
 

 

friday 31st october 2008  
>>>happy halloween from the lost boys and girls at Lightsabre...
who knew that the
star wars universe celebrated its very own version of halloween.  the galactic moon festival is celebrated over at star wars galaxies during the month of october and november, so get on over there for spooky goings on and online prizes galore...

bib feratu...

>>>star wars artist kevin liell contacted us with news of an event next month in the states.  over to kevin.
   "i
am appearing at a star wars event in boston in november as an artist and event organizer. it is called supermegafest and will be held in framingham massachusetts on november 22-23.
the convention will have many celebrities, including: garrick hagan and anthony forrest from
star wars. there will also be star wars related games and contests. you can see more about the event at the shows website: supermegafest.com."

some of kevins amazing artwork...

thursday 30th october 2008  
>>>we turn our attentions away from the worlds of setnin and take a look at the weapons and technology of the setnin sector
a wild and largely rowdy sector, setninites are always ready to pull a blaster, a shiv or a force pike on any unsuspecting attacker.  it's the setnin way, and so here we present to you the weapons and technology of the setnin sector...

a.i.d

 

Altimeter ID Laser.  A targeting device common to many weapons used throughout the Setnin Sector. 
This device enables snipers and hitmen to acquire their target and `tag' their victim - a laser spot honing in and virtually attaching itself.  Useful for high places and firing into the air

>>>remember, there's no new programming tomorrow due to the halloween schedule on cartoon network, but the official site has a preview of next fridays episode six of the clone wars, entitled downfall of a droid.
the episode follows
artoo as he is lost during a fierce space battle.  anakin must find him before the separatists discover the jedi military secrets locked in artoo's memory banks.
click here for the official site coverage of the episode and click through to the webstrip here.

downfall of a droid

wednesday 29th october 2008  
>>>what makes star wars star wars?
that's the challenge faced by jeff dobson, the designer of the forthcoming old republic mmo, and his team of artists who have been tasked with creating new environments and locations for this ancient saga to occur in.
   "
star wars is 4, 5 and 6," he explains "the dirty sci-fi, not a polished and clean sci-fi. it's grittier and lived in."
io9 have the full report, which you can find by clicking here.

star wars history

>>>our good friends over at jedi news were lucky enough to grab 20 minutes with the founder of gentle giant, karl meyer.
click here to go to the site and find out what's in store for gentle giant fans over the coming months.

 

tuesday 28th october 2008  
>>>setnin select reaches number 311 with artwork by craig burt.  this gives a sneak peek of the cover to issue three of quest for freedom, written by mark newbold and drawn by new artist tim wann, who will continue on to draw the sequel the lydon legacy.
for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>we spotted this on club jade the other day and, never having seen it and being on a run with videos at the moment, couldn't resist activating it on Lightsabre.
it's the star wars cantina, by mark jonathan davis, a song released in the mid 1990's and often erroneously attributed to wierd al yankovic.  have a listen and see if you can resist dancing around the room...

 

>>>would you mess with a princess like this?
sunday night at wwe's cyber sunday wwe diva layla took part in the diva halloween costume contest dressed as a certain famous sci-fi princess.
sadly her cool attire didn't win her the contest - that honour went to wwe champion mickie james and her lara croft outfit - but it's good to know that the force reaches as far as the squared circle...

princess layla

monday 27th october 2008  
>>>the official site has a preview of last fridays episode five of the clone wars, entitled rookies.
the episode follows commander cody and captain rex as they lead their young an inexperienced clonetroops through combat on rishi, defending a vital tracking station.
click here for the official site coverage of the episode and click through to the webstrip here, which this week is entitled mouse hunt.
and remember, no new episode this week due to cartoon networks halloween programming.

 

>>>the international trailer for harry potter and the half-blood prince is up and about on the internet.
pushed back to summer 2009, a decision borne out of warner brothers tremendous success with the dark knight, this looks set to be yet another spell-binding entry in the potter saga.

 

sunday 26th october 2008  
>>>we welcome to the site a special effects artist who has worked on many of the biggest blockbusters of the last 20 years, howie weed.
howie
very generously gave of his time and the interview can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews, then go and discuss it on the swora forums...

howie weed

>>>there's little doubt about it, we all want one of these, but you must always check the merchandise before purchasing.
with that in mind click here for a press release detailing more information and here's an mtv cribs-style look at the new hasbro millennium falcon.  if this doesn't seal the deal then nothing will...

 

saturday 25th october 2008  
>>>eternal thanks to site co-owner louis turfrey for taking over at the site at last minute this past week while i was out of the country to be with my mom who was taken ill on holiday. 
it's times like these you find out who your real friends are, and so to all of the Lightsabre crew - jonathan, louis, paul, matt, james and jason - i'd like to say a big thank you.
normal service will resume tomorrow with our howie weed interview, and as i hate to miss anything please scroll back and find some retro-inserted news from this past week.
>>>stage and screen actor ian mcdiarmid suffered a dizzy spell on stage at the geilgud theatre in london's west end last week, feeling faint during a performance of six characters in search of an author.
the highly regarded actor began to feel unwell towards the end of the performance, unbeknownst to the audience but noticeably to the staff who feared he was suffering a heart attack and called for medical back up.
an ambulance arrived seven minutes later to whisk mcdiarmid away for tests and his understudy took over the role for the rest of the week.
our benevolent chancellor will return to the role and complete his run, which ends on 2nd november, and Lightsabre would like to wish him all the very best.

ian mcdiarmid - heart attack or palpy-tations?

friday 24th october 2008  
>>>lucasfilm events manager and good friend mary franklin has sent through her thoughts and memories of celebration japan, and so we have added them to our already extensive celebration japan convention report.
revisit those four days back in july through our report and the video below and relive the adventure of
celebration japan...

 

>>>the latest clone wars webstrip is now online.
mousehunt written by
pablo hidalgo and illustrated by tom hodges precedes fridays rookies and can be found by clicking the image below
>>>there are some plum assignments in the entertainment world, and one of them is being invited to lucasfilm for a visit and interviews with key lucasfilm employees.
well that's exactly what happened to empire magazine staff writer chris hewitt as he stepped across the whale road to san francisco and visited the home of star wars as well as talking to matt lanter, ashley eckstein, matthew wood and dave filoni.
click here or on the image of chris and artoo below for more info, and a great video shot at big rock...

artoo does his best short circuit impression...

thursday 23rd october 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with zelon, the home of the chancai trading centre and setnin's ruling council...

zelon

 

Situated in the Yatchrare System and on the edge of the Bordin Space Lane, Zelon is one of the most frequently visited worlds in the entire Setnin Sector for one reason - the Chancai Trade Centre. 
A lush forest world orbited by the moon of Benesk, Zelon is home to many millions of inhabitants, with most of them living in or around the Chancai Trade Centre.  Her native inhabitants are the many various and now scattered tribes who have lived in the forests and mountains for many thousands of years.  Chiefs amongst these tribes are the Niekon tribe, who once lived in the Mutumbarr basin where Chancai is now located.

>>>today we bring a rarity, an interview on the today programme with mark hamill and harrison ford discussing their roles in the empire strikes back as well as a tantalising mention of the then far off prequels...

 

wednesday 22nd october 2008  
>>>it seems the bigwigs at paramount have not only thrown the best part of $150 million dollars at their tentpole 2009 star trek  movie, they have also opted for a completely new design for the enterprise's bridge - although comfortingly the captains chair does look reassuringly familiar...

captain on the bridge...

>>>ever have one of those days?  well, next time you do spare a thought for this guy and remember, no matter how bad you've got it there's always someone who's got it worse...

*groan*

tuesday 21st october 2008  
>>>we delve into the past with a 1978 interview with anthony daniels.
discussing his role of see-threepio in the original star wars, daniels discusses the infamous suit, meeting george lucas, his relationship with artoo among other subjects.

 

monday 20th october 2008  
>>>more than any other actor in the star trek production there has been excitement surrounding the casting of zachary quinto as spock
seen here we get a close up of just how uncannily similar quinto looks to a young leonard nimoy, who also appears in the 11th trek outing.
and in case you are wondering, the star wars link is the effects, ably handled by industrial light and magic...

i am spock...no, i am not spock...i'm sylar...

sunday 19th october 2008  
>>>in an almost complete 180 to samuel l jackson, ewan mcgreggor seems to hold his star wars experiences in slight distain, regularly criticising the prequels and glibly 'forgetting' key facts, such as planets and character names.
watch ewan here on top gear discussing his role with jeremy clarkson, a man who's first ford transit van was christened the millennium falcon...

 

saturday 18th october 2008  
>>>more from the full cast shots from the new star trek movie, showing just how good the new enterprise crew look.
shown here are anton yeltzin as chekov, chris pine as kirk, simon pegg as scotty, karl urban as mccoy, john cho as sulu and zoe saldana as uhura.

star trekkin' across the universe...

friday 17th october 2008  
>>>it's always been very clear that not only is samuel l jackson thrilled to be in the star wars prequels as an actor, he's primarily jazzed as a long-time fan of the series.
watch here as jackson shares some of his thoughts on attack of the clones, circa 2002 and joshes with audience members...

 

>>>the latest clone wars webstrip is now online.
agenda written by
pablo hidalgo and illustrated by katie cook precedes fridays destroy malevolence and can be found by clicking the image below
thursday 16th october 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with yuma, the world that gave the galaxy shiba'dixx...

yuma

 

Planet lying towards the Core of the Setnin Sector, notable for its famous alcoholic beverage Shiba’dixx.
Yuma was also notable for the Learne Higs Tu, an ancient burial site located in the centre of Yuma's most massive desert plain.

>>>we present some images from the new up and coming star trek movie, and they look rather tasty.
taken from entertainment weekly magazine, we kick off with the cover, showing kirk as portrayed by a blue-eyed chris pine and spock as assayed by zachary quinto...

boldly go...

wednesday 15th october 2008  
>>>the star wars trilogies are out there again, and via hmv they can be found in exclusive packaging.
if you're prepared to fork out Ł17.99 they come with free delivery and give you the opportunity to experience the greatest movies of all time in brand new packaging.  destined to be top sellers this holiday season, enjoy the thrill of the star wars trilogies again...

the boys are back

>>>bring back star wars was a ratings winner on channel four last month, reuniting many of the cast of the original trilogy under the shaggy gaze of jlc himself, justin lee collins.
here we focus on the princess, carrie fisher, as she reminisces on her star wars days, reveals her modified topless kotobukiya model and shows us all the way to florida...

 

tuesday 14th october 2008  
>>>setnin select reaches number 310 with artwork by mark newbold.  this shows larna chesco enjoying the moonlight on her home planet of marner.
for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>the official site has a brief preview of the fourth the clone wars episode, destroy malevolence as well as a our weekly look at the webstrip that precedes and follows every episode.
click here for the fourth episode preview...

padme premieres

monday 13th october 2008  
>>>it's almost inconceivable - the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter is appearing on a british day time soap opera - but who is he after?
jeremy bulloch appears on the long running bbc one day time soap doctors this coming wednesday.  it's the shows 112th episode and its 10th season.
jeremy plays the role of julian marker, and if you want to find out more about the role and the show click here.
the fett's episode screens on wednesday 15th october at 1.45pm, and you can watch a clip from the show below...

 

>>>palgn have dug up an interesting rumour regarding the eventual home of the long-awaited battlefornt 3.
it appears the second sequel to the most successful star wars game ever will be arriving on the nintendo ds.
rumours long abounded that it would be a wii only release, but as the ds and wii are nintendo stablemates that may still come to pass.

more to come we hope...

sunday 12th october 2008  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview the webmaster of the fantastic star wars timeline eddie van der heijden.
with all the myriad happenings in the star wars universe eddie is a busy man and his interview can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews, then go and discuss it on the swora forums...

eddie van der heijden

>>>gamasutra have all but confirmed the knights of the old republic mmo.
as the image below shows, bioware and lucasarts proclaim ''the wait is over" and promise "the official unveiling of the game that's been rumoured about for years."
while it makes no direct reference to star wars, the appearance of hooded figures and floating robots does seem to point towards it being kotor, although it could all be a very clever and elaborate ruse.

we find out october 21st...

saturday 11th october 2008  
>>>an old favourite may well be on it's way to the wii.
rumours abound that the three rogue squadron games will be released on the wii as a package, with slights tweaks to adjust them to the newer system.
click here and visit joystiq for more details.

ok, who spotted the falcon first?

>>>Lightsabre composer james semple has received a very favourable review of his four shadows: music from trial of cthulhu soundtrack with the only negative being that there's not enough of it.
click here and visit the excellent rpgnet for the full review of this brilliant mini soundtrack, and while you are there order a copy for yourself by clicking here.

james semple

friday 10th october 2008  
>>>we all love to customise, it's part of our geek nature, and zazzle have very intuitively jumped onto that trait and offer you a glut of options to make your very own posters and t-shirts.
offering a huge amount of images you can now have your own unique star wars apparel or poster, so what are you waiting for?  get over to zazzle by clicking here and start ordering.

zazzle dazzle

>>>due in december from del rey comes karen millers wildspace, a trade paperback continuing the adventures of the clone wars.  here's what the official site had to say.
   "the separatists have launched a sneak attack on coruscant. obi-wan kenobi, wounded in battle, insists that anakin skywalker and his rookie padawan ahsoka leave on a risky mission against general grievous. but when senator bail organa reveals explosive intelligence that could turn the tide of war in the republic's favor, the jedi master agrees to accompany him to an obscure planet in the outer rim to verify the facts. what obi-wan and bail don't realize is that they're walking into a deadly trap concocted by palpatine...and escape may not be an option."

wildspace

thursday 9th october 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with yotil, the world where duze jostenn ran his operations...

yotil

 

Location where the former ruler of the Setnin Sector underworld Duze Jostenn ran his operations. 
It was here in his enormous Canopy Base that he ruled Setnin’s underworld for decades
One of a number of bases, Jostenn preferred the geographical advantages that Yotil afforded him, as well as it's proximity to other important worlds in the sector.  Operating from Canopy Base he could oversee every element of his operation, manipulating the underworld to bend to his whim - at least,
until his ultimate demise at the hands of his most trusted assassin Carlonian Feese, under orders from Glann Cipple.

>>>amazing indiana jones soundtrack news.  over to the concord records official press release:
   "for
the first time ever all four indiana jones soundtrack albums are available in this limited edition collectible cd boxed set! included are expanded and re-mastered versions of raiders of the lost ark, and exclusive to this set: indiana jones and the temple of doom, and indiana jones and the last crusade.
this set also includes the
indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull soundtrack plus a bonus interview cd with composer john williams on the making of this historic music.
housed in a handsome embossed slip case and presented with a full color booklet, this set reintroduces the iconic original
indiana jones film scores by oscar-winning composer john williams - out of print since 1995!
a must for fans and collectors alike, all will rejoice in having all these soundtracks presented together expanded with previously unreleased music - along with this summer's blockbuster
indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull available together for the very first time. relive the musical adventure today!"
this handsome set is released november 11th and preceded by the full
raiders of the lost ark score on october 14th.

raid this...

>>>we bring you the preview for tomorrows third the clone wars episode, shadow of malevolence, and rather groovy it looks too...

 

wednesday 8th october 2008  
>>>harrison ford recently made mention of george lucas working away on a fifth indiana jones instalment.
speaking with the la times ford confirmed that it might be happening.  ford said "it's crazy, but it's great.  george is in think mode right now"
who knows how long we'll wait for episode 5, but could lucas be looking to make his other franchise into a twin trilogy set?

the raiders march...

>>>the latest clone wars webstrip is now online.
procedure, written by pablo hidalgo and illustrated by grant gould precedes fridays shadow of malevolence and can be found by clicking the image below.
tuesday 7th october 2008  
>>>setnin select reaches number 309 with artwork by craig burt.  this shows setnin built imperial b.u.g fighters.
for more looks into the worlds of setnin, click on the mini banner and go through to the setnin select archive.
>>>the clone wars has broken audience records for the cartoon network tvweek.com have reported that the new show smashed the channels previous premiere episode viewing record.
   "t
he friday premiere was the top-rated children’s show in its timeslot among kids 6 to 11, kids 2 to 11, tweens 9 to 14, teens 12-17 and total viewers, based on overnight data from nielsen media research. in most age groups, the program more than doubled the network’s viewership from the same time a year ago."
fantastic news and a great launch for the years most hotly anticipated shows.

'it's a hit!'

monday 6th october 2008  
>>>it's about time - topps is bringing back probably it's most popular trading card set - star wars galaxy.
   "when we first introduced this all-art concept in 1993, it was a relatively quiet time for
star wars," says ira friedman, topps vice-president of publishing. "the original movie trilogy was long gone from theaters and talk of more films was purely speculation. yet when our star wars galaxy cards hit, the groundbreaking idea took fans on a collecting joy ride that spanned three different series, two coffee table books, and encompassed more than 350 spectacular pieces of star wars artwork."
among the new cards is a foil-stamped reprint of the ultra-rare yoda p2 promo card which showed the jedi master and a number of his brethren worshipping at an altar.
also included in the set are:
  • new visions - over 50 exclusive, new paintings from well known and up-and-coming comics artists and fantasy illustrators
  • lost galaxy - never-before-seen archival galaxy card art
  • the force unleashed - dazzling visuals from lucasarts new breakthrough video game
  • signed, vintage cards - featuring autographs from many original galaxy artists
  • one-of-a-kind sketches - rendered on first-ever shaped sketch cards and traditional size cards
  • movie posters, comics and book cover art -- iconic imagery on cards for the first time
  • window poster and packaging art - powerful new painting from acclaimed star wars artist russell walks

friedman continued,  
   "while the extraordinary success of the three prior galaxy series sets the bar very high, we believe series 4 is a truly worthy follow-up.  from the quality production values to the caliber of the participating artists to the multi-levels of unique inserts to the special surprises we have yet to announce, we're confident fans will agree this new series is worth the wait."
star wars galaxy four hits stores february 2009, and we've already got ours ordered...

topps galaxy four card by joe corroney

>>>star wars space has launched.
if you are a
star wars fan and also a fan of social networking sites like myspace or facebook, this could be the place for you. 
click on the image below, sign up and join your pals on star wars space.

lucasfilm a little slow on grabbing the rights to this one, eh?

sunday 5th october 2008  
>>>we welcome to the site an artist very familiar with all star wars fans, and whose artwork is currently adorning the clone wars webstrip on starwars.com, tom hodges.
we were lucky enough to grab half an hour with both tom and his wife terri at the bath childrens literary festival a couple of weeks ago, and the first of two parts can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews, then go and discuss it on the swora forums...

tom hodges

>>>episode commentaries will be running on the official site, to accompany the new the clone wars episodes every week.
here we have the commentary to ambush, the premiere episode by dave filoni.  keep watching the site for more the clone wars news as we follow the progression of this exciting new show.

 

saturday 4th october 2008  
>>>the clone wars webstrip has launched.
to tie in with episodes of the new the clone wars television series, starwars.com is running weekly webstrips designed to compliment and expand upon that weeks episode.
launching with a double issue, to run alongside ambush and rising malevolence, artist tom hodges and writer
pablo hidalgo present prelude and shakedown.
>>>further to our news earlier this week regarding the return of the holonet we can reveal that the latest incarnation of the show isn't visual - it's aural.
the holonet returns as a downloadable mp3, which you can save and listen to by right clicking here and saving to your pc or ipod. 
the first episode, set between ambush and rising malevolence, is entitled a galaxy divided and is in the form of a round table discussion.  stay tuned for more holonet news next week.

listen to the latest galaxy spanning news...

friday 3rd october 2008  
>>>today's the day - the clone wars arrives on north american television screens.
what are your thoughts?  what do you think of the new show? what did you like, or dislike?  write in to us here at Lightsabre and we'll let the world know your musings...

she's waiting to hear what you think of her new show...play nice...

>>>portfolio.com is reporting some very interesting news regarding the possible future release of a long anticipated massively multiplayer online.  here's what portfolio reported earlier in the year.
   'in an interview at e3 this week, electronic arts chief executive john riccitiello said that ea is working on the next version of
star wars game knights of the old republic, and it will most certainly have a massively multiplayer online component to it.
   "we've got two of the most compelling mmo's in the industry in development," said riccitiello. the first title, based on the warhammer property, will launch soon. "and the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with lucas, coming out of bioware, which is, i think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."
does riccitiello mean the oft rumored knights of the old republic online
   "yes," he said.'
further rumours are coming in from the computer and video games site speculating that the game is set for release within the next 30 days, so it seems these two stories are starting to stack up.
stay posted for more news...

kotor online, coming soon?

thursday 2nd october 2008  
>>>we continue our look at worlds of importance from the history of the setnin sector with weaktreen, the world where geon tasar ran his operations...

weaktreen

 

One of the many worlds to have operations belonging to the ganglord Geon Tasar.  After his demise at the hands of Ryath Centaur on Luronsa IV, Tasars remaining operations throughout the Setnin Sector were either absorbed into other organisations or destroyed, like the main base on Weaktreen annihilated by Centaur.

>>>brilliant news, the holonet is returning.
after a four year break the holonet, which ran from 2002 and attack of the clones through to 2004 will return to fill in the gaps provided by the clone wars tv series. 
below is
pablo hidalgo's original post, and don't forget the setnin sectors very own holonet, chancai express, which can be accessed right here....
>>>for those of you unfortunate enough to miss it the last time, or smart enough to see it and want your ribs tickling again, bring back star wars is being repeated october 7th at 10.00pm on e4, channels 4's digital channel.
so make sure you're sitting comfortably and remember - jlc loves florida...

omg, jlc meets bdw

wednesday 1st october 2008  
>>>those good people over at edge online have good news for the bean counters at lucasarts.
the force unleashed remained at number one in the uk charts for a second week, outpacing the phenomenal wii fit.  how long will the force reign over the chart?  keep checking back to find out...

01. star wars: the force unleashed (lucasarts)
02. wii fit (nintendo)
03. mario kart wii (nintendo)
04. brothers in arms: hell’s highway (ubisoft)
05. tiger woods pga tour 09 (ea)
06. wii play (nintendo)
07. carnival: funfair games (take-two)
08. pure (disney interactive)
09. big beach sports (thq)
10. guitar hero 3 (activision blizzard)

"they call me MISTER ti!!"

>>>clone wars: jedi alliance is on its way to the nintendo ds system november 11th, and here's a look at the trailer for the eagerly awaited game.

 

The World 

of Star Wars

september 2008  
>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview the webmaster of star wars new zealand, the co-founder of swora and the webmaster of gerald home's official site, matt glasgow.
matt managed to fit our interview into his ridiculously busy schedule, for which we are very grateful, and his interview can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews, then go and discuss it on the swora forums...

matt glasgow

>>>we have a first for Lightsabre, someone who was interviewed back in april 2006 in our webmaster interviews section, but who now returns as an official star wars author, bob vitas.
bob
was more than happy to chat with us a second time, and thrilled about his promotion and the results can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews.  then go and discuss it on the swora forums...

bob vitas

>>>Lightsabre continues its webmaster interviews.  this week we interview a member of one of the internets fastest growing star wars sites galactic binder, douglas boone.
douglas and company have done a tremendous job of making galactic binder an indispensible site in a very short time and his interview can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews, then go and discuss it on the swora forums...

douglas boone

>>>we welcome back to the site for the final time a producer who has not only entered the world of star wars for the original trilogy but also produced the first three indiana jones films, robert watts.
robert
called us here at Lightsabre
towers at 9.50am on a sunday morning and chatted at length about all manner of subjects, and the third and final part can be found here or by hovering over the menubar above and clicking interviews, then go and discuss it on the swora forums...

robert watts

 

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