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Friday, December 30, 2005

Saelt-Marae and J'Quille - Together Again

date posted: Dec 30, 2005 5:30 PM edit
Saelt-Marae and J'Quille - together again
Hi everyone!

Sean Crawford (Saelt-Marae - Yak Face) emailed me this afternoon to wish me a Happy New Year and to let me know about Tik and Tok - Slightly Deranged, a 4-song CD that he and Tim Dry (J'Quille) produced in anticipation of next year's full album.

You can hear a sample and purchase the CD HERE. The sample is awesome.

Mr. Crawford tells me that this is the first time in 20 years that a new work from Tik and Tok has been produced and we have Celebration III to thank for expediting this reunion. yay!
He says of the music:
"...Sounds like two androids in an out of control spaceship about to crashland on a planet populated only by sex-starved female aliens!"

To learn more visit Tik and Tok and see how it all got started.

Enjoy!
LM

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

How Lightsabers Work

date posted: Dec 28, 2005 2:32 AM edit
How Lightsabers Work

Hi all!

Springing from this blogger's entry asking how the lightsabers work, I decided to ask my friend, **Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, Ph.D, about the lightsaber. Does it exist in the real world, not the actual device in the form seen in the films but an equivalent. This was her response:

"Hi Leah,

I miss you too! I've actually had to look up some of my own answers without your usual copious input! Hurry back.

Hope your holidays calm down and you get some R&R.

As far as lightsabers go, yes and no about do they exist. Lasers are actually light sabers, you just don't see the beam. That's the catch. Lasers can cut things in half if they are powerful enough, of course they can burn wood and cinder block etc. It's just that unless the light reflects off something you don't see it. You can't see a beam of light just sticking in the air unless it's in a smoky room and the light can scatter off the dust and smoke particles. Even so the beam will either dissipate in the smoke as the light gets scattered out of it or it will reflect off the nearest wall. It won't have a well defined end or edge like a real saber.

A laser that strong would also not be portable or else it would be so small that the beam coming out of it would also be small (but still very powerful).

So, yes and no. Light sabers do exist, they just aren't sticks of light you can wield around like they are swords.

Colleen"


I'm sure there are some of you out there who, scientifically inclined or not, already knew this information or had a basic idea, as I did, about how they worked, but it was nice to get a short, understandable answer.
I want to thank Dr. Fitzpatrick for taking the time to answer my question.

If you want to learn a little more about lasers themselves you can visit How Stuff Works.

As usual, enjoy!
LM


**Dr. Fitzpatrick developed innovative technologies for NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense as well as being an avid +genealogist (an area of great personal interest for me). She is an expert on optical laser measurement techniques (part of the optoelectronic field I believe)
+She wrote a book called Forensic Genealogy which has been a very helpful resource for me and other genealogists/family historians in picking apart older photographs to cull valuable genealogical information, researching and decoding written databases and utilizing DNA analysis to decipher and track familial (genealogical) relationships.
EDIT: Dr. Fitzpatrick and my cousin, Andrew Yeiser, wrote another book recently called, DNA & Genealogy which is another terrific read and a great help.

lm

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

This Day in the UK

Nice nostalgia for our British friends!
There's a short video available too.
HERE.

Enjoy!

I hope that everyone's holidays are going well.

LM

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Actor Updates!

Before I head on out for the holidays I'd like to get in a quick actors update.

Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi - PT) was looking over the new BMW motorcycle with friend and fellow world traveller, Charley Boorman. See two pics HERE.

~~Perry King (Han Solo - Star Wars radio dramas), the Olive Crest National Spokesperson and contributor to the Olive Crest Homes for Abused Children in Orange County, CA since 1985, was a guest speaker at their luncheon here in Rancho Mirage, CA (a few miles from where I am here) on December 18. Here's the article.

~~Just in time for Christmas! James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader) stars as one of The Three Wise Men in Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth. This came out on TV in 1977 in four parts. All four parts will be aired on The History Channel on December 25th starting at 8am (Eastern time US) and ending around 4pm. Check The History Channel for the details.
Part 1: 12/25, 8am; Part 2: 12/25, 10am; Part 3: 12/25, 12pm; Part 4: 12/25, 2pm

~~Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba recently visited a children's hospital to hand out presents. They are filming Awake. And..If you'd like to see Mr. Christensen in a cross-country race (recorded earlier this year) then you can watch Cops, Cars & Superstars: Bullrun II which airs on Saturday, December 24th at 9:30 pm ET on Razer TV.

~~The following actors were added to the SWAD:
Colin Higgins (Thanks to Pablo Hidalgo)
Adam Smith (Thanks to Convention-Guests)
Nick Chilvers
Elizabeth Conboy
Brian Deacon
Tish Hicks
Lorri Holt
Colin Skeaping
Vic Armstrong

~~There are several new references that were sent in this week, and plenty of other updates. To see what they were click HERE.

Happy Holidays everyone!

See you next week!

LM

Monday, December 19, 2005

Visual Effects Oscar Nominations

The Visual Effects Award nominations for the Academy Awards were announced on Friday:

For Revenge of the Sith:
John Knoll, Roger Guyett, Rob Coleman and Brian Gernand (TPM, AOTC).

War of the Worlds:
Dennis Muren (worked on - TPM, AOTC, IJTD, ROTJ, ROTLA, ESB, ANH, etc, etc), Pablo Helman (TPM, AOTC), Randal M. Dutra (ROTJ) and Daniel Sudick.

Batman:
Janek Sirrs, Dan Glass, Chris Corbould and Paul Franklin.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:
Nick Davis, Nikki Penny, Chas Jarrett and Jon Thum.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
Jim Mitchell, Tim Alexander (TPM), Tim Webber and Jon Richardson.

Chronicles of Narnia:
Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney and Scott Farrar (ROTJ, TPM).King Kong:Joe Letteri (visual effects supervisor on ANH), Christian Rivers, Brian Van't Hul and Richard Taylor.

Any bets?

LM

Greivous and a Naboo Courier Win Golden Satellites

Matthew Wood (voice of General Greivous - ROTS; Sound God) AND Ben Burtt (Naboo Courier - TPM; Sound God) have won Golden Satellite Awards for their work (best sound mixing and editing) on Episode III.

Congratulations!

LM

OK...Just Leave Star Wars Out of It

Star Wars comments always come back to haunt or taunt politicians, when will they learn to just say no.
*shakes head*
HERE

LM

It's All Relative!

A Family Affair, All in the Family, Family Ties...you get the picture.

We've the Skywalker and other character family lines from the saga and EU over the years. So, I thought it would be interesting, for a moment, to take a brief look at the family ties that pepper the saga's other side, reality.
There may be more but these are the ones I know of at this point.

Behold! A fractured but alphabetical genealogical Star Wars list!

Baker, Kenny - R2-D2 (ALL)
*Baker, Eileen - Ewok (ROTJ)
Husband and wife until her passing.

Bell, Bobby -Ewok (Logray the Ewok Mystic - Ewok Adventures)
Bell, Patty - Ewok (ROTJ)

Bennett, Alan - Ewok (ROTJ)
Bennett, Sarah - Ewok (ROTJ)Both in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Watts, Robert - Lt. Watts (AT-ST Driver) (ROTJ)
Bulloch, Jeremy - Boba Fett (ESB, ROTJ)Half brothers.
They were both in, or worked on, ESB and ROTJ.

Burroughs, Peter (Ewok - ROTJ)
Davis, Warwick (Ewok - ROTJ)
Father-in-law and Son-in-law - Mr. Davis married Mr. Burrough's daughter, they also co-founded Willow Management for little people

Coppen, Leanne - Ewok (Baby Nipett) EA, Windla (E)
Coppen, Willie - Ewok (ROTJ)

Coppola, Roman - Senate Guard Naboo (TPM)
Coppola, Sophia - Saché (TPM)
Brother and sister and children of Francis Ford Coppola

Cottrell, Michaela - Even Piell (TPM)
Cottrell, Mike - Ewok Warrior (ROTJ)

Davis, Warwick (Ewok - ROTJ)
Davis, Kim (Ewok - ROTJ)Brother and Sister

Edgerton, Joel - Owen Lars (young) (PT)
Edgerton, Nash - stunts (Obi-Wan stand-in) (AOTC, ROTS)Brothers. They've collaborated on several projects together outside of Star Wars, they have their own production company and quite a few indie films under their belts. They are also producing their first feature length film in the upcoming year.

Fondacaro, Phil - Ewok (ROTJ)
Fondacaro, Sal - Ewok (ROTJ)Brothers. Both started in the entertainment field in Under The Rainbow with Carrie Fisher

Francks, Don - Boba Fett (voice) SWHS cartoon, Umwak, Dulok Shaman (1985-1986 Ewoks), and voices on Droids.
Summer, Cree - Princess Kneesaa (Ewoks - TV), Luminara Unduli (Clone Wars)
Father and Daughter.

Glover, Julian (General Veers - ESB)
Glover, Jamie (General Veers/Imperial Officer 1/Sadistic Moff - Battlefront II)
Father and son.
*Yes, you are reading that right. Son plays his father's role in the video game version, coinkeedink? I think not.
*Though they've never been in the same film production they have had some interesting similarities...more so than others on this list.
*Julian played a role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Jamie played a role in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.
*Julian played in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Jamie played a voice role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
*They've both played roles in Cadfael and in Holby City though in different episodes.
*They've starred in an audio play, Henry IV, together

Green, Lars - Ewok (ROTJ)
Green, Lydia - Ewok (ROTJ)

Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker (OT)
Nathan Hamill - Podrace Spectator/Naboo Palace Guard (Rehtul Minnau) (TPM)
Father and son

Nifa Hindes - Ann Gella (Twi'lek twins - TPM)
Nishan Hindes - Tann Gella (Twi'lek twins - TPM)
Sisters. ...they laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike. These gorgeous gals have been working as models together for several years.

Jesse Jensen - Saesee Tiin (AOTC)
Zac Jensen - Kit Fisto (AOTC)
Brothers and Jedi masters

Richard Jones - Ewok (ROTJ)
Trevor Jones - Ewok (ROTJ)

John Knoll - Opera Guest/Fireship Pilot (ROTS)
Alex Knoll - J. K. Burtola (AOTC)Father and son.
One proud father of a Jedi padawan

Kunga Jr., Lama - Ewok voices (ROTJ)
*Kunga the Elder, Lama - Ewok voices (ROTJ)Father and son. I wonder if they ever really knew how big the saga was.

Lawson, Denis - Wedge Antilles (OT)
McGregor, Ewan - Young Obi-Wan Kenobi (PT)Uncle and Nephew. Have worked in several stage productions together, the most noted is Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs in which Lawson directed McGregor. Wedge had no idea that his nephew was actually older than he was.

Lloyd, Jake - Young Anakin Skywalker (TPM)
Lloyd, Madison - Princess Ellie (TPM)
Brother and sister.

George Lucas - The one and only Flanneled One and Baron Papanoida (ROTS)
Amanda Lucas - Terr Tenneel (ROTS)
Katie Lucas - Lunae Minx - Purple Twi'lek at Night Club (AOTC), (voice) Tey How (as 'Tyger') (TPM), Senator Chi Eekway (ROTS)
Jett Lucas - Young Padawan at Jedi Archives (AOTC), Zett Jucassa (ROTS)
Father and children

Rick McCallum - Stormtrooper (ANHse), Naboo Courier (TPM)
Mousy McCallum - Bené (ROTS)
Father and daughter. Daughter hopes to follow in father's footsteps.

*Jack Purvis - Chief Jawa (ANH), Chief Ugnaught (ESB), Teebo/EG-6/EG-4 (ROTJ)
Katie Purvis - Ewok Mother (ROTJ)
Father and daughter.

Read, Carol - Ewok (ROTJ)
Read, Nicholas 'Nicky' - Ewok (ROTJ)

Staddon, Gerald - Ewok (ROTJ)
Staddon, Josephine - Ewok (ROTJ)
Husband and wife.

Sylla, John - Stormtrooper (voice), background Cantina voices (ANH)
Sylla, Tom - Stormtrooper (voice), Massassi Temple announcer (ANH), Battle Droid (TPM)Brothers. Hm, was there a spy at the temple?

Taylor, Benedict Sean - Fighter Pilot Bravo 2 (TPM)
Taylor, Femi - Oola (ROTJ)
Brother and sister. When Lucasfilm was adding the extra scenes to the OT for the DVD release they were also in the middle of filming TPM. One of the fighter pilot actors, Benedict Taylor, mentioned that his sister had been in ROTJ years earlier. When they asked who it was and found out it was Femi Taylor they were quick to get in touch with her. What was more amazing was what wonderful shape Femi was in. It is near impossible to tell the old scenes from the new based on Femi alone.

*have passed on.

Know any more family ties?
Any other family stories?
Let me know!
Enjoy!
LM

Saturday, December 17, 2005

360 Degrees of Oscar

Starting on February 1, 2006 Turner Classic Movies will present the 360 Degrees of Oscar to lead up to the Academy Awards which airs on March 5th.

Their presentation has a twist, as you may have gathered from the title. Like other Oscar themed TV film fests this one is chock full of Oscar winning films, 360 of them. But these films are each connected to the last by a common actor.

What caught my eye was The Conversation (1974), Harrison Ford plays a man named Martin Stett. This marks the premiere of this film on TCM. Then I noticed Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) also a premiere on TCM. If you recall Richard LeParmentier is in this film as well as others from the Star Wars universe.

I wondered how many other films had connections. So I checked out the list and this is what I found (listed by date and time shown on TCM.):
Shampoo~1975 - Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia)

Bridge on the River Kwai~1957 - Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi - OT), Nosher Powell (stunts - ANH)

The Lavender Hill Mob~1951 - Alec Guinness

Lawrence of Arabia~1962 - Alec Guinness, Tim Condren (Stormtrooper - ANH)

The Big Country~1958 - Burl Ives (narrator - Ewok Adventure)

Doctor Zhivago~1965 - Alec Guinness

Heaven Can Wait~1978 - Hamilton Camp (Rune Haako - SW Galactic Battlegrounds), Keene Curtis (4 episodes of the Star Wars radio drama...ANH)

2001: A Space Odyssey~1968 - Burnell Tucker (Control Officer Del Goren - ANH; Rebel Officer Wyron Serper - ESB), Tom Kane (Yoda - Clone Wars)

Dr. Srangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb~1963 - James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader); Shane Rimmer (InCom Engineer - guides R2-D2 into Luke's ship - ANH)

Goodbye Mr. Chips~1969 - Siân Phillips (Queen Charal - Ewoks: Battle for Endor)

To Kill a Mockingbird~1962 - Brock Peters (voice of Darth Vader - Radio Dramas)

Out of Africa~1985 - Steve Gawley (Death Star Trooper - ANH; Red Leader - Star Tours), Shane Rimmer

Executive Suite~1954 - Hamilton Camp
Hook~1991 - *Carrie Fisher, *George Lucas, Nick Tate (voice of Prince Xizor - SW Shadows of the Empire vg), Philip Proctor (Tomas Azzameen - X-Wing Alliance vg)*Carrie Fisher is the woman kissing on the bridge and George Lucas is the man kissing on the bridge.

Dick Tracy~1990 - Hamilton Camp, Harrison Ellenshaw (Rebel Officer - ESB)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?~1988 - Robert Watts (Lt. Watts, AT-ST Driver - ROTJ), Richard LeParmentier (General Motti - ANH), David Barclay (puppeteer: Jabba/Yoda), Mike Edmonds (Ugnaught - ESB; Logray/Jabba Puppeteer - ROTJ), Joe Alaskey (voice of Watto's Flunky - TPM vg), Jack Angel (voice of Rom Moc - Dark Forces vg), Christine Hewett (Senni Tonnika - ANH), Steve Gawley, Toby Philpott (Jabba puppeteer - ROTJ), Peter Diamond (stunts and many characters - OT)

Absence of Malice~1981 - Wilford Brimley (Noa - Ewok Adventure)

The China Syndrome~1979 - Wilford Brimley

The Ladykillers~1955 - Alec Guinness

Lovers and Other Strangers~1970 - Bea Arthur (Ackmena - Star Wars Holiday Special)

Waterloo Bridge~1940 - Pat Welsh (voice of Boushh in ROTJ)

Remains of the Day~1993 - Brigitte Kahn (Rebel Officer Toryn Farr - ESB)

Sense and Sensibility~1995 - Oliver Ford Davies (Sio Bibble - PT)

Mutiny on the Bounty~1962 - Eddie Byrne (General Vanden Willard - ANH)

The Conversation~1974 - Harrison Ford (Han Solo)

American Graffiti~1973 - Harrison Ford, Terence McGovern (voices of Stormtroopers - ANH; various SW vg), Scott Beach (Stormtrooper voice - ANH), Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. (Card Player - Ewoks: Battle for Endor)
Note: Weissmuller, Beach and McGovern also had roles in THX-1138

If you'd like to take a look at the schedule and times or just to figure out on your own which actors were the connectors for 360 Degrees of Oscar GO HERE.

Enjoy!

LM

Thursday, December 15, 2005

CONAN: Red Nails

CONAN: RED NAILS - one of Robert E. Howard's most famous novellas, is in the midst of filming now. It's an animated feature, the first for Conan.A few familiar faces will be voicing characters for the upcoming film.In addition to Hellboy star Ron Perlman (Cimmeria), CSI star Marg Helgenberger (Princess Tascela) and X-Men star James Marsden (Techotl) there will be three Star Wars related actors lending their voice talents to roles:
Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) - Tolkemec the Undead
A quote from the official site: "In a city of unspeakable evil, his crimes may be the greatest. And like his undead corpse, they cannot be contained by a burial mound."
Clancy Brown (Montross in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter vg) - Olmec Prince of Techultli
Cree Summer (Luminara Unduli in Clone Wars; Princess Kneesa in Ewoks) - Valeria of the Red Brotherhood

I'm sure as time passes and we get closer to the release date (summer of 2006) we will encounter more Star Wars related actors.I'm looking forward to this.
Anything with dragons.

Enjoy!

LM

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Featured Blog/Blogger StarWars.com

It was my honor to be chosen as Featured Blog at StarWars.com this past week.

It was a terrific surprise and I'd really like to thank Bonnie Burton for giving me the opportunity to share what I think and, of course, for choosing my blog.

Again, I am honored.

Thank you!
And, as usual,
enjoy!

LM

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Actor Updates!

Hello there!
A few things since the last update on Dec 6th...

Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia - OT) will be playing a reporter in a dark comedy film called Suffering Man's Charity.
The story is about a man who accidentally kills an author then finds an unpublished novel that he claims as his own. He becomes a great success but the author comes back to haunt him. It will be released sometime in 2006 and also stars Alan *Cu*mmings (who also directs), David Boreanaz and Anne Heche.
*I had to "star" his name for the Blogs.StarWars.com blog entries. Nice to know the filter works really well...apologies to Mr. C for having a name that has to be filtered. hehe

~~James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader) continues his readings for Verizon and this month, no surprise, the material is Christmas related. He reads the letter, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. You can read the short bit on this letter and hear Mr. Jones read it at Verizon's site HERE.

~~Check out this article on Bodie Taylor (younger Clonetroopers - AOTC/ROTS) and see what he's up to and what his plans are for next year.

~~Mr. Hidalgo (Janu Godhali - ROTS) was kind enough to inform me that Steve Sauers did not play Ronet Coorr in AOTC as I had listed in the SWAD, it was in fact Stephen George. Apologies to Mr. Sauers and Mr. George for havingincorrect info.

~~Brian Blessed (voice of Boss Nass in AOTC) tells of his work on the panto Peter Pan in this article from the East Anglian Daily Times.

~~A submitter spoke with Simon J. Williamson (Max Rebo/Gamorrean/Mon Calamari Officer - ROTJ) last week and learned that he worked (puppeteering) the eyes and ears of Nien Nunb in ROTJ.

~~As I mentioned in the post about King Kong:Doug Chiang (Flag Bearer - TPM) will be heading the production design of Beowulf which will star Greg Ellis (Disciple in KOTOR) as Garmund. Beowulf will be based on the epic tale of the same name and will be released sometime in 2007.EDIT 5/17/06 - Nick Jameson (Emperor Palpatine in the Dark Empire audio book and voice characterizations in 19 SW video games) will join the cast of Beowulf as well.

~~A few new additions to the SWAD:
Cy Town
Matt Roloff
Convention Guests has helped the SWAD with yet another actor:
Stephen Fitzalan - A short note here - Mr. Fitzalan played a Mon Calamari at the Ewok Celebration in ROTJ.
Corrections made:
T.V. Moore played Senator Dowmeia's Aide with the Australian Unit of ROTS.
Dean Mitchell played Senator Dowmeia's Aide with the UK Unit of ROTS.

~~Several new Star Wars references and an Indy reference. Find out what they are starting at the main page. Enjoy! NHA.n

Enjoy!

LM

Another Urban Legend?

HEHEHE




LM

Monday, December 12, 2005

King Kong DVD Tidbit

There is a seven-part documentary on the making of Kong (on the King Kong DVD) called RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong - Eighth Wonder of the World.
Two of the people interviewed are Phil Tippett and Ben Burtt. As well as non Star Wars related "VIPs": Fay Wray, Peter Jackson, Frank Darabont, Joe Dante, Harry Knowles and John Landis.

One of the commentaries features Ken Ralston (worked with the optical effects unit on Star Wars in '77, was an effects cameraman on The Empires Strikes Back in '80 and worked visual effects on Return of the Jedi in '83) and the legendary Ray Harryhausen who must have spawned hundreds of thousands of fans in awe of his work over the years...including me.

Oh! Ralston will also be visual effects supervisor on the film Beowulf coming out in '07. Beowulf is an adaptation of the epic poem Beowulf (which either wasn't finished or the ending was never found, I can't recall now) written by an unknown 8th century author. The film will be directed by Robert Zemeckis. Interesting.

Interesting casting too: Chris Coppola, Brenden Gleason, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich, Anthony Hopkins and Star Wars actor Greg Ellis and former ILM'er Doug Chiang will be heading the production design. And hometown girl Alison Lohman (born in Palm Springs)
LM

Edit: Mike Pangrazio is also interviewed for the Kong feature (thanks to tatood2 for letting me know I'd missed someone!!)

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Special Treat from SWNZ!

Hi!

Matt Glasgow of SWNZ tells me the site is currently running a competition with prizes (autographs and related collectibles - Tessek/Mon Calamari officer in ROTJ) from mutual pal and 'Return of the Jedi' actor Gerald Home. The competition is open to visitors from all over the world.For more details go to SWNZ!

Good luck!

LM

Friday, December 09, 2005

Chronicles...

Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter all have something in common. Boy with humble beginnings saves the world. All three of these epic franchises have been wildly successful at the box-office and in literary form (the two latter, LOTR and HP, before the films were released). While Narnia has the potential to be another great screen epic we'll see if the film matches the expectations of ¹millions of fans who've digested the classic young persons series since their publishing from 1950 - 1956.

Over the last few months I've heard some people complain about C.S. Lewis's use of ²religious allegory within the Chronicles of Narnia. To what end? I challenge most younger children (the books are for children) to point out which scenes possess the allegorical rhetoric.
Honestly most children don't care.
Is it a good story? Yes.
Is it fun to read? Yes.
Adventure-filled? Yes!!
What more is there?

Alternately, I've read Christian groups all throughout the US, and in the UK, are buying groups of tickets for their parishioners and having Narnia related events.
They've embraced the Chronicles as a draw for their younger and more impressionable members in hopes that they will increase their ever dwindling flock.

I really see nothing wrong in that, a priest in my church gave a sermon once that included Star Wars...talk about surprised!
Some religions (beyond Christianity) claim an affinity to the basic principles George Lucas placed in his sagas and there's not much difference in what C.S. Lewis proposed through Narnia. Though Lewis's account is closer to the surface where you can pick out more obvious Christian details, Lucas pulled more from Eastern philosophies but in a more general manner.
So what if people find the common Universal thread (insert obligatory Joseph Campbell influences here) close to what they believe.

As a child I was exposed to many different stories from all over the world and it was of no consequence that my mother was a Christian. She knew a good story! The stories had that common theme, a lesson to be learned wrapped in a colorful tale. Again, no matter... East, West, North, South and all points in-between, they are still classic good-over-evil and boy, or in this case children,-with-humble-beginnings-save-the-world tales.

Because of Star Wars' popularity, and financial success, tales like these can be told on the big screen without being laughable, at least visually. What C.S. Lewis feared most was live-action versions of his series, based on his knowledge of film and effects to that date.
Lewis once said (as quoted in a letter written in 1959), "Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare. At least, with photography," he also added, "a human, pantomime Aslan would to me be blasphemy". Had Lewis lived beyond ³1963 and beyond Star Wars he may have eagerly embraced film versions of his Chronicles.

With seven books in the series (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"; The Horse and his Boy; The Magician's Nephew; The Last Battle) and big budgets to expend, there is much to look forward to and no worries about the actors becoming too old to play the parts since the characters change from book to book. A luxury Harry Potter is quickly losing.I no longer have my 1970 version of the classics, which I think I loved to death, I do have the 1974 printing which is in good condition...although it does appear that I used the box for the set to house crayons at one time. I enjoyed reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe just as much now as I did at 5 years old and I hope to enjoy the release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe...and any subsequent releases.

I don't know about the writing but I made my point anyway.

LM

__
¹The Narnia novels sold more than 100 million copies worldwide while Tolkien's series sold around 30 million
² Shortly before he wrote the Narnia books he'd been converted to Christianity by a close friend and author during an all-night religious discussion. By dawn he'd seen the light literally and figuratively.
³ C.S. Lewis died the day Kennedy was assassinated

~~Note (of course):
The following Star Wars alum in the cast and crew: Liam Neeson (voice of Aslan ; Qui Gon Jinn in TPM), Kiran Shaw (Ginarrbrik - Ewok and stunt double in ROTJ), Steve Sauers (creature technical director: ILM ; digital simulation artist AOTC), Christopher Townsend (digital effects artist: ILM ; effects on SW: ANH and the PT)

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Philpott from Splott

Hi!

Here's a quick tidbit about Toby Philpott (part of the team that was Jabba the Hutt) at icWales that was released today.

He's a great guy and I'm sure he'd love to hear from you! You can visit his eclectic and wonderful site HERE.

Enjoy!

LM

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Queen Apilana Creates Star For Charity.

Keisha Castle-Hughes (Queen Apilana - ROTS) has created a star for a charity auction which represents her vision of Christmas. The auction is for Mercury Stars for Youthline, starts today and ends on December 16th.

Check it out and bid!

LM

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Sketches!

Hey there,I made several new sketches which I've added to the site.
Captain Tarpals (my favorite Gungan - TPM) sorry for the mis-spelling in the link and .jpg.
Princess Leia 1 (ROTJ)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (ROTS)
Princess Leia 2 (ROTJ)

Enjoy them.

LM

Actor Updates!

First off this morning...awards news.

Grey DeLisle has been nominated for an Annie award for her voice performance of Kitty in Danger Rangers (Fires & Liars).

Rob Paulsen has also been nominated for an Annie awards for his voice performance of Eubie in The Happy Elf.

The Clone Wars has been nominated for Best Animation Television Production for Chapters 21 - 25.

~~You can see The Flanneled One in Alien Planet which is now out on DVD.

~~Nick Tate (Prince Xizor/IG-88 - Shadows of the Empire; and also played Carter in Space: 1999) and his son (a writer) were recently at Sydney's (Australia) Comedy Store attending a workshop given by American comedy coach Judy Carter. Their aim was to help add a little comedy to their lives/acting/writing.

~~BBC 2 Radio is presenting the classic Oliver Twist every Friday night for 6 weeks (started on December 2), David Warner (Grand General Brashin - Star Wars Force Commander video game and Evil Genius in Time Bandits) is narrating/reading.

~~Comedian/actor Greg Proops (Announcer Beed Annodue - TPM) is on tour with Drew Carey and others called The Green Screen Tour (a little bit like Whose Line is it Anyway?) He's also voicing Bob the Builder in Bob the Builder: Project Build It and will be starring in Ileannarama (TV series) with Ileanna Douglas.

~~John Lithgow (Yoda - Radio Dramas) offers and introduction to the book Ladies or Gentlemen: A Pictorial History of Male Cross-Dressing in the Movies (he's made 9 appearances in films in drag)

~~References this entry include:
Recess: School's Out (Film)
UNKLE (Music)
The Simpsons (TV)
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go! (TV) Which stars or has starred SW Alum: Mark Hamill; Kevin Michael Richardson; Kari Wahlgren; Clancy Brown; Dee Bradley Baker; Frank Welker and Jeff Glen Bennett.Here's the main page to the links.

~~Added the following actors to the SWAD:
Billy Brown
John Callen
Dean Mitchell (Aide to Senator Dowmeia - ROTS)
Stuart Myers
Mike Mungarvan

Enjoy!

LM

Friday, December 02, 2005

ESB, ROTJ, Indy Writer Awarded

Writer Lawrence Kasdan will receive the Screen Laurel Award from the WGA on February 4, 2006 in New York.

He wrote or helped to write:
The Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Return of the Jedi
The Big Chill (which had an Indy reference in it...of course)
And wrote and directed one of my favorite modern westerns Silverado

Pretty cool.

A teeny bit more info HERE and more info HERE

LM

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Good News!

Hi!

I've managed to sneak bits of my little world of art into LIFE, the Star Wars universe and EVERYTHING. (#48 and #26 )

As I mentioned in #26 I was preparing to meet a deadline for the La Quinta Arts Festival (LQAF), one of the premier outdoor fine-arts shows in the nation. 250 artists from all over the world are chosen (juried into) the event which runs for four days every March.

Here's a little bit about the festival and a little about the La Quinta Arts Foundation:
La Quinta Arts Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides educational art and cultural opportunities. La Quinta Arts Festival is the foundation's primary fund-raiser. Festival proceeds are used for visual arts programming in public schools, after school at East Valley Boys and Girls Clubs, and for arts higher education scholarships.

I missed last year's deadline due to emergency surgery and a very bumpy recovery but I had worked particularly hard before that time to meet the deadline, I was fairly disappointed.

So last night I'm checking the email and I spot it...the JURY RESULTS. I'm afraid to open it; acceptance...rejection, which one would it be? You know already... Yes, I was juried into the festival. I was in competition with thousands of other applicants nationally.

The work that I'm doing for the LQAF is somewhat different than what I do for a living, animal portraiture, and certainly different than my Star Wars fan sketches. The work for the festival is classified as Fine Art and even though animal portraiture falls under "Fine Art" technically I consider it illustrative work.

I'll be working extra hard over the course of the next 3½ months to get things just right.

I am very excited!

LM

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Emperor Palpatine was once a Foghat Bassist

In days of yore when the internet was barely a glimmer in Al Gore's...er I mean Dr. Jonathan B. Postel's eye. A young man named Nick from Philadelphia started a band named American Dream. AD was short lived but in 1974 Nick joined a British band named Foghat. Nick played the bass joyfully for a little over a year until he split the band to play solo. Having struck out on his own for solo albums he still returned several times to produce albums for Foghat and others. Most notably, for many, Foghat's Fool for the City which contained the rock classic 'Slow Ride'.

Eventually Nick found his way out of music and into acting. For a decade and a half he voiced a myriad of characters in video games where he ruled the galaxy many times over (10 times I believe) and TV...where he eventually came to rule the galaxy again.

Yep, Emperor Palpatine from The Clone Wars animated TV series and Star Wars video games is none other than Foghat bassist/producer/engineer Nick Jameson!

*I'm betting this is only a revelation to me LOL I seem to be the last to know when it comes to music connections

*In addition to his Clone Wars and video game work Jameson has also voiced Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars: Dark Empire audio book. Oh, and he was the voice of Max in the hugely popular Sam and Max Hit the Road.

LM

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

I'd Buy THAT For a Dollar

Last week fans were asked to take an online survey given by StarWars.com. Some of the survey dealt with downloading media at home. Did we want it? How much would be pay for it? and Where did we want it to come from?

My answers for the above came:
Yes - Of course! I'd love to have this ability, legally.
$2-3 - fair to me since no hard copy exists essentially cutting out any middleman pricing and you have control over the process.
StarWars.com - Directly from the source of course.

Several days before the survey arrived The Hollywood reporter sat down with George Lucas (see it HERE on page 45) to talk about the advancement of film/filming and the theatre experience/owners and the rate at which it's all progressing. Slowly he says. I agree.
He also had this to say about the industry and piracy:
THR: There are definitely some dynamics that are changing the economics of the business. What do you think of Mark Cuban's idea of releasing films simultaneously at home and in theaters?
Lucas: I think it'll happen -- it'll have to happen.
THR: Really? Because of the economics?
Lucas: Because of piracy. It's the only way you can stop piracy; there is no other way. You have to get a very, very aggressive enforcement program so that people do have consequences to stealing, but you also have to be able to offer it to them (in the home) for the same price they can get it on the street. It won't be DVDs -- DVDs aren't going to be around too much longer. If you can get it at home for $2, then why would you go on the street and get a bad version?

Precisely. $2-3 for in-home entertainment instantly. No waiting, no driving, no hassle.
Tailor made for people who cannot always find the extra time to plan a theatre outing (which, by the way, I wouldn't trade for anything...I enjoy the experience immensely), cannot afford going several times a month or more (babysitter/dinner/movie/gas...jeez! This adds up!), can't get out because of a disability, shouldn't go out because of a cold/flu or some other malady or simply because they'd rather not pay $9.50 for what they consider marginal movies (see this interesting blog entry by Pabawan --link removed, no longer exists--).
Not to mention the boon to independent filmmakers who go through so much to get their films distributed through traditional channels and out to film festivals in hard copy when they could eliminate the need for so many copies by offering the film for a fair-priced download on the internet.
I would never fork over $10 to see an awful version of any film from some shady character off the street or anywhere else for that matter. Why do it in the first place? To see it before anyone else? Bragging rights? LOL

Similarly why would I want to fork over $15 - $25 or more for a DVD (or other media...Sony and their Cd's --link removed, no longer exists--) with Copyright Protection that sends out a rootkit into my computer causing lord-knows-what to my computer/files/personal information. ...a little like AOL's viral-like software, yuk.
(see Master Mike's terrific entry on Sony and this subject --link removed, no longer exists-- and another good one HERE --link removed, no longer exists-- and for good measure look at this one on printers and tracking.)

Lucas is right, embracing internet downloading, at a fair price, is a viable and rational idea. He knows where the industry should be and how to satisfy the needs (wants really) of the customer without violating their rights and curbing an ugly stealing problem, at least for one medium, simultaneously.I hope the results of the survey will help to move us a step closer to this reality for audio books, films, radio programs, etc.

Heck, I'd buy that for THREE dollars.

LM

Diane Keaton...Sexy Older Alien

An interesting comment made by actress Diane Keaton in an interview for TIME magazine (Dec 16).

TIME Magazine: After the success of "Something's Gotta Give," there were supposed to be more sexy roles for women over 50, yes?

Diane Keaton: Oh, of course not. Never. It requires somebody who's a good writer who wants to write about that subject. Who is gonna do that? George Lucas? I don't think so. I'd have to be an alien, a sexy, older alien.

hehehe, that just tickles me for some reason.

I love unique and eccentric people.

LM

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Confessions of a Former Whipid

Hey there!

This morning Mr. Tim Dry (J'Quille the Whipid - ROTJ) sent an email to me announcing the publication of his autobiography, Falling Upwards: Scenes from a Life. It's available to pre-order right now at DiggoryPress and will be available in December at Amazon.com.

This is going to be a neat read, Mr. Dry has lead a fascinating life.

LM

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Actor Updates!

Hi! Updates to Nerf-Herders Anonymous...

Matthew Wood (voice of General Grievous - ROTS) let us know on his blog entry earlier this week that he'd just finished work on Steven Spielberg's Munich and is working on another project back at The Ranch.

~~Mr. Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian - ESB, ROTJ) will be a guest on Denis Leary's Merry F***ing Christmas on Sunday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central. I heard that the guest stars were going to help Barenaked Ladies perform "Jingle Bells" Should be interesting.

~~Christopher Malcolm (Zev Senesca - ESB) has recently put up his own website check it out HERE. (EDIT: link removed, site no longer exists)

~~Sebastian Shaw (Anakin - ROTJ). One might think that there would not be much to report after an actor has died, especially when that actor has been gone for over 10 years (11 on Dec 23). I have found quite a bit of info (at least credit-wise) for Mr. Shaw and apparently there is more to find somewhere out there. No doubt in some dusty and dank archive full of other semi-forgotten film and stage actors.Mr. Shaw has admitted to be a poor actor in his younger days. He's said that his lack of experience and maturity was partially to blame. Shaw also noted that most of the parts he was hired for were "beefcake" (those based solely on his looks rather than his ability to act) roles, directors needing to inject a healthy dose of heterosexuality looked to Shaw. And, believe it or not, Shaw was very popular in the 30's and 40's.

~~Speaking of passing actors and credits. Richard Marquand ( AT-ST Driver/EV-9D9 - ROTJ), who died in 1987, still has credits that pop up every now and again. He did a bit of theatre acting in his younger days, though I cannot seem to find many of those credits around. I did find that he directed Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi in a production of Edward II in 1970.Mr. Marquand seemed perpetually confounded by Lucas's choice in him as director for Return of the Jedi. Whenever asked about how the directorship came to be he seemed at a loss for an answer. Lucas had always insisted that it was a viewing of Eye of the Needle with Donald Sutherland, directed by Marquand, that swayed his decision to use Mr. Marquand.If any of you might know something of his earlier life (in theatre) please drop me a line. Thanks!

There's finally a picture of the ever elusive (at least photographically) Ann Sachs (Princess Leia in the Radio Dramas), I also found a picture of her with Anthony Daniels, Perry King and Mr. Billy Dee Williams as they worked their characters for the radio drama.

~~Mr. Phil Eason (Yaddle in AOTC) dropped me a line last week and filled me in on a ton of work that he's done over the years that aren't credited anywhere else on the internet....except for his personal site....As with many of the other actors who have generously contributed time and credits to the SWAD I'm ever thankful for all their efforts!

~~Actors added to the Star Wars Actors Database:
Salo Gardner
Anthony Lang
Jeff Moon
Harvey Korman (long overdue)

~~There were a few Star Wars references in Smallville and Drawn Together and there were other updates as well to the site. HERE

Enjoy!

LM

Cute Pic of the Flanneled One

Just this past week Mr. George Lucas attended/co-hosted an event in San Francisco with his son, Jett, that will help considerably in the efforts to build the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. placed between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. The event was called the Dream Dinner.

The photograph, taken at the event, shows Lucas with Basketball Hall of Famers (l - r)Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Russell (William F. Russell) leaning in with a word to the young Mr. Lucas, Bill Walton (William T. Walton), and Nate Thurmond. HERE Very cute.

A second picture also shows Samuel L. Jackson and Deborah and Carlos Santana. Lucas seems a little taller in this one ...I suppose he was pulling our legs in the previous photograph. HERE

If you'd like to read a little more about the event, the contributors and the Memorial you can see an article HERE and the official website for the MLK Memorial HERE.

LM

Friday, November 25, 2005

James Earl Jones

Hi...Quickie to remind everyone not to miss James Earl Jones in The Reading Room on the Hallmark Channel. Saturday night (11/26)

Enjoy.
LM

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Thanksgiving

As I am here at 3 am on Thanksgiving morning, working on the meal for tomorrow and contemplating the success of my son's third birthday, I thought I'd take a small break and wish all of you (Americans...those who celebrate) a very happy Thanksgiving.
I hope that you all are safe, sound and sated on this holiday.

I'd like to start off with the Thanksgiving Proclamation laid forth by my *x10 grandfather,

*Governor William Bradford:
"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings. "
--William Bradford
Ye Governor of Ye Colony

~~OK... on to Star Wars:
Our own Mr. Pablo Hidalgo AND Pete Vilmer (with Steve Sansweet) will be appearing at 3 different events in the upcoming weeks.

I was also looking through some old papers that I'd saved and came across an article from OMNI Magazine in May of 1983 on Richard Marquand and Return of the Jedi. You can read the article HERE.

I always find it strange to read old articles, this one was no exception. It conjured up fond memories of my days reading each OMNI cover-to-cover. And, unfortunately, the awful eighties. Even though their "factual" articles on the latest in scientific research or discoveries was at times laughable I did find the reading enjoyable on a certain level and continued to read the magazine until it's overdue death in the early 1990's.

I found another article, again from OMNI Magazine, on the medium of radio and the "modern" production technology that goes into shows such as The Empire Strikes Back radio drama from 1983 and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a personal favorite. Essentially it's a review highlighting production technology.

Other updates to the site can be found HERE.

Enjoy!
LM


*(10th generation grandfather)
- It may interest some of you to know that author Troy Denning is also related to Governor William Bradford.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Actor Updates!

Hello!I'm busier than normal this season and won't be catching much of a break until the late spring.

Work = Good.
OK...

Updates for Nerf-Herders Anonymous:

James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader - OT/PT) will be a featured speaker for the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference 2005 at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, TX from December 1-3.Remember to catch his reading of the Gettysburgh Address from Verizon.

~~Keira Knightly (Sabé - TPM) Miss Knightly is currently starring in Pride & Prejudice...she is also learning how to drive and hopes to obtain her license in 2006.

~~Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi - PT) will be hopping back on his motorcycle in 2006 for another adventure this time travelling between the tip of Scotland to Cape Town South Africa.

~~Ed Begley Jr. (Boba Fett in the ROTJ radio drama) will be starring in a new animated feature film called Fly Me To The Moon...starring as the voice of Poopchev - one of a few flies that catch a ride aboard the Apollo moon mission. Interesting premise.

~~Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker - OT) is starring in a Comcast commercial called Comtastic! that is airing on TV now.

~~Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars - PT) will participate in Formula 1 racing in Tazmania, SE Commonwealth of Australia, for children's charity Mark Webber Challenge in November of 2006.

~~Paul Hecht (Palpatine in the ROTJ radio drama) is starring in a play called Living Forever on stage until the end of December at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, MI.

~~John Ratzenberger (Major Bren Derlin in ESB) is the starring voice of video game The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer...as the Underminer. Some of you may know that he voiced the Underminer in the film release of The Incredibles.

~~Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian ESB/ROTJ) will be singing, with several other guest celebrities, Barenaked Ladies version of Jingle Bells for Dennis Leary's Merry F#%$in' Christmas which will air on 11/27/05 here in the US on Comedy Central.

~~Phil Delancy (One of the Bravo Pilots in TPM) stars as Miles in a film called A Far Cry which will be released in spring 2006.

~~Added the following actors to the Star Wars Actors Database:
Michael Byrne
Derek Tong

Thank you!
Enjoy!
LM

Friday, November 11, 2005

Creepy Crawlies & Fancy Flora

Over hundreds of years entomological systemists and other scientists used Greek and Latin based nomenclature seriously, never once veering from the standards set by such systemist luminaries as Theophrastus and Carolus Linneas.

In 1901 a strict set of nomenclatural rules defined by the International Zoological Congress was published for scientists. It wasn't long before the a slow rebellion started. To name two...In 1912 G. W. Kirkaldy named a series of true bugs the generic names of Dolichisme, Florichisme, Marichisme, Nanichisme, Ochisme and Polychisme. When read aloud they suspiciously sounded more like...er...osculatory adventures.1947 - Pate named a wasp genus Lalapa then named the species lusa... Lalapa lusa.

It wouldn't be too much longer still when naming insects after famous fantasy and sci-fi icons.Starting around 1958 Dr. Arnold S. Menke, of the Systematic Entomology Laboratory at the U.S. National Museum and the modern master of entomological nomenclature, found his own trend of using popular cultural references in naming newly found "creepy crawlies."Year later several made it into the annals of Star Wars reference-dom. (yes, I know it's not a word)

In 1983 Menke named three wasps after Star Wars characters:
Polemistus chewbacca
Polemistus vaderi
Polemistus Yoda

Other Star Wars named creatures...named by other entomologists:
Agathidium vaderi (slime mold beetle)
Adelomyrmex vaderi Fernández (very colorful ant)
Thricops vaderi (a type of dragonfly)
Arketypon vaderi (a wasp found in Australia)
Harrison Ford, (Vice Chairman of the American Society Conservation Interanational/Han Solo/Indiana Jones) has the following named after him:
Peidole harrsonfordi - A Central American ant (Edward Wilson)
Calponia harrisonfordi - A Central Amercian spider (Edward Wilson)
Ford was also asked to name a new breed of butterfly. He chose the name Georgia, after his daughter.

Florally speaking there are several flowers named after Star Wars words:
Daylillies:
Empire Strikes Back
Jedi Codie Wedgeworth
Jedi Dot Pierce
Jedi Flamingo Kid
Jedi Free Spirit
Jedi Golden Girl
Jedi Pink Bouquet
Jedi Rose Beauty
Jedi Rose Frost
Jedi Sue McCord
Jedi Tequila Sunrise

Iris:
Darkside

Orchids:
Darth Vader
Skywalker Red Star

I'm sure there are many other scientific names related to the Star Wars saga that we've yet to find. It's amazing how far-reaching the references go.

I hope the trend continues.

LM

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Godzilla!

Wow. Amazing.
An article today at MSNBC about the recently found Dakosaurus andiniensis, affectionately nicknamed...Godzilla

Not at ALL what I'd want to encounter in an ocean swim.

LM

Monday, November 07, 2005

Actor Updates!

Hello everyone.

Hope your weekend was full of ROTS viewing and otherwise pleasant.

A few select updates:
Carrie Fisher, Daniel Logan and Ray Park will be at BigAppleCon on November 18-19-20, at the Penn Plaza Pavilion, 33rd St& 7th Ave, NYC.

~~Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn - PT) Turned a nomination for Best Irish Actor for a Film (Kinsey) into a win at the Irish Film and TV Awards (The Irish Oscars) on Sunday night, November 6, 2005.

~~Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu - PT) was named the 6the best celebrity golfer according to Golf Digest magazine.

~~David Alan Grier (Bo Shek and other characters in ROTJ radio drama) is rumored to be starting his own talk show.

~~Hugh Quarshie (Captain Panaka - PT) recently documented his trip to Ghana (country of his birth) while there to film segments for TV's hospital drama Holby City on which he plays Dr. Ric Griffin.

~~Rarely seen Barry Gnome (Kabe (Bat Alien) in ANH).Photographer Peter Lavery captured a great photograph of Mr. Gnome while a clown with the Denning and Wild Supershow in 1971. Make sure to look at the other great photographs that Mr. Lavery has taken of other circus performers HERE.

~~A nice interview with Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine OT/PT) at The Guardian, HERE.

~~Actors added to the Star Wars Actors Database:
Paul Bannon
Emma Bextor
Danny Cavanagh
Catherine Ernster
Alison Gilford
Kes Green
Sean Hardman
Noel Hawkins
Johnny Hinton
Eddie Irani
Wes McGann
Terry Sach
Dan Turner
Jerry Baker
Chantelle Barbieri
Lucas Louca
Dean Mitchell
Terry Mustoo
Peter Roy
Tom Sanderson
Michael Savva
Dave Sexton
Sally Sinclair
Tommy Weldin
Masa Yamaguchi
Hadley Kay
Sue Murphy
Anthony Parr
Greg Swanson

A big thank you to Convention Guests who helped lead me to 15 (listed in BOLD) of the above named actors.~~All other updates HERE.

Enjoy!

LM

Thursday, November 03, 2005

John Hollis (1931 - 2005)

More sad news to pass along...
Jeremy Bulloch (his SITE) reports that actor John Hollis (Lobot in The Empire Strikes Back) has passed away after a long illness. He died on October 18, 2005 in London.

There's little known about his personal life...he was married to Sheila and loved golf...but his credits were fairly extensive. He worked in film, TV, theatre (mostly in audio plays) and radio. Hollis attended quite a lot of conventions in years past and was very kind to all his fans.

LM

Sunday, October 30, 2005

James Earl Jones designs Lunchbox for charity!

Only a day and a half left to bid on this lunchbox (EDIT: link no longer available) designed by James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader)
...proceeds go to the Food Bank of New York.

LM

Friday, October 28, 2005

Actor Updates!

Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker - OT) is voicing a character in Toonami's upcoming IGPX - the series will premiere on November 5, on the Cartoon Network.

~~Don Francks (voice of Boba Fett in the SW Holiday Special) has a new film coming out called Lie With Me, he plays David's ailing father.

~~Bai Ling (Senator Banu Breemu in ROTS) will be making her singing appearance on VH1's But Can They Sing? this Sunday, October 30, 2005. She will be singing Madonna's "Like a Virgin."

~~Gerald Home (Tessek-Squid Head and Mon Calamari Officer/Controller/Aide - ROTJ) has been busy with a pop video, The Word (program that encourages children to read) and you can see him in a commercial for Dutch Railways!
He's got a few photos of the shoot at his official site.

~~Rena Owen (Taun We - AOTC; Senator Nee Alavar - ROTS) has two new films on the horizon, The Horrible Flowers (Linda) and Pledge of Allegiance (Maria).

~~James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader) is the narrator for a CD called, The American Christmas Carol It will be available on QVC in November.The recording is based on a special program for PBS also called, The American Christmas. It will air to a select audience in Dallas, TX in December of this year, but will not be nationally broadcast until 2007.

~~You'll be able to check out John Lithgow (voice of Yoda in the Radio Dramas) in a new commercial for Campbell's Select (soup) airing nationally this fall and winter.

~~David Warner (voice Grand General Brashin in Star Wars: Force Commander) is featured on a new CD called The Essential Shakespeare Live. It is a rare opportunity to hear many great performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK) from the last 40 years, previously it was only possible to hear these recordings by visiting the British Library. Mr. Warner's performance as the title role in Hamlet~1966 is included.

~~Adrian Dunbar (the unused Bail Antilles in AOTC) is starring in BBC TV's Kidnapped as Uncle Ebenezer.

~~Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi - PT) won the Lastminute.com theatre Best Actor award for Guys and Dolls. He will leave the production in November.

~~Diahann Carroll (Mermeia the Holographic wow - SW Holiday Special) was interviewed for the Academy of Television. This interview, which comes in 8 parts, is part of a long list of interviews recorded by the Academy to chronicle TV history in front of and behind the camera. Google and the Academy teamed up and have set a precedent by allowing users free access to all of these incredible interviews.

*NOTE Michael J. Fox (Spin City, Back to the Future), Alan Alda (M*A*S*H, West Wing), Joseph Barbera (of Hanna/Barbera fame), Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Dick Van Dyke (Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Poppins), William Shatner (Star Trek), Fess Parker (Daniel Boone/Davy Crockett..for those of you who remember), Jonathan Winters (Mork & Mindy), Julia Childs (TV chef)...just to name a few. Each interview part is about 20 - 30 minutes long and there are generally 4-8 parts to each interview and about 75 interviewees. That's about 225 hours of viewing. Astonishing.

~~The passing away of several actors connected with Star Wars this month:
William Hootkins (Red 6, Jek Porkins - ANH)
Charles Rocket (voice of Nym in Star Wars Starfighter and Jedi Starfighter)
Long John Baldry (voiced background characters from the Ewoks series)
Hamilton Camp (voiced Rune Haako in Galactic Battlegrounds)

~~Newly added to the Star Wars Actors Database:
Emily Berry
Richard Donat
Kelly Hu
Nicky Katt
Dylan Lewis
Mardji the Elephant
Joe Matheson
Diane Polley
Tarik the Bear


~~Enjoy!

See you next time.

LM

Feel the Fright, Luke!

The chills of fall set in our bones
All hallows' eve approaches
Vampires, werewolves, mummies roam...
Headless coachmen drive their spectral coaches
Monsters, spooks, demons...stomp, slither, creep and crawl
Hunters, slayers, priests and deacons...Lay siege and vanquish all!
~Me

A few films you might like to see for the season that star Star Wars-connected actors, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing:

Top three...
Dracula~1958 (also known as the Horror of Dracula) <--- a="" an="" and="" are="" aristocratic="" as="" at="" athletic="" be="" beat.="" best="" but="" by="" can="" chain.="" chemistry="" complete="" compliment="" count="" cushing="" dark="" dashing="" dracula.="" dracula="" far="" favorite.="" featured="" feel="" film.="" first="" goodness="" hammer="" he="" helsing="" horror="" i="" in="" is="" it="" just="" lee="" monster....lee="" more="" my="" of="" on-screen="" outright="" peak="" personal="" portrayed="" powerful="" rather="" s="" seductive="" sensually="" shame="" strong="" swashbuckling="" t="" than="" that="" the="" their="" think="" this="" time="" to="" top="" van="" was="" wasn="" well-mannered="">Curse of Frankenstein~1957 - Cushing's and Lee's first pairing together and the beginning of Hammer's Renaissance of the horror genre. Boy, Peter Cushing's Baron Victor Frankenstein is delightfully obsessive...Cushing is immersed in his Frankenstein. And even though Lee has no dialogue his performance shines brightly as the tortured and sympathetic monster trapped in a hideous and mute shell. Great fun and horror!

The Mummy~1959 - Lee, in another role absent of dialogue, performs amazingly well with his eyes and body movements as the living-dead Egyptian priest, Kharis. He manages to evoke just enough sympathy from the viewer while brutally picking off his victims. Cushing is just a joy to watch here, he is equally at home in the role of hero as that of evil genius.

The Creeping Flesh~1973 - Scientist thinks he's got the cure for evil but the best intentions always go BAD...always! Do they never learn?

Cushing and Lee play rival half-brothers, Emmanuel and James Hildern respectively, with James being the less successful and more desperate of the two, any character (in any film) that runs an insane asylum might turn out to be a little unstable. Emmanuel Hildern's the more rational of the brothers yet he's the one who believes he can remove evil from the human race by fighting fire with fire, injecting humans with cleansed-of-evil blood cells from the water-regenerated flesh of a New Guinean skeleton/fossil with a huge cranium!!

I love the idea of the creeping flesh from dry bone, like Mogwai..do NOT add water.

Dracula A.D. 1972~1972 - You just have to know going in to any film that has a its release year in the title is going to be heavy on youth-oriented pop culture du jour and will look and feel silly and dated immediately. As much as you want to be repulsed by the over-the-top 70's [unintentional] camp you can't help but be sucked in. Lee and Cushing, among all the "way out"-ness, manage to keep their regal composure as actors and as their respective characters, Dracula and Van Helsing. Mostly fun.

Horror Express~1972 I only recall seeing parts of this film waaaaaaayy back, years ago. I remember Lee and Cushing of course and the manner in which the victims turn up dead on the train bound for London via Siberia..blood from the eyes (which go opaque), ears, nose and mouth but I don't recall anything else. I must've fallen asleep. Might have to add this one to list of films to revisit.

Hound of the Baskervilles~1959 Hell hounds...gotta love hell hounds. Cushing is by far my favorite Sherlock Holmes (I'm sure by know you realize that I might be a Cushing fan) and he does a splendid job portraying the great detective of Baker Street. Lee does well as the romantic Baskerville. And the sets are terrific. Good combination of mystery and Gothic horror.

House of the Long Shadows~1983 - The first hour and a half are worth the admission price (if renting) but the film starts to stumble after it's first of several "endings," the characters are a tad cliched - wasn't everything in the eighties?

House that Dripped Blood~1970 - Lee in Sweets to the Sweet and Cushing in Waxworks. Note: Denholm Elliott (Raiders of the Lost Ark was in Method for Murder)

I, Monster~1971 - Fairly good retelling of Jekyll and Hyde...why the names were changed to Dr. Marlowe and Mr. Blake is a mystery and I can't say I enjoy watching Lee's slightly goofy portrayal of the killer Hyde...er...Blake.

Night of the Big Heat (or Island of the Burning Doomed)~1967 - I prefer the alternate title Satanic Rites of Dracula~1974 - Much better than Dracula AD 1972. Adding always watchable Joanna Lumley to the cast worked. Ditto on Lee and Cushing here again....and no funky grooviness.

Scream and Scream Again~1969 - Vincent Price has the largest role between the three actors and that's not saying much...Lee and Cushing's total screen time can't amount to much more than 10 - 15 minutes with Price leading at 20. Misleading billing.It's ok. Not sure where it wants to go for the first hour then tries to tie together and tidy up an unraveled mess of the creation of blood sucking super beings through Price who's getting the parts from...elsewhere (unsuspecting jogger,) who knows what this film is about.

One More Time~1970 - This is a comedy not horror but Lee and Cushing (both uncredited) revisit their most iconic roles...Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein, respectively.

Nosher Powell (ANH stuntman) and Harry Fielder (Death Star Guard - ANH) also make uncredited background artist appearances.

~~Other Peter Cushing horror films with Star Wars connections:
Legend of the Werewolf~1975 - Harry Fielder (Death Star Guard - ANH and extra extraordinaire!)

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed~ - Harry Fielder (Death Star Guard - ANH and extra extraordinaire!)


~~Other Christopher Lee horror films with Star Wars connections:
Sleepy Hollow~1999 - Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine), Ray Park (Darth Maul), Nick Gillard (stunt coordinator/Cin Drallig)

Scars of Dracula~1970 - Morris Bush (Dengar - ESB)

Theatre of Death~1967 - Julian Glover (General Maximilian Veers - ESB)


~~Small bits of Lee/Cushing horror trivia...Christopher Lee and Vincent price shared a birthday, May 27th...Peter Cushing's birthday fell on May 26th.

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were film in The Devil's Agent~1961 but every frame of film showing Peter Cushing was edited out of the final film.

Cushing and Lee starred in 22 films together and were very good friends.

~~ Have a wicked weekend.

May the Mayhem be with you!

LM

Monday, October 24, 2005

William Hootkins (1948 - 2005)

Very sad news.

William Hootkins died last night after an almost year long battle with pancreatic cancer.

I last saw him at CII (Star Wars Celebration II in Indianapolis, IN) where he made me promise that the next time I saw him I was to recite two lines spoken between Tubal and Shylock from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

Tubal speaks of a ring he was shown that had once belonged to a love of Shylock, Leah (my namesake). The ring was taken, along with other valuables, by his daughter who used it to buy passage away from Venice and elope with the man she loved...a man whom her father would not have approved.

Well...I never got to see him after our chat (he wasn't able to attend CIII)
...so, I'll recite it for him here:

Tubal: One of them showed me a ring that he had of your daughter for a monkey.
Shylock: Out upon her! Thou torturest me, Tubal..it was my turquoise...I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor. I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys.

Rest in Peace, Bill.
Leah

Saturday, October 22, 2005

For the "Oh! Brother!" File

Turmoil in the Toybox - 1990
Description:
"A Shocking Expose' of the toy and cartoon industry. It reveals the hidden dangers found in the He-Man and Masters of the universe, Barbie, Rainbow Brite, G.I. Joe, Smurfs, Dungeons & Dragons, Care Bears, Thundercats, E.T., Cabbage Patch, to name a few. This Book unmasks the New Age, influence that have invaded the once innocent toy box. TURMOIL IN THE TOYBOX also explains the importance of play, and how toys can enhance or stunt a child's development. In addition, this book provides the reader with an alternative to today's more popular toys."
Phil Phillips has done a great service to America as a whole, and the Christian family in particular, for exposing the occult connection in the toys being marketed to unsuspecting children. Every parent should be aware of the potential for mental and spiritual harm from allowing their children access to such toys."
The cover
The only thing more disturbing than the description of the book is the evil-looking Yoda on the front cover...see also Darth Vader in the center of the box....Oh, Brother!

I'll stick to the basic ground rules in raising a child, thank you.

PS...thanks darth_load for the initial heads up!


___Edit___
Funny isn't it? A little scary too I'd say.
I can't help feeling sorry for children under any belief system that controls everything in their environment. Not so much because they will lack the toys that you and I enjoy, millions of others live without them and do just fine. No, it's the thought that they grow up with fear and anger. We all know what that leads to.

Parents who are convinced that these toys are the tools of Satan might have to "protect" their children from other things out in the big blue world. TV, movies, radio, malls and stores (those who sell evil toys must be evil themselves), restaurants, travel (unless it's to convert the wicked), circuses (clowns are evil), games/gaming, reading, art, speech...etc., etc. Where does that end?

The environment becomes more and more controlled until parents feel they have no choice but to limit nearly all outside contact and influences. Phil or Texe encourage parents and others to protect themselves from the evil outside and move to a fortified compound where they'll continue to "guide" their children: stymie all creative thought, control play and playmates; tenaciously police reading materials and eliminate celebratory events.

Phil or Texe will start to implement worship of God through them, surround themselves with military-style protection then, either gather at that all-important meeting to drink and sleep* or find they, through no fault of their own, are "protecting" themselves from the **Feds until they've rightly martyred themselves and their innocent children.

Oh! yes, that is far less evil than letting them play with Yoda and Darth Vader. Really, too much or too little freedom has a tendency to come to a bad end. Striking a balance between the two generally works out for the best.Odd little world we live in.

2016 EDIT
There was a sequel


LM

*Jonestown
**Waco