Author Archives: Jacob Burdis

New Star Wars App Steals the Scene

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Disney Publishing Worldwide released a new Star Wars application for iOS devices on June 19th. This app will let users recreate classic scenes from the Star Wars Sage and give them the ability explore the storytelling experience in entirely new ways. According to a press release from the official Star Wars website, the app “gives kids and Star Wars fans of all ages the tools to create, control, customize, capture, and share their own 3D animated Star Wars scenes.” This Yoda’s News corespondent decided to see what all the hype was about and downloaded the free app.

When the app opens, there are three different scenes that fans will get to recreate. There is currently one scene from each of the three films in what is commonly refereed to as the ‘Original Trilogy.’ From the ‘A New Hope’ we have a scene titled ‘Death Star Attack,’ ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ features the ‘Cloud City Duel,’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’ offers the ‘Battle of Endor.’ Now while the app itself is free, only the ‘Battle of Endor’ scene is free for fans to re-create. The other two scenes are available for $2.99 a piece or you can buy both as a discounted bundle for $3.99. The ‘Battle of Endor’ scene is more than enough for fans to explore the app and its various features, should they decide to purchase more scenes in the future.

On the forest moon of Endor, ‘Star Wars’ fans will be slightly overwhelmed with the amount of options they are presented with. The app features 3D models of characters and vehicles from the beloved franchise that users can place anywhere in the environment. You can customize the characters with various weapons and place vehicles at your leisure. Adding dialogue, you can have the characters interact in entirely new ways and essentially recreate the scene in your own way. Much like a director on set, you are given three movable cameras to place in the environment, giving you a wide array of ways to capture the scene you are creating. Throw in the iconic score by John Williams and dialogue to add depth to your scene. Fans might notice a slightly limited selection when it comes to the added audio, but there is potential for improvement here.

After you are satisfied with your scene, you get to create your own ‘title crawl,’ musical score, and ending credits. These are nice touches that really add a lot to the experience and replicate the “feel” of ‘Star Wars.’ Getting to see your own words in the classic opening sequence and your name plastered under “Director” make the fans feel like they really are a part of the storytelling process.

Now, one thing that ‘Star Wars’ fans truly enjoy is sharing their various handiwork. Whether its fanfic, artwork, or a cantina band cover band; fans love to share. The cherry on top of this app is the ability to upload your finished scene to Youtube right from the program. Is obvious that Disney Publishing really put a lot of work into bringing this interactive and revolutionary app to fans. Andrew Sugerman, executive vice president of Disney Publishing worldwide had the following to say. “At Disney Publishing, we are committed to reaching today’s consumers in deeper, more engaging ways through innovative and immersive storytelling experiences. ‘Star Wars’ Scene Maker allows us to put kids and fans of all ages in the director’s seat and provide them with ways to unleash their creativity and share their passion for the Star Wars brand in a new way.”

Fans will have plenty to explore with these three scenes, but can also look forward to new content coming through the app in the future. As ‘Star Wars Rebels’ kicks off this fall, the app will expand to feature scenes from the highly anticipated TV show. According to the statement released by Disney Publishing, “additional content packs will be released through app updates, and available through in-app purchase.”

The app is currently only available for iOS devices, specifically the iPad (click here if you are on your Ipad for a direct link). While this was slightly disheartening to hear at first, upon examining the app, it’s clear it would be difficult to navigate on a smaller screen. Check out the trailer below and then have fun creating your own scenes. Feel free to share you scenes on Youtube and send us a link and we will feature some right here, on Yoda’s News.

video via www.starwars.com

For additional Star Wars mobile apps updates and information, visit StarWars.com, DisneyStories.com, Facebook.com/disneyreads, and Twitter at @DisneyReads.

Share your thoughts and experiences with the app online. We can be found on Twitter at @Chewbacca89 (Alex Rybak) and @YodasNews (official Yoda’s News handle). A special thanks to my wife for letting me use her iPad. 

Rian Johnson to Write, Direct ‘Episode VIII’

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As production continues on ‘Star Wars: Episode VII,’ ‘Deadline Hollywood’ broke a story today that claims Rian Johnson is in talks to both write and direct ‘Episode VII’ and Episode IX.’ Rian Johnson, best known for his work on ‘Looper,’ is one of many recent directors announced to be involved in the sci-fi franchise. Johnson will be taking over the core film franchise, a surprise for many fans who were led to believe current ‘Episode VII’ director, J.J. Abrams. While he will be tasked with writing the story treatment for the next installation of ‘Star Wars,’ his main role will be directing the rest of the Sequel Trilogy after Abrams steps aside. It should be noted that ‘Bad Robot’ (Abram’s production company) is still slated to be producing the Sequel Trilogy, which raises many questions as to who will assume what responsibilities. It is clear by this announcement and the recent news of Gareth Edwards and Josh Trank directing ‘Star Wars’ spinoff films, that Lucasfilm and Disney are committed to providing the franchise with diverse talent.

Check out the full story from ‘Deadline Hollywood’

Update: According to  hollywoodreporter.com  Johnson will direct only Episode VIII, but he is writing a treatment for Episode IX.

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Episode VII Cast Has ‘A Bad Feeling’ About Filming

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Last week, news broke that Harrison Ford had been injured while filming on the set of ‘Star Wars: Episode VII.’ Yoda’s News reported last Thursday that Ford had broken his ankle on the set and was transferred to a local hospital for care. He reportedly was injured by a hydraulic door while filming, but his injuries were reported as minor. Today, The New York Post reported that Ford’s injuries might be more serious than previously thought. Someone close to production on the highly anticipated film informed The Sun that Ford had “pelvis injuries and may have had a chest X-ray.” Little else is known about the nature or severity of Ford’s injuries, but The Sun is reporting that the incident isn’t going over well with his fellow cast members. 

The ‘Episode VII’ cast is reportedly “livid” with the film makers over the incident and fear for their safety. ”The cast are livid. They are openly questioning the safety of sets. They’ve asked for everything to be triple-checked,” an insider informed The Sun. While cast members expressed sympathy for Ford, they reportedly have feelings of resentment and are anxious to make sure a similar scenario doesn’t occur anytime soon. Disney claimed filming would progress on schedule, but one can’t help but notice the fallibility of such a comment while one of the movie’s stars is in the hospital. So far, ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ has had a fairly smooth production process and not encountered any of the common pitfalls that can plague a film. Fans will hope this is only a small hiccup in the journey and not the beginning of an epidemic for their beloved franchise.

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Star Wars Battlefront Official Trailer from E3

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Last year at the annual gaming conference, E3, EA Games announced something Star Wars fans have been anticipating for years: a new installment of ‘Star Wars: Battlefront.’ ‘Battlefront’ has been a longtime fan-favorite ‘Star Wars’ video game that let players reenact battles from the galaxy far, far away. In 2013, EA showed off a short teaser that made the announcement official. With little details to go off of besides a 2015 release date, fans were anxious for more.

This year EA Games treated attendants of E3 to even more footage of the game along with glimpses of behind the scenes work on the project. A couple hours ago, they also shared the trailer via their official Youtube Channel for fans everywhere to watch. You can catch a glimpse at the massive collaboration between EA Games and Lucasfilm Ltd., as they share their goals for the end result of the game. Along with on-site shooting and visiting the archive rooms at Lucasfilm, EA Games shares some actual game footage. More details are coming down the trench in the Spring of 2015.