Author Archives: Angelo

SEAN BURKE DISCUSSES HIS WINNING T-SHIRT DESIGN

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Via Starwars.com:

Earlier this year, Lucasfilm held a contest for its employees to design a Star Wars-themed T-shirt that would be featured at the Celebration event in Anaheim. What they ended up going with was pretty cool — several generations of Star Wars heroes, starships, and locations squeezed into a galactic delta, the ultimate power in the universe.

StarWars.com spoke with contest winner Sean Burke, a former intern in the Lucasfilm Art Department, who discussed the challenges of creating his design and the inspiration he received from iconic Star Wars imagery.

StarWars.com: What is your background as an artist?

Sean Burke: Originally I was a Fine Arts major at Connecticut College, and then after studying Fine Arts for a while I decided I wanted to specialize in something a little more practical. I got really into concept art, and ended up leaving Connecticut College to come to California and studied at four or five different schools here, just taking as many classes as I could and diving into the concept art world. Right now, I’m still learning and I’m actually still in school while I’m working here, but I’m trying to soak up as much concept art knowledge and experience as possible.

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Abandoned ‘Star Wars’ Plot Points

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Via Popmatters.com:

In the beginning (or, August of 2012 to be more accurate) there was Abandoned ‘Star Wars’ Plot Points, Episode I: The Ties That Surround Us, Bind Us and Penetrate Us… and it was good. Then, in February of 2013 came Abandoned ‘Star Wars’ Plot Points, Episode II: The Force Behind the Scenes, which was even better and more popular.

And now it’s time for the long awaited “Episode III”, though I might have skipped straight to VII considering all. Why? For years after Return of the Jedi (1983), there was little or no Star Wars news, which is as hard to imagine as the Cubs winning the pennant. Now, especially after the announcement of the much anticipated “Sequel Trilogy”, the news about our favorite space saga is not only omnipresent but seemingly changes every day.

At the time of this writing the internet is buzzing like a mynock chewing on a power cable about the new teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Who are these people? What does it mean? Is Han taking Rogaine? What happened to Luke’s Michael Jackson glove? Is Vader returning? If not, who is taking Vader’s place? Who is holding the helmet as if to pensively say “Alas, poor Vader, I knew him, Horatio!”? Is Chewie taking Rogaine?

If you’re reading this from the future (in which case… I wonder if I’m dead), you already know the answers to these questions and this article may seem immediately dated. Not so fast! Read on… you never really know what is and isn’t going into your Star Wars movie. There were a lot of amazing and even fleshed out concepts that were completely abandoned before screen time. Let us once again take a peek at what might have been in that “Galaxy Far, Far Away”, true believers!

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Force Awakens Hasbro 6″ First Order Stormtrooper Hits The Bay!

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Thanks to everyone who wrote it (can’t list them all) – most who saw this first at Yakface.com (via a report from Wolfpack Podcast) – We have our first look at the Hasbro First Order Stormtrooper, it’s currently up for auction at over $150, but click here or below to see all the images!

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THE TOOLS TO CREATING BLOCKADES AND WARS

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Via Starwars.com:

Learn about huge battleships and nimble speeders

Because the Galactic Republic lacked a central army to maintain order in the galaxy, economic powerhouses had been granted the right to arm themselves legally against pirates and other assailants. This would lead to the creation of thousands of battle droids, but also to the production of armed ships and vehicles. One of these economic powers was the Trade Federation, controlled by the greedy Neimoidians. Exotic companies such as Haor Chall Engineering and Baktoid Armor Workshop produced most of the ships and vehicles from the Trade Federation that are highlighted in this article.

A communications disruption …

The Trade Federation’s blockade of the peaceful planet Naboo was the instigator of key events that would eventually cause the Republic’s downfall. Secretly controlled by Darth Sidious’ machinations, Viceroy Nute Gunray and Rune Haako ordered their forces to invade and occupy Naboo.

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STAR WARS BOOKS IN THE ’70S

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Via Starwars.com:

Back in the ’70s, there was merely a trickle of Star Wars merchandise compared to the cornucopia of content fans have to enjoy nowadays. So instead of video games and animated fare and comics you have today, we fans subsisted on bubble gum cards, a few action figures, and whatever else we could find. But ask anyone from my generation and they have fond memories of those rare treats. The ones that stand out in my mind to this day were the books from Random House.

Published in 1979 by Black Falcon Ltd. under the Random House label, they were soft cover books for younglings that featured either stories or activities. The three I still own to this day are Darth Vader’s Activity Book, Chewbacca’s Activity Book, and the story book titled The Mystery of the Rebellious Robot.

The Mystery of the Rebellious Robot featured a story set in the time immediately following the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope. In fact, it actually took place at a Rebel base on Tatooine and had all our favorite heroes involved like we’d just popped in right after Luke blew up the Death Star. Illustrated in the ’70s flair by Mark Corcoran, the pictures had an acid wash feel to them with swirling blends of colors. The characters were funky and unkempt-looking, with wavy hair and wild-eyed expressions. My favorite has to be Chewie, who looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book.

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VISITING REAL-WORLD TATOOINE

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Via Starwars.com:

Ever since the original Star Wars was released in 1977, fans have always been dreaming about living in that galaxy far, far away. While that may be just a little difficult, there are still the real-world locations that served as various worlds during filming, and they can be visited. In Galactic Backpacking, we explore these locations by country, looking at their histories and current attractions.

When thinking about Tatooine, we all think of Tunisia as the real-world location. As covered in part four of this series, however, certain scenes were filmed much closer to Skywalker Ranch then one might expect. In this final installment (for now) of Galactic Backpacking, we continue our trip trough the US to visit these other Tatooine locations, and even take a look where the infamous Star Wars: The Holiday Special was filmed!

General information

The United States of America is a large country in the continent of North America, and with 318 million people, it consists of the third-largest population in the world with citizens from almost every ethnic background. This is due to the high immigration that occurred in the 17th century when settlers from all over European countries like Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, and France came to colonize this new world. The US includes some of the world’s most famous cities, beautiful natural parks, and virtually everything in between. With such a wide variety to explore, we focus on the state that is the most important for us fans, the state that is, along with the UK, the home of the saga: California

Located on the west coast of North America, California is geographically the third largest state and the most heavily populated. This population contributes immensely to the economy of the US, first and foremost with the produce of vegetables and fruits, but also with high-tech industry (Silicon Valley and aerospace among the many examples), education, and manufacturing. Also important for the economy is the tourism industry. From the beautiful nature in the many diverse National Parks, to the hills of San Francisco or mayor cities like Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego, a visiting tourist will not get bored here.

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2015-05-18 08_50_27-Star Wars Locations_ Tatooine in the US _ StarWars.com

May The 4th Giveaway from Yodasnews and Fun.com Winner!

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Congrats to Evan S. from AL, Evan takes home:

1X CHEWBACCA WOOKIEE ROBE
1X ADULT CHEWBACCA SLIPPERS
1X HAN SOLO IN CARBONITE ICE TRAY
1X MILLENNIUM FALCON PLUSH
1X CHEWBACCA FOOTZEEZ PLUSH

Thanks again to FUN.com and Shirts.com for the prize pack and be sure to check them out for all kinds of cool stuff!

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JAR JAR BINKS PEZ MACHINE!

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Via Starwars.com:

Some time back, I introduced you to the Jabba Glob, a slime-spewing action figure that looked to be the strangest Star Wars toy ever made.

And while a vomiting Jabba is certainly tough to beat in the weirdness department, I may have found something that tops it:

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What Does the Future Hold for ‘Star Wars’ Games?

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Via Gamerant.com:

As most Star Wars fans are aware, 2015 is shaping up to be the year their favorite franchise comes back in a big way. Not to say that Star Wars hasn’t always been popular, but it isn’t every year that you get a release like Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens.

Star Wars’ rejuvenation isn’t just relegated to movies and TV either, but Star Wars video games are on the rise as well. Like with the movie franchises, 2015 is the tip of the iceberg and the future looks brighter than it’s ever been.

So, what does the future of Star Wars video games look like? Let’s take a look at what we know.

Click below to read the full article.