Newly found EditDroid outtakes from Return of The Jedi!

Here for the first time ever - the laserdisc of EditDroid outtakes from Return of The Jedi!
 Star Wars fan and collector from The UK, Charlie Owen, recently purchased this disc of really interesting material and has put it out there for all to see and share.

 The majority of the disc, which totals about 30 minutes in all, is of Luke and Yoda on Dagobah as the crew tries to perfect the scene where Yoda becomes one with The Force...'twilight is upon me, and night must fall.'

 It becomes clear that Mark Hamill, as Luke, really sells the character of Yoda through his acting and reacting, and in that way, made Yoda a REAL character! In the film you don't see a puppet, at least I don't.
 Here, you DO see a puppet, but after all of the trial and error that you see in these scenes you can tell the crew worked VERY hard to make it all come to life.
  In the end, after proper editing, ADR, and music, the finished scenes in ROTJ were very powerful and moving.

 Enjoy this rare opportunity to see magic as it was being constructed......
 (be sure to click on the bottom right hand corner to see this in full screen!)

Be sure to "Like" Charlie's Facebook page at facebook.com/rotjedieditdroid

In October - The Circle Is Complete

It's just about that time. The month of October brings us the final chapter of The Star Wars Trilogy with J.W. Rinzler's The Making Of The Return of The Jedi! 

 This long awaited tome is very high on my list of must-haves! Rinzler's first two "making of" books of the trilogy are just so in depth, and fascinating, that I am, of course, very much looking forward to getting immersed in this latest edition.

 For the Star Wars fan, especially a fan that loves behind-the-scenes material, look no further than these magnificent books!!

  

Until next time...

Steve Sansweet - "Officially Amazing!"

Steve Sansweet's Rancho Obi-Wan was recognized today by The Guinness Book Of World Records as housing the world's largest Star Wars collection...of course, we already knew that, but it has now been made official as ROW is now listed in the 2014 Guinness World Book!

 Congratulations to Steve, and to Rancho Obi-Wan!!

The Star Wars #1 hits the stands today!!

Today is the official release date for The Star Wars, #1 from Dark Horse Comics!
 Imagine, if you will, that Star Wars was based on an early draft for the original 1977 movie Star Wars. This story illustrates for us what George Lucas' early concept for that story actually was!

 Dark Horse Comics, in cooperation with George Lucas, give us The Star Wars! 
  The script for the story is written by Lucasfilm archivist, J.W. Rinzler, the man responsible for those fantastic "Making Of" books for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and the soon to be released The Making of Return of The Jedi.

 This series of comics also utilizes a great deal of Ralph McQuarrie concept work, which is fitting as McQuarrie was very much responsible for selling the concept of Star Wars to the board at 20th Century Fox. His work gave the board a visual understanding of Lucas' story. It make sense that it be included in this amazing new (old) vision of the story we now all know as Star Wars.



Get your copy of The Star Wars #1 today!!

Faithful friends, Droids, Wookiees,...and evil machines??

Here is an interesting pre-release trailer for The Empire Strikes Back from 1979.
 At the time, there was no footage from the film ready to create a proper live-action trailer , but in a rush to get crowds excited for the film, this version was shown in theaters.

 You may, or may not, have seen this in the past, but I wanted to include it here as it very much relates to my blog. This 1979 trailer is a great showcase for many pieces of Ralph McQuarrie pre-production art for TESB! In fact, the entire trailer is made up of McQuarrie's work, with only publicity stills used to show the cast at the end, and of course introduce audiences to our new hero - Lando ( Lan-DOW ) Calrissian (check it out, the announcer pronounces it Lan-DOW!) ...funny!

  I don't remember seeing this one in theaters back in 1979, but it was included in a laser disc, and possibly a DVD release, a few years back. I was amazed at that time to see that a trailer was released featuring JUST McQuarrie's work. Never before, or since, has a trailer been created in this manner. I find it intriguing.

  

Enjoy!
  See you next time!

Dave Filoni and McQuarrie Troopers!

Hello there!!
  It has been some time since I posted last, but I'M BACK with a full summer of updates.
   My family and I have flown through the swamps of Dagobah...no, just kidding...but we have done some traveling this summer, and a lot of things have happened in the Star Wars Universe of late, so it's time to start putting down my thoughts on all things Star Wars as it pertains to the summer of 2013!

 Of course, there was Celebration Europe II. So, to kick things off let's check out Dave Filoni (of the soon to debut Star Wars: Rebels) with the first appearance of The McQuarrie Troopers at CE2....



 That's just really cool!!
   I will be back with more very soon!

 Have fun, and stay safe!!

30 Years of ROTJ - Views From The Vault!

May 25th, 1983. It's a day that I will never forget. I was in Florence, Kentucky, close to Cincinnati Ohio, with my dad who was visiting a friend of his. The only thing on my mind that day was the fact that in the evening we would be going to see Return of The Jedi, the finally installment of The Star Wars Trilogy! I could not wait!! I never thought the day would come.

 After spending three years of lead up from The Empire Strikes Back, wondering what happens to Han, and especially wondering if Darth Vader is, in fact, Luke's father, it was finally going to be revealed!

  Like many that were my age, we started reading about ROTJ in November of 1982 with our subscriptions to Bantha Tracks, the official newsletter of The Star Wars Fan Club. This was pre-internet, of course, so we got our info any way we could!
  Here is a picture from my "Star Wars Vault" of the issues that we would cling to, and read over and over again, that informed us on the production of Jedi. These are the chronological issues of the newsletter/magazine from November 1892-November 1983. It gave us all of the information leading up to, and after, the release of the film.....

(Click on all pix to make them much bigger!)

 

I remember getting SO excited when I would get an issue of Bantha Tracks in the mail! It was like Christmas with every quaterly release!

 

  With the "membership kit" to the fan club we were always treated to some really cool swag, the likes of which would usually be a membership card, pencils with Star Wars movie logos, patches, posters, and cool exclusive photos of the cast in character, like these that I have managed to hold on to since 1983.....

 

 

 

So, the day finally came! The glorious day when I would finally get to see the final chapter of my beloved saga. It was both exciting, and bittersweet, at the same time. This was a new chapter, but also the final chapter, we thought, of Star Wars. Excitement with a hint sadness.

 

 That feeling disappeared as I walked into the lobby of the theater and saw this.....

 

 

The Collector's Edition program! I HAD TO have it!

I was able to talk my dad into plunking down the $3.00 to get this program, which honestly wasn't very hard. My dad knew my love of these movies, so he gave me the money with that child-like sparkle in his eye as well.

 

  I sat in the theater and did a quick flip through of the program because I didn't really want any of the story spoiled before I actually got to see it for myself, but I could tell that I was in for a treat!

 

 

 

  To this day I enjoy looking through this magazine! It's filled with interviews, production photos, behind the scenes photos, and production art from Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Phil Tippet, and many of the people that I still follow today, as most are still working on movies...even new Star Wars movies!!

 

  The movie was great! It was a nice conclusion to the trilogy. I accepted all of it, and enjoyed all of it...yes, even The Ewoks.

  The Star Wars Trilogy had ended, but it lives on in our hearts. Many of us still carry the memories, and physical merchandise, of our youth in tribute to that wonderful time in our lives.....

 

   I began my journey with Star Wars when I was 8 years old in 1977, when the original Star Wars was released, and followed it until 1983. These were the greatest movies of my adolescent years, and they remain important to me. The saga put happiness into my life, and in a way Luke, Han , Leia, Chewie, R2, and 3PO were my friends. I would would visit them every three years, and look at their photos in the between years. Return of The Jedi closed an important chater of my life, but little did I know there would be many chapters to come, and although the new chapters will never live up to the excitement that I had in the years of "The Trilogy," I still enjoy all that has come, and will come.

  Until next time,
   "May The Force Be With You"