STAR WARS: A GUERRA DOS CLONES - Grande estréia nesta sexta-feira, 15 de agosto de 2008 !!

STAR WARS: A GUERRA DOS CLONES (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, EUA/Singapura, 2008; 90min). Roteiro: Henry Gilroy, Steven Meiching e Scott Murphy baseado nos personagens criados por George Lucas. Direção: Dave Filoni. Elenco: vozes de Samuel L.Jackson, Grey Delisle, Anthony Daniels, Matt Lauter, Tom Kane, Ashley Drane e outros. Versões dubladas e legendadas.

Animação computadorizada. A galáxia é consumida pelas guerras clônicas, uma massiva guerra civil que entrincheirou os malvados separatistas e seus exércitos andróides contra a república e seus protetores os Jedis. Para ganhar uma vantagem SkyWalker e sua aprendiz Ahsoka são enviados em uma missão com vastas conseqüências. O longa precede uma série animada no mesmo estilo e que já tem 30 episódios prontos a serem exibidos na televisão dos Estados Unidos.

Como fã foi trabalhar na Lucasfilm

Há três anos, Dave Filoni estava na fila para ver Star Wars: Episódio III - A Vingança dos Sith como qualquer outro fã. Vestia uma fantasia feita à mão, de um de seus personagens prediletos de Star Wars, um Cavaleiro Jedi relativamente desconhecido, Plo Koon, e compartilhava seu amor por Star Wars com outros na fila em Hollywood, na Califórnia, distribuindo brinquedos de sua coleção particular. Mas, de qualquer forma, ele era somente mais um fã de Star Wars que guardava a ambição familiar de trabalhar algum dia com George Lucas.

Esse dia chegou antes do esperado. Em 15 de agosto, a Lucasfilm Animation lançará seu primeiro longa-metragem em animação da série Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Lucas é o produtor-executivo, Filoni, o diretor. "Alguém recentemente me perguntou como me sentia por ser uma das quatro pessoas que dirigiram um filme Star Wars", afirmou Filoni. "Eu quase caí da cadeira! Foi tudo tão rápido que nem parei para pensar nisso dessa forma".

Mas o fato é que Filoni se junta a Lucas, Irvin Kershner (O Império Contra Ataca) e Richard Marquand (O Retorno de Jedi) no raro time de diretores de Star Wars, e ainda tem outra distinção: ele é o primeiro diretor a criar um longa de animação de aventura Star Wars. "É um sonho que se realiza de tantas formas. Não, é melhor, vai além dos meus sonhos mais loucos", afirma.

Além do universo

"Por outro lado, no entanto, preciso colocar minha condição de fã de lado, para contribuir de igual para igual. Quero ser capaz de estar em pé de igualdade com o George, e quero que o filme The Clone Wars tenha seu lugar próprio ao lado de Star Wars". Lucas pensa diferente: "É ótimo trabalhar com um grande fã como Dave, porque ele sabe mais sobre Star Wars do que eu", diz o chefe.

"É fácil para ele conseguir referências sobre Star Wars de outros meios, como livros, quadrinhos ou videogames Star Wars – que vão muito além daquilo que eu concebi. Isso permite que tenhamos uma noção melhor desse universo e que o filme seja mais rico e entusiasmante para os fãs", acredita Lucas. "Esse rico universo expandiu a história além do enredo central da família Skywalker", revela.

Fidelidade

Veterano em projetos de animação populares como Avatar: A Lenda de Aang e Kim Possible, Filoni afirma que a meta mais importante para ele e a equipe de criação em Marin County, sede na Califórnia da Lucasfilm Animation, foi fazer um filme de animação Star Wars "único e inesperado", e ao mesmo tempo permanecer fiel ao espírito e apelo que colocaram a série entre os filmes de ação mais populares já criados.

"Eu sou antes de mais nada um grande fã de Star Wars e quero criar um filme que outros fãs, tanto aqueles que cresceram vendo os filmes, quanto aqueles que os descobriram com as seqüências, poderão curtir como uma aventura na galáxia criada por George", diz Filoni.

Surpresa

Embora há muito se espere a série televisiva, que estreará no Cartoon Network americano no próximo outono no hemisfério norte, o anúncio de que Star Wars: The Clone Wars seria um longa metragem pegou muitas pessoas de surpresa. "Eu também me surpreendi quando George nos contou sua idéia", conta Filoni.

Ele continua: "Quando assistimos ao trabalho inicial que a equipe de animação estava desenvolvendo, George não parava de dizer o quanto estava impressionado pela forma como aparecia na tela grande. Todos nós pensamos nisso por um tempo, e aí fazia todo sentido –á que estamos introduzindo algo inteiramente novo para Star Wars, devemos fazê-lo como um longa-metragem". Catherine Winder, produtora do filme, relembra a decisão de se fazer um longa-metragem. "George me levou para fora no Skywalker Ranch, em um dia cinza chuvoso, e disse: "O que você acha de fazer um filme?". Bem, estávamos no processo de criar uma série de TV, de construir uma divisão e um estúdio só de animação, e parecia um desafio enorme. Então Dave e eu pensamos a respeito, no trabalho envolvido, e dissemos 'OK, parece uma ótima idéia!'".

Separatismo

Concebido e desenvolvido para o cinema, Star Wars: The Clone Wars começa um pouco após o fim do Episódio II de Star Wars: O Ataque dos Clones. A Guerra dos Clones é uma batalha entre a República no poder e o grupo crescente de sinistros Separatistas que desejam dominar a galáxia, alcançou e se espalhou por vários planetas.

Anakin Skywalker (voz de Matt Lanter) e Obi-Wan Kenobi (voz de James Arnold Taylor) estão se defendendo de um ataque em massa do exército de andróides Separatistas e lideram um esquadrão de clones criados para lutar na guerra. Durante a batalha, eles ganham a ajuda de uma aliada inesperada: Ahsoka Tano (voz de Ashley Eckstein), uma adolescente cheia de energia e determinada que recebeu a missão do Mestre Jedi Yoda de se tornar um aprendiz Padawan sob a tutela de Skywalker.

Mocinha

"Acrescentar Ahsoka à galáxia Star Wars foi como uma injeção de adrenalina", diz Filoni. "Ela é uma grande nova personalidade para explorarmos, e quando ela e Anakin recebem a missão que os põe contra os malvados Sith, todo o filme ganha um novo tipo de energia. Ela é uma Jedi feminina e, com certeza, poderíamos usar mais disso em Star Wars, além de ser um ótimo contraponto ao Anakin".

A criação de uma versão animada de Star Wars trouxe novos desafios criativos a Filoni e sua equipe de mais de 150 animadores, artistas e desenhistas. "As histórias de Star Wars são quase míticas, mas na tela de cinema elas também ganham vida com os atores que são fáceis de reconhecer e tem suas próprias personalidades. Tivemos que descobrir uma forma de achar a essência dos personagens como Anakin, Obi-Wan, Conde Dooku e Padmé e recriá-los de forma a não só tentar copiar ou reproduzir personagens humanos", explica o diretor. " unca pensamos em usar técnicas tipo motion-capture, porque queríamos criar algo inteiramente novo e diferente".

Thunderbirds

Lucas desafiou Filoni, Winder e suas equipes a pensar em uma variedade de abordagens, e os animadores se inspiraram em vários lugares. "Amamos o visual de animé, com que trabalhei em Avatar, e os mangás japoneses usam enquadramento e iluminação bastante agressivos", diz Filoni. "Era importante não ser como uma única coisa, e não ser muito 'desenho animado' na nossa abordagem".

Filoni revela que uma grande inspiração para nós foi o trabalho de Gerry Anderson, que fez Thunderbirds nos anos 60 usando marionetes. "A animação é um campo muito vasto e tem muitas possibilidades para simplesmente dizer 'Vamos fazer o que os outros estão fazendo'. Queríamos criar um visual próprio para a Lucasfilm Animation, desenvolver um estilo próprio".

Filoni acredita que o risco de criação que a Lucasfilm Animation assumiu, estimulada pelo produtor executivo Lucas, agradará os fãs antigos e vai entusiasmar os novos. "Em Star Wars: The Clone Wars, temos novos personagens, novos planetas, novos veículos, novas batalhas e uma nova história. E tem uma animação com um novo estilo", diz. "É realmente Star Wars como nunca visto antes – em todos os sentidos".

Cenas de batalha: Clone Troopers X Dróides

Durante uma entrevista exclusiva de Star Wars - The Clone Wars na Comic-Con com Dave Filoni (diretor) e Catherine Winder (produtora), ficou clara a duração estimada da série televisiva por computação gráfica.

Segundo Winder, George Lucas pretende que o programa tenha 100 episódios. O limite deve-se ao fato de que a trama da série está situada entre dois momentos da saga, os filmes O Ataque dos Clones e A Vingança dos Sith.

A produtora informou também que os 22 episódios da primeira temporada já estão prontos para serem exibidos. Além deles, os 10 primeiros episódios da segunda temporada já foram produzidos e outros 18 já estão roteirizados. Assim, nada menos que 50 histórias já estão prontas - metade de toda a duração da série de TV.


Antes do programa foi criado um longa animado com 90 minutos. O aperitivo chega aos cinemas daqui em 15 de agosto de 2008. Depois, estréia no Cartoon Network dos EUA para uma temporada regular entre setembro e outubro. As datas no Cartoon brasileiro ainda não foram definidas.

As entrevistas completas serão publicadas na semana do lançamento do filme no Brasil. Aguarde!


Abaixo imagens exclusivas do novo Star Wars: The Clone Wars. A cena em questão mostra uma batalha de um Regimento de Clone Troopers, comandado por Obi-Wan Kenobi e Anakin Skywalker, contra um exército de dróides.

Star Wars - The Clone Wars Theatrical Trailer

A saga "Star Wars", de George Lucas, chega pela primeira vez aos cinemas numa versão animada. "Star Wars: Episódio II - Ataque dos Clones" é a inpiração para o argumento, mas todos os conhecidos personagens fazem parte da história.

O filme serve como ponto de partida para uma nova série feita em animação computadorizada, que vai se passar entre os eventos dos episódios II e III da saga, quando Anakin Skywalker ainda não se tornou Darth Vader.

No dia 15 de agosto de 2008, a LucasFilm estréia nos cinemas americanos a nova série “The Clone Wars”, exibindo o primeiro episódio de 100 planejados, que logo em seguida terá continuidade no Cartoon Network.

Ao contrário da primeira série, “Clone Wars”, exibida de 2003 a 2005, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (não confunda os nomes) será produzida por computação gráfica, com direção de Dave Filoni, o mesmo responsável por “Avatar”.

Chamada de “Guerras Clônicas” aqui no Brasil, a série anterior teve direção de Genndy Tartakovsky, o gênio criador de “O Laboratório de Dexter” e “Samurai Jack”, e foi ganhadora do Emmy em 2004.

Assista aqui o trailer da nova animação de Guerra nas Estrelas: As Guerras Clônicas.

( Star Wars - The Clone Wars Theatrical Trailer )

The Trailer & Poster for Star Wars: The Clone Wars

First Theatrical Trailer for Animated STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS to Premiere Exclusively Across Multiple Turner Networks Thursday, May 8

Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, CNN, and Boomerang All to Showcase Newest Star Wars Adventure at 7:58 p.m.

Star Wars fans will get an unprecedented look at the newest intergalactic adventure on Thursday, May 8, when the world-premiere trailer for the upcoming CG-animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars debuts across five Turner networks simultaneously.

At 7:58 p.m. in all U.S. time zones, Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, CNN, and Boomerang will debut an action-packed, two-minute preview of the animated adventure from creator George Lucas and Lucasfilm Animation. It marks the first time a theatrical trailer has received a simultaneous, cross-network airing on Turner Networks. The trailer debuts in theaters on Friday, May 9, along with the first poster for the movie. The poster is available for pre-order exclusively at StarWarsShop. Check it out here.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens in movie theaters Aug. 15.

"By combining the power of the Turner Networks and the power of the Force, we're able to create a fantastic event for Star Wars fans of all ages," said Howard Roffman, vice president of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We're incredibly proud of The Clone Wars, and eager to be able to showcase it for the first time in such an exciting way."

The newest tale of adventure, intrigue and excitement in a galaxy far, far away combines the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars Saga with a signature animation style from Lucasfilm Animation.

On the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil, fans young and old will join such favorite characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, along with brand-new heroes like Anakin's padawan learner, Ahsoka. Sinister villains -- led by Palpatine, Count Dooku and General Grievous -- are poised to rule the galaxy. Stakes are high, and the fate of the Star Wars universe rests in the hands of the daring Jedi Knights. Their exploits lead to the action-packed battles and astonishing new revelations that fill Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

The theatrical release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars tells an all-new story that leads directly in to this fall's premiere of a weekly, animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT.

Star Wars Ian clinches The Father role

IAN McDiarmid has been confirmed to play The Father in Chichester Festival Theatre's Six Characters In Search Of An Author, which opens next month.

Ian has an impressive CV in theatre, film, and television, but it is his role as Palpatine in the Star Wars films that he is best known for.

His theatre credits include The Merchant of Venice and Henry V (RSC Stratford), The Country Wife (Royal Exchange) and Peer Gynt (Oxford Playhouse).

Film credits include Star Wars (Episodes 1-3), Sleepy Hollow and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Television credits include Spooks, Crime And Punishment and The Professionals Premiered in Rome in 1921, Luigi Pirandello's innovative and probing drama changed theatre's perception of itself and is regarded as a master work by a master dramatist.

Six Characters In Search Of An Author blurs the border between fiction and life, between the stage and the world outside.

Now updated and re-contextualised for the 21st century, it is a sinister parable for a media-obsessed age and an exhilarating exploration of how we define ourselves and what we call reality.

Six Characters In Search Of An Author is directed by Rupert Goold, whose production of Macbeth was the runaway hit of Festival 07 and went on to play sell-out seasons in London and New York.

It runs from June 27 to August 23. Tickets can be booked from cft.org.uk or telephone 01243 781312.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The first theatrically released animated Star Wars feature film, set for release in August 2008, fills in the gaps in George Lucas' epic science-fiction saga between Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith and lays the ground for a new TV series

Even the most ardent fan of the Star Wars mega-saga would have a hard time making an argument for George Lucas as an actors' filmmaker. Not only was his dialogue lacking in certain graces (prompting the notorious, possibly apocryphal utterance from Harrison Ford, "You can type this shit, George, but you sure can't say it," during the making of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ) but as the saga went on, his preference for special effects over people became more apparent.

Like James Cameron, Lucas is one of the great technological trailblazers and innovators of Hollywood's recent history, driving forward such techniques as motion control and CGI with the single-mindedness of a prophet. So there's a clear logic in the transition of the Star Wars saga from increasingly CGI-heavy, nominally live-action feature films into pure CGI animation.

Such is the case with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a new feature that follows the six movies to the big screen (Lucas says there will be no more live action films) but also builds on the foundations laid by the 2003 'Clone Wars' animated "pilot" series. And indeed, lays the foundations for a new animated series, which is itself being designed to take the form of a "30-minute 'mini-movie'" each week.

For those who haven't gone beyond cinema or DVD encounters with the original and prequel trilogies (1999's Episode I: The Phantom Menace, 2002's Episode II: Attack Of The Clones and Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith), the Star Wars franchise sprawls for light years in all directions, with all the gaps in the epic story of the rise and fall of the Empire being filled in with innumerable books, comics, videogames and cartoons.

For many fans, the events of the Clone Wars (first mentioned in a discussion between Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1977 original are among the most important for the overall saga, but were not covered in great detail in any of the feature films. Of The Clone Wars animated feature, Lucas says it's "an extension of the Star Wars story, it takes place between Episodes II and III, where in II we start the Clone Wars and in III we end the Clone Wars. This is theClone Wars, which is all the stuff that goes on in between".

.
The earlier, 2003-2005 animated series had also been set during this period, when the Galactic Republic under Chancellor Palpatine (the duplicitous chap revealed to be chief Sith baddie Darth Sidious, later the Emperor, played by Ian McDiarmid in the films, but voiced by Nick Jameson and Ian Abercrombie in the cartoons), and the separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) under Count Dooku (the rogue Jedi, turned Sith, played by Christopher Lee in the movies and voiced by Corey Burton in the videogames and cartoons).

During the run of 25 20-minute episodes and five shorter episodes, more about the activities of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Mace Windu and others during this three-year period was revealed. This traditionally animated series was made by the Cartoon Network, but for the new Clone Wars feature film and series, Lucasfilm Animation is back at the helm.

The new film will involve the travails of Anakin (played by Hayden Christensen in the two latter prequels but voiced in the cartoons by Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan and their encounters with such villains as Dooku and the lightsaber-wielding, robotic hunter of Jedis General Grievous.

Supervising director Dave Filoni said Lucas wanted to use the opportunity of the film and the series to tell more about Anakin and what could be called his "good side", and his fraternal relationship with Obi-Wan. Among the new characters being introduced is a Jedi padewan by the name of Ahsoka Tano (Drane). Filoni says she "stands between the two characters" of Anakin and Obi-Wan and is "learning about what it means to be a Jedi in this time in much the same way the audience is learning about the Clone Wars. So in that way she's a touchstone for the audience."

One aspect of the film's storyline that has emerged from previewed footage involves Dooku dispatching his Dark Jedi henchwoman Asajj Ventress (a character created in the artwork for Episode II, but actually realised in the earlier animated series as a nemesis for Anakin) to find Jabba the Hutt's son and develop some sort of allegiance. Lucas tends to play his hand close to his chest though, so more solid specifics of the story aren't available at the time of writing.

Interestingly, the film was originally simply going to form part of the new series, but Lucas says of the newly developed animation technique, "we looked at it on the big screen and the quality we felt was really good enough to put into a theatre. The big issue is we felt a lot of the fans wanted to see this on the big screen before it ended up as a television series."

Lucas suggests that the "assembly line" they set up for the series offers a versatility akin to "the old-time movie making". He elaborated, "What I love about television, it's like Monogram Pictures or the old studio system, where a couple guys come to work and they sit and have some coffee and go, 'Why don't we make a movie about such and such? Okay, fine.' And at the end of the day, it's pretty much on its way."

So we're getting a film then a series that Lucas describes as "like 'Band of Brothers' in space, with Jedi," that will further expand on the Clone Wars. It's episodic, so although Anakin will be a key character, it won't be a straight telling of his story, there will be episodes focussing on clone troopers and other Jedi, like the fishy, dreadlocky Kit Fisto (seen in Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith). During the proposed 100 hours of new material, we may even see the return of old favourites like Boba Fett.

When Lucasfilm officially announced the film in February 2008, Lucasfilm Animation had already made more than 30 of the new half-hour episodes, with the primary production split between Lucasfilm Animation in California and the Lucasfilm Animation Singapore studios, and theatrical distribution handled, for the first time, by Warner Bros not 20th Century Fox.

The series had first been announced in April 2005, when Lucasfilm was developing the new 3D CG animation techniques. At Comic-Con in July 2005, Steve Sansweet, head of Lucasfilm fan relations, described the style being developed by the teams as "a melding of Asian anime with unique 3-D animation styling".

The bigger point about Star Wars continuing its life in CG animation is that with full CGI, any of those complications and expenses arising in a film shoot from actors, sets and locations are completely bypassed and the vision has fewer restraints. Filoni says the Clone Wars part of the Star Wars saga "has to be shown on an epic scale to understand that there's a universe, a galaxy, involved in this conflict." Arguably, the fully CGI route will fulfil this, and the footage already knocking about online certainly looks like it will fill the big screen with action.

One Man Star Wars Trilogy

How does Charles Ross represent the Death Star being blown up? Just throw his hands up and go "boom"?

Science fiction stars don't seem to enjoy their show's catchphrases being quoted back at them.

Star Trek actor Jonathan Frakes flinched when I told him, "Live long and prosper." X-Files icon David Duchovny was nonplussed when I asked him if the "truth was out there". However, Charles Ross, star of the One Man Star Wars Trilogy, remains calm when I say to him: "May the Force be with you."

"You can say that if you want to," he says. "It sounds like a sermon or something like that."

But the Force is with Ross. The stage-trained actor was as surprised as anyone when a Star Wars sketch condensing the 1977 movie into 20 minutes charmed audiences. He was able to parlay this success into the One Man Star Wars Trilogy in 2001 and take it from his native Canada to around the world.

"Writing something that was a bit more one-man-orientated seemed to make sense just because I wanted to do theatre," Ross says. "When it took off it was a bit of a surprise to me. This is one of those things that struck a chord."

Fortunately, it also struck a chord with Star Wars director George Lucas's company Lucasfilm, which didn't shut Ross down. "By the time I got contacted by them, I'd already had enough positive press behind me."

Ross describes the show as a retelling of the original bad-hair trilogy. "I've got the script down to one hour. I don't use costumes or sets or props."

Does he use lightsabres onstage?

"No, I don't. Don't own toys, don't have any costumes. It really is the trilogy condensed down to its bare-bones story, which, when you think about the story, is a pretty simple story."

No C-3PO or Chewbacca suits?

"No, man, this has to be portable. I could yank a bunch of costumes around with me but - correct me if I'm wrong - I think, no matter how much money you put into it, it would look kinda lame. I figured if you can't tell the story with your own faculties maybe you shouldn't be telling it. Why bother?"

Ross obviously doesn't dress up like Princess Leia on Jabba the Hutt's slave barge. "I only wish I could do that. I couldn't find enough gold to fit my physique."

Does he do some of the great lines such as "[Luke], I am your father"?

"Oh, absolutely."

Does Ross quote Yoda? "Try not. Do ... or do not. There is no try"?

"It's a classic line. If you don't use those, what are you doing?"

Were C-3PO and R2-D2 gay lovers?

Star Wars Muppets Coming Soon

If you keep one mouse ear to the ground, you've probably heard about Disney's soon-to-be-released set of Star Wars Muppet figures -- you know, Kermit the Frog as Luke, Miss Piggy as Leia, etc. What you may not know -- especially if you were born post-'80s -- is that the Muppets and Star Wars actually go way back -- 28 years back to be exact.

In 1980, The Muppet Show, a primetime event fronted by Kermit the Frog of Sesame Street fame, introduced Luke Skywalker and "cousin" Mark Hamill to the show as guest stars. Along with Luke, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and R2-D2 (himself) also starred, participating in several sketches that included "Star Wars-ified" versions of some of the Muppets.

Miss Piggy, naturally, portrayed Princess Leia, and crook-nosed Gonzo, whose masked face failed to conceal his signature schnoz, donned the costume of Darth Vader (or "Dearth Nadir" in Muppet-speak).

Now, as far as Star Wars Muppet crossovers, that was it -- no Kermit as Luke, Fozzie as Chewbacca, Beaker as Threepio, etc. Those incarnations would come, at least in part, three years later in a publication called Muppet Magazine.

For their Summer 1983 issue, Muppet Magazine ran a cover story on movie spoofs, which included "Battle of the Space Heroes", a five-page comic narrative which once again crossed the Muppets with the Star Wars universe. This time, we finally got our Fozzie as Chewbacca (or "Chewbackwards") and Kermit as Luke ("Fluke Shywalker") -- characters also included Miss Piggy as "Princess Loina" and Gonzo as "Barff McVader". And so, short of Beaker as Threepio and Rizzo the Rat as Yoda (both part of the upcoming set of figures), you now have the low-down on how we'll come to inherit a cool set of Muppet Star Wars crossover figures.

Now, for the trivia-minded, some astute fans could argue that the Muppets and Star Wars actually "met" a year before the 1980 Muppet Show episode on the set of The Empire Strikes Back. Frank Oz, who voiced Miss Piggy among other classic Muppet characters, was also the voice and puppeteer for Yoda. One day on the Dagobah set, Frank surprised Mark Hamill with Kermit and Miss Piggy while rehearsing a scene with Yoda. Naturally, hilarity ensued.

The Star Wars Muppet figures are due out this summer and will be available exclusively at Disney theme parks.

Still need a Star Wars Muppet fix? Check out the exhaustive list of Star Wars Muppet connections over at Muppet Wiki.

George Lucas Talks Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Movie makers, actors, directors, producers and movie distributors descended on Las Vegas to share movie news and get excited for the next big films coming from Universal, Paramount and Warner Brothers, just to name a few at ShoWest 2008.
Filmmaker George Lucas was on hand for a short interview with Starwars.com to talk about the next generation of Star Wars fans and why the clones finally get the spotlight. Comingsoon.net also was in the room to ask a few questions as well.

A lot of new fans will be watching this new animated series and seeing Star Wars for the first time. What are your thoughts on this new generation of kids that will be introduced to the Star Wars saga through The Clone Wars animated series?

What do I think of them? The poor kids have to grow up in this crazy world that's been created!

It's obviously a different tone but still has the drama and the characters.

The TV series is exactly like the movies, exactly. I mean, you can see it in the clip. It's basically just the movies only with cartoon characters. It's basically a dramatic series, there's a lot of action, a bit of humor. It runs along at the same level. It's unusual for an animated film, because it's not really hardcore like say Beowulf and it's not a Pixar movie, so it kind of falls in between in this funny world where Star Wars is, which is kind of hard-edged but not really, sort of on the verge of PG-13, flips over once in a while, but sort of the high end of PG.

It also seems to show a little bit more of the clone characters as well.

Yeah, now we get introduced to the clones, which we didn't get in the movies. Now, they're like main characters and they really are central to the whole thing, and you can identify them and know who they are, and it's sort of like "Band of Brothers" only with Jedi. [laughs]

Since the feature is being done specifically for the big screen, where is the movie going to end and the series begin?

It's not that episodic. This is a movie but we started doing the episodes and some of the episodes are stand-alone and some are two, some are three, some are four, and there's no cliffhangers. It's not like the current vogue of "24" and "The Wire" and stuff where you actually have to watch the entire series in order to understand what's going on. This is an old-fashioned episodic show. We looked at it on the big screen and it looked so beautiful and great that we said, "Gee, we can make a feature just like this." So we did and got all the people, got all the stuff and said, "Let's make a feature." So we did.

Do you think you'd have other people continue the Star Wars saga past Episode VI or turn some of the other material into films?

But there's no story past Episode VI, there's just no story. It's a certain story about Anakin Skywalker and once Anakin Skywalker dies, that's kind of the end of the story. There is no story about Luke Skywalker, I mean apart from the books. But there's three worlds: There's my world that I made up, there's the licensing world that's the books, the comics, all that kind of stuff, the games, which is their world, and then there's the fans' world, which is also very rich in imagination, but they don't always mesh. All I'm in charge of is my world. I can't be in charge of those other people's world, because I can't keep up with it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens theatrically on August 15.

Special thanks to Orna from Warner Bros. and Lynne Hale at Lucasfilm for arranging the interview, Edward Douglas from ComingSoon.net for his questions. You can read his entire interview here.

Read our entire coverage of ShoWest here on the Official Starwars.com blog.

Stay tuned to Starwars.com for the latest news and information on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

George Lucas: The Clone Wars Q&A

Why now? Why was now the right time to bring Star Wars to animation?
This is a project we've actually been working on since the end of Revenge of the Sith, I've worked in animation before with Steven [Spielberg] in A Land Before Time, John Korty on a film [Twice Upon a Time] and a few other things. I love animation. I started out in film school in animation, and I felt it was time to explore that medium, and then at the same time be able to explore a part of Star Wars that is so vast that you can't deal with the Luke Skywalker / Anakin Skywalker saga... you get to deal a little bit more with the minutiae of the Clone Wars.

Clearly this has a different look than anything that's come before. Can you share with us the method you went ahead to do this, and the thinking behind the design of The Clone Wars and also the design of the characters?

In order to create The Clone Wars, I had to develop a whole new studio from scratch. We've really been able to advance our animation ambitions. When it comes to the look and feel of The Clone Wars project, I wanted to do something that was in the realm of anime, design-wise, but still different. So I said, "How can we do this along with a strong storytelling sensibility?"

I have a tendency that --- just like with Star Wars, which is based in the 1930s Republic Saturday matinee serials, or Indiana Jones which is based on the same thing -- I wanted to give it a look and the feel of something that's from the past. So everybody was fairly amused in the animation community that we picked Gerry Anderson and Thunderbirds to be our inspiration. It has a very stylized look. I didn't want it to look like Beowulf, which we could've done, or The Incredibles, and when you're doing animation about live action actors and everyone knows what they look like, you really do have to come up with a sophisticated and dynamic caricature of these people.

A lot of people are excited about the new characters that you've incorporated into the storyline, great new good guys and great new villains.

We added a new character. We needed to change the dynamic between Obi-Wan the mentor and Anakin the Padawan, which is where we left them. That's how they entered the Clone Wars. We wanted to make that relationship become more dynamic... sort of like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They're now equal. They're now partners. They're now working together.

But we really wanted to have that Padawan-mentor relationship, so we gave the most unlikely person a Padawan, which is Anakin, and we made the Padawan a girl. She's very feisty. She's very outgoing and independent-minded, which gives Anakin a real challenge, because he's sort of like that too. He's trying to clean up his act by teaching her to settle down and think and not be so aggressive.

She gets in her share of action.

She's a great character. She's turned out really fantastic.

Star Wars Lands In Philadelphia

Reporting Nicole Brewer

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― For more than 40 years, Star Wars has captured our imagination and our hearts as an epic space opera and a popular culture icon.

The brand's broad appeal spans the generation gap and brings with it a sense of excitement and awe for people of all ages.

Here in Philadelphia, the Franklin Institute hosted 'Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination,' an exhibit organized around solving human needs with two technology themes: "Getting Around" and "Robots & People."

Since the exhibit's February 9th opening, thousands of people from all around the country have experienced "the force" that is Star Wars, but that all changed when CBS 3 turned the tables and let Star Wars experience Philadelphia.

Infamous bounty hunter, Boba Fett and two storm troopers took to the streets of Philadelphia Monday to experience all the city has to offer.

The group's Philly tour included a stop at a local cheese steak shop, a walk down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and a "Rocky" run up the Art Museum steps.

When asked what the characters thought of the city, Boba Fett cited the city's skyline among his favorite Philly attractions. A man of few words, Fett simply called it "amazing."

The bounty hunter and his friends took time to encourage people to come to the Franklin Institute's Star Wars exhibit before it leaves Philadelphia on May 4th and heads to a galaxy far, far, away.

‘Star Wars’ Live-Action Show To Reveal Galaxy’s ‘Greasy, Seamy Underbelly’

by Josh Horowitz

If you thought the cantina in Mos Eisley was a “wretched hive of scum and villainy,” well you’d better be cautious because an upcoming journey back to the “Star Wars” universe is going to reveal the “greasy, seamy underbelly of ‘Star Wars.’”

That’s what Steve Sansweet, Lucasfilm’s Director of Fan Relations, revealed to MTV News at New York’s Comic Con yesterday about the much anticipated live-action “Star Wars” TV show in development. Confirming that the show will “involve some characters we know” along with new creations, Sansweet said the show would be “of epic scale.”

As for how Lucas and company are going to approach such a massive undertaking he said “it will take advantage of everything George has learned about digital.” I guess that means it will at least look a little better than that that “Star Wars Holiday Special.”

Sansweet said the initial writers of the show have been selected and “they’ve had their first couple sessions working with George and [producer] Rick [McCallum].” So when can we expect all of this? “We’ll see it in production probably sometime in 2009. Hopefully the series will be on by 2010,” said Sansweet.

A “Star Wars” series that’s “greasy” and “seamy?” I guess that means there won’t be too many Ewoks dancing around. How does that sit with you, fellow “Stars Wars” fans?

Chewbacca unmasked to celebrate magic of Star Wars

by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

THE man behind one of the world’s most iconic sci-fi movie characters was in Merseyside to celebrate the magic of Star Wars and meet fans.

Peter Mayhew played Chewbacca, the loyal sidekick of Han Solo in the legendary films.

He flew in from Texas as one of a number of big-name signings at the event, held at the Spaceport centre in Wirral.

Peter found himself in demand on the sci-fi convention circuit after the Special Edition of the Star Wars series was released.

Other stars who were present included Paul Blake (Greedo), Rusty Goffe (Jawa), Ian Liston (Wes Janson) and Gerald Home (Tessek).

The celebration brought to an end Spaceport’s Sci Fi at the Movies exhibition, which showed artefacts from some of the world’s most famous science fiction movies, giving fans an opportunity to view never before seen movie memorabilia.

Spaceport, which is owned and operated by Merseytravel, is the UK’s most modern space-themed visitor attraction, and is housed in a listed building alongside Seacombe ferry terminal, in Wallasey.