TF.N reports details of the next Star Wars en Direct internet radio show:



Star Wars en Direct #10 - February 1st, 2004
The Jedi Religion

More and more people have put the word "Jedi Knight" has their religion on the latest census. What are your comments about that growing movement? Do you think it should become an official religion? On this show the hosts will be discussing the Jedi Religion movement on planet Earth and try to explain its popularity. Are you one of those registered Jedi Knights or a fan with an opinion on the subject? Send your comments or phone number (for us to call) to studio@swendirect.com.



Live Broadcast on Sunday, February 1st at 7pm Eastern!

You can also download the previous show on the future of SW on the small screen Star Wars en Direct.

Starwars.com has a new "Making of" video for paying registrants of the Hyperspace program. Here's part of the description from the OS on what it includes:

This is a look at the world of Dave Young, Episode III Special Effects Supervisor. His effects are a different kind of high tech, using computer-controlled machinery, steam and hydraulic-powered devices, and the occasional time-tested low-tech solution to make real the unreal. With the script calling for flying sparks, choking smoke, whipping winds, churning waves, rocking speeders and tumbling corridors, Young's work is cut out for him in the final Star Wars film.

The quality of the webdocs is much like Episode II's fantastic (and free) online offering, so hardcore fans wanting the latest spoilers and tidbits should pay to play without hesitation.

The webdocs will be released to the masses at some point in the future, as will the Behind the Helmet pictures from Thursday nights. But for now, everything is behind closed doors. Hopefully that will change soon!

Thanks to TF.N for this info.

FanboyPlanet has a new interview with Mark Hamill where there's some interesting clips about Episode III. Here's a preview of the full text:

DM: Every time you get some high profile in the news, people comment on how you've "turned your back on Star Wars." When Comic Book: The Movie sponsored Howard Stern last week, the crew there went off on that topic. Now I know that's not true about you, and people will probably still misinterpret your stance, but would you mind making your definitive statement on that for the thousandth time and probably not the last?

MH: Not at all. I've sort of laid off over-associating myself with the franchise only because it's such a healthy series on its own. I really have nothing to do with the prequels. I'm just a fan like everybody else.

I just talked to George last week. He was in the editing bay, editing the movie. He's all done filming. I said, oooh, Episode Three! How is it?

George being so low-key said, eh, same old stuff, which made me laugh. Because they're not the same old stuff.

They're very ambitious, epic, in a way that ours weren't. George called ours the most expensive low-budget movies ever made. And now he's able to have this grandeur and opulence that was unavailable to us in the days before CGI.

People forget that before those movies came out that I was a tireless advocate for them. It was only when they became a gigantic phenomenon that I thought, wow, it's running itself. It really doesn't need me.

I guess it's partially my desire to figure out if there's life after Star Wars. It's frustrating in a way, because I sort of do want to get involved. But you have to remember that we had a beginning, a middle and an end.

Even though I thought it was going to be a bunch of strangers rifling through my toybox - hey! That's my lightsaber! That's my C-3PO unit! - so much time had gone by that I was able to let it go. I don't know how the feeling got out that I've turned my back. I mostly want to respect and honor the memory of those movies, but not make a career out of exploiting them.

That's why I wanted to do Comic Book: The Movie, to appeal to the same fan base, but give the fans something new.

The Official Star Wars Site has stolen my Ships Section promotion called "TIE Week" from two weeks ago and added a new list of ships to their databank. Swarming from Star Destroyer launch bays like clouds of deadly gnats are the Imperial TIE fighters. Their distinctive solar panels and spoked cockpit viewports have become symbolic of the Empire's numerical superiority and relentless will to impose order. But the Imperial disregard for life and individuality is the weakness of these fighters. Though deadly en masse, in small numbers their vulnerability becomes apparent. Most TIE fighters lack shields and hyperdrives -- systems that are standard in Alliance fighters. Imperial engineers have learned from these shortcomings and have developed specially modified fighters to deal with the Rebel threat. Here's a look at just a few of the specialized TIE models. You can click here for their newly added ships.

This report comes from the Official Star Wars Site!
Answered by: Steve Sansweet

There were two fantastic Star Wars images done by Robert Silvers, the creator of Photomosaics, a technology he invented at the age of 26 while a student at the MIT Media Lab. According to his company's web site, Silvers' proprietary software "expertly considers minute details in hundreds of individual images to create a beautiful mosaic arrangement." A Photomosaic works by arranging hundreds or thousands of tiny photographs that, when viewed from a distance, combine to form a single larger image. In this case, many frames of film from the classic Star Wars trilogy created portraits of Darth Vader and of Yoda. Both are included in Silvers' first book, "Photomosaics" (Henry Holt & Co., $12 soft cover). The Photomosaics were also printed as posters by Lucasfilm licensee Portal Publications in 1997, and are still available in some poster shops or at online sites.

Hasbro announced today, that beginning on April 4, 2004, if you purchase Hasbro Star Wars toys equal to a $19.99 value or above at your local Toys `R Us or at www.toysrus.com, you will receive a free Star Wars limited-edition silver-painted clone trooper! While supplies last.

The Official Star Wars Site has announced that in conjunction with the February 3 release of Timothy Zahn's new Star Wars novel Survivor's Quest, Del Rey Books is releasing an original eBook novella, Star Wars: Fool's Bargain, also by Zahn.

Throughout its history, the planet Kariek has been scarred by violence, as warring Eickarie tribes battle for dominance. From this morass arose a mysterious Warlord backed by a legion of alien mercenaries. For five decades he has ruled while the tribes fought to topple him.

Now, the tribes have finally put aside their most violent differences to forge a tenuous alliance. This group has captured a city, and cornered the Warlord and his minions in the fortress. Aiding this revolution is the Empire of the Hand, a post-Palpatine Imperial splinter group.

The story follows a crack team from the 501st, the Empire of the Hand's most elite stormtrooper legion. These troops are deployed to capture the despised warlord alive, while negotiating with the unpredictable passions of zealous Eickarie freedom fighters with their own agenda.

This exciting tale of frontline special missions action features characters that appear in Survivor's Quest. The eBook also features a Survivor's Quest excerpt, and an interview with the author, Timothy Zahn.

Star Wars: Fool's Bargain will be available for downloading on February 3. It is priced at $3.50.

The Official Star Wars Site has announced that there's a new face to galactic order, and it's on the cover of the next Star Wars Insider. Issue #74 features the new clone trooper of Episode III, which clearly signifies another step forward to the designs of the original Star Wars trilogy. Inside, Producer Rick McCallum provides the latest update on the prequel's postproduction progression, complete with brand new photos from Episode III.

This issue's focus is Star Wars fiction, including a spotlight on Star Wars storybooks, with a nostalgic look at the classic young reader fiction that many fans grew up with. "The New Jedi Order in 100 Easy Lessons" breaks down the epic novel series, detailing the characters, most heroic deaths, best fights, and a complete synopsis of each book. This issue's original fiction, "Pearls in the Sand," is a short story by Voronica Whitney-Robison (The Ruins of Dantooine).

See what an all-digital movie meant to the miniature model makers of Episode II, and find out just who is who in Echo Base on Hoth, (so you know just who to complain to about your room being too cold).

All this plus the regular departments -- Star Sightings, the Best of Hyperspace, Scouting the Galaxy, HoloNet News and more -- fill this issue which is scheduled to ship on February 6 to subscribers, and February 24 to newsstands.

Bryan Davis sent in an e-mail about some collectibles he is trying to sell.