Before A NEW HOPE

...there was still a lot going on concerning actors, marketing and who is fitting to whom. This rare picture - and when I use the term rare, I mean rare - shows Mark and Carrie during a photo session. Note Mark´s Luke Skywalker costume - it´s the one they finally used in RETURN OF THE JEDI, but they already designed it for A NEW HOPE! Very cool image! I love these rare vintage stills - and I especially love shots I still haven´t seen - and believe me I have seen a lot! ;-) This picture is taken from the net - you can find some ´rare´shots in the current SW Insider as well. One of the rare insider issues I really dig - usually it´s just becoming more and more boring...

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - 30th Anniversary

Let´s celebrate the best STAR WARS movie EVER in style! TESB turns 30ty this year - boy, as time goes by. I don´t know how YOU will celebrate this event, but the new Lucasfilm Logo for this event is certainly a very good start - I LOVE THE ARTWORK! Well done folks!

First STAR WARS cover of 2010

About time ;-) Found my first 2010 published magazine featuring Yoda. Unfortunatly nothing new within the SW universe. Turns out that this actually is really just an eye catcher - there is no STAR WARS contend in this mag at all. Nevertheless - I´m glad there is another magazine for my collection ;-) AND
turns out the mag itself is a pretty good read - if you are interested in German economy...

Gruenderzeit (IMPULSE)
GERMANY Cover
NOP: 0

Happy new Year 2010!

Well, don´t say I´m lazy - I know that already...

STAR WARS in Concert Program

Even better suited for this site: THE STAR WARS IN CONCERT PROGRAM
I bought it when I attended the concert itself - of course as a souvenir and they charged 30 (thirty bucks!) US$! Come on - the program is nice, but this price is ridiculous! Nevertheless it sold like hot-cakes! My advice: Buy it online! It´s just 19.90 US$ AND you don´t have to carry it around with you the whole time. Chances are it will never become ´rare´ but certainly it is already one of the more expensive magazine style collectibles (hey, I buy Japanese magazines from the 80ties for this kind of money ;-) )
To the program itself: It´s Huuuge! Very nice heavy photographic paper - all color! Pictures of all movies, the exhibition as well and of course from George and John. Nice collage work here. Empossed printing on the cover - sweet!

STAR WARS in Concert

The STAR WARS music was and always will be my first and most memorable experience of classic music. Not only opened it my (young) mind back in 1977, it also stayed with me, due to the artistry of John Williams and all those other classic soundtrack composers (Jerry Goldsmith, Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestry - you name it!). So the STAR WARS concert idea was a no brainer, though it took more than 30 years to come up with ;-) Well, basically it´s more a multi media live show, but the concept with Anthony Daniels hosting it, the great performance of the orchestra conducted by Dirk Brosse and the visuals as a welcomed eye candy, well it worked very well! I visited the concert in Atlanta, Ga November 3rd and thanks to my pal Carsten (who invited me ;-) ) - we had a great STAR WARS evening. The exhibition, which accompanied the show in the foyer wasn´t that special (well, at least if you were at one of those ´other´ real STAR WARS exhibitions at the Smithsonian for example), but added a nice touch. Way more small children attended the show, so it really was a family event for the youglings and their parents. I doubt the kids really enjoyed the concert (especially considering the length of 2 hours) - but that is something every parents should think about BEFORE I buy the tickets ;-)
We had a great time - too bad John Williams itself wouldn´t conduct his own masterpieces. Would I recommend it - absolutely! Go see it!
http://www.starwarsinconcert.com/

UPDATE: Found a spot on review about a European SW in concert show on the web. Matt really nails it - excellent read!

DroidMAKER - the lost SW book treasure

Well, I simply have to repost this awesome story! I just found out (via the force.net and other sources) that there is an awesome book about George Lucas, his life and legacy and NOBODY knows about it! droidMAKER by Michael Rubin.
Well, almost... Until June 2009! The author just decided it´s more important for him that people actually really read and enjoy his work rather than making the profit of selling it through booksellers (B&N, Amazon etc. ). That´s when he made his complete book available for download via his blog.
Heck yeah - how can I decide to buy a book if I don´t even know that it exists? Why is that so? Just check out the FAQs on Michaels page and you´ll find out! Nobody really to blame here - mmmmh , but then again...
Anway, I just browsed through the downloaded pages and had a pretty good time - it´s really a very interesting book with a lot of insights/behind the scenes/personal stuff, not only for STAR WARS fans. CHECK IT OUT! Even better - check it out and I you somewhat like me - go and buy a REAL PRINTED copy! Thanks Michael for a very special inside look - awesome!