New Star Wars Trilogy In The Works?
MarketSaw is reporting a ridiculous rumor that there could be a new
Star Wars trilogy in 3D . Sounds like wishful thinking to me, but I'm going to humor the idea. They also say that Lucas wouldn't direct that honor would be passed on to Steven Spielberg or
Francais Ford Coppola. The Star Wars fan in me wants to believe this is possible but there are a lot of things restricting movement on new films. Mainly it's George Lucas himself and his
stranglehold on the franchise. Unless Lucas allows people at his company to take over things this won't happen. I'm sure 20
th Century Fox is doing all they can to get more films made.
First off I don't hate Steven Spielberg as a director but his last few movies haven't been up to par.
War of The Worlds and
Indiana Jones 4 were both rushed into production and felt like Spielberg was only there for the paychecks. That being said he's done a lot for genre film making with
Jurassic Park and
Indiana Jones. Spielberg is just too busy to jump onto another franchise. He has plans for directing
Indiana Jones 5 and possibly could attach himself to
Tintin 3 and
Jurassic Park 4. Not to mention the many other future dramas he wants to make.
Francais Ford Coppola is a name beyond bizarre to attach to
Star Wars, which makes me think this is a false rumor. Coppola has stuck to his guns lately making his own films like
Youth Without Youth. While the idea of him jumping to an epic world of science fiction is more than thrilling, it's also very unlikely.
It might not happen now but it will happen in the future. While there has been a lot venom thrown on the prequel trilogy by fans, it was a big money maker for 20
th Century Fox. The studio spent $343 million on production costs for all three films and made back 2.4 billion in box office. Not to mention the millions made on DVD sales. 20
th Century Fox has been trying to find ways of getting more blockbuster films made. Their slump in the market was the reason for all the new
X-Men films (Wolverine 2,
Deadpool, First Class, X-Men 4). It's also the reason why they've given up on the
Aliens Vs Predator films and gone back to make the solo films people want to see, with
Predators and
Ridley Scott's
Alien Prequel. They've even gone to great lengths to find new
franchises with James Cameron's
Avatar, which could eventually become a trilogy. I don't believe that Lucas Arts/Films can't handle the extra load of a new trilogy, since I've seen the effort they've put into their recent video games.
Phantom Menace ($924.3 Million)Attack of The Clones ($624 Million)Revenge of The Sith ($848.7 Million)My Thoughts On Possible Storylines
A trilogy that would focus on the Old Republic. It's my hope that they could revamp the whole franchise by focusing on a brand new set of characters using the
Old Republic as it's inspiration. Having a massive war between both Jedi and
Sith. Instead of having clones and drones doing the dirty work. I think the lamest part of the prequels was
ILM's attempt of saving money by making identical drones and clones fight. Also the
Sith needs to have a large army not hiding in the shadows, a real threat to the Jedi.
There is also a
possibility of telling the story of the domination by the Empire and the
beginnings of the Rebel Alliance. This could tell the stories of Vader and
Starkiller, that were told in
The Force Unleashed. I thought this story could be expanded into three films if done properly. It could also introduce us to the early members of the Rebel Alliance and a young Princess Leia.
There could be also a group of films that focus on the books that told the story of Luke and his
resurrection of the Jedi, then his eventual move into the
darkside. I wouldn't be
surprised if they brought back Harrison Ford and Mark
Hammel for it. Although, they'd have to work quickly they aren't getting any younger. There is also the
possibility of just moving even further down that timeline and focusing on Luke and Solo's children.
There is also something that would be amazing if they could focus on the world of Bounty Hunters. A
Boba Fet spin-off would be loved by fans. It would also be able to manage a smaller budget and wouldn't have to
adhere to the previous mold of
Star Wars films.
Boba Fet is very popular and we've seen a lot of focus on the Jedi and
Sith, Bounty Hunters are due.
STAR WARS: DEATH TROOPERS (Book Review)
Sunday, September 6, 2009 11:14 PM | From
Fangoria
STAR WARS: DEATH TROOPERS (Del Rey, hc, $24, out October 13) is the first-ever STAR WARS horror story. Oh, wait. I forgot about THE PHANTOM MENACE. Ba-Da-Bum! But seriously folks, Joe Schreibers novel really is the first STAR WARS horror novel, and it can be summed up pretty easily: ZOMBIE STAR WARS.
The Imperial Prison Barge PURGE is transporting prisoners when thruster damage causes it to break down in a remote, uninhabited region of space. They locate an Imperial Star Destroyer that has apparently been abandoned, and a crew is sent aboard to hopefully find the necessary replacement parts. Only some of the team returns to the PURGE, though, and those who do return are extremely sick and suffering from a variety of different symptoms: violent expectoration, respiratory difficulties, fever, seizures, hallucinations, hemorrhaging, coma, etc. The disease rapidly spreads throughout the craft, forcing the compassionate Chief Medical Officer Zahara Cody to order a quarantine. But the outbreak continues at a frightening rate, killing all of the PURGEs convicts and crew except for Cody, the cold-blooded Captain of the Guard Jareth Sartoris, the teenage brother prisoners Kale and Trig Longo and two other inmates who appeared in the Original STAR WARS Film Trilogy and whose identities Ill keep secret. Cody and Sartoris have a bone to pick with one another, and Kale and Trig are no fans of Sartoris eitherhe tortured and murdered their contraband trafficking father during a lethal interrogation.
The survivors contentious dynamic is the least of their problems, however. First, all of the dead bodies go missing. Then they show upas zombies. Zombies with a ravenous appetite for living human flesh! The rest of the book follows the six survivors as they try to thwart the infected humans attack and find a way to get off the ship. Now, Im sure most people intrigued by DEATH TROOPERS are wondering how well STAR WARS and the horror genre work together in this book: Is it simply Young Adult scares, watered down to cater to STAR WARS younger fanbase? The answer is no. While DEATH TROOPERS aint exactly in the same controversial and crimson category as, say, Jack Ketchum or Edward Lee, if I had to give it a rating, it would be an R, not a PG-13. Here are the type of grisly and gruesome passages you can expect: [His] entire cranial vault sheared away in a dense cloud of scarlet, gristle, and bone. His neck and shoulders flopped sideways, torqued on some invisible axis with the leftover momentum of the energy blast, and then landed with a wet splat, skidding backward in the spattered reservoir of blood. The right of [his] face was gone, a pulped half-moon. The broken skull protruded from his scalp like shattered terra-cotta, the jawbone dangling crookedly on one hinge. The bodies had been mangled like parts at an abattoir, some of them in handcuffs and manacles, others hacked recklessly to pieces, still others partially devoured, white gobbets of flesh gnawed off. Many of the parts were bloated to the point where the skin itself had begun to split open like sausages.
Not exactly the YOUNG JEDI KNIGHTS series, heh? But Im growing fatigued of zombie/undead/infected movies, books and comics; the subgenre has been, pun intended, done to death. And when you get down to brass tacks, DEATH TROOPERS doesnt really offer any improvements or upgrades to its derivative premise. There are a number of imaginative and resourceful directions and opportunities that Schreiber misses and/or ignores, and the upshot is a prosaically imitative zombie tale that doesnt take enough advantage of the STAR WARS Universe. But, hey, if youre REALLY eager to read about gut-munching zombie Wookiees making a banquet out of a human body, then DEATH TROOPERS might be the book for you.
Star Wars: Trademark & Copyright 2009 Lucasfilm, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
First Images: 2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys
Just a few days after the teaser art for 2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys dropped we've now gotten our hands on the official word concerning Tim Sullivan's Sequel and the first ever stills for you guys to dig on!
So the big question on every one's mind has been will Robert Englund be reprising his role? The short answer is, no, but in his place will be none other than Bill Moseley!
According to Sullivan and producer Christopher Tuffin, this entry is as much a wild re-imagining of the preceding films as a sequel to them. Everyone's intention was to raise the stakes beyond the ordinary glut of by-the-numbers horror releases to create a smart, genre-defying feature that pushes every limit to the extreme. Tuffin compares Maniacs to an episode of South Park or The Simpsons in the sense that Maniacs is nothing less than a carnival house mirror held up to American culture.
Over the years I was approached many times to write and direct a sequel, but I waited until we not only had a storyline that served as a worthy successor to "2001 Maniacs", but also the creative freedom to push the envelope open even further in a smart and funny way, says director Sullivan. Then on the eve of the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first African-American president, I saw the opportunity to once again use the residents of Pleasant Valley as vehicle to expose the deep rooted prejudices of all segments of our society in a way that would hopefully make everyone realize the absurdity of their biases, while also sneaking in a few laughs in at the same time.
For horror fans internationally this is a great package an established franchise, a cult director, a horror veteran like Bill Moseley surrounded by a hot young cast. We are very excited, says Catherine Quantschnigg, head of sales for IM Global Home Entertainment who will be repping the film internationally.
Moseley heads an ensemble cast that includes Lin Shaye (Snakes on a Plane), Nivek Ogre (Repo! The Genetic Opera) Christa Campbell (Day of the Dead), Ahmed Best (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace), Trevor Wright (Shelter) and telenovela vixen Andrea Leon (Hood of Horror).
Dig on the stills below and look for more on this one soon! For more information visit the 2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys Facebook page.
Synopsis
After the sheriff refuses to cover up any further for the maniacs causing all the missing persons in the area, they're forced to hit the road in what's dubbed the "Pleasant Valley Traveling Road Show," where the maniacs head across country in hopes of gathering more victims. We'll follow a young TV crew called the "Road Rascals" as they find themselves mixed up with another one of the maniacs' deadly festivals.
- Uncle Creepy
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Blade Runner blaster highlights Hollywood auction
The Harrison Ford "Rick Deckard" hero blaster from Blade Runner, predicted to draw bids between $100,000 and $150,000, is among the 1,100 pieces of Hollywood memorabilia being auctioned by Profiles in History April 30 and May 1.
Other items for sale include an original Frankenstein onesheet movie poster ($200,000-$250,000), the original Creature From the Black Lagoon hero "Gill Man" mask from Revenge of the Creature ($60,000-$80,000), Ray Park's "Darth Maul" fighting lightsaber from Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace ($40,000-$60,000) and Charlton Heston's "Colonel George Taylor" costume and display from Planet of the Apes ($40,000-$60,000).
Did you guys see R2D2 in STAR TREK earlier this year? Well he was there.
Apparently now you can find him in TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN too. TheForce.net reports:
There's an R2-D2 flying around in there somewhere," revealed Scott Farrar, the film's visual-effects supervisor, who also worked on the "Star Wars" episodes "Return of the Jedi" and "The Phantom Menace."...
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