news and rumors

Reaction to the Phantom Menace. For the past five days it seems to be the talk of the Internet. And everyone seems to be setting up polls on what the public thinks of the new title. And this what they had to say.
Ain't It Cool News' poll asked people what was their reaction to the name, he had 4 different statements on how people might have reacted. And this is what he posted.

"Ok. THE PHANTOM MENACE
Sure it sounds like something completely non-Star Wars-y. But after you see the film, you'll most likely think of it as a very apt and clever title. WHy? Well, quite simply, because it is.
You see this whole film, this first one is a bit of misdirection. The enemy that Qui Gon and Obi Wan, Padme and Anakin... the bad guys are not the ultimate bad guys. Sure, these aliens, robots and such are causing a lot of strife, and sure the characters above think... "WOW WE WON" but we the audience will know, "NO NO, THAT'S THE REAL BAD GUY!!!! CHOP HIM IN HALF!!!" Thus the entire film concerns the Phantom Menace, the distraction with the left hand, while the right hand is palming the coin.
Just as we see A NEW HOPE in Episode IV, just as we watch THE EMPIRE STIKES BACK, and as we observe the RETURN OF THE JEDI. Each of those titles aptly describes the film that follows. In A NEW HOPE, we see a glimmer of hope in young Skywalker, this will become more powerful realized after we see the inevitable despair and hopelessness in Episode III. In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK... well, they did. The Empire killed lots of rebels, cut off Luke's hand and froze Han Solo. In RETURN OF THE JEDI, well we see that after the death of the last jedi in the galaxy, a new Jedi is born out of the ashes, the tale comes full circle.
Of course, who knows, perhaps this is George Lucas playing with all the Black Market T-Shirt and Hat makers of the world. Can't ya just see tons of fake flea market merchandise on their tables? Only to see George change it in March or April. However, I do believe this title will be on the film May 21st, 1999. Call it a feeling, it just feels right given the story.
So there ya go... "

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: It hit the Net on Friday in the US and caused aftershocks like nobody's business. The Official Site did an update which revealed the full name for the new Star Wars prequel as "Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace". Since then reaction has been flooding in, initially many believing its a prank like the 'Plot Does Matter' poster, but the longer it stays there the more and more likely is seems accurate. What's the reaction? Based on what I'm hearing it seems only about 10% approve of the title, but the number is growing. My first reaction was BLEGGH!!, now its a moderate UGGHH!!. I'd guess we have to know more about the story and/or see some finished footage before making a final judgement. Thanks to 'Evan', 'Chris', 'Lee', 'Charles', 'Kris', 'Julius', 'Kris', 'TVs Henry', 'Mr. X', 'MPreston, 'Bass', 'Allroy', 'Travis', 'Ningen Manga' & 'Lincoln'.

Robogeek says when he hears the title, he pictures a man running around in a purple cloak laughing into the night leaving dead policemen in his wake.

Other Phantom Menace Domains. When I first head about the name I went in and typed up a few domains to see if this is accurate. And sure enough each address I typed in would take me back to the Main page of the Official Star Wars site. The Force Net with InterNic Regisration Serviceshas also complied a list of other sites that Lucasfilms LTD has also done this too. Here you go and check them out.

Star War: The Phantom Menace!!?!?!?!?!?!!? I can only assume that millions of loyal Star Wars fans will be laughing their head off when they hear this is the OFFICIAL title to Episode 1. Posted today on the Official Site they have stated the following.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR WWW.STARWARS.COM FANS -- STAR WARS: EPISODE I TITLE
September 25, 1998 -- One of the most common questions fans have been asking is, "What is the title of the new Star Wars movie?" We're happy to report that George Lucas has decided to name the new movie "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." As announced earlier, the new movie will appear in theaters in the United States and Canada on May 21st, 1999.

I think by now all of us have been use to Balance of the Force, Guardians of the Force, The Beginning or even Episode 1. In most fans' minds they think the title has to sound similar with A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. But yet "the Phantom Menace" is exactly like Jedi or Empire. All the titles to the Star Wars films have a Serial type feel to them, just say them out load and you can feel it in the words. I assume that some of when you think about this title of a bunch of kids trying to solve a mystery in a mansion comes to mind. You know like a typical Scooby Doo situation. But the title itself has this side to it that reflects a lot to the Dark Side of the Force. Maybe it is the power of a Dark Jedi or even the true Force that drives a Jedi to the Dark Side these are things that come to my mind when I speak out this title. So for those you hate it, get use to it. We are going to be hearing this for a long time. George if your out there, Great title!

Official Site Confirms Creatures of Naboo Page. Remember the picture of the Naboo creature that popped up a while back? Well, the official site has confirmed them and posted them on the official site. So now, I guess I can keep them on the Official Picture Gallery.

Star Wars: Behind the Magic is out right now! Sorry but I have not gotten my copy yet. You see I thought it was suppose to be released on 29 not the 21 and right now I am broke. I have to wait till Friday till get enough cash to by the CD. For now I have to rely on the always "shag-a-delic" The Force Net and T'Bone Fender's Star Wars Universe for information and picture of the CD. So far most of it is recycled tid bits from the Official site and The Insider. What we do have is a few cool pictures and some information on the film. We do get confirmation on the names of Naboo, Mos Espa, Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter, Captain Panaka and the Battle Droid. And we also got a few pictures of them and a bit information. Here check out the pictures that T'Bone and The Force Net have posted up. For now I will rely on them for the picture if I can get more picture or even better resolution picture then I will remove these pictures.

" - Naboo is described as an odd planet without a molten core, but rather a honeycomb of layers
- Theed is confirmed, with brief info on Naboo having two main cities
- Mos Espa has prison quarters
- Liam Neeson's character mentors both Obi-Wan and Anakin to some degree
- Tatooine is Obi-Wan's home world and Owen Lars IS his brother
- the Battledroid and STAP are featured heavily as ruthless "stand-in" soldiers
- one scene involves a Tuskin Raider sniping from a bluff
- Captain Panaka (see pic above) is the Queen's head of security"

David Bowie in Episode 1?!?!?!? First off, let me say that I am huge David Bowie fan and I would really be excited see Ziggy Stardust next to Obi Wan and Anakin. Sadly I am not a member of Bowie Net, I just don't want to pay to in the David Bowie fan club. It is said that this was posted on the site in the BODYLINKS section of the member's section. Duncan Bowie, David's Son, wrote this information.

Why am I here? What have I to say? Mucho! Unfortunately, the people at the Lucas ranch have signed me into a non-disclosure deal, and you all know how George is about letting it slip about casting; I have to admit, the idea of dad making a surprise cameo as the young Vader should be a riot! Oops. Moving on.

Preview of the upcoming Insider Issue. The Prequel Watch has alerted everyone to keep your eyes open on the new issue. It will have an interview with Ewan McGregor and he will be on the cover. I also assume we will get more picture from the Behind the Magic CD in that issue.

A few Official Site Updates. Well, they have a small interview with Rick McCallum. Personally I don't find it that interesting, most of the questions are "What's it like to work with George Lucas?" So Rick is more or less in the shadow of George. New sections have been added to the Star Wars category section. And they are Technology, Droids, and Weapons. If you have seen them yet check it out, you are bound to see something you did not know about yet.

Editors Note. I made few changes in the image files used on this site. Sure most file that you can download will be JPG but the one that are loaded up with the HTML are now GIF. I need them so they can load up faster. So you might notice that some page like the Picture Gallery and the Cast pages with zip up onto your screen real fast.

September 18, 1998

Some more Lynn Hale Video Diary Outakes. This time she fallows Rick MacCallium along a little tour of Levesden Studio. I don't know about know I was expecting a bit on the reshoots, since that was only a few weeks ago, but It seems Lynn is still at the begging. But you and I must have patience I assume all that will come in time. Hell it is about 200 days left till the film is released. Oh well, the cool part about the tour is that you get to see everyone constructing a set. I can only assume that it is for Naboo or maybe those set pictures that have been circulating around the net. By the way it was nice touch for Lucasfilms to add how long each Video Diary is.

Episode 2 in Australia? Another rumor about is being spread around that Lucas will be filming Episode 2 in Australia. The rumor continues on saying that Lucas will be taking a "inspecting tour" in the new 20th Century Fox studio very soon. Who knows if it is even for Episode 2 as far as we know he could use it to film Indy 4? I got this from The Force Net, Dark Horizons and the Hollywood Reporter.

Yikes! Ain't It Cool News and The Force Net tell a bit more about the film. Well, we have all heard that Harry has read a piece of the script... Know I have heard everyone's' opinion on that if this is true or false. But Harry is very loyal to us and I trust Harry in what he says. Hell, he is one of us. A die-hard fan whom loves to talk about movies and rumors. Oh well, at Dragoncon Harry and The Force Net have met together and talked about the script. Now, Harry has not posted this on his site this is from the Force Net. This is a bit of Dialog they had together. Just highlight the fallowing some big spoilers!!!

" Some locales that we will visit on the planet of Naboo include the Naboo Palace, the city of Theed, Oxon City, Otoh Gunga, Camp Four, and The Heart of the Planet. What could "The Heart of the Planet" be?

The major political organizations are the Galactic Republic, and the Trade Federation.

Some alien and creature names are Rep Been, and Rep Teers. Those two are both Gungans. There is a swamp creature called the Pikobis, in addition to the Peko Peko, and Nuna that we've seen on the official sneak preview Naboo Swamp site.

There are two sea monsters that are called the Sando Aqua Monster, and Opee Sea Killer.

Some random droid names are DUM-4, ASP-77, EG-9, PK-4, Rolo Droid, TC4, OWO-1, P-59, and Sith Probe Droid.

The ships featured in Episode I include the Gungan Sub or Bongo. The Queen's Ship is called a Naboo Spacecraft J-type 327 Nubian. There are Federation Battleships, Federation Landing Ships, Small Transports, Star Fighters, and Tanks.

The Pods in the Pod Race are named simply with letters of the alphabet."

Editor's Note: Well, I am not really prepared for this but here goes. And this is my opinion on who should direct Episode 2 and 3. I am a bit in a hurry this time I am tired and I have to get up early, but I will give you some good choices.

Quentin Tarantino was originally a joke. My friend and I were joking around about having him direct the Prequels. Well, we thought of him because Sam Jackson was playing a Jedi. And in our mind we imagined Sam with a big jerry curl fro with Chewbacca flying around the Millenium Falcon talking about T-16 and Royal with Cheese. Of course this was always taken as a joke, if Tarantino really did do the film we would not really support him on this. Sure it would be his first Fantasy epic film but Tarrention is not about that, in fact we see Tarantino his own crime films, which right now he is doing very well in. If Tarantino decides to go on with a fantasy film I suggest he creates his own universe, and I bet you it would be drastically different the Star Wars. In fact I would image he would be more for the graphic novel type comics of Dark Horse and Heavy Metal.

Kevin Smith, yet another joke my friends and I were joking about. We all love Kevin Smith's films. And we all love the Star Wars jokes he has in them. About the Jedi mind trick in Mallrats, or the independent contractor aboard the second Death Star in Clerks and the black meaning in the Chasing Amy. And we all know that Kevin is a fan, and I assume as a big of a fan as all of us. So would that make him a good director? My friends seem to think that it does, I don't. As big of a fan that I am I think that I do not have the touch that could emulate the perfect Star Wars film. Through out my whole life I have enjoyed watching the Trilogy for everything that it was worth. And I know my boundaries, I am a viewer. And I think I would want to stay that way... Of course maybe I would not being involved in special effects or even some behind the scene design but I do not want to tamper George's vision. I assume Kevin would feel the same. Maybe I would be able to change my mind about him after he releases Dogma, Dogma is his upcoming Fantasy film, and when that is out maybe I would get to see him other then a comedy film maker.

New Behind the scenes picture. The Force Net has gotten some great picture of the sets for one of their sources. These pictures are not of Mos Espa which we seem to see several time, I assume this is Naboo or maybe some corridors in Courscant (Although I doubt it because the walls do not fit the design that we have seen most Official Courscant pictures). Oh well, here you go and enjoy there really kick ass picture of Episode 1.

More on Star Wars: Behind the Magic. "It's a kind a Magic, Magic Magic..... da do de do......." (Queens "It's a Kind of Magic"). Well, Lucasarts has open up a page on Star Wars: Behind the Magic. They are mostly showing this off so it gets you hyped up to buy it. I am already hyped up since I heard about it. The page has some interesting things I did not know about. There is this one section where you get to test fire the weapons. On the site they have a humorous moment where we see a guy shooting at a Storm Trooper. And soon we see the Storm Trooper starting to dance (I was sort of expecting him to break dance or even do the Moonwalk you know like in Back to the Future Part 3.) There is also a small web version of the site. It limits you to certain section (for example you cannot enter the Episode 1 section) but it great preview, and it is less memory then most Lucasarts game Demo (At first I thought 20 MB for Jedi Knight was too much for a game that was till I saw 50 MB just to get a demo of Grim Fandango). If you want to pre-order the it you can got through Lucasarts Online Store and you get a free Limited frame from A New Hope. For 29.95 plus shipping and handling that is a reasonable price don't you agree?

An interview with George. The source came from Star Wars Dark Side Prequel Page and it talks about Lucas' idea on both Indy 4 (one of my favorite films of all time) and Episode 2. Now I know that the interview is rather long and I don't want to crowd this page because of this. So I made another page for you to read it in.

Anthony Daniels will be in Episode 1. While everyone know that we might not get to see C3PO in Episode 1, but what if we will get to her the voice doing something else. This came from the always "Shagadelic" Cinescape from the Dragoncon that was held in Atlanta. At the convention he mentions that he will be involved in the film but he did not say what is was. Here you can read what Cinescape wrote.

While appearing at DragonCon in Atlanta on Saturday, Anthony "C-3PO" Daniels dropped hints that he will indeed be involved with the first Star Wars prequel. Daniels side-stepped questions from the audience on his prequel participation, saying at one point, "I don't like to let things out. Go see the movie. Enjoy it." But he did confirm that he met with George Lucas three weeks ago. And he also asked the audience, "Do you believe that you should see where C-3PO came from?" The audience responded enthusiastically, of course, prompting Daniels to imply that he, too, was looking forward to seeing something like that in the next film. This would seem to lend credence to rumors that Daniels will supply the voice for C-3PO in the first prequel, even though another actor stepped inside of the golden robot suit.

Rumors about where the film will be premiered. Another bit of information by Cinescape, they have heard by one of their sources that Episode 1 will be premiered at Caserta Palace. Here is what Cinescape wrote.

The Insider's Italian buddy 'Jix' returns with a follow-up to his tip about Star Wars: Episode One premiering in the Caserta Palace, where many of the film's Naboo sequences were shot. Here's an excerpt from what Jix tells me was a communique sent out by the palace (translated to English for our audience):
"The Royal Palace of Caserta hosted the G7 meeting in 1994 and in summer 1997 famous American filmmaker George Lucas when he used the palace's interiors as the set for his new Star Wars movie. Star Wars will return to the palace again next summer, when Caserta will host the Italian premiere of Star Wars Episode I on June 15 1998"
Jix went on to speculate that the event may also comprise the European premiere, since June 15 would be a relatively early date for the movie to open in Italy. It is unlikely that foreign language dubbing could be prepared in time for this Caserta screening, thus making it probable that the film will be shown in English with subtitles. (Thanks to go to 'Jix' for keeping his eye on the Italian Star Wars scene!)

Editor's Note. Well, I am going to add a few list of director soon. But I am tired and busy with relatives over. On the list I have Quentin Tarentino, Kevin Smith, David Finch, George Lucas and the two biggest directors who are always rumored about doing the film Steven Spielberg and James Cameron.

September 4, 1998

Creatures of Naboo Swamp revealed. Okay, I did not find them. In fact I was rather lost and I really did not know what to do. The Force Net pointed out the link to where you can see these creatures. Here is the link to Star Wars: Creatures of Naboo SwampNow this really does confirm that Lucasfilms owns the site. But then again someone could have made it and did a damn good job pretending that they are Lucasfilms. So right now I am not too sure where to place these pictures under Official or Unconfirmed. I will have to wait until Lucasfilms confirms this site and these pictures. In the mean time I think I will have these picture in the official Gallery, but I will move them if I need to. Hey, look on the bright side this is the closest thing that Lucasfilm has been to confirming the name of the planet is Naboo.

The following is the text that was posted on the page on the creature designs (Wow! 50 different creatures, I hope the behind the scenes book get to show them all off).

Congratulations on finding your way through the Naboo swamps. No doubt you noticed a few unusual creatures living among the trees and vines. The turkey-like Nuna and the beautiful blue Peko Peko are just two of a menagerie of creatures that will appear in Star Wars: Episode I.

"In creating these creatures we had a lot of freedom because George simply asked us to create realistic swamp creatures like none he'd seen before," says Doug Chiang, who heads the art department. "The swamp creatures are present for a very short time in the film itself, but they're very well thought out." he says.

Artist Terryl Whitlatch developed 50 unique designs that were eventually narrowed to six swamp creatures that will appear in the film. "George is really good at defining the guidelines of fantastic versus realistic," Doug says.

Terryl described how the creatures she designs are derived from naturally occurring species. Terryl has a background in vertebrate zoology which has proven invaluable in creating realistic yet amazing creatures. Once final designs are approved she does detailed colored paintings and skeletal drawings to help ILM bring the creatures to life on the big screen.

Terryl says a key to creating realistic creatures is to think about how they would actually survive in their environment. Are they herbivores or carnivores? How often do they produce offspring? What characteristics do they need to survive life in an Episode I swamp? She says she designs the creatures so that they could potentially survive in our world. "Star Wars is reality made into fantasy by just tweaking reality a bit," Terryl says.

Terryl is currently helping to extend the Naboo swamp habitat with the Lucas Learning team (who rendered the creature animations for this feature) for an upcoming release.

She describes the Nuna and the Peko Peko in detail: "The Nuna is a funny flightless bird with no neck, but it has long legs so it can crouch down to drink. It runs, or rather waddles, like a turkey. It has short pin features and scales along its back. It eats primarily swamp plants but enjoys the occasional frog and has been known to scavenge. The Nuna has a high reproductive rate which is essential for its survival, as it's a rather tasty bird and is hunted heavily."

"The Peko Peko is eight feet long from the tip of its beak to the end of its long, beautiful tail. It flies gracefully but has difficulty walking on its short legs. Its look and coloring are developed from the peacock and the hyacinth macaw. I had to think carefully about its diet in order to design its beak, so I designed the Peko Peko with a very powerful jaw with which it cracks large coconut-size nuts. It also has claws on its wings, like the South American hoatzin, which helps the bird to move around in trees."

Terryl says she's a little sad when her favorite creatures aren't chosen for stardom but finds that George is a very good and encouraging editor. Terryl says, "He's consistent in some strange and interesting way as though all of Star Wars had one designer - it's like variations on a theme."

Bad news about the Episode 1 Trailer. Okay, Yesterday we posted up news that the episode 1 trailer will appear on the "Star Wars: Behind the Magic". Various sites have been confirming that we will not be seeing the trailer with Behind the Magic. In fact it seems that Electronic Gaming Monthly was mislead on thinking that there was a trailer would be there. Online Gaming Review has contacted a Lucasarts spokesperson on what EGM has said about the trailer in Behind the Magic? And this is what the spokesperson said:

"There have been some rumors circulating around the Net that LucasArts upcoming Star Wars: Behind the Magic (an encyclopedia of all things Star Wars) will also feature the first movie trailer for next year's highly anticipated movie Star Wars: Episode One. OGR has confirmed with a LucasArts spokesperson that this rumor is "entirely false. It will not be on Star Wars: Behind the Magic." The LucasArts spokesperson did confirm that there will be Episode One info on the Star Wars: Behind the Magic CD, but what that information is "hasn't been decided yet and won't be until the last minute."

So who knows will there or won't there be a trailer in Behind the Magic? The good news is that there will be Episode 1 information on it. And seriously that what we really care about isn't it. Sure, yesterday I sounded a bit too excited about the trailer being in the CD. But hey, weren't you excited too? I would like to thank the following site on telling me this Cinescape, Lucasgames, Star Wars Gamers, Ain't It Cool News, Fatest Game News Online, The Force Net and ORG.

Naboo Swamp pictures. Okay I would really have to classify this on just weird. The Force Net found this out and posted it on their site. It is part of the official Star Wars site and it even says so in the source codes. What you see is the Naboo swamp and you hear a few sounds from it. You can navagate through the swamp by clicking on the sides and the center. We will try to get some images of the swamp but "I have a bad feeling about this". And I am not just saying this because it is a famous Star Wars quote. I am saying this because I feel that we will see this gone in a while. In the mean time enjoy these pictures.

The Official Episode 1 Trailer will not go along with any movie we were expecting. Personally I was hoping to see the Trailer with Star Trek Insurrection, but this is ten times better. It seems that Electronic Gaming Monthly has written up a nice and long article on the upcoming games from Lucasarts. In it has a piece on Star Wars: Behind the Magic. And this is what they had to say about the new CD.

"From a new Star Wars product, a new multi-media reference CD ROM for the PC to be exact, called Star Wars: Behind the Magic. This incredible resource is set to be released this September. Ever wanted to see the deleted scenes feature Biggs? Or schematics for every ship and weapon? How about a trailer for Star Wars: Episode One? Bet that got your attention."

Cinescape, (another site that I quote from several times) has confirmed that other video game magazines had been confirmed about the trailer appearing Behind the Magic. Here is what they had to say

"After dropping a few dimes the Insider can now confirm that Lucasfilm did indeed let it slip to the number one video game magazine (and former sister-pub of Cinescape) that the trailer WOULD BE on the Star Wars: Behind the Magic disc. One can rationally conclude that a theatrical debut of the trailer would follow sometime after the disc's scheduled September 24th release (if you buy into the notion that Lucasfilm wants to sell A LOT of BTM CD-ROMs before showing it for free)."

One would also agree with Cinescape that by showing the trailer it is a cheep way of selling the CD. But I was interested buying the CD even before I heard about this. I assume the reason why Lucas decided a CD instead of a movie theater is because it is easier to access a computer CD-ROM instead of a movie theater. A majority of people miss out on Movie trailer because they are late or they just don't like them. But on a CD people will not get the chase to miss the trailer, of course Not everyone has a PC with a CD-ROM so it is only a certain group of people who will have the privilege to see it. But I assume that it would be the same amount as the people who went to the Movie Theater to see it. I am also surprise to hear that the release date to Behind the Magic would be the 24th. Visit the official Behind the Magic Site at Lucasarts to learn more about what's is Behind the Magic all about.

Liam on Episode 1. Well, this is not as amazing as hearing Spielberg say "Oh, my god." But Neeson has been very quite about his character for quite sometime. The following is what he said to Newsweek.

"It's going to be quite an amazing film," Neeson said. "I read a lot of Joseph Campbell [in preparing for the role of a Jedi master]. I watched a lot of interviews with him talking about myths and legends and read some stuff on Buddhism. I put all that stuff together and the rest is my imagination."

It is interesting that Neeson has said it is amazing, but I wonder did he even see the film like Spielberg? Or is he talking about from the experience of making the film?

Lynn Hale Dairy 3 "Home Sweet Home". About some now some people might be frustrated and they really want to see the creatures and the actors with all the CG effects added. But settle down, all that will come in time. Right now the lovely Lynn Hale (I am nice to her because she is so lucky to get to walk around with Lucas and film him all day. She is so lucky) has a new video Dairy about the set design team and the focus on building Anakin's Hovel. Now, there are a few things that did interested me is that you get to see a man brushing sand onto the set. And in front of him you see a background of another set that was posted on Ain't It Cool News. The odd thing in the video is that you can obviously tell the set looks a lot like a background matting. Oh well, enjoy the new Lynn Hale Video Dairy and I added a few images from the site!

Ain't It Cool News reveal big Spoilers on Episode 1. Okay, I could only read about 1/25 of what was posted on Ain't It Cool News on the truth about Episode 1. It was really long. I started to say myself, "Dang, this is too much information." So I stopped and looked at something shinny to distract me. What this is a big sysops of the plot to Episode 1. The Good News about it is that the whole thing is positive, it really doesn't really make you disappointed about the film. And that writer assures us that the film when it is released will look much different then the script. T'Bone before he left to Drangoncon has said that what was posted up on Ain't It Cool News is real. T'Bone has also posted up a few more thing that was also not added at Ain't It Cool News on his Prequel Preview Section. Now I warn you that this is a big revelation about the plot. So, if you do not want to be spoiled then do not click on the following hyperlinks.