Rob Lopez is a huge Star Wars fan. So, naturally, his son Sebastian is, as well. (And he loves Darth Vader.) One of the joys parents get to experience is having fun with their children. That’s why Rob and his wife (but mainly Rob) decided to see how their son would react if Darth Vader woke him up in the morning. Likelihood of traumatizing their son: ~15% YouTube But, I don’t know what’s better…this dad’s costume, or how his son reacted! Thankfully, their son proved that the Force is indeed with him (and Darth Vader is whipped). Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/darth-vader-wakeup/
Cool your jets, Star Wars fans: the Episode VII trailer isn’t out just yet. But Lucasfilm has shared with Mashable the trailer for something just as insanely brilliant: a fan-made, shot-for-shot remake of the canon’s ultimate classic, the Empire Strikes Back, coming to StarWars.com this Friday. If this sounds familiar, you may be thinking of its predecessor, the Emmy award-winning project known as Star Wars Uncut. The brainchild of engineer and designer Casey Pugh, Star Wars Uncut took the original Star Wars, and chopped it up into 15-second segments. The idea was that fans would sign up online to remake each 15-second bit, and Pugh would stitch together the result. “I was trying to see how fast I could make a movie,” Pugh told Mashable. “What I didn’t expect was all the creativity and engagement of Star Wars fans. Parents worked with their kids to make these elaborate 15-second videos. They spent weeks on them. The amount of blood and sweat that went into this was astounding.” The project went viral — so much so that Pugh ended up with three fan submissions for each of the 470 segments. That meant you could watch the whole thing online multiple times, and never see it the same way twice. Pugh called the result “organized mayhem.” Industry watchers called it pure comedy gold. Star Wars Uncut won a special Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Media upon its release in 2010. Check out the Director’s Cut version, here, featuring everything from cardboard and Lego versions of famous Star Wars scenes to a Yellow Submarine homage: Pugh also got a call from George Lucas’s company, which loved the idea. Lucasfilm flew Pugh out to its San Francisco headquarters, and urged him to collaborate with them on a sequel, Empire Strikes Back Uncut. A year and a half in the making, Empire promises to be an even bigger and better version of the Uncut project, based on the work of more than 1,000 contributors and twice the amount of submissions. “Everyone’s got HD cameras now,” Pugh pointed out. “People have higher expectations. They went even more crazy, put even more time into it.” His editor did, too, finding ways to squeeze parts of every fan-submitted 15-second clip into the movie. Check out a few examples of this raw material, below, from the Dagobah scenes between Luke Skywalker and Yoda: If you’re guffawing at the no-budget results of such familiar scenes, know that you’re not alone. “I always say that if we ever show this in theaters, it should be in 20-minute intervals,” Pugh said. “You’re laughing hysterically; your brain needs a rest.” And this is just the beginning; Lucasfilm is making a concerted effort to encourage more fan-made films. The company has revived its Star Wars Fan Film Awards, last seen in 2010, just in time for the new movies. “With the emergence of user-generated content over the last couple of years, we decided to give the awards a break,” a Lucasfilm spokesperson explained. […]
Whether you’re excited about Star Wars: Episode VII or not, nearly all would agree that the upcoming director — whomever that might be — has some very high expectations to meet. Who do you picture the perfect director to lead the next generation of Star Wars fans? Is it Spielberg? Tarantino? Conan O’Brien picked Wes Anderson for the job during his show on Wednesday night — the latest in a series of hypothetical directors auditioning for the new Star Wars. Anderson is known for films such as The Life Aquatic, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, and has a very distinct aesthetic style. A Life Galactic — which is shown above, and obviously a parody — has many elements of Anderson’s previous films: Helvetica font, quirky decor and anticlimactic arguments. Sounds perfect for a scene as controversial as “Han Shot First,” right? BONUS: 10 Out of This World Star Wars-Disney Mashups Star Wars / Disney Memes Cool story, bro. Via @PeteRKn65 Old School Via @benzenben Nice Hat Via @JuanP6 Even More Frightening Via @OZavila It’s A Parent Trap! Via @awnelson17 Winnie The Ewok Via @f_francavilla Uh Oh Via @TechnicallyRon Still Iconic Via @youngdesign When You Wish Upon A Deathstar Via @AlexJamesFitz Snow White, Seven Dwarfs and a Jedi Master Via @anniecolbert Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/09/wes-anderson-star-wars/
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘VN_PG_DTAT_ATF’); }); If you’re a Star Wars fan, you have to see what these two musicians just did. Earlier this month, 13-year-old Bryce Hayashi grabbed his trumpet and a fellow musician and headed down the street. Their goal was to set up shop outside someone’s home, but that house didn’t belong to just anyone. The pair put a stand on the sidewalk near composer John Williams’ property and started playing one of his most famous pieces. You may have heard of it. Williams has had an illustrious career, but this song — which was composed back in 1977 — is probably his most iconic. What a way to honor a music legend! Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/star-wars-john-williams/
Who’s that muppet? A still from the ‘Star Wars’ video released May 21Image: Lucasfilm/Omaze When director J.J. Abrams recorded his first video from the set of Star Wars: Episode VII in Abu Dhabi, he was sending a number of messages to different kinds of Star Wars fans. The obvious message, meant for all kinds of fans, was that they should enter a charity contest with probably the coolest prize in history: a bit part in the still-unnamed Episode VII. But the arrival of a large muppet-like creature halfway through Abrams’ monologue sent another few messages to more serious fans. It was a clear signal that Episode VII will use the retro puppeteering of the original trilogy — think the motley crew of Jabba’s palace — alongside the somewhat soulless CGI of the prequel era. “We’re going to use every tool in the toolbox,” was how Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy put it last summer. No doubt there will be one or two computer-generated beasties in the final movie, but the fact that this curious creature is the first non-droid we’ve seen in Episode VII is surely intended to calm any older viewers who felt Episodes I to III fell too far into the uncanny valley (population: Jar Jar Binks). Meanwhile, the identity of the on-screen beastie has not been officially confirmed, but according to Wookiepedia, it appears to be a dead ringer for a species called the H’drachi. That’s an extremely nerdy reference for Abrams to be making, since the camel-like H’drachi have only been seen in a few Star Wars comics. This is especially interesting given last month’s announcement that the so-called Expanded Universe of Star Wars comics and novels was being moved to the universe next door; now, none of its storylines officially happened in Star Wars canon. Using a species as obscure as the H’drachi in Episode VII seems something of a sop to Expanded Universe fans: Don’t worry, it says, we still respect the source material, and we’re going to use it liberally in this brave new Star Wars universe. And there’s one more thing. Fans of the various wonders to have poured out of Jim Henson’s Muppet workshop over the years find this creature, with its lumbering movements and sleepy eyelids, to be surprisingly familiar. A lot of us looked at it, and were reminded of this: They’re the Mystics, ancient creatures from the much-underrated 1982 movie Dark Crystal. That movie in itself has a Star Wars connection, being a collaboration between Henson and Gary Kurtz, who produced both the original Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back. Mystical camel-like muppet aliens lumbering around with bird-filled carriers on their backs? That sounds a lot like the Star Wars we used to know. Roll on, Episode VII. Chris Taylor is the author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, the first complete history of the Star Wars franchise and its fandom. The book releases September 30 and is available for pre-order here. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/05/21/star-wars-episode-vii-creature/
R2-D2 usually scores all the lady action with his thruster jets and hologram transmitting capabilities, but his droid buddy C-3PO makes a play with a new look and smoother groove. The revamped (and hairier) Threepio adopted the moniker C3-Bieb-O to remix Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend.” The Rebel Alliance-friendly lyrics include gems like: “So give me a chance, I’m God on the Ewok’s world,Spend a week with your droid you’ll be calling me your droid-friend.” Viral Photo Gallery 7 Fake Hurricane Sandy Photos You’re Sharing on Social Media Fake Hurricane Sandy photos flew around Twitter and Facebook on Monday, as users shared jaw-dropping images. Unfortunately, the race to post the most striking pics has most folks skipping the all-important fact check. We’ve gathered up five “Hurricane Sandy” photographs that have spread on the social web, but weren’t actually taken during the massive storm. Obama and Romney Are Your New Dress Up Dolls Still not sure who to vote for? Or maybe you’re dead-set on a candidate, and simply waiting for Election Day next week. Regardless of who you’re voting for on Nov. 6, both of these presidential candidates could use some change — of outfits, that is. The websites Change4Obama and Change4Romney will keep voters entertained until the election. Both sites, created by social discovery site SocialPlex, allow users to dress up Barack Obama or Mitt Romney as various characters. You can mix and match features like hair, eyes, nose and outfits. Your Favorite Logos Reimagined for the Zombie Apocalypse [PICS] There seems to be a craze for reimagining top logos and since this is Halloween, why not rethink them for a zombie apocalypse, right? Assuming that event were to come to pass, here’s what your neighborhood Starbucks and the gas station down the street might look like, as envisioned by artist Ben Fellowes. For more of these horrifying logos, check out his site. New York City Subway Needs a ‘System Restore’ [PIC] Yes, crashed Windows OS, we know the New York City subway system was unable to restart after Hurricane Sandy. And, yes, we would love to run a system restore. After Sandy ravaged the East Coast Monday evening, the subway system in New York City was left crippled. Not immune to inclement weather, the Windows-based display above the 77th Street subway stop seemed to have hit a snag as well. ‘The Walking Dead’ Gets ‘Dear Photograph’ Treatment [PICS] Dear Photograph, a popular nostalgia blog showcasing photos within photos, gave its visitors a terrifying surprise Wednesday: The Walking Dead-inspired posts. Dear Photograph creator Taylor Jones told Mashable he teamed up with FOX International Channels on the Halloween Day images, which folks at The Walking Dead created for their international ad campaign. Each of the two blog posts showcases a zombie and a post-zombie-apocalypse caption. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/08/01/c3po-justin-bieber-boyfriend-video/
