Tag: George Lucas

THE EARLY VIEW: “PANZER 88″ Gary Kurtz, the producer of the first two “Star Wars” films and the man who walked away from the franchise in 1980, is not the excitable type. He speaks in even tones and pragmatic terms, but there was a clear tinge of eager energy in his voice when he sat down recently to discuss “Panzer 88,” his first foray into effects-heavy feature films since the 1980s. “It’s a good, good project, you haven’t seen anything like it for a while,” Kurtz said of the spooky wartime adventure that is planned as a $20 million independent film and will begin shooting in the winter. “It’s a visceral, reality-based story with horror overtones, and the idea is to have be like the best of the graphic novels these days.” The plot follows the five-man German crew of the Ilsa — a King ...

GUEST CORRESPONDENT: TONY DITERLIZZI Star Wars Celebration V drew thousands of Jedi faithful from around the world to Orlando over the weekend, and among them was Tony DiTerlizzi, the bestselling author and artist best know as co-creator of “The Spiderwick Chronicles.“  DiTerlizzi (whose new illustrated novel, “The Search for WondLa,“ hits stores in the fall) brought his notebook to Florida and sent back a guest essay, photos and drawings for Hero Complex readers. After cavorting through the crowds at last month’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, one thing was apparent as I eyed the gaggles of costumed Darth Vaders, Stormtroopers and enslaved Princess Leias: “Star Wars” is still alive and well in our pop culture. Some of us came to the film when it was simply titled “Star Wars” in 1977; others arrived during the 1981 re-release when it was “Star Wars Episode IV: A ...

Big news out of Orlando, where George Lucas told the crowd at Star Wars Celebration V that all six live-action “Star Wars” films will be released next year on Blu-ray for the first time. In a press release that followed, Lucasfilm revealed that it would be a hefty boxed set “utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with extensive special features – including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.” The scene at the Florida convention, where Lucas was joined onstage at one point by Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, was described at StarWars.com, here’s an excerpt: “Star Wars” fans were treated to a glimpse of bonus material, in the form of a long-lost deleted scene from “Return of the Jedi.” The scene has long been talked about online — a sequence that depicts ...

Here is a longer version of my story on Gary Kurtz that appears in Thursday’s Calendar section. “Star Wars” was born a long time ago, but not all that far, far away. In 1972, filmmakers George Lucas and Gary Kurtz were toiling on “American Graffiti” in their San Rafael office when they began daydreaming about a throwback sci-fi adventure that channeled the old “Flash Gordon” serials as opposed to the bleak “message” movies that had taken over the genre. “We had no idea what we were starting,” said Kurtz, who was the producer of the first two “Star Wars” films and also a second-unit director. “That simple concept changed Hollywood in a way….” There was a bittersweet tinge to Kurtz’s voice, and it’s no surprise. This year is the 30th anniversary of “The Empire Strikes Back,” the “Star Wars” sequel ...

EXCLUSIVE: FIRST LOOK AT LONG-LOST ART  STAR WARS CELEBRATION V, ORLANDO, FLA., AUG. 12- 15 Forget The Force, “Star Wars” fans can thank a balky old furnace in Berkeley for the discovery of some nearly lost treasures from the earliest days of the Jedi universe. When George Lucas was first pitching the idea of a cosmic fantasy that happened a long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away, it was the vivid artwork of Ralph McQuarrie that the young filmmaker used to communicate his strange, otherworldly concepts and characters (some of the most famous paintings, of the droids in the desert, can be seen below). McQuarrie became renowned for his art labors on the film, and for years “Star Wars” scholars have analyzed and discussed every sketch and painting — well, not every one, it turns out. In the months after the lavish, 400-page retrospective “The Art of Ralph McQuarrie” was published in ...

Disneyland will shutter the popular ”Star Tours” attraction this month to make way for a major overhaul of the Reagan-era ride – but D23 members will be given one last, special opportunity to say goodbye to the vintage “Star Wars” adventure. On July 14, members of D23 (which is the prestige, dues-membership fan club launched by Disney last year) will be offered a free and final ride on “Star Tours” before the doors get locked. The first 160 members who sign up that morning will get spots on the last run of the “Star Tours” starspeeders, which will be after-hours on the night of July 26. The way it will work: The lucky D23 members will meet at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney between 10 p.m. and midnight for check-in. After the park closes at midnight, D23 staffers will escort the contingent into Disneyland proper, where they ...

The Brothers Hildebrandt created one of the signature images of the 1970s with this striking, cosmic tableau showing the Skywalker family, a craggy terrain and a space battle unfolding in the starry sky. I had a poster of this painting on the wall of my room as a child and, as with many moviegoers, this was the entry-point image for a new mythology – the first glimpse of the George Lucas universe before any of us actually sat down in the dark with the 1977 film. Greg Hildebrandt (who lost his twin, Tim, in 2006 in a diabetes-related death) will be in Santa Monica this Saturday at Every Picture Tells a Story, the gallery and shop that has become a true landmark in Southern California for sci-fi, fantasy and comics art. The gallery is hosting an exhibit of Hildebrandt’s original art as well as his posters and prints. He and his brother gained fame ...

The last time Jon Stewart interviewed George Lucas, the great wizard of Skywalker Ranch revealed some startling late-night habits involving rubber and Jar Jar Binks headwear. The nimble-minded host of “The Daily Show” gets another shot at the “Star Wars“ mastermind during Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando in August. The two will sit down for an hour-long, on-stage interview as part of the massive Lucasfilm expo dedicated to all things Jedi. Other scheduled guests at the Aug. 12-15 event include Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Jeremy Bulloch, Peter Mayhew, Jake Lloyd and Ray Park. There also will be costume contests, a laser-tag competition, a massive trading floor and something called the Star Wars Celebration Chapel. Here’s how the organizers describe that one: “Love is the strongest Force of all. It is a power that surrounds us, drives us and binds us together. ...

LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL The Los Angeles Film Festival strives to be both urban and urbane with its move downtown and its far-ranging program of foreign films and serious documentary fare, but take a closer look and you’ll notice this is an event that covets the Comic-Con crowd as well. If you need proof, take note of the fact that people who dress up as Darth Vader or Yoda get free popcorn — and that’s not even a joke. The festival, which runs Thursday through June 27 and is sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, closes with a Nokia Theatre screening of “Despicable Me,” the animated superhero farce starring Steve Carrell, and on Wednesday the festival hosts the West Coast premiere of “The People vs. George Lucas,” a documentary that delves into the complicated legacy of the “Star Wars” films and, yes, that’s the outdoor ...

I’m not sure who had more fun Friday night, Leonard Nimoy or the sold-out audience that came to see him at the first night of the inaugural Hero Complex Film Festival. Early on, I knew we were going to have a good ride when the Starfleet icon sent the audience into delirious laughter with his overwrought impression of William Shatner delivering the eulogy for Spock at the end of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” “Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was most… human.” Absolutely priceless. The conversation that followed was lively and unpredictable (who expected to hear about Nimoy’s chance meeting with rock demi-god Jimi Hendrix in Cleveland four decades ago?) and bittersweet. The dynamic 79-year-old has just announced his retirement from acting and, after a few “Trek”-related appearances later this year, he is stepping away from the public ...