John Scalzi's Guide to the Most Epic FAILs in Star Wars Design.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing on Aug 21, 2009 - 164 comments

The Architects' Journal (home of British architecture) has recently listed their top 10 architectural features of Star Wars. The article cites the Sandcrawler of Tatooine (possibly inspired by the Hôtel du lac in Tunisia, and in turn may have influenced Casa da Música [virtual tour, requires Quicktime] ), gave Bright Tree Village an honorary rating of BREEAM Excellent (top marks for environment-friendliness and sustainability), then embrace the Ecumenopolis that is Coruscant. This is not the first discussion of the architectural styles of the Star Wars universe. George Lucas once said "I'm basically a Victorian person," referring to his love of "all kinds of old things," including sort of Art Deco or Art Moderne-type. The retro-futuristic styles of Star Wars has gone on to inspire others.
posted by filthy light thief on Jun 25, 2009 - 12 comments

“Until the recent Great Rebellion, the Jedi Bendu were the most feared warriors in the universe. For one hundred thousand years, generations of Jedi perfected their art as the personal bodyguards of the emperor. They were the chief architects of the invincible Imperial Space Force which expanded the Empire across the galaxy, from the celestial equator to the farthest reaches of the Great Rift. Now these legendary warriors are all but extinct. One by one they have been hunted down and destroyed as enemies of the New Empire by a ferocious and sinister rival warrior sect, the Knights of Sith.” - The first draft of Star Wars... was awful.
posted by Artw on May 25, 2009 - 149 comments

"Hi, I'm Mrs Han Solo and I'm an alcoholic" - Carrie Fisher roasts George Lucas (SLYT) (Previously)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Apr 24, 2009 - 53 comments

Star Wars Influence Map. Thank God Jar Jar Binks led to nowhere . . .
posted by jwakawaka on Apr 10, 2009 - 23 comments

Watch The Skies! Directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and James Cameron discuss the science fiction movies of the 1950s that influenced them. 1::2::3::4::5::6:: 1 hour.
posted by vronsky on Apr 4, 2009 - 6 comments

The "Raiders" Story Conference In 1978 George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan spent five consecutive nine-hour days hashing out the characters and plot for Raiders of the Lost Ark. The 125-page transcript of their meetings, unreleased before now, details their insane talent and techniques for populist storytelling. (It also makes one wonder what happened to George Lucas, a man who once had a math formula for exciting cinema.) via Ain't It Cool News, unfortunately
posted by incomple on Mar 10, 2009 - 135 comments

A look at the (likely terrible) CGI Star Wars prequel hitting theaters this autumn. The "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" movie is expected to run around 100 minutes and pick up between episode II and III. Anakin Skywalker is not yet Darth Vader. The story will then continue in 30-minute smallscreen installments.
posted by incomple on Feb 11, 2008 - 106 comments

Keys to the Kingdom. Vanity Fair profiles George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and previews Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [minor spoiler on page 5]; Q&A with Spielberg and Lucas. [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha on Jan 4, 2008 - 51 comments

Animated via a cut-out stop-motion process creator/director John Korty dubbed lumage, the lewd and luminous Twice Upon a Time ran for two weeks in a single Westwood, CA theatre in August, 1983. Airing 12 times on HBO in 1984, the film wasn't seen again until a director-approved, bowdlerized VHS version was released in 1991.
Ward Jenkins discusses the film with writer Taylor Jenson, who commemorated TUaT's 20th anniversary in 2004, and presents a series of shorts Korty produced for Sesame Street in the 1970s.
posted by Alvy Ampersand on Sep 21, 2007 - 16 comments

Indiana Jones and... the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls? Actor Shia LaBeouf announced the title of the new Indiana Jones movie at the MTV Video Music Awards. But what was George Lucas' inspiration? Where did these Crystal Skulls come from? These ancient objects have been referenced in many places, including an episode of StarGate SG-1, imaginatively titled "Crystal Skull". There is also a Festival and a not-for-profit Foundation dedicated to researching these artifacts.
posted by crossoverman on Sep 10, 2007 - 67 comments

21-87 is a short film from Arthur Lipsett that has been discussed before.
posted by tellurian on Aug 2, 2007 - 12 comments

The 118th Rose Parade launched today, with a bit of a twist -- George Lucas, Dark Lord of the Sith, as Grand Marshall. Is anyone else creeped out a little by this photo? Maybe I just don't know the history of the fully operational Rose Parade? Let's just get to the game, OK?
posted by frogan on Jan 1, 2007 - 55 comments

Chris Columbus's Indiana Jones and the Monkey King and Jeb Stuart's Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars are just two rejected sequel scripts for the Indiana Jones franchise. Tom Stoppard, Steven Gaghan, Jeffrey Boam, M. Night Shyamalan, and Frank Darabont each submitted treatments and scripts of their own, but Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (or, more probably, just George Lucas) swatted down every idea until finally Jeff Nathanson's concept was greenlighted--and even that's still being reworked by David Koepp. But with Harrison Ford now older than Sean Connery was in Last Crusade and Steven Spielberg still hobbled by other commitments, it's not clear that Indiana Jones 4 won't be just another false start. The only Indy movie that looks at all certain is the one that Daniel Clowes is making.
posted by Iridic on Sep 21, 2006 - 119 comments

Hoth Hell Freezes Over. The madness of King George subsides.
posted by Robot Johnny on May 4, 2006 - 82 comments

Star Wars in 2008? Rick Mccallum, producer of all six Star Wars movies and the franchise's only tv series to date, has told BBC Radio that he and George Lucas are set to do a Luke Skywalker tv series which should debut in 2008. Supposedly there will be at least 100 episodes covering the first 20 years of the young Jedi's life. It's not the first time there's been talk of taking Star Wars to tv.
posted by nakedcodemonkey on Mar 21, 2006 - 72 comments

As others see us: A Chinese review of 'Revenge of the Sith'.

For those of you who don't know, George Lucas' latest oeuvre has bombed in mainland China's box-offices - $38.5M there, vs. the $312 it has earned domestically. A cultural difference, an error in Jos. Campbell's theory, or just something else, altogether? In any case, the film and it's apparent failure over there have made for some interesting reviews (last one via).
posted by vhsiv on Jun 9, 2005 - 64 comments

"When George saw 21-87, a lightbulb went off".
"21-87" is an experimental film made in 1964 by Canadian avant-garde director Arthur Lipsett ,who committed suicide in 1986. "George" is George Lucas, who was obsessed by underground movies until "a little movie called Star Wars lured him to the dark side". (more inside)
posted by matteo on May 2, 2005 - 25 comments

Grand Unification Theory: Salavon's work has been mentioned on MeFi before, but I thought in honor of the trilogy finally being released on DVD this week, I'd post a link to this very awesome piece of art using every single frame from Episode Four.
posted by glenwood on Sep 20, 2004 - 11 comments

At last, "THX-1138" with green-glowing, computer-generated robot factories! George Lucas's first movie, the namesake of his sound system, is coming to a theater near you, with a new 3D effects facelift, and a chilly, incomprehensible Flash site. Will his "original vision" of this 1971 dystopia be realized at last, or will his additions clash with the stark San Francisco subway tunnels, like so much Yes music in a "Metropolis" re-release?
posted by inksyndicate on May 22, 2004 - 27 comments

Remember how the Emperor strokes the lightsaber and says to Luke "you want this"? Things George Lucas doesn't want you to know - the filthy but oh so sexy truth about what goes on in the Jedi Academy! Not that there's anything wrong with that. Unless it involves Yoda, because... damn.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe on Mar 5, 2003 - 15 comments

DVDs are bad for business? They are, according to the producer of "Attack of the Clones." Although it seems to me that every week I hear about a new box-office record being shattered, Rick McCallum says such things as: "I don't think there's a single movie that can survive on box office gross alone; it just doesn't exist anymore" and my favorite: "Literally, our very lives are at stake now. George and I are just praying that we can finish 'Episode III' in time, before it's all over." What do you think? Legitimate concern, or more ridiculous whining by millionaires lobbying to place restrictions on technogy?
posted by eas98 on Oct 22, 2002 - 56 comments

Digital projection coming to a theater near you. "Lucas says the new format is cheaper and easier on viewers' eyes because it eliminates the pops and scratches from film wear and tear. He accuses the industry of resisting change the same way it snubbed talking pictures until "The Jazz Singer" signaled the end of the silent era." Any other mefites planning on seeing Episode II at a DLP theater? [DLP theater list]
posted by skallas on May 14, 2002 - 29 comments

This is the winner of the Star Wars Fan Film Awards (as chosen by George Lucas). Did he get it right? Should it have gone to the very cool Gangsta Rap? Or one of the other finalists?
posted by kebab on May 13, 2002 - 15 comments

"All democracies turn into dictatorships -- but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea... It isn't that the Empire conquered the Republic, it's that the Empire is the Republic." George Lucas talks about the politics of his new Star Wars films.
posted by tranquileye on Apr 23, 2002 - 19 comments

What the in duck? With Episode II coming soon, I'd decided to peruse all sorts of different places in search of as much information as I could and found this online, has anyone else seen it as well? Anyway, it's good to see that folks that work for Lucas have a sense of humor.
posted by SentientAI on Apr 22, 2002 - 9 comments

Lucas: Powerful reteller of myth - or galactic gasbag? Salon has a scathing review of Lucas' claim that the basis of the Star Wars saga is in "man's oldest stories" and that he was guided by Joseph Campbell.
"With 'Star Wars' I consciously set about to re-create myths and the classic mythological motifs," Lucas says. "I wanted to use those motifs to deal with issues that exist today."
Hogwash, says author Steven Hart. Star Wars is based not on "The Odyssey" or the "Upanishads", but on Asimov, Heinlen, Herbert and other 20th century S.F.
posted by rshah21 on Apr 10, 2002 - 32 comments

Despite what Joey Fatone says ...InSync not out of Attack of the Clones just yet. Sorry to rehash this topic, but there seems to be a lot of anymosity between the famous boyband and wookie fans everywhere. (via theforce.net)
posted by schlaager on Jan 11, 2002 - 8 comments

Seattle Star Wars Society member gets in line for Star Wars tickets. Well, I guess he is the line, for now.He says it's an "art project" and he's trying to set a new world record. Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones opens May 16, 2002.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet on Jan 4, 2002 - 53 comments

With the impending release of Episode 2 this summer, be prepared for an onslaught of new toys, including some that will bring back memories of Return of the Jedi, as well as resurrect old flaps over the not-so-subtle cultural stereotypes in the movie series. On a side note, I like what they've done to Obi-Wan's hair these days.
posted by manero on Dec 28, 2001 - 29 comments

Let the disappointment begin! Lucasfilm posted the teaser trailer to the highly anticipated Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones today.
posted by MegoSteve on Nov 5, 2001 - 56 comments

What the f__K?!!!
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones!??? Is this really going to be the title? Apparently it has pissed off many fans.
posted by Sal Amander on Aug 22, 2001 - 52 comments

The wait is over (well, almost) -- Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox are finally going to release Episode I on DVD. This despite the fact that up to now they've been denying that they'll release anything on DVD for "the foreseeable future."
posted by RylandDotNet on Jun 19, 2001 - 28 comments

So, after being out of the saddle for so many years, apparently all George needed was a good editor.

Presenting: Episode I.I : The Phantom Edit

link via Ghost in the Machine
posted by lagado on Jun 11, 2001 - 23 comments

Another Star Wars reference I'm afraid. Has George Lucas had a church organ installed at Skywalker Ranch? And will we see such natty cardigans in Episode II?
posted by feelinglistless on May 15, 2001 - 2 comments

It's official: Jedi can't, and never could have been, an official religion. There were emails going around New Zealand and the UK claiming if there were enough who listed it as a religion, it could be official, but that's not the case.
posted by paladin on Apr 17, 2001 - 4 comments

Slow day at the office? Recreate those great Star Wars moments with your own origami Tie Fighter (amongst many other things).
posted by Markb on Mar 26, 2001 - 0 comments

A Very Wookie Christmas. I'm speechless in horror. This actually happened? This actually made it to the airwaves? Thank heavens Lucas is keeping it deeply, deeply hidden forever.
posted by dnash on Dec 5, 2000 - 26 comments

Travolta's officially lost his marbles: "George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino and a lot of people saw [Battlefield Earth] and thought it was a great piece of science fiction." In an alternate universe, maybe.
posted by highindustrial on Oct 19, 2000 - 19 comments

Episode II loses the 'humanity' of R2-D2 Artoo to be totally computer-generated? Kenny Baker smells a rat as the Industrial Light and Magic boys wire up a dustbin for motion capture...
posted by blackbeltjones on Aug 31, 2000 - 10 comments

Cyberpal, i couldn't disagree more. ESB is actually the best of the 4 SW movies because the characters aren't encumbered with destroying the Death Star or flying back and forth to Naboo by way of Tatooine and Coruscant. A New Hope and Return end all happy with medals and Ewoks. i like the tougher ending of ESB, especially as i get older. it was a little depressing when i was a kid, but, hey, i'm not one anymore.
posted by Sean Meade on Jul 24, 2000 - 5 comments

George Lucas in Love Dear heavens I hope this wasn't already posted here... Anyway, watch and giggle.
posted by stefnet on May 15, 2000 - 0 comments

The fans have spoken and Lucas has listened. Seems that Episode I is coming out on DVD after all. And Lucas says the web campaign on various sites encourage him to change his mind. How does this affect popular politics on a grander scale? And when will politicians jump on board the bandwagon?
posted by eljuanbobo on May 3, 2000 - 3 comments

Dr. Dre is in the news again, as he is being sued by Lucasfilms for what? You guessed it, copyright infringement.
posted by Mark on Apr 19, 2000 - 12 comments

I wouldn't normally post a job announcement URL here on MetaFilter, but this one is different because it may be every young web jedi's dream. Industrial Light and Magic is looking for web and database people. Can you imagine the street cred you'll have when you get to build the pages for the SW movies and trailers months before anyone gets to see them? I wonder if Lucas would force you into some sort of solitude, so you wouldn't leak any juicy info to others.
posted by mathowie on Feb 7, 2000 - 5 comments