From the bankruptcy beat:
Kerner Optical shut down. The original Industrial Light and Magic (in a building labeled "Kerner Optical" to hide from industry snoops and avid fans), the practical effects (in contrast to computer effects) shop became a department of a diversifying ILM, which sold it off in 2006. It struggled along on the margins of bankruptcy before filing for Chapter 11 early this year and closing for good in August, its final words a
bitter letter about an uncooperative creditor. The
Kerner Optical site (entirely in Flash) is still up, where you can see its credits (up through 2008) and view its demo reel.
Souvenir hounds and budding SFX shop owners can have a blast at the
liquidation auction, and bid on a
box of skulls, a
pizza oven,
studio props,
stage props,
leftover models, and tons of shop tools.
posted by ardgedee
on Oct 14, 2011 -
19 comments
In the months preceding the release of
The Empire Strikes Back, a telephone hotline was set up to allow callers to dial in and hear teasers for the movie. In the years since the Bantha Tracks story, fans savvy to the existence of the "Empire Hotline" have sought out recordings of the messages, performed exclusively for the hotline by actors Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), and James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader). Thanks to Craig Miller, Lucasfilm's first director of fan relations, these long-lost recordings can
now be heard and enjoyed for the first time in 30 years.
[more inside]
posted by albrecht
on Jun 29, 2010 -
55 comments
The Tauntaun sleeping bag. Adorable April Fool's joke from ThinkGeek triggers flood of demand. "We have decided to TRY and bring this to life. We have no clue if the suits at Lucasfilms will grant little ThinkGeek a license."
posted by CunningLinguist
on Apr 3, 2009 -
48 comments
LucasFilm vs. Enron. The people over at LucasFilm aren't very happy that Enron used Star Wars related names for the phony comapanies used to hide millions in debt. Chewco, JEDI, Kenobe Inc, Obi 1 Holdings LLC among the names used.
posted by Lanternjmk
on Feb 7, 2002 -
11 comments
