This weekend I had the opportunity to go to Walt Disney World for their annual Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios! This is the third time I've experienced this event (the first was in 2008 and the last was in 2011), unfortunately I was unable to attend last year, but this year's celebration was extra special since it was the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi! Star Wars Weekends is a month long celebration of Star Wars featuring special guests, celebrities, characters and entertainment! This year's special guests included hosts James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo-Koon in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Also featured this year are: Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Captain Rex – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Sam Witwer (voice of Darth Maul – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) and Tom Kane (voice of Yoda – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)!
Warwick Davis
As I was only able to attend the third weekend this time, I was however able to meet and get autographs from Tim rose and Sam Witwer. I have met other guests including Anthony Daniels, Warwick Davis, James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein in previous years. Star Wars Weekends continues to grow not only in activities and special guests, but also in attendance. Many fans, both young and old, flock to Star Wars Weekends on regular basis. While some of the more interactive activities are meant for younger audiences, such as the "Padawan Mind Challenge" and the "Hyperspace Hoopla!", both hosted by Snig & Oopla at the Event Stage. The whole event starts off with the "Legends of the Force" Motorcade and Celebrity Welcome which features a parade including all the Disney/Star Wars characters, special guests and celebrities and also members of the 501st: "Vader's Fist", Florida Garrison and The Rebel Legion. One of the biggest draws at Star Wars Weekends is of course all the exclusive merchandise and collectibles available only at "Darth's Mall" along with photo opportunities with Star Wars characters and this year features an almost life-size Rancor! One of the most popular (and expensive) collectibles available at Star Wars Weekends is the "Carbon-Freeze Me" and a personalized Stormtrooper available at the D-Tech Me ExperienceStar Wars Weekends also features several entertaining shows for fans of the Clone Wars show from Cartoon Network including "Behind the Force: Star Wars Voices" hosted by Ashley Eckstein, along with "Obi-Wan and Beyond" and "Stars of the Saga" hosted by James Arnold Taylor. The most entertaining show at this year's Star Wars Weekends has to be "An Ewok's Tale-My Short Story" starring Warwick Davis. In it he tells his "short" life-story including how he got the parts as Wicket, the Ewok in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,Willow and the Harry Potter series.
The Rancor!
As popularity for Star Wars never fails to grow even after 36 years, despite the recent controversy over Disney buying Lucasfilm from George Lucas, the upcoming release of Episode VII directed by J.J. Abrams in 2015, not to mention the cancellation of the immensely popular Clone Wars show from Cartoon Network and the upcoming new animated series Star Wars Rebels on Disney Channel XD in 2014! It is an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan and it is both a pleasure and a relief to have annual events like Star Wars Weekends and Star Wars Celebration where fans can come together and revel in all things Star Wars! I hope to attend next year's Star Wars Weekends and hope to see you there as well! "May the Force Be With You!" and See you next year!
On Wednesday, May 25th, 1983, the third and final chapter of the Star Wars Trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, was released in theatres (exactly six years to the day of the release of the original Star Wars)! Today marks the 30th anniversary of the release of that epic conclusion and to celebrate, CHERNOBOG'S BLOG would like to take this opportunity to share some of it's thoughts and even some trivia on one of my favorite movies of all time!
After Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) rescue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance plans to destroy the second Death Star, currently under construction and overseen by The Emperor himself! With the death of Jedi Master Yoda, Luke must complete his training and confront his father, Darth Vader, thus becoming a true Jedi Knight!
After the phenomenal success of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, creator/producer George Lucas had to face some hard decisions with completing his saga. Since relinquishing his directorial duties to Irvin Kershner for Episode V and choosing not to bow down to Hollywood/20th Century Fox politics such as choosing to leave the Directors' Guild and Writers' Guild after having to pay fines for his independent, creative choices. Not to mention the fact that Lucas had put up the money for the production himself yet again. For the third installment of the Star Wars saga, Lucas originally wanted his friend and co-creator of Indiana Jones Steven Spielerg to direct, but eventually settled for relatively unknown Welsh director Richard Marquand.
By the end of Episode V, the popular character of Han Solo had been frozen in 'carbonite' and taken away to Jabba the Hutt by Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch). Harrison Ford, who had become equally popular as the character of Indiana Jones, did not originally want to return, but Lucas insisted.
While the third movie was originally titled Revenge of the Jedi, Lucas made a last minute decision to change it to Return of the Jedi just weeks before it's release. During the production of the film, it was given the alternate title of "Blue Harvest" to prevent any story leaks. Return of the Jedi was a major breakthrough in both film production and special effects. The movie introduced some new major characters that would become vital to the saga including Jabba the Hutt (also a technological difficulty and triumph, before re-introducing him in the Special Edition of Episode IV) and the first full appearance of The Emperor (a.k.a. Palpatine, Ian McDiarmid) who had previously appeared as a hologram in Episode V originally played by Clive Revill, pre-Special Edition). One of the most popular new characters introduced in Episode VI was Wicket, the Ewok (Warwick Davis), who was the most prominently featured Ewok in the film. Other new elements included in Episode VI were Luke's new green lightsaber and Leia's slave outfit (which has become one of the most popular cosplay choices for girl Star Wars fans at conventions). While Episode VI was the most technologically sophisticated and had the highest budget of any of the Star Wars Trilogy, there has always been a huge schism with fans whether Episode V and VI is the best.
"Revenge of the Jedi" Poster
I consider myself a second generation Star Wars fan, as I was not born in time to see the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (a.k.a. Star Wars, 1977) film, but I was however, able to see Return of the Jedi in theatres and it has since always been and always will be, my favorite Star Wars movie! Although I was a considerably young Star Wars fan at the time, I had the privilege of seeing the other Star Wars movies on VHS, which at that time the home video craze was still a growing market. I also already owned many of the toys and action figures, which remain highly collectible today. Even today, I am still the proud owner of many of them, although having sold a considerable amount of my collection in recent years. Seeing Return of the Jedi is one of my clearest and fondest early memories, although I can distinctly remember not seeing it until later in the year. At that time, movies were kept in theaters longer and when I and my family did eventually see the movie, it was already in the Fall and we saw it at one of the few remaining Drive-In theatres near Ft. Worth, Texas. I can remember it being very cold and the speaker near the car window was not the best quality but the screen was huge (or so it seemed at the time) and I enjoyed every minute of it! While Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) has always been my favorite character, most likely due to my very young age I was very fond of the Ewoks, particularly Wicket, both actors I have had the pleasure to meet and get autographs. I still find that Luke's black costume and green lightsaber has always been my favorite image of him. I remained a lifelong Star Wars fan and can remember dressing up several times as Star Wars characters for Halloween over the years, especially with my Mom-made Jedi cape and partially store-bought Ewok costume when I was a child.
1997 Special Edition Poster
1997 was a big year in my life, mostly because that was the year I graduated high school, but also because that Summer was the release of the Star Wars "Special Editions"! Other than Episode VI, this was the first time I was able to see Episode IV and V in the theater. Despite all the changes, this was one of the happiest times in a theater I can remember since the Summer of 1989 (Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II). As for the release of the "Special Edition" version of Return of the Jedi, I feel it had some of the best and worst changes of those "revisions". While many of the changes made in Episode IV, like "Greedo shooting first!" and "Jenny Craig-Jabba" are preposterous, some of the more updated technological additions were acceptable (1995 THX remasters). As for those changes made in Return of the Jedi, there are a few which I feel, while they only alter some of the less important scenes in the movie, the changes to the ending particularly are the most controversial. The changing of Jabba's band is so over-the-top ridiculous that I will barely mention it, however giving the Sarlacc Pitt a beak in place of his open-toothy, maw is even more idiotic. With the added scenes at the end, I found the addition of showing the celebrations seen all over the galaxy at the "Fall of the Empire" was impressive however in removing the Ghost of Anakin Skywalker, originally played by Sebastian Shaw and replacing him with Hayden Christensen (who played Anakin in Episode II and III) was an outrage!
No matter if you think Episode VI is better than V, or if you think the original is the best, Return of the Jedi still remains my personal favorite since I was a kid for several reasons. Ultimately, it was the final chapter in the trilogy, successfully ending the saga and completing the epic hero's journey of Luke Skywalker. Even though this year marks the 30th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi, the Star Wars Saga is far from over. As many of you know last year, the Walt Disney Corporation acquired Lucasfilm and it was announced that J.J. Abrams is to direct Episode VII set to be released in 2015.
Even after 36 years, the Star Wars Saga is still alive and well today! I hope you are just as excited as I am and can't wait to see what's going to happen next. "May the Force be with you!"
This weekend I had the opportunity to go to Walt Disney World for their annual Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios! This is the third time I've experienced this event (the first was in 2008 and the last was in 2011), unfortunately I was unable to attend last year, but this year's celebration was extra special since it was the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi! Star Wars Weekends is a month long celebration of Star Wars featuring special guests, celebrities, characters and entertainment! This year's special guests included hosts James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo-Koon in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Also featured this year are: Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Captain Rex – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Sam Witwer (voice of Darth Maul – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) and Tom Kane (voice of Yoda – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)!
