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‘Star Wars’ Turns 35

Damon Houx — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:08:03 +0000

To badly misquote The Beatles, it was 35 years ago today that George Lucas taught the world to play. Yes, Star Wars came out on May 25, 1977, and now we’ve been living in its shadow for three and a half decades. Though too often anniversaries are mentioned as milestones, it’s worth reflecting on what has changed since the release.

As we are now in the midst of a record-breaking summer – thanks to The Avengers – it’s impossible to look at that or the current cinematic landscape and not trace it back to Lucas and his little Flash Gordon homage. Though the story was ripped off (mostly in low budget efforts), it was the launch of Industrial Light and Magic that had more impact than the film’s use of Joseph Cambell’s Hero’s Journey as the backbone of its narrative. If you don’t believe me, watch something like Logan’s Run or even the Planet of the Apes films. Pre-Star Wars, science fiction often focused its creative energy on set design and costuming over the miniature work and stop motion that changed the face of cinema.

And it was there from those classic opening images – it was unlike anything seen before, it took Stanley Kubrick’s work from 2001: A Space Odyssey and made it propulsive. Alas, computer technology has shown us that destroying worlds can be done with a click of a button, but the idea that cinema could do anything was still ripe then, and there’s no understating the impact the film had on imaginations (including mine, I think anyone who loves the films can talk about moments of childhood bliss watching or playing make-believe in the universe).

And – let’s not forget – Star Wars wasn’t a geek or nerd thing. It was a cultural phenomenon. It’s hard to imagine a film having the same lasting impact on pop culture that the first film – and the original trilogy – had. When The Avengers is on Blu-ray and DVD in a couple months it will be seen as the big thing of the summer of 2012, but it’s unlikely that people will still feel its grasp in 2047.

Of course, Star Wars isn’t just a movie, and there’s the cultural baggage that comes with its follow ups and prequels, its fans and its multiple altered versions, things that have reduced it into a geek thing. And the film – as it originally existed – is no longer available for screenings, and the only way to watch the original cut is through a non-anamorphic DVD or through laserdisc or VHS technology. But from that opening sequence of a big ship shooting and capturing a little ship, cinema was irrevocably changed (for better and for worse), and the dreams of a farm boy in space with a greater destiny still has the power to capture imaginations. If you can dump the baggage and find the original cut, it’s still a hell of a ride.

Are you going to watch Star Wars this weekend?

Will James Cameron Become the Next George Lucas?

Joseph Doherty — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:57:23 +0000

Love him or hate him, director James Cameron has never been one to play it safe. But Cameron just announced that he is not open to developing any projects, original or otherwise, in the near future. Instead he will focus entirely on directing sequels to his groundbreaking 3D epic Avatar. This is cause for concern. In the past, some directors opted to coast off huge successes and ended up irrevocably damaging their reputations. The most notable of these being George Lucas with his Star Wars franchise. Will James Cameron follow in his path?

In analyzing the careers of George Lucas and James Cameron, there are similarities, and it was Star Wars was the film that inspired Cameron to quit his truck driving job and go to work at Roger Corman Studios. Both are notorious gear-heads. The two men also hit tremendous creative highs after difficult first films with American Graffiti and The Terminator.

George Lucas’ second feature, American Graffiti, was and remains the director’s most personal endeavor, touching on many elements from his teenage years, including small town living, troubled relationships, and cruising. To tell his story, Lucas employed the use of several daring and innovative devices like crossing-cutting narratives, title cards, and a musical score comprised entirely of period rock songs. American Graffiti helped revive interest in the 50s era. After that, Lucas was viewed as being one of Hollywood’s brightest talents, a young artist of seemingly unlimited potential.

Like Lucas, James Cameron experienced overnight success with his second directorial effort. From its inception, everything about The Terminator screamed ‘B-movie trash’. After selling his original screenplay for $1 dollar and an agreement to direct, Cameron was able to muster a paltry $6.5.million budget and cast relative unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead. Against all expectations, Cameron came out on top. The Terminator was a taut, tense, and supremely intelligent thriller that was miles beyond most of the mindless action fare released in the mid 80s.

It was what George Lucas and James Cameron did after hitting it big where their careers diverged. For Lucas, America Graffiti was a revelation. Unfortunately, the film was swallowed up by the phenomenon of Star Wars. Many felt that Lucas reached new artistic peaks with Star Wars‘ elaborate costumes, creatures, and production design, but all those were cosmetic. In terms of storytelling, Star Wars was really a classic coming-of-age tale played against the backdrop of war. While the narrative was certainly well-structured, it lacked the originality and emotional resonance of Lucas’ earlier efforts. After Star Wars, Lucas was either unwilling or unable to recapture that ambition and creativity which led him to create American Graffiti. Instead, he milked the Star Wars brand for all it was worth, releasing an endless stream of toys, games, books, television series, inferior prequels, and a horrid holiday special. Today, the franchise has become something of a running gag even among the most loyal fans.

James Cameron took the high road after The Terminator, directing a series of epic, yet diverse, blockbusters that always managed to push the envelope in terms of visual storytelling. After a 12 year break from film-making, he returned in 2009 with Avatar, a film which was very much in the same vein as Star Wars, and there’s where they begin to interest again. Both were overly hyped sci-fi epics with young stars, groundbreaking visuals, and shopworn plots. In addition to becoming the highest-grossing films of their time, they were also wrongly praised as being their respective directors’ finest achievement.

Right out of the gate, James Cameron expressed a desire to helm an Avatar sequel. Evidently that desire has morphed into something else with Cameron’s proclamation that he will just be in the “Avatar business” from now on and is developing three more installments. But isn’t this creative wheel-spinning? Unfortunately, this may very well lead to his downfall based on George Lucas’ history with Star Wars. Currently James Cameron deserves some benefit of the doubt based on his body of work. However, the day he announces plans for an Avatar holiday special, I’m heading for the hills.

Do you think James Cameron will become the next George Lucas?

News Roundup: ‘The Office’ Might Get A Reboot, Darth Vader As A Good Father, ‘Futurama’ Memes And More

Laura Aguirre — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:21:18 +0000

Time for another round-up of this week’s entertainment bits and pieces. The Office‘s executive producer Greg Daniels dropped a bomb this week – he’s debating whether or not to reboot The Office next season. We’ve also got a gallery featuring Darth Vader as a good father to Luke Skywalker. All that and more below.

The Office Reboot: Deadline reports that series executive producer Greg Daniels is debating making the next season of The Office a reboot. This means that some of the series most beloved characters will be replaced by new actors. Can you imagine another actor besides John Krasinski playing Jim? Or a new Pam? Neither can we. This is a horrible idea.
Literal Movie Poster: Unreality Magazine posted a gallery of 15 very funny literal movie posters. Some of the movie posters used in the series are from films like Back to the Future, Silence of the Lambs, and Human Centipede. Check those out.
Video Games That’ll Make You Cry: Believe it or not, video games can make you cry, just ask Unreality Magazine, they put together a list of Five Moments in Video Games Than Can Make Grown Men Cry. Their list includes (but isn’t limited to) Silent Hill 2, Red Dead Redemption, and Final Fantasy 7.
Futurama Memes: Memes have been around for quite some time now and they aren’t going anywhere (it seems). So, in keeping up with the trend, Unreality Magazine posted a gallery of 20 Awesome Futurama Fry Memes. My personal favorite, “Not sure if I hate Facebook OR I hate people.” Check those out.

Photos:

If Darth Vader Had Been A Good Father: The Curious Brain posted a neat gallery re-imagining Darth Vader as a good father to Luke Skywalker. Check it out:

That’s the end of our round-up. Keep checking back at ScreenCrave for more entertainment news and features.

What are you excited for?

RIP Ralph McQuarrie 1929-2012

Damon Houx — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:00:09 +0000

Star Wars was a cinematic revolution. Though other filmmakers had attempted science fiction and fantasy before, the 1977 film showed worlds unlike anything seen before and inspired imaginations with its galaxy far, far away. One of the most important architects of that universe has passed away–conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie died this weekend from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.

If you look at the image above, you can see how important McQuarrie was to the world George Lucas created. Though it may have been on the page, McQuarrie’s art brought it to life. His drawings were important to the success of the film – it was his art that helped Lucas get a green light for the movie. And when I look at this drawing of the Millennium Falcon, I get that chill that reminds me how influential his work was on my childhood:

McQuarrie not only worked on the first Star Wars trilogy, he also designed the spaceships for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial and was a conceptual artist for the original Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Raiders of the Lost Ark, *batteries not included, Jurassic Park and Cocoon – for which he won an Academy Award. Because of his Parkinson’s he retired in the 1990′s, and passed on working on the prequel trilogy.

Though the prequel trilogy has complicated my (and many people’s) relationship with Star Wars, and Lucas’ now perennial tinkering only serves to obfuscate what made so many of us fall in love in the first place, that universe – as it was originally created – still has a great power. And McQuarrie was one of the people who made that universe what it was, along with many other gifted technicians and collaborators. But you can see that he got it, and helped mold it. For those of us who were as fascinating by the filmmakers as the films, McQuarrie was and is a hero.

RIP Ralph McQuarrie

Box Office Roundup: Ghost Rider Sputters

Damon Houx — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:08:15 +0000

It is a holiday weekend – at least for some government employees and students – so it’s worth looking at the four day numbers, though there’s very little difference. The big winner is last week’s Safe House, which managed to hold stronger than The Vow, while Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance proved a weaker draw than expected. Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?

	Film	Weekend (4-Day)	Per Screen	Total
1	Safe House	$28,400,000 (-29.3%)	$9,100	$82,600,000
2	The Vow	$26,600,000 (-35.4%)	$8,993	$88,527,000
3	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island	$26,400,000 (-3.4%)	$7,543	$59,516,000
4	Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance	$25,700,000	$8,097	$25,700,000
5	This Means War	$20,400,000	$6,397	$22,010,000
6	Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace	$10,150,000 (-54.8%)	$3,823	$36,023,000
7	Chronicle	$9,200,000(-23.9%)	$3,599	$52,679,000
8	The Secret World of Arrietty	$8,102,000	$5,323	$8,102,000
9	The Woman in Black	$7,920,000 (-21.6%)	$3,095	$46,530,000
10	The Grey	$3,768,000 (-25.3%)	$1,788	$48,661,000

Denzel Washington is having one of his strongest performers since American Gangster with Safe House, which seems to have picked an optimal release date considering its middling reviews. At this point a hundred million dollar plus total is all but guaranteed for the film, and Universal’s probably going to make some decent coin on the picture if it plays at all internationally. But the #1 picture of the year (so far) is still The Vow, which will also cross the nine digit mark, and will surely cause someone to want to cast Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum together again. If 21 Jump Street plays as strong as it looks to (and it’s a very funny movie), then Channing Tatum may become the star they tried to make him a couple of years ago.

Journey 2 is also doing much better business than expected. I would thank Dwayne Johnson for that, though he likely wouldn’t return for a third go. The film could sneak past $100 Million, which – with the film’s already strong international numbers ($128 million and counting) – means we may see a trilogy from this unlikely franchise. My hope is for the third film they bring in Chewbacca as the lead.

Alas the new pictures had a rough go this weekend. Ghost Rider is performing at half the numbers of the first film, though word of mouth was terrible, and the franchise was always rickety. This Means War came a little too late for Valentine’s Day love and was trumped by The Vow, while Arrietty was always going to be a modest release, but even with so little direct competition it seems parents and kids went to Journey instead. Of these films Arrietty is the one that is already in profit through international, while the others will struggle to break even.

The holiday also didn’t help The Phantom Menace, which puts future Star Wars 3-D releases in some question. But combined with its original gross it’s now jumped the first Star Wars on the all time list. If it was just about breaking records, I guess it’s accomplished that, and it’s possible that The Phantom Menace is still the most reviled of the prequels. If the second film performs at the same level, then the original films will likely never see the light of polarization. It all depends on how much work is required. If these conversions are done for $10 Million or so, then it may make sense to soldier through as there will surely be a larger audience for the original trilogy. It’s also possible that the franchise has been irrevocably damaged by the prequel films or the passage of time, and mainstream audiences are no longer invested.

The rest of the list consists of strong for their release date releases. The Grey is no Taken, but what is? With a relatively small budget, the film is in good shape, something that could also be said of Chronicle and The Woman in Black, which are perfect off-season releases. Low overhead, room to make at least $50 Million.

It’s also worth noting that The Artist is still not in the top ten, still on 800 screens, and shows no signs of award heat. If anything could keep this juggernaut from winning best picture it would be that (note: at this point, nothing can stop it).

ACCOUNTABILTY: With my predictions, I was a little high on Ghost Rider and The Vow, though the rest falls into place about right (a little low on War). Audiences were a little less drawn to The Vow post-holiday, though I was thinking the film might be more of a phenomenon. And these days doing $130 Million isn’t really that phenomenal – though it’s a great gross for the movie. Ghost Rider got the benefit of being new, which made me think more people would be interested.

What did you catch this weekend?

George Lucas Now Insisting Han Never Shot First In ‘Star Wars’; The Internet’s Collective Head Explodes

Travis Woods — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:40:22 +0000

Let’s be honest—just about all of the nips, tucks, tweaks, and changes that George Lucas has made to the original Star Wars trilogy over the past 15 or years hasn’t exactly endeared the man to Star Wars die hards. And the scene that has become the metaphor for how Lucas’ revisions fundamentally change/ worsen the tone of the films is when Han Solo goes from shooting the bounty hunter Greedo first and without warning to simply shooting Greedo in self defense. But now, Lucas says Star Wars fans are “confused,” and that Han never shot first, despite the original film showing him, well, shoot first.

It was a classic scene in the original film, setting Han up as a morally ambiguous character in need of redemption. Thanks to Lucas’ tweaks, however, the character of Han is made a rough-around-the-edges hero from the get-go, which is far less interesting. But in a recent interview, Lucas points out that the millions upon millions of people who saw the original version of Star Wars are “confused,” and that Han never shot first:

The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.

So there you have it, internet and Star Wars fans. You were obviously wrong from the beginning, and Lucas is just doing you a favor and making things more clear for you.

So I Guess Jar Jar Binks Was Solely Designed To Point Out The Dangers Of Racial Stereotypes, Right George?

Source: The AV Club

Box Office Predictions: How Did February Get So Competitive?

Damon Houx — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:18:17 +0000

Last weekend, we saw two new picture do much more business than expected on a Super Bowl weekend. This weekend we’re looking at four pictures that could all do over $20 Million. Safe House, The Vow, The Phantom Menace 3-D, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island all have name players, and target audience appeal. Who wins? Take a look…

The reissue of The Phantom Menace brings out a sense of nostalgia for the simpler times of 1999. The economy was good, the internet was growing, there had been no terrorist attack on New York, and we didn’t know how bad the Prequel trilogy could get. I remember watching the film – which had been parsed a little before it hit theaters so things like Jar-Jar Binks or Midichlorians were not surprising – and finding it mostly pleasant. I guess my main feeling was that though it wasn’t a great story, it felt like Star Wars, and it didn’t mess anything up too bad. It was the later films that I couldn’t stand, partly because important things (like characters falling in love, or choosing to be on the side of evil) were done so poorly. Others had much more violent reactions to the film either positive or negative, positions still debated today. That said, the world has cooled on these films, their cultural touchstone status has more to do with obligation and our new blockbuster culture. When people quote the original trilogy, it’s usually out of affection, when people quote the prequel trilogy, it’s usually as a goof. The internet has pockets of hard core fans of the six film series, but they are now in the position Star Trek fans were in when that franchise became geek-only culture.

George Lucas has made it clear, he’s selling this reissue to the children, so it’ll be interesting to see how the people who experienced this first react. As such, if there is a surprise this weekend, it’ll be this.

Safe House is Denzel Washington doing a thriller. These films tend to open to $20 Million or so. It co-stars Ryan Reynolds. He’s negligible. Word isn’t good but that doesn’t matter, a base audience is a base audience and there’s nothing else out that is going to appeal from these new films. Which means the film should do the numbers of an Unstoppable or a Book of Eli -somewhere between $20 – $30 Million. This should be on the lower side of that spectrum, but still respectable.

I doubt anyone who wants to see Safe House is going to see The Vow, except the most dedicated of film fans. Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams star in the only romance picture out before Valentine’s Day. That should be enough to get it to the number one spot. I don’t think audiences have warmed to Tatum as much as studios would like at this point, but it seems they’re going to have to at the rate he makes movies. Arguably, McAdams was close to generating a fanbase a couple years back, but then she didn’t do anything for three years. it was a curious decision that may have hurt her branding, but may have kept her sane. It’s possible people will turn up for this in the hopes of getting that The Notebook feeling and timing is everything. Timing should help the picture get over $25 Million

Journey 2 might get some boost from Dwayne Johnson. The first film surprisingly made over $100 at the box office. Brendan Fraser deigned not to appear in this one, though it’s likely Johnson signed on for this before Fast Five, which was his first huge hit in a good long while. Or, that is to say, they probably got him for cheap. This is something of an obligatory sequel, and reviews have skewed negative, but the spots sell the film well enough that it should at least open.

The crazy thing is that means that four films should or could do around $20 Million this weekend, with two new pictures last weekend also doing $20. If they all hit the top six should do over $100 Million, which – for what’s supposed to be cinema’s quiet season – is striking.

So let’s make some magic:

The Vow – $27.3 Million
Safe House – $22.7 Million
Star Wars 4 (or Star Wars 1) – $22.5 Million
Journey 2 – $13.9 Million
Chronicle – $11 Million

The Vow could go higher, it’s been doing well in tracking and advanced ticket sales. Then again, so could Journey or Star Wars – it all depends on the younger kids who are harder to track.

What’s your favorite Star Wars memory?

Phantom Menace 3-D Featurette Says “We Know You’re Coming Anyway, Fanboys”

Damon Houx — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:59:11 +0000

When Star Wars was reissued in 1997, it became one of the top top ten grossing films of that year. That is the lasting cultural impact of the Star Wars franchise, but also paints a picture of how much the world and the Star Wars fan base has changed in fifteen years. On February 10, George Lucas‘s The Phantom Menace will be reissued in 3-D, and the latest marketing suggests they’re not selling it to everyone. Take a look…

Okay, this is just one piece of a puzzle, but it’s basically selling this to little, little children. On one hand Lucas has said that’s always been his intention with these films, and this film would be the most childish. On the other, fans – even those fans who hate Lucas – will probably see this anyway, so why sell it to the base?

Disney had a huge hit with The Lion King 3-D, which was about to reissued on Blu-ray when it hit theaters. It made $94 million in its run. Beauty and Beast hit a couple weeks ago, and is currently at $41 Million. The difference is that the Blu-ray of that was already out. With the Blu-ray box sets of Star Wars having come out recently, the question with this release is: will it be the theatrical experience or 3-D that brings them in? Will they come at all? Fandom feels possessive of certain things, but Star Wars was never just a nerd favorite, and The Phantom Menace made over $400 Million domestically. It’s possible that “normal” people liked this movie and want to take their kids. We shall see.

Is the force with this reissue?

George Takei Asks Star Trek And Star Wars Fans To Hate Twilight

Damon Houx — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:03:24 +0000

For years, there has been a rift in the science fiction and fantasy community. There are some who love Star Trek, and there are those who love Star Wars, and for many it’s a one or the other sort of deal. Unfortunately, this divide has been escalated recently when William Shatner took some shots at the George Lucas-owned franchise, and Carrie Fisher responded in kind. But now George Takei made a video to broker the peace by offering a new target: Twilight.

Will this satisfy fans? Hard to say. Though Twilight is imminently hateable by people who like the idea that Star Trek is filled with ideas, and those who prefer escapist fantasies that are more about Joseph Campbell than vampire marriage, the conflict between Trekkers and Star Wars fans has more to do with them being similar. Here’s George:

Can these two worlds ever find peace enough to hate Teams Edward and Jacob? Doubtful. But it’s good to see Takei act as an ambassador for the goodwill and forward thinking that comes through in the Trek universe. But it is likely that the crossover audiences between all three fanbases is minimal at best. Perhaps they could all go to a mixer and find that hard core fandom is very similar no matter what team you’re on.

What’s the worst Science Fiction or Fantasy franchise?

Top 10 Robots in Movies

Travis Woods — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:00:31 +0000

Robots! Despite cinema telling us over and over that once we build them, they’ll become our mechanized overlords, hell-bent on wiping out humanity — we can’t shake them. It’d still be really cool to have them around to do the dishes, our homework, vacuum, and pay our bills now and again. Right? Our fascination with robots have long been a subject of film, and here at ScreenCrave, we’ve decided to put together a list of our 10 favorite machines. From murderously insane cyborgs, to robotic friends, to well…more murderously insane cyborgs, it’s a grouping of our favorite humanoid creatures.

Note to nitpickers: Before you complain about certain absences, please note that Hal 9000 is a computer, not a robot; Data is primarily a TV show character; and the Transformers…well, those movies are terrible. They won’t be on here.

Check out our list below… (Warning, movie spoilers ahead!)

10. Ash (Alien, 1979)

It takes an amazing and threatening performance to be memorable in an Alien film, when you’re not playing an alien. That’s exactly what Ian Holm did in the science fiction classic. He created a character who at first seems like an ineffectual snob that later reveals himself as a murderous android! He was determined to sacrifice his human crew members in order to bring a dangerous alien species to Earth for study. Aside from his psycho methods, he also bleeds a milky white goo, and that’s just spooky.

9. WALL-E (WALL-E, 2008)

This is a robot that’s designed to make your eyes wet, forcing you to shout there’s just something wrong with your contact lens. WALL-E is the star of the 2008 Pixar animated film of the same name. He’s a garbage disposal robot left behind on an abandoned and uninhabitable future Earth. Within the 98 minute feature, we discover that WALL-E’s developed sentience, a heart of gold (no, not literally), falls in love with another robot, and pretty much saves humanity. Not bad for a guy whose look rips off the bot from Short Circuit.

8. Robocop (Robocop – Robocop 3, 1987 – 1993)

OK, it’s a cop who was killed, then had his face and memories grafted to robot body that stomps around, taking a bite out of Detroit crime. He also finds time to wipe out the greedy corporate overlords who created him. Do I really need to say anything else to justify Robocop’s placement on this list?

7. T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991)

The T-1000 is a cold killing machine sent from the future to murder a boy. The year’s 1991, and the kid will grow up to become the leader a resistance against the machines. Therefore, the T-1000 would have made it onto this list by that fact alone. Director James Cameron came up with the idea of a machine comprised solely of liquid metal (meaning it’s a big pile of shiny goo that can replicate anyone/anything it touches) and made it totally believable. However, it’s Robert Patrick’s hyper-precise, blankly menacing performance that truly makes this robot memorable.

6. The Iron Giant (The Iron Giant, 1999)

A 50 foot metal eating robot, the Iron Giant is without doubt the greatest animated robot of all time. A tribute to the metal machines of Cold War-era cinema, the Iron Giant is a walking destroyer of words, who with the help of a young boy’s friendship and some Superman comics, learns the value of heroism over destruction.

5. Robby the Robot (Forbidden Plant, 1956)

Remember Shakespeare’s The Tempest? It’s about a deposed Duke/magician who lives on a deserted island with his daughter, a monster, and an angelic spirit. Now imagine that story being retold as a 1950s sci-fi film, set on a distant planet, and Ariel the spirit is now Robby the Robot. Seriously. Guided by Asimov’s Three Law’s of Robotics (don’t injure a human through action/inaction, obey all human orders that don’t lead to human harm, and protect its own existence as long as humans are not harmed), Robby has appeared in numerous sci-fi films and TV shows, remaining one of the most strangely memorable bots in pop culture.

4. Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951)

As a 7” tall robot sent by aliens to wipe out humanity (if we don’t start behaving ourselves), Gort may be the most instantly recognizable of all “classic” film robots. Also gals, he is the reason sci-fi nerds will whisper “Klaatu barada nikto” to you and hope that it has an effect.

3. Roy Batty (Blade Runner, 1982)

One of the most powerful, intelligent and dangerous replicants (androids built to serve humanity) in the future of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is Roy Batty. He rebels against his human masters after he discovers his built in life span of only a few years. Wholly sentient, he returns to Los Angeles to find the man who created him and demand, simply, more time. When he discovers that he cannot extend his life, he elects to “revel in his own time.” And that’s when the madness really begins.

2. The Terminator (The Terminator – Terminator: Salvation, 1984 – 2009)

Built by SkyNet, a self-aware missile defense system of the future convinced that the destruction of humanity is the way to go, The Terminator is a mass-produced cyborg designed for one thing: killing us. In the first Terminator film, one model is sent back in time to kill Sarah Conner, whose son John, will one day lead a resistance against the machines. Portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator is a brutal killer, who’ll stop at nothing to find and kill its target. However, in the first sequel, a Terminator model is reprogrammed by John in the future, and sent back to save him as a child. Now programmed to protect and learn, the Terminator not only rescues John, but over the course of a few days, learns the value of human life. (And then two more sequels showed up that sucked. The less said of those, the better).

1. R2-D2 (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, 1977 – 2005)

Come on, how could R2 not be number one? Somehow managing to talk to everyone in the Star Wars franchise by saying “bee boo baah buuh beee booo bee” or screaming “whaaaaaaaaaa!” whenever something goes wrong, R2 somehow manages not be annoying; rather, in the increasingly ridiculous films, it eventually becomes one of the most likeable, and surrounded by wooden performances — human characters in the entire franchise.

What are your favorite cinematic robots?

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Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 3-D Trailer

Damon Houx — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:59:42 +0000

For a couple generations of film goers, it’s impossible to say that they don’t care deeply about the Star Wars franchise. George Lucas‘s masterwork still provokes discussion, especially when George decides to tinker with the franchise further. Well, he’s tinkered again, and on February 10, 2012, we’ll see how well The Phantom Menace stands up to third dimensional scrutiny. Here’s the trailer, check it out…

It seems drawn from the same blueprint as the Star Wars reissues done in 1997, when Lucas included digital effects into the original trilogy, and fans turned out for the first film in such numbers that the reissue made $138 Million dollars. But where that trailer was arguing you could only watch the film’s on crappy television (with the picture expanding to the full screen), this seems slightly more disingenuous – these films look great at home on DVD and Blu-ray – and it doesn’t seem to be selling the 3-D in the same sort of way.

Of course it’s worth noting what this does not sell from The Phantom Menace: Jar-Jar or the dialogue – then again, why would you? Though at the time the film was breaking box office records (though couldn’t top Titanic, which is also due for a 3-D reissue), it has a reputation as the worst Star Wars film. But when the box set of the films breaks sales records, Lucas has shown this fanbase will often show up and spend money, even if they know they won’t like it. The Phantom Menace hits theaters February 10, and this discussion will surely continue until then.

Will you go anyway?

‘Star Wars’ Blu-Ray Set Becomes Bestselling Blu-Ray Of All Time… In Just One Week

Travis Woods — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:55:32 +0000

Wow. Despite the fact that the giant goiter with a man growing out of it (or, as you might know it, George Lucas), continued to meddle with his original vision, tossing in even more cheesy CGI additions and horrible Darth Vadar “NOOOOOOOO!” exclamations, the Star Wars complete saga Blu-Ray set has, within just one week, become the highest selling Blu-Ray of all time.

Let me say that again– the Star Wars complete saga Blu-Ray set, released on September 16^th, has, within just one week, become the highest selling Blu-Ray of all time, according to Deadline. This means that people actually paid money to see Lucas defile his classic series (ok, classic original trilogy and mind-bendingly horrible prequel trilogy) even further, as the box set sold over one million units, which equals about $84 million in sales, 515,000 of those being sold right her e in the U.S. of A.

So, there you go, America—never underestimate the need of the fanboys to see Greedo shooting first in high definition; meanwhile, somewhere in a mansion far, far away, an almost comically out of touch filmmaker sits in a pair of blue jeans and a red flannel shirt, twirling his beard and laughing, as his wallet and neck waddle continue to swell in parallel proportion to the Dark Side of the Force, which forces us all to keep watching a series of kid’s movies about glowing swords and talking robots.

What do you think of the Star Wars news?

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