Those of you lucky enough to be in the Bay Area before April 12th might want to swing by the Berkeley Repertory Theater to catch Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show, “Wishful Drinking.” Ms. Fisher takes audiences on a one hour and forty-five minute ride through her life “from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, from having the father of her daughter leave her for a man, [and] to ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.”
Don’t worry, Star Wars fans. This isn’t an hour-and-a-half of Lucas bashing. One reviewer from The Daily Californian confirms that “‘Wishful Drinking’ does not disappoint, devoting substantial time to Fisher’s life-changing ‘Star Wars’ experience.” And she ends each performance with her most famous speech: “General Kenobi, years ago, you served my father in the clone wars…”
Tickets range from $33 to $69.
Wishful Drinking [Berkeley Rep]
PS: For those of you (like me) who won’t be able to make the show, check out this 2005 episode of NPR’s Fresh Air where Fisher describes “the speech burned into her brain.”
GWCers have recommended the Star Wars Legacy comics, and considering that the folks at Dark Horse are shipping the first issue of a new story arc today, now’s a great time to jump in and check ‘em out. According to our friends over at Rebelscum.com, the new arc focuses on “the adventures of outlaw Admiral Gar Stazi, who has led the remains of the Galactic Alliance in hit-and-run operations against the Sith-led Empire.”
I’m in.
Note: The ‘scum also noted that the ’08 Wave 1 Star Wars figures are on shelves. Avid collectors, start your engines.
Dark Horse On Sale Today [Rebelscum.com]
StarWarsLocations.com is offering Jeremy Beckett’s travel guide to Star Wars filming locations in Tunisia Tataouine Tours: On Location Guidebook as a $5 eBook. While ‘Tours has always been a must-have for Tunesia-bound fans, at this price there’s no reason not to check it out even if you’re land-locked.
The book includes “28 detailed map, including route guides,” plus “all the information you need to get to grips with Tunisia’s history and diverse culture.” It’s a 3.36MB download in PDF format and includes a number of site photographs, which are browsable at the link below.
Tataouine Tours: On Location Guidebook [StarWarsLocations.com] [via]
Yes, the C3PO you see pictures above is indeed made entirely of paper. As one not well acquainted with the art of papercraft, I’m nothing short of amazed by it. It’s an incredible design. The good news: if you’ve got the patience to assemble it, you can easily build your own. The design is available for free in PDF form.
The bad news: it’s incredibly complex, and the instructions are in Japanese. Then again, there’s never been a better time to take up a new language.
Papercraft C3PO [PaperKraft]
Direct Link To PDF [Way-Nifty.com]
MSNBC film critic Alonso Duralde has rounded up six lessons Hollywood starlets can learn from the youngest Star Wars royalty, Natalie Portman. He writes:
In an age of starlets gone wild — and the pursuit of same by the insatiable scandal-sheet press corps — Portman has risen to the top of her profession with smarts and class. Even if all of her film choices weren’t the greatest — anybody remember “Where the Heart Is� — she’s hit upon a winning formula for playing the fame game, and her peers would do well to follow her lead.
The rules:
- Be smart.
- Be politically committed.
- Date non-gross guys.
- Work hard.
- Have a sense of humor about yourself.
- Have parents that support you — and who stay out of the spotlight.
He also adds a seventh: “…remember to wear panties when exiting a limousine.”
Kidding aside, this is a really nice article showing how Ms. Portman clearly has a good head on her shoulders and is handling herself — and her career — with style and class. It’s a good read.
(Thanks, Hot Rod Homepage, for the great CC-licensed photo.)
The awesome folks over at Rebelscum.com have posted a photo round-up of their NYC Toy Fair 2008 coverage — over 3,000 photos of just about anything at all that’d interest a GWCer at the fair. This is definitely browseworthy material.
Plus, they get extra points for registering one of the coolest domain names ever, yeah?
Toy Fair 2008 Photos [Rebelscum.com]
Apologies if you’ve already seen this since it’s made the rounds, but who doesn’t have a minute-and-a-half to hear a New Hope summary from a sweet little three-year-old?
My favorite bits: She points out that “the shiny guy always worries,” “Obi wants Luke to learn to use the light-up sword,” and most importantly, “Don’t talk back to Darth Vader, he’ll getcha.”
This year represents the 30th anniversary of Star Wars in Japan, and after all those decades, Celebration has finally reached the island. The three-day event will commence July 19th at the Makuhari-Messe Convention Center near Tokyo. There’s currently no word on star appearances, but if you’d like to attend, more information is available at the official site.
Celebration Japan [Official Site]
Press Release [StarWars.com]
The folks over at XBox 360 Fanboy posted two new gameplay videos from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Pay special attention to the second one in which the player force-pushes some trees, bending and breaking them. Now I understand why everyone’s so excited about the games application of Pixelux’s Digital Molecular Matter to handle a destructible environment. You just don’t get this kind of interaction from current technology.
The game will also incorporate NaturalMotion’s Euphoria, a software package that renders 3D characters by simulating individual muscle and nervous system interaction. The result: non-player characters react slightly differently each time, even if you provide identical input.
If Lucasfilm Director of Content Management Steve Sansweet’s 2006 ComicCon indication that the game will include “major revelations” about the franchise isn’t enough to tempt you into shelling out your hard-earned cash for this game, maybe this will.
Either that, or the possibility of wielding a light saber via Wii remote.
SW: TFU Gameplay Videos [XBox 360 Fanboy]
Start checking stores soon — UGO dug up photos of some of the toys Hasbro’s manufacturing in support of the upcoming new Star Wars animated content. My favorite: the “Defense of the Death Star 1″ early TIE fighter. There’s also what appears to be a kick-ass clone helmet, a number of sweet-looking blasters (one with apparent battle scars), at least one droid, and some cutesie figurines. Check out UGO’s post for lots of pics.
Star Wars Toys [UGO]
As a guy who’s spent his share of time in the shop, I can attest that a toque is a total necessity when it’s cold. The only thing better, of course, is a cunning hat, which (in addition to announcing your allegiance to Browncoats everywhere) keeps your ears warmer than a toque.
But as toques go, I’d say this is the coolest one I’ve seen in some time. And if you’d like one of your own, break out your needles. Craft blog Clarissa Knits offers a complete materials list and set of instructions to keep your head warm droid-style. Or, if you’re all thumbs with the yarn, the lovely Clarissa will knit you one for $50 — maybe.
R2D2 Beanie [Clarissa Knits] [via]
Buy One From Clarissa [Etsy]
Gizmodo turned up this fanboy-rockin’ X-Wing sled today. It was part of Minneapolis’ annual Art Sled rally, and (as you can see) it didn’t fare well. Apparently its driver was just as inexperienced with the force lift as Luke and my pathetic new Mass Effect character.
X-Wing Sled Is Porkin’s Transport Of Choice In Tahoe [Gizmodo]
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