Star Wars Retrospective -
A long time ago in a city in
Southern California. What was
it like to see the first Star
Wars movie in its first-run
engagements? Join us for that
1977 experience.
How Do Lightsabers Work -
Suppose you are a Jedi Padawan
apprentice. You need to assemble
your own lightsaber. What would
you do need to do this?
Lessons and analogies -
Star Wars merely a happy escape?
Then why do people take it
seriously?
Definition...
lightsaber(n.) - weapon with blade
of pure energy generated by a small
reactor and focused through one
or more multi-faceted crystals,
and used in face-to-face combat;
can only be constructed by a
trained Jedi.
There is an alternate defintion.
We will probably develop this
further someday:
lightsaber (n.) - sword of light,
sharper than any two-edged sword.
Lightsaber Computing, Inc.
Fremont, California
E-mail:
webmaster@lightsaber.com
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Star Wars
The Episode I Chronicles
Starting several months before Episode I was released
to theaters, we started feeling anticipation around the world.
We began journaling things we found and heard.
The Episode I Run
The momentum gathered during the summer of 1999.
It the late fall, it returned to benefit charity.
December 10, 1999 - Episode I Completes Run
Except for a certain theater in Maryland, Episode I has
finished its North American theater run. The movie has been in
release for 178 days and has grossed $429,002,763, according to
the Variety
Domestic Box Office listing. For the weekend of 12/3-12/5,
it earned $1,292,968.
Now, about the Maryland theater - the movie is playing until
Saturday, December 11, at Johns Hopkins University's Shriver Hall
to give students a break from finals. But it is open to the public.
December 5, 1999 - Episode I Charities List
Episode I began its charity run on Friday, December 3, ending
presumably on December 9. The Star Wars official web site now has a
list of charities which will benefit from the encore screening.
How much is it making for charities this weekend? Box office
estimates by
Yahoo! Movies ranks Episode I as 11th for the weekend
of December 3-5, taking in $1,175,000.
November 22, 1999 - Return of Episode I
Episode I returns to theatres in the U.S. and Canada for one
week, starting December 3. All of the box office proceeds will be
contributed to local charities by theater owners. When the movie was
originally released in May, it premiered in 11 cities to benefit
children's charities. This time will show in 350 cities and benefit
177 charities.
[ Lucasfilm announcement ]
August 13, 1999 - International Releases
Episode I is in the midst of a series of
international releases. The release dates started in June and will
run through October of this year.
July 28, 1999 - Lightsaber Recall
Hasbro has recalled 618,000 lightsabers sold between May 1999
and June 1999. The particular models in question are the Darth
MaulTM Double-Bladed Lightsaber
and the Qui-Gon JinnTM Lightsaber.
The company received many reports of batteries overheating and
rupturing. To obtain a free repair kit, consumers can call
Hasbro at (888) 690-6141 or fill out the
form
at the company's website.
[The recall was actually issued June 24, 1999. But we're posting
it now anyway because of the number of people who come here for
information about lightsabers.]
July 26, 1999 - Episode I Digital Effects
Episode I has become a landmark in filmmaking, particularly
with its extensive use of digital effects in conjunction live
action. We look at the digital
effects, and discover some of the techniques used in this new
form of filmmaking. form of filmmaking. (Note: Very rough draft.
More to come.)
June 15, 1999 - The Master of Visual Effects
He has worked on all the Star Wars films, and has received
eight Academy Awards for his work on these and other films.
In tonight's chat session, ILM senior visual effects supervisor
Dennis Muren talked about working
in visual effects, special challenges in Episode I, and
receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
June 14, 1999 - Episode II in Progress
Work has started on Episode II. Rick McCallum and others have
spoken a bit about the on-going
work.
June 14, 1999 - Seeing it again?
If you've seen it once, you know you have to see it again,
just for the characterization. Or you discovered surprises
you didn't expect. We have compiled a short list of
things to look for in
Episode I.
June 7, 1999 - Casting the Trilogy
It is a long-term commitment. Not only did she direct the casting
of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, but she has to do it
again for Episodes II and III. The experience was also different
from that of a normal casting director's job.
Robin Gurland, who holds that
job for the new trilogy, talked with on-line chatters about the
experience.
June 6, 1999 - Star Wars Fan Day
A grass roots Star Wars
Fan Day
is being "organized," if it can be called that. The hope is that
on Saturday, June 19, "The Fans Strike Back."
June 1, 1999 - Going Digital
It's not over yet. Episode I: The Phantom Menace will open
to the public again on June 18, 1999. This time, instead of using
celluloid film, it will be all digital. No major studio has ever
publicly released a full-length notion picture in this form before.
Why do it? Better image quality. No scratches on the film as
it is shown and reshown. The potential to show simultaneously on
screens in the same theater megaplex.
More info at:
How Did They Do That?
June 3, 1999 - Animatics Chats
The official Star Wars site
and Talk City are
sponsoring more on-line chat sessions about
Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
This time, the focus is on animatics. Again, we sat in. Here,
we share some of our favorite tidbits. So far, the series includes:
May 26, 1999 - Cameras and Computers
They design special cameras. They move terabytes of data. They
seemingly bring the galaxy together. How do they do that? In a pair
of articles for EE Times, the electronic engineering trade
newspaper, Terry Costlow writes about some of the
gadgetry and the
people at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the special effects
arm of Lucasfilm.
It Was Great!
May 21, 1999 - A Look Back
It was a community experience. Producer Rick McCallum has
said it is something you usually associate with a rock concert
or a nightclub, but not a movie. Yet Star Wars has been such
an experience. Here is our description of the community on the opening night of Episode I,
just after midnight on May 19.
May 19, 1999, 4 AM PDT - No Disappointment
We are back from the theater. It was great. After 16 years we
were not let down. We plan to describe what opening night was like
for us. We won't review the movie for you. There's been enough of
that, and we're sure you'll draw your own conclusions. But opening
night experiences are always unique; so we'll share ours. Look for
it during the next couple of days.
Counting Down
May 18, 1999 - THIS IS THE NIGHT
It may still be May 18, but this is the night that fans stand in line
to finally see Episode I: The Phantom Menace. As midnight
moves from east to west, ushering in May 19, the waves of fans will
finally get to end the 16-year wait. We at Lightsaber Computing are
in California; so we'll see some of you Californians in line tonight.
May 16, 1999 - Lightsaber Principles and Components
What makes a lightsaber such a powerful weapon?
We are in the process of writing a paper describing the lightsaber.
The first draft is now available.
May 13, 1999 - TPM Tent City
We knew that TPM would be popular before
it came out. But tents to camp out for tickets?
In San Jose, they went up on May 4. Then on
May 11,
they were asked to take them down. But late
May 12,
that decision was reversed.
May 12, 1999 - This is it!
Tickets for Episode I: The Phantom Menace went
on sale today. Fans when to buy tickets for the 12:01am showing
on May 19, 1999. That's right. One minute after midnight on the
first day it opens to the public.
May 11, 1999 - Chats
The official Star Wars
site and Talk City
have been sponsoring a series of chat sessions with various
key players in the creation of Episode I: The Phantom
Menace. Each day, the transcripts are placed on-line at starwars.talkcity.com.
At roughly the same time, we have selected our favorite tidbits
for your enjoyment here.
So far, the series has included:
May 1, 1999 -
Flowers are in bloom (in the northern hemisphere), and springtime
is in the air. And Episode I: The Phantom Menace is right
around the corner. It is clearly now the most anticipated movie
in history. This month, on May 19, the movie opens to the public.
And yesterday, today, tomorrow, a
Star Wars Celebration converges on Denver, Colorado, bringing
thousands of fans to the Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum.
April 15, 1999 -
We've added a bit more to our look back in time,
Star Wars - A Retrospective, moments from 1977.
April 12, 1999 -
If you are a fan, you may see it May 19. But now the premiere of
Episode I will be May 16. It opens in 11 cities to
benefit children's charities.
March 12, 1999 -
The date has changed. Episode I: The Phantom Menace will
now be released on Wednesday, May 19, allowing rabid fans to go
see it before families attempt it on the weekend.
The
new trailer became available on-line on Thursday (March 11).
March 8, 1999 -
The new trailer for Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
will begin showing in theaters in the U.S. and Canada this Friday,
March 12th. (See
official Star Wars site for info.)
February 22, 1999 -
We are now less than three months away from the release date of
Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the first prequel film of
the Star Wars saga. One source reports that the premiere is set for
Mann's Chinese Theater, in Hollywood, during the first week of May.
It was there that the first Star Wars movie opened 22 years ago.
Meanwhile, a second trailer is being prepared for release to
movie theaters in March. This time, rather than focusing on Anakin
Skywalker, it will give glimpses of intricate plot complexities
and surprises. This trailer reportedly concludes with "The saga
begins May 21st." (Info collected from the official
Star Wars site and
The Force.Net.)
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