tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82179940739598091092024-02-21T06:10:12.121+00:00Into the Garbage ChuteA blog full of coverage, opinion and commentary about Star Wars. Currently providing detailed coverage of Celebration Europe II.Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-63150443431032999392013-08-26T09:00:00.000+01:002013-08-30T16:30:43.842+01:00No Episode VII Announcements at the Summer Conventions!?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDi0LwgC1GomQYNlX_j0-wUbDwjRJg9uVIemo78NT7fAtvZyNdtBt04i-Te70sUSiw3SAxVH_ShL8FiBJGOKTjG30EMc9qfbgIqJp_SZyyyZ_nxWfjySAmZ08oGlMVzB4gxpia5DHhyphenhyphen1v/s1600/episodevii_intothegarbagechute.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDi0LwgC1GomQYNlX_j0-wUbDwjRJg9uVIemo78NT7fAtvZyNdtBt04i-Te70sUSiw3SAxVH_ShL8FiBJGOKTjG30EMc9qfbgIqJp_SZyyyZ_nxWfjySAmZ08oGlMVzB4gxpia5DHhyphenhyphen1v/s200/episodevii_intothegarbagechute.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now that Comic Con, Celebration Europe II and D23 Expo have all passed, many Star Wars fans are feeling rather disappointed that no Episode VII announcements were made (aside from the confirmation of everyone's first choice composer). Pretty much every Star Wars fan is surprised. But is it a good or a bad thing to have left the fan base devoid of news?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was a lot of concerned talk amongst Star Wars fans at Celebration Europe II in the queues and bars about the lack of Episode VII. Most people there, myself included, had expected that with both Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in attendance the worst kept secret in the galaxy would be officially announced. With George Lucas having let the cat out of the bag himself, an announcement seemed way overdue.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVMjsbLYaqvQ7pnQHmT8cWhaoN426Y-aen1_29l48u6Hjjc0zhKOBiK5m_-9S0df1WY3VMYHnRF1W94KjvgicFUebX7alrfwL43wVzcoxThehXVNAqjuFg7yJrO8DCuKUpTUKmU6T5mhY/s1600/IMG_4235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVMjsbLYaqvQ7pnQHmT8cWhaoN426Y-aen1_29l48u6Hjjc0zhKOBiK5m_-9S0df1WY3VMYHnRF1W94KjvgicFUebX7alrfwL43wVzcoxThehXVNAqjuFg7yJrO8DCuKUpTUKmU6T5mhY/s320/IMG_4235.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But nothing came. One fan suggested that with the D23 event coming up, which Disney announced after the Lucasfilm takeover, they would be more likely to make a big reveal at that event rather than Celebration Europe II, which had been planned by Lucasfilm beforehand. This was a common fear in the Messe Essen Convention Center, that all of the goodwill Kathleen Kennedy had generated during her interview would be undone by a big announcement at D23. Star Wars fans felt that if something big was coming, it should come at their party.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhEkLD9x-P0eU2feG37g6BB6e3WGqtzzyZXT1i9uxnUpuUdZVIljkk19W7vJTp0iN4efKSPaN8mfMJ6H85QrF5teLdePJMC74_jehyphenhyphenn5J-U16TtsR5KURTLdegCLvfXQHeNsl3cBcDcHg/s1600/GeorgeLucas0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhEkLD9x-P0eU2feG37g6BB6e3WGqtzzyZXT1i9uxnUpuUdZVIljkk19W7vJTp0iN4efKSPaN8mfMJ6H85QrF5teLdePJMC74_jehyphenhyphenn5J-U16TtsR5KURTLdegCLvfXQHeNsl3cBcDcHg/s320/GeorgeLucas0004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was a great relief when nothing came out of D23 Expo, as it meant a mob of jaded fans wouldn't be storming Disney HQ. It left the fan community, and the wider geek online world, a bit perplexed. Why not just acknowledge what everyone knows, that Hamill, Fisher and Ford are signed up for the new movie? It's a fairly spoiler free announcement to keep the fans fed until the next snippet of news is fed to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But perhaps not acknowledging their involvement is for the best. The longer Lucasfilm holds out on saying anything, the less spoiler-ific the news will get. Some movies have Comic Con panels three years before their release, and by the time the movie hits cinemas the film makers have had to reveal almost the entire plot because they ran out of teases to unveil a year before it came out. This is the practice that Star Wars is at the risk of succumbing to, with the new parent company. So far, however, it seems that in a Pixar type way Lucasfilm are staying quiet rather than being noisy in a Marvel type way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">George Lucas is the master of giving fans something to chew on, but not spoiling the film for them, as demonstrated during the prequel years. The release of images and articles about characters such as Tion Medon and Zam Wesell had fans thinking they new something about the upcoming movie, when all they really new was a tiny snippet that tended not to link in with the key plot or theme. Even the promotional posters for Attack of the Clones confused the matter of whether the Clones would be fighting with the Jedi or against them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The George Lucas method, of showing images of minor characters and background aliens along with brief, well-edited web documentaries worked perfectly to hype up excitement for the prequel films. There was no need for showing entire reels at Comic Con, or unfinished visual FX shots. Hopefully the new team at Lucasfilm will see the benefits of keeping the fans in the dark as much as possible. Even though there was no major cast announcement at Celebration Europe II, fans spent the event talking about that lack of announcement. This demonstrates perfectly why Lucasfilm can take their time when it comes to hyping up Episode VII.</span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-17488774578664111252013-08-20T09:00:00.000+01:002013-08-20T09:00:09.460+01:00LEGO Star Wars 2014 Rumour List<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJJ6uJTk66jY3osQLarUv8EYb7q83qF5qLhNa3dFyifTT7DcgVOX_jZ_LGglDgfCfro44AP75qRKNKvjFgBMxZWTyRHwVqXI4OsffJShF4Y6f3H9649GFSkV0Fe8hI2Tb0yuwH9iuMEc/s1600/2014rumourlogosm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJJ6uJTk66jY3osQLarUv8EYb7q83qF5qLhNa3dFyifTT7DcgVOX_jZ_LGglDgfCfro44AP75qRKNKvjFgBMxZWTyRHwVqXI4OsffJShF4Y6f3H9649GFSkV0Fe8hI2Tb0yuwH9iuMEc/s320/2014rumourlogosm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There’s a bit of newness in the LEGO Star Wars line-up according to this rumour list, along with the obligatory re-treads. As with all LEGO Rumours, this should not be treated as any more reliable than something that might get whispered in the Mos Eisley Cantina.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Microfighters will replace the Planets line, with a similar price point. These will be similar to the Comic Con exclusives, where it’s sort of a mini ship but also seats a mini-figure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75028 Clone Turbo Tank with 501st Clone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75029 AAT with Battle Droid</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75030 Millennium Falcon with Han Solo</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75031 TIE Interceptor with TIE Pilot</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75032 X-Wing Fighter with Pilot</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75033 Star Destroyer with Imperial Officer</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The regular line up will have more products at lower price points, which seems to have even achieved by reducing the mini-fig count (what, these are actually primarily building sets!?).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75034 Death Star Troopers and Emperor’s Guards Battle Pack</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75035 Kashyyk Clone Troopers Battle Pack</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75037 Battle on Saleucami</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75038 Anakin’s Jedi Interceptor</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75039 V-Wing Fighter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75040 General Grievous’ Wheelbike</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75041 Vulture Droid with Neimoidian</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">75042 Droid Gunship</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chewacca and Tarrful mini-figures will be included in the Gunship and AT-AP, along with a Clone and Droids in each.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Keep checking out <a href="http://allaboutbricks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">All About Bricks</a> for more 2014 LEGO Rumour Lists.</i></span><br />
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-72177231797234712192013-08-14T17:05:00.000+01:002013-08-14T17:05:49.776+01:00Celebration Europe II: Secrets of The Clone Wars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazVbJrgwpkRbATdjSxmWclzg4xezS5coc3w8FxLjpPFK5erQAHe7GpyeqQ4kByOv5AYIv-IQJrgZtTqVrKlHBteZAlU_LBAylTwIgFSOAF5N3odHVhWiOTl5wjy8FENtb0tEzW8CwcmSd/s1600/ceii_tcwsecrets04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazVbJrgwpkRbATdjSxmWclzg4xezS5coc3w8FxLjpPFK5erQAHe7GpyeqQ4kByOv5AYIv-IQJrgZtTqVrKlHBteZAlU_LBAylTwIgFSOAF5N3odHVhWiOTl5wjy8FENtb0tEzW8CwcmSd/s320/ceii_tcwsecrets04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite problems with a delayed flight, Dave Filoni – Supervising Director of The Clone Wars and now Executive Producer on Rebels - made it to the Behind the Stages on Friday for the 3pm panel, Secrets of <i>The Clone Wars</i>. This marked the first appearance of Dave Filoni at a non-US Star Wars Celebration, and secrets were shared indeed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A lot can happen in six years, and indeed it has for <i>The Clone Wars</i>. At Celebration Europe in 2007, Steve Sansweet previewed the unreleased <i>The Clone Wars</i> movie each day for excited fans. By July 2013, time for the long-awaited second Celebration Europe event, <i>The Clone Wars</i> movie has long been released and five seasons have aired – along with an announcement that the series has been cancelled. Since that announcement, it has been said that there will be additional bonus content released including episodes completed for what would have been Season 6 – but not details. So Dave Filoni’s first appearance afterwards had fans hoping for more detail.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The panel took place on the Behind the Stage, and whilst fans sat and waited music from the saga played with behind-the-scenes images showing on the screen. When it was time for things to get started, a montage from <i>The Clone Wars</i> played with footage from all five seasons – and it was an absolute treat. As the action packed montage set everyone’s pulses racing, Pablo Hidalgo (host of the Behind the Scenes stage) appeared on stage as it closed. He introduced the man of the hour and Dave Filoni joined him on stage. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fpZF0KAFcmpbRowEai5NN7MRaVyk5o3HjjIarGqSOOYJTI1blFkTIQu4zzybN053Cb1GwVT7JdaA49F3nIIiFS1nUfCvQZInknznr1kLfZbUvekyqWP41zIqGxrj34Yb41wlYgyDbPN-/s1600/28-Point-Rain-pic-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fpZF0KAFcmpbRowEai5NN7MRaVyk5o3HjjIarGqSOOYJTI1blFkTIQu4zzybN053Cb1GwVT7JdaA49F3nIIiFS1nUfCvQZInknznr1kLfZbUvekyqWP41zIqGxrj34Yb41wlYgyDbPN-/s400/28-Point-Rain-pic-2.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The involvement of George Lucas was discussed. Filoni talked about how the “Landing on Point Rain” battle wasn’t working, and he and Lucas threw most of the script out. George Lucas brought along his old World War II and other movie footage and they edited together the battle in the same way that Lucas had done for the dog fights in <i>A New Hope</i>. This was explained in the context of how hands-on George Lucas ended up being with <i>The Clone Wars</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Filoni also mentioned that although Lucas had retired, he is still around, and that he would call to tell him if he saw something he didn’t like, “which is troubling because he has a cell phone now – and that’s something new!”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hidalgo and Filoni announced that they were going to be looking at abandoned concepts for <i>The Clone Wars</i>, artwork that was designed and then not used for the series. This led to some interesting stories about ideas, characters and episodes that might have been. Hidalgo made it clear that although these concepts were unused, that didn’t mean that they would never be used – many old Star Wars existed for a long time before being used in the prequels or <i>The Clone Wars</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In one story arc Duchess Satine was to have been forced to wear Mandalorian Battle Armour, as part of a traditional parade, despite her pacifism. She was to have gone along with it (presumably for the sake of peace), and Pre Visla was to attack. Filoni said that the story would have challenged her character again, but ultimately it was changed with the return of Darth Maul.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Filoni talked about one particularly fascinating story arc that was discussed for the series but never came to be. Dave Filoni was throwing around a story idea for an arc of episodes that would see Padme get in on the action, as he felt she had done a lot of diplomatic episodes for a while. The idea was that Padme was negotiating with the Separatists, and in order to prove herself she had to complete a series of physical challenges. She would take Ahsoka with her to compete in these games, but those she was negotiating with would insist she compete personally. The idea was that she would win the competition, prove herself, and sign a treaty to end the war – but just as she is signing, General Grievous is invading Coruscant to kidnap Palpatine and the events of Revenge of the Sith commence. Later on Filoni briefly mentioned that he had hoped the final episodes of the series could have actually overlapped with the events of <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This would have been an incredible idea, as it would have added so much to Padme’s character who didn’t get a great deal to do in <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> unfortunately. The episodes didn’t come to pass unfortunately, there were concerns that there is a limit to how much physical activity Padme could do whilst pregnant. Ultimately George Lucas was involved in the final decision that this story arc wouldn’t come to pass.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Season 6 <i>The Clone Wars</i> planned to return to Kashyyk, and show more of the planet. George Lucas had worked with Dave Filoni on the concept of giant lizard monkeys that the Wookiees ride around on the giant trees of Kashyyk. Filoni treated the audience to a brief clip seeing these creatures in action (strictly no recording was allowed!). It was a rough animatic with temporary sound, no animation of the scene was actually completed. It showed the Wookiees and Clones riding these giant lizard monkeys, who are then attacked by other freaky creatures. The lizard monkeys hide while the Clones and Wookiees fend them off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dave Filoni also revealed that the plan was to show Yoda on Kashyyk, establishing a bit of background to the line, “Good relations with the Wookiees I have”. By this point in the war Yoda’s troops were to have painted a silhouette of his head onto their helmets. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What was cool to hear was that the abandoned live-action TV series Underworld was to have links with <i>The Clone Wars</i>, and early on little things were being added to the animated series that would have connected the two. Dave Filoni was amazed that this was cleared to talk about, and joked “this is the new Lucasfilm where we talk about everything”. Pablo Hidalgo mentioned that this was likely to be more common with the ‘new’ Lucasfilm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The final selection of concepts to be shown were from finished episodes that would have been part of Season 6, but will now be part of the ‘bonus content’. Pablo Hidalgo assured fans that nothing is being held back, Lucasfilm are currently figuring out the best way to release the content – some of which is not completed episodes. Hidalgo assured the audience that as soon as the method of release is known it will be shared with fans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The clip of Anakin helping a mischievous Yoda escape in his mini Jedi Starfighter was shown from an upcoming episode, which looked great on a larger screen. Filoni mentioned that he liked to show Yoda in this light where possible, and it seemed appropriate. He has an idea that maybe when Yoda was much younger he was more like Anakin, and that maybe Yoda sees a little of himself in Skywalker, knowing that one day he can grow to be wiser and calmer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another particularly cool piece shown was artwork of a Sith Temple, with a silhouette of someone small stood in the entrance. This is concept art from a completed episode, so it seems somehow our little green friend will end up at a very ominous location. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Clone Wars</i> Season 5 Blu-ray and DVD release on October 15th was officially announced, with Obi-Wan Kenobi finally getting his turn on the box art. The regular collection of every season is also to be released on the same day, of course this time with the knowledge that it is a complete set.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The floor was opened up to questions from fans, and after some trouble at previous Behind the Scenes stage panels more effort was made to ensure the questions were repeated to the stage correctly. Dave Filoni agreed with a fan that it would be great to have the soundtrack to the series released, and fans should keep asking for that if they want it. He said it was great when people ask these questions, because back at Lucasfilm he can mention that fans were asking for it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When asked about characters from the Expanded Universe Dave Filoni said that he tried to avoid using them if it means they will have to be altered for the series (which often they do), because fans “like them the way they are”. This is a reassuring comment for Expanded Universe fans with Filoni working on <i>Rebels.</i> He cited Quinlan Vos as an example of character appearing a bit different in the series to how he appeared in the comics, perhaps implying that he hadn’t felt that was a successful experiment (especially since Vos didn’t turn up in the series again).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dave Filoni wrapped up by paying tribute to the fans. He truly lived up to all of the hype he gets for being extremely generous to Star Wars fans, it seems like after all of this time working in the Star Wars universe his passion and generosity hasn’t wavered. It is a fortuitous coincidence that the two Celebration Europe events have marked the beginning and end of <i>The Clone Wars</i>, but fitting that Dave Filoni was able to attend Celebration Europe II and speak to fans after news that many found disappointing. The panel itself was informative and entertaining, and surprising that despite the series being over, it was as much about looking forward to what is coming next from <i>The Clone Wars </i>as reflecting on what has gone before. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-12310976485431042752013-08-07T21:00:00.000+01:002013-08-07T21:46:17.201+01:00Celebration Europe II: LEGO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG_sGRxDRe6urYnxKDEW0wFXrHevkdFCkqt557WFIFJIBLQZtWP6Jwr6iH9cbVHqjd3GZcYFCD0Epc_7ftIyQsWcnUT4oQ5V-1PIvpIo09fK5JuCbl13fHxVmdwmZXhl0nry7qPB4oG_d/s1600/ceii_lego007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG_sGRxDRe6urYnxKDEW0wFXrHevkdFCkqt557WFIFJIBLQZtWP6Jwr6iH9cbVHqjd3GZcYFCD0Epc_7ftIyQsWcnUT4oQ5V-1PIvpIo09fK5JuCbl13fHxVmdwmZXhl0nry7qPB4oG_d/s320/ceii_lego007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the fiasco and ill will generated from LEGO attending Comic Con, the company went down the opposite route with their presence at Star Wars Celebration Europe II, the greatest party in the galaxy held last week in Essen, Germany. There was an exclusive mini-figure available, some incredible fan built creations and LEGO sets available to buy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The LEGO stand had much potential to “wow” – looking at the floor plan for the </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">event in advance, the LEGO area in the main hall was one of the largest from the Star Wars licensees. Unfortunately in practice it turned out to be predominantly a shop. All of the Star Wars products you would find in a LEGO store were available, including exclusives and licensed products such as the torches. With a spend of 55 euros or more customers received a free Han Solo Hoth (Brown Coat) mini-figure, previously given away as this year’s May 4th promo. All of the new sets were available to buy which was cool, but it was bizarre to see folk lugging the Millennium Falcon around at a convention all day – when they can just order it from the LEGO website and have it delivered. The only reason to make a purchase was to get the mini-figure if fans missed it before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The rest of the floor space was given over to a building event, where attendees could add bricks to big mini-figures of Yoda and Darth Vader that were under construction. This was pretty much the same as what is run at LEGOLAND parks during themed Star Wars events. The space (it couldn’t even be described as a booth) was rounded out with screens playing the LEGO Star Wars shorts created by Killer Minnow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meanwhile in the Fan Hall, LEGO was a key part of the family area, having provided lots of bricks so that the little ones could let their imaginations run wild. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other exhibitors such as Hasbro were actually displaying new, unreleased product for fans to check out. LEGO had unveiled a new set the week before at Comic Con – rather naughty considering this was a specifically Star Wars event. It would be like having unveiled new Super Heroes sets at Star Wars Celebration! They had brought along some of the big mini-figures and UCS sets to display, but back in the main hall it was the fan displays that really saved LEGO from being a big let-down. The ingenuity of AFOL builders never ceases to amaze, and they didn’t let the side down for this event.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are just a selection of my personal favourites. Size is always amazing, and the six foot Star Destroyer was absolutely mesmerizing. Great little details found their way into impressive dioramas such as Cloud City, with a certain infamous fellow in an orange jump suit making an appearance. Micro-figures were used impressively in this Emperor’s arrival scene, and a unique representation of Star Wars characters in brick form was fun too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A really special addition to the LEGO area was The LEGO Star Wars Organ from the Builders of Sound. Since its unveiling to coincide with the 3D release of </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Phantom Menace</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> it has visited various events in Germany, and now fans who had travelled to Celebration Europe II could see it in person. By cranking the handle at the side, the huge drum turned and was constructed in such a way that as the built environments hit the keys of the organ, it plays classic Star Wars music. This was so impressive to see in person, taking what a LEGO MOC can be to a whole other level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is a shame that LEGO did not put more effort into what they had to share at Celebration Europe II. The Comic Con route of exclusives and raffles are not the way to go, but how about showing some new product releases, cool alternate builds or premiering a new LEGO Star Wars movie? The first Celebration Europe in 2007 had upcoming products on display and a huge screen playing various LEGO trailers. Thankfully the talented LEGO fan base meant that there was plenty to marvel at, no wonder LEGO were so happy to embrace their creations for the event. Thanks to all of the AFOL community who were involved!</span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-49484656790632759822013-07-31T20:00:00.000+01:002013-07-31T23:37:20.917+01:00Celebration Europe II: Images From Celebration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_2016459060"></span><span id="goog_2016459061"></span>Celebration Europe II came to a close on Sunday, and now there has been time to reflect on the hundreds of photos from the event. To kick off the Into the Garbage Chute coverage, here are a selection of images that give a snapshot of the event. Enjoy these fun moments from Celebration Europe II, that will either give a taste of what went on or provide a reminder of all the fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Imperial protecting the half scale TIE Bomber</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Titan provided an exclusive Celebration Europe II cover for <i>Star Wars Insider</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVMjsbLYaqvQ7pnQHmT8cWhaoN426Y-aen1_29l48u6Hjjc0zhKOBiK5m_-9S0df1WY3VMYHnRF1W94KjvgicFUebX7alrfwL43wVzcoxThehXVNAqjuFg7yJrO8DCuKUpTUKmU6T5mhY/s1600/IMG_4235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVMjsbLYaqvQ7pnQHmT8cWhaoN426Y-aen1_29l48u6Hjjc0zhKOBiK5m_-9S0df1WY3VMYHnRF1W94KjvgicFUebX7alrfwL43wVzcoxThehXVNAqjuFg7yJrO8DCuKUpTUKmU6T5mhY/s320/IMG_4235.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The big announcement of the show came during Kathleen Kennedy's interview</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hasbro brought along an even larger scale Boba Fett</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The work of talented fans was visible everywhere in the Fan Hall</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Concept Artist Doug Chiang shared storied from his career</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What better to carpet the front room with?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Messe Essen is set in a picturesque location</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mark Hamill captivated fans on the Celebration Stage</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look forward to plenty of in-depth coverage of the panels, displays and activities that took place during Celebration Europe II here at Into the Garbage Chute.</span></div>
Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-32904355533141314572013-07-23T18:40:00.001+01:002013-07-23T18:40:20.334+01:00Last Minute Planning for Celebration Europe II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLQ72J_PnqqO3StHnnbgLrqOFtXGBcvcq473W08lSzhwx3tqc4HcZqpC29FhMVjk7Firht_LZaivkdLZKdfX8RA6VnB_ce-fwdKj8lAEVSXlGjpO949Do4O4O3ftoGkDDGFD5_3_o_7h8/s1600/swceii-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLQ72J_PnqqO3StHnnbgLrqOFtXGBcvcq473W08lSzhwx3tqc4HcZqpC29FhMVjk7Firht_LZaivkdLZKdfX8RA6VnB_ce-fwdKj8lAEVSXlGjpO949Do4O4O3ftoGkDDGFD5_3_o_7h8/s320/swceii-logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s just a few days away before the full force of Star Wars fandom descends on the Messe Essen convention center in Germany. It is time for Celebration Europe II. Fans attending the event, this blogger included, are busy checking out the schedule and making painful decisions about what to see and what to skip. So, before the event actually kicks off, how does the Celebration Europe II schedule look?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The organisers have done a great job of bagging three show-stopping guests; Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Ian McDiarmid. Mark Hamill was first brought into the Star Wars official convention world with Celebration Europe, so seeing him back is nice. Carrie Fisher hasn’t attended any UK based events since the classic trilogy was released on DVD, and with the great reviews her appearances get in the USA she should be a treat to see. Ian McDiarmid officially opened the first Celebration Europe, however has only recently embraced Star Wars Celebrations to actually sign and speak on stage. In a great move, each is headlining a different day of the convention, so even guests attending one specific day have the chance to see a star from Star Wars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course Kathleen Kennedy will be an exciting guest with her first convention appearance, and the Celebration Stage will be packed out in the hope that she will reveal a little about the future of Star Wars. Although it is possible, it is most likely that she will use the opportunity to reassure fans about the new structure of Lucasfilm within Disney (although making it sound much more interesting than that!). Reflecting on the first Celebration Europe, Rick McCallum did a great job of exciting the audience without giving anything away at all! He simply used the words “live action TV series” and the crowd went nuts (Warwick Davis even suggested if there was a lull in the interview he should just say “live action TV series” again!). Thinking about how much the fans love Rick McCallum, it is a reminder of the boots Kathleen Kennedy has to fill. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Although the big names have been well spread out, screenings at Celebration Europe II have been made to clash in a frustrating manner. The 30th Anniversary screening of <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, an opportunity to see the film in an environment of fellow fans, is taking place on the Friday evening - straight after the documentary film <i>Star Warriors</i> and the special cinematic edit of <i>The Clone Wars </i>Darth Maul arc are being screened. Although clashes and making difficult decisions is a frustrating part of these events, it seems strange not to have made more effort to spread the screenings out more across the three days – after all, with <i>Attack of the Clones 3D</i> also being shown the line-up of movies to see is “most impressive” indeed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are many more simultaneous panels, interviews and talks at this event than there were at Celebration Europe in 2007, making Celebration Europe II look like it will be more in line with the American events. There will be lots happening all weekend on the Celebration Stage, Digital Stage and Behind the Scenes stage – plus more to see at the Collecting Panels, Star Wars University and Family Room. Many will also want to see the exhibits, squeeze in some shopping, catch a drink with fellow fans and maybe get some autographs. It’s going to be one busy event – even just to see a small selection of what’s on offer - and if previous Celebration events are anything to go by, one hell of a ride.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I will be covering Celebration Europe II here at Into the Garbage Chute. Stay tuned for images, quick round-ups of each day and then more detailed coverage of the event once it’s over.</i> </span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-14813748195647468312013-07-15T09:30:00.000+01:002013-07-15T09:30:00.482+01:00Star Wars Rebels Rumours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Almost a month ago, websites including Jedi News <a href="http://www.jedinews.co.uk/news/news.aspx?newsID=12273" target="_blank">revealed</a> that the new animated Star Wars series, </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rebels</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, will feature a group of teenagers as the lead characters (adding an extra layer to the title of the series). That echoes something I have heard recently, and also that the style of animation will not be similar to that of </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Clone Wars</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">…at least when it comes to the characters. The rumour that has fallen into the garbage chute (sorry, couldn’t resist that pun), is that the characters will look and be animated in a style reminiscent of Disney’s<i> Tangled</i>. Which will be very distinctive to what has been seen in <i>The Clone Wars</i>, with the stylized marionette design used for the characters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If this comes to pass, it will be a clear break from the previous series. This makes perfect sense, as of course Lucasfilm (and the directives they get from Disney) will want to break from the past, ensuring that audiences who catch a minute of this new animation won’t mistake it with the last one. But choosing such a classically Disney character design also shows the influence the new masters are having. The decision to go down a heavily stylised route last time was clever, as it would potentially look odd to have an animated version of Obi-Wan look too much like – but not quite like – the character from the movies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If it does turn out that this new series is based around a group of teenagers, however, it makes sense to choose whatever animation style suits the project best. If these are new characters that did not appear in the movies, then there will be no comparison with live-action counterparts. The choice of new characters is also a good one, as one of the drawbacks to <i>The Clone Wars</i> was that the fate of the characters was already known (and those who read the novels and comics had their version of the story trampled over). By introducing new characters and making them the focal point, the story is wide open – who will live, who will die, who will fall for who et cetera are all wide open questions.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugUO_K9aZbSvR11N8YJ9PdRHcSOoEVCT_jJ9j1_A_l535iuP0kpfv5Kfn6sdLMJ26eRbfOHmgsvUxtbf78zEiNVoLUylvJOja6OwYoQiRPf3sHH_PdZ94CSNuO4Ri8H5qg0mwrGRWRd97/s1600/tcw_captainrex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugUO_K9aZbSvR11N8YJ9PdRHcSOoEVCT_jJ9j1_A_l535iuP0kpfv5Kfn6sdLMJ26eRbfOHmgsvUxtbf78zEiNVoLUylvJOja6OwYoQiRPf3sHH_PdZ94CSNuO4Ri8H5qg0mwrGRWRd97/s320/tcw_captainrex.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not only does it keep the series unpredictable, but it gives the writers scope to develop their own characters rather than be beholden to characters who are already defined. As Expanded Universe writers often find, there are certain parameters for writing Like, Leia and Han – and the fans quickly let them know if they stray too far from those parameters. It also allows Lucasfilm to show that in an era of many new movies, there are many more characters than those we know from the movies to explore. It softens up casual Star Wars fans for the first stand-alone film, which will hopefully feature predominantly new characters too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is all of course conjecture based on a rumour. It may turn out that Rebels will lean on the brand recognition that comes from Luke, Leia and Han to make the series a success. But the more interesting move would be to showcase new, original characters. Either way, fans will know a bit more in just under a fortnight when Dave Filoni takes to the stage at Celebration Europe II to share a first glimpse at Star Wars <i>Rebels</i>. Roll on Messe Essen!</span><br />
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-17798816019621320922013-05-28T12:30:00.000+01:002013-05-28T16:15:57.189+01:00X-Wings, Rebels and the Last Big 30th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnsRHOvxh4SCRlt77zDxIdwgTELN_8gE3opVp34cTBX-ExuYQGhss8_bXbY47q5SiIwDdAvTQXBchwj32NjJlfYeiMKXNpLN650XrgiGj6ofRoQdfgcFQuDg3Dke5cGcxsY_24b4q98wo/s1600/30throtjlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnsRHOvxh4SCRlt77zDxIdwgTELN_8gE3opVp34cTBX-ExuYQGhss8_bXbY47q5SiIwDdAvTQXBchwj32NjJlfYeiMKXNpLN650XrgiGj6ofRoQdfgcFQuDg3Dke5cGcxsY_24b4q98wo/s320/30throtjlogo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The past week has been a big one for Star Wars – it has been the 30th anniversary of <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, a moment of history for the Star Wars Saga. There has been the announcement of a new animated TV series – <i>Rebels</i>, set to debut in 2014. Finally a life-size X-Wing, constructed entirely of LEGO bricks was unveiled in Times Square, New York. Is this the biggest week for Star Wars since last October?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If anyone was in any doubt as to whether the general public are being reminded enough about Star Wars this year, LEGO rounded up selected journalists and took them to an airplane hangar to check out a LEGO model so jaw-dropping that certain LEGO Master Model Builders will still be smiling smugly to themselves for weeks. Then in Times Square, LEGO revealed the model to be a life-size X-Wing Fighter. It was surrounded by costumed Star Wars characters for New Yorkers and tourists to gawk at, and broadcast to the world on webcam.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The extremely impressive construction of the X-Wing couldn't have been more </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">appropriate. The reason that LEGO and Lucasfilm went for this publicity stunt was to publicise The Yoda Chronicles (a cross-promotional venture including TV, online content and LEGO products), however it also fit nicely with the other activity occurring. The X-Wing is one of the classic trilogy's most iconic vehicles, making it an apt choice to go alongside the anniversary of <i>Return of the Jedi</i>. More than that, it seems that it will also be one of the key ships in the new TV series Rebels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Back in March, Lucasfilm announced on StarWars.com the end of <i>The Clone Wars</i>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“As we enter into an exciting new era focused on the next Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a new direction in animated programming. We are exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or television programming.”</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This quote suggested at the time that this new animated series would link in to the time frame of the upcoming sequel trilogy, however it turns out that the series will actually be set in the time period between <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> and <i>A New Hope</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Perhaps Lucasfilm under Disney will not be tying everything in to the new sequel trilogy time frame after all, but more moving away from the prequel era (particularly when coupled with Lawrence Kasdan's comment that “There are certain pleasures that we think the saga can bring to people that they’ve been missing”). That would be a shame, as part of the fun of the Star Wars galaxy is that there can be stories set at any point in the Saga, with a great variety of characters available. <br /><br />It is reassuring to know that Lucasfilm Animation will be producing Rebels, rather than it </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">being handed to a different Disney division. Dave Filoni will be joined by Simon Kinberg and Greig Wesiman, both of whom have impressive resumes of their own. If the series follows the path of the later, character-driven stories in <i>The Clone Wars</i> and ensures that the emotion comes across, it should find a faithful audience. <br /><br />The character choice will be key to ensuring the creative success of Star Wars Rebels – if it's all about seeing animated versions of Luke, Han and Leia constantly popping up, like <i>The Clone Wars</i> it will be a story we know the ending to. If it introduces new characters, new Rebels fighting new villains in the Empire, then it will be a huge </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweGpNt5SOmFePdS2Z5XqGMjqJqs0ApO5cWnsfcdvPieq0tpaVXKKCAZO26OwjpIYLCJGMOhvNXbsDn7TYLmJ-1-a9ItCEKq9wpxxzzV5QcouxyhKGqpUX1odKcMaQwxMLBNsKkNKWPE3Q/s1600/rebellogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweGpNt5SOmFePdS2Z5XqGMjqJqs0ApO5cWnsfcdvPieq0tpaVXKKCAZO26OwjpIYLCJGMOhvNXbsDn7TYLmJ-1-a9ItCEKq9wpxxzzV5QcouxyhKGqpUX1odKcMaQwxMLBNsKkNKWPE3Q/s1600/rebellogo.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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opportunity to expand the scope of Star Wars and show a broader audience just how many different stories there are to be told in the Star Wars universe.<br /><br />The choice of <i>Rebels</i>, and the announcement of it at this particular moment, does suggest that Lucasfilm in its new phase wants to focus on the nostalgia and warmth that the public universally feels for the classic trilogy. Iconic vehicles like the X-Wing and TIE Fighter are instantly recognisable to almost anyone as being from Star Wars, whereas it takes the casual fan a few more minutes to recognise a Jedi Starfighter or Vulture Droid. A little more capitalising of this being an anniversary year would make sense too – after all, in a few years time we will be sitting down to watch the sequel to <i>Return of the Jedi</i>...</span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-62207435282474306472013-05-21T16:00:00.000+01:002013-05-21T16:12:33.833+01:00Star Wars Days 2013 at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdmZrX2dNOQ7s2b97E9cnNPhyw2OmkmteqWShUXJ6h6SjoLQPeoMQ8nsrHbLZ1KOCiNy3VwTHdy9z_RPqUnPzyKyjaA10oB3HaShjIfvnOa_GrLVa3csvT0SGW6c5HXd6mWUE0tb8zB8/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdmZrX2dNOQ7s2b97E9cnNPhyw2OmkmteqWShUXJ6h6SjoLQPeoMQ8nsrHbLZ1KOCiNy3VwTHdy9z_RPqUnPzyKyjaA10oB3HaShjIfvnOa_GrLVa3csvT0SGW6c5HXd6mWUE0tb8zB8/s320/IMG_1587.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The LEGOLAND Windsor Resort celebrated Star Wars day from Saturday 4th May right through to the Bank Holiday Monday. It was three days of Star Wars related fun, including costumed characters from the saga, building activities and of course Lightsaber training for budding Padawans. Read on for a picture-laden report on all of the goings-on and to find out who went to Boating School...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On entering the LEGOLAND Windor Resort at the Beginning, guests were greeted by the sound of music from Star Wars and a huge array of Star Wars characters. As always there were lots of Stormtroopers and a fair few Jedi. Of particular note for fans who have met the UK Garrison and other groups before, were Captain Rex and Commander Bacara. Characters were dotted around the park throughout the day, with plenty of opportunities for guests to meet their favourite Star Wars hero or villain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sandtroopers also patrolled a full sized Landspeeder in the Beginning, and guests could sit inside and feel just like Luke Skywalker in A New Hope. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A parade went through the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort at 3pm, when all of the various troops in attendance marched through the park with guests joining the back of the parade. Seeing that number of troops in succession is always a </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">treat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On the Miniland Lawn several activities were taking place. A Jedi Master held seven sessions of Lightsaber Lessons each day on stage, teaching Padawans – of course wearing Jedi Robes and using training sabers – the ways of the force.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At the same stage there was also the opportunity to meet a huge LEGO Stormtrooper and LEGO Darth Vader, who posed for photos with young (and a few older!) fans. A firm favourite with the youngsters was to hold their giant LEGO hands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Away from the stage tents had been sent up full of LEGO bricks for guests to get stuck in and help build a giant LEGO mosaic. It didn't quite get completed on the Saturday but R2-D2 was the main star, with Yoda - and partially Boba Fett - also created. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The best dressed younglings were recognised with a fancy dress contest at the end of each day on the Miniland stage, with various categories depending on age.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Miniland itself couldn't escape the power of the force, as guests could track down how many times Jedi Master Yoda had managed to sneak himself into a scene. It turned out to be five in total, he certainly got some sight-seeing done. Those who found Yoda could enter a prize draw to win LEGO Star Wars products.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In the Star Wars Miniland Experience, a new gallery has been added featuring famous LEGO Star Wars mini-figures. The full line-up includes Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Yoda, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Maul, R2-D2, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Wicket the Ewok and Captain Rex. These are nicely lit, although unfortunately the corridor leaving the attraction is a bit tight and it can be hard to spend much time admiring them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In the Star Wars Shop visitors had the opportunity to be part of a giant Yoda build, constructing a six-foot tall model of the green one. Throughout the day more and more bricks were added until the Jedi Master was complete. Another building opportunity took place in the Discovery Zone where younglings could build a model from the Planets range.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Rounding things off, the Imagination Theatre showed The Padawan Menace and The Empire Strikes Out on the big screen with some added lighting effects. Most fans have probably seen these already, but it's fun to see them with an audience and on the big screen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There was also spontaneous fun throughout the day, such as the troops of the Empire taking a ride on the train through LEGOLAND. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72cS0VPCA5mJBx_2xqT50DSXnzsX-Tw3jqAD4_uq7Rr0kXManqPClCRv7w-1PgkuO_XSEcPeXXlso0CDHDXsBSm45qSgpzYhV3Mt3_KvAqM9owaBA2evHiu1UIQBye3QH5jyVZv6UVIE/s1600/IMG_1500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72cS0VPCA5mJBx_2xqT50DSXnzsX-Tw3jqAD4_uq7Rr0kXManqPClCRv7w-1PgkuO_XSEcPeXXlso0CDHDXsBSm45qSgpzYhV3Mt3_KvAqM9owaBA2evHiu1UIQBye3QH5jyVZv6UVIE/s320/IMG_1500.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A decision to visit the Boating School first thing was a good one, assuming you enjoy seeing two Mandalorian Warriors in a queue. They bantered with the crowd and entertained the little ones, until it was time to board the ride – when they hopped into a boat...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">...much to the dismay of their fellow Mandalorian on shore...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">...but they still enjoyed a leisurely trip around the Boating School Lake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Another busy, successful Star Wars weekend at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort. The number of costumed characters ensured that it was an immersive experience, the spot-the-Yoda competition was fun and the LEGO Star Wars character meet-and-greets added something completely new. If the Star Wars event next year continues this standard it will definitely be worth a visit.</span><br />
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<a href="http://allaboutbricks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/star-wars-invasion-at-legoland-windsor.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Click here to visit last year's coverage</span></a></div>
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-42670840153991811182013-05-10T09:44:00.000+01:002013-05-11T17:22:33.829+01:00Reaction: LEGO Star Wars Jedi Defender-class Cruiser (75025)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After a few relaxing days in Windsor last weekend to celebrate May 4th, it’s time to get back to foaming with frustration like a proper fanboy. Images have emerged from <a href="http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=77256&st=2125#entry1588701" target="_blank">GRogall at Eurobricks</a> of the upcoming Jedi Defender-class Cruiser (75025). As a last minute image not numbered consecutively with the other sets, it is almost certainly a retailer exclusive (Toys R Us seems likely).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The set itself looks like a good representation of the vehicle from <i>The Old Republic</i>, if perhaps a bit less sleek than </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the images from the MMORPG suggest. It certainly looks like a big Star Wars vehicle although sleeker than a ship like the Falcon. As a Jedi craft it looks like a logical precursor to the Republic Cruiser (7665), although as someone with no technical knowledge that’s easy to say. The design of the Defender is unlike many other vehicles from the Star Wars saga, which make it a nice change from the oft-repeated movie vehicles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The mini-figure roster also looks good, not because they are recognisable to anyone other than <i>The Old Republic</i> gamers, but because the designs look cool and distinctively Star Warsy. The Sith Warrior, Jedi Knight and Jedi Consular (a kind of white Luminara Unduli) are all new to this set, which brings the first fanboy complaint. LEGO actually bill these on the box as “NEW & HARD-TO-FIND”, which seems very naughty. Obviously this is logical for LEGO, as if they can sell a big box of bricks for £100 on the back of three mini-figures, then that works for them. But it seems something of a kick in the teeth for consumers, as LEGO are proudly proclaiming that they have included three mini-figures only in one extremely big and expensive set (it’s nearly as bad as advertising a mini-fig buyers have virtually no chance of finding…).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />It also seems a completely bizarre choice for such a large and expensive set. It was strange enough that LEGO put three sets based on <i>The Old Republic</i> – again, a game that most LEGO Star Wars buyers will not have played – in the main line (anecdotal evidence from conversations with LEGO stockists indicate that apart from the Battle Packs these aren’t selling well), let alone for LEGO to release an even more expensive set as an exclusive. No matter how well designed the ship is, it is only likely to be purchased by the fan (adult or smaller) who already has everything else just because it has the Star War logo on it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />On a brief positive note, it means that long-time collectors have something different to buy rather than another rehash of a previously released set. But if <i>The Old Republic</i> is the only source of material left, then things are getting a bit desperate. Thank goodness for the new Disney films coming up to provide new inspiration, although inside LEGO there are frustrations that during the transitional period they aren’t getting a great deal of information from Lucas Licensing. Until Episode VII hits cinemas, however, there are plenty of comics, books, TV and video games other than <i>The Old Republic </i>that LEGO designers can base products on. Most collectors and children wouldn’t have a clue where it came from anyway, and are no more or less likely to buy it than they are something from <i>The Old Republic</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />Ultimately though, fans are mainly to blame for potentially brilliant, albeit expensive, sets to be released based on source material they have no awareness of. LEGO didn’t expect us to be buying this stuff fourteen years later when they started releasing Star Wars sets in 1999, let alone for some of us to be crazy enough to have bought every single one during that period. When collectors buy every set and then demand that LEGO do something new… you end up with the Jedi Defender-class Cruiser. </span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-4909500109081202392013-05-04T09:00:00.000+01:002013-05-12T15:15:13.308+01:00May the 4th be With You<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s hard to believe that a few years back, May 4th was a day that some folk mentioned but on the whole wasn’t a thing. “May 4th be with you” was a pun, but the day didn’t mark anything special. The fans have taken ownership, and this year it feels like it will be bigger than ever. Even Lucasfilm seem to be embracing the concept now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The whole “May the 4th be with you” pun never seemed that great to me, although I will always remember that my final school History exam was to be on that date, and my teacher used the line a few weeks before. Hats off to him, it was very apt. I also recall seeing Eamonn Holmes discussing <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> on breakfast TV, and trying to make a joke by telling his co-anchor that the new film would be out on May 4th because May 4th be with you.... yeah, it really didn’t work since the film was due out on May 19th. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But it’s not just a daft line anymore. Over the past few years it has become important to fan groups, websites and retailers. It started when Star Wars sites such as Jedi News started referring to May 4th as “Star Wars day”, gradually promoting it to “International Star Wars Day” and now it almost seems to be an official thing! The official Star Wars website makes mention of it these days. Retailers who specialise in Star Wars were the quickest to pick up on it, realising that there was money to be made – LEGO, for example, do annual promotions on their website and give away exclusive products with orders.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKEgxMTNS9X1kNRHLVaVZGVnB5kFzKuvSZEhjA76jLOydEiHlf1U0rmKpSaUgSp3LT39qvx-oZRQlNSlVbxSd34kgc_In5FMVu8eT8WoLwb_yJ9Xte6zOVeo6Qd-vNyMS7ihwcgbpWPiv/s1600/star-wars-land-640-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKEgxMTNS9X1kNRHLVaVZGVnB5kFzKuvSZEhjA76jLOydEiHlf1U0rmKpSaUgSp3LT39qvx-oZRQlNSlVbxSd34kgc_In5FMVu8eT8WoLwb_yJ9Xte6zOVeo6Qd-vNyMS7ihwcgbpWPiv/s320/star-wars-land-640-jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Events often take place on May 4th, it now seems a popular day for fan organised events as well as official ones. The 501st must do half of their annual trooping on May 4th! In the UK May 4th falls near a key bank holiday, which makes it all the more tempting for places such as LEGOLAND Windsor to use it for a Star Wars themed weekend. The Disney Theme parks are even set to have random Star Wars happenings this year to celebrate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Particularly in non-movie years, it is nice to have a landmark day when Star Wars fans can share their passion with more casual fans and one another. For many of us, every day is a “May 4th”, with Star Wars never too far from our minds. But to be able to claim an actual day, and say that it is for us and our hobby, that’s a bit awesome. And with all of the marketing and hype that surrounds Star Wars, it’s nice to know that this grew from the fan community.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have a great May 4th everyone!</span><br />
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-3257696023448317622013-04-25T11:00:00.000+01:002013-04-25T18:04:25.349+01:00Schedule for Star Wars Days at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From Saturday May 4th - Sunday May 6th, LEGOLAND Windsor will be hosting Star Wars days. The event will feature special activities, competitions and screenings. Thanks to the good folk at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort the schedule for the events is now available, revealing what will be going on where.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">For general information on the event, check out <a href="http://allaboutbricks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/star-wars-days-return-to-legoland.html" target="_blank">this article</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Star Wars Days at the LEGOLAND Windsor 2013</span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td colspan="4" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><h5 style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Event Information<o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Activity</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Time</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Location</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Description</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lightsabre Lessons<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">10.30, 11.30, 12.30, 14.00, 15.30, 16.30, <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">17.30<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></td><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Miniland Lawn Stage<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Join our Master Jedi in learning the ways of the force and the skills of the lightsaber.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Star Wars Character March<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">15.00<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">March begins in LEGO City and finishes in Pirates Landing<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Watch as the 501st UK Garrison take you to a galaxy far, far away as popular Star Wars characters take over LEGOLAND Windsor in our daily march<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;"><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Children's Star Wars Costume Competition<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">17.00<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Miniland Lawn Stage<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td bordercolordark="#000000" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dress to impress as your favourite Star Wars character, with LEGO prizes available for the best costume. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Age categories - under 5's, 6-8 yrs, 9-12 yrs<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Register for the competition all day until 16.45 at the Miniland Lawn Stage</span></em><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;"><td colspan="4" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><h5 style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">LEGO Star Wars Build Events <o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Activity</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Time</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Location</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Description</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Master Yoda LEGO Model Build<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">11.00 - 17.00<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LEGO Star Wars Store<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Calling all Model Makers! Help us construct a lifesize LEGO model of Yoda<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LEGO Star Wars Mosaic<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">12.00 - 17.30<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Miniland Lawn<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Play your part and help build a giant LEGO Star Wars Mosaic. Can you guess which character we are trying to build?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LEGO Star Wars Buildable Galaxy Range<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">10.30-17.30<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Discovery Zone<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Free build activity where you can assemble your own Star Wars scenes. For ages 6-12.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<h5 style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">LEGO Star Wars 2D Movies in the Imagination Theatre<o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Movie</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Time</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LEGO Star Wars Padawan Menace 2D<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">10.30, 12.00, 13.30<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LEGO Star Wars Empire Strikes Out 2D<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">14.45, 16.15, 17.30<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LEGO Legends of Chima 4D<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">11.15, 12.45, 14.15, 15,30, 16.45, 18.00<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">No other movies will be shown during the Star Wars Event Days.</span></em><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<h5 style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Photo Opportunities<o:p></o:p></span></span></h5>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Photo Opportunities</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">TIme</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Location</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Costume Character Meet and Greets<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">11.00, 12.00 - LEGO Stormtrooper<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">14.00, 16.00 - LEGO Darth Vader<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt inset; border-left: black 1pt inset; border-right: black 1pt inset; border-top: black 1pt inset; mso-border-alt: inset black .75pt; padding-bottom: 0.75pt; padding-left: 0.75pt; padding-right: 0.75pt; padding-top: 0.75pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Miniland Lawn Stage<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-15902356713798389142013-04-19T10:00:00.000+01:002013-05-12T14:52:57.311+01:00Strong Women in Cinema: Princess Leia<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvj26Gp8SezyDlBumgehK1aGqx9BNK-EUQXjIqEox6DZq44RnCYHNXeaC8SXZg4B2Bn5gOftpRzsd0jBR7y-m737zFAJyzQuscV1HC6fNE1Pn8uoye2iemd-MtdezML4AII95n_vMiWedC/s1600/princessleia0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvj26Gp8SezyDlBumgehK1aGqx9BNK-EUQXjIqEox6DZq44RnCYHNXeaC8SXZg4B2Bn5gOftpRzsd0jBR7y-m737zFAJyzQuscV1HC6fNE1Pn8uoye2iemd-MtdezML4AII95n_vMiWedC/s1600/princessleia0001.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The classic Star Wars trilogy is celebrated for its forward thinking and modernisms. The films were cutting edge in special effects, story progression and many of the stereotypes we take for granted today were started with these films. One of the most forward thinking elements of the series is very close to my heart. Star Wars created one of the strongest female characters in a time when women were only just being recognized for their aviation contributions to World War Two. Step forward Princess Leia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>This is the first article on Into the Garbage Chute to be written by a guest contributor. April Haesler is a Psychology graduate and freelance writer. She writes on politics, social issues and feminism. </i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uGJW4_poiXzU-_BAZRp3vBgtNpplLtWoO32Jg1q_46Y9SZhMsQAy89XbgL1oVxLyySxRu58jCYrJvuNI22z2S-mvZaJFBq2rrJAssNODDNWpNUAcsUERgdOicaC68psShyphenhyphenj6AEaKJHoT/s1600/GeorgeLucas0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uGJW4_poiXzU-_BAZRp3vBgtNpplLtWoO32Jg1q_46Y9SZhMsQAy89XbgL1oVxLyySxRu58jCYrJvuNI22z2S-mvZaJFBq2rrJAssNODDNWpNUAcsUERgdOicaC68psShyphenhyphenj6AEaKJHoT/s400/GeorgeLucas0006.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Saturday Night Fever</i> and <i>Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo</i> were both released in 1977 alongside <i>A New Hope</i>, however the female characters have nowhere near as much power in comparison to Princess Leia. Leia is beautiful but that is not the entirety of her character, unlike many other women characters prevalent in cinema then (and unfortunately today). Leia has a personality in her own right. She is intelligent, she is gutsy, she can make her point and she falls in love. What makes her so successful and inspiring as a female role model is that none of these attributes are represented in a stereotypical way. She is not overly intelligent, she is not a woman with attitude and “she knows it”, she is not a nag and whiner nor is she a hopeless romantic but instead a realistic portrayal of women: conflicted, three dimensional with more than one personality trait.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTM5yYge_viN_AwgZH2mGfUnWIcL5gL3LU5LEpD6ZCeULexIXXM9T3_KxmcPZ5Qfnf2LGkEd1iFIk_A4h0XIbO8EXuB0CWvMXUfN565i4mCbq-GFLQ9L_xtdPEX1ZR3x81ck3LW2fPYVn/s1600/SpeederBikeChase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTM5yYge_viN_AwgZH2mGfUnWIcL5gL3LU5LEpD6ZCeULexIXXM9T3_KxmcPZ5Qfnf2LGkEd1iFIk_A4h0XIbO8EXuB0CWvMXUfN565i4mCbq-GFLQ9L_xtdPEX1ZR3x81ck3LW2fPYVn/s400/SpeederBikeChase.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In <i>Return of the Jedi</i> we see Leia in true control when Luke and her jump on the Speeder Bike to chase the Scout Troopers. It is incredibly rare to see a woman driving with a man behind her holding on but Leia takes control of the vehicle and speeds along with Luke shooting from behind. This is very powerful imagery. Not only does she drive the vehicle but then becomes involved in a chase of her own with a Scout Trooper, successfully destroying him just as well as any man could. No Daphne-style (Scooby Doo) accidental successes here! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJNcIjAVsvxwHM2ZYFyE2vHLW4AftV2SNnTC5sYSvr7dIqZERr8iHwkrnIEX64b8hqz-gRImC1BHNxHb_WjsbpOaUPujLy0tDrrwX-a8tywylfqUpsW0MXKLEWAGJSbIejHky-p8Wuk83/s1600/princessleia0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJNcIjAVsvxwHM2ZYFyE2vHLW4AftV2SNnTC5sYSvr7dIqZERr8iHwkrnIEX64b8hqz-gRImC1BHNxHb_WjsbpOaUPujLy0tDrrwX-a8tywylfqUpsW0MXKLEWAGJSbIejHky-p8Wuk83/s320/princessleia0002.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a woman I am used to seeing men dominate powerful roles in cinema. If the film isn’t about love or someone being single and a bit “goofy” then we can assume it is going to be a male lead. These overly macho roles are usually supported by flimsy female characters - James Bond’s traditional bond girls, <i>Superman</i>’s Louis Laine, who despite having some “attitude” always fall into the trap of being dependent on the leading man to save them. Leia ignores this stereotype and takes control of her own life and destiny, in the garbage chute she is not clinging to Luke and Han to save her but instead actively trying to solve the problem and stop the walls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a time when female liberation was a relatively new idea Leia marched forward throwing aside the female stereotypes that still plague modern cinema and became a female icon for women everywhere, showing a true representation of a woman for young girls to aspire to.</span><br />
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April Haeslerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421402397172140644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-17755808928266154452013-04-11T10:00:00.000+01:002013-05-11T17:51:18.641+01:00Are Dark Horse the Next Victim of Disney?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XTpTEOjTTUP6QMGa4I_9BtQpPxCdMXT60WA5pIZhC4ybU-iuHrrx6RoIvxGoP9yQk3_jD4puZfbtV1wVlhyphenhyphennT4bJaIXc_7KujCIoLh6CwcbpwXgPdGXLvoHrTGDBuAdJrLspH-8x6_0P/s1600/darkhorselogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XTpTEOjTTUP6QMGa4I_9BtQpPxCdMXT60WA5pIZhC4ybU-iuHrrx6RoIvxGoP9yQk3_jD4puZfbtV1wVlhyphenhyphennT4bJaIXc_7KujCIoLh6CwcbpwXgPdGXLvoHrTGDBuAdJrLspH-8x6_0P/s1600/darkhorselogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XTpTEOjTTUP6QMGa4I_9BtQpPxCdMXT60WA5pIZhC4ybU-iuHrrx6RoIvxGoP9yQk3_jD4puZfbtV1wVlhyphenhyphennT4bJaIXc_7KujCIoLh6CwcbpwXgPdGXLvoHrTGDBuAdJrLspH-8x6_0P/s200/darkhorselogo.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Randy Stradley, editor or the Star Wars output at Dark Horse comics, and Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the future of Star Wars comics. They were mainly there to promote the intriguing new series The Star Wars, a mini-arc based on one of Lucas’ initial drafts of A New Hope, but they also suggested that Star Wars may not be with Dark Horse for much longer…</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1LYpR6ddg8s0R1VaZ2amQ9zWVhqH61mKsQ8Qgx3xJE3bCw7PnFueufyFzSaLa-TF3yW440sMiKDcM3nTKD1jtc7enyIex8rHcEbeL0bH6VxCllEYuOrkBQgxx2d7ILi38QexAb6GXBtG/s1600/The-Star-Wars-General-Skywalker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1LYpR6ddg8s0R1VaZ2amQ9zWVhqH61mKsQ8Qgx3xJE3bCw7PnFueufyFzSaLa-TF3yW440sMiKDcM3nTKD1jtc7enyIex8rHcEbeL0bH6VxCllEYuOrkBQgxx2d7ILi38QexAb6GXBtG/s320/The-Star-Wars-General-Skywalker.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Initially when Disney purchased Lucasfilm, there was a lot of speculation all over the Internet that Star Wars comics would now be published by Marvel, as Disney own the publisher. Those who supported the Disney takeover stated separately that as Disney had been so ‘hands-off’ since buying Marvel and Pixar that Lucasfilm would be left to do its thing. At the time, many put two and two together and assumed if Disney was leaving Lucasfilm to run almost as a subsidiary, licensing would be left to the experts at Lucasfilm who have licensed Star Wars so successfully in the past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But this these are the answers that Stradley and Richardson gave <a href="http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/04/08/star-wars-comic-dark-horse/" target="_blank">Entertainment Weekly</a> – </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The licensing landscape is shifting after Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm and must be a source of intrigue to you. Disney owns Marvel so it is natural to suspect the comics will be returning to their portfolio after your contract runs out in the next few years…</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Stradley:</b> Well, we’re, waiting for the other shoe to drop. What we’ve been told is we’ll hear something about the future of the license sometime this year.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b></b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Richardson:</b> We have it for the foreseeable future, though, so we’re just going about business as usual. It is what it is. Look, from day-one we always knew it was a possibility that someday we might not have the license. We’re prepared for it. We have other franchises to move into that space, but we got involved with publishing in part because we loved Star Wars and so sure it’ll be disappointing on a business level, but probably more disappointing on a personal level.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is not paranoid to read too much into this. If these guys were confident that the license would stay with Dark Horse, or that the proposal process for whoever gets the license would be fair, then they would not be using phrases like “waiting for the other shoe to drop” and “It is what it is.” This means that they are expecting to lose the license, and are readying the fans for the news. It turns out that those who have said this from day one were correct, and deserve credit for pointing out one of the casualties of the Disney takeover.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It may not even make financial sense for Disney to have their in-house comic publisher produce Star Wars comics. Marvel has to turn a greater profit on the comics than Dark Horse currently pays for the license. And even if they can do that initially, Marvel will have to maintain a loyal readership base. That will be difficult to achieve if Disney try anything radical, such as resetting the Expanded Universe (which must be a real possibility now with the new films almost certain to trample on the existing post <i>Return of the Jedi </i>continuity). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dark Horse have published excellent Star Wars comics for twenty years. They have done a </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">great job of bringing excellent talent to Star Wars, introducing engaging characters, dramatic settings and rewarding stories. There have been mis-steps along the way, but there have also been experimental stories and formats that have succeeded in reaching out a broader audience. It will be a great shame for Dark Horse to have to say goodbye to Star Wars. Marvel may do a perfectly adequate job, but surely you don’t fix the shifter if it isn’t broken?</span><br />
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-26641238462762490232013-04-10T17:30:00.001+01:002013-04-25T12:51:00.085+01:00Star Wars Days Return to the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The team at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort have been in touch to let us know that Darth Vader and his Imperial Stormtroopers will be there to celebrate May 4th, the adopted Star Wars day. There will be events and activities for three days of fun from Saturday May 4th to Monday May 6th, including building activities, a Jedi Training Camp and the new LEGO Star Wars Gallery in the Star Wars Miniland Experience. Read on for all of the details!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">COMING SOON TO A LEGOLAND® NEAR YOU<br />LEGO® Star Wars™ Days<br />SATURDAY 4 May – MONDAY 6 May 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Special themed weekend to celebrate the NEW LEGO® Star Wars™ Gallery in the Miniland Model Display</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Help build a gigantic LEGO Star Wars™ mosaic of R2-D2 using more than 80,500 bricks and a life size model of Yoda<br />• Resort invasion of over 100 Star Wars™ costume characters from the 501st UK Garrison<br />• Join a Jedi Training Camp to become a Jedi Knight and pose alongside a life-size Star Wars™ vehicle<br />• Win LEGOLAND prizes in the Star Wars™ costume competition<br />• PLUS see ‘The Empire Strikes Out’ and ‘LEGO® Star Wars: The Padawan Menace’ films</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Force grows stronger this May, as the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort celebrates the opening of the NEW LEGO® Star Wars™ Gallery in the LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display. From 4 - 6 May 2013 the resort will be invaded by 100 costume characters from the 501st UK Garrison and guests can enjoy a host of themed activities during three themed Star Wars™ Days including a gigantic LEGO Star Wars™ mosaic build.</span></div>
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LEGO building skills will be put to the test as guests join the Resort’s professional Model Making Team in a mammoth building project using more than 80,500 bricks to create a 4m high LEGO Star Wars™ mosaic of R2-D2 – voted by fans as their favourite character in the NEW Star Wars™ Gallery. They will also be able to join them building a life-size LEGO model of Yoda and would-be Jedi juniors can hone their Lightsaber skills at the Jedi <br />
Training Camp. Plus Star Wars™ Costume Characters will march through the Resort daily and guests can check out a life-size replica of Luke Skywalker’s famous Star Wars™ Landspeeder. Daily fancy dress costume competitions with LEGOLAND goodies will be up for grabs and The Imagination Theatre will be showing an exclusive big screen film premiere of the ‘LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out’ alongside ‘LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace’. Plus spot the LEGO Star Wars™ Minifigures hiding out amongst the famous landmarks in Miniland.</div>
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New for 2013 - the LEGO Star Wars™ Gallery joins the LEGO Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display and features twelve 3-foot high LEGO models of the most famous Star Wars™ heroes and villains including Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and even Yoda – plus, of course, the fans’ favourite - R2-D2.</div>
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Using over 1.5 million LEGO bricks, the LEGO Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display recreates 7 of the most iconic scenes from the legendary movies and the animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™. <br />
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<a href="http://www.legoland.co.uk/" target="_blank">Click here to book tickets to LEGOLAND Windsor</a>.</div>
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<em>Be sure to check out previous All About Bricks coverage of <a href="http://allaboutbricks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/star-wars-invasion-at-legoland-windsor.html" target="_blank">last year's Star Wars days here</a>.</em></div>
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-14791800244307105712013-04-04T11:00:00.000+01:002013-05-12T15:16:48.685+01:00Game over for LucasArts<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Here we go again,” to borrow a quote from C-3PO. A few weeks ago it was Lucas Animation. Now it is the turn of LucasArts to be wound down by Disney. The staff have been laid off so that the video game arm of Lucasfilm will do nothing more than license the games out to other companies. This is unfortunate news for fans who have picked up Star Wars video games over the past thirty years. LucasArts has been in a mess over the past few years, but 1313 looked ready to re-ignite the division… </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is nothing wrong with LucasArts not making all of the games from scratch themselves – some of the best titles have been developed from outside, such as the <i>LEGO Star Wars</i> series or <i>Battlefront</i>. But in 2004 a plan was announced, that was undertaken between 2004 and 2007, to restructure the company in such a way that almost all development would be done in-house. Ironically, today that model has been deemed untenable. It is a shame that things were not left as they were, with LucasArts working with external studios – by trying to bring the production back in-house, they have ended up as a glorified arm of Lucas Licensing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What seems crazy with LucasArts is how bad they were at capitalising on success. <i>Knights of the Old Republic</i> was critically and commercially successful, yet LucasArts forced the sequel to be rushed out unfinished. This led to a backlash from gamers, and meant that what could have been a promising franchise was killed off. <i>The Force Unleashed</i> had a disappointingly short sequel released which still sold respectably, but a third game was cancelled. The loss of <i>The Force Unleashed III</i> also meant the loss of Haden Blackman, a creative mind who also has experience writing Star Wars comics. To lose such a strong, Star Wars orientated creative mind was unwise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Battlefront</i> and <i>Battlefront II </i>also did extremely well for LucasArts, but at the time of its development the focus was so much on cost-cutting that <i>Battlefront III </i>was cancelled. That was an extremely short-sighted decision as it would undoubtedly have been a successful release based on the love from gamers, Star Wars geeks and casual fans alike for the previous two. LucasArts may have needed to make savings, but without new games to bring in revenue the company is pointless!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The point is that <i>Knights of the Old Republic, Battlefront </i>or even <i>The Force Unleashed </i>could have been mini-franchises in the same way that <i>Dark Forces </i>spawned further <i>Jedi Knight</i> games. But the mismanagement and lack of enthusiasm at LucasArts meant that these great opportunities were not capitalised on. For more information on just how little direction or vision LucasArts has had in recent years, check out one of these articles from actual game industry sites.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The scary thing now is that <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/lucasarts-cease-making-games-will-lay-most-staff-83891" target="_blank">the Wrap</a> mentions that “Disney has catered its gaming strategy around mobile offerings.” This is reminiscent of when all of that Angry Birds hyperbole was flying around last year, and Paul Southern from Lucasfilm gave this scary comment, “As casual games grow as a category and mobile devices grow as an interface, it’s going to become more important for us in the future.” LucasArts was an innovative, exciting company who took making games seriously in the same way that Lucasfilm are serious about making movies. Games such as R<i>ebel Assault, Monkey Island, Dark Forces, Jedi Knight</i> and <i>Knights of the Old Republic </i>looked cinematic. They were big, exciting releases with awesome cover art and a talented team behind them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There might be more money to be made in Disney and Lucasfilm pursuing quick-fix, app style games such as Angry Birds instead of ‘real’ video games. But over the past thirty years there might have been more money in George Lucas selling electronics. Or frozen food. Or scratchcards. George Lucas went into business to make the things that he wanted to make and could be proud of. Of course he made money, but it wasn’t purely about the money. App style games for smartphones are not the same as big budget, well crafted games for consoles. They are not a substitution. But Disney seem to be carving up Lucasfilm until all that is left is the core film studio, whilst they take over everything else and churn out whatever is the most profitable product they can – regardless of the quality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First Lucas Animation gone, now LucasArts gone. What next?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Best of luck in the future to any LucasArts staff laid off due to this decision.</i></span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-56032916191904620552013-03-28T16:30:00.000+00:002013-04-25T18:17:43.934+01:00How does the Black Series Wave 1 look?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE8eUuISWbcr4Vublf1o5A3EsLabTsc4srxM0ZSoT0KTV5q_KarFdMRkle_K9x_esMAgjKxiItN3JKgrqhPhzJAMEPFRXZ6ClCVzH9Fa9Psm3HJGtmljqnOuT4LEVsHR7ELfMlZIDpmnL/s1600/blackseries_clonelieutenant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE8eUuISWbcr4Vublf1o5A3EsLabTsc4srxM0ZSoT0KTV5q_KarFdMRkle_K9x_esMAgjKxiItN3JKgrqhPhzJAMEPFRXZ6ClCVzH9Fa9Psm3HJGtmljqnOuT4LEVsHR7ELfMlZIDpmnL/s200/blackseries_clonelieutenant.jpg" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Rebelscum.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks to <a href="http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/The_411_Hasbros_2013_Case_Breakdowns_150886.asp" target="_blank">Rebelscum</a> we now know which figures will be in the initial waves of the Black Series and Saga Legends action figure lines. More than that, how many of each figure will be in each case – and those read this article know how much that can matter. Read on to find out how the line-up looks, whether it is full of good choices or Batha poodoo.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first wave of the Black Series will contain:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1x 01 Padme Amidala (Geonosis Arena, Episode II)<br />1x 02 Clone Trooper Sergeant (Episode II)<br />2x 03 Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Hero, Episode II)<br />2x 04 Biggs Darklighter (Rebel Pilot, Episode IV)<br />1x 05 Luke Skywalker (Yavin Ceremony, Episode IV)<br />2x 06 Darth Vader (Bespin Trap, Episode V)<br />2x 07 Biker Scout (Speeder Bike Pilot, Episode VI)<br />1x 08 Clone Pilot (Episode III)</span> </blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6agFodo35YezSWj1W5t-yp11-KqfW4MZrqj-NnHJ4nnBm13DSosWijFR0nKqYSDxrl7dzdV8Y-EcrOvn_59GxQ79Va5QlARCorY2Bi_Tcr0BQjECUr2wKmpxVb9leQ0Cppnu5sGAGxf9q/s1600/blackseries_darthvader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6agFodo35YezSWj1W5t-yp11-KqfW4MZrqj-NnHJ4nnBm13DSosWijFR0nKqYSDxrl7dzdV8Y-EcrOvn_59GxQ79Va5QlARCorY2Bi_Tcr0BQjECUr2wKmpxVb9leQ0Cppnu5sGAGxf9q/s320/blackseries_darthvader.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Rebelscum.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This seems like a perfectly adequate line-up, and the case mix seems about right. Once upon a time army-building Clone Trooper figures had to be packed with multiples in a case to meet demand, but now there has been a bit of Clone saturation over the years. The danger that this wave faces, however, is that it will suffer from first wave syndrome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first wave of a new Star Wars line always sits on shelves much longer than any subsequent wave. This is because stores always over-order the first wave, for fear of running out of stock, and the stale stock stops the subsequent waves from getting through (this killed off the 2002 Deluxe line, which had an awful first wave – sadly that awful first wave meant the subline was doomed before the really awesome sets were released).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU67RsVpy3_mmIEV8M1_6pLPFO6QkTqMHquSPC-KJLzJRsK94jOAIBis3FKAx9tTQRxxBKoPlZykD7GCNH7vrn93Dl8NutSfA7OrRPyZxMEcAwIaKZlrEA4Xq7bHWm6LlmshIh4WPRV-iA/s1600/blackseries_padme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU67RsVpy3_mmIEV8M1_6pLPFO6QkTqMHquSPC-KJLzJRsK94jOAIBis3FKAx9tTQRxxBKoPlZykD7GCNH7vrn93Dl8NutSfA7OrRPyZxMEcAwIaKZlrEA4Xq7bHWm6LlmshIh4WPRV-iA/s320/blackseries_padme.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Rebelscum.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In this context, the case mix is a bit riskier. Biggs Darklighter is the only figure likely to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">excite collectors at all, the big characters in the wave and Clones have all been done before. There will be an Anakin figure and Clones available in the Saga Legends line, so kids won’t be interested in those. The problem is, this wave would be fine as a second one – but as a first wave it really need to pack a punch so that the figures keep selling through. A couple of stand-out characters are needed who have never been done before, or some excellent updates of existing characters. This wave should have cool stuff in it like the Mara Jade figure, or the realistic Rex and Ahsoka.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The new 6” line is going to keep it simple – four figures in Wave 1, one of each in a case. That makes sense as the first four figures sound </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DPclmQWpqnpRtn4Mqq6eE-oPkYlncdoHe0Xcxj422npEPSjNjsxm-84Uf1c6NDc42WfOPd-njb_ckFpChdMDmuYWqspA4ki74L-kM3sVq2QEafAvQbfsBZkYSGoHO8IhimOl175GE414/s1600/blackseries_6inch_sandtrooper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DPclmQWpqnpRtn4Mqq6eE-oPkYlncdoHe0Xcxj422npEPSjNjsxm-84Uf1c6NDc42WfOPd-njb_ckFpChdMDmuYWqspA4ki74L-kM3sVq2QEafAvQbfsBZkYSGoHO8IhimOl175GE414/s320/blackseries_6inch_sandtrooper.jpg" width="304" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">like a pretty good line-up, except looking at history - back in 2008 the Luke Skywalker & R2-D2 Droid Factory twin pack was the hardest to find by far. And with about twenty something different Sandtrooper figures, will it really be as popular as the others?</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1x 01 Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot, Episode IV)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1x 02 Darth Maul (Episode I)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1x 03 R2-D2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1x 04 Sandtrooper</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first wave of Saga Legends will contain:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 1x 01 Mace Windu (Episode III)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 1x 02 Clone Trooper (Episode II)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 2x 03 Anakin Skywalker (Episode III)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 2x 04 Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode III)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 1x 05 Super Battle Droid (Episode II)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 2x 06 R4-P17 (Episode III)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 1x 07 Yoda (Episode III)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 2x 08 Clone Shock Trooper (Episode III)</span></blockquote>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hasbro have really outdone themselves here, as for the first time in years appropriate <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHNgF0HDkSVfzyGMwvouIyPJMcWR9PD1TaUkLjYoJVEAnlFlPc6TxuO2lK2uz8TEvxMmA2RQVqe_HV-NQCmhOO5QjSnkmK1_muvhYTcTdO-gKoRSxBDK5n5LHSzHgzfJYom3enx92Oogr/s1600/sagalegends_obiwan10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHNgF0HDkSVfzyGMwvouIyPJMcWR9PD1TaUkLjYoJVEAnlFlPc6TxuO2lK2uz8TEvxMmA2RQVqe_HV-NQCmhOO5QjSnkmK1_muvhYTcTdO-gKoRSxBDK5n5LHSzHgzfJYom3enx92Oogr/s320/sagalegends_obiwan10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
figures will be available to go with the respective vehicles. That’s why two R4-P17s in the case is a good idea. What is not such a good idea is having Super Battle Droids and Shock Troopers – these have been released over and over in the current incarnation of Saga Legends. Unfortunately the 3D films got canned, so this line-up seems pointless. What would be better is a good mix of heroes and villains – a Luke, a Vader, a Chewbacca, a Darth Maul to go alongside the Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />So whilst neither of these waves are full of completely bad choices, neither are the sort of stellar wave that a new line needs to kick off with. The 2008 The Clone Wars line had an excellent first wave, as did the 30th Anniversary Collection. An awesome first wave is needed for future 4” success.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-59319276405333466632013-03-21T19:00:00.000+00:002013-04-20T14:13:59.392+01:00Lucasfilm Animation to go?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBnB29lukmaIdoxPrAFvW8AcYtCW0TZ8oms7VPAsxoE7HgGjphVoc-wMF3RxeC5qhzdfemZR2pFsat6uhNsOpl97dYZEqwsQRFY70cKeKR5dA9a8mwtzaD-6SL9iyww3nMJjXeyXy-VZ1/s1600/lucasfilmanimationlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBnB29lukmaIdoxPrAFvW8AcYtCW0TZ8oms7VPAsxoE7HgGjphVoc-wMF3RxeC5qhzdfemZR2pFsat6uhNsOpl97dYZEqwsQRFY70cKeKR5dA9a8mwtzaD-6SL9iyww3nMJjXeyXy-VZ1/s1600/lucasfilmanimationlogo.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So shit got real. No sooner had an article gone up regarding the end of <i>The Clone Wars </i>TV series than an official announcement was made. But things are getting decidedly worse, with reports coming out that the Lucasfilm Animation department is to be disbanded. These are likely to be reliable, as they are coming from the same sources that warned of the cancellation a few weeks ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After these new developments, around the Internet fans are now starting to question whether Disney taking over Lucasfilm was a good thing. This is why I initially advised caution in my reaction to the Disney takeover. Lots of fans shouted out about how great it would definitely be, but the truth was no-one knew exactly what would happen. But it seemed best to me to wait, and bear in mind the causes for concern rather than assume everything would be great. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutTLWBYOR3rKGeMK4ngv6ahyphenhyphentJ7nfhiaYwJcWTXResVMjd1HL1Uu2qoVwuE6qrNPAWTxCCiMhOz-GsmALkHwwyQcnYzqXpv96hO8jxFMZM3caPWW6dvy0nivJN01bFDJzfFngm1ng3Kn-/s1600/tcw_yoda0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutTLWBYOR3rKGeMK4ngv6ahyphenhyphentJ7nfhiaYwJcWTXResVMjd1HL1Uu2qoVwuE6qrNPAWTxCCiMhOz-GsmALkHwwyQcnYzqXpv96hO8jxFMZM3caPWW6dvy0nivJN01bFDJzfFngm1ng3Kn-/s320/tcw_yoda0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But let’s backtrack to the official announcement. Hero of the fans, key creative mind and Supervising Director of <i>The Clone Wars</i> Dave Filoni said that a few episodes from Seasons 5 and 6 that went unaired were already finished or nearly finished. That these would deal with unresolved issues (such as Order 66) and make it out some way – it was speculated perhaps as extras on the DVD/Blu-ray releases or as straight-to-video releases. The latest rumours suggest that this content will not make it out at all. Even if it did, the word is that key characters in the series such as Captain Rex have no resolution in the existing episodes. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeFkjBOxyQdi6JvynCBvVjH1h9J4iAieJJSOSRGerDd4zEjYjBDC5WLdteBG5JIxAsavjv3QFQTl6e8QHnzOynTirnpI1H9p-ytfqzwoCTXK8hzOfYkX-OW54FQzpxsMfX7PULAK65D4C/s1600/davefiloni0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeFkjBOxyQdi6JvynCBvVjH1h9J4iAieJJSOSRGerDd4zEjYjBDC5WLdteBG5JIxAsavjv3QFQTl6e8QHnzOynTirnpI1H9p-ytfqzwoCTXK8hzOfYkX-OW54FQzpxsMfX7PULAK65D4C/s320/davefiloni0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is no doubt that it is a shame that<i> The Clone Wars </i>has ended. But with reports of layoffs now show suggest that not only is the creative team behind it being disbanded, but the entire Lucasfilm Animation department is too. Lucasfilm Animation has shown just what can be achieved with the right talent and movie style production values, and has raised the bar for what can be achieved in television animation. For it to disappear would be a huge shame, especially since the plan is rumoured “to place future Star Wars TV projects in the hands of [Disney’s] existing television operation”. This sort of contradicts a bit everyone who went around saying it’d all be fine because of the hands-off approach Disney had taken with Pixar and Marvel, doesn’t it?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJOLj544jSlf_f2X8cg9mm4ZJpqv-3U8yfNZzDThzeKC4FDXF0lv1jhX9wJyuvSy_Em7IKoqWS8NbE3m6UwCJMUAOmtA_IBa-rgnBcR5ObHNWQkH9y4QQVk0H3Fr6rkDUipbxhFaDW2lX/s1600/tcw_shaakto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJOLj544jSlf_f2X8cg9mm4ZJpqv-3U8yfNZzDThzeKC4FDXF0lv1jhX9wJyuvSy_Em7IKoqWS8NbE3m6UwCJMUAOmtA_IBa-rgnBcR5ObHNWQkH9y4QQVk0H3Fr6rkDUipbxhFaDW2lX/s320/tcw_shaakto.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is bad. Disney TV animation has been known for being very good at churning out focus group planned, mass appeal product (and awful straight-to-video movies for years), but not for creating ground-breaking animation. There is a notable difference in quality from something produced from one of Disney’s film animation studios to something produced from Disney’s TV animation studios. With Lucasfilm Animation, despite it being for TV, <i>The Clone Wars</i> was matching the quality of the movies – the same models were used for the starships in the TV show as were used in the prequels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It makes sense from Disney’s point of view. They have animation departments already – Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar as the flagships – so why do they need another in Lucasfilm Animation? But this is the problem with the Disney takeover. It means that if animated Star Wars adventures can be produced cheaper by their own animation departments, then going down that route will be more profitable for the shareholders. When George Lucas was the sole owner of Lucasfilm and its subsidiaries, he could do as he pleased – no doubt he wanted a comfortable life, but he also cared about making quality TV and film. If <i>The Clone Wars</i> was an expensive project, then so be it – he had no-one to answer to but himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So now that the gloss has worn off the Disney take over, and reality starts to set in, fans need to get vocal about how they feel. If Disney are acting with this haste to close down Lucasfilm Animation, who knows what will be next to go (LucasArts isn’t looking very safe)? Or what might they tinker with next? Is ILM safe from Disney’s interference (for the film industry’s sake let’s hope so)?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fans of<i> The Clone Wars</i> should surely mourn the end of that series. But also be aware that the story is bigger than that one project, and the whole way that Lucasfilm is run could be at stake.</span><br />
Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-58343889107655139822013-03-18T16:00:00.000+00:002013-04-20T14:02:44.909+01:00Celebration Europe II: The Guests so Far<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPmOtexrfHcMoao-e7BCpg-QXrahMDwVvzrFmrafyZtb2patuWRRusvdsY462jCWsHjxoQonbsb_tdbkuALxprwcbJX8onx0nmkSBW_x1Zck7dbkg8sUDw5WlAveVFYZJw01TXSbzSUG6/s1600/palpatine0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPmOtexrfHcMoao-e7BCpg-QXrahMDwVvzrFmrafyZtb2patuWRRusvdsY462jCWsHjxoQonbsb_tdbkuALxprwcbJX8onx0nmkSBW_x1Zck7dbkg8sUDw5WlAveVFYZJw01TXSbzSUG6/s320/palpatine0005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“The Emperor’s coming here?” Well if you’re in Germany he is. It’s an easy joke, but also an irresistible one. The headline guest so far for Celebration Europe II is the actor who brought the most evil villain in the galaxy to life, and will be joined by other faces behind the iconic characters of Star Wars. Read on for reaction to the guest list so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was announced today that for the first time in Europe four actors who have portrayed Boba Fett would be in the same place at one time. Jeremy Bulloch, who is always a pleasure to speak to and incredibly self-effacing, portrayed Boba Fett in <i>The Empire Strikes Back </i>and <i>Return of the Jedi</i> will be attending. Daniel Logan, who played Boba in <i>Attack of the Clones</i> and leant his vocal talents to the character in <i>The Clone Wars</i> will be there too. Dickey Beer did stuntwork as Boba Fett, and John Morton donned the armour for a Cloud City scene. At 2007’s Celebration Europe Jeremy Bulloch and Daniel Logan shared the stage to talk about their experience with Star Wars, and Celebration Europe II all four Fetts will be signing autographs and appearing on stage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s also great to know that despite being the star of a primetime Ricky Gervais sitcom, Warwick Davis will still continue to make time for the fans. He will be hosting the Celebrity Stage again, and those who saw him at the first Celebration Europe or at Disney World Star Wars Weekends will know the humour and fun he brings to the role. Warwick of course played Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi, popped up multiple times in <i>The Phantom Menace </i>and has become the most recognisable short actor in the world since. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Star Wars experts Steve Sansweet and Pablo Hidalgo will also be at the event. The former will be bringing with him an exhibit straight from the museum at the Rancho Obi-Wan Experience, and will be a great opportunity for fans to have him sign one of his many books. Pablo Hidalgo will be hosting the Behind the Scenes stage, which will hopefully give fans a look at upcoming Star Wars projects.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HvO81qGPCCb1bxECy_-jku_nxrVhV4UZa1An5-woyiwBsDwmQN4WVpRooiEU0OOF7yRwXa76ZscT766_XIUnwhlOu6qUU6ANzHRioCoaAytewOUo6sFvNKdh8cJP8hKMQEB08JA0MePs/s1600/davefiloni0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HvO81qGPCCb1bxECy_-jku_nxrVhV4UZa1An5-woyiwBsDwmQN4WVpRooiEU0OOF7yRwXa76ZscT766_XIUnwhlOu6qUU6ANzHRioCoaAytewOUo6sFvNKdh8cJP8hKMQEB08JA0MePs/s320/davefiloni0001.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dave Filoni will be making a rare appearance outside of the USA, and with recent news regarding <i>The Clone Wars</i> hopefully he will be able to look back at the series as a whole and discuss how it turned out. As the driving creative force behind <i>The Clone Wars</i>, no-one has been more involved with bringing new Star Wars to the screen than Filoni in the last five years, which makes him a real treat of a guest. Let’s hope that despite the show’s end some of the voice cast can make it too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Saving the most anticipated for last (of course) Ian McDiarmid will be appearing at Celebration Europe II. In the past he never really attended conventions until he officially opened the first Celebration Europe and has since attended Celebration events in the USA. As one of the most accomplished actors in the entire Saga, he showed the audience Palpatine’s rise to power as the ultimate puppet master of the Sith. His only comments about Star Wars tend to be brief snippets in documentaries, so to see him speak at length on the Celebrity Stage will be a great experience and an absolute highlight of Celebration Europe II.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To have this many quality guests announced already suggests that Celebration Europe II is going to shape up very nicely indeed!</span><br />
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-39908607658458868512013-03-11T18:00:00.000+00:002013-04-20T13:52:40.677+01:00The Clone Wars Cancelled<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The news has been expected for months, but is now breaking and will likely soon be confirmed –<i> The Clone Wars</i> is no more. There will be no Season Six. Read on for SPOILER FREE discussion of the news – I have not seen Season Five, and will not be talking about specific plot points at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is unknown what impact Disney had in the decision. It is clear that the new films have changed the strategy for Lucasfilm, and that was happening before the deal with Disney. If fans look back to 2005, George Lucas felt like TV was where the interesting opportunities were (and looking at the talent new shows are currently attracting, he was right), and his desire was to keep the ‘Wars alive through the medium of television. But two things have probably conspired to change the strategy – the first was the need to make Lucasfilm an attractive company for Disney to acquire, the second was poor ratings for <i>The Clone Wars</i> and unsatisfactory home video sales proving the strategy not viable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So with the new plan to produce a new trilogy and spin-off films, it is as if <i>The Clone Wars</i> no longer fits in. Of course the series could run alongside the new films, but perhaps Disney want to save the special Star Wars experience for the big screen. Or maybe there will still be TV opportunities for Star Wars, but it is felt that something new needs to coincide with the new films. Anyone paying attention will have sensed the tremors in the force that suggest <i>Detours</i> is not exactly going to last for very long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If the focus is shifting exclusively to films at the expense of projects such as <i>The Clone Wars</i>, it is a shame. The cool thing about the series was that as it was in a different medium, it was clearly not “core” Star Wars, but side stories, an offshoot. But if every Star Wars adventure is a two hour movie, it will not be possible to allow for the occasional strange, experimental episodes that the series had now and again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many fans will want the series should continue beyond Season Five, as they love <i>The Clone Wars</i> very much. That is a completely legitimate position, and anyone who really feels like there was much more to do should go and join the online campaigns. However, I disagree with the argument that it needs to lead right up to <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>. The series started with Ahsoka joining Anakin, and the viewer followed her point of view for the film and many episodes. The emotional journey, the character story of the series, is Ahsoka’s – the series began with her introduction, and must end with her fate. As long as that character’s arc is nicely resolved, the series has reached an appropriate conclusion. Those who want some brilliant foreshadowing/leading into <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> should check out John Ostrander’s <i>Republic </i>comics series and James Luceno’s novel <i>Labyrinth of Evil</i>, and it is hard to imagine that Dave Filoni and his crew could lead into <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> any better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is outrageous is that fans had no preparation for the end of the series. Rather than just going down the route of not announcing Season Six, Lucasfilm should have made it clear that the series was to end and hyped up the finale. It would have been much easier for fans to come to terms with if they had known in advance and were able to prepare themselves for the final episode. Ideally the series should end with a movie, as it came in, especially since it looks more cinematic than ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dave Filoni and the crew should be proud of the series they created, it was no easy task to restore general faith in Star Wars after the prequels- and they did have a majority of fans, critics and commentators on side. Let’s hope that it’s not the last project we see from Lucas Animation.</span><br />
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-5607476967625514502013-02-28T20:00:00.000+00:002013-04-20T13:41:17.129+01:00Will the Expanded Universe Influence the new Movies?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many websites are posting their top ten Star Wars ideas for the new movies, and talking up which video game, novel or comic would make a great movie. Is there any point though? Are Lucasfilm really delving into the Expanded Universe for the new movies?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkg8pLmvR9i2quqIMX4XSiAf2dk_hwkIfXI0Gu6g16Qddxq3S5SuGHrvnAG3MpG6hdaIuP14yrJX2kXE5hjuWSG211FrgofN70HuU9h1bvr4LvZtRQX6Q9rwpnyBpdw-VSr1wSQPljRX_/s1600/jedi_aaylasecura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkg8pLmvR9i2quqIMX4XSiAf2dk_hwkIfXI0Gu6g16Qddxq3S5SuGHrvnAG3MpG6hdaIuP14yrJX2kXE5hjuWSG211FrgofN70HuU9h1bvr4LvZtRQX6Q9rwpnyBpdw-VSr1wSQPljRX_/s320/jedi_aaylasecura.jpg" width="211" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why websites, newspapers and magazines seem to think the Expanded Universe will be the place that the writers of new Star Wars movies go to for a story is beyond me. Lucasfilm pay little regard to the Expanded Universe. They might adhere to it when it is convenient, but if it doesn’t fit with the vision of George Lucas (or where Dave Filoni wants to take a storyline) then it gets ignored. Whether I think that is right or wrong is one thing, but those who disagree are deluding themselves and will probably get a big disappointment when the new movies hit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Firstly, it is fair to address then that the Expanded Universe is not totally ignored. George Lucas kindly stuck with the name Coruscant for the prequels, which was from the Expanded Universe. He has also mined the Expanded Universe for inspiration – throwing Aayla Secura into two of the prequels was fun for comic fans, and Lucas did it after seeing a comic cover he liked. Darth Maul’s return in<i> The Clone Wars </i>was inspired the comic book <i>Visions</i>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2sEqi35rI1O5vK2-2ptNzgcM5bu7JNC_Zdq1QWByeYP4jYzbCBxeoLb5WhIX3jOmlx6qdA1hp6UHD6QGbAm_dXeVax8nOjHxjANZW2WV9vo2fSuDwUQavIKkufqJQarsGJCUlWxa38sy/s1600/TheForceUnleashed_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2sEqi35rI1O5vK2-2ptNzgcM5bu7JNC_Zdq1QWByeYP4jYzbCBxeoLb5WhIX3jOmlx6qdA1hp6UHD6QGbAm_dXeVax8nOjHxjANZW2WV9vo2fSuDwUQavIKkufqJQarsGJCUlWxa38sy/s1600/TheForceUnleashed_cover.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But although images and ideas may inspire Lucas and the team at Lucasfilm, they rarely pay attention to the story that the image came from. <i>The Clone Wars</i> series using characters created for the original Clone Wars stories – Assaj Ventress, for example – and then disregards the character’s original backstory. <i>The Clone Wars</i> completely disregarded the original timeline that the novels and comics established. Ironically, Del Rey and Dark Horse only adhered to a timeline that Lucas Licensing insisted on in the first place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Old Republic</i> and <i>The Force Unleashed</i>, both designed as big budget money-spinners, were given a lot of latitude when it came to ignoring what had gone before and came after. <i>The Old Republic</i> uses a design aesthetic that casual Star Wars fans will love rather than one that segues with the Expanded Universe aesthetic of the era. <i>The Force Unleashed</i> told a story with such a long </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So when Michael Arndt, or Lawrence Kasdan, or whoever else gets a Star Wars writing gig sits down to pen a screenplay, it is more likely they will have a few images and maybe notes from George Lucas to start from. But certainly not full storylines, be they from comics, novels or video games, to adapt. </span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-76817366442551413712013-02-25T18:00:00.000+00:002013-04-16T20:10:09.215+01:00Turn the dome green, we shall<div align="center">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Master Model Builder Alex Bidolak has been painting it green over at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Manchester, where a 7 foot tall model of Jedi Master Yoda witnessed the Trafford Center's dome being lit green, to celebrate the new LEGO Star Wars Miniland exhibit. All About Bricks will soon be announcing which lucky reader will receive two free tickets to visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Center.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">STAR WARS legend has taken over Manchester as the North West’s biggest shopping centre turns it’s dome ‘Yoda green’ as it becomes the Theed Royal Palace.<br /><br />The feat will be in celebration of the arrival of the Legoland Discovery Centre’s new Lego model display that pays homage to the first of the franchise’s films, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.<br /><br />Shaun Rhodes, marketing manager for LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester, comments; “Until we saw the designs for our new Lego models I had never realised how much the Trafford Centre looks like the Theed Royal Palace, it is the perfect home for our brilliant new LEGO® Star Wars™ MINILAND Model Display.”<br /><br />The Trafford Centre will create this mystical effect with the help of their state-of-the-art LED lighting rig fitted to the dome, allowing centre engineers to choose any shade of colour they want.<br /><br />From the rolling hills of Naboo, with its ancient domed city and cascading waterfalls, to the treacherous terrain of the desert planet of Tattooine, the incredible landscapes of the movie have been recreated using LEGO bricks forming some of the most stunning displays the attraction has seen since opening in March 2010.<br /><br />The pop-up walk-through display, which is set to take over Manchester for five months, offers an intergalactic immersion into the sights and sounds of this the first in the film franchise. Built-in games will offer hands on fun for even the youngest of Padawans who can take part in a thrilling Podrace with the young Anakin Skywalker and help defeat the evil Droid Army in the ‘Droid Destruction’ game.<br /><br />The Facts:<br /><br />The display is made up of over 250,000 Lego bricks, is home to 2000 Lego Star Wars minigures and took 2,000 man hours to create! <br />The Lego Yoda is made up of over 20,000 Lego bricks and is 7 ft tall. It took two days to create.</span></div>
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-39451700364773358522013-02-20T17:00:00.000+00:002013-04-16T20:09:35.591+01:00Hasbro Reveals the Black Series<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Courtesy of Jedi News</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hasbro are being bold in their plan for the Star Wars action figure line. After a few months of uncertainty, New York Toy Fair saw the unveiling of what the plan for 2013 is. Some will be excited, some disappointed but all are likely to be surprised. Read on for reaction to the new 6” line, the new 4” line and whether any of this will be the re-boot Hasbro are hoping for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The new line targeted at adult collectors is called ‘The Black Series’, a bizarre title that seems only to be based on the colour of packaging. Clearly that wasn’t the best brain-storming session that Hasbro have ever undertaken. The Black Series will be the home of high quality, super articulated action figures – now in two scales. The 4” line will continue, however a 6” line at twice the price point will also be introduced. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Courtesy of Jedi News</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The 6” line is designed to recruit new collectors, and to attract adult fans they are presented in attractive boxed packaging. The line is designed for main characters from the classic trilogy and a few iconic prequel characters too. Each wave will contain four figures, with a regular gap between waves. Many collectors are extremely excited at the prospect of something new, feeling that the line needs something drastic such as this. Others, especially those who have been collecting for years, will not be ready to purchase these characters all over again in a new scale. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The 4” Black Series is simply the same as <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Courtesy of Jedi News</td></tr>
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the Droid Factory line was going to be – but with different packaging and no droid piece. Pablo Jill and Mara Jade should be popular in Wave 2 as they haven’t been on the shelves for some time, and Mara Jade deserves a premium action figure release. It’s a shame that Wave 1 is such a lacklustre selection (figures such as Ceremony Luke Skywalker, Arena Padme), as it may kill the line before it has started. As the Movie Heroes line of 2012 showed yet again, a dud first wave means the second wave never makes it out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The most controversial unveiling is the new 4” Saga Legends line, which replaces both Movie Heroes and The Clone Wars. Any characters from <i>The Clone Wars</i> will now be produced in realistic style, in a move that many feel Hasbro has <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Courtesy of Jedi News</td></tr>
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put off for too long (and if Hasbro can get away with it, can LEGO please just make the mini-figure faces all the same now?). Although all of the figures will be in movie style, none of them will feature premium articulation. Saga Legends figures will now have a mere five points of articulation to reduce costs and make them affordable to children. These figures supposedly look great still, but Mace Windu is an example of these looking cheap (presumably because they are cheap). It seems a fair move, but the character choice isn’t great now the 3D re-releases have been scrapped. It seems surprising that it is cheaper for Hasbro to design these new sculpts rather than re-use some of those from the last decade of Star Wars figures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is a relief to know that decent vehicles will still be available as exclusives, and that vintage style packaging will pop up from time to time. What is a relief is that the quantity of product will be reduced, with a more focused collection. This is certainly a good move, as more fans will take the ‘Collect them all’ approach if there are actually a realistic number of figures released each year.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZsfZbBYjI9VxiBTy2OwBN1iyC5NPDLUqW0dVP93PHw4JzVjSQ4MkNv30PpyKjt0iCO6zeP66toVual6fzoUwPzEoXF2yX-ufrluRFt65REUVc_camHFFyjUyjPcJOvXedLGgR9hsCnKE/s1600/tvc_veh_slavei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZsfZbBYjI9VxiBTy2OwBN1iyC5NPDLUqW0dVP93PHw4JzVjSQ4MkNv30PpyKjt0iCO6zeP66toVual6fzoUwPzEoXF2yX-ufrluRFt65REUVc_camHFFyjUyjPcJOvXedLGgR9hsCnKE/s400/tvc_veh_slavei.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Image Courtesy of Jedi News</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whether Hasbro’s big shake up will pay off will be interesting g to see, but it’s unlikely that the 4” and 6” Black Series will both survive. It all depends whether fans vote with their wallets for a new scale of the same characters, or want to stick with the scale that has always accompanied Star Wars. One deciding factor may be price, because as nice as the 6” figures look, $20 for an action figure isn’t super cheap. </span><br />
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Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-9451094727736263272013-02-14T17:00:00.000+00:002013-04-15T20:36:42.667+01:00Star Wars Spin-off Films Confirmed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It has been announced recently that the spin-off Star Wars films are indeed a reality, and that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are working on them at present (as previously rumoured). This exciting development offers the possibility of new movies that can tell an entertaining side story from the main Saga. Rumours are already floating around of which characters they might be based on.</span><br />
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adored the character is – is a film about Yoda. Whilst this would make a lot of fans happy, it would be a very difficult task to accomplish. One of the key fascinations with Yoda is that his background is a mystery, and any film featuring him as a main character would have to tell a tale without delving into his past. Some, in this current age of constant origins stories, would argue that finding out where Yoda came from would be awesome – it wouldn’t! It would take away the mystery and romanticism associated with the character.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Jabba the Hutt is also apparently a contender for getting a Star Wars movie. This seems highly unlikely. It would make sense for Jabba to be part of a spin-off movie, as he was in <i>The Clone Wars</i>, but how the character could actually drive an entire film is a puzzling one. A film about the Star Wars underworld would surely be popular among more mature fans, particularly if it was designed as an “adult” Star Wars movie (no, not that kind of adult movie!) and could use some of the concepts from the abandoned TV series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There was also Joe Johnston’s desire to make a Boba Fett movie. This would surely be a popular choice, and would be an opportunity to do an action driven thriller in the Star Wars universe. The only danger here is, like with the Yoda concept, that even more of Boba’s mystery might be stripped away. If little pieces of his back story from the comics and novels are used sparingly, however, it could make the character even more compelling – especially to those fans who still don’t understand the fuss about Fett.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What would be the best route, perhaps, is for established characters to pop up – but for spin-off films to introduce new characters. The awesome thing about new characters in the Star Wars universe is that their past, present and future are completely open. In the </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_vZpGKaii2HsevksapFZnygX5eVwLkhemksTvA6yCDwtpAnkJPF4q8ilb2BNcXbCP6yIHlQfJkVuSnE3mh6CnRUVZiM6KEPEGTPfxElcnqZKdZAviPvHuzMGV1b74kJBpzes5grOpc8c/s1600/quinlanvos0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_vZpGKaii2HsevksapFZnygX5eVwLkhemksTvA6yCDwtpAnkJPF4q8ilb2BNcXbCP6yIHlQfJkVuSnE3mh6CnRUVZiM6KEPEGTPfxElcnqZKdZAviPvHuzMGV1b74kJBpzes5grOpc8c/s320/quinlanvos0001.jpg" width="284" /></a></div>
novels, the Solo children are often the most fascinating characters to follow. In the comics, Quinlan Vos and Cade Skywalker made for interesting, flawed characters doing their best in a messed up galaxy. A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, no-one knew who the classic trilogy characters were. By allowing the creators to come up with new characters and worlds, fans might find the next Yoda or Boba Fett – a new character who intrigues them and they want to see more of. Lucasfilm should take brave steps with these spin-offs, and avoid playing it safe with too many existing characters.</div>
Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217994073959809109.post-84380022864928705862013-02-07T17:30:00.000+00:002013-04-15T20:36:36.475+01:00LEGO Launch The Yoda Chronicles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ukF65bt4b0WEHdGUVBo-o2GbDULATeaVu-i-uvwKRuyv0dLFJNkThAKiRJN1FVXVYs5wdc6X6q2MiIjBAI-sRjrbnZ62NUdhftKHN-PcdRYby7YbdbVqkv0mP-Xh8extlAjzfktZkoo/s1600/yodachron03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ukF65bt4b0WEHdGUVBo-o2GbDULATeaVu-i-uvwKRuyv0dLFJNkThAKiRJN1FVXVYs5wdc6X6q2MiIjBAI-sRjrbnZ62NUdhftKHN-PcdRYby7YbdbVqkv0mP-Xh8extlAjzfktZkoo/s320/yodachron03.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What The Yoda Chronicles is has been unclear for months, since the title of a new book was uncovered. The mystery surrounding the project has been much like that surrounding the little green fellow himself. With the Toy Fair season underway and the LEGO Star Wars website getting an update, things are starting to make sense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With Yoda on the packaging for LEGO Star Wars products this year, the campaign for LEGO Star Wars will be based around the wise Jedi Master. The main focus will be a TV series. At the UK Toy Fair it was implied that this was a full TV series, but a recent <a href="http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/01/28/4574186/cartoon-network-gets-in-front.html" target="_blank">announcement from Cartoon Network</a> says otherwise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The Yoda Chronicles:</b><br /> </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">LEGO Star Wars returns in epic style with THE YODA CHRONICLES, a thrilling, funny and action-packed new LEGO Star Wars story told in three animated TV specials! Set in the “Prequel” Star Wars timeline, THE YODA CHRONICLES stars the one and only Yoda—the Jedi Master who has seen it all, done it all, and taught generations of Jedi Knights—in an all-new adventure. With the help of a fresh class of Padawans, Yoda leads the Jedi in a desperate fight to stop Darth Sidious and his minions from creating a new super-weapon that could crush the Republic and win the war for the forces of Evil. </span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P5oRYHD3YSkwG2h9p-nI776Pcm12l1RJhX0BI4uA1mkZic0rh8t4zSam-pKKrBD1pYa-Z460XYIhZDN42DYzBa9n6F5sMGUKKdBRoyA9jzm1YBvCxK5CxksxbJVN6MNCYPZ2yi8mtvI/s1600/yodachron01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P5oRYHD3YSkwG2h9p-nI776Pcm12l1RJhX0BI4uA1mkZic0rh8t4zSam-pKKrBD1pYa-Z460XYIhZDN42DYzBa9n6F5sMGUKKdBRoyA9jzm1YBvCxK5CxksxbJVN6MNCYPZ2yi8mtvI/s320/yodachron01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So according to this announcement a three episode burst, but then this is better than just the one episode specials that have aired previously. It seems that the content for <i>The Yoda Chronicles</i> is to be spread across as many formats as possible, as recently <a href="http://starwars.lego.com/">starwars.lego.com</a> have uploaded four “episodes” to the website. Each one is around a minute long, and feature top-notch animation. These seem to be more blatantly about advertising the sets available, as they focus quite specifically on products currently available.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdH05SP9aGRXqiRPyeyhOaOnlZl6Jc7ZUgPMpXfjbnq4lzG5UXDJkj5wOXXEyWzMYR4JzSeVZRQC5_zhj8uSzygyBKWD1fLsgfZbRw4vg1aXukqt75xhNkQ3vFcjA04f0hHxNNI_OVfg/s1600/yodachron02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdH05SP9aGRXqiRPyeyhOaOnlZl6Jc7ZUgPMpXfjbnq4lzG5UXDJkj5wOXXEyWzMYR4JzSeVZRQC5_zhj8uSzygyBKWD1fLsgfZbRw4vg1aXukqt75xhNkQ3vFcjA04f0hHxNNI_OVfg/s320/yodachron02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The tie-in book from DK will include an exclusive mini-figure, and covers only 64 pages. The price is currently similar to that of <i>LEGO Star Wars: Character Encyclopaedia</i>, so hopefully with such a low page count this will be reduced. The mini-fig must surely be Yoda in some form, but since he rarely changes his outfit it will be interesting to see how it is exclusive. The book itself will be a picture-laden reference guide about Yoda.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUEcW6G5jZigs7csBVaxTnnWlk7pbe2HRopsJSEUn0qdx5yVNIigtaFqc2aBIMq2LZphCcTLi1KX1P6pMq3ckngz8Y7V9oNbrQO1_U9WP3jHYIxLTqHIQv_sABUtcbfCfavUm8lwPgdQk/s1600/yodachron04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUEcW6G5jZigs7csBVaxTnnWlk7pbe2HRopsJSEUn0qdx5yVNIigtaFqc2aBIMq2LZphCcTLi1KX1P6pMq3ckngz8Y7V9oNbrQO1_U9WP3jHYIxLTqHIQv_sABUtcbfCfavUm8lwPgdQk/s320/yodachron04.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jek-14’s Stealth Starfighter (75018) is based on a vehicle from the specials, and this seems to be where such a project may well be a wise move for LEGO. With the actual Star Wars sets taken up by vehicles and locations that have been done up to six or seven times before, creating original content to draw upon good increase the longevity of the line and maintain the interest of children and collectors until <i>Episode VII </i>hits. Presumably LEGO are using the one set this year as a test to see whether it will sell in the same numbers as movie-based products.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There will no doubt be more aspects of <i>The Yoda Chronicles</i> that LEGO are currently keeping as secret as the Jedi Master’s home world, but at least now fans know about LEGO making 2013 the year of Yoda.</span>Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357651622804739133noreply@blogger.com0