Clone Wars Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Um ... Mom, Dad, I totally think I know what I want for Chanukah this year.

As a guest last night on Slashfilm's weekly podcast, we spoke briefly about George Lucas' big mouth ... and why every time someone goes to get a quote from him on whatever, the wrong answer almost always comes out. I seriously half expect the dude to say something like -- "Star Wars? Honestly, I always hated the f**king thing" -- a day or two before Clone Wars hits theaters. Because that's his style; he's awkward and he doesn't know when to just keep things to himself.

His latest interview with the Times Online is full of all sorts of odd quotes, like how he points out the fact that he's not directing Red Tails; that they got "a black director." Dude does have a name, George. There's also stuff on a potential Indiana Jones 5, where Lucas says they'll make one if he comes up with an idea. Nevertheless, above you can see a model of Mr. Lucas frozen in carbonite, which, honestly, might be the perfect place to stick the guy for a little while so he doesn't muck up anything else. These photos (click image above to enlarge) come by way of Bonniegrrl, who snapped them during Celebration Japan. Pretty cool. Me want.

Question: Is Lucas past his prime, or does he have a few more great films left somewhere?

[via Slashfilm]

... is not online yet, but a description of what appears to be the first trailer has popped up over at AICN. A scooper attended the Toy Fair in Germany where movies like Iron Man, Star Trek XI and The Incredible Hulk were being promoted. The new Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series was on hand too, and it was announced that the first three episodes would screen theatrically in Europe this September, which pretty much means we'll get the same thing here in the states. As far as the first footage for The Incredible Hulk goes, the scooper felt that what they were watching was, indeed, the first trailer (which we hope will debut sometime in the next week or so). Here's the description (and beware of spoilers below) ...

"The scene opens with Edward Norton meditating. We see images of a lab, experiments, Banner escaping from the (Russian?) military (led by William Hurt and Tim Roth), running in the streets, kissing Liv Tyler, guns, shooting, more running... The 'trailer' ends with Abomination walking towards Hulk. Remember the end of Rocky III? Apollo Creed wants to hit Rocky in their friendly duel? That's exactly the way the trailer ends. Abomination wants to hit Hulk. Hulk wants to hit Abomination, but before it actually happens the trailer is over. Abomination looks like a Hulk with the Voldemort face from the first Harry Potter movie. A really mean motha. He sure is a great opponent. I thought the shown footage was awesome. It promises much more action than the Ang Lee movie, a great love story and an even greater fight."

Personally, I'm surprised they'd show Abomination right off the bat in the first trailer; then again, they probably want to show fans how this film will differ from the previous one immediately and build hype. Fine with me. So long as the CGI comic book creatures look cool, I'm all for it. The Incredible Hulk arrives in theaters on June 13.

In a two-part interview with TV Guide, George Lucas talked some more about those two Star Wars TV series he currently has in the works. You'll remember that one Star Wars-related show -- the one that's the furthest along -- is animated, and will take place during the Clone Wars (or, more specifically, between Episode II and Episode III). The other series will be live action, and will take place between Episode III and Episode IV. But before you get all excited, thinking Darth Vader will make his first-ever appearance on the small screen -- keep reading.

On the animated series, Lucas said: "Unfortunately, it doesn't fall into the realm of what animation [typically] is, which is either adult, kind of off-color humor or kiddie stuff. This is, like Star Wars, sort of in between those two things. It's a lot of battle stuff, and it's obviously the Clone Wars, so it's a war picture. So it's kind of a PG-13 animated TV series, which is something that has never been done before and obviously doesn't fit in any of the conventional slots that these things fall into. In that, it's very different, and I think it's very exciting. It's got a very, very sophisticated look to it. It's very much like the features. We're still trying to figure out how to put it on the air." Lucas went on to say that they're on episode 40 right now, out of 100, and will look to put it on the air once they've arrived somewhere between 50 and 60 episodes. He also said that it wouldn't be a Saturday Morning Cartoon, and because of the content, will most likely air after 9 o'clock at night.

Regarding the live action series, Lucas said they'll first start writing it in about a month from now. He continued: "The live-action [series] is not the movie. It's the Star Wars universe, but it's characters from the saga who were [previously] minor, and it follows their stories. It's set between [movie episodes] III and IV, when the Empire has taken over. It's like Episode IV in that the Emperor and Darth Vader are heard about - people talk about them - but you never see them because it doesn't take place where they actually are. There are storm troopers and all that, but there are no Jedis. It's different, but I think it's very exciting because I get to explore a part of that universe that I haven't been able to explore." As far as episodes go, like the animated series, they're shooting for 100. So, are you excited about these? And which series do you think has the most potential?

If you're a Star Wars fan and you haven't seen Genndy Tartakovsky's collection of Clone Wars animated shorts, you're missing out on some pretty slick stuff. (All 25 episodes are available on two DVDs.) Ever since Revenge of the Sith hit the screens, we've been hearing from George Lucas that The Clone Wars will soon make the leap into full-length TV adventures. (And by full-length I mean longer than five minutes apiece.) Unfortunately it looks like Mr. Tartakovsky is not involved with the newest Clone Wars series, but here's some good news: You can check out a promotional trailer for the program right here.

It's a pretty slick little promo piece, jammed as it is with flashy spaceships, colorful characters, frequent mayhem and a few familiar faces. The IMDb confirms a few familiar voices, too: Frank Oz (Yoda), Anthony Daniels (C-3P0) and Matthew Wood (General Grievous) will be reprising their roles -- although you can expect a whole bunch of new characters to take center stage. Still no word on which network will get the profitable right to air The Clone Wars this Fall, but I'm guessing it'll probably be Cartoon Network. Maybe. More likely Fox.

When I first read this rumor, there was a part of me that already knew it was false -- even though the words came straight from George Lucas himself. Earlier this month, apparently Lucas told some folks that he was planning to make two live-action made-for-TV Star Wars films in addition to the Clone Wars animated series and, from what I gathered, the other live-action series. But see, this is where the language got all choppy. It now appears as if Lucas was talking about the live-action series and not these supposed live-action films, so I'm thinking the original reporter (ahem, Fox News) fudged the whole thing up. Gee, who woulda thunk it?

Movieweb snagged an interview with Lucasfilm's Steven Sansweet who, thankfully, cleared the whole thing up. When asked whether there was any truth to those "two new films" rumors, he replied: "No, no, no, no. There are going to be two more Star Wars television series. One of them is well into production. That is Star Wars: Clone Wars. It's a CG animated show, which we suspect will be on the air sometime next year. And then George and Rick McCullen were just now starting work on a live action series. A drama. That will probably be coming out in 2009 or 2010." When informed that those rumors were currently making their way around the internet, Sansweet added: There is no truth to that whatsoever. I haven't even seen that rumor. I can absolutely tell you that is not true." There you have it folks -- Sansweet confirms the stupidity of a rumor that was ridiculous to begin with. And I'd like to personally thank Fox News for wasting all of our time. Don't let it happen again ...

It's kind of amazing how well the team behind Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventure has kept information about the film from the press. "Steven (Spielberg) thinks we can keep the whole thing a secret," George Lucas said in a brief interview Monday night. "I explained to him that it's impossible nowadays. We can't live like that." Lucas had no problem opening up about some other upcoming projects, both having to do with Star Wars. He is currently preparing another series of Clone Wars -- the popular Star Wars animated series. In addition, Lucas will make two more live-action films set in everyone's favorite galaxy far, far away. These films will likely be an hour each, and will air on television, though he doesn't know on what channel (The Sci-Fi network?). Says Lucas of the films, "they won't have members of the Skywalker family as characters. They will be other people of that milieu." Very interesting...

Lucas got a little catty in the interview as well, when asked about the 2007 Summer movie season. He's seen nearly everything, because his company -- Industrial Light and Magic -- did special effects on nearly all of the big flicks except Spider-Man 3. Lucas joins what seems to be most of the commenters on this site in not being much of a fan of Spidey's third outing. Says Lucas, "It's silly. It's a silly movie. There just isn't much there. Once you take it all apart, there's not much story, is there?" Oh, George! "People thought Star Wars was silly, too," says Lucas. "But it wasn't." So there's nothing silly about any of the Star Wars films, Beardy? Nothing? The new Clone Wars is scheduled to air in 2008, and the live action Star Wars adventures -- said to take place between Episodes III and IV --are set for 2009.

With the exception of Indiana Jones 4, set to start shooting this June, it would appear that George Lucas has decided to put his energies towards the small screen from now on. The Force.net recently received a tip from a Director's Guild of America (DGA) event where Lucas made a speech in which he made the somewhat dramatic announcement that "the future is in television."

There has already been plenty of news about the animated 3D Clone Wars TV series. The series has yet to find a network, but Lucas didn't miss an opportunity to promote the project at the DGA presentation. Lucas was quoted as saying, "there won't be anything on TV like it -- it'll be smart ass comedy with contemporary humor." He also said that the series would not involve what he calls "the Skywalker story." Lucas mentioned a live-action series too, although it could be a few years off, and also confirmed that he was working on bringing The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles to DVD. Lucas promised the DVD set would have added documentaries and a digital re-touching.

Since most of Lucas' TV projects are still up in the air, I'm not sure his future in TV is assured. One thing is for certain -- after that statement, he shouldn't be seated beside Lauren Bacall or it could get ugly.

Most Star Wars fans are probably still divided on whether the prequels were really a dignified end to the series, but rather than open up that can of worms again, we're probably better off focusing on something that most fans can agree on. Namely, that the 2003 animated series Clone Wars was required viewing for any Star Wars devotee. The last time we had news on Lucas's CG follow-up to the series was back in October, but now ILM animator Rob Coleman has managed to amp up the buzz factor even more.

Rebelscum.com got word of a video interview with Coleman at Imagina 2007; some of the highlights include confirmation that fifteen episodes are currently in various stages of production, and Coleman is on board to direct five of the first twenty-six episodes. So far, Lucasfilm has just about completed the first two episodes and Skywalker Ranch is handling all of the finishing touches. Coleman was enthusiastic about early screenings of the episodes saying, "They're looking fabulous, they're looking great..." and "Our stuff is incredible compared to what's out there...". There is no word on a network deal yet, but if Coleman is telling the truth, it doesn't look like it's going to be long before they find one.

Odds and ends from Friday:

• Sure, she had the difficult challenge of playing Matt Damon's girlfriend in The Bourne Supremacy, but now Franka Potente is set to take her career to a higher level. The actress has signed on to star as Johanna von Ingdelheim in Pope Joan, based off the best-selling novel. Story centers around a 9th century woman who disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks. Now if that doesn't sound like Oscar material, I don't know what is. In fact, I'm surprised Hilary Swank's name hasn't been mentioned.
• Patricia Clarkson has hopped onboard the cast of Lars and the Real Girl, joining Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer. For a story that sounds a bit cheesy, they certainly managed to acquire a decent cast, huh? Pic revolves around some dude who becomes obsessed with a woman he meets on the internet ... only to later find out she's not real and is, in fact, a doll. Commence Mannequin 3 jokes ... now.
• While we're still not sure whether Indiana Jones 4 will actually happen, George Lucas is definitely moving forward on his plans to bring both a live action and an animated Star Wars series to the small screen. The man himself recently spoke about the latter saying that it could air as soon as next year, though a network has not picked it up yet. Clone Wars will be a CGI follow-up to the traditionally-animated series from 2003 and is supposed to feature all of your favorite characters from the Star Wars prequel trilogy. However, none of the film's original actors are involved. Drats!

Announced last May to a combination of glee and trepidation, the Dark Crystal sequel - The Power of the Dark Crystal - now has a director, and things are officially looking up. Way, way up: the damn thing is going to be directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. What's that? You've never heard of Genndy Tartakovsky? Friend, you need to watch more cartoons - Tartakovsky not only created both Dexter's Laboratory and the astonishing Samurai Jack, but also produced and directed the much loved Star Wars: Clone Wars series. Put simply, the guy's pretty much a genius - nothing involving animation or CGI could be in better hands.

Set thousands of years after the original, the sequel will still be puppet-based, but this time will take place in front of CG backgrounds (think Sin City) rather than on (expensive) actual sets. The story, cowritten by David Odell (who penned the original) and newcomer Annette Duffy, revolves around "a mysterious girl made of fire who steals a shard of the crystal in hopes of reigniting the dying sun."

So, yeah - it's officially safe to get excited. That said, production won't start until the summer, so there's going to be a lot of waiting before we see what brilliance Tartakovsky has in store for us.