In the midst of the festivities for Star Wars Celebration IV, there has been plenty of news for fans on all things Star Wars. IESB is now hosting our first look at the poster for the film Fanboys, which is probably best summed up as a love letter to Star Wars geeks everywhere. The film, directed by Kyle Newman, focuses on a group of friends who make a pact to honor the last wishes of their friend to see The Phantom Menace at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch -- the Mecca for fanboys everywhere. The film stars Sam Huntington, Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up), and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars). But more importantly the film managed to get Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher, to play a small role in the film.

IESB also has a batch of photos and a hi-res version of the one-sheet on the site. And since this is a film that speaks to the geek in all of us, the poster wastes no time in mustering up some nostalgia for the "good ole' days" with a close up of hands gripping a light saber and a classic font -- very Return of The Jedi. Newman doesn't have a long resume as a director, but his films range in subject matter from re-incarnation to a straight-to video horror called The Hollow. IESB also reports that Newman screened some 50 minutes of the film to universal approval from the audience. Fanboys is set for release in January 2008 -- which as we know is either the worst or best thing that could have happened.

I kinda feel bad for little Jake Lloyd. Okay, he isn't quite so little any more -- he just turned 18 last month. But what has happened to the kid since starring as the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace? It has been almost 10 years, and Lloyd hasn't gotten much. He managed to star in an indie movie, Die with Me, and some flick called Madison. Beyond that, he's lent his voice to five Star Wars video games. That's it. People worry what will happen to the Harry Potter kids as they age, but at least they had a number of huge cinematic experiences to pull from. Poor Jake, he just has the one. (I am not going to count Jingle All the Way!)

Now, he's the big guest star for Celebration IV -- the big Star Wars fan convention. But this isn't the first. He was also there last year, for Celebration III. So, any fans who didn't get to ask him about his experiences last year have another shot. While maybe this would sweeten the Celebration for hard-core Star Wars fans, this news leaves me a little sad. Is this what the kid's life will be? Spending decades talking about a very short amount of time on a movie when he was almost too young to remember? I can see his future now -- at 40, he'll be attending these conventions, telling that funny anecdote about Ewan McGregor for the 100th time and signing autographs while people peer at pictures of him as a kid and try to see where the tot is inside this much older man. Maybe he'll get lucky and Kevin Smith will be ready by then to make another Jay and Silent Bob movie, and instead of coming up against Mark Hamill, they'll get Jake Lloyd.