R2D2 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm fine with the government providing financial assistance to the movie industry (via subsidies and such), but when it is directly involved with the marketing of a film, I think that's a bit too much. The U.S. Mint has gotten together with * the Franklin Mint and 20th Century Fox to create a limited edition version of the U.S. quarter that features an image of the Silver Surfer on the tails side. These coins, which have already been released into circulation, also include the address for the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer website. There are only a total of 40,000 out there, so if you manage to find one, you might not want to go and use it in a vending machine; you should probably hold on to it. Besides the fact that it's a collectible (people are already selling them on eBay), there's also a contest open only to people who find one of the coins -- with the prize being a trip to the London premiere of FF:ROTSS.

Recently another government agency, the U.S. Postal Service, participated in movie marketing by placing 400 R2D2 mailboxes on sidewalks throughout the country. Of course, this was to celebrate the anniversary of a movie (also released by Fox) that has become something of a national treasure. The Silver Surfer coins are less forgivable because they advertise a new release that may not even be a big success. For that reason, the stunt seems to imply that our government agencies are for sale to advertising agencies. What, now, would stop the Federal Reserve from replacing George Washington with Spider-Man on limited edition one-dollar bills? How about we offer up the sides of government buildings and vehicles (including military vehicles, too) for logos and billboards? And why not have the President tell us to drink Coca-Cola at the end of his State of the Union speech?

*For a follow-up on this story, which points out that the U.S. Mint was not involved, check out the following post:
Silver Surfer Quarters Are Not Legal Currency

As I told you a few weeks back, the U.S. Postal Service has been going Star Wars crazy lately. First came the R2-D2 mailboxes, (although, to steal a recent SNL joke, "everyone knows that C-3PO is the one who really wants to hold your package"), and now the new Star Wars stamps have been revealed. The stamps available will be: The Emperor, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca and Han Solo, C-3P0, Princess Leia and R2-D2, Boba Fett, Yoda, Darth Maul, Stormtroopers, X-Wing Starfighter, Millennium Falcon, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Queen Amidala (Lame!). You can head here to vote for your favorite design, double click on your choice to vote for it. All of the stamps will be released as part of a larger stamp pane, but the winning stamp will receive its own sheet. Currently, Darth Vader is winning the vote, and I think that's the most logical choice. The fans dig Boba Fett, but nobody represents this series like The Man In Black.

The USPS is saying that this is only the second time in its 256-year history the public has been allowed to vote for its favorite stamp, although a simple Google search reveals that they have actually done this twice before, once with the "Thin Elvis or Fat Elvis" debate (Fat all the way, baby!), and once with the "Celebrate the Century" promotion described here. Why is the Postal Service lying to us? What are they trying to hide? Nothing captures the public's interest like stamp controversies, so I'll be sure to keep looking into it. The stamps will be available at your Post Office starting May 26. Sticking with the Star Wars theme, why don't they release one batch of stamps now that everyone loves, then wait twenty years and release a new batch that totally sucks?

It's hard to believe because the films never really left the culture, but this year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie. A lot of you just realized how old you are and hung your heads, didn't you? Well, apparently there are some fans working at the always bafflingly unhelpful United States Postal Service, because they're honoring the series with about 400 R2-D2 mailboxes across the country. And the fun doesn't end there. On March 28th, the USPS will be issuing a commemorative Star Wars stamp. I would buy those fast and hang on to them -- that's just the kind of item that could pull a fortune in twenty years' time. No word on the stamp's design, but I'd imagine many a geek is excited about finally getting that chance to lick Princess Leia, Jabba-style.

You should start seeing the mailboxes in high-traffic areas today, but head over to TheForce.Net to see admittedly really cool photos of them now. According to the USPS, "The R2-D2 collection boxes will temporarily replace boxes in highly visible locations across the country. Customers can, of course drop mail into them just like any other of our 280,000 collection boxes, but there's a striking difference visually. Not only do the R2-D2 boxes look like the ever-popular Star Wars character, they feature the address of a website that gives clues about the real meaning behind this unprecedented promotion." [our italics]

Real meaning? We don't know either. As of right now, the website's just a big tease, saying only "On March 28th, two powerful forces will unite. Be the first on the Planet Earth to know why." Surely realizing what an amazing collector's item these boxes would be, the Postal Service is stressing that it is a federal crime to tamper with mailboxes, regardless of what they look like. They can say that all they want, but you can't stop the hardcore Star Wars fans. Mark my words, these things will be stolen off street corners immediately and put on prominent display in parents' basements across America.

It used to be that movie collectibles only came to anxious audiences in special memorabilia stores. However, with the internet came eBay, and with eBay came a warehouse of collectible goodies at our fingertips. It's hard not to fall for the low-price lure that evilly reels you in and gives you a false sense of hope before ripping the dream away as people sail in with more buying power. But that's small potatoes. eBay is gearing up for a sale where I'm sure a thousand bucks will seem dirt cheap. The collection of items, which is valued at $3.1 million, contains some of the most memorable props and objects you can possibly think of. It looks more like a list of items from Planet Hollywood than a public auction.

Some of the stuff is a little newer. If you're a Star Wars fan, what would interest you? Perhaps the heads of R2D2 and C3P0? Not only are they two of the most recognizable pieces you could grab, but C3P0 would make one hell of a bookend. If you're looking for some older film pieces, you could put a bid in for the Wizard of Oz Cowardly Lion costume, or my personal favorite, James Dean's switchblade from Rebel Without a Cause. For something off-screen but just as noteworthy -- there will be the chance to bid on Elvis' wedding ring from his marriage to Priscilla.

The event will run on eBay from December 14 to 15, so you might want to start saving your pennies, or better yet, your gold pieces.

We have always had a love affair with gadgets, whether a Dick Tracy decoder ring or a watch that can shoot out a grappling hook. If it's cool and useful, chances are everyone wants one. Who didn't want to be the first kid on the block with an iPod, the coolest new cell phone or a Segway? Okay, scratch that last one, but you catch our drift. Who hasn't seen a gadget in the movies at one time or another and thought, "Wow, I want one of those!"

While we still don't have robots that clean the house and the flying cars that the 1950s promised us by this time, our lives have become pretty overtaken by gadgets. You're reading this right now on a computer (or even a cell phone), which used to be a room-sized device. You probably have an iPod or some other type of music player that holds hundreds of songs, and you might be zapping your next meal in a microwave. If you travelled back in time to the 50s (or even the 1970s), with all that stuff, you'd be a human sci-fi movie.

These are some movie gadgets that would make life a bit easier, or at least a lot more enjoyable. James Bond could have monopolized this list, because gadgets really are his "thing," but we tried to spead the love around. It was tough to keep things that were magical off the list, like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak (honestly, who wouldn't want anything from the Harry Potter universe?) or the lamp from Aladdin, but we tried to keep them fairly practical as well.

Check out our ideas after the jump.