When fan passions get turned onto food, what we usually end up with is sugar-filled creations that are wildly inspiring and awesome to look at, but not exactly healthy. They're tasty treats meant for those special moments, rather than nibbles we can chow down on any day.

But not anymore! Did you hear that Evil Mad Scientist has has created a melon Death Star? Not only does it not have that huge exhaust port flaw, but it's something you can make yourself in 5 minutes. Unfortunately, I can't tell you exactly how -- the Evil Mad Scientist is a bit sneaky about his design. All we know: it takes one cantaloupe, a knife, and five minutes, and there's a few extra hints to get you started.

Just make sure that you eat it the right way when you do dig in. It would be a shame to slice it when it should end up looking like this.

[via The Kitchn]

When Cinematical reader Geoff M. sent us a note about a life-size Yoda cake he created for his son's fourth birthday, we simply had to see it because a) any dad who's down for a Star Wars-themed birthday party certainly meets movie geek standards, and b) any dad who'd actually take on the task of building a life-size Yoda cake for his kid is all sorts of awesome in our book. (This also brought back memories of my own childhood; when I was young my parents would spend crazy money building custom superhero birthday cakes (Incredible Hulk, Batman, Spider-Man) for yours truly. That eventually stopped, however, and it was Carvel ice cream cakes from then on out.)

Anyway, inspired by Ace of Cakes (groovy TV show if you've never watched) and an enormous amount of love for his little one, Geoff set out to make his own 100% edible life-size Yoda cake. And over on his site, he provides step-by-step instructions and photos (a couple of which you can see below) in case you at home would like to do the same. See, my only issue with this is that after all that work, I wouldn't be able to ruin the thing by eating it. Oh well ... I'm sure it tasted heavenly. The Force was strong with this one.



If you have or know of something cool, groovy, nifty, shiny, brilliant and Fan Made, feel free to shoot an email to leads AT cinematical DOT com.

We've brought you some very cool Steampunk Star Wars action figures in the past, and now comes these equally-as-cool fan made drawings of Star Wars characters over at Gorilla Artfare. Also done up all Steampunk-y, artist Björn Hurri has created a number of images for characters like Chewbacca (pictured above), Yoda (pictured below in gallery), Luke Skywalker (who looks like a cross between a steel worker and a meth addict), Han Solo (if he was 63 and still going strong) and a badass Storm Trooper (who's working a little Predator action into his Steampunk suit). We've included a couple of the images for you to check out below, then head over here to see the rest.

In addition to the Steampunk images, scope out this print of Reservoir Troopers (via Scrawl Collective) -- which is obviously a play off that famous scene from Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. Awesome. Must have one. (Unfortunately, they're currently out of stock.)



Coming on Monday: A very tasty Star Wars treat ...



[via Super Punch]

Need something to stare at for the next few minutes? Come waste time with us, and space out on the following fantastic movie-related Simpsons images:

1. Though I still haven't watched it yet [pokes brain with crayon], the season premiere of The Simpsons included a very awesome opening sequence where Boba Fett freezes the entire Simpson family in carbonite (check out image above). And for those who, like me, need to catch up on the lives of our friends from Springfield, you can scope out the entire season premiere over on Hulu.com. [via Star Wars blog]



2. From the episode Husbands and Knives, the hilarious image above comes from the scene in which Milhouse asks Alan Moore to sign a copy of the DVD Watchmen Babies in V for Vacation. And then Moore smiled, signed a dozen copies and called it his most favorite movie in the entire world. Or not. (Am I nuts for wanting to watch at least one episode of a Watchmen Babies cartoon?)

Even though this clip is a little older and has been watched by over four million people, I'm sure there are some who've never seen it. Thus, this is for those people -- the unforgotten, the kids who've always lived their lives slightly behind the ball. Yes, you. Or you. Or him. Or her. Or me. Indeed, I'm just watching this for the first time as well. There's just something about the thought of Darth Vader pulling a stunt like this that just cracks me the hell up. But lets not throw too much love at this clip because, hey, 10 years from now George Lucas might want to remake the original Star Wars films and throw a scene like this in ... to lighten it all up. See, Vader's not that evil -- he's just a dick. Enjoy.

In a world where Don LaFontaine will no longer lend his voice to any trailers, and where floating heads and Photoshop skills are what passes for the 'art' in 'poster art', the prospect of Drew Struzan's retirement is almost too much to bear. The guys over at Ain't It Cool News got the initial news from TheRaider.net, and they get the fact that this makes the sun shine just that much less in this industry of ours.

In a message posted there, Struzan said: "Having been working at not working has produced a guy who could never return to illustration again. It took a lot to attempt the idea of retiring from my 40 years of effort and sacrifice but now that I have, I am delighting in life as never before. I had forgotten how to rest, to smell the proverbial roses and to see the future as opportunity. I am grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to do all the work I did. I am well pleased to have been able to give a gift of beauty and peace through my artwork to so many throughout the world. Now I have laid down the burden and have peace and happiness as the reward for my day's labor."

AICN aptly directs readers to Struzan's official site, and even if they hadn't, I'd advise the same course of action in an attempt to appreciate what iconic images he crafted a career out of.

Just when you thought you've seen it all comes this fan made Jar Jar Binks salad from Cinematical reader Ken A. No joke folks, that really is Jar Jar Binks from the Star Wars prequels carved out of a root vegetable. Why Jar Jar ... and not, say, a character that people actually like?

Ken explains, "... after hours of carving, I wasn't sure I'd be able to destroy my handiwork. After all, who wants to squash a sweet potato that's been lovingly crafted to look like Admiral Akbar? Or demolish a Daikon radish in the form of cult hero Boba Fett? Not me, that's for sure. But what if I could create a Star Wars figure that I wanted to destroy? Surely then I'd be able to slice into it without remorse. Choosing a character did not turn out to be difficult." Ken then goes on to give step-by-step instructions on how to create your own Jar Jar Binks salad, and we've got a few making-of images for you to check out in the gallery below. Afterwards, make sure you head on over to Only Knives for the recipe.

Yup, it's still Silly Star Wars Week here on Cinematical (see our previous two posts here and here), and so I'm back with another video that just cracks me up. It's from the Indy Mogul folks, and it's called Attack of the Lightsaber Clone. Essentially, back during the making of Star Wars: A New Hope, special effects dude Marvin Kaufman actually created a real working lightsaber. However, an extra was killed, the studio denied its existence and the thing vanished ... until now.

While I'll agree the ideas here could've been used to create something a tad funnier, I did enjoy more than a few chuckles and so hopefully you will too. Additionally, head on over to Indy Mogul to learn how to create your own working lightsaber ... and just be careful where you point the thing. (Oh, and here's our review of Clone Wars ...)

[Thanks to Mike for sending this my way]

If Star Wars: The Clone Wars were a simple board game stacked up in a toy store aisle, the side of the box would read: "Ages 7 through Check Your Star Wars Ego at the Door." While the recent onslaught of superhero movies have brought us darker, more complex (and adult) storylines, one of our most beloved franchises has decided to travel in the opposite direction. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's actually somewhat comforting to find a film with the word 'Wars' mentioned twice in the title alone and know that it's suitable for all ages. When I first watched a Star Wars film on the big screen, my feet could barely touch the sticky theater floor -- and so if a fun-filled, action-packed animated adventure story helps usher in a whole new legion of fans -- subsequently turning younger kids on to three live-action movies that came out, like, a billion years ago -- then right friggin' on!

Almost immediately we're clued into the fact that this big-screen Star Wars flick was gift-wrapped by another department store. That classic, drum-hoppin' 20th Century Fox intro is replaced with a much more subdued Warner Bros. logo, and the film's title swings into frame accompanied by different music. In replace of the classic story scroll, we get a newsreel-esque voiceover bringing us up to date on the main characters and their current mission. No one's trying to trick us here -- this is Star Wars for the need-it-now generation, and whereas previous films seemed to spend too much time rolling around in political-speak, Clone Wars is all about the action, the battles and the cheesy one-liners.

Somehow I've never seen this video clip, but with Star Wars: The Clone Wars arriving in theaters this Friday, it certainly popped into my life at a convenient time. From the short-lived Richard Pryor Show (which lasted only four episodes and aired on NBC in 1977) comes this skit with the comedian acting as a bartender in what appears to be The Mos Eisley Cantina ... but the show simply calls it Star Wars Bar. And I believe all of these are the original costumes worn in Star Wars: A New Hope, which makes the bit even funnier (especially when he wanders over to Greedo's table). The show itself was known for being a tad controversial, and did poorly in the ratings. Greatest line from this skit comes when Pryor reacts to a Star Wars creature by saying, "You look just like a nigga' from Detroit I know." Hilarious. Enjoy!