lucasfilm Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Just to clear up, George Lucas is not directing his first non-Star Wars movie in 35 years. I repeat, George Lucas is not returning to the director's chair. Once again ... never mind, I think you've got it.

Two days ago there was an AP story about Lucasfilm's Tuskegee Airmen film, Red Tails -- perhaps you caught my post -- but it didn't note what Lucas' involvement would be. As I wrote, the article seemed to assume that he was directing the project. A number of sites around the web also treated the news (more like an update) as if it claimed that Lucas was indeed helming the WWII-set picture. Others speculated that he was taking the reigns. Well, he's not. He's merely serving as executive producer. There is no director signed on yet.

Late August was the last time we mentioned George Lucas' Red Tails, but considering the Star Wars director has been wanting to make the film for decades, less than a year between reports is not too bad. Plus, the new AP story about the film's preproduction couldn't come at a better time. People are currently talking about Spike Lee's upcoming African Americans in WWII film, Miracle of St. Anna, and Red Tails also focuses on blacks fighting in the war. Specifically it deals with the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corp., otherwise known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of pilots, bombardiers and navigators.

The AP story mostly features quotes from Tuskegee vets, who share their memories and their hopes for what the film will show. But there's also some minor updates courtesy of producer Rick McCallum, who's reportedly now scouting locations in the Czech Republic and Italy. He says that Lucas is hoping to begin shooting later this year or early 2009 and that the script by John Ridley (Three Kings) "balances difficult and painful issues with what is, at its heart, the story of men with a dream to fly and serve their country." So, apparently the script is finished, yet it's still unclear who will be directing Red Tails; the AP story almost seems to assume that Lucas will be holding the reigns himself.

Lucasfilm has revealed a new character (click on the image above for a larger version), who will be part of their planned CGI-animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series. In addition to folks like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan and Yoda, we'll get newbies like Ahsoka Tano, who comes with the following description: "This young Togruta is eager to prove herself as a worthy Padawan to her bold Master, Anakin Skywalker. Able to wield a lightsaber and pilot a spacecraft with great talent, Ahsoka promises to become a worthy Jedi." She kind of looks a little like Natalie Portman ... if Portman had weird hair and wielded a lightsaber. The new series is supposedly due out later this year, and look for more characters to be revealed in the coming weeks.

[via Coming Soon]

Remember that Vanity Fair story from last week? The one with all the pics, and the quotes from Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford? Well the author of that story, Jim Windolf, is back now apologizing to his editors and the readers for not pressing Spielberg harder on the issue of whether he plans to continue the Indy franchise following this May's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Windolf isn't the first one to raise this question, as last year rumors began floating around with regards to the contracts Ford and co-star Shia LaBeouf signed for Indy 4. At the time, it was speculated that both Ford and LaBeouf agreed to appear in at least three more Indiana Jones films after Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Shortly after that rumor surfaced, Lucasfilm jumped to deny the whole thing, calling it "idle chatter."

But Windolf, in a follow-up story that's way longer than it needs to be, takes a nothing quote from Spielberg and spins it into something much larger. Whether Vanity Fair was saving this second article for another day (and more additional traffic) or if Windolf really did get hammered for not asking about sequels -- we do not know -- but we do know that nothing earth shattering is included here. In case you're interested, here's the key paragraph of Windolf's story:

"When I asked him why he hadn't gone forward with the "Indy IV" script written by writer-director Frank Darabont, he said, "In this case George [Lucas] was passionate that this was not the story he wanted to tell at this point in the Indiana Jones saga ..." Noting that he had used the magic phrase "at this point," I followed up by asking him, "Is that leaving room open for another one?" To which Spielberg replied, "Oh, I don't know. I haven't even thought about that. I'm still in the cutting room. I can't even think beyond the next cut."

Windolf goes on to talk about whether LaBeouf could successfully continue the franchise -- whether he's a big enough name right now -- and blah blah. Like I said, this has all been covered. And until we see the kid operate in that leather jacket and slicked back hair, there's no way we can really form an accurate opinion.

[Thanks Pat for the heads up]

Once he's finished producing Indiana Jones IV (still no official title, sigh), George Lucas will make a movie about the Tuskegee Airmen ... finally. Apparently, he's been talking about doing this since Howard the Duck (according to Harry Knowles' memory), and it was long assumed to be a dead project. While I don't remember anything from twenty years ago, I do recall Lucas and Rick McCallum mentioning this to IGN back in 2005. At the time, the movie, titled Red Tails, was expected to begin production within the year and the producers were meeting with Tuskegee vets. Two years later, Lucas has just now found his screenwriter: John Ridley. Apparently Ridley has written Spike Lee's L.A. Riots script, Lucas got his hands on a copy, and sees Ridley as the best fit to write about African-American pilots in World War II.

Personally, I'd have already pinned Ridley as perfect for the project by imagining a mix between the screenwriter's past work (Three Kings meets Undercover Brother? Yes!). However, it could be a little more serious than we're used to from him. After recently meeting with Tuskegee vets in Texas, he may want to give the survivors a respectable tribute. It may still be awhile before we get to see Red Tails, which will be overseen by Lucas but produced by McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson (CBS' Navy NCIS), because Ridley is just getting started on his script. The writer also has his directorial debut in the works, an adaptation of James McManus' Positively Fifth Street. Although viewers have already seen the Tuskegee story in a 1995 made-for-HBO feature (The Tuskegee Airmen, starring Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding, Jr.), Lucasfilm's movie sounds to be a lot bigger, with ILM doing the aerial fight sequences. As long as it doesn't look as cartoony as the WWI-set Flyboys, that could be appealing. Almost like the Star Wars space battles, but with planes!

When I stated recently that I wanted regular video updates on Lucasfilm's official Indiana Jones site, I meant that I wanted new footage -- no matter how short the clip. The last official video we got was all hype, sure, but at least it featured a teeny weeny shot of a scene that will be in Indiana Jones IV. The newest video is just hype, no new footage. And it really annoyed the hell out of me. Basically it's a montage of television news programs from around the world reporting the news about the film. In case you want to skip this one, the locations are as follows: Japan, UK, Australia, Spain, Germany (do their news programs really have techno in the background?), Italy, France, Brazil, Mexico and Russia. The video also includes some footage from the first two official videos we've seen. The only elements that may be of interest to Indiana Jones fans are the theme song and the style of world map shown, both of which made me a little excited.

I get it. The whole world is excited about another Indiana Jones movie. So what? The whole world is excited about a lot of Hollywood movies. And obviously everyone is anticipating this movie. What is the next video going to be? A montage of blogs and fansites that write about the movie every day? Where is the behind-the-scenes stuff from Hawaii already? Why not show us some new, exclusive shots of the whip? Any new footage will do. Just don't make another video showing us that you're great and that people like you. Show us something that makes you great, something that will make us keep liking you. Next Thursday, when/if the next video arrives, it better not call for a headline with words like 'annoying' or 'frustrating.' This is a warning. Because with all those nations eagerly awaiting your movie, I'm sure you care what one sole internet writer thinks.

I was just reading this column on Macworld about how it has been two months since Apple debuted movie downloads via iTunes, and how it has been too long and too much a success for other studios besides Disney to not join in. Even though I'm aware of a major reason for the slow migration by Hollywood to iTunes, I decided to do a little search in order to find any other stories on the status. Turns out, I completely missed this news on our own Apple Weblog. Looks like Fox may be the first non-Disney studio to offer its movies through iTunes, though a deal is still only in the negotiation stages. You guys know what that could mean, right? Star Wars available to download. Actually, I have a good feeling that Lucas wouldn't be into that idea.

Anyway, Fox has been in talks with Apple before, so we can't get our hopes up just yet. One thing I wonder is why Paramount and Warner Bros. haven't shown interest. Is it because they are going exclusive with XBox? However, nobody knows what that service will be like or how successful it will be. But, we do know that Disney has so far sold over half a million movies through iTunes (and earned $1 million in the first week alone), so I would think all the studios would be more interested in Apple's service.

What I also want to know is, what happened to Lionsgate in all of this?

Variety this morning reported the sad news that the now-underused physical production unit of Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic is being sold off to Mark Anderson, a long-time ILM employee. While ILM will continue to exist and do copious effects work, the loss of the physical production unit is striking because it was that unit, and the models and miniatures it made for Star Wars, that put ILM on the map. According to Variety, though, "With the shift to digital effects, Lucasfilm has found it difficult to keep that portion of the company fully employed."

Under Anderson's guidance, the unit will be renamed Kerner Optical and will remain ILM's first choice for any work in which they specialize. In addition, Anderson hopes the new company will be able to "pick up the slack by seeking work that ILM would not get."

I have friends who were so upset over the fact that George Lucas never released the original versions of the first three Star Wars films on DVD that they, literally, have purchased the new juiced-up editions and burned them during some sort of weird, Ewok-type ceremony. While I attempt to convince said friends that the additions Mr. Lucas has made are good for the series because, back then, technology did not allow him to create what was really in his head, they laugh at me. They mock my stupidity with lines like, "Dude, he added all that new crap just so he can release them in theaters and produce 50 different versions on DVD. Plain and simple -- he did it for the money."

So, friends, it is with great enthusiasm that I inform you of the latest fantastic developments. The real Star Wars, as seen in the theaters, along with the real Empire Strikes Back and the real Return of the Jedi are finally coming to DVD. For a very limited time only (September 12th through December 31st), you will be able to buy two-disc sets of each film. One disc will include the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie (a/k/a The one that sucks!), while the other features the original theatrical version.

Personally, I'd love for them to release all three original versions on the big screen again, if only for a couple weeks. However, I know this has to be wonderful news for so many die-hard Star Wars fans out there. And, according to Lucasfilm and FOX, the only reason they're releasing these versions is because of the overwhelming demand shelled out by you fans. Yet, I'm sure most of you will still complain. And so it goes.