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Star Wars Fun Fact
Surprising and little known Star Wars tidbits, usually related to today’s Force Feature.Today is Shannon McRandle’s birthday, which brings up a very interesting point. Shannon’s the model Lucasfilm used to create the likeness of Mara Jade from the Expanded Universe, who (among other things) eventually marries Luke Skywalker! Yes, the Jedi take on marriage is a little looser post-Galactic Civil War. The interesting point – will Luke be married in Star Wars: Episode VII? None of the actresses announced seem to be age appropriate for him…
Life on “Tweet”-ooine
A featured dispatch from the Star Wars Twitterverse!Going through Suggestion Box ideas for our new ultimate weapon in Ep VII. Consensus seems to be “a Death Star but bigger.” #WhatCouldGoWrong
— Death Star PR (@DeathStarPR) August 27, 2014
Star Wars Swag Bag
So many fun, quirky, and awesome ways to bring Star Wars into your daily life!Millennium Falcon Ladies A-line Dress – click the pic for more details!
Trivia Time!
Test your knowledge of the Star Wars universe!Yesterday’s answer: Chewbacca
Today’s question: What color was the faceplate visor of Luke Skywalker’s pilot helmet?
Force Feature: 7 Top Scenes From the Star Wars Movies
Exploring the many worlds of Star Wars, in the imagination and in real life!I got so excited talking about the best moments of the Star Wars movies in yesterday’s podcast that I couldn’t help blowing this up a bit, and looking at the best scenes from the movies.
As opposed to a moment – which, for our purposes, could be a line or two of dialogue, coupled with some meaningful action or acting – a scene is a longer sequence of dialogue and events. By sheer volume, there are fewer scenes than moments, but oh boy, there’s no lack of good scenes to discuss. So let’s go!
7. At Obi-Wan’s house. This scene opens up so many doors into the Star Wars universe, it’s ridiculous. You learn that Obi-Wan used to be a general, that there was a thing called the Clone Wars, that Princess Leia really is a Rebel, that Obi-Wan knew Luke’s dad, and then of course there’s the whole “How did my father die?” answer, masterfully woven, which also touches on the story of Order 66. Huge scene.
6. R2-D2’s reward. After escaping the blockade of Naboo, we’re treated to a quiet scene where a droid gets honored for its service. When has that ever happened? I mean, Artoo was treated with respect in the Original Trilogy, but even he was told at the Mos Eisley Cantina that they wouldn’t serve his kind, and had to wait outside. Of course, we knew it had to be R2 before they even said his name, but having that second familiar face (after Obi-Wan, of course) made us all feel like we were back in the Star Wars universe again. And, funny, when you realize that the decoy queen is making the real queen do the messy work of cleaning R2 up.
5. Yoda’s death. Return of the Jedi doesn’t have a lot of quiet moments, and when it does, they’re either earnest, a la “I accept the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker,” or exposition heavy, a la “Many Bothans died to bring us this information.” But Luke’s return to Yoda on Dagobah – now that’s a beautiful scene. Tender, surprising with the “another Skywalker” revelation, and comic too. How awesome is it that, even on his deathbed, Yoda laughs at Luke when he says, “Then I am a Jedi.” Brilliant scene.
4. The Outlander Club. Obi-Wan shines in this scene, and we see that although he’s grown up from who he was in The Phantom Menace, he hasn’t lost any of his snappiness. From the deftly delivered “Why do I think you’re going to be the death of me?” line to Anakin, to the Jedi mind trick on the death sticks dealer, he owns this scene. I swear, the prequels are as much his story as they are Anakin’s. And a great ratcheting up of the tension as they wait for the shape-shifter Zam Wessell to make her move.
3. The Hoth corridor. Han and Leia take their relationship to a whole new level here, and take the whole series up a notch with them. It puts them, briefly, in the same lofty company as Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, or Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. So at the end of Star Wars, you kind of have a love triangle, but not really, since nothing romantic’s happened and neither Han nor Luke has made a move on Leia. Within moments of the start of Empire, the sparks are flying, and you know something’s going to come of it.
2. The tale of Darth Plagueis. Of course you wouldn’t have heard it from the Jedi, Palpatine says. It’s a Sith legend. Man, this scene is like the equivalent of watching a Venus fly trap setting up for the kill in super slow motion. And I mean that in a good way. When I first watched it, I had that “Oh, man” moment about halfway through it, when I realized this wasn’t really a legend, it was the story of him killing his own master. And he was using that to seduce Anakin to the Dark Side of the Force. Totally enthralling.
1. Han’s showdown with Greedo. And I’m of course talking about the original one, not the Special Edition one. And let’s put it this way: Han would have to have Jedi-level reflexes to be able to dodge a laser blast at point blank range. That destroys the believability of the scene in general, regardless of who shot first, if they shot at all. And if the claim is that Han is morally better since Greedo shot first, I’d argue that the shots came too close together for that to be true. He shot a split-second later, not enough for a moral victory. No, having it the old fashioned way makes Han no morally different, but it adds a danger to the rest of the script that doesn’t exist otherwise.