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If I recall correctly (and I might not, it's been about 10 years since I read these books), the Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin Anderson addresses this. There is a cluster of blackholes near Kessel, and so accomplishing the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs requires flying rather close to these blackholes without getting yourself pulled in. In that series, there was some imperial weapons research facility hidden in the blackhole cluster.

There's some reference to the blackholes and the length of the Kessel run here.

AFAIK, you can watch them here

http://www.starwars.com/clonewars/

I like the sprinkler the best... check out the image

Just check out the store for all the 50 cent crap priced at eye gouge prices.

Look into the eyes of Darth Vader and discover the fate of his former self! This innovative 100mm snow globe from Encore features the dueling figures of Anakin and Obi-Wan behind the eyes of Vader's iconic helmet, which can be partially removed for better viewing. The tormented mind of the Dark Lord is revealed in this wonderfully sculpted snow globe available now for pre-order! Our Price: $59.99

I like the sprinkler the best... check out the image

Just check out the store for all the 50 cent crap priced at eye gouge prices.

Look into the eyes of Darth Vader and discover the fate of his former self! This innovative 100mm snow globe from Encore features the dueling figures of Anakin and Obi-Wan behind the eyes of Vader's iconic helmet, which can be partially removed for better viewing. The tormented mind of the Dark Lord is revealed in this wonderfully sculpted snow globe available now for pre-order! Our Price: $59.99

http://www.starwars.com/databank/droid/bollux/eu.h tml

Green on the outside, not on the inside.

"Do, or do not. There is no try."

Ph.D. or no Ph.D, Spock of Vulcan usually went by "Mr." not Doctor. Doctor Spock wrote baby books.

Something somebody wrote on a whiteboard at work..

STAR WARS DARK SIDE INITIATION RITES

1. Give a Gungan a wedgie
2. Ewok target practice (Pull!)
3. BBQ a bantha using force lightning
4. Post to the Light Side message board mocking size of Yoda's lightsaber
5. Voiceover work for CNN
6. Write test plan for the Death Star laser cannons
7. Shave the empire logo on the dark side of a Wookiee.

Something somebody wrote on a whiteboard at work..

STAR WARS DARK SIDE INITIATION RITES

1. Give a Gungan a wedgie
2. Ewok target practice (Pull!)
3. BBQ a bantha using force lightning
4. Post to the Light Side message board mocking size of Yoda's lightsaber
5. Voiceover work for CNN
6. Write test plan for the Death Star laser cannons
7. Shave the empire logo on the dark side of a Wookiee.

Something somebody wrote on a whiteboard at work..

STAR WARS DARK SIDE INITIATION RITES

1. Give a Gungan a wedgie
2. Ewok target practice (Pull!)
3. BBQ a bantha using force lightning
4. Post to the Light Side message board mocking size of Yoda's lightsaber
5. Voiceover work for CNN
6. Write test plan for the Death Star laser cannons
7. Shave the empire logo on the dark side of a Wookiee.

Something somebody wrote on a whiteboard at work..

STAR WARS DARK SIDE INITIATION RITES

1. Give a Gungan a wedgie
2. Ewok target practice (Pull!)
3. BBQ a bantha using force lightning
4. Post to the Light Side message board mocking size of Yoda's lightsaber
5. Voiceover work for CNN
6. Write test plan for the Death Star laser cannons
7. Shave the empire logo on the dark side of a Wookiee.

Something somebody wrote on a whiteboard at work..

STAR WARS DARK SIDE INITIATION RITES

1. Give a Gungan a wedgie
2. Ewok target practice (Pull!)
3. BBQ a bantha using force lightning
4. Post to the Light Side message board mocking size of Yoda's lightsaber
5. Voiceover work for CNN
6. Write test plan for the Death Star laser cannons
7. Shave the empire logo on the dark side of a Wookiee.

Something somebody wrote on a whiteboard at work..

STAR WARS DARK SIDE INITIATION RITES

1. Give a Gungan a wedgie
2. Ewok target practice (Pull!)
3. BBQ a bantha using force lightning
4. Post to the Light Side message board mocking size of Yoda's lightsaber
5. Voiceover work for CNN
6. Write test plan for the Death Star laser cannons
7. Shave the empire logo on the dark side of a Wookiee.

..light sabers were powered by a plasma power cell in the hilt. The 'blade' is composed entirely of plasma, with the frequency of the electronics controlling the plasma dictating the blade color.

lightsabers are given their color by the type of crystal installed. the crystal acts to focus the beam. As the mythos goes, a jedi uses the force to align the crystal. here is the entry from the starwars database http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/lights aber/?id=eu

And the whole faster than light travel thing.... Didn't some french researchers prove that warp drive (ala Star Trek style) was possible just a couple years back? Haven't scientists just lately made light travel at speeds faster than light in a lab (in the USA I believe)? If it's impossible, then did all these researchers lie?

Yes researchers have made light go faster (and slower) than c...the problem is that they have made light do that, not anything of mass.

I would say it's possible that people tend to write in absolutes, using "never", "impossible", "worst", etc. as it will, in most cases, make the tone of the article stronger and might even strengthen the voice of the author...making it seem, i believe, that the author is speaking with more authority. Conditionalizing everything, will, probably, make the argument seem a little wishy-washy.

of course, this will never stop a good journalist from saying "just as i predicted" when the "impossible" invention is available at wal-mart.

The Starwars Holiday Special!! featuring the happy family reunion of Chewbacca, wife Malla and son Lumpy(!!!!)

The Jedi Arena!! Two rectangles swinging sprites at an orange glob!!!

Christmas in the Stars!! featuring "What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)" and R2-D2 dishing out "We wish you a Merry Xmas"!!!

It all makes sense now!!!

But LUMPY!!! If I ever came up with a character name as "Lumpy", I would wilfully get eaten by a Dianoga!!

> Try not. Do or do not, there is no try
> -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.

That's Yoda.

The reason is because, unlike the last two movies, this time Lucas hired a professional acting coach. When you really get down to it, the wooden acting is the worst part about these movies. The story and dialogue, while vapid, is of the same caliber of the originals, imo. The difference is that normally good actors (ever seen Portman in a non-SW movie?) come across as being terrible.

The changelog for Episode 3 should read: "resolved issue with bad direct^H^H^H^H^H^Hacting"

But I *really do* want to know that the person boarding the airplane with me is who they say they are and not on an expired visa with a fraudulantly obtained ID

I, on the other hand, don't give a flying expletive who they are or what their visa status is, as long as they don't have a weapon.

(It would be a distinct bonus to know that they also don't have a communicable disease!)

So thank you for the information, I will call/fax my senator to let him know that I want him to vote in favor of Real ID.

You've satisfied yourself that Yet Another ID card won't be issued and obtained fraudulently? To paraphrase the patron saint of the current administration, "I find your excess of faith disturbing."

Yeah, but those engines 25 years ago were altogether much more exciting.

Actually, Lucas hired a dialogue coach (a director for actors) so it might not be so bad:

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/bts/profile/f2 0050105/

This mean-spirited Aqualish attempted to pick a fight with Luke Skywalker when the young farmboy first set foot in the Mos Eisley Cantina. The tusk-mouthed thug soon learned not to tangle with the ward of a Jedi, as Obi-Wan Kenobi intervened with a flash of his lightsaber. The thug immediately dropped both the issue and his bloody severed arm.

Um, is this not another, albeit somewhat disguised, advertisement? (And having said that, another advertisement for the upcoming StarWars movie?)

From StarWars.com (emphasis mine):

Asked which idea came first... Anakin or Luke, Lucas explained the genesis of the series, " There was originally to be one film , I wanted it to be Episode IV of a serial (maybe out of 12 or something) that you would never see the first or last episodes of. That's what happened in the '30s, you had trailers, and a short cartoon, and then a cliffhanger. That serial-style is what Star Wars is based on."

"I started with Anakin Starkiller and his two kids, then I got to a draft that's kind of what we know now, but it was 200 pages. Then that became three films. I never thought I'd go back and do the original stories, regardless of what the press says or what's out there. But then the necessary film technology came along and I came to grips with being known forever as George 'Star Wars' Lucas."

" That trailer makes the Star Wars III trailer look like a stupid cartoon."

Considering that the stupid cartoons made the third movie seem like it almost might be cool, I suppose that's ok... ;-)

Seriously, I'm looking forward to both movies this year. SW3 because it has a (slim) chance of being the payoff that makes 1 and 2 worth the time and money spent, and Serenity because I want Fox to have a good long think about the chance they ruined. >:-)

-Dubber
:-)'

I think George Lucas is too full of himself.

The remnants of Alderaan!

I hear the astronauts were refusing to fly until they find out how Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader.

This would not be a problem except members of the crew have already taked the "spoiler free" pledge.

Despite Initial protests from Mission Control, they decided that they rather watch fake spaceships blow each other up instead of blowing up another real one.

You wrote

The most disappointing thing about them is that Lucas could have had ANYONE write and direct these movies. But no, he had to do it himself. He had to make something that fit in with his bullshit Joseph Campbell "modern myth" take on the thing.

I could stand it if it were a Joseph Campbell-type "modern myth". That's what the original "Star Wars" (which I understand I am now required to call "A New Hope") was and as far as I'm concerned it worked just fine. However, Lucas now appears to be simply making it up as he goes along. The three "prequels" seem to be little more than extended backstory stitched together with splashy CGI and the requisite number of "this will show up later in the videogame" sequences. At least the motivations in the first "Star Wars" movie were fairly clear. Now I have strictly no idea who the Separatists are or what they want to be separated from, why it's necessary for some group I can't identify to occupy Natalie Portman's poster-pretty planet, or why every possible contingency seems to require the Jedi to fly to either Tatooine or some place with volcanoes.

I realize that if I actually cared to know, all I'd need to do would be to browse the entire starwars.com website and read a round dozen poorly-written paperbacks. Sadly, the last two or three sloppily put-together movies (and the approach of something resembling maturity, not to say middle age) have made it difficult for me to care.

I think there's a lesson here. For all of its faults and failings and derivativeness, the first "Star Wars" movie did actually capture people's imagination in a way that not every film manages. Call it the price of greatness, call it what you will, but maybe the fact that "Star Wars" meant so much to so many people should have put Lucas under some kind of karmic obligation not to short-change his fans. Duty required him to put in the hours, tie his Muse to the rack, and serve up something good. He didn't, and the result has been a series of increasingly lame and lazy productions. One day, maybe he'll look up from counting his millions and feel faintly ashamed.

If you look at the previous image, it's of a big transport vehicle, which I suppose appears in the film.

The vehicle looks remarkably like a "Big Trak", a toy of the late 70's or early 80's. It was a six-wheeled vehicle which could be programmed for simple trips.

ie, Forward 5 'steps', turn right 15 degrees, turn right 15 degrees again, forward 5 steps, "fire" three times, reverse.

Yes, as shown by this storyboard that was too "dark and moody" to be kept in the film.

Slashdot has really gone downhill when Admiral Ackbar in a swimsuit makes the front page before this does... Bring on the grits!

My guess is it'll be virus ridden, and crash often.
The Mon Calamari speak Basic...

You can briefly see the water dancing after about 1/4 of the length of the trailer, after Obi-Wan says "We are at war, Anakin".

http://www.starwars.com/

Forget the water spectacular. This phallic image is sure to have feminists commenting the male dominated society that the Rebels promote.

We need to start building our deathstar and destroy the moon with a superlaser before we are wiped out by this terrible moon bacteria!

Which OS should run the deathstar? With the current gas prices in the US, we should consider building it as a hybrid right from first design.

We need to start building our deathstar and destroy the moon with a superlaser before we are wiped out by this terrible moon bacteria!

Which OS should run the deathstar? With the current gas prices in the US, we should consider building it as a hybrid right from first design.

2 answers for why we aren't doing this:

1) To some extent, we are. In my home San Francisco, there are two digital projection screens. When Star Wars Episode 2 was released, there were about 50 digital theatres in the US. Also, Landmark Theatres recently announced plans to convert all of its screens to digital starting this summer.

2) The other answer is, it's too expensive and doesn't (yet) make good business sense. Good 4K projectors are still very new, and they cost on the order of US$100K. The IT infrastructure required is also significant. Meanwhile, there is a lot of R&D going into the digital cinema space right now, meaning that rapid advancements are being made in quality, and prices should drop. Theatre owners (quite smartly) are balking at paying millions of dollars per theatre to upgrade to an untested and volatile technology. When the technology becomes more stable and cheaper, theatres will convert.

Problem with the Binishell is that it looks like a half-buried helmet. I can imagine a brigade of stormtroopers standing around it, singing "Share and Enjoy".

The Domtec construction isn't all that bad, but it can't be done with just a fire hose. If you're hundreds or thousands of miles from the nearest contractor, you need something that will do that work for you.

Mal-2

It's Greedo, and he didn't get a chance to shoot, because...

HAN SHOOTS FIRST!!!!!

Damn, it was easier than I though to segue that in there! Anyway, I'm off to pummel a deceased equine...

From what I remember, Leia was born and transported to Alderaan without her father's knowledge. She was adopted into the royal family as a princess. Anakin had no ties to Alderaan as far as I know. I don't think he was ever king or emperor or of equal importance to such. So to answer your questions directly: - Leia is an adopted princess of Alderaan. - Anakin is not king. (Perhaps by marrying Queen Amidala he is made King of Naboo, but that's about it, I think.) -- Sid (URLs added after text of post and text not updated to match info in the urls)

From what I remember, Leia was born and transported to Alderaan without her father's knowledge. She was adopted into the royal family as a princess. Anakin had no ties to Alderaan as far as I know. I don't think he was ever king or emperor or of equal importance to such. So to answer your questions directly: - Leia is an adopted princess of Alderaan. - Anakin is not king. (Perhaps by marrying Queen Amidala he is made King of Naboo, but that's about it, I think.) -- Sid (URLs added after text of post and text not updated to match info in the urls)

Boycott for at least a month? I'm right behind you. In fact, I think I'll wait until July when the damn movie comes out in my country.

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/theate r/news20050128.html

Sure, this isn't a list of every country in the world, but Japan certainly sticks out like a sore thumb with its two month delay. I suppose this is where the phrase insensitive clod would be thrown about. Eh, what do I know?

For those of you who don't want to tune into the OC but want your Star Wars fix this week, I just noticed this over at starwars.com:

Tune in to "60 Minutes" Sunday, March 13 on CBS for a special in-depth interview with George Lucas. The show previously profiled Lucas in 1999 during the release of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace to document the beginning of the prequels. Now that Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith heads into the final stages of post-production, "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl returns to Skywalker Ranch to chat with Lucas about his family, his technological innovations and his plans after Episode III.........

You can find the rest of the article here:

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/public ity/news20050310.html

-geoff313

You mean 6 years ago, with Episode I. That was the main Star Wars Spoiler...

Bah, CNN. Here, read the detailed official PR. Thanks to The Digital Bits for this link from a few days ago.

No, that was the publicly available teaser trailer.

...fuel-hungry mynocks?

I totally agree with the fact that any slashdotter should know what happens next, but I thought that Princess Leia was adopted by some other royal family?

Yeah.. found it. She's raised on Alderan by this dude.

I can't remember if "When your father left, he didn't know your mother was pregnant" (or some semblance) was actually left in the movie version of RotJ, it's been a while since I've seen the movie. But I remember the rest of the quote comes from the novelization, which, while it may be based on an early draft of the script, isn't strictly canon (I hope saying that doesn't open up a can of worms here).

The novelizations of the original trilogy had extra scenes and dialog not in the movies, like more of Luke's training on Dagobah in ESB and Kenobi telling Luke in ANH that even a duck has to learn how to swim. I can't remember if Han's confrontation with Jabba in Mos Eisley was in the book. I haven't read it, but I heard the book for the Phantom Menace also had some extra scenes that weren't in the movie, like a dream Anakin had about he and Padme leading opposing armies into battle.

One thing I did learn from the novelizations was the Emperor's name was Palpatine.