This Proves The Old Addage That If You Put Out Stuff That People Want, They Will Buy It (PS To The Record Labels- Sales Are Down Because You Have Been Releasing Too Much Crap!)
The new Eminem CD shows that, contraray to what they are saying, that the music labels can prosper.
STAR WARS: EPISODE II EASTER EGGS
The Star Wars films are brimming with so much detail, that they require
multiple viewings to soak it all in. First time screenings are to watch
the main characters and the core story, but with subsequent viewings
it’s hard not to let your eye wander and take in some of the extras.
Sometimes, the details are intentional elements meant to remind you how
the galaxy fits together. Other times, it’s an unintentional flub that
illustrates the complexities of filmmaking (keep track of the color of
the clothes that PadmÈ packs on Coruscant in Episode II, for example).
And, on occasion, the filmmakers purposely put in a little visual joke
to reward sharp-eyed (or in some cases, sharp-eared) movie-goers.
Here’s some of the things to watch for the next time you go to see
Attack of the Clones.
Trundling along the streets of Mos Espa as Anakin and PadmÈ
go to meet Watto is none other than R5-D4, the grumpy astromech
from Episode IV that blows its stack in front of Luke.
What has become a tradition of sorts is the “Wilhelm,” the
affectionate moniker given to a very distinct scream sound effect
used in all of the Star Wars films (and quite a few non-Star Wars
films too). In A New Hope, it’s the stormtrooper that plummets
down the Death Star chasm. In Episode II, it’s a Naboo soldier
thrown in the opening explosion of the film.
The very first shot of Episode II has an homage to another
sci-fi classic as the camera tilts up to the crowded orbital
traffic of Coruscant. “That shot had been executed in 2001: A
Space Odyssey,” explains John Knoll, one of Episode II’s
Visual Effects Supervisors. “I put an Orion space plane
flying in there.”
Star Wars continuity purists will have a hard time
explaining just how an X-wing fighter and TIE fighter got
into the speeder chase over Coruscant.
By now, many have spotted the familiar Millennium Falcon-style
Corellian freighters docked on Naboo. “It was George Lucas’
idea,” says VFX Supervisor Pablo Helman. “He said something
like, ‘should we dare go there?’ And we did.” In addition to
those saucer-shaped freighters, expanded universe fans might
be able to spot a Corellian bulk freighter, the same model as
Talon Karrde’s Wild Karrde.
It appears that Fett genes and low headroom don’t mix. In
an homage to the classic Star Wars misstep, wherein a
stormtrooper bangs his head on a low-hanging door, Jango
Fett also takes a wallop on the noggin — complete with
sound effect — as he enters the Slave I after
tangling with Obi-Wan.
“There’s these big cow-like creatures called shaaks that
Anakin rides on Naboo,” explains Knoll. “The shaaks got to
be a bit of a joke with the crew. I put one in the asteroid
sequence, in a reference to Ken Ralston [visual effects artist
in the classic trilogy] having put potatoes and tennis shoes
in space battle scenes previously. So there’s a shaak there,
but it’s got the asteroid shader on it with craters. You really
can’t see it unless you start to look at it and see the
legs and snout.”
“There may be a shaak on fire during the Clone War,” hints
Ben Snow, another of Episode II’s Visual Effects Supervisors.
“It was almost a competition. Can anyone get a shaak in
their scene?”
Of course, for every confirmed Easter Egg, there are dozens of imagined
ones (Luke’s landspeeder? Sebulba? Darth Maul? Joey Fatone?). Keep a
close eye on the screen during your next viewing, but remember: your
eyes can deceive you; don’t trust them.
Tiny Web Site
If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s your chance to view the world’s smallest Web site.
The Fact The Someone Knows This Is A Bit Unnerving
Well before rapper Eminem’s new record hit store shelves Sunday, it had already become the second-most-played CD in computer drives around the world, according to one closely watched measure. Want to know how?
The Fourth INDIANA JONES Movie Has A Release Date!
Coming Attractions is reporting that the OFFICIAL release date for the next INDIANA JONES movie will be July 5th, 2005. Apparently this is a very reliable source for them, and they say they “do not have any doubts” as to it’s validity.
Director/writer Frank Darabont has officially signed to pen the script for the next Indy movie.
Here’s to hoping the other three movies are out on DVD by then.
Theron Ready to Pull THE ITALIAN JOB
Charilize Theron is in negotiations to join Mark Wahlberg for THE ITALIAN JOB, a remake of the 1969 movie of the same name that starred Michael Caine and Benny Hill.
In the new version, which takes place in L.A. and Italy, Charlie’s (Wahlberg) robber gang stages a traffic jam so that they can steal back a safe of gold that was stolen from them by a double-crossing associate. Theron would play Stella, a safecracker and driver. Stella’s also Charlie’s love interest and the daughter of his mentor.
Bowie Dusts Off ‘Ziggy Stardust’ Movie
Ziggy will soon play guitar again when Cowboy Pictures begins a national reissue of the David Bowie concert film “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.”
The film will open July 10 at New York’s Film Forum, followed by a national rollout this summer and fall.
D.A. Pennebaker (“Don’t Look Back”) captured Bowie’s final live performance as Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1973, filming Bowie both on stage and backstage.
Bowie’s album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars” celebrates its 30th anniversary June 6. To mark the occasion, EMI will release an enhanced version of the album containing an additional CD with outtakes and demos.
Bowie will release a new album, “Heathen,” on June 11, the first release under a new distribution deal with Columbia Records. Additionally, the Museum of Television and Radio in both New York and Los Angeles will next month begin a three-month Bowie retrospective.
“X-Men 2” Lures Cumming to Role of Nightcrawler
While Marvel’s wall crawler “Spider-Man” continues to rack up summer grosses for Sony, Fox has added a Nightcrawler to its Marvel franchise “X-Men.”
Alan Cumming has signed to join the X-Men mutant superhero roster, playing a shadowy blue-tinted superhero with a tail whose great gift is the ability to teleport from one location to another. At the same time, “Tadpole” star Aaron Stanford has been set to play Pyro, a mutant who becomes part of the junior X-Men team. He has the ability to manipulate fire.
Once again directed by Bryan Singer, “X-Men 2” will begin production in Vancouver on June 17. Returning is the original good guy cast of Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin and Famke Janssen. Also back is Ian McKellen as the villainous Magneto.
This Will Make Bruce Very, Very Happy!
An unreleased song is the highlight of a new Beach Boys collection.
Stay calm Bruce! Stay calm!
Patrick Stewart Talks STAR TREK X And X-MEN 2
He dismisses talk that Star Trek: Nemesis will mark his farewell to the 24th Century. “There’s been a lot of gossip about this being the last Next Generation film. Those conversations are only happening in the fan community. As far as the studio is concerned, and our executive producer is concerned, and indeed as far as all of us are concerned, though we all have our own opinions and feelings, there is nothing official at all about it being the last.”
“Although,” Stewart concedes, smiling, “this would be a very appropriate way to take our leave of Star Trek. Everything about the ending of this movie has a sense of closure about it, but there is also a huge opportunity for a sequel to this movie just sitting there, should it be taken up. And my feeling is that with Paramount it will totally be a matter of profits. If this film does really well, there will be another one. And that will continue, so long as they do well. The first time one does badly then, `Clang!’ We shall be put out to graze.”
Not that the passing of Jean-Luc Picard weighs too heavily on Stewart. With X-Men 2 looming, he’s in the enviable position of juggling two blockbusting fantasy franchises. “The script for X-Men 2 is very different in tone from the first one, which in any case I always felt was just an extended trailer. It was sort of `This is who the X-Men are, this is the kind of thing that they do, and that’s all we can tell you for now.’ It was an establishing movie.”