Thirty years ago this Saturday, the Star Wars trilogy came to an end. Return of the Jedi hit theaters May 25, 1983 with the kind of hype and anticipation that’s become almost standard for big movies. In 1983, however, it was not. Fans were rabid to find out the fates of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Darth Vader with most assuming it would be the last time we’d see these characters on screen. The film went on to gross $252 million that summer, making it the number one movie of the year.
So much has changed since then. We’ve seen three new Star Wars movies, we’re on the eve of seeing many more, and the film itself has seen some major changes. (Jedi Rocks, the Ewok song, the addition of Hayden Christensen.) Something that hasn’t changed is our memories of Return of the Jedi.
One of the biggest Star Wars fans in Hollywood, Fanboys director Kyle Newman, put together a short documentary about those memories. It’s called The Return of Return of the Jedi: 30 Years and Counting. Featuring interviews with Kevin Smith, Seth Green, Chris Hardwick, Jaime King, Topher Grace, Fall Out Boy, Eli Roth and Jason Mewes, the film originally played at the Entertainment Weekly Capetown Film Festival to raucous applause and, now, it’s finally online. Read More »
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Two cool pieces of news broke on Twitter early Monday and we’ve got them both for you here.
First up: Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers, the upcoming Avengers 2 and creator of such TV shows as Buffy, Firefly and Angel has officially joined Twitter. He’s @JossActual.
Second, Kevin Smith tweeted an image of his completed 137-page script to Clerks III. Check out both tweets below for more information. Read More »
Posted on Thursday, April 4th, 2013 by Angie Han
In case you were wondering, yes, Kevin Smith is still pretty sure Clerks III will be his best film ever. It’s not clear whether Rosario Dawson totally agrees with that sentiment, but apparently she wants in too. Also after the jump:
- Danny Boyle dishes on the Trainspotting sequel
- Gru is an awkward parent in Despicable Me 2 clip
- Terry Crews goofs around in a Cloudy 2 featurette
- Before Midnight debuts an international poster
- New poster reminds us of Global Smurfs Day
- Get a peek at Keenser in Star Trek Into Darkness
- Listen to a bit of the Star Trek Into Darkness score
- Chris Pine was “scared” to play Captain Kirk
Read More »
Friday morning, Kevin Smith got out of bed and started writing Clerks III. We know this because he posted the cover page on Facebook and Twitter. The Facebook post is particularaly enlightening because Smith reveals today is the 20th anniversary of the first day of shooting on Clerks. He also vows that Clerks III will be “the best film I’ve ever made.” Read more and see the cover page below. Read More »
Filled with references to Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back, Clerks, Batman movies and much more, the trailer for Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie is here. It’s the hard R-rated (if it was rated) animated return of everyone’s favorite New Jersey slackers, which will tour the country Red State-style along with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes. They provided voices and produced the flick, which is directed by Steve Stark. Starting in April, the film will be playing at concert venues across North America complete with a live podcast.
So how does the movie look? Crude, for sure, but aimed squarely at the people it’s meant to please: Kevin Smith fans. We’re talking potty humor, pop culture references and even more potty humor. See the trailer below. Read More »
Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie is coming to a city near you. Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes are hitting the road with their latest film, an animated comedy directed by Steve Stark. The movie follows the title characters in the guise of their superhero counterparts, Bluntman & Chronic, as they fight the forces of evil. The tour starts April 20 in Atlanta and then hits about two dozen locations over the following weeks. Attendees will get to see the film and then listen to Smith and Mewes record a raunchy, off-the-cuff live podcast. Later, those podcasts will be available to download on the Smodcast Network.
All the dates and info are below. Read More »
Thanks to Twitter, Kevin Smith fans have been getting an inside look at how the filmmaker-turned-podcaster evolves ideas for his upcoming projects. He kept the whole Red State scenario a secret but since then, nothing has been secret. His proposed hockey film, Hit Somebody, was the first example. Through the Internet he asked actors to participate, then said it was going to be a two-part film, then cut it back to one, and now it’s going to be a mini-series.
Clerks 3 now looks like it’s in the same boat. Smith originally considered doing Clerks 3 as a Broadway play before saying it would be his final film a few months back. Now he’s changed his idea of what the franchise could be.
Talking to the crew at What’s Trending, Smith admitted he isn’t quite sure exactly how Dante and Randal are first going to be resurrected The movie is still an option but he considered doing it as an online series and, more likely, will first distribute the story as an online book, released chapter by chapter. By doing it this way, Smith revealed fan opinion would most certainly begin to influence the way the story would go.
He then revealed the book (and maybe the film) would start with Dante and Randall meeting in kindergarden. Watch the video of Smith discussing this below.
UPDATE: Smith also took to Twitter to explain a bit of his thought process, it’s all below. Read More »
Lots of randomness in this edition of Star Wars Bits. We’ve got debate, video games, standalone talk, real science, humor and more. After the jump. Read about the following:
- Kevin Smith thinks a new Star Wars movie every year is a good thing.
- Ewan McGregor has an idea for an Obi-Wan Kenobi stand-alone movie.
- Zen Pinball has released an Empire Strikes Back map for PS3 and Vita.
- Several Star Wars Expanded Universe authors reveal what they’d like to see in new Star Wars movies.
- J.J. Abrams’ production designer Scott Chambliss will not work on Star Wars Episode VII.
- Exactly what does a 12 parsec Kessell Run mean about Han Solo?
- Is George Lucas feeling good now that he’s not in control of Star Wars?
Read More »
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