Archive for 2010



Let’s Hear It For This Cool Star Wars Ear Tattoo

StarWars.com Team | September 7, 2010

Tattoo artist and Star Wars fan Jacob Walsh has the kind of tattoo that makes listening to John Williams’ soundtrack even more special. StarWars.com chats with him about his unusual tattoo.

Why did you decide to get a Star Wars tattoo… on your ear?

I am a tattoo artist and was sitting at work on May 4th thinking, “I have to get a Star Wars tattoo today.” It was originally gonna be some sort of design on the inside of my lip but I couldn’t decide on something that would work. After the idea of getting the Death Star popped up I decided to go with the ear just because it fit better.

How did you decide on the design?

It needed to be something that didn’t need a lot of detail to be recognizable. The original idea was a lightsaber inside my lip. When I thought that wouldn’t work I just started doodling and came up with a Death Star. It’s a very simple image and everyone knows what the Death Star is. When I decided on the Death Star my artist suggested that it would fit better on the ear. We just went with it and thought it would look cool with a TIE fighter thrown in.

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Ewok in a DeLorean!?

StarWars.com Team | September 7, 2010


(Photo Credit: Matt Hickey/CNET)

Marty McFly would have had a lot more problems if an Ewok swiped his time traveling DeLorean in Back to the Future.

CNET blogger Matt Hickey writes of his unusual discovery at the PAX gaming festival:

Not much story here, but that is indeed Wicket W. Warrick of Return of the Jedi fame sitting behind the wheel of the iconic time machine from Back to the Future.

The machine was on hand to promote the newly announced title from Telltale Games. I was going to use a photo of yours truly at the helm, but this was just too geek to pass up.

————-

SOURCE: CNET

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Whimsical Star Wars Art by Chris Bishop

StarWars.com Team | September 7, 2010

Artist and illustrator Chris Bishop has a knack for drawing pretty girls with robots, but it’s his whimsical Star Wars art that caught our eye recently.

StarWars.com chats with the artist about his latest illustrations of bounty hunters, Jedi and droids that make us smile.

What’s the story behind the Han Solo illustration?

My childhood friends and I all grew up to be artists. We started drawing Star Wars characters in our own styles for fun as a little diversion from work. I went with a shaggy, tattooed Han Solo holding the head of IG-88, my favorite robot bounty hunter. It never happened in the movie, but I imagine it might have sooner or later.

What are all of Han’s tattoos?

He has a bunch of tattoos but the most important ones are a heart with an “L” on it for Leia, an “MF” for the old Millennium Falcon, and two little crossed out Death Stars. I love putting tattoos on my drawings because it’s a fun way to add little symbols and details to a character.

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Fans Get Inked at Star Wars Celebration V

StarWars.com Team | August 31, 2010

Photos: Jenny Elwick

For the first time at Star Wars Celebration, fans got a rare chance to be tattooed during the show by a talented group of artists. StarWars.com chats with tattoo pavilion co-organizer and The Force in the Flesh author Shane Turgeon about the live tattooing that happened during Celebration V.

This is the first time we’ve had live Star Wars tattooing at a Celebration. How was the overall reaction from fans getting tattoos and lurking about wishing they got tattoos?

The reaction to the Tattoo Pavilion was overwhelming and both myself and my co-host Marc Draven were really pleased. People were really excited to get tattooed or to experience the area without getting tattooed themselves.

I heard or overheard from numerous people that the Tattoo Pavilion was the most interesting thing at Celebration this year and while I’m not sure I can agree (there was soooo much cool stuff to see and do) it’s great to receive that sort of feedback.

What was the most unusual Star Wars tattoo given at the convention?

My friend Chris Botkins got what was, in my opinion, the best and most unusual Star Wars tattoo. It’s pretty obscure. Only the most hardcore of vintage prototype collectors would understand but here’s the story.

When Chris started dating his now wife, Amy, she bought him a dynacast hard copy Rebel Commando head for his focus. Now unless you’re down with the prototype lingo, you might not have any idea what I just said. In a nutshell, a hard copy is an early prototype stage where a resin cast is made from the original wax sculpt.

A number of different resin compounds were used during the vintage era to make hard copies but arguably, the most desirable and visually striking, is dynacast. It’s a beautiful green compound that really stands out. So, in tribute to his wife, his Rebel Commando focus collection and his love of prototypes, Chris had Heather Maranda tattoo the deep green dynacast head against a background of bright oranges and reds along with a banner for his wife reading True Love. Epic.

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The Empire Skates Back Art Show at Celebration V

StarWars.com Team | August 31, 2010

Photos: Shane Turgeon & Jenny Elwick

Fans who attended Celebration V this year were not only treated to a Star Wars Tattoo Contest, but also had the chance to check out skateboard decks painted by exceptional tattoo artists. The decks were auctioned off during the Make-A-Wish Auction

The Force in the Flesh author Shane Turgeon, who organized the event called “The Empire Skates Back,” contacted some incredible talent to transform the decks into one-of-a-kind works of art for a good cause.

StarWars.com chats with Turgeon about the artistic decks.

Can you describe the gist of the Star Wars Tattoo Art show for fans who didn’t get a chance to see it?

The show was called “The Empire Skates Back.” In celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, 30 tattooers were each given a blank skateboard deck to paint, sculpt, or build their homage, rendition or interpretation of this amazing film. Unfortunately, only 22 decks arrived in time for the show, but they were all unbelievable works of art.


Why did you decide to have a tattoo art show at Celebration this year?

What many people don’t know is that many tattoo artists are accomplished fine artists as well, and their canvas ranges from the skin to more traditional art mediums. After seeing The Vader Project at CIV and CE, I thought it would be a great idea to involve tattoo artists in a similar project. As skateboarding and tattooing as still somewhat underground, it seemed only natural to combine the two.

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Star Wars Shout-out on Burn Notice

StarWars.com Team | August 31, 2010

Spotting Star Wars references in hit shows TV shows is always a nice surprise, but when pop culture icon & legendary actor Bruce Campbell makes a Star Wars reference, it’s icing on the Death Star cake!

Campbell, who plays the ex-Navy Seal and mercenary-for-hire Sam Axe on the USA Network show Burn Notice, dropped a Force-related comment in a recent episode in regards to a crazy plan regarding chatting with an ex-spy who’s best left in the loony bin.

“I thought the weird feeling in the air was just the calm before the storm. No, it’s a disturbance in the Force.” – Bruce Campbell

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE:
Burn Notice: “Center of the Storm”

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Star Wars Tattoo Contest Winners at Celebration V

StarWars.com Team | August 31, 2010

Photos: Jenny Elwick

As expected the Star Wars tattoo contest at Celebration V was a huge hit with fans who prefer to go under the buzz of the needle to prove their love for the saga. Fans competed in a skin art contest showing off some of the most impressive tattoos on this side of the galaxy.

StarWars.com chats with tattoo pavilion co-organizer and The Force in the Flesh author Shane Turgeon about the contest which has become a fan favorite at Celebrations past and present.

Out of all the tattoos in the contest which one were you most impressed by?

That’s a really hard question to answer! Jeff Menz had a killer Hildebrandt full back piece, Ron Stein’s leg was totally mind blowing, Jim Sharamitaro’s Vintage Free Boba Fett Offer tattoo was totally epic, and so many of the tattoos done over the course of the weekend were just to die for. There’s no way I could pick just one from such an overwhelming amount of quality work to choose from.

How was this tattoo competition different than other Celebrations?

This year we added the fifth category, Tattoo of the Weekend, which celebrated the work that the artists did at the show. I think it was one of the most interesting categories which allowed us to really help showcase the Tattoo Pavilion as well.

What was your favorite moment during the contest?

I think when one of the contestants, JP Morgan (no kidding, JP Morgan) was showing his tattoo to our host Dave Collins and referencing why R2-D2 was his favorite character — notably being that they’re both short and round, make funny noises and love to party.

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Hasbro Discusses New Vintage Line Action Figures

StarWars.com Team | August 30, 2010

IGN Comics ran an in-depth interview today with Hasbro’s Vice President of Marketing, Derryl Depriest, about Hasbro’s new vintage line figures, which will include prequel characters packaged on the classic-style cardbacks familiar to collectors of the ‘70s and ‘80s line. Here’s an excerpt:

Depriest: “What makes the new series different is that this time, it is not limited. The series is open-ended and is planned to run for at least two years, pending fan acceptance. In addition, rather than staying true to updates of the original Kenner series, we are introducing figures from the Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I-III) just as if the original Kenner line had never stopped. Once folks see characters like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Grievous and Commander Cody they will truly understand the nostalgic power that this black and silver line really has; it’s as if Kenner has been making Star Wars figures continuously for the past 32 years!”

Check out the full interview at IGN Comics!

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Bounty Hunter Sitcoms Twitter Meme

StarWars.com Team | August 30, 2010


(by TB5918)Last week on Twitter, Star Wars fans joined in on the #BountyHunterSitcoms hashtag to come up with some of the coolest comedies we wish really existed on the small screen.

Here’s a listing of some of our favorites:

Who’s the Bossk? – @TB5918 & @alexpardee
Boba Knows Best – @Kalethan
The Mighty Boushh – @chrisjallan
IG-88 is Enough – @DarkLordSidious
My Life as Boba – @TheLizAlliance
Slave(One)’d by the Bell – @electrikyle
Boba Meets World – @HVAdvertising
Seinfett – @MitchyD
How IG-88 Met Your Mother – @jhawver
The Fetts of Life – @jrsydevils
The Fresh Bossk of Bel Aire – @MuggyDelFreskoe
Dengar & Greg – @nerdrage42
Mandalorian in the Middle – @sengaeriel
The Golden Greedos – @astheniafreak
The Fettsons – @astheniafreak
Growing Up Greedo – @thatCSAguy
Everybody Loves Zuckuss – @BobWulff
The Big Bossk Theory – @BobWulff
Sanford & Slave-1 – @HVAdvertising
4-Lom, a girl and a pizza place – @LordPalpatine
4-Lom-y Ties – @Greg_Uebele
The IG-88 Crowd – @Barnfee

Have more to add? Post them in the comments below!

Be sure to follow the official Star Wars Twitter!


(by Alex Pardee)

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Fan Movie Winner Profile: Star Wars ’70s Animation

StarWars.com Team | August 30, 2010

At this year’s Star Wars Fan Movie Awards presented by Lucasfilm and Atom at Celebration V in Orlando, Florida, Star Wars ’70s Animation won the Spirit of Fandom Award.

Starwars.com chats with California-based filmmaker John Kolesar about his award-winning film.

What is your background in film? Did you study it in college? Did you make films as a youngster/teen?

No film background. I made this Star Wars film back in the ’70s with the help of my younger brother Jim and friend Anthony. I also made a few other stop-frame animated films using clay animation, modified plastic models and other fun stuff.

What prompted you to make a Star Wars fan film? How has George Lucas and his films influenced your work?

We were creative kids, and my parents let us use their video camera. Once the Star Wars figures and ships started appearing in stores, I guess we thought it would be fun to make a film using those things. I read all the sci-fi magazines back then, and found the “making of” and special effects articles fascinating.

What is the backstory regarding your film? Where did you get your idea for your film?

We had quite a collection of figures. Our film is loosely based on a few scenes from Star Wars. We added some characters, modified some scenes, added new ones, etc.

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