words: Bonnie Burton

As a proud resident of San Francisco, I can tell you I’ve often daydreamed of how cool it would be if a Star Destroyer hovered over the Golden Gate Bridge as I was stuck in traffic. Or if AT-AT’s shared Ocean Beach with joggers and dog walkers.

It looks like a fan had the same brainwaves I did, and made it happen — at least in video form. Check out this awesome short film by Michael Horn of Star Wars vehicles and ships as they sneak into various video footage around San Francisco all thanks to some creativity and impressive tracking software. Maybe one day tourist snapshots of Coit Tower and cable cars will have the Death Star in the background! A fan girl can dream, can’t she?

VIDEO: Death Star over San Francisco (Current TV)

Here’s a few of our favorite screenshots from the film including our interview with Michael about how he made the film and why:

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We’ve featured Sweded tributes to Star Wars before on this blog, but this might be the first fan film that looks like it was done completely during a lunch break at the office. My personal favorite touches are the low-rent C-3PO and R2-D2 droids, as well as Chewie’s plastic mask with fur! Bravo!

VIDEO: Star Wars TIE Fighter Battle in the Office

The creative folks over at IndyMogul have done it again! This time they show you how to make your own lightsaber hilt prop from simple materials available at any hardware store, and then how to make cool special glowy lightsaber effects for your own fan films!

VIDEO: Build a Real Lightsaber and become a Jedi: BFX
(via IndyMogul.com)

Sure that dance sequence with actress Jennifer Beals at the end of Flashdance is awesome, but somehow it seems even more inspiring when a Bob Fett toy shows off the same dance moves. Too bad his jetpack gets in the way of his dance scholarship! Check out this fantastic stop-motion video from Patrick Boivin.

VIDEO: Mandalorian Dance

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SOURCE: ClubJade.net

This fan-made film makes me wish the Jedi had snowboards at Hoth.
Don’t miss Boba Fett’s cameo during the battle as well!

VIDEO: Star Wars Snowboarding (via /Film)

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SOURCE: Club Jade

Nothing excites me more than seeing crafty fans get out cardboard, socks and foil to make their own DIY Star Wars sets, costumes and props. I can’t get enough of this ‘Sweded’ version of The Empire Strikes Back — complete with a homemade costumes, a comical puppets including one of a comical Wampa, lightsaber effects, ringtone soundtrack and a backyard Dagobah jungle!

VIDEO: Empire Strikes Back in 60 seconds

Be sure to also watch Cardboard Star Wars too!

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SOURCE: ClubJade.net

Here’s an oldie but goodie from the archives of Star Wars online fandom.

Check out this Telnet server that broadcasts Star Wars Episode IV to your command line as animated text. From any command line, type: telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl and watch A New Hope unfold in ASCII style!

Be sure to also watch Star Wars Asciimation here.

SOURCES: Lifehacker, The Register

Gametrailers.com has posted the first two parts of a fantastic three-part series showcasing the history of Star Wars video games. From the first Empire Strikes Back cartridge made for Atari’s old 2600 in 1982 to the LEGO Star Wars series and beyond, these short docs walk us through the history of Star Wars video gaming with extensive gameplay footage and the classic old 8-bit soundtracks — no quarters required.

Check out Part 1 and Part 2, and if you’ve still got the energy, check out Starwars.com’s video game poster retrospective when you’re finished.

It seems that director Michel Gondry’s film Be Kind Rewind has been inspiring fans everywhere to make “Sweded” versions of their favorite movies which include everything from classics like Star Wars to this creative tribute to the 1982 sci-fi film TRON!

The level of detail in the costumes and cardboard vehicles is quite impressive. We want more! What movie would you like to see get “Sweded” next?

Check out the video here:
VIDEO: TRON Sweded

When we first reported about the creepy, headless, deer-like quadruped BigDog robot, we never imagined that someone would decide to give it the Sweded Be Kind Rewind treatment. But we are very glad they did! It duplicates the original video right down to the jerk trying to kick them over. Pure genius!

Check out this video and a mini-interview with its creators here:
Video of BigDog Beta Quadruped Robot Is So Stupid It’s Hilarious (via Gizmodo)