Interview by Bonnie Burton

This week we lost an iconic special effects innovator and make-up artist Stan Winston, who’s best known for his work in the Terminator films, Jurassic Park, Aliens, Predator, Edward Scissorhands and most recently Iron Man, passed away at age 62 on June 15, 2008. He leaves behind a legacy of innovative work that not only earned him four Academy Awards, but legions of fans who many have become movie make-up artists and creature creators themselves.

Revenge of the Sith Creature Shop Supervisor Dave Elsey talks to us about his own admiration for Stan Winston and why his talents on the big screen will be missed.

When did you first discover the work of Stan Winston?
I was probably about 15 when I discovered Stan Winston’s work. I had a book called Making A monster by Al Taylor and Sue Roy, and I was really obsessed by the stuff he did, even back then, before he started doing all the really iconic stuff. I really loved his collaborative old age makeup on The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman.

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If you’re anywhere near the small town of Petaluma just north of San Francisco this weekend, be sure to stop in and take part in the 35th anniversary celebration of George Lucas’ iconic 1973 film American Graffiti.

Early birds have already witnessed a full re-enactment of the famous police car axle-yank in the small hours Thursday morning with several more events planned for Friday and Saturday, May 16th and 17th.

Admission is free, with cruisin’ parties, cast and crew events, and special collectibles available exclusively at the event. For more information, check the schedule of events here.

Most fans know by now that “Lost” co-creator and film director J.J. Abrams is a die-hard Star Wars-ophile, so when he decided reimagine the prequel story of James Kirk, some people were inclined to raise a Spock eyebrow. Abrams tells AP why he chose to tackle the sci-fi franchise already saturated with a vocal fan base of its own.

“It was an opportunity to take what I think has been a maligned world — to sound crass, a franchise — and treat it in a way that made it something that I wanted to see,” said Abrams, who recently finished shooting on Star Trek, due in theaters May 8, 2009. “To take the characters, the thoughtfulness, the personalities, the sense of adventure, the idea of humanity working together, the sense of social commentary and innovation, all that stuff. To take it and apply it in a way that felt genuinely thrilling.”

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In case any of you missed coverage of New York City Comic Con, here’s a round up of some of the most interesting clips of bloggers, journalists and fans geeking out at the largest comic convention on the East coast.

• VIDEO — BBtv: NYC Comic Con geek-gasm
• VIDEO — Best Week Ever Does Comic-Con
• ‘Star Wars’ Live-Action Show To Reveal Galaxy’s ‘Greasy, Seamy Underbelly’ (MTV)
• NYCC 08: Robot Chicken - Star Wars DVD Details (IGN.com)
• NYCC: Star Wars, Indiana Jones and The Dark Knight (Cinematical)
• New York Comic Con: Glimpses at ‘The Dark Knight,’ ‘The Spirit,’ and more! (EW.com)
• Club Jade NYC Comic-Con Coverage

After almost 20 years, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas team up for a new whip-cracking adventure. Entertainment Weekly magazine talks to the trio about why it took so long, what to expect, and what they think about living up to their own legends.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

Another focus of chatroom buzz has been the baddies, a nasty group of Russian soldiers and operatives in search of the title object because of its reputed mind-controlling powers. (About time, says Ford, that Indy moved on from tangling with German SS officers, as he did in movies 1 and 3: ”We plum wore the Nazis out. Couldn’t go there again.”) The leader of the KGB-backed pack is Cate Blanchett, in a severe, straight-banged, ink black wig, as Agent Irina Spalko. She’s a born interrogator. Gimlet-eyed and handy with a sword, she crosses blades with Mutt. Asked if Agent Spalko gives off a vaguely dominatrix vibe, Lucas says, ”Not so vaguely,” and bursts out laughing. Could be the kinkiest thing he’s helped brainstorm since he put Princess Leia in a gold bikini and chains in Return of the Jedi.

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Legendary filmmakers and and lifelong friends George Lucas and Steven Spielberg give a rare interview together to chat about finding the perfect MacGuffin for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the supernatural, villainesses, greaser tips, CGI, and fan bloggers.

Here are a few quotes from the interview:

In developing the third movie, there was a Christopher Columbus script early on, Indiana Jones and the Monkey King, set partly in Africa. And that one had a preamble involving a haunted castle.

LUCAS: We wrote complete scripts on other MacGuffins [for the third film]. And finally I said, look, let’s just try the Holy Grail. [Adopting another voice] ”Ohhh, it’s too cerebral, we’ll never make it work….” So we turned it into a tangible magic cup with healing powers, instead of an intellectual thing. It wasn’t until the idea of introducing the father came along that we kind of pulled [the third movie] out of the fire. Because it then shifted from being about the MacGuffin. But ultimately, these are supernatural mysteries. They aren’t action adventures. Everybody thinks they’re action-adventure films, but that’s just the genre we hang them on.
SPIELBERG: There’s not one that hasn’t been supernatural.
LUCAS: The supernatural part has to be real. [He taps the table] Which is why they’re very hard, and you run out [of options] very fast. You have to have a supernatural object that people actually believe in. People believe that there was an Ark of the Covenant, and it has these powers. Same thing with the Sankara stones, same thing with the Holy Grail. We may have exaggerated some of its powers, but basically there are people who believe there is a Holy Grail, brought back by the Knights Templar.
SPIELBERG: Of course, I was worried that people would hear ”Holy Grail,” and they would immediately think about a white rabbit attacking Monty Python. My first reaction was to say, ”Everybody run away! Run away!”

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Long before first-person shooters, Wii and arcade games, there was a little coin-eating game called pinball. For those of us who fancied ourselves as the next pinball wizard a new documentary about its decline in popularity (and sales) is an interesting look at a lost segment of gaming.

IGN reviews TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball which chronicles America’s largest manufacturer of pinball games — Williams — and its last ditch attempt to save the company with “Pinball 2000.” As the tale unfolds, TILT makes a mention of the role the Star Wars franchise played during the last moments of pinball.

Insider interviews with some of Williams’ designers give insight into the design process and technology behind “Pinball 2000″ as well as the classic models of the past several decades. The most interesting part comes during the final section, discussing Williams’ deal with Lucasfilm to distribute Star Wars: Episode 1 themed Pinball 2000 cabinets and how executive and creative interfere affected the quality of the final product and quite possibly the fate of the company in general.

Read the full review here:
TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball DVD Review (IGN.com)

In case you somehow missed all the rather cool ads reminding you to tune in, tonight is the night that the Star Wars saga debuts on Spike TV. Everyone can catch the six movies that span generations and bring guys (and gals) together all in one place. Starting today, April 4th, at 8PM/7C, Spike will begin airing the saga in chronological order, starting off with Episode I. On Saturday comes Episode II, and on Sunday is the World Broadcast Premiere of Episode III. Then, next weekend starting on April 11, the original trilogy kicks off with Episode IV, Episode V on Saturday the 12th, and Episode VI on Sunday. And throughout these airings, don’t miss sneak peeks into The Force Unleashed (Check out that schedule here).

For more info visit Spike’s Star Wars site here.

Ever since we first wrote about “High School the Musical” star Zac Efron twirling a lightsaber in his Big-in-reverse film Seventeen Again, we’ve be curious to see more footage!

“We do have a showdown with lightsabers…if that’s not enough reason to come see it,” Zac smiles.

Lucky for us, we just found this preview clip of Seventeen Again with that epic lightsaber battle at the very beginning and end.

You’re welcome.

Seventeen Again Movie Clip (Moviefone)

Also check out this article and watch another video of Zac in action here:
Zac Efron Sheds Teen Image, Plays It Cool For Seventeen Again (MTV.com)

Wired magazine takes an in-depth look at the movie Fanboys — which has had a bit of controversy lately from fans wanting the original cut (and not the Cancer-free plot) to be released in theaters.

The magazine chats with Fanboys screenwriter Ernie Cline, who’s proudly been a Star Wars fan since childhood. Cline reveals not only his love for the saga, but also his very personal reasons for making the original plot of Fanboys have a more deeper meaning than just geek boys on a quest to see The Phantom Menace before everyone else.

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