Which is Nerdier: Star Wars or Star Trek?

I vote for Star Trek. In a good way.

May The Fourth Be With You

From the official Star Wars site:

One of the earliest known records of “May the 4th” used in popular culture is in 1979, as described here by author Alan Arnold while he was chronicling the making of The Empire Strikes Back for Lucasfilm: "Margaret Thatcher has won the election and become Britain’s first woman prime minister. To celebrate their victory her party took a half page of advertising space in the London Evening News. This message, referring to the day of victory, was ‘May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations,’ further proof of the extent to which Star Wars has influenced us all.” May the 4th kicks off a season of celebration, particularly since the month of May has always been important to Star Wars fans. The six live-action movies of the Star Wars saga debuted in May, starting with the original Star Wars on May 25, 1977.

This Is An Ad For Something

Via AdWeek:

Star Wars: Episode VII doesn't hit theaters until December, but the parade of marketing around the movie has already begun. Quiznos today is launching a parody ad on YouTube that playfully mashes up the film franchise with another flick—the movie version of the HBO show Entourage due out in June. "There's such a big following with the Star Wars world," Chris Ruszkowski, vp of advertising at Quiznos, told Adweek. "Both Star Wars and Entourage are coming out this year, and we are excited about what we are going to be bringing this week as well." The brand's endeavor centers on "Startourage," a three-minute video spoof that humorously drops Entourage characters like Vincent Chase and Ari Gold into the world of Star Wars.

TRAILER: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

TRAILER: Lego Star Wars VII

TEASER: Star Wars VII

Darth Vader, Evangelist

Darth Vader lays the Holy Word on errbody.

Viral Video Of The Day

Via the Hollywood Reporter:

This is (naturally) a parody of footage of a woman being harassed while walking the streets of New York. The video became a sensation last month, but also sparked a backlash, with critics complaining that no white men were featured in the video. Well, this video is trying to address that lack of diversity, showing not only that men of different races catcall women, but that men of different species (and movie franchises) are prone to doing so.

Feminists are denouncing the clip on Twitter and the usual "feminazi" name-calling is going on at YouTube.

Disney Reveals Star Wars VII Subtitle

Via the Verge:

Star Wars Episode: VII finally has a subtitle: The Force Awakens. Disney quietly announced the title on Twitter this morning — a somewhat strange approach to what is easily the most anticipated film in production right now. The title feels like a very classic Star Wars name, and it manages to create that feeling even without directly mimicking a prior title. That's no surprise given that director J.J. Abrams has made it clear that Episode VII is meant to feel like an extension of the original trilogy. He's said to be leaning heavily on practical effects, and the fact that he's brought back much of the original cast should help a good deal too.

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens has a December 2015 release date.

The Empire Strikes Back Uncut

Out today from Lucas Films:

With more than 480 fan-made segments culled from over 1,500 submissions, The Empire Strikes Back Uncut (also known as ESB Uncut) features a stunning mash-up of styles and filmmaking techniques, including live action, animation, and stop-motion. The project launched in 2013, with fans claiming 15-second scenes to reimagine as they saw fit – resulting in sequences created with everything from action figures to cardboard props to stunning visual effects. Helmed by Casey Pugh, who oversaw 2010’s Emmy-winning Star Wars Uncut, the new film has a wonderful homemade charm, stands as an affectionate tribute to The Empire Strikes Back, and is a testament to the talent, imagination, and dedication of Star Wars fans.

This looks really cute. The full movie is below.

Sesame Street - Star S'Mores

"A long time ago in a cookies and milky way galaxy far, far away...Princess Parfaita was taken prisoner by the evil Galactic Empire and had to be saved by a group of unlikely heroes including the young Luke Piewalker, Flan Solo, and Chewie the Cookie." And Only-One Cannoli! I like how the princess starts with a British accent that later disappears. This clip debuted last month at Comic Con in San Diego.

Carrie Fischer: Don't Out C3PO

Carrie Fisher appeared on out British comedian Alan Carr's show yesterday.

The camp comic was thrilled to have the American star, famous for playing Princess Leia, on his sofa. She had come on to plug the new Star Wars movie, out next year. But Carr, 37, caused a stir when he suggested having a role in the film himself. He said: “Could I be C3PO? I’d make a really good one. "He’s a bit gay.” Shocked Carrie, 57, told him: “You can say that but I’m not going there. "Don’t out C3PO.” Then she suggested that the Chatty Man was too porky to be the robot.

A promo clip appears to have removed the outing comments.

Harry Potter Vs Star Wars

3.5M views in one day.

Size Comparisons Of Sci-Fi Spaceships

Source. Huge version. I actually recognize about 20 of these.

John Williams To Score Star Wars VII

Via the Hollywood Reporter:

It's official: the latest chapter of Star Wars will be scored by John Williams. The composer, who has crafted the score for all six titles in the space opera saga, was confirmed to be joining J.J. Abrams' Episode VII by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy on Saturday at a Star Wars fan event in Essen, Germany. The Episode VII script will be penned by Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) and is set to hit theaters in 2015, with Episode VIII and IX scheduled in the years after. Original trilogy stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are expected to appear in the film.

Star Wars IV was the first soundtrack I ever bought.

Ewok Wins Westminster 2013

His name is Banana Joe. Details.

Official White House Petition Response

After a petition to build a Death Star topped the required 25,000 signatures, the White House issued an official response. It begins:

This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For

The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:
- The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
- The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
- Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

Hit the link, the rest is just as funny. (Image source)

That's No Moon

(Via Towleroad)

Disney To Buy Lucasfilm

The Walt Disney Co. will pay George Lucas $4 billion for the company that brought us Star Wars.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement that the acquisition is a great fit and will help preserve and grow the "Star Wars" franchise. "The last 'Star Wars' movie release was 2005's 'Revenge of the Sith' — and we believe there's substantial pent-up demand," Iger said. Kathleen Kennedy, the current co-chairman of Lucasfilm, will become the division's president and report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Lucas will be creative consultant on new "Star Wars" films. Lucas said in a statement, "It's now time for me to pass 'Star Wars' on to a new generation of filmmakers." The deal brings Lucasfilm under the Disney banner with other brands including Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC, all companies that Disney has acquired over the years.

The seventh Star Wars film is due in three years. (Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

Sci-Fi Party Poopers

Gizmodo has published a list of ten science fiction staples that they say will never come to be because of the pesky physical laws of the universe.

1. Lightsabers
2. Human teleportation
3. Time travel
4. Faster than light speed travel
5. Generation ships
6. Gravitational shielding
7. Personal force fields
8. Cryonic reanimation
9. Consciousness uploading
10.Infinite data processing

Gizmodo follows each of the above items with mumbo-jumbo-y explanations that probably read better in the voice of Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Commenters are weighing with the predictable, "Yeah and a hundred years ago they said man would never walk on the moon." Personally I'm most disappointed by the teleportation entry because as we very well know, time travel always results in disaster.