Star Wars Now

So many people grew up watching the movies, reading the books, visiting the theme park attractions, and it’s become such a legacy. But what does the story teach us and teach our kids? In this article, we’ll explore that question.

First off, riches are of no value if you don’t have friends to share it with. When Han wants to just leave with his promised loot, he feels that it’s in his best interest. But by the end of the film, he realizes that he’d become friends with Luke and Leia and they were more important than just the riches. Money isn’t everything. If it was, you wouldn’t see so many rich people doing drugs and alcohol. ...

You know, the story of a young person finding out they are a future hero is as old as Hollywood itself and in all fairness, it didn’t start with George Lucas or end with JK Rowling. But since both film series are such icons in film culture, we thought it would be interesting to do some comparisons between them.

Let’s start with Luke and Harry Potter. Luke is an older farm boy on a remote planet. He’s annoyed by the provincial nature of his aunt and uncle. He wants to get the equivalent of a driver’s license so he can get the heck out as his friends have. Harry has a more pressing reason, but being so young, is stuck in his situation. He’s mentally abused by his bumbling family and forced to live in a closet and treated like dirt. Each is put into their situation because of their parent’s death. ...

Back in 1981, National Public Radio (NPR) Playhouse featured radio dramas that relied on good acting, sound effects and musical scores to tell their stories. Some of these were science fiction, but the most notable was Star Wars in 1981 and Empire Strikes Back in 1983. The films were adapted to extended episodes (13 and 10 respectively). Return of the Jedi was to be made as well, but NPR’s rocky relationship with their government benefactor at the time shelved the series. It would be 13 years before NPR would return to finish the original trilogy with a 6 part series that reunited cast and crew. ...

Truly one of the most legendary villains in film history, Darth Vader is the epitome of evil. He is the character over the years we’ve all loved to hate. But from his early beginnings as Anakin Skywalker to his rise to become Darth Lord of the Sith, he’s had many actors play him.

Starting with the voice of Darth Vader in all the films, James Earl Jones is the most memorable. Even though he’s never physically seen in any of the films, his deep sinister tone has thrilled audiences for more than 30 years. Still working at 79, he most recently was seen on House on TV, is in the stage adaptation of Driving Miss Daisy. He also has a film coming out in 2012. ...

Every fan of the series has wanted one thing besides seeing more of Leia in her slave bikini or Jar Jar hung from the rafters and that is to wield a real life light saber. In this quest, people have tried to use various items as pseudo sabers including things like fluorescent overhead bulbs which are quite dangerous if they break and are not recommended. And of course there have been plenty of toy versions like those sold in the stores and at carnivals that have the plastic that lights up and extends out when you swing it. Those might be durable enough for battle, but they look really hokey. ...

In the original Star Wars: A New Hope, at the time of the filming, there were almost no characters in the film that were not played by humans in costumes. Even in the most alien-centric scene at Mos Eisley SpacePort, it was easy to see that all of the inhabitants were people in various degrees of makeup and prosthetics. This is because it was really the only option available. Later of course, there were creatures added in via computer graphics to complete scenes Lucas had not been able to previously. ...