Tag: The Empire Strikes Back
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The Star Wars Actor Who Couldn’t Stand Working With Marlon Brando
Frank Oz became a pop culture icon thanks to his work alongside Jim Henson in the 1980s. In addition to providing the vocal and puppet work for beloved characters like The Empire Strikes Back’s Yoda and The Muppet Show’s Fozzie Bear, Oz established himself as a promising filmmaker. After working alongside Henson’s production company to…
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Ahsoka Made George Lucas’s Most Controversial Star Wars Change Pay Off
This article contains spoilers for the “Ahsoka” season 1 finale, “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord.”George Lucas has been making changes to the original theatrical releases of the “Star Wars” movies since day one. “A famous filmmaker once said that films are never completed, they are only abandoned,” Lucas said in an interview from…
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Ahsoka’s Force Experience In Episode 5 Differs From Luke And Rey’s In One Big Way
This article contains spoilers for “Star Wars: Ahsoka” episode 5 — “Shadow Warrior.”The latest episode of “Ahsoka” had all the makings of a classic “Star Wars” story that could bridge the gap between the prequel trilogy, the animated series “Star Wars Rebels,” and finally introduce the apparent heir to the Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars…
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George Lucas Had Blunt Advice For Luke And Vader’s Final Star Wars Lightsaber Duel
Most film franchises seem to insist on the escalation of stakes. The first Avengers film centered around saving New York from a horde of aliens; “Infinity War” focused on protecting the entire known universe. This desire to raise the stakes with each new entry often backfires, like when the “X-Men” prequel movies centered their third…
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Roger Corman Tried To Copy Star Wars & Gave Us Peak ’80s Cheesy Sci-Fi
If you make a successful, genre-defining film chances are that someone will try to replicate it. The success of The Avengers not only proved that the Marvel Cinematic Universe could work, but the blockbuster sent every studio into a race to create their own “cinematic universe”. Barbie has already led Hasbro to start developing a…
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George Lucas Pulled Some Good-Natured Manipulation To Keep Steven Spielberg On Indiana Jones
When Steven Speilberg’s ultra-slick pulp film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was released in 1981, it was a massive success. Spielberg, following the template laid out by George Lucas a few years earlier on “Star Wars,” made an old-world 1930s adventure serial with modern filmmaking techniques and storytelling tropes, transforming the simple, low-budget glories of…
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Donald and Stephen Glover to Write ‘Lando’ Series for Disney+ as Justin Simien Exits
Donald Glover and his brother Stephen Glover are attached to write the Disney+ Star Wars limited series “Lando,” based on the iconic Lando Calrissian character, IndieWire has confirmed.“Haunted Mansion” director and “Dear White People” creator Justin Simien was previously attached to write “Lando” back when it was first revealed to be in the works in…
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10 Best Seventh Entries in Franchises, Ranked
While some cynics may complain that sequels are ruining the film industry, the truth of the matter is that there’s always room for a franchise to grow and evolve over time. Bad sequels may be the subject of audience blowback, but many of the greatest films of all-time are sequels; The Empire Strikes Back, The…
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Stop-Motion Legend Phil Tippett on the ‘Poker Face’ Episode He Inspired
VFX legend Phil Tippett, whose totally bonkers “Mad God” stop-motion horror film finally got released last year, is a special effects Emmy hopeful this season for an episode of Rian Johnson’s “Poker Face” on Peacock, written and directed by star Natasha Lyonne. He not only contributed old-school monster puppets but also inspired its story about…
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Mark Hamill Thought Avatar: The Last Airbender Was ‘Too Smart’ To Be A Success
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” owes a lot to “Star Wars” — season 2 “Book Two: Earth” in particular echoes the structure of “The Empire Strikes Back.” That’s what makes the casting of Mark Hamill as the series’ villain, Fire Lord Ozai, a clever tip of the hat. The man who played the hero of the…