AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: BOUNTY HUNTER ASSEMBLY!

On the command deck of his Super Star Destroyer, much to the irritant of the Imperial Officers under his command, Darth Vader has put the call out to the deadliest group of Bounty Hunters in the galaxy to search for the Millennium Falcon and its occupants. Amongst them, and at the very top of the tree in his chosen specialist field of 'business', the totally lethal and resourceful Boba Fett, soon to be a legend of the Star Wars universe.

Left to right: Dengar (Moray Bush), IG-88 (a prop operated by UK Effects technician Bill Hargreaves), Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch), Bossk (Alan Harris), 4-Lom (Chis Parsons) and Zuckuss (Cathy Munroe).

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: VADER'S 'EXTRA HELP'!

Vader confers with his guard over the assembled bounty hunters in a deleted moment. Image: Kurtz/Joiner Archive.

The word has been put out by Darth Vader, alongside a substantial reward offered by the Empire, to the galaxy's greatest and most formidable bounty hunters to search for the Millennium Falcon and capture its passengers wherever they may be hiding. The roll call of nasties being the humanoid Dengar (played by British stand-in/wrestler Moray Bush), the droids IG-88 (a prop operated by Bill Hargreaves) and 4-Lom (Chris Parsons, once again inside a droid costume), insectoid Zuckuss (petite actress Cathy Munroe), reptilian Bossk (actor/stand-in Alan Harris), and the most well known and lethal of the assembled cadre, the esteemed and ultra-reliable Boba Fett (as played by Jeremy Bulloch).

Filmed in April, 1979, of which the bounty hunters wore costumes cheaply culled and revised from existing stock, with additional masks created by Stuart Freeborn and his team for 4-Lom and Zuckuss (the latter originally called 'Tuckuss' at one point), the sequence has since become a legendary and beloved moment for fans, who, even back with the film's original 1980 release, were intrigued to learn more about this gruesome collection of characters.

A selection of posed images from the filming...

'HAPPY CHRISTMAS!' - 2018

They've decided to take a break from scouring the universe for their assigned prey, and now those iconic and deadly bounty hunters comprising Boba Fett and his 'rivals' are instead giving us some yuletide sing-a-long cheer for the holiday season!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR! to all STAR WARS AFICIONADO readers worldwide.

CLASSIC ART: UNDERWORLD DWELLERS!

Nothing can be more representative so far in showcasing the shades of grey realms prevalent within the original six-film STAR WARS saga (and its animated spin-offs) created by George Lucas than the diverse range of formidable and iconic bounty hunters that have pursed their prey, and their payments, across the galaxy-personified at the top of the rotting tree by the iconic and seemingly invincible Boba Fett, as seen in this great limited edition ACME ARCHIVES/Sideshow Collectibles art print from a few years back.

The recent addition of talented Game of Thrones creative geniuses and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to the STAR WARS universe for another set of all-new films, beyond those being developed by Rian Johnson, is a further bold and shrewd instinctual move from Kathleen Kennedy. Their love of dark side, shades of grey, morally bankrupt heroes and villains, as seen in their super translation of the George R. R. Martin books for HBO, makes them perfect custodians of what is rumoured to be an updated and even bigger version of what was once George Lucas's original TV plan for an 'Underworld'/opposite side of the fence view of the saga. Indeed, it had long been unconfirmed industry gossip that Benioff and Weiss (separately or together) were two of the original US line-up of writers (that also officially included modern GALACTICA scribe Ronald D. Moore) to have worked on that aborted series' completed, hugely ambitious scripts, to have been produced by Lucas with Rick McCallum. If that is indeed the case, the duo's journey (or return journey) to the Lucasfilm fold is more noteworthy than ever...

Five reasons why the duo are perfect for the new STAR WARS era: 
http://ew.com/tv/2018/02/06/game-of-thrones-star-wars/

Official statement:
http://www.starwars.com/news/game-of-thrones-creators-david-benioff-and-d-b-weiss-to-write-and-produce-a-new-series-of-star-wars-films

And no sooner were they officially aboard then the duo were sadly departed:
‘Star Wars’: Inside David Benioff, D.B. Weiss’ Exits – Variety

CLASSIC IMAGE: WHO'S THE BOSS(K)!

Not ready to take insults from a lowly human, no matter what his Imperial rank, bounty hunter Bossk gives Admiral Piett a reptilian glare to remember, in an always cool moment from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, seen here in rehearsal- note the costume dresser behind Alan Harris inside the Bossk outfit.

'SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE' AT 20: CANTINA CONFRONTATION!

He's snagged his biggest bounty yet in the carbonized Han Solo he plans on delivering to Jabba the Hutt, but actually getting to Tatooine in one piece to claim that subsequent monetary prize? Well, that's gonna be a lot harder than Boba Fett thinks, especially when his rivals also want a share of the pie, as seen on the cover of SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE's comic adaptation Issue 2, from 1996. Great art from Hugh Fleming for DARK HORSE COMICS.

CLASSIC IMAGE: CIRCLE OF FIENDS!

The time has come for Vader to use other, more malicious means to track down the Millennium Falcon and Luke Skywalker beyond the resources of his lacking Imperial Death Fleet: Bounty Hunters, as personified by the lethal Boba Fett and his compatriots in the reptilian Bossk and the droid IG-88, during this classic image from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

STAR WARS AFICIONADO was sorry to hear about the recent passing, aged 95, of Boba Fett's original and best voice artist in Jason Wingreen, who, having failed to get the job of voicing Yoda, recorded all his work for the iconic dented helmet of EMPIRE during one pleasant afternoon in early 1980. A respected everyman character actor in all areas of film and TV, Wingreen additionally had notable roles playing goodies and baddies in fantasy greats like the original STAR TREK series, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, and several classic episodes of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. With the upswing of attention to Fett from the nineties onwards, Wingreen, despite frustration at receiving few royalties with his STAR WARS work (he made more money from his work voicing Boba for an American Underoos commercial than anything he did for EMPIRE), was nonetheless very happy to interact with his long-time dedicated fan base worldwide, of whom he will be much remembered and missed.

Jason Wingreen, voice of Star Wars' Boba Fett dies at 95 | Daily Mail Online

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Its time for ghouls, ghosties and all creatures of the night -whether they be in this universe or the STAR WARS one- to come out to play and par-ty!

(5) HALLOWEEN-STAR WARS STYLE!

STAR WARS AFICIONADO wishes its worldwide readers a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE DEAD OR ALIVE SQUAD!

Seen ever so briefly but quickly making an incredible impact with STAR WARS fans in the Expanded and Animated Series Universes: the pantheon of diverse and lethal bounty hunters, most notably including the ultra-cool Boba Fett, assembled by Darth Vader to find our fugitive Rebel heroes and the Millennium Falcon, from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

AFICIONADO REVIEW: "CURSE OF THE BLACK HOLE PIRATES"

STAR WARS: BREAKOUT SQUAD

BOOK II: CURSE OF THE BLACK HOLE PIRATES

By Ryder Windham

Published in the UK by PUFFIN BOOKS

Reviewed by Scott Weller

On his first true assignment/ mission as a representative of the Republic- sent on his way by that kindly protectorate of the galaxy, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine!- young Jedi Padawan Nuru Kungurama, whose search for his missing Jedi Master- Ring-Sol Ambase- has currently stalled, heads for the largely unexplored and dangerous Outer Regions to partake in a delicate diplomatic meeting with the secretive and isolationist race who also just happen to be a part of his birthright: theChiss.

Accompanied by his newly formed Breakout Squad of Clone Troopers to a world in the Csilla system, things don’t go according to plan from the outset, with incorrect co-ordinates leading to an uneasy arrival at their ultimate destination, followed by a first encounter with the female Chiss representative, Veeren, that promises little for any kind of future pact between the two civilizations. Soon caught up in a new battle against attacking Separatist forces, the would-be retreating allies-to-be find themselves unwittingly caught in an unknown region of space, and facing off against a brigand of desperate and dangerous space pirates.

Beyond those conflicts, frightening plans are also under fruition in another corner of the galaxy, as Nuru’s aforementioned missing Jedi Master, Ring-Sol Ambase, previously captured by Cad Bane, is ultimately delivered to Count Dooku, who has his own special and manipulative agenda to commence against his once friend and the Republic he serves...

Old pirate clichés get the revisionist STAR WARS treatment, and there’s even a few nods to other films like Disney’s classic THE BLACK HOLE from 1979.

Add to the mix a little bit of STARGATE and TOTAL RECALL, as well as a whiff of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION’s second season episode Contagion, and you've got another lively adventure from longtime EU scribe Ryder Windham that younger readers will enjoy. And, as ever, there's some fun references and dialogue quotes linked to previous STAR WARS films.

The author carefully develops his recently introduced characters a little bit further, and obviously has bold plans ahead for them. Jedi Padawan Nuru, despite early hesitancy and anxiety about his new mission and what it entails, becomes a more confident Jedi, hopefully learning something about his mysterious identity along the way, whilst new antagonist/heroine Veeren is another fine addition to the roll call of Expanded Universe women: young but an experienced ambassador and warrior. Efficiently trained as a protector of the Chiss people, her first encounter with Nuru is cold to say the least, but will presumably soften to either Han/Leia proportions at some point in the future or, at worst, they’ll end being brother and sister!

Adding some enjoyable invention to the tale, the Hasty Harpy‘s eccentric smuggling vessel Captain, Lalo Gunn, has to use all of her knowledge and experience to outwit the trapped space pirates, operating at the edge of an unknown system containing a black hole, whilst the Clone Troopers of Breakout Squad have to adapt to an intriguing kind of servitude!

There’s also more mixing and matching of guest star aliens from across the two trilogies, which works better in novel form than in any of the revisions added to the Blu-ray movies!, including the return of the scaly Trandoshan bounty hunter with the lisp problem: Bossk, who, as part of the motley band of rag tag pirates, makes a welcome reptilian re-appearance and proves as slippery and aggressive a customer as ever!

Meanwhile, the dark forces of the Sith may remain in the background, but their manipulating presence continues to be felt, as the books final chapter, with the deceptive Count Dooku, gives the tale an enjoyable To Be Continued… flavor.  

AFICIONADO RATING: Though its not my personal favourite of the three Breakout Squad books so far- it doesn’t feel quite as well constructed story-wise as the other adventures it bridges- it's all still highly readable stuff. 3 out of 5

CLASSIC IMAGE: DEADLY APPRENTICESHIP!

Not my idea of perfect adoptive parents or role models, those very dangerous bounty hunters, the Trandoshan Bossk and lithe but deadly Aurra Sing pose for a "family photo" alongside their new recruit, the revenge fuelled teenage Boba Fett (once more voiced in the series by EPISODE II actor Daniel Logan) in this specially created image by LUCASFILM ANIMATION for the very enjoyable Fett story arc that made up the final three episodes of Season Two in early 2010. Those and three other earlier episodes make up that last batch of tales now available in compilation discs from the ambitious Season Two and it's mostly successful umbrella theme of RISE OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS. This WARNER BROTHERS DVD only release, out next week (22nd), will surely be welcome by completist collectors, but is also aimed primarily at the younger family/audience mark. And a welcome release it is too, with enough imagination, diverse creatures, visual excitement and colour to keep everyone thoroughly entertained during the Summer holidays.

The second part of the Fett arc, R2 COME HOME, made our top five episodes of that season. Check out our mini- review here: STAR WARS AFICIONADO MAGAZINE: "THE CLONE WARS" SEASON TWO. SWA's TOP FIVE EPISODES. NO 3: "R2 COME HOME", as did the excellent GODZILLA-homage THE ZILLO BEAST STRIKES BACK, also included amongst this batch of impressive tales from the STAR WARS universe. Check out that review here: STAR WARS AFICIONADO MAGAZINE: "THE CLONE WARS" SEASON TWO. SWA's TOP FIVE EPISODES. NO 5: "THE ZILLO BEAST STRIKES BACK"

THE CLONE WARS Season Two, Volume Four- out August 22nd in the UK.

And watch out! Those cruel and ruthless baddies will return for more conflict during the upcoming CLONE WARS Season Four, with it's umbrella title of BATTLE LINES!

CLASSIC IMAGE: MINE'S A LARGE ONE!

On the Sail Barge, amongst the riotous entertainment cooked up by Jabba the Hutt, the Trandoshan Bounty Hunter, Bossk (played in the UK by Trevor Butterfield), enjoys the revelries prior to the planned execution of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca the Wookiee at the legendary Sarlaac Pit.

This image from the then filming of REVENGE OF THE JEDI may have been taken during an on-set rehearsal-note the large reptile hand outside of the costume.

STAR WARS: BEHIND THE SCENES FILMING NOTES FROM "THE ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA SHOW" 27th/28th NOVEMBER 2010

Compiled by Ian Trussler and Scott Weller

It’s that time of the year again, and here’s some more rare STAR WARS behind the scenes info gathered from the event (previously known as COLLECTORMANIA) for you to enjoy:

Vivienne Chandler (X-wing fighter pilot (pictured above): EPISODE VI): Spent 3 days working on ROTJ. She only filmed scenes in the cockpit set, which she thought looked a bit cardboard, against bluescreen, and had at least a page and a bit of scripted dialogue. All the days she filmed she was with just one other actor, a male pilot, whom sadly she cannot remember the name of. She doesn't recall any other women filming as Rebel pilots. She enjoyed her time on the film and also stated that she attended a screening of the movie that did contain her scenes and was philosophical about their subsequent deletion. This was her first ever convention/signing and she found it fascinating and awesome.

Trevor Butterfield (Bossk, other roles – EPISODE VI): He spent 38 days working on ROTJ, much of which was spent as Bossk within Jabba’s Palace and within the Sail Barge interior sets. He was wearing the same Bossk costume as Alan Harris had previously worn on EMPIRE, he was lucky that it fit him. The well known photo of Boba Fett and Bossk from Jabba’s palace was not a posed publicity shot but was an actual scene he recalls filming. He also believes that in that photo/scene it may well be Alan Harris wearing the Boba Fett costume as he remembers Harris did some stuff as Fett on JEDI. Sadly, most of his Bossk footage was cut from the movie. Also on JEDI he played an Endor Rebel soldier in the Falcon cockpit scenes with Lando and Nien Numb, another Rebel during the Ewok Celebration and was also a Klaatu guard who escorts Luke from the Rancor pit. He previously had worked on EMPIRE for 3 weeks playing Stormtroopers and Imperials.

Matt Doran (Elan Sleazebaggano- EPISODE II): The very pleasant Matt recalled that he worked on AOTC for only one day. He got the job as he was originally in the casting process for various voice-over work on the film (though he was not involved in any of the auditions for Anakin Skywalker (later played by Hayden Christensen)), but then ended up being involved in the live action where he and several other selectees were slotted into certain parts of the film. Matt was lucky enough to have one of the classic scenes early on in the movie, and recalled enjoying working with Ewan McGregor.

Paul Weston (various stunt aliens – ROTJ): A long experienced stuntman and co-ordinator with credits as far ranging as TV's SPACE: 1999 and the JAMES BOND films, Weston worked on JEDI for about 4 weeks, filming only in Yuma location. He was contracted via Peter Diamond to shoot the whole movie in ELSTREE and Crescent City locations but broke his leg in Yuma doing the stunt where Lando and the Nikto guard fight and fall off the skiff. Prior to the accident, he played a variety of Jabba's alien henchmen for the Sail Barge scenes. The actual stunt he broke his leg on was performed with Billy Dee Williams stunt double. After the accident LUCASFILM honoured his contract despite his inability to work and he enjoyed a holiday in the Beverley Hills hotel after leaving Yuma.

John Coppinger (various aliens in EPISODE I, part of the Jabba the Hutt operating team for EPISODE VI): For EPISODE I he was working as part of Nick Dudman’s creature workshop re-creating aliens for the Mos Espa scenes. He was approached to play the part of the Wookiee Senator in the Senate scenes because he was the tallest of the crew. For the scene he wore a vintage archive Chewbacca suit that was modified with white hair and had a rebuilt face mask as it was in a fairly poor state of repair. He spent a day on the blue screen senate pod set being filmed by second unit, so George Lucas was not present. He was filmed in three separate segments so the composite shot could be created, so he actually appears as all 3 Wookiees in that scene. For JEDI he was hired by Stuart Freeborn who he knew from working on the SUPERMAN movies. Freeborn particularly liked the fact that John had previously worked at the Natural History Museum, recreating dinosaur skeletons. He was principally the clay sculptor for the Jabba puppet and went on to operate the remote control eyes as part of the team who bought Jabba to life.

Ahmed Best signs for the fans. Image: Ian Trussler.

Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks – EPISODEs I – III, THE CLONE WARS): The actor revealed that he will be in more Season Three CLONE WARS episodes upcoming, and has recently finished recording duties for Season Four, too. It was fans negative reaction towards the previous voice over work from another actor portraying Jar Jar (who didn’t want to do any more episodes for the character after his original commission expired anyway) that saw LUCASFILM cave in to pressure and bring Ahmed back – they realized that the character didn’t work without his unique voice skills. When making EPISODE I back in 1997, Ahmed had no idea how much a distinguished and popular actor Brian Blessed, playing Boss Nass, was, continually referring to him as “the Bird Guy” from the FLASH GORDON film that he had always enjoyed as a kid! He confirmed that there were other Jar Jar related scenes from EPISODE II that had been filmed but cut, but only one extra scene with him was filmed but deleted from EPISODE III, where he says “hello” to Anakin and Palpatine at the Senate Building as they are conferring about lies concerning Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme.

Gary Kurtz (Producer - STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK): Gary revealed that he has not been involved at all on anything to do with the upcoming STAR WARS films on Blu-ray, though on the extras front, as far as he is aware, apart from the deleted scenes, the additional material will pretty much be all the documentaries and supplemental features found on previous releases in other formats.

"THE CLONE WARS" SEASON TWO. SWA's TOP FIVE EPISODES. NO 3: "R2 COME HOME"



Pursued by Slave One, a desperate to escape Artoo Detoo begins evasive action.

We're getting closer to the top of the league now, as AFICIONADO brings you its five favourite episodes, and the top five reasons why we chose them, from THE CLONE WARS Season Two (released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray from 15th November from WARNER BROTHERS DVD).

At number three, it's R2 COME HOME.

1. Artoo-Detoo. I have always enjoyed the Artoo related episodes of THE CLONE WARS, but this was his finest half hour yet, full of resourcefulness, ability and humour. I loved the almost HOME ALONE-like scenes where he was trying to stop the ascending Bounty Hunters from reaching the trapped Mace and Anakin, and the scene where he brilliantly took on a Gundark and trapped it on a Jedi starfighter smashing into a boulder! With the final scene of this totally satisfying episode, where he rushes into the Jedi Temple with his rescue message, I was just as out of breath from his adventure as he was. Special mention must also be made to the other charming little Astro Droid, R8-B7, that was with Mace Windu-he was a cute little fella and it was sad when he got destroyed.

2. Bounty Hunters! Just about living up to the Season's overall title of RISE OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS, we finally got a large gathering of baddies, including the excellent, totally heartless Aurra Sing, the incompetent and greedy Castas, and a little bit more screen time for the Trandoshan reptile, Bossk (seen in the shadows in the previous episode), nicely voiced by Drew Bradley Baker. And then there was young Boba Fett in a story arc that was, despite a slightly weak finale in LETHAL TRACKDOWN, overall pretty good and Daniel Logan did a creditable job in making Fett both a little brat and someone we feel slight pity for as he travels down a similar path to evil as Anakin Skywalker. The series producers aren't going to rush the ultimate genesis of Boba Fett, though, and its going to be intriguing to see just how far they travel in his development during the rest of the animated series duration. And will we see him wear the eventual classic trilogy costume by its end?

3. Slave One vs Artoo's Jedi Starfighter. A superb chase and battle sequence, exhilarating and both evocatively animated and sound depicted, first against the backdrop of the impressive vista of the crashed and in flames Republic Cruiser and then out into deep space as Artoo make the crucial decision of which Ring Engine to lock onto and escape with. Its a tense scene- a battle of wits, of machine versus human- that's brilliantly done, and just as good as anything in the actual films.

4. Boba Fett's helmet. A super moment of realisation and destruction that's a worthy continuation from ATTACK OF THE CLONES, when it finally dawns on Mace whom the culprit is responsible for trying to kill him in the previous TV episode. The way that the helmet is highlighted, with that little twang of spaghetti-western like music by series composer Kevin Kiner, in the animated cinematography is very effective, and then there's that clever little trap that's sprung the moment Anakin picks it up for examination. Another great STAR WARS scene that makes the upcoming development of the Boba Fett-to-be more intriguing and noteworthy.

5. Harder Edge. Despite the great comedy and fast paced, exciting visual moments, this episode stands out as being of a darker edge than it has been for some time, and an element that series animation director Dave Filoni was keen to bring in for this three part tale linked to both Boba's return and to THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. R2 COME HOME is a fine continuation of the boys need for revenge started in the previous episode. Further, the treatment of Commander Killian and his captured party is pretty tough, and there's also the death of Clone Commander Ponds following on in the next episode which proved a sad moments for fans of the Republic soldiers.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS Season Two: available on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK from 15th November.

CLASSIC IMAGE: ACTIVATING A BOUNTY!

Here's a rare April 1979 ELSTREE shot - and if anybody has this in its full photo entirety, and in better quality, please get in touch- that I don't remember in the film, with Darth Vader (David Prowse) in the assembled bounty hunter line stopping near Bossk (Alan Harris), whilst an intimidated Admiral Piett (Kenneth Colley) looks up. I'm assuming the pic was taken in final camera rehearsal for the interior Imperial Super Star Destroyer bridge scene, but its great nonetheless.

CELEBRATION V: CHEERS and JEERS!

Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill make guest appearances at George Lucas's THE MAIN EVENT talk. Image: STARWARS.COM

And so the pilgrimage began again, as 40,000 STAR WARS fans across the world travelled to LUCASFILM's version of Mecca in Orlando, Florida, for the biggest, greatest STAR WARS Celebration  convention of them all, honouring the upcoming third season of THE CLONE WARS and the Thirtieth Anniversary of the much beloved THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

The very fine line between severe commercial over-exploitation and creative fulfilment, combined with personal and professional enjoyment delivered to the fans by LUCASFILM (working in tandem with its many affiliates) was just about kept in balance over the four days, thanks primarily to the warmth and camaraderie shown by the actors and creative personnel from THE CLONE WARS, alongside the charm and mighty presences of George Lucas and Original Trilogy veterans Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher (pictured above at THE MAIN EVENT talk).


Overall, the event was great fun. Though despite many STAR WARS related pleasures personally achieved to my great satisfaction at CV, there was still so much to see and do that I was very much aware, as from previous Celebration experiences, that I couldn't possibly see and witness everything, and yet I really wanted to!! With these feelings of need running rampant in my mind, do these Celebrations actually have the power to turn me over to the Dark Side in my quest and power lust for everything convention-related??!!
Will I be the next Anakin Skywalker, and will my next generation be the only chance of redeeming me? "Noooooooo!"

As usual, here are my convention cheers and jeers...

Thats no moon, its a space station balloon! All CV images: Curtis Reynolds.

CHEERS to the ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTRE-an excellent venue to host Celebration V. And CHEERS to LUCASFILM and REED for a mostly well organised and efficiently run event, far bigger than ever before. But JEERS to LUCASFILM and REED for deliberately placing the event in the middle of the August holiday tourist season, so as to make, in the nicest way possible, maximum profit and exploitation of both the fans and the holiday makers (who would go to the event for a day or two with their families out of interest and curiosity). And JEERS to them for putting it in August in 107 degrees heat every day when most of the fans didn't have cars and had to walk everywhere. So far, I have five painful blisters and am still suffering from heat exhaustion! Next time its in Florida, in the interest of STAR WARS fans health and happiness, please don't put it on in Summer!

JEERS to DISNEY for their greedy and sneakily raised theme park admission prices the week before CV started. They knew we'd all want to see the INDY STUNT SHOW and STAR TOURS one last time, and we had to pay even more for that privilege!

CHEERS to George Lucas and Jon Stewart for THE MAIN EVENT talk. Despite die-hard fans listening to, and being upset, by what they believed was history re-visionism being discussed by the STAR WARS creator, it was nice to see George Lucas look so relaxed and at peace with both the audience and his STAR WARS universe during the one hour talk (which also basically acted as a blatant plug, in a crowd pleasing way, for THE CLONE WARS and the Blu-rays!).

CHEERS to Jon Stewart for proving that he is a knowledgeable STAR WARS fan and knew his stuff! I hope he enjoys his personalised HASBRO Stormtrooper figure, whether it has a bearded face or not!

Republic Commandos at the Endor Bunker recreation!

CHEERS for the incredible digital projection screenings of the six STAR WARS films. Of the films I saw, ATTACK OF THE CLONES was the stand-out visually in its pure digital state, whilst STAR WARS, EMPIRE and JEDI's LOWRY 2004 re-mastered copies looked superb on the big screen. Why, oh why, are these films not being shown on the big screen worldwide more often. The screenings were all pretty busy audience wise, especially EMPIRE, whose anniversary screening was a fitting tribute.

JEERS for the digital projection screening of THE PHANTOM MENACE. The projector/copy screening continually broke down, and numerous times STARWARS.COM's Pablo Hidalgo had to come into the audience and entertain the crowds whilst the faults were being sorted out. Hidalgo did a good job, and the crowds were happy if a little frustrated, but when it broke down one further time, a new copy of the film, which wasn't quite as good-and certainly bit darker in picture quality places- worked fine. One thing's for sure, when released on Blu-ray, the extended DVD release version of THE PHANTOM MENACE, with its new cgi Yoda scenes, will need a lot of re-mastering work picture-wise to get it in line with the digital visual beauty of ATTACK and SITH.

JEERS to the STAR WARS fans who nastily booed the inclusion of Hayden Christensen's face over Sebastian Shaw's body as Anakin at the end of the revised 2004 DVD print of JEDI, which was shown in the Digital Theatre. Poor old Hayden doesn't deserve that. Whether we like it or not, in all likelihood this version of JEDI is the one we're all going to have to live with for the upcoming Blu-ray release!

AFICIONADO contributor Curtis Reynolds mingles with the Slave Leia's. Its a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!

CHEERS to Anthony Daniels and Jay Laga'aia for coming into the immense fan entry lines and saying hello on Day Two of the event.

JEERS to Anthony Daniels for periods of unpleasantness and superior aloofness he showed to some of the American fans that lined up to meet him inside his autograph tent. Though he was entertaining and informative with/to the fans in his talk and in walking the convention floor, his treatment of some of them in his little signing arena was just plain rude at times, and it upset me as a fellow Brit.

A brilliant General Grievous fan costume.

CHEERS to Dave Filoni for all his work in the talks and panels. I'm totally jealous of his position as Supervising Director of THE CLONE WARS but that doesn't hinder my beliefs that he is the best man for the job-the perfect hybrid of fan and creative talent that helps George Lucas bring the series to life. You couldn't get a better champion for the saga and its viewers and he was terrific to hear and see out and about, full of wit and good humour, and a love of STAR WARS that helps give the behind the scenes of LUCASFILM, often feeling to me as being too cold and shut off in secrecy, a bit more of a human face.

CHEERS to Mark Hamill for signing nearly 3,000 autographs at the event. Yep, his autograph price was very steep at $125 but when you see him and the way he's sooo nice to the fans, especially the younger ones who, like us adults, are in awe of him as Luke Skywalker, then you realize that he's actually worthy of the price tag.

A great recreation of the Rebel's Echo Base command centre.

CHEERS again to Mark Hamill for telling off, in a vocally strong way, the behind the scenes people running his one hour talk (this will probably be his one and only fan Celebration appearance and yet he's on stage for just one hour! C'mon schedulers, it should have been two!) for putting on a lengthy clip, without his foreknowledge or prior permission, from his 1980 appearance of THE MUPPETT SHOW that reduced his time to converse with the fans who were eager to ask him questions. Well done, Mark!

CHEERS, and our best wishes, to Robert Watts, who, as ever, was a superb guest and had lots to say about the making of the STAR WARS and INDY films. Sadly, I was informed that he fell and hurt his head towards the end of the event, resulting in his having to be rushed to hospital. We really hope he's okay and that he's on the mend quickly.

The enjoyable MASTERS OF THE EMPIRE Panel.

CHEERS for the EMPIRE panel talk with Gary Kurtz, Ben Burtt, Lorne Peterson and Jon Berg. A very nice hour of behind the scenes recollections, with Kurtz's behind the scenes memories as invaluable as ever.

More of those Mandalorian troopers hit the dealers room!

CHEERS to the fan costume makers for braving the painful, tiring heat to wear their incredible STAR WARS outfits throughout the event, like the incredible Bossk, Cad Bane, Power Droid, the excellent children dressed as Jawas, and, of particular note, the little girl dressed as a pre-cyborg General Grievous.

CHEERS to Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams for their heart warming video messages of support and best wishes to the fans during Celebration V.

CHEERS to HASBRO for their great life size Boba Fett action figure card which you could go into the plastic hold section and have your picture taken inside. Their new 12 inch figures line based on the original classic figures, especially the 1978 Fett, are quite superb.

JEERS to Carrie Fisher for cancelling her talk on the last day of the convention but also CHEERS for her in doing this, as it meant that THE MAIN EVENT could be re-screened for all those people, like myself, who weren't able to see it the first time. And DOUBLE CHEERS for Carrie for coming out onto the stage for ten minutes, alongside Jay Laga'aia, for a standing ovation introduction and quick chat with the fans.

Take a little break with Jabba and friends!

CHEERS to Ben Burtt for his excellent talk with Pablo Hidalgo for the SOUNDS OF STAR WARS book, which Burtt has co-written with J.W. Rinzler. The talk had many great sounds heard and Ben, one of STAR WARS best and longest running behind the scenes talents and raconteurs, had lots of stories to tell. He also does a great Sylvester Stallone impression. Why has it taken five Celebration's to get Burtt as a guest!!

Did anyone out there go to the Burtt/Matthew Wood talk on the last day? Can anyone confirm whether Burtt showed his RETURN OF THE JEDI home movies footage from 1983? If anyone saw it can they PLEASE get in touch and describe the footage?

CHEERS to the incredibly talented artists in the Art Gallery-the quality of the work, especially linked to EMPIRE, was incredible this year-I just wish that I'd had some spending money to buy a piece!

JEERS to the organisers of the Art Gallery for their incredible short sightedness and lack of organisational ability on the first day. The lines were horrendous, the fans very unhappy and the artists must surely have lost some of their livelihood sales-wise that day.

Darth Vader - Ralph McQuarrie style!

CHEERS to the 501st for their superb fan costumes and props area, and to the always impressive R2 rooms. And kudos to the German 501st for their incredible TIE Interceptor craft-worthy of anything built for the Classic Trilogy back in the day at ELSTREE. Brilliant stuff!

CHEERS to the people behind the Echo Base Ice Bar- great idea, and I loved that Wampa statue!

JEERS to REED and LUCASFILM for the greedy idea of extra profit making VIP passes. This was unfair-all STAR WARS fans should be treated equally and I didn't like having four people in the VIP line walk in front of me for an autograph after I've waited for an hour. My blood was seething numerous times watching these very opportunistic fans at work, many of whom would have lots of autographs and posters to sign and would hold up the regular line in stopping people from getting autographs. VIP passes are for amusement parks and airplane travel not Celebrations!

The incredible German 501st built TIE Interceptor.

JEERS to the autograph dealer who blocked the Jon Berg line and had the ex-ILMer sign nearly 200 autographs which held up regular STAR WARS fans -y'know those regular fans who wanted an autograph for their own collection and not for profiteering!- for up to an hour and a half! These dealers should do their signing sessions after the show and liaise with the autographer and the exhibition organisers beforehand. In the end, with the added nuisance of the VIPs butting in, I didn't get an autograph when I had to leave the line, and MAJOR JEERS to the steward handling the line who stopped me from coming back into the capped line even though I'd already waited quite a while and had been chatting to him previously. Not fair!

JEERS to OFFICIALPIX for having a lousily organised sales area for their generic photos. No one seemed to know what was in stock, many new and great rare images were in (probably deliberate) too short supply, images that were in the catalogue were not available, and some members of their hired-in staff had clearly not watched a STAR WARS film or knew its characters at all! Not a great situation when you're dealing with hundreds of fans who do know the characters and know what they want to buy! In all four days I never once saw manager Ben Stevens on the floor talking to the people who buy the images, and I was at the OFFICIALPIX area a lot over the four days!

The Empire strikes back at CV!

JEERS to the over-priced food and liquids provided at the event by the convention centre. $2.75 for a packet of crisps!! Really over-priced for maximum profit.

CHEERS to the Celebration Store for its efficient organisation and layout.

He may not be my favourite event host, but CHEERS to Jay Laga'aia- Captain Typho himself!- for being an all round nice guy and great supporter of all things STAR WARS. And it was very cool seeing him as the leader of the 501st Stormtroopers at the start of THE MAIN EVENT!

CHEERS to all the members of THE CLONE WARS voice cast for being so nice and accommodating during every part of the convention. BIG CHEERS to James Arnold Taylor for being such a nice guy, enthusiastic and committed to STAR WARS, and for giving me a couple of lines as Obi-Wan Kenobi during my autograph chat.

Is Curtis the Rebel's New Hope?

CHEERS to all the really nice people I met in and outside of the convention-of all ages and walks of life- whose love of STAR WARS remains undiminished. Special hello to Mike and the gang at the VOICE OF THE REPUBLIC podcast and blog-a fresh and funny new look at STAR WARS that's well worth a look.

CHEERS to the panel of WHY WE LOVE THE PREQUELS, and especially FANBOYS Kyle Newman, alongside James Arnold Taylor and a late arriving Dave Filoni, who gave some very valid and nicely presented reasons and arguments as to why we should like and appreciate these Prequel films more-that they can't just be summarily dismissed because of a few scenes or characters that die-hard fans don't like. It was nice to see so much good reaction from the packed audience, and things being said that were similar to my own comments in the recent STAR WARS AFICIONADO "THE PHANTOM MENACE" TENTH ANNIVERSARY tribute edition (its still available on PDF if you're interested!).

JEERS to George Lucas and LUCASFILM for not allowing Dave Prowse to attend Celebration V. He may not be popular at Camp Lucas, but how could you not have the man who played Darth Vader at an event celebrating THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-Vader's greatest film! And JEERS to OFFICIALPIX for having so few Vader images from any of the films at their booth. One of the Stewards there told me they had been told not to sell Vader pics by LUCASFILM!

CHEERS to the Belgium STAR WARS fans for their incredible TIE fighter prop and the Millennium Falcon hold, and to all those other great talents behind the numerous terrific fan props situated across the entire event.

CHEERS to all the builders of the Hoth dioramas. Splendid work, people!

CHEERS to LUCASFILM for that surprise showing of the deleted scene RETURN OF THE JEDI clip. Awesome and incredible! The world is anxious for those Blu-rays even more!

And so, the teaser video announcement has now come onto STARWARS.COM revealing that Celebration VI will be happening- date as yet unrevealed. Further vindication, as if proof was ever really necessary, that the Force, STAR WARS fandom, and merchandise profit growth, is stronger than ever!