CLASSIC IMAGE: "FIRE AT WILL, COMMANDER"

Under orders from The Emperor, Moff Jerjerrod (Michael Pennington) prepares to use the Death Star II battle stations primary weapon against the trapped Rebel fleet in this rare RETURN OF THE JEDI image, previously supplied to KENNER TOYS in 1982/3 in scratched reference form so that it couldn't be copied.

For more on Moff Jerjerrod's lost scenes in JEDI, head here: STAR WARS AFICIONADO WEBSITE: MOFF JERJERROD

"CLONE WARS" PREVIEW: "WITCHES OF THE MIST"

The very nice people at SKY MOVIES have sent us their latest press release for the new episode this week showing exclusively in the UK on SKY MOVIES PREMIERE and HD.

Here's the info:

The Must-See Conclusion to an Epic Three-Part Clone Wars Arc

Sent to track down the mysterious figure behind the deaths of several Jedi, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi find themselves on the trail of Count Dooku’s newest apprentice – the monstrous Savage Opress. However, Dooku and Asajj Ventress discover that their creation has a will of his own, and that he has grown more powerful than either of them had anticipated – perhaps even more powerful than the combined forces of the Jedi and the Sith. The end begins in “Witches of the Mist,” the final chapter of a thrilling, three-part Clone Wars arc – airing at 5.30pm Saturday 29th January on Sky Movies Premiere/HD.

Driven by the Machiavellian machinations of Count Dooku, the series’ various villains come face to face at last in a climactic clash of red sabers. Dooku, Opress and Ventress – all are manifestations of evil, yet each is so distinct. It’s not until these three titans are brought together in the heat of conflict, however, that their nuances and differences become truly clear.

“With Dooku, the series' direction is pushing his character more towards that of a masterful diplomat, concealing a sinister agenda beneath a veil of polite sophistication,” says Corey Burton, voice of Dooku – and countless other Clone Wars characters, both good and evil. “He's a subversive political overlord – a major marketing force and seducer for the dark side ‘brand.’ It's all about his personal enrichment, power and position within the hierarchy; there's nothing intentionally cruel or vengeful in his manner, or behind his dastardly actions – as a Sith Lord, it's just how things are done to most efficiently preside over the fate of the galaxy. Mustache-twirling displays are beneath his sense of dignity.”

While Dooku is as consumed by his quest for power as he is by his own sense of sophistication, Ventress is wholly unconcerned by the niceties of evil. Driven by a desire for revenge, her motivation is raw and real – a product and a reflection of her own difficult past.

“She’s been wronged by so many, and I believe her experiences will lead her in an even more powerful direction,” says Nika Futterman, voice of Ventress. “We are finally beginning to understand what makes Asajj tick; I think this is her quest for revenge and not power like the Sith. That’s what separates her. She does things that may seem like her quest for power, but, I think she aligned herself with the dark side as a means to an end. She doesn’t ever forget who has done right by her and, of course, who has done her wrong. All this time, I had hoped that I would be able to delve into what made her so fabulous and complex. It turns out my hopes are coming true!”

Serving as a foil for the final confrontation between the former master and his jilted apprentice is the massively powerful Opress. Ostensibly a blunt instrument of evil, the monstrous creation is nonetheless imbued with a perverse humanity of his own – brought to the surface by sharp writing and a soulful performance by screen legend Clancy Brown (Highlander, The Shawshank Redemption).

“I'd been a fan of The Clone Wars since the first season; and then caught up with the second season with my son,” says Brown. “He was excited because it was Star Wars and I was excited about the role not just because it was in the Star Wars universe but because the writing is so sophisticated. There was never any question from me about Savage's motives and what was going on because I was familiar with the characters, and you can go another layer deeper.”

CLASSIC ART: A DIFFERENT KIND OF JEDI...

An intriguing image by Doug Chiang showing his idea for the Jedi Knights of the Old Republic (this is presumably Obi-Wan with the Battle Droids) rendered probably sometime between 1996 and 1997 (note the braids idea which would be tried on Ewan McGregor as seen in THE BEGINNING documentary, before only one was decided on, and at a shorter length), before the attired look was eventually pinned down to resemble Sir Alec Guinness's Obi costume from the first STAR WARS movie in 1977. During that period, Chiang's early design for the Jedi would also make its way into several of his pre-production conceptual paintings for EPISODE I.

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE EMPEROR'S NEW PLAYGROUND!

Here's a great behind the scenes shot of Ian McDiarmid at the Australian FOX STUDIOS in 2003 filming his scenes within the now familiar and hideous make-up guise of Emperor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith. And the creature who now resides in full charge of the First Galactic Empire...

ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: Y-WING CLOSE-UP!

Here's a great scale reference photo from ILM for the iconic Y-wing fighter seen in Death Star trench running action from the original STAR WARS filming of 1976/77. Note the tremendous model kit detail on the craft. Love the little Astro droid companion!

AFICIONADO REVIEW: "STAR WARS BEGINS"

Complete at last! Jambe Davdar's STAR WARS BEGINS documentary

Rising star UK filmmaker and STAR WARS fan Jambe Davdar has finally completed his epic trio of behind the scenes commentary/ documentaries on the classic Original Trilogy movies. First there was the acclaimed BUILDING EMPIRE, then the equally successful RETURNING TO JEDI, and now, after four years hard work and research, STAR WARS BEGINS, built around my all-time favourite original STAR WARS movie, brings the information and entertainment cycle to a satisfying closure, bristling with great material that will delight fans of all ages everywhere, ranging from cut scenes (several of which have been painstakingly restored to the best quality possible-check out Luke's original introduction and his later scenes at Anchorhead with Biggs), behind the scenes photos, missing scene reconstructions (including some marvellous work on bringing to life the full sequence involving Harrison Ford and Declan Mulholland as Jabba the Hutt, a reconstruction of the original version of the STAR WARS title crawl from 1976 with Joe Johnston's STAR WARS logo, a look at Larry Cuba's innovative early computer graphics for the Death Star schematics, plus fine use of a MARVEL comic book to bring to life a cut scene used in the 1978 HOLIDAY SPECIAL), cleaned up audio and restored music, comparisons between the films many audio versions, a running info text and a few new surprises. Its worth its weight in gold just for the treasure trove of audio commentaries alone, which often brings to life the sheer difficulties the actors and technicians faced in the classic films ultimate realisation, and featuring nicely selected contributions from such rare notables as Sir Alec Guinness, Phil Brown, script/continuity person Ann Skinner, costume designer John Mollo, Harrison Ford, John Dykstra, and even one of the trumpet players from the 1977 London Symphony Orchestra who lent his expert abilities to the films unforgettable opening title sequences!

Here's the trailer for the exciting project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSMHMOf-DPk

We all have our own individual and deserving lists of what we want to see on any kind of STAR WARS related documentary, but I think you'll find that STAR WARS BEGINS, despite what I felt were a few little niggly omissions towards its final quarter (which I'm sure will be added to any future revised versions of the project), admirably captures all the best behind the scenes/deleted footage material currently available, and proves to be a well structured, highly enjoyable trip of nostalgia and information on the original 1977 film that makes it essential viewing when its fully released next month. You can see that a lot of time, energy, talent and love have gone into making this a special treat for fans that's not only a worthy continuance of Davdar's previous fine work but additionally acts as an effective and separately enjoyable work to the likes of other fan documentary projects like Garrett Gilchrist's few years back, and of a similar vein, DELETED MAGIC. If it hasn't already done so, STAR WARS BEGINS will surely attract the notice of a few LUCASFILM related people out there who will be impressed with Jambe's endeavours, finding that it acts as a very appetising starter to the main course of Blu-Ray releases out in September.

STAR WARS AFICIONADO RATING: 4.5 out of 5

To find out more about STAR WARS BEGINS, check out the link: http://buildingempire.blogspot.com/
and at TWITTER on: @jamieswb
To see BUILDING EMPIRE, RETURNING TO JEDI, and early sections of STAR WARS BEGINS on YOUTUBE, head to this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/jambedavdar

"THE CLONE WARS": A BEHIND THE SCENES ART TRIBUTE.

My good friend and dedicated STAR WARS fan Adriano Ticiano sent me his latest great art: a fun CLONE WARS behind the scenes homage to that classic EMPIRE image of Lucas off set with Hamill/Ford/Fisher.

Here it is...

Great work, Adriano, and thanks for sending it to me.

To see more of Adriano's work, check out this link:  http://ticiano.deviantart.com/

CLASSIC IMAGE: FIERY FIGHTING!

On the ash debris spewing, volcanic inferno that is the planet Mustafar, and fighting outside without the environmental protection of a deflector shield, veteran Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi goes up against his once Padawan learner: the intense, hate-fuelled Anakin Skywalker, who, no longer a Jedi, has now become Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith, and must be stopped at all costs!

EPISODE III is showing in HD on the UK's ITV1 this Saturday mid-afternoon, but be warned, some of its darker scenes will, once again, most likely be cut for the time slot...

"THE CLONE WARS": THE WELCOME RETURN OF QUI-GON JINN!

Qui-Gon returns to THE CLONE WARS in January/February 2011!

The most unexpected and also quite wonderful news has come in that actor Liam Neeson has returned to voice the noble Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in spectral form for two upcoming episodes of THE CLONE WARS, in a tale linked to the destinies of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY broke the exclusive scoop.

Check out the link here: http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/01/20/liam-neeson-star-wars-clone-wars-exclusive/

Presuming the voice over work was done a year ago, we're wondering if the upcoming EPISODE III Blu-ray release might just possibly finally have a re-constituted scene involving the voice of Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn talking to Yoda, as was originally planned and scripted by Lucas but dropped in the 2005 post production phase? Let's hope so, as Neeson's non appearance at the end of the film was, I feel, a much missed opportunity which could have added even more completeness to the two trilogies.

Thank you for coming back to the Saga, Mister Neeson!

CLASSIC IMAGE: IN THE NICK OF TIME!

In one of the best cheer out loud moments of EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES, Yoda and the fresh for battle Clone Armies arrive on Geonosis to assist their Jedi colleagues and stop Count Dooku and his new forces.

The Clone War has begun!