That Galaxy Far, Far Away Will Now Be Really, Really Close

Leave it to George Lucas to figure out a way to get Star Wars fans to pay to see his movies all over again ... again. Plans are underway to re-release not one, not two, but all six Star Wars movies using state-of-the-art 3-D technology. So now moviegoers will get to experience the thrill of dodging light sabres, laser beams and Jabba the Hut drool sometime in the future, as no exact schedule has been set at this time.

Lucas had mentioned his intentions for this 3-D bonanza at least three years ago, where the plan was to re-release one movie a year. I have to imagine that interest would die down about half way through that scenario though. I remember when the much-ballyhooed "special editions" of the original trilogy came out back in 1997 and everyone was pretty much over it by the time Return of the Jedi (I refuse to call it Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi) came out.

The Empire Struts Back

Live from the Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios, it's "Dancing With the Star Wars Stars"!

AFI's Top 10 Sci-Fi: #2

Star Wars - 1977

The Latest on TV: AFI's 10 Top 10

The big day for fans of classic film is almost here: tomorrow night, CBS will present the three-hour television special AFI's 10 Top 10. Changing things up a bit this year, instead of 100 films for one genre, the AFI is honoring ten films in ten different genres, and Movie Dearest has been discussing the possibilities for each, based on past AFI lists, for the past ten weeks or so. But there is one other way to predict what the final film selections may be, and that is to take a look at the celebrities lined up to discuss the selections during the actual program.

Instead of a single host as in years past, this year the ten separate countdowns will each have their own host. Two of the hosts, Jennifer Love Hewitt (Animation) and Jessica Alba (Romantic Comedy), have no films nominated in any categories, so they are no help here (what, wasn't Angela Lansbury and Meg Ryan available?). Additionally, interviewees Lesley Ann Warren and Vanessa Williams (and, naturally, film and animation historian Leonard Maltin) are on hand to talk about other people's movies. As for the rest, here are their nominated films that may end up in their respective top tens, with the strongest contenders in bold:

• Tim Allen: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Cars
• Sean Astin (host, Fantasy): The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Rudy
• Ed Burns: Saving Private Ryan
• Gabriel Byrne (host, Mystery): Miller's Crossing, The Usual Suspects
• Cuba Gooding Jr. (host, Sports): Boyz N the Hood, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, As Good as It Gets
• Kirk Douglas (host, Epic): Champion, Paths of Glory, Spartacus
• Clint Eastwood (host, Western): High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Pale Rider, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Harrison Ford: The Conversation, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Working Girl, Presumed Innocent, The Fugitive
• Jane Fonda: Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park, Klute
• Michael J. Fox: Back to the Future, The American President
• Brad Garrett: A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo
• Ben Gazzara: Anatomy of a Murder, The Big Lebowski
• Gene Hackman: Bonnie and Clyde, The Conversation, Superman, Reds, Hoosiers, Unforgiven, Get Shorty, Antz
• Dennis Hopper: Johnny Guitar, Giant, True Grit, Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, Hoosiers
• Norman Jewison: In the Heat of the Night, Rollerball, ... And Justice for All, A Soldier's Story, Moonstruck, The Hurricane
• James Earl Jones: The Great White Hope, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian, Field of Dreams, The Lion King, Robots
• Nathan Lane: The Lion King
• Ray Liotta: Field of Dreams, GoodFellas
• Robert Loggia: Somebody Up There Likes Me, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Jagged Edge, Big, Independence Day
• George Lucas: Star Wars, Labyrinth
• Sidney Lumet: 12 Angry Men, Murder on the Orient Express, The Verdict
• Amy Madigan: Field of Dreams
• Dominic Monaghan: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Elizabeth Perkins: Big, Finding Nemo
• Roman Polanski: Chinatown
• Harold Ramis: Groundhog Day, As Good as It Gets
• John Ratzenberger: Superman; Reds; Toy Story; A Bug's Life; Toy Story 2; Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Cars
• Rob Reiner: The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally ..., A Few Good Men, Sleepless in Seattle, Bullets Over Broadway, The American President, Ghosts of Mississippi
• Isabella Rossellini: Blue Velvet
• Susan Sarandon: Atlantic City, Bull Durham, The Client
• Talia Shire: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Rocky
• Steven Spielberg: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, An American Tail, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Amistad, Men in Black, Saving Private Ryan, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Shrek, Minority Report, Monster House, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Daniel Stern: Breaking Away
• Ridley Scott: Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator
• Quentin Tarantino (host, Gangster): Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction
• Sigourney Weaver (host, Science Fiction): Annie Hall, Alien, Working Girl
• Rita Wilson: Sleepless in Seattle, My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• James Woods (host, Courtroom Drama): The Onion Field, Once Upon a Time in America, Casino, Ghosts of Mississippi, Contact, Any Given Sunday

Of course, this isn't an exact science, and others may have their own favorites (for example, here's a video of another fan's picks). We'll find out the final 100 films tomorrow night on CBS at 8:00 PM EST.

When You Wish Upon a Death Star

Starting tomorrow and continuing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in June, the stars of Star Wars will descend upon Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida for this year's Star Wars Weekends.

In addition to roving bands of characters from the Star Wars universe, the event will host such cast members as Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok), Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and David Prowse (Darth Vader).

Trivia games (called the "Padawan Mind Challenge") and a behind the scenes look at the upcoming Clone Wars movie, as well as the regular Jedi Training Academy and Star Tours attractions, will also be featured.

UPDATE: As expected, LaughingPlace.com has complete coverage of this year's Star Wars Weekends, including tons of pictures, videos and more.

Cinematic Crush: Harrison Ford

Crush object: Harrison Ford, actor.

- From Han Solo to Indiana Jones to Rick Deckard to Jack Ryan to Richard Kimble, he is the consummate action movie star, starring in most of the biggest blockbusters in film history.

- A string of uncredited bit parts and television roles led to his first big break as Bob Falfa in George Lucas' American Graffiti, which of course led to Han Solo in the classic, original Star Wars trilogy.

- He was cast as Indiana Jones in Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark after Tom Selleck infamously turned it down; two more adventures (Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade) down, one more to go with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, opening this week.

- After another sci fi classic, Blade Runner, an Academy Award nomination for the crime drama Witness led to more non-genre films, including The Mosquito Coast, Working Girl, Presumed Innocent and Regarding Henry; he made a return to his action hero roots as Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, as well as The Fugitive and Air Force One.

- He has received lifetime achievement awards from the American Film Institute, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror, and was named "Box Office Star of the Century" by ShoWest.

Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Sci-Fi

"Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not.

In either case the idea is quite staggering."

-- Arthur C. Clarke

Beam aboard as the Movie Dearest countdown to the American Film Institute's 2008 edition of their famed "100 Years" lists, AFI's 10 Top 10, continues with science fiction. Defined as a genre that "marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation", sci fi films can range from the optimistic to the bleak, and there have been plenty of both recognized by the AFI's lists in years past.

Topping out at six prior mentions apiece are two films that should provide a close race for the top spot on this top ten: Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey. And while the latter can be viewed either way, the former is certainly in the optimistic camp (unlike its not nominated sequel, The Empire Strikes Back), as is the next highest placer, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (five previous listings). However, next up is another Stanley Kubrick masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange (four previous listings), that is certainly of the downer variety.

Three more classics come in next with three prior mentions: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Frankenstein, the oldest movie among the fifty nominees (see the comments section below for the full list). Rounding out the strong possibilities from previous lists are Alien, Blade Runner, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes (all with two apiece), Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, Soylent Green and The War of the Worlds (all with one previous mention), plus the lone AFI Award winner, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Of the possible newcomers to the list, the one that I would most like to see in the top ten, Children of Men, is also the most recent of the nominees. Other contenders include such popular favorites as Back to the Future, Fantastic Voyage, Forbidden Planet, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Invisible Man, Minority Report, Robocop, Silent Running, The Time Machine and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, representing the entire Trek franchise.

Mark your calendars for June 17, the date the results will be revealed when AFI's 10 Top 10 airs on CBS.

Toon Talk: Summer Nights

Since Jaws and Star Wars and the dawn of the "Summer Movie" just over thirty years ago, film studios know that when the sun is high and the kids are out of school, all they want is something to do; if they are entertained in the process, all the better. And what better way to have fun then to sit in an air conditioned theater and watch the latest blockbuster with all your friends.

Which explains the steady stream of superheroes, sequels and superhero sequels that strike when the summer season surfaces, see? Si.

Click here to continue reading Kirby's Toon Talk preview of this summer's new movies at LaughingPlace.com.

No Deal for Star Wars Fans

As if The Star Wars Holiday Special, Han shooting first and Jar Jar Binks wasn't proof enough, this should unquestionably prove that George Lucas has lost it. Or, he's just in it for the money. Or both.

Tomorrow night, NBC will air a "special Star Wars edition" of their (inexplicable) hit game show Deal or No Deal. Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader (stepping in for "the banker") will join host Howie Mandel and those briefcase-toting models, who will be all decked out in Princess Leia slave gear (naturally).

And though it is safe to assume that it is not Peter Mayhew or Kenny Baker (get well soon, R2!) in the costumes above, "special guest star" Carrie Fisher has no where to hide. Not sure why she would do this; if anything, it sounds more like something Mark Hamill would do ...

Cinematic Crush: Ewan McGregor

Crush object: Ewan McGregor, actor.

- Following the sleeper hit Shallow Grave, he really broke out with his leading role as Renton in the indie classic Trainspotting; supporting turns in Emma and Little Voice added to his fame.

- He became known for his fearless -- and often full frontal -- performances in The Pillow Book, Velvet Goldmine and Young Adam.

- Blockbuster stardom came when he was cast as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels and the musical hit Moulin Rouge!, resulting in a Golden Globe nomination for the latter.

- Other notable films he has starred in include Black Hawk Down, Down With Love, Big Fish, The Island, Miss Potter, Cassandra's Dream and the animated features Robots and Valiant.

- He stars opposite Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams in this week's sex thriller Deception and is slated to appear as the object of Jim Carrey's affection in next year's I Love You Phillip Morris.