The guys over at IESB.net have posted online a video clip interview of Rick McCallum from a recent awards show appearance where he discusses the future of Star Wars. In the conversation he hints at several future Star Wars projects.

Celebration 4 - Rick digged Indy, wouldn't mind going back. Mentions another "celebration" possible around a big anniversary next year.

New Star Wars Animated Television Series
Animated series will be released first, before live action show.
Not the same style as past Clone Wars Cartoon

Live Action Television Series
Shooting in Australia
To be more dramatic, intense, darker, heavy duty
May not go to television, mentions iPod, future "home" unknown
Writing to start end of this year
Starts shooting end of next year

Star Wars 3D
Rick mentions he entire Star Wars saga re-released on the big screen in 3D.

Click here to check out the video clip now!

Voting is now open for the 2006 MTV Movie Awards! Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith is up for three categories!

An anonymous TFN reader recently wrote in to remind us of a recent anniversary of sorts that I'm sure we all had forgotten about. This past Saturday was the first anniversary of the final prequel trilogy era toy night, AKA: MIDNIGHT MADNESS!

For your reminiscing pleasure, here are links to the NYLine video/Virtual Reality! Enjoy!

Midnight Madness 4/2/05 Low Res:
http://download.theforce.net/nyline/low_bandwith/040205_nytrumidnight_low.mov

Midnight Madness 4/2/05 Hi Res:
http://download.theforce.net/nyline/high_bandwith/040205_nytrumidnight_high.mov

Virtual Reality Movie of the TRU Times Sq. Exterior and Line for Midnight Madness:
http://download.theforce.net/nyline/high_bandwith/mmtru.mov

Fan of TheForce.net "saberwielder76" writes in with this:

There is a poll in the Life section of USA Today for favorite movie villain. Darth Vader is one of the choices. He is currently tied with Hannibal Lecter for the lead at 34%. Thought that you might want to post this so we can get ol' Darth a victory. Here's the link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/front.htm

Thanks for the heads up saberwielder76!

Empire Online has the results from The Sony Ericsson Empire Awards, here's a small snippet:

"Well, it’s over. The 2006 Sony Ericsson Empire Awards swung harder than Louis Armstrong on a waltzer tonight and, when the smoke cleared, Episode III and Pride And Prejudice had each scooped two awards, while King Kong landed the big prize of Best Film."

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith won both Sony Ericsson Scene Of The Year, and Best Sci-fi / Fantasy categories. For more on this, click here!

Hot on the heels of our earlier post from last nights SNL, comes this video clip showing natalie Portman's opening monologue. In it she puts fictional fans in their place when they ask questions about the prequels.

Click here for the video clip and special thanks to PeeJay from Belgium for the heads up!

*The video clip has been removed.

With countless awards shows doling out prizes like best actor and best actress, USA Today decided to do their own wacky awards. Last week the category was "Film family most in need of Dr. Phil's assistance". The Skywalkers won hands down with 42% of the vote! Below are the final results.

Toby Morris from down under writes in with news of a special Revenge of the Sith movie screening coming up this Thursday, February 23rd.

"Hi there, thought you might be interested in knowing that readers in Sydney, Australia have one more chance to see Episode III on the big screen... only this time, a different kind of big screen. On Thursday the 23rd of February, Nissan's Moonlight Cinema will be screening Revenge of the Sith! The cinema is located in Centennial Park and features an enormous screen suspended right in front of the harbour. Tickets & info can be found at: http://www.moonlight.com.au/sessions.php?MoonlightEventLocationId=1"

According to the Saturday Night Live website, Natalie Portman will be hosting on March 4th with musical guests Fall Out Boy.

Fan of TheForce.net Kevin Laneave writes:

"Her appearance is undoubtedly timed with the upcoming release of her next big film from Warner Bros. - "V FOR VENDETTA", coming to theatres on March 17th. Directed by James McTiegue, who was also the first assistant director on Star Wars Episode 2.

Now if only Ewan McGregor could eventually host this show as well someday..."

Kevin, I'm sure we'll see Ewan up there someday, as long as they don't shut down SNL!

Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

While Revenge of the Sith picked up its nomination in the makeup category the other day, an error has left both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences red faced, and makeup artist Annette Miles downhearted.

Miles, who contributed to Episode III, was incorrectly mentioned as one of two names nominated for the movie's work, when it should have been another Australian, Nikki Gooley, along with Dave Elsey. The error was not picked up until after the nominations were made, and the information passed on to journalists worldwide.

It wasn't the best of days in the end for Annette, who also missed out on being mentioned for fellow makeup nominee The Chronicles of Narnia, of which she also had a major hand in.

Hello Official Pix Photograph & Autograph Collectors,

We have a very special autograph opportunity with Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen. We have just arranged to hold an additional signing with Hayden while he is still in New York. His schedule is extremely busy and we are lucky to get this second opportunity. We will take pre-orders for the Anakin Skywalker 11"x14" Theater Wide that sold out last December. If you want one of these signed Theater Wide photos, now is your chance.

The signing is scheduled for mid February, so we will only be offering this for one week. Sorry no personalization this time and only this photo is being pre-sold. Orders are expected to ship at the end of February. Please do not combine this autograph with other items in our store as it will be mailed separately.

Get yours today here: http://www.officialpix.com/estore/products.asp?cat=26

Hayden Christensen was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor in this years Razzie Awards.

Here's the competition he'll be facing in this category.

Today the nominees were announced for this year's 78th annual Academy Awards show, and Revenge of the Sith received only one nomination! Well it's gotta be for "Achievement in Visual Effects" right? Nope, instead Revenge of the Sith took home a nomination for "Achievement in Makeup", and is up against "Cinderella Man", and "The Chronicles of Narnia" in this category.

For more information about other nominees please click here.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in today for the heads up!

Scott Weller writes in with news about the latest double issue of "Star Wars Aficionado".

Just to let you all know that the latest issue of STAR WARS AFICIONADO- a double issue (numbers eight and nine), with 64 pages, is now available.

Inside this absolutely packed issue:
EPISODE III FULL COVERAGE:
Scott Weller presents a highly detailed review of the film-not to be missed, and illustrated with nearly 100 photos.

REVENGE OF THE EDIT:
Eight pages full of rare photos devoted to the many lost scenes of
REVENGE OF THE SITH. You'll be surprised at how much was cut!!

NALINI KRISHAN-AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
We talk to the gorgeous actress Nalini Krishan-who played popular Jedi Knight Barriss Offee in ATTACK OF THE CLONES.

THE ALTERNATE REVENGE OF THE JEDI:
Scott Weller goes back to 1978/79 and unearths the truth behind the original version of the film, to have been produced by Gary Kurtz, that would eventually become RETURN OF THE JEDI.

TO HOTH AND BACK:
Roving reporter Ian Trussler visits Finse, Norway

AFICIONADO GOES RETRO:
We go all nostalgic, heading back to 1979 and previewing THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!!

ALL THE COLOURS OF....
Ken Blackmore gets all nostalgic about lightsabers. aahh...

CELEBRATION III EVENT/CELEBRATION UK FILM SCREENING DAY:
Full reviews, packed with great photos, of these unforgettable, epic UK and US STAR WARS 2005 events, from Ian Trussler.

TUGGIT: BOUNTY HUNTER:
Fiction entrepeneur Ken Blackmore tells an intriguing new story set during the critical events of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

From BBC News:

Seven Star Wars fans have admitted copying Revenge of the Sith a week before its cinema release.

They admitted piracy charges after copying and passing a DVD copy of the movie among them last May.

The six US men and one woman also pleaded guilty to criminal conduct in allowing an eighth person to obtain the film and upload it onto the internet.

They each face a maximum penalty of a $100,000 (£56,000) fine and one year in jail when sentenced on 12 April.

Copyright law

Prosecutors said 28-year-old Albert Valente took a copy of George Lucas's final Star Wars movie from a post-production facility in Los Angeles last May.

It was then passed to Jessie Lumada, 28, Ramon Valdez, 30, Michael Fousse, 42, Dwight Wayne Sityar, 27, Stephani Gima, 25, and Joel De Sagun Dimaano, 33. All seven are from Los Angeles County.

Mr Dimaano then passed a copy to work colleague Marc Hoaglin, 28, from Huntington Beach, who last month admitted putting a copy on the internet.

New US laws make uploading a film before its DVD release a federal crime. Mr Hoaglin is due to be sentenced in March.

Hollywood studios said movie piracy cost the film industry $3.5bn (£1.95bn) per year.

"We are glad to see the Star Wars thieves brought to justice," the Motion Picture Association of America said in a statement.

"Stealing copyrights is a serious problem, and the theft and illegal distribution of Revenge of the Sith was a glaring example of how the actions of dishonest people can cheat the movie-watching experience."

Revenge of the Sith went on to take $848.5m (£474.6m) at the global box office.

Mat from Paris, France writes in:

There's an interesting website that asks users to vote for the best adventure / sci-fi film of the year 2005.

The nominees are:
Batman Begins, King Kong, Man to Man, Sky Captain and
the World of Tomorrow, Star Wars: episode III -
Revenge of the Sith and War of the Worlds

Let's help out by voting for star wars!

Click here to cast your vote!

With EP3 nominated as best picture, Hayden as both best actor and vilest villain, Ian also as the vilest villain and Ewan as biggest Badass, there's a lot to vote for in our favorite franchise.

Cast your votes here.

The Nominees for MOVIE OF THE YEAR are:

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
KING KONG
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN

The Nominees for ACTOR OF THE YEAR are:

Daniel Radcliffe, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
Johnny Depp, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Joaquin Phoenix, WALK THE LINE
Hayden Christensen, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
Heath Ledger, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

The Nominees for ACTRESS OF THE YEAR are:

Emma Watson, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
Reese Witherspoon, WALK THE LINE
Keira Knightley, PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Dakota Fanning, WAR OF THE WORLDS
Naomi Watts, KING KONG

The Nominees for BIGGEST BADASS are:

Ewan McGregor, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
Angelina Jolie, MR. & MRS. SMITH
Christian Bale, BATMAN BEGINS
Orlando Bloom, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Brad Pitt, MR. & MRS. SMITH

The Nominees for SEXIEST KISS are:

Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie, MR. & MRS. SMITH
Clive Owen/Jennifer Aniston, DERAILED
Steve Carell/Leslie Mann, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN
Joaquin Phoenix/Reese Witherspoon, WALK THE LINE
Will Smith/Eva Mendes, HITCH

The Nominees for MOST HYSTERICAL PERFORMANCE are:

Vince Vaughn, WEDDING CRASHERS
Steve Carell, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN
Jim Carrey, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
Owen Wilson, WEDDING CRASHERS
Ralph Fiennes, WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

The Nominees for VILEST VILLAIN are:

Ralph Fiennes, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
Hayden Christensen, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
Tilda Swinton, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
Ian McDiarmid, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
Elijah Wood, SIN CITY

The Nominees for BEST SCENE STEALER are:

Brendan Gleeson, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
Vince Vaughn, MR. & MRS. SMITH
Will Ferrell, WEDDING CRASHERS
Cillian Murphy, BATMAN BEGINS
Michelle Williams, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

The Nominees for BEST CROSSOVER are:

Jessica Simpson, DUKES OF HAZZARD
Nelly, THE LONGEST YARD
Mos Def, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Dwight Yoakam, WEDDING CRASHERS
Dave Matthews, BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE

The Nominees for HOTTEST RISING STAR are:

Freddie Highmore, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
America Ferrera, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS
Deep Roy, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Isla Fisher, WEDDING CRASHERS
Jennifer Carpenter, THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE

The Nominees for BEST UNSUNG GEM are:

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CINDERELLA MAN
SERENITY
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

We've had some fans write in recently asking about when Revenge of the Sith or any of the 5 other Star Wars films will be available for the new Sony Play Station Portable ( PSP ) in it's UMD format ( Universal Media Disk ).

According to Lucasfilm there are currently no plans to release any of the films in this format. Which of course doesn't mean "no", so there is always hope!

We'll keep you posted on this subject soon as we hear anything on it!

The editor from Variety.com sent us this link to a current article they're running about Trisha Biggar's work on the prequels.

Here's a snippet:

"A long time ago, the "Star Wars" galaxy was a far simpler place. With "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," costume designer Trisha Biggar faced the unique task of bridging George LucasGeorge Lucas' three prequels to the landmark 1977 film -- a transition that came down to the moment Anakin Skywalker becomes black-helmeted Darth Vader.

Biggar remembers the filming of Vader's sleek black costume and iconic mask. "Even for the crew it was a big moment," she says. "The set was swarming with people who'd sneaked inside."

You can read the full article here!

The editor from Variety.com sent us this link to a current article they're running about Star Wars video games in 2005.

Here's a snippet:

"Mirroring the B.O.B.O. success of "Revenge of the Sith," games based on the sci-fi franchise accounted for four of the five top-selling Hollywood licensed games of 2005 in North America. Those four were also the only games with a studio tie-in to break into the overall top 10, according to data from industry tracker NPD Group and publishers.

"Star Wars" has proved one of the most successful franchises in the vidgame world and got an added boost in 2005 from release of "Revenge of the Sith."

You can read the full article here!

Rebelscum Forum member Dax shares his prototype collection with us, including the original ideas for the Revenge of the Sith line. Check out what might have been on the toys you collect, including an early name consideration for Episode III.

Here's some modern goodies for all you prototype fans. The following are mock-up items used to present to clients prior to the product entering the final manufacturing phase. Some of the items are close to the finished product, many are quite different. I'm sure if you're a fellow prototype collector and particularly of packaging you'll love this!

Yet another poll to particiapte in! This time Moviephone ( AOL ) has posted an online poll asking for fan favorites from the past year in film. Revenge of the Sith is in a few categories. Click here to cast your vote today!

Thanks to DarthDooku for the heads up!

Mike Reeping from Squirrels Ink Productions writes:

Hey! Squirrels Ink Productions has made a 6 minute complete ANIMATED REMAKE of Star Wars Episode III ! It's now available online and has generated ALOT of buzz! Now featured on Animationmagazine.net! This is a great spoof/tribute to a great film! I'd love for you to check it out!

Click here to check it out today!

Revenge of the Sith just won the People's Choice award for Best Movie and now is a finalist in three categories for an Oscar.

The Three categories are:

The 32nd People's Choice awards are being held tonight ( January 10th ) and Revenge of the Sith has won both Favorite Movie: Drama, and Favorite Movie. George Lucas was on hand for the ceremony to accept the awards.

Bill Engelhardt from Orlando writes in with this:

Revenge of the Sith just won two People's Choice Awards: Favorite Movie and Favorite Movie Drama. Harrison Ford was the presenter for Favorite Movie, for which the nominees were Episode III, Hitch, and Batman Begins. When he announced Sith as the winner, he said, "The Force is strong in this one." George Lucas was in attendance to accept the award, and it was obvious that he was moved to receive it. Here was his speech:

"Thank you. Thank you all. This is a very, very important award for me. Star Wars, oddly enough, doesn't really get that many awards. I'm not a big favorite with the critics, but who listens to them? I'm not a big industry favorite either, but of course they are a bunch of studio executives. The most important people for any filmmaker, the reason that I make films, is for you! The audience rules! Thank you. Thank you very much!"

Revenge of the Sith has been nominated for 4 VES ( Visual Effects Society ) awards which include:

IMDB.com is running a poll asking readers what was the best movie of 2005? Currently Harry Potter is winning the race, and as much as I enjoy these films we need to knock that wizard off his broom!

I'm asking each and everyone of you reading this, go to IMDB.com and place your vote for the last film of our beloved space opera! Revenge of the Sith has only 6% of the vote so far and is in 8th place. This is our last chance to make a statement and let others know the power of the force was strong in 2005!

The George Lucas Family Set is now available exclusively at StarWarsShop!

Eagle-eyed fans watching Revenge of the Sith may have noticed George Lucas' first-ever Star Wars cameo as the blue-faced Baron Papanoida waiting outside the Coruscant Opera House. What some may not realize, however, is that the entire Lucas enclave -- Katie, Amanda, and Jett Lucas -- also made brief appearances in the movie, immortalized now for the first time as Hasbro action figures!

This exclusive four-figure set includes three brand new sculpts available only at StarWarsShop. Included in the set are:

From: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on 12/16/05

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced the seven films in consideration for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 78th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

Batman Begins
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
War of the Worlds

Fifteen-minute clip reels from each of the seven films will be screened for the Visual Effects Award Nominating Committee on Wednesday, January 25. At this screening the members will vote to nominate three of the seven films for Oscar® consideration.

All nominations for the 78th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 31, 2006, at 5:30 a.m. PST, in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements for 2005 will be presented on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PST.

Thanks to Michael Day for the info.

The folks who were arrested earlier this year for uploading Revenge of the Sith to the internet finally had their day in court.

Here's a snippet:

A man admitted in court today that he uploaded a copy of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" onto the Internet the night before the film's worldwide theatrical release.

Huntington Beach resident Marc Hoaglin, 36, pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to uploading a copyrighted work being prepared for commercial distribution -- a violation of a law enacted this year that makes such conduct a federal felony.


The plea deal means he faces a sentence ranging from probation to six months behind bars.

Read the rest of the story here!

Just posted at Starwars.com, a new article detailing what all is involved to get the great sound effects into a film such as Revenge of the Sith. There's more to it than you'd think!

Here's a snippet:

"Suited up with a digital recorder, microphone and headphones, Wood captures the needed sounds from various angles and then returns to the studio to catalog all newly-recorded sounds with keywords. The files are then placed in a database accessible to Burtt -- who will use them at his discretion along with his vast library of sounds to create the new sound effects.

"We make several thousand new sounds for every Star Wars film," Wood adds. "The combination of the sound design recordings, the designed composites and the new Foley make up the bulk of this. Everything is categorized, named and listed in the database for searchable access. Every single sound passes through approval by Ben [Burtt]. Then the scenes get auditioned by George [Lucas] and mixed in with the music during the final mix.""

Please click here for the rest of the story!

Airing on CBS January 10, you can vote on a number of People's Choice categories, including Revenge of the Sith, and favorite male star, Samuel L. Jackson.

Looks like you can vote once per day.

People's Choice Awards Voting

Thanks to Todd Merrick for the link.

Starwars.com have posted an article today which takes a behind the scenes look at what exactly went into Hip Hop Yoda's creation. The hidden Easter egg on the Revenge of the Sith DVD shows Yoda bustin' a move while a few Clonetroopers watch, bobbing their heads to the beat!

Read up on what inspired this delightful little treat, and what all was involved in getting him from concept to DVD Easter egg by clicking here!