Such a tough thing to do. 

1 - The Empire Strikes Back
2 - A New Hope
3 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
4 - The Big Lebowski
5 - Rear Window
6 - Return of the Jedi
7 - The Godfather
8 - The Godfather Part II
9 - LOTR - The Two Towers
10 - Lawrence of Arabia
11 - Saving Private Ryan
12 - LOTR - Return of the King
13 - Still Crazy
14 - Gladiator
15 - Patton
16 - A Bronx Tale
17 - The Last Waltz
18 - Revenge of the Sith
19 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
20 - Avengers

Wow, I'm digging the old school troop transport that they showed.  Gotta dig that thing out again.

It IS cool to see that.  I always thought that vehicle was cool, and still wish that it would have been part of my vehicle collection way back when. 

But the inclusion of the Imperial Troop Transport DOES bring one thing to mind.  Is the REBELS team doing it because it works in the context of the new series?  Or is it something that Gary Kurtz voiced a concern about in an interview that he did within the past couple of years?  He said that he became concerned about the future of Star Wars because it seemed to become a vehicle for driving the toy business.  I hope it's not something that cynical.

I don't think this is going to mean that Disney/Lucasfilm is going to start pulling books, comics and graphic novels off of book store shelves.  That would be taking things to preposterous levels.  Is it possible that the aforementioned material will go out of print?  Most likely, especially with the expiration of Dark Horse's comic adaptation contract.  As for the novels?  That remains to be seen.  For the time being, all of that material remains, and fans of the post-ROTJ expanded universe can continue to enjoy all of that literature to their heart's content.  I enjoyed some of the Rogue Squadron stories.  And I thought that Crimson Empire was a great story.  Why?  Largely because those stories focused on characters whose stories never got (and would never get) explored in the films.  I felt that the EU was the perfect vehicle for them.

But the stories that included the main characters, like Luke, Leia, Han Solo et al?  I found that the way those characters were written in the EU was too divergent (for my tastes) from the way those characters were developed in the films.  Say what you will about the acting and dialogue of all of the movies, but they did manage to establish some interesting characters.  The EU writers did not seem as though they captured the essence of the characters for me.

I think it's those stories that involve Luke, Leia & Han Solo that the Lucasfilm story group, with guys like Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee, are likely to take to editing.  Simply because those storylines have the potential to hamstring the writing process for the new trilogy as well as the standalone films.  And those guys are not some Disney new hires.  They've been with Lucasfilm for a LONG time.  They know the material.  Leleand Chee was the guy behind LFL's in-house Holocron, which was the OFFICIAL and unpublished source of Star Wars continuity.  And Pablo Hidalgo was one of the driving forces behind the Star Wars official site, which was itself once a great source of Star Wars lore in their Databank.  I think they along with the other members of the Star Wars story group are going to be very judicious in their decision making.  But they may also have to be very ruthless in the process.  I don't think that every EU fan is going to be ecstatic about this process.  But I think fans of the film universe will be the beneficiaries of some very thoughtful changes in the direction of the Star Wars universe, post-ROTJ.

I think that comparisons to both Marvel and DC comics are apt.  Marvel has obliterated their own universe before in order to start anew with things like the Ultimates.  And the Marvel cinematic universe seems to be something that fans have thus far accepted.  And as Jeff mentioned, the Crisis mini-series did set the stage for divergences in DC's overall continuum.  I suspect that this is the sort of change that we can expect for Star Wars as well.

The overall story direction of the post-ROTJ EU was almost non-existant.  It lacked the sense of singular vision that steered both the PT and the OT.  You had to deal with some crazy premises, ridiculous names and the like.  George Lucas reportedly signed off on a lot of this stuff, but I have to wonder just how closely he was involved in the story direction of these scores of novels and comics that have been released over the years.  For me, almost ALL of the post-ROTJ EU has been difficult to accept.  Some of the pre-PT, Clone Wars and dark times stories work for me, but it's somewhat limited.

I think that this decision will ultimately serve the movies far better.  Why?  Because JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan aren't going to be painted into a corner by all of this burdensome EU minutiae.  And I think they're going to be better able to serve up a great Star Wars story because they're going to have more freedom.  And to me?  I think that JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan are far more capable writers when it comes to interpreting George Lucas's vision than any EU novelist or comic writer.  Even Timothy Zahn.

Even George Lucas wound up being boxed in by his own work.  The prequels were tough for him from a writing standpoint because he had to fulfill all of these story elements that were established in the OT.  Think about the constraints he had to work within just based on how he had Vader speak in the OT.  Vader's dialogue was very tight and focused in the OT.  Almost robotic.  How do you humanize that voice and character in Vader's origin story while staying true to the OT movies?  That alone was very difficult. 

And that makes me much more understanding of Disney's decision to establish this Star Wars story group within the newly re-organized Lucasfilm.  If they need to cut bait with a majority of the post-ROTJ expanded universe stories and literature?  Then do it.  Because the movies have to be the true canon.  Otherwise you devalue the Star Wars film legacy.

File this under Casting Rumors, because there are some significant actors under consideration for Episode VII roles:


'Star Wars' Rumors: Who Is J.J. Abrams Eyeing for 'Episode VII'?

 6:14 PM PST 1/11/2014 by Borys Kit

Michael Fassbender, Adam Driver and Hugo Weaving are among the many actors to catch director J.J. Abrams eye – while sources indicate Luke, Leia and Han will have larger roles in the film than originally thought.

The Star Wars: Episode VII casting speculation game continues – and The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision has a few names to add to the mix: Michael Fassbender, Girls star Adam Driver and Hugo Weaving.

Never has a project attracted so much ink about meetings, but such is the passionate interest in Star Wars.  Last fall, every few weeks there was a breathless reveal of a meeting, with names such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael B. Jordan, Jack O’Connell, Alex Pettyfer, Saoirse Ronan and Sullivan Stapleton coming up. And those are only the names that leaked out.

With all the actors being tossed around – including a report this week that Breaking Bad's Jesse Plemons was meeting with director J.J. Abrams about a role – Heat Vision thought it was time to check in on Star Wars in general.

Sources confirm Plemons is on the list to chat with Abrams for Episode VII (and possibly the entire trilogy), with a meeting set to take place this week. But he is only one of a long string of actors on Abrams' meeting list.

As usual, Disney and Lucasfilm are declining to comment, as are the agencies of the respective actors.

PHOTOS: 'Star Wars' Actors: Then and Now

The project has changed significantly since Oscar winner Michael Arndt split as writer on Episode VII in the fall, with duties taken up by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

According to multiple insiders, the reason for the parting of ways was not due to a timeframe issue, as has been reported, but rather due to a difference in opinion of which characters to emphasize.

Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), with the original trilogy heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams, however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt script and new ones are being drafted.

Star Wars creator George Lucas, who directed the 1977 original and each of the most recent trilogy, was also involved in the debate, according to insiders. But Lucas, who sold his Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, acquiesced to Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy, who now runs Lucasfilm.

So with Abrams and Kasdan now overhauling the script, that means many of the actors who had met and auditioned have been nixed for various reasons. For example, one actor who met with Abrams in the fall before the overhaul was Mud breakout star Tye Sheridan. But sources say that at this stage, there is no need for such young actors and thus Sheridan will not be involved. In another case, one part that was initially conceived as a 20-year old male is now being rewritten to be a 40-year old.

PHOTOS: The 'Star Wars' Universe: $20 Billion Worth of Toys, Rides, Books and Games

Abrams is, according to many sources, casting a wide, wide net and meeting with "everyone." Even those who have copped to a meeting, such as Ronan, say that.

Abrams has continued meeting with actors while the new script is taking shape. According to sources, he met with Fassbender in December. Girls star Driver is being eyed for a role.

While most names come with no identifying character, Hugo Weaving does. Weaving, according to two sources, met for a part to play an Imperial commander.

The latest bit to surface this week is that Abrams and Lucasfilm are now searching for a 20-something female actress who is either of mixed race or black. The rumor is that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a daughter or granddaughter.

Star Wars: Episode VII hits theaters Dec. 18, 2015.

There are some developments regarding the Boba Fett spinoff movie.  Check out THIS ARTICLE


Star Wars: Boba Fett spinoff in the works?

By Sam Rigby

Saturday, Jan 4 2014, 2:44pm EST

Boba Fett will reportedly be the focus of one of the upcoming Star Wars spinoff movies.  A standalone film centred on the bounty hunter is being written by Lawrence Kasdan, according to Metalocalypse director Jon Schnepp.  Speaking about the Star Wars spinoff projects in an interview with AMC Movie Talk, Schepp said: "One of them is Boba Fett. It is. I know. I know for a fact.

"I will never reveal my source, but it is the one written by Lawrence Kasdan."

Last February, Disney confirmed that it was working on stand-alone Star Wars movies alongside JJ Abrams's Episode VII.  The spinoff films will be released within the same timeframe as the three main Stars Wars movies planned by Disney.  Star Wars Episode VII is scheduled for a December 18, 2015 cinema release. It is yet to announce any official castings.

A mom & pop store near me.  They have a Hasbro direct account, and on occasion they get some new product on the early side.  As cool as it is to see some new stock, it was thoroughly unimpressive.