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Showing posts from January, 2015

But can he act ? #GeorgeLucas

Recently we took a look at the various cameos of Steven Spielberg in front of the camera. Well, his pal George Lucas has also shown his face a few times in the spotlights. We could come up with a few stills, to prove that. Spielberg and Lucas worked together on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , and maybe that's why the teamed up together in this cameo as well. Both directors portrayed missionaries, portrayed in the background, who are waiting at the airport, the moment Indy tries to escape Lao Che by plane. Another cameo where George is barely visible and not recognizable at all,  is his bit-part in Spielberg's Hook .  In one scene we see a couple floating in the sky, kissing each other.  This couple is made up of George Lucas and none other that Carrie Fisher. Lucky for us, George's next came gives us a very clear look at him.  The film is Beverly Hills Cop 3 , and the scene is one where a couple comes forward,  rather disappointed,

Bob Iger confirms Star Wars VIII and Star Wars IX For 2017 and 2019

Bob Iger Confirms Two Year Gap Between Star Wars VIII ans IX Disney CEO Bob Iger took the opportunity at a shareholders meeting to confirm to the interested party and the rest of the world the (rough) dates for ' Star Wars VIII' and ' Star Wars IX .' "As one of the few people allowed to visit the set during filming….and one of the fewer who’s seen most of the footage…I can assure the millions of Star Wars fans who have spent the last decade hoping for a new movie this one will be worth the wait. And it’s only the beginning of a new era of exceptional Star Wars storytelling; next year we’ll release our first standalone movie based on these characters, followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017, and we’ll finish this trilogy with Episode IX in 2019." It's no surprise really as we kind of worked this our with a two year gap between movies (Star Wars The Force Awakens opens in cinemas on December 18th 2015.)  In the quote he also confirmed a standal

Star Cars (?)

Cars have always played an important part in the life of George Lucas, especially during his younger years, when he lived in Modesto, California . As a college student George loved to race them and he even had plans to become a professional racer himself. However an accident in 1962, that almost got him killed (he miraculously survived), put an end to that thought. But he did make the headlines in the local newspaper (for the first time) However, he would get his revenge... He went on to become a filmmaker, and guess what: he found a way to get back at his past,  by taking his own experience and using it in his first big hit: American Graffiti. Because of the impact of that movie on the town and its inhabitants, the city council of Modesto wanted to pay tribute to George Lucas, and so the build this statuette to commemorate Modesto's most famous (ex-) inhabitant and his love for cars. And what have we seen him participate in (again at

George Lucas Slams Current State Of Hollywood and Confused Over 'Youtube Culture'

George Lucas and Robert Redford Discuss The Current State Of The Movie Industry At The Sundance Film Festival George Lucas and Robert Redford were at the "Power of Story: Visions of Independence" panel at the Sundance Film Festival with critic Leonard Maltin on Thursday afternoon.  The conversation ranged from their love for movies to their contributions to the movie industry.  At one point George Lucas talked about his movie empire that was created including ILM and Skywalker Sound.  Lucas said "In the process of  making Star Wars, there were no visual effects houses, so I had to make one...Everything I've ever done has been to make the process easier and to open up the imagination.  Every job in ILM has been created for a particular shot or a particular movie." Independent movies were mentioned with passion during the conversation with both guests showing their love for this aspect of film making.  George Lucas expressed his feelings by saying indepen

George Lucas Hits Out At Critics Of Strange Magic

"Strange Magic" Press Conference - George Lucas Cares Less About Critics These Days. George Lucas seems to not care much these days when it comes to critics.  Speaking in Singapore last week to promote Strange Magic in which he wrote the story for, he took no time to criticise the critics  and those fans who dislike his movies.  The retired director said at a Lucasfilm building last week: "I am not looking to make a hit movie...I'm just doing something that I want for my own reasons. Some of them are hits, some are films that people like, and some aren't. For me, the real reason is doing it... obviously, I've done some films that haven't worked and I have done a lot of films that have worked," he said. Talking about the press George Lucas said, "the audience and the press have different opinions about everything...My worst reviewed movie was Star Wars , and it seemed to be the best," he said with a cheeky smile on his face. Find

Star Wars Video Quiz. How Many Can You Get

Star Wars Video Quiz Here's a quiz I put together for the Coffee With Kenobi team a few weeks back.  So far the best score I've seen is 9/10 by Mark Newbold.  The average score is around 4/10.  How many can you get? Rob Wainfur The Bearded Trio THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

A Video Tribute To Richard Marquand

Richard Marquand Video Tribute This is a short video tribute I created a few months back to honour Richard Marquand, the director of Return of the Jedi who in my opinion often gets overlooked for his contribution to the Star Wars universe. Rob Wainfur @thebeardedtrio THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Joins the Cast of Steven Spielberg's 'Extant'

When the Steven Spielberg-produced scifi drama Extant returns to CBS this summer, it will count Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a regular cast member. Morgan will be playing a hard-drinking, womanizing "cop of the future" who has his life changed by Molly, played by Halle Berry. Extant tells the story of an astronaut, played by Berry, who returns to Earth after an extended solo mission in space with an unexplained pregnancy that sets into motion events that will alter the course of human history. The show is produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. You can visit the show's official website at CBS.com/Extant . Source: Variety THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS Contact Lisa at  lisad@coffeewithkenobi.com

First Peek at Jurassic World's Indominus Rex

The viral site for Jurassic World is giving fans a first look at the mysterious new dinosaur, Indominus Rex. No worries - it doesn't give too much away, but it might give you some unsettling dreams... Those teeth! Yikes... Find out more about Indominus Rex at JurassicWorld.com . Jurassic World poster art from DeviantArt . THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS Contact Lisa at  lisad@coffeewithkenobi.com

Happy Birthday, Miss Sofia

One of the most influential people in the film- and television business  is celebrating her 61st birthday today. Oprah Winfrey, or as she came to our attention almost 30 years ago this year: Miss Sofia. Happy Birthday and lots of hugs from all of us. (we asked Steven to deliver them on our behalf) Ronny. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Saving Private Ryan, Edward Burns Recalls Working With Spielberg For The First Time. Had Zero Feedback For Two Weeks.

Most of us can only imagine what it would be like to work with Steven Spielberg.  Some have been lucky enough to work with the director but for some it wasn't all plane sailing straight out of the box.  Take Edward Burns who talks about his time on Saving Private Ryan in his new book " Independent Ed " and in particular how nervous he was.  He admits that he 'botched' many takes: He recalls Tom Hanks leaning in and whispering to him to calm down ("I've seen you act before, and this isn't acting!" he claims Hanks said). Yet despite several uncomfortable takes, Spielberg offered zero feedback, which terrified Burns. "Most directors would have stepped in after my first botched take, offered some notes, and inadvertently rattled my confidence. But this wasn't Steven's approach with us. He allowed us several takes to figure things out for ourselves. So much that he didn't provide any direction for almost two weeks. We did our s

Throwback Thursday: Jaws

This week I want to take you back to 1975, the year a mechanical shark made headlines in Hollywood, kept the beaches empty and  cinema seats filled for a long time. But three months before Jaws was released theatrically the magazine American Cinematographer devoted a large part of its March edition (including the cover) to the process of making this (until that moment) very unique film, mostly seen through the eyes of Bill Butler, Director of Photography. Hope you guys like it (as much as I did and still do). Unfortunately not all the pages were printed in color in those days. But even the black and white ones are pretty great. One might get hungry, watching Spielberg relaxing like that, in the mouth of Bruce .. Even though he was rather unknown at the time, Spielberg is quite often featured  on the various stills and pages of the article Three months after publication, Jaws made history, and summer would never be the same aga

Watch The Force Awakens Trailer...In Neon Lights

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens teaser trailer. (in neon) Watch a shot for shot remake of Star Wars The Force Awakens done with an easy on the eye neon effect.  Done by d igital illustrator Neonardo More neon animation at -  http://neonardo-gallery.tumblr.com Contact me at -  http://neonardo.com Follow me on Twitter for regular updates -  https://twitter.com/_Neonardo THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Star Wars Collector Sells Vintage Figure At Auction For £18000. Bought 35 Years Ago For £1.50

STAR WARS FAN SELLS BOBA FETT FOR £18000 We all dream of this.  To have one item in our Star Wars collection which we put away for a few years and when we dig it out it turns out to be worth big cash. Well, exactly that has happened to Craig Stevens.  35 years ago he bought a Boba Fett for £1.50 (I remember when they were that price - Rob)  Now he's just sold it at auction for...£18,000 including fees.  It sold to an anonymous UK buyer from off the Internet. Mr Stevens from Croydon, UK said: "I'm amazed at the price, that was absolutely perfect." Sky News tells us: Mr Stevens was selling 85 figures from his collection and the extremely rare Boba Fett, the bounty hunter from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, was the pick of the sale. It is one of only four or five still in such pristine condition, the former chairman of the UK Star Wars fan club believed. The sale has received bids from around the world. Before the auction Mr Stevens said: &q

Galactic turmoil #starwars

Today no big stories, just a few stills (from the US) from a small film , made a long time ago.  With a story that unfolds in another part of the galaxy,  where gravity seems to be no problem,  droids seem to respond and function rather human  and the old battle of good vs evil is still raging. Need more hints ? To be continued (this Christmas Season...) Ronny THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

VIDEO: 'Jurassic Park' VHS Promo From 1994

This promotional video from 1994 outlines the massive media campaign that would accompany the VHS release of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. There were contests where a trip to Hawaii was on the line, tie-ins with Jell-O, various display items for stores, pre-sell items, online promotions in conjunction with CompuServe.... Newspapers, cable TV, network TV, fast food chains - Everyone got in on the action! It's all a bit mind-boggling to be honest, and I mean that in the best possible way.  Jurassic Park made a huge impression that is still felt 22 years after its big screen debut. The media blitz had to be equal to the task. Source: YouTube THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS Contact Lisa at  lisad@coffeewithkenobi.com

Switching Jobs?

Although Steven Spielberg has become famous for directing and producing lots of great and highly successful films and tv-shows/-series, from time to time he likes to switch positions and make an appearance in front of the camera. We've compiled a list of films and music videos that he made an appearance (a cameo as it is called) in. One of the most famous cameos of Steven is his bit part as a county clerk in John Landis' comedy extravaganza from 1980: The Blues Brothers , opposite John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Two years later, in 1982 he not only directed E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial , but also produced a film that will see a reboot in 2015: Poltergeist , directed by Tobe Hooper. Besides producing the film, he also delivered the story, helped write the screenplay, and let his hands act in the nightmare sequence in the bathroom, where Marty (the cameraman) tears the flesh of his face. In 1984 he made a return in the acting chair with a small part, credited as