The Bearded Trio

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Universal Orlando has renegotiated a contract with director Steven Spielberg that could've crippled the company. The director has received a percentage of the resort company's gross revenue since 1987 for films that inspired several park rides, consulting and allowing his name in promotional materials. The payments have averaged about $20 million a year, but Spielberg had an option to take the rest in a one-time payment in 2010. Analysts estimated it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The company, owned by a unit of General Electric Co. and private-equity firm The Blackstone Group, couldn't afford the buyout. Universal is already trying to restructure nearly $1 billion in debt due in April. The new Spielberg contract now pushes the director's call option to 2017.

Footage from the Star Wars Celebration Europe 2007 event which was held at the Excel Centre in London's Docklands 13th 15th June 2007. Footage shot and edited by Johnnie "Oddball"

Initial design of interactive sounds and lights for LFL's touring x-wing fighter. All electronics were designed and maintained by hyperdynelabs.com. Includes moving R2 dome, R2 lights, engine light effects, motion activated xwing and R2 sounds, lighted cockpit.

Steven Spielberg discusses the relation between Indiana Jones and serial movies like Spy Smasher.

Gameplay from the upcoming LucasArts game Lucidity

John Williams' score for the original 1977 Star Wars movie beat off other contenders for the title such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The poll was conducted by science fiction website Totalscifionline. The score to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, composed by James Horner, came in second place, while Vangelis' haunting electro soundtrack for Blade Runner - recently voted the best sci-fi movie of all time - completed the top three. Composer John Williams won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award for his work on all six Star Wars movies between 1977 and 2005. His score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind also made the top 10, coming in at number eight. Matt McAllister, editor of Totalscifionline, said: "With his score for Star Wars, John Williams created one of the most iconic and unforgettable soundtracks of all time. "Most people could identify the movie fr...

VIDEO: A scale model of the STAR WARS X-Wing Fighter being launched out of the southern California desert 10/06/07. Plaster Blaster 2007

A fan made video celebrating the great work ILM did in the Star Wars movies. Great music accompanies the video. Very well done.

Pink Five is a Star Wars fan film that made its debut on the Internet in 2002. It was written and directed by Trey Stokes and stars Amy Earhart as Stacey (aka Pink Five), a fast-talking Valley Girl-type dropped into an X-Wing cockpit during the Battle of Yavin, and presents familiar events and story points from Episode IV from a very different point-of-view. The film has proven popular with Star Wars fans, winning rave reviews and the George Lucas Selects Award in the AtomFilms- and Lucasfilm-sponsored 2003 Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, and even played at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Two sequels have been made: Pink Five Strikes Back (2004) and Return of Pink Five (2006). http://www.pinkfive.com/ 2020 update - Still waiting!  The only thing we have is episode one and no update since 2013.

The director, 62, is said to be in talks with Showtime, an American cable television company, and DreamWorks TV about the series, which has yet to be given a title. Spielberg also intends to take the production itself on to the stage. Variety claimed that Spielberg had been developing the concept for the show "for years", and was hoping to recruit producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who were behind taking Chicago and Hairspray from the stage to the big screen. He is also said to be interested in getting on board Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who co-wrote the score for Hairspray and the musical adaptation of Spielberg's 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio. The series will look at all aspects of creating a musical and taking it to the stage, from writing the songs to convincing investors, as well as the delving into the personal lives of the main players like the actors and producers. It is understood S...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have collaborated before, as with their Indiana Jones movies, but now they’ve decided to pool their collections of Norman Rockwell art for an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. "Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell From the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg" will present 50 drawings and paintings from the filmmakers’ private holdings. One of the exhibition's themes will be the links between Rockwell's art and the movies, which is what prompted both men to start their extensive collections, a Smithsonian curator says. The exhibit, which can be seen only at the Smithsonian, runs from July 2, 2010, through Jan. 2, 2011. http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/32787/spielberg-lucas-team-up-for-rockwell-exhibit/

George Lucas talks about and introduces EPISODE IV, STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE at the AFI's 40th Anniversary screening, AFI's Night At The Movies. (2007) https://AFI.com

Here's a behind-the-scenes video on the making of Monkey Island and in particular, The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition. The talented crew explain how the game came about and how it was remastered.

At the CEDIA Expo, Pioneer announced that its Elite BDP-09FDr Blu-ray Disc Player has become the world’s first to achieve THX certification. The company’s Elite EX Series in-wall speakers have also attained THX Select2 certification. Both of these products complement the company’s Elite A/V Receivers, which are also THX Ultra2 Plus Certified and feature Class D digital amplification. By meeting these certifications and adhering to the company’s own strict principles for faithful reproduction of content, Pioneer feels that its line of products rival the movie theater experience.

LucasArts' president Darrell Rodriguez has confirmed that LucasArts will be making many more remakes of games from it's back catalogue, based on the success of Monkey Island: SE. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition was a remake and re-release of one of LucasArts' most loved games, complete with new audio and graphical options. It was released across the PC, Xbox 360 and iPhone and seems to have done well enough that LucasArts is now ramping up production of other remakes. "We plan to do much more of this, both on Steam and iPhone and other platforms in the future," Rodriguez told GameTrailers.tv. Rodriguez also unveiled that next week will see the re-release of the Jedi Knight series over Steam, expanding on the selection of retro games that are currently available on Steam in their original form. Rodriguez also commented that LucasArts had definitely considered making sequels to some of the under-represented games, such as Fate of Atlantis and Grim Fanda...

Filmmaker George Lucas is set to join the California Hall of Fame, it has been announced. The Star Wars creator - who writes, produces and directs movies - is among the newest inductees to the Hall. The list of 2009 inductees was unveiled by California governor and former actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver. They said the latest 13 entrants "embody California's innovative spirit and have made their mark on history". The list also includes entertainer Carol Burnett, slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk and football commentator John Madden. The nominees will be inducted in a ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento on December 1.

H arrison Ford seems game for a fifth installment to the Indiana Jones franchise if, he said, the script is good and if he's impressed with it. The 67-year-old actor said he'd put on the khakis and the fedora and he'll crack his whip if director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas agree to the script. “Steven, George and I are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern and George is actively at work,” Ford told France's Le Figaro . In June, Shia LaBeouf who played Indiana's son in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull , confirmed a fifth movie was in the pipelines and that he would be delighted to reprise his role if he were to be asked.

The Superman theme. It's easily one of favourite pieces from the great, John Williams. There's nothing better than listening to the powerful piece being played live by a full orchestra. Here's a video from 2007 showing John Williams conducting The Boston Pops at the Boston Pops Movie Night.

Kenner Star Wars Adverts All In One Place Can't get enough of those retro 70's and 80's Kenner Star Wars ads? Then check out kennervaults. There are over 80 adverts. You can select your favourite character or vehicle and it will find an ad for you. Great stuff! My favourite one is the retailer promotional video sent out to retailers for summer of 79. In the video they mention George Lucas has planned to make 12 Star Wars Movies. Also the advertising budget for Empire is going to be six million dollars. http://kennervaults.blogspot.com/search/label/retailer%20promotional%20adverts%20star%20wars

Robert Downey Jr is reportedly the frontrunner to star in Steven Spielberg's Harvey remake. According to Variety, the Iron Man actor is being eyed for the role of Elwood P. Dowd, a man who befriends an imaginary six-foot tall rabbit. Harvey originated as a Pulitzer Prize-winning play in 1944. It was later turned into a 1950 feature film starring Jimmy Stewart and Josephine Hull. Reports emerged last month claiming that Tom Hanks, who starred in Spielberg films Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal, turned down the lead role because he believes the public already perceive him as a present-day Stewart. Tags: harvey , steven spielberg