Star Wars Bits: Pentatonix Covers Star Wars, Phasma Strikes A Pose, Google Gets The Force, And More
After the jump:
The Force was strong with the American Music Awards this year. Surprise guest Harrison Ford introduced a cappella group Pentatonix, who served up a rousing rendition of John Williams' iconic Star Wars themes. Watch their performance above.
It was confirmed months ago that Simon Pegg would be making an appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but as of now we still don't know whom he's playing. Naturally, that just means rumors abound about his role. The latest is that he's playing Unkar Plutt, a Jakku junk dealer. Making Star Wars has more details.
Following Star Wars: The Force Awakens banners for Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), old-timers Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han (Harrison Ford) are here to show 'em how it's done. Han is armed with his trusty blaster, and Leia with... streaks of green light? Sure.
Gwendoline Christie's Captain Phasma gets the spotlight in the latest new image from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and boy does she look cool doing it. Some are calling her the new Boba Fett; I, for one, hope she gets more to do than he did in those original films.
You could choose between decorating your lawn in honor of The Force Awakens, or decorating it to mark the Christmas holiday. Or you could do what one enterprising Star Wars fan did and celebrate both in one fell swoop, via a massive, and massively impressive, TIE fighter Christmas light display.
We all know the movie theater concessions are a massive rip-off. But depending on how much you like Star Wars and/or not spilling stuff, you may want to hit up the stand anyway to grab some of these collectible drink toppers. Click over to the Regal website (via Making Star Wars) to see if your local theater is participating.
Artist Joshua Budich has shared a small series of Star Wars portraits, featuring Captain Phasma, Boba Fett, and a TIE pilot. They're crisp and elegant and almost entirely black-and-white, though the splash of red on Phasma is a nice touch. See more of his art at his website, or browse his store at Big Cartel.
Melbourne artist Daz Tibbles has given the new Star Wars movie an old look, with vintage-style comic book covers. Naturally, there's one for the Light Side of the Force, and one for the Dark. If you're in Melbourne, you can see these pieces in person at an upcoming Star Wars art exhibition; otherwise, see more of his work at his Deviant Art page.
This one may be a bit inside baseball, but: As you may have heard, some critics are very concerned about rumors that Star Wars: The Force Awakens might not screen in advance for press. Sam Adams at Criticwire, however, makes the argument that this is hardly the end of film criticism or journalism, and in fact might spur a change for the better:
Although it's trailed off somewhat, the last decade has been marked by the explosive growth of TV recaps, which assume that their audience already knows what happened — or, at the very least, that they want to be told. It's past time film criticism followed suit, or at least provided a separate space to talk about twists and turns that fundamentally alter a movie's meaning. That's less an innovation than a return to earlier times, when it was assumed that either movie plots were so predictable there was no point in keeping them secret or, in the case of longform writing like Pauline Kael's New Yorker reviews, that the critic's function was helping readers dissect what they'd already seen, not whether or where to spend the price of a ticket.
Read his full piece at Criticwire.
More new Star Wars: The Force Awakens details have dribbled out, this time thanks to the kid-oriented Star Wars Look and Find book. Among other things, it confirms who Max von Sydow is playing, what BB-8 is carrying, how Maz Kanata is connected to a certain character, and the name of the planet where the Resistance is based. No major spoilers are revealed, of course, but those who'd rather know as little as possible might want to steer clear. Those who just can't resist soaking in all the juicy details they can get should click here.
Google is also getting on the unnecessary marketing integration game, inviting users to pick between the Light Side and the Dark Side. Tread carefully, because the choice you make will determine the course of your life... or at least which Star Wars-themed interface you get. And then not even that, really, because you can always go back and switch sides.
The Star Wars promotion won't change Google's functionality. It'll just make them a little more Star Wars-y — replacing loading bars with lightsabers, for example, and your Google Maps marker with an X-Wing or a TIE fighter. Apps and services that'll get the Star Wars makeover include Chrome, Maps, Calendar, Google Translate, and Gmail. Waze, meanwhile, will let you hear directions from C-3PO. Hop over to Google.com/StarWars to declare your side.