Star Wars Books on Facebook has posted another sample Annotation written by Timothy Zahn to be included in the 20th Anniversary Special Edition of Heir to the Empire.
Heir to The Empire (HttE) Annotation #4:
"One of the subtle tricks George used in the Star Wars movies was to show us only a few different planets, but to then use throwaway mentions of others along the way, thus giving us a feel for a much larger galaxy than we were actually seeing. I wanted to continue that technique by throwing in short visits to lots of different worlds such as Bimmisaari." –TZ
Also in the Comments section, Star Wars Books adds that:
Star Wars Books Remember, too--while we're previewing a few leading up to the on-sale date, there are almost 200 annotations altogether! (DP)
I love this annotation. The throw away lines don't stop at planets though. Like Lucas having Obi-Wan mention "The Clone Wars" or Zahn dropping Outbound Flight, it plants the seeds for future stories.
Artist Tom Hodges has been posting some of his work on Twitter. Including this most impressive rendition of Jedi Aayla Secura. I think she could even make a Sith Lord turn to the Light Side.
Follow Tom Hodges on Twitter ( @hodgesart ) for some more really cool takes on Star Wars characters, I really like his Leia.
LucasFilm has announced that it will be closing the StarWars.Com Forums as of April 29th for posting. From April 29th until June 3rd you will be able to read the Forums but no posting will be allowed. On June 3rd the entirety of the Forums is going into the trash compactor.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING STARWARS.COM FORUMS:
At StarWars.com, we are always evaluating the various features of the website in order to provide the best experience to our users. As we review new community-based interactive features for the future, we have decided that the Official Message Boards at forums.starwars.com will no longer be part of the site.
April 2011 will be the last month of active message boards on StarWars.com. On Friday, April 29 the forums will be locked into a read-only mode, so that users can look through older posts and copy any they may wish to keep for posterity. On Friday, June 3rd, the official StarWars.com forums will shut down entirely.
For those who wish to continue discussions with fellow fans, we encourage you to check out the commenting available on website articles as well as posts on the StarWars.com Facebook Page, as well as following and interacting with @StarWars via Twitter.
Thank you all who have contributed to the fun discussion and lively debates at the Official Star Wars Message Boards, and a special thank you to our volunteer moderators who have helped maintain this community since October of 2001.
While I was hardly the most active member of the Forums, I enjoyed interacting with fellow fans there and particularly with Lucasfilm/Lucasbooks Editor Sue Rostoni in the VIP Thread. I will miss the little tidbits of info that Sue gave to fans. Hopefully we continue to see her interact with fans in another way.
This also raises the question as to what will happen to the StarWars.Com Blogs. In order to have a blog you need to have a Hyperspace Membership, but with the discontinuation of that program you are no longer able to sign up for a blog at StarWars.Com. Will the Blogs be next on the chopping block?
So we have a long wait until the Fall and the next Clone Wars season, but we have gotten two new teaser trailers for TCW S4 in as many days.
Yesterday's trailer showed is Mon Calamarian, and what may be Not quite an Admiral yet Ackbar in battle on Dac (Mon Cal home world).
Today's trailer released at WonderCon and subsequently on Star Wars.com gives us some really cool scenes, including a new Besalisk Jedi, General Grievous battling Gungans, Grievous battling Adi Gallia, Dooku battling Anakin, Scuba Ahsoka battling in an underwater arena, and a really weird planet.
A Besalisk Jedi (same species as Obi-Wan's pal Dexter Jettster)
Nothing like a little Saturday night Clone Wars news...
StarWars.Com has posted both the Season 4 Teaser Trailer shown on Cartoon Network after the Season 3 Finale, as well as a new Season 4 Trailer shown at WonderCon.
Also, William Devereux of EUCantina.Net and the We Talk Clones Podcast, was in attendance at the Clone Wars panel at WonderCon and was live tweeting some of the questions and answers. A selection of some of this tweets:
George keeps saying they'll make lots of episodes. 100 is usually attached to the figure. #CloneWars#WonderCon
It was always the plan to mature Ahsoka over time. Not many nicknames from her anymore.
Ashley Eckstein has tried to tone down the cuteness.
JAT helped Ashley with the evil Ahsoka voice.
All of the (major) character models have been or will be upgraded.
At the end of S3, Yoda is pleased with Anakin and Ahsoka's relationship.
Peter (Mayhew) loves Star Wars. The eyes, mouth, walk, and stance make a character. He passed it on to the #CloneWars crew.
They were tempted to have the Wookiees rip the Trandoshans' arms off.
Joel Aaron: Environment is a character.
Tiny details like thorns and leaves were added. 25-30 lighted paintings are produced for each episode.
Awesome footage! Including a Jedi with two double-bladed lightsabers. Dave says no questions about the
footage in the Q&A. Peter chokes him.
Q: Will Savage find Darth Maul? A: They will resolve what happened.
Q: More classic characters? A: You saw one in the trailer.
Q: More female Jedi? A: Yes. We have a lot of great ones already, we just need to update their character models.
We will see Asajj Ventress again. Great character development.
Dave is dedicated to the character of Ahsoka. He wants to have a hand in explaining her fate, whatever it is. He already has an idea.
George Lucas comes up with the ideas for all episodes now. Asks Dave for his ideas for the season. Rex and Ahsoka's fate are big for Dave.
Ahsoka understands Chewbacca thanks to her training at the temple. Han just understands his emotes.
William is a must follow on Twitter (@MasterDevwi) if you are a Star Wars fan. Also please check out EUCantina.net one of the best designed Star Wars websites out there.
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