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Ashley Eckstein Upbeat About Disney Purchase

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Given Clone Wars voice actress Ashley Eckstein’s love of Disney, it should come as no surprise that she’s very excited about the big Lucasfilm purchase and what this means for the future of both companies. Over at the official Star Wars Blog, Ashley talks about her history with Disney.

One could say that I “grew up Disney.” My Dad started working for Disney when I was two years old and my earliest childhood memories revolve around Disney. Growing up in Orlando, Florida, with a parent that was a Disney “cast member” definitely had its perks. I got to go to the Disney parks all the time for free, I got in to advance screenings for Disney movies, my summer camps were at the Disney resorts, and I had special opportunities like going to live tapings of The Mickey Mouse Club. I bring this up because Disney was and always has been a MAJOR influence in my life and has definitely shaped the person I am today.

Be sure to give the whole entry a read!

Cover for Star Wars Issue 2 features X-Wings and Leia

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I meant to post this a few days ago, but with the whole Episode VII-becoming-reality-thing, it got lost in the drafts. In any case, artist Alex Ross has released the cover for issue two of the new Star Wars comic:

We’ve got some X-Wings, the Falcon, Slave I, Luke, Wedge, and Leia. Well this should be fun!

Report: Harrison Ford Open to Playing Han Solo Again?

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Since reality has turned itself upside down and the impossible is happening left and right*, here’s another report that fits that bill. According to Entertainment Weekly, a “highly placed source” has said that Harrison Ford is open to the idea of donning the vest and bloodstripes again.

Harrison Ford is open to the idea of bringing Han Solo back to life on the silver screen in 2015, according to sources close to the just-announced Star Wars sequel, but don’t be surprised if his contract includes a mandatory death scene for the sly old space smuggler.

“Harrison is open to the idea of doing the movie and he’s upbeat about it, all three of them are,” said one highly placed source, referring to Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, the trio that made a hyper-speed jump to global fame on May 25, 1977, the opening night for George Lucas’s original Star Wars film.

Usual caveats here. A “highly placed source” could just be a janitor over in Marin County. But hey, there was a point in time where it seemed absurd that Ford would take up the mantle of Indiana Jones again.

*Seriously, Episode VII. That’s a thing. 

Rumor: Screenwriters Meeting With Lucasfilm to Pitch Episode VII Concepts

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Of all the various Episode VII and Star Wars rumors that emerged over the weekend (and you can head over to Club Jade for excellent coverage on that front), only one seemed to have legs and looked plausible. According to the LA Times, several screenwriters have been in contact with George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy in order to pitch their own ideas for the new live-action films.

In the months before Disney announced it would acquire “Star Wars” studio Lucasfilm, several different screenwriters paid visits to Lucasfilm’s Northern California compound to pitch George Lucas and his co-chair Kathleen Kennedy their ideas for the new live-action installment, the series’ seventh, according to a person familiar with the talks who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about them.

Now you might be wondering, why is Lucasfilm doing this? Didn’t Lucas give Disney his story treatments as part of the sale agreement? It could be that the treatments aren’t concrete rules for what the films will be and that whoever is brought in as director and screenwriter will have some say over where the new trilogy goes. Or it could be as simple as these meetings being an audition of sorts. They’re not going to divulge the content of the treatments, so right now they just want to see if there’s a screenwriter that will mesh with what Lucasfilm has in mind.

Or maybe they’re turning the bulk of the writing over to the screenwriter.

It’s too soon to tell exactly what the motivations are, but of all the rumors lately, these meetings are definitely in the plausible-to-likely category.

(via)

Mark Hamill Has Known About Episode VII Since August

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Pablo Hidalgo wasn’t the only person who’s been keeping this bombshell a secret. According to an interview at Entertianment Weekly, Mark Hamill says he and Carrie Fisher have known that a new trilogy was coming since August.

Of course, Entertainment Weekly tried to get more out of Hamill, but he doesn’t have much information to give up:

When you had lunch with George, did he get into any details with you about where the story would go in the next three films, or whether you would have a part in them?
Well, no, he was just talking about writers and the fact that he wouldn’t be directing. I guess he wanted us to know before everybody else knew. He said, “Now you can’t tell anybody!” [Laughs] Even now I’m nervous about saying anything. I just don’t know!

Let the fan speculation continue, I suppose.

George Lucas To Put Lucasfilm Sale Bounty into Education

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If you hadn’t heard, George Lucas made a little bit of money this week by selling something he’s owned for a while. Just what will he be doing with that $4.05 billion suddenly flooding his bank account? Funnel the bulk of it straight into education.

By the end of the year, the $4.05 billion sale of Lucasfilm to Disney should be finalized. And since George Lucas owns 100 percent of his company – which has little to no debt – all that money goes to him.

After that, Lucas plans to quickly put the bulk of the money into a foundation which will primarily focus on educational issues, a spokesperson for Lucasfilm tells THR.

“George Lucas has expressed his intention, in the event the deal closes, to donate the majority of the proceeds to his philanthropic endeavors.”

It’s worth noting that George Lucas was one of the first individuals to sign The Giving Pledge, which promises to give away at least half his wealth.

Thoughts on the Big Frakking News: Disney Flourishes and Just What Is Episode VII?

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“Oh man the Internet is going to explode when you sign this thing, George.”

Earlier today I posted a long and rambling mess of an article looking at my thoughts and gut feelings on what the Big News means for the Expanded Universe as a whole. Originally, this post was going to be part of that article but for the sake of readability, I had to break things up. In any case, here’s the second part of me trying to figure out just what the heck all this news means and how I feel about it all.

A new movie? New ownership? What in the world does this mean for publishing contracts? Is Disney going to put a flourish on Star Wars? Head over to the jump and watch me try to process all of this.

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