Darth Vader and…bunnies?

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Picture from http://kellykerrigan.blogspot.com/

I was watching my local news last night, when Channel 4 highlighted artist Kelly Kerrigan, whose pop culture art puts a twist on your typical Star Wars and geek art by combining some of the meanest villains of the Empire and some of the cuddliest critters to be found on Earth, as well as other, more varied ways of depicting our favorite characters. You can take a look at the story from Channel 4 in the upper right-hand corner of Channel 4’s page, and you can check out all of Kerrigan’s artwork (and even order ones you like!) at her website, kellykerrigan.blogspot.com. (Personally, I really want the Iron Man and bunny portrait for my best friend.)

If you happen to be in the Metro Nashville area, stop by The Arcade, where Kerrigan’s paintings will be displayed in the upcoming weeks.

Trope Tuesday: Villainous Breakdown

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It’s Tuesday, and that means you suckers are barely 2/5ths of the way through the work week. So why don’t we alleviate the tedium by diving into Tosche Station’s favorite waste-of-time on the web, TV Tropes! This week, we’re taking a look at the Villainous Breakdown:

The tendency of relatively calm and composed villains to lose their cool over the course of the story. Usually happens to arrogant Chessmaster-typevillains (especially if said villain is a Smug Snake), as control of the situation slips from his or her grasp and things come up that they Didn’t See Coming. Most notable when it happens towards the end of the story to show how pathetic the Big Bad is when things are not going exactly as planned (“This Cannot Be!!”). Especially apparent if they previously had Creepy Monotone or Dissonant Serenity, and suddenly start Chewing the Scenery(when they do this because their plan is succeeding, it’s more of a case of Drunk on the Dark Side). Thus, a Villainous Breakdown is frequently a trigger for a One-Winged Angel transformation.

Similar to Oh Crap, though the difference lies in that Oh Crap moments involve a single moment where the character finds that they are screwed, while Villainous Breakdowns have them see it coming from miles away. The good-guy counterpart is the Heroic BSOD.

Since we’ve been tying these tropes into the X-Wing series lately, let’s take a look at the two primary villains from the first seven books. Through the Stackpole novels, there was Ysanne Isard. There were a few moments in The Bacta War that were textbook examples of this trope in motion, such as the instance where she flips the frak out when one of her Star Destroyer captains defects to the New Republic. Meanwhile in the Allston novels, we have Solo Command, which is pretty much Warlord Zsinj’s Villainous Breakdown stretched out brilliantly over the course of the novel.

When things go bad for villains, they go really bad.

Warwick Davis Confirmed, Mary Franklin Teases Us Further, and Club Jade Offers Convention Advice

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Yesterday the CVI staff announced that Warwick Davis, better known for playing Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi, will be in attendance.

Film and television actor, and seasoned Celebration host, Warwick Davis will attend Celebration VI, signing autographs and meeting fans in the Celebration Autograph Hall as well as appearing on stage to share stories about his fascinating career, and entertain questions from the audience.

Davis has been well known to Star Wars fans since his career-starting performance as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi, and in the television films Ewoks: Battle for Endor and Caravan of Courage. The young actor moved to a leading role soon after, portraying the title character in Willow. Warwick returned to the galaxy far far away starting in 1997 with several roles in The Phantom Menace.

Outside of the realms of Star Wars, Davis has had scores of roles on stage, television, and the big screen. He was recently seen in a new comedy sitcom for the BBC with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant titled Life’s Too Short. Davis is in the core cast of the Harry Potter movies as Filius Flitwick and the Goblin bank teller, and portrayed Nikabrik in Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. He is a cult favorite as the evil title character in six Leprechaun films. Davis appeared alongside David Bowie inLabyrinth, with Jamie Foxx in the multi-award-winning film Ray, and alongside Ricky Gervais in TV’s Extras.

(Via)

Meanwhile, Mary Franklin tweeted this last night …

While more awesome at CVI is great, I’m a little bummed that 10.5 Feet of Awesome doesn’t quite have the same ring as Nine Feet of Awesome.

Finally, if you’re going to be attending one of the summer/fall fan conventions this year, you should hop on over to Club Jade and read Dunc’s advice for con-goers. Seriously guys, good shoes. Get ’em.

Joss wins again

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If you have somehow been living under an Internet rock and haven’t yet seen the wonder that is Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog (featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day), and for some reason have a Joss Whedon firewall on your computer–fear not! Dr. Horrible will air for the first time on television Tuesday, October 9th on the CW.

The good news is that Dr. Horrible is only one episode, so the network can’t come in and prematurely cancel it.

It’s Official: ‘The Hobbit’ Will Be A Trilogy

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There have been rumblings for a while now, but it appears to be official. The Hobbit will be split into three films. Peter Jackson made the confirmation on his Facebook page a little earlier today.

It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie – and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life.  All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.’

We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance.  The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.

So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.

It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, “a tale that grew in the telling.”

Cheers,

Peter J

Who’s excited?

(Via)

X-Wing Series Bundle On Sale Today

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Have we convinced you to read the X-Wing books yet? We Have? Then good news!

You can buy the original nine novels in an eBook format bundle today for $56.99, a 20% discount over buying them individually. If you’re considering picking these books up for the first time or are long-time fans that simply wish to save your poor paperback copies wear-and-tear, you can get the bundle for Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes and Noble’s Nook.

While you’re at it, why don’t you pre-order X-Wing: Mercy Kill as well?

CVI Schedule to Release First via Mobile App

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In an e-mail sent out to Celebration VI attendees earlier today, it was disclosed that the event program schedule will be released first on the Celebration mobile app. If you have a smartphone or a tablet, you may want to go download it now if you haven’t already.

Mary Franklin also teased this. Get to it, cryptologists.

(via)

Clone Wars Season Five to Premiere at Celebration VI

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While this isn’t exactly news (Dave Filoni said this was going to happen during San Diego Comic Con), the Celebration VI staff made things super official today by announcing that season five of The Clone Wars will debut at the event this year.

Attendees of Star Wars Celebration VI will be the first in the world to see the action-packed premiere of Season Five of Star Wars: The Clone Wars at a big screen red carpet event featuring stars of the hit series from Lucasfilm Animation.

On Friday, August 24th at 5 pm, the Digital Stage at Celebration VI – the venue optimized for high-definition digital theatrical exhibition with state-of-the-art surround sound – will present an evening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars entertainment beginning with a special presentation of the Season Four finale, the episodes “Brothers” and “Revenge.” These are followed by “Revival,” the long-awaited Season Premiere, on Cartoon Network this fall, that continues the story of the resurrected Darth Maul.

Get ready to queue, because you’re going to be in line for a long time for this event.

Tosche Station Radio #25: Escalating Prank War

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This week’s Tosche Station Radio brings us back to the X-Wing Retrospective and the Wraith Squadron arc!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s new on the blog. We ask just what’s in a Power Converter. Nanci asks EU fans to give Crucible and Troy Denning a chance. Brian looked back at Solo Command. On this week’s Cosplay Monday, the blog featured a magnificent Heimdall costume.

Fixer’s Flash is somewhat light this week. Both the hosts have Icarus Hunt tales to share. Nanci finished the first draft of her book and Brian finally put academia behind him.

In Deak’s Dirt, there’s a host of Celebration VI news including announcements of a Rancho Obi-Wan exhibit and the return of the Bounty Hunt game. Mary Franklin claims that the CVI schedule currently stands at nine feet long in the physical printout. Leland Chee discussed the Holocron on the official blog. Jena Malone was officially confirmed to play Johanna Mason in Catching Fire. In some bizarre (but awesome) rumors, will Mary Poppins duel a gigantic Lord Voldemort at the Olympic Games? Finally, we bid farewell to pioneer and trailblazer Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

Camie’s Concerns this week brings us back to the X-Wing retrospective. This time around, the hosts dig into the Wraith Squadron arc and talk the plots and characters as well as examining the impact Aaron Allston’s novels have had on the Expanded Universe. It’s far more than just dogfights and blaster skirmishes.

For Wormie’s Works this week, Nanci highlights Star Wars Yoga and Brian links to an Indiana Jones vocal cover.

Rounding out the show, the hosts answer questions from listeners. Remember, if you’ve got a question you want to ask us, e-mail and tweet them to us, or leave us a message on Facebook.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.