DESIRING HAYDEN.NET PRESS ARCHIVE

The husband and wife Elseys team are responsible for such Star Wars Episode III creations as the Wookiees, the Utapauns, charred Anakin, and the twisted Emperor.
Creating believable and out-worldly creatures should be a lifetime passion, and husband and wife Elseys team are a living proof to that. Innovative and highly talented makeup masters, they are responsible for such Episode III creations as the Wookiees, the Utapauns, charred Anakin, and the twisted Emperor.
“The main part of it is changing body shapes – sort of designing soft mechanics. A lot of it is pattern-making. For the Wookiees, the costumes are made of articulated foam, so all of the bodies were cut flat, and then they were all glued together so that all of the muscles worked properly.”
“It’s movable sculpture, really,” added Dave Elsey, Creature Shop Creative Supervisor. “You have sculptures, just as you would with clay – bodies, shapes, muscles, tendons and everything. So a lot of what Lou does is to really create what they look like on the outside, but they have to work on the inside. Because we’re going to put an actor in there, and they’re going to have to survive.”
One of the actors required to endure the hardship of prosthetic makeup was Hayden Christensen, who underwent extensive makeup to turn him into the horribly scarred Darth Vader.
“Before doing Revenge of the Sith, I was doing a job where we were recreating every type of burn you could possibly think of,” recalls Dave Elsey. “We were researching the whole thing with paramedics, and really going into it. Then, when we heard about this film, we thought, surely this could be the most famous burns in history, because I had known Anakin was going to take the tumble since I was about 10 years old.”
The research provided Dave with the background needed to create an absolutely realistic burn victim, but a new challenge arose. Would absolute realism be appropriate for the bloodless-cauterized-wound world of Star Wars? “All the stuff that we know of is all really quite horrific stuff and quite scary, and originally we were thinking about how we were going to make this PG, but George said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just make it good.’”
Also guiding the design was the unhelmeted Vader seen in Episode VI — the pasty and scarred face of actor Sebastian Shaw behind the mask. “When I was a kid, I was a little bit disappointed in that. I thought that if he had really gone through this ordeal, there would be much more scarring,” said Dave. “But we realized that this was a long time further, and a lot of reconstructive surgery had taken place since then. But we tried to get the scars in all the same place.”
Another one of Dave’s favorite original trilogy makeups was that of the Emperor, which also had to be resurrected in a younger, fresher state of injury for Episode III. “You haven’t seen a lot of him in the original movies,” he explains. “I was fascinated to see what was under the hood. We did a lot of early designs that were really quite crazy, and George came and calmed us down. Ian was very good in filling in the blanks. There weren’t a lot of photos taken of [the original Emperor], apart from the real famous ones you all have already seen. In order to research that, we just watched the movies over and over again.”

HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN: So, Rosario, tell me how the steps in front of your apartment building influenced your game plan. Weren’t you sort of cast off the stoop?

ROSARIO DAWSON: Yes, I was 15. They were shooting a Vibe commercial on my block, and my dad said to go hang out downstairs because I might get cast. So I stood down there the whole weekend and ultimately ended up being checked out by Harmony Korine and Larry Clark [the writer and director, respectively, of Kids (1995), who were scouting locations for their movie].

HC: You were ultimately cast in Kids. That must have been an interesting initiation into filmmaking.

RD: Yeah, I remember being very quiet and shy and excited about the whole thing. I was supposed to play this very lippy, precocious, sexual girl, which I was not at that age. Finally, I just owned it, and it got me really excited about taking on a persona that wasn’t necessarily my own.

HC: You’ve done a number of indie projects, as well as big-budget studio fare like this month’s Alexander and the forthcoming Sin City. How is it to navigate those two worlds?

RD: I like the risks that independent projects sometimes take, but I’ve also worked on some great big-budget stuff. I’ve never had a particular loyalty to any one type of filmmaking. And it’s been great to participate in some other things. It brought in a lot of new experiences as well as different types of directors and approaches, which I probably wouldn’t have had if I’d stuck to just one thing. Plus I always wanted to work with Oliver Stone [Alexander's director].

HC: In the film you play Roxane, the wife of Alexander. Tell me about the role.

RD: It was a kind of character I’d never played before-she lived in a time and place where everything was life or death. And it was interesting to play a woman who was so fierce and strong, but so limited in her power. She couldn’t be persuasive, so she had to be manipulative. And because the film takes place from 350 to 285 B.C., you had to be in a bubble making it; we were out in the middle of the desert in Morocco for three months, totally away from everything.

HC: What do you think it was about this story that made Oliver Stone so committed to bringing it to the big screen?

RD: You can’t learn about a character like Alexander and not be moved. I think it’s why his story is still so relevant. It’s not about trying to match the politics of that time with what’s going on in the world today, though it’s easy to do. It’s the reason why history persists.

HC: I understand that Sin City is based on the graphic novels of Frank Miller and that you had to do a lot of green-screen work. Sounds like it couldn’t have been more different from Alexander.

RD: In some ways Sin City was equally extraordinary, but in a completely different way. The film is going to be black and white, but with spots of color, like red lips or a red dress-very surreal and film-noirish. But the other thing that’s so incredible about the film is [co-director] Robert Rodriguez’s dedication. Frank Miller is considered a god in the comic world, and this is going to be the most fully realized comic adaptation in history.

HC: So, tell me about politics, jail, and the dangers of wearing masks. [both laugh]

RD: Oh, goodness. Stephen Marshall, who is one of the creators of GNN, which stands for the Gorilla News Network, wanted to do a remake of this old film called Medium Cool (1969), which takes place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. His version [called This Revolution] takes place at the 2004 Republican convention and deals with issues of journalistic integrity. What happened is that we were shooting footage during the convention, and one of the crew started talking to someone from BET [Black Entertainment Television]. I didn’t want to be identified, so I put my mask up to hide my identity. Then cops grabbed us and pulled us over and were like, “You’re wearing a mask. That’s against the law.” But when I turned to the cop and said, “We’re making a movie. We have permits,” he arrested me anyway. Contextually, I completely understand why they responded the way they did, but there were a lot of people who were arrested who weren’t doing anything. It only amplified the reason why I was doing the movie, and the reason why I’m involved with the [Lower East Side] Girls Club [a group that helps provide services to financially disadvantaged girls]-trying to empower people to know their rights. That’s another thing I got from Alexander. You look at people like Socrates and Aristotle who participated governmentally and philosophically and in the arts. They understood what it was to be a free man, and they respected it in a way that we just don’t nowadays.

Star Wars fans can look forward to more sc-fi action in the sixth and final movie in the series titled Birth Of The Empire, movie insiders have revealed.

According to The Sun, the movie promises to send adrenalin pumping with a thrilling lightsaber clash between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) while they surf on lava.

“Anakin and Obi-Wan fight on platforms on the lava. They control these like surfboards,” a source was quoted as saying.

“There’s going to be a big announcement soon. They’ve tried lots of titles but the most popular is Birth Of The Empire,” he added.

The movie which will be out next May also features Anakin’s transformation into evil Darth Vader and his baby son, Luke, being smuggled to safety to the desert planet Tatooine. (ANI)

Hayden Christensen and his brother Tove Christensen have teamed with Emmy-winning documentarian R.J. Cutler to produce a reality project for FX. The project, tentatively titled “Masterpiece,” is going to chronicle a young artist’s rise to fame. A talent search is under way for a budding artist to star in “Masterpiece,” which has received a pilot presentation order from the cable network. The unscripted project marks Hayden Christensen’s (“Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones”) first foray into producing. Tove Christensen served as a producer on the Hayden Christensen starrer “Shattered Glass.” The Christensen brothers are not complete strangers to reality TV. The two competed in Mark Burnett’s “Eco-Challenge Fiji Islands.” In addition to “Masterpiece,” Cutler is developing another reality series project for FX that will tackle race relations in today’s America (HR 4/29). Hayden Christensen, Tove Christensen and Cutler are repped by CAA.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Hayden Christensen is getting into the “Star Wars” spirit. The actor who plays the future Darth Vader in “Attack of the Clones” and the upcoming “Revenge of the Sith” will make a cameo in the new “Star Wars” trilogy DVD boxed set, report news sources.

Christensen will appear as the spirit of Anakin Skywalker at the end of the new version of “Return of the Jedi” DVD, replacing the face of Sebastian Shaw.

Other similar changes have been made to reflect casting continuity, including changing the holographic broadcast of the Emperor in “The Empire Strikes Back” to look and sound like Ian McDiarmid, who plays the role in “Jedi” and the first two prequels. In “A New Hope,” the digital image of Jabba the Hut that was added in 1997 has been recreated to look more realistic.

Despite these minor alterations, the most significant thing fans will notice is the improved visual quality thanks to a thorough restoration. Bonus features include rare production photos, TV commercials, trailers, posters, clips of actors who auditioned for but did not land the parts of Han Solo and princess Leia and a preview of “Episode III,” which will be released in May 2005.

The “Star Wars” DVD trilogy four-disc box set will hit retail shelves on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

Besides the “Star Wars” movies, the 23-year-old Christensen has also starred in “Shattered Glass” and “Life As a House.”

Source: Zap2It.Com

Imagine you’re an actor visiting Japan to promote your latest film. You stay at the Park Hyatt and are treated to a delicious Kobe beef dinner. If that means anything, it means you’re considered an A-list actor here.

Or so one film distributor argues, and the latest to get that special treatment is Hayden Christensen, star of Billy Lay’s Shattered Glass.

“I feel very privileged, very lucky,” Christensen says in an interview held in a sumptuous room at the Park Hyatt hotel overlooking the Shinjuku district of Tokyo.

“This is where I stayed last time here. Everyone here is very nice. I really like the hotel. It wasn’t a response to the Lost in Translation film,” he grins, referring to the film that was largely shot in the hotel.

What about Kobe beef?

“Kobe beef is just something you don’t have very often in North America, and it’s delicious. So I wanted to make sure I’ve got some of that meat before I leave.”

Shattered Glass tells the story of Steven Glass, who was once a star journalist before being found to have fabricated more than two dozen articles published in such prestigious magazines as The New Republic and Rolling Stone. Christensen plays the lead role of Glass himself. But did the Canadian actor enjoy portraying someone falling from grace?

“Very much so,” he says.

In what respect?

“Your character goes through some sort of evolution…to start at one place and end up somewhere completely different is always more intriguing because there’s more to do, because there’s more to portray,” he says.

In the movie, Glass keeps his big lie from colleagues, who respect him as one of the best journalists around. The movie does not make him out to be a professional con man, but portrays him as a caring and introverted young man.

“You have all these sensibilities that you’re trying to juggle,” Christensen says. “Trying to make it seem real enough that this person you’re creating could pull all these things off was daunting at times.”

In preparation for the role, Christensen spoke to Glass’ former colleagues at The New Republic and read all the articles Glass wrote, which he says, gave him a good sense of what kind of storyteller Glass was.

But he couldn’t meet Glass himself.

“He didn’t want us to make it,” he says. “I mean, for a good reason…Imagine you’re going to a video store and seeing sort of the worst time in your life put on a cassette on a video shelf for someone to go and rent whenever they please.”

Christensen says Glass even threatened to file a suit against the filmmakers if they went ahead with the production. “Glass said, ‘If you make a movie, I’ll sue you because it’s not true and I didn’t actually do any of this,’” he says.

In the end, however, Glass went to see the movie.

“Apparently he said it was very painful to watch because it’s re-creating a very painful time of his life. But he thought we did a good job. He thought we approached it with integrity and told the story as it happened. We didn’t sensationalize the story. Nor did we attempt to villainize him, either. It felt real to him, he said,” Christensen explains.

‘Star Wars’ and star status

Christensen acquired stellar status in Hollywood after his role in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of Clones, in which he plays Anakin Skywalker, later known as Darth Vader. He landed the part in competition with about 400 other actors who auditioned for the role.

“To get a part in Star Wars was a huge shift in my career. It was big news for me,” he says. “Things are very different. My career’s obviously different. It’s been a very rapid change in a small period of time. I was very young, still I’m very young, but…a lot is coming at me.”

With the buzz gradually building up ahead of the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, our talk inevitably shifts to the third and final installment of the Star Wars prequels.

“We’ve just finished” the shooting of Episode III, he says. “We finished principal photography a little over a year ago. We were back in London, doing reshoots and got to see a little bit of the film. It was very exciting and the third one looks everything we hoped it to be.

“I think this is the one everyone is really looking forward to. It’s a Darth Vader story. It’s sort of that final evolution into Anakin becoming the greatest villain of all time,” he says.

Come to think of it, Anakin is also a character who falls from grace-in this case from a noble Jedi to the evil Darth Vader. Maybe that’s exactly the right kind of part for Christensen.

Source: Daily Yomiuri On-line

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Yes, it’s official. As you have no doubt read elsewhere on this site, the title of Episode III was unveiled yesterday after a two-hour Lucasfilm presentation on various Episode III-related chicanery. And the reaction from the legions of fans? That it was good.

The title was unveiled right at the end of the presentation, after Star Wars Fan Relations guru, Steve Sansweet had conducted an interview with producer, Rick McCallum and Darth Vader himself, Hayden Christensen. A brief Q&A followed, during which Christensen revealed that the Anakin-Obi-Wan relationship is the true fulcrum of the picture, McCallum hinted that Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu is the pivotal point that begins Anakin’s descent toward the Dark Side, and in which we got to see Christensen don the Vader armour for the first time, to tumultuous cheers from the audience (many of whom were suitably dressed for the occasion). Christensen wouldn’t be drawn, though, on how long he would be spending in the Vader suit.

Then came the title, revealed in a montage displaying the titles of the previous five films, one by one. Then, as III was displayed on the screen, the word ‘Revenge’ flashed briefly on the screen, before pulling out to reveal ‘Revenge of the Sith’. And lo, the approval was great. Even the guy who told McCallum that Jar Jar had ‘ruined the series’ must have been pleased. And the good news for those who fear that George Lucas might do what he did with Return of the Jedi and delete the word ‘ revenge’ at the last minute? “This time,” laughed Sansweet, “George tells us he’s going to keep ‘Revenge’ in the title. ” Too bloody right.

Source: Empire Online

Vader returns in new Episode III documentary.
The latest Episode III ‘Making Of’ documentary is a particularly pleasing way to shepherd in the new year, even if it does do little to bring the finished product any closer. As ever this jewel of behind the scenes footage is only available to Hyperspace subscribers but here follows a tidy summation of the highlights, including the first glimpse of the new Darth Vader - or bits of him at least.

After panning across a plywood set and watching Lucas and Rick McCallum play ‘draw’ with blaster pistols, we are introduced to the challenge of segueing from the last of the prequel trilogy to the first of the original films. “We’re in one world trying to link two basic films,” explains McCallum. “We have to deal with Episode III but, much more importantly in a lot of ways, we have to make sure that everything we do in III rings true for Episode IV. ”

Cut to Lucas surveying a table full of lightsabers. “Well, is this the one that’s given to Luke?” He asks, while pawing a distinctly familiar weapon. “So this is the one that Obi-Wan takes, he takes it with him after that fight. So that’s basically the way it works; we just have to go from Ewan to Alec.”

A hop, skip and jump to the Creatures department reveals the eight foot (at least) hirsute frame of a wookiee character having his (her?) lustrous mane groomed by one of the modellers. “This isn’t Chewbacca, I don’t think,” observes Lucas. “This is somebody else. It was funny because when we first did it [Peter Mayhew, who plays Chewbacca] was the tallest guy we could find in England. Now, just take any basketball team and they start at seven foot six.”

We then take a look inside Ewan McGregor’s dressing room as his make-up is applied and the director muses on the challenge of bringing the Scotsman’s images one step closer to Alec Guinness’s in Episode IV. Keeping with the grooming theme we are subsequently treated to a look at young Hayden Christensen sporting a wig that screams ‘Def Leppard’ louder than it does ‘emergent Sith Lord’. “You know, I actually thought Mark Hamill’s haircut was really cool,” says make-up supervisor, Nikki Gooley. it takes all sorts.

Natlie Portman, Hayden and Ewan perform on-set read-throughs, the latter two engage in some lightsaber sparring and Anthony Daniels clunks around in his shiny Threepio outfit. This is all very entertaining but the highlight of the entire featurette has to be Costume Props Supervisor, Ivo Coveney’s references to Anakin’s final costume.

Leafing through photographs of a deeply familiar suit of black armour, Coveney muses on Vader’s various incarnations. “You can start to tell the difference between some of them on these [chest] plates right here. For Return of the Jedi they’d resculpted this.” We cut to a cast of Christensen’s head placed within a cross-sectioned Vader helm. “Although we’ve got Hayden’s head cast, until we start putting it on his body we just don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. But we know that George wants to keep the scale the same.” Looks like some serious lifts will be in order to bring Christensen up to David Prowse’s six foot seven frame.

Source: Empire Online

Allow us to take you back for a moment to the heady days of early 1996, when Jar Jar Binks was no more than a pixel in George Lucas’ eye and we had yet to be introduced to the Episode I universe.

You may recall the excitement that greeted the launch of the Episode I soundtrack, offering as it did the first taste of the most eagerly anticipated film in history. And your ears may still be ringing from the shrieks of horror from spoiler-averse fans that greeted the track listings “Qui-Gon’s Noble End” and “Qui-Gon’s Funeral”.

Yes, Lucas gave it all away on the soundtrack cover. Now, with the trailer for the Episode III game, reported here on Coming Soon, it is once again time for fans to be cautious. It may be that what you see here bears no relation to the action of the film, but it looks spoilerific indeed.

We’re not going to reveal anything more about the game, except to say that the graphics are really rather good, and the action looks impressive - Hayden Christensen apparently did the motion capture himself. That’s due out on May 5, 2005, just as excitement about the film reaches fever pitch.

The long-awaited final ‘Star Wars’ movie is set to be called ‘Birth of the Empire-May 18, 2004-Teen Hollywood

The highlight of the space epic is expected to be a light sabre duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, and Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen, while surfing on lava.

A movie insider revealed: “Anakin and Obi-Wan fight on platforms of lava, which they ride like surfboards.”

The movie, which is the sixth in the series, also features Anakin being transformed into the evil Darth Vader when he falls into the lava, and his baby son, Luke, being smuggled to safety to the desert planet Tatooine.

The source added: “‘Birth of the Empire’ is the favourite title so far.”

The film is due to hit cinema screens next May.

Go right to the featurettes of the new “Star Wars Trilogy” DVD set.

It’s right there - in small tantalizing bites, of course, but it’s there - sneak peaks of the lightsaber duel to end them all, a chilling glance at the doning of the Darth Vader mask.

George Lucas knows how to whet the appetite of his fans. He knows how to tempt and tease and stir up the anticipation for next summer’s “Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.” So we see actor Hayden Christensen fitted for his Darth Vader mask; later we see him put it on. And we watch the awe-struck reaction of the Industrial Light & Magic crew at the sight of him walking on the set.

And that’s nothing. This four-disc “Star Wars” set, long overdue in its release, is out of this world. The only downside is that these aren’t the original theatrical releases. Lucas did a bit of tinkering a few years back for the “special edition” versions; he’s done more here - most of what we could do without. A universe-wide celebration scene added to the end of “Return of the Jedi,” for instance, feels phony.

But overall, this is fantastic. The much-anticipated and highly debated lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan (the battle leading to the creation of Darth Vader) is shown as actors Christensen and Ewan McGregor practice it and then act it out in front of a bluescreen. That bluescreen footage is short but makes the point of how powerfully aggressive young Anakin has become.

Want more? Each of the three films in this middle trilogy - “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” - has commentaries by Lucas, actress Carrie Fisher, sound designer Ben Burtt and effects supervisor Dennis Muren. “Empire” also has commentary by director Irvin Kirshner, whose robust voice and clear memories are very entertaining.

It’s intriguing to hear Lucas discuss his shortcomings and admit mistakes, including killing off the ever-popular Boba Fett. Listen carefully: He also throws out tidbits that could be clues (or decoys) for “Revenge of the Sith.” He refers to the “death” of Anakin, something sure to ignite growing Internet debate that Anakin didn’t merely go to the dark side but that he was killed by Obi-Wan.

A fourth disc includes featurettes and “Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy,” a wonderful documentary that never bores during its 150 minutes. It includes new, very open interviews with Lucas, Fisher, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and many others.

Wondering what all the fuss is about with “Star Wars”? Check out the featurette, “The Force is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars” and hear filmmakers including Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Ridley Scott and John Singletary discuss seeing “Star Wars” for the first time and how it affected them.

Cameron quit his truck driving job to become a filmmaker; Jackson based his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy on the “Star Wars” ethos; Singletary, then 9, knew what he wanted to do from that moment on.

And Scott? It was so good, he says, that he “was depressed.” And also inspired. His next film was the sci-fi masterpiece “Alien.”

Hayden Christensen said he had one conflict with the filmmakers about playing Darth Vader in the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to keep the costume,” he told a gathering of 6,500 fans at Comic-Con.

Christensen immersed himself in the villain’s lore, and was such an expert at lightsaber dueling that he asked the makers of an upcoming tie-in video game to change his digital character’s stance to better reflect Vader’s fighting style.

But some questions about the “Star Wars” universe left him at a loss, including this one: “Is the dark side of the Force stronger than the light?”

He was better at answering “What was it like to be Darth Vader?” a role he said he’d been looking forward since he started working on the previous “Star Wars” installment, “Attack of the Clones.”

“It was overwhelming. That has always been the exclamation mark in the back of my head throughout this entire process. Getting to put on the dark helmet and walk onstage as Vader … It was orgasmic.”

Star Wars star Hayden Christensen is making a giant leap from his role in the sci-fi epic - by playing a toy boy lover in a British period drama. Christensen - whose character Anakin Skywalker becomes evil Darth Vader in next year’s final Star Wars movie - will be seduced and “taught the ways of love” by Hollywood star Jessica Lange in Cheri, to be directed by British theatre impresario Bill Kenwright. Kenwright reveals, “It’s in its very early stages but its called Cheri and is based on the novel by French writer Colette. The whole thing is set in 1913 and Judi Dench is onboard to play Hayden’s mother.”

Hayden Christensen, who plays Anakin Skywalker in the ‘Star Wars’ movies will don a different role in ‘Cheri’, a British period drama, that of a mushy lover. It will be a compete image change for the ‘Star Wars’ hero who will be seen romancing the sultry Jessica Lange in the movie which will be directed by British theatre personality Bill Kenwright. “It’s in its very early stages but its called Cheri and is based on the novel by French writer Colette. The whole thing is set in 1913 and Judi Dench is onboard to play Hayden’s mother,” Kenwright was quoted as saying by imdb.

Source: Hollywood News

At the Academy Awards this past weekend, Yahoo caught up with Episode 3 actor Hayden Christensen and asked him about the final film. Here’s the SW clip from their lengthy article:We asked Hayden Christensen (news) what it was like working with the infants who play baby Luke and Leia Skywalker in 2005’s Star Wars Episode III (which has wrapped principal photography), but Christensen said his character, Anakin (soon to be Darth Vader), never even gets to see his children before they’re whisked away. “My loss,” he moped.

Hayden Christensen has swapped his futuristic Star Wars cloak for a dapper suit in a series of new Louis Vuitton adverts.

The handsome Canadian can be seen lounging on a bed with slicked-back hair, an elegant black suit, crisp white shirt and black leather gloves in the new print ads.

Christensen, who plays Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels, isn’t the only big name to grace Louis Vuitton ads-Jennifer Lopez was the company’s spokesmodel for their 2003-2004 season.

Source: Teen Hollywood.Com

With footage culled from the Lucasfilm Documentary Department with help from intern Mousy McCallum, Steve Sansweet introduced Producer Rick McCallum to the Comic-Con stage. Rick, always one for surprises, brought along a special guest. Making an unannounced appearance at the convention was Hayden Christensen.

In 2005, Christensen will square off against Ewan McGregor in the most dynamic and dramatic lightsaber duel of the saga. For fans looking to live that action, LucasArts is currently developing the Episode III video game. “It is scheduled to premiere May 5 — two weeks before the movie,” said Sansweet. “Details of the game and platforms will be released by LucasArts soon, but here, for the first time, is a look at the making of the game.”

Sansweet then screened an advance perview of Episode III: Making the Game, a documentary that is included as bonus material on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD. In it, Nick Gillard and Hayden Christensen guide the crew of artists and developers from Lucas Arts in the making of the Episode III game.

“Episode III completes George Lucas’ Star Wars saga,” said Sansweet.” It ties up loose ends and answers many of the questions that have long lingered in our minds. The movie is jam-packed with action, from the opening space battle to the closing battle — almost too painful to bear — that pits friend against friend, Master against Padawan, while the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. But at its core, it is the story of how a gifted, idealistic young man switches his allegiance from the side of light to that of the dark side, how and why Anakin Skywalker becomes the evil Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.”

With that, audiences were given a first glimpse at “The Return of Darth Vader,” an edited version of the featurette to appear in this fall’s Star Wars Trilogy DVD.

“It either scares you, or it thrills you,” said James Earl Jones, describing the Dark Lord’s presence. The documentary takes a close look at the Costume Props Department, led by supervisor Ivo Coveney, as they painstakingly create a new suit of Darth Vader armor, to be worn by Hayden Christensen in the film.

Circling back to this quip about the Episode III title, Sansweet then introduced a new piece of video cut for the Comic-Con audience. This showcase of the Star Wars saga included all the episode titles to date, including the newly unveiled Episode III title, Revenge of the Sith. For Hyperspace members, here is the video screened that day.

Before Jayson Blair, the infamous fabulist of the New York Times, there was Stephen Glass, who made up stories for The New Republic.

Like Blair, Glass was caught and dismissed in disgrace. Now Glass’s downfall is on display in Billy Ray’s directorial debut, Shattered Glass, which opens today.

Glass calls it “my own personal horror film.”

“It was extremely painful and difficult to watch. There were large chunks of it, or at least significant chunks of it, that I looked at the ground, I didn’t look at the screen.That being said, it’s a good movie. Some of the performances are unbelievable,” Glass says, singling out Steve Zahn’s performance as the online reporter whose digging led to his exposure in 1998.

“It was a tour through the worst parts of my life, the parts of my life I’m the most ashamed of – things I wish I had never done, and things I feel a great deal of remorse for.”

Hayden Christensen – far removed from his Anakin Skywalker role – plays Glass with a puppy-dog disingenuousness (“Are you mad at me?” he keeps pre-emptively asking). The movie has received mostly rave reviews.

“The one thing that the movie doesn’t get is, I don’t think there’s ever an expression of why or what it felt like to be the person doing this,” Glass says. “I think that’s the area where the movie sort of is incomplete.”

Glass, 31, didn’t profit from or co-operate in making the movie, and Ray concedes that “I’m sure if he and I would have been speaking regularly, I would have gotten manipulated into showing that inner turmoil. But I don’t think that would have made it a better movie.”

At a recent screening, the film’s writer-director urged audience members to ask themselves whether they thought Glass was a sociopath, a pathological liar or just a guy who made some bad choices.

Ray doesn’t suggest an answer himself, and his movie doesn’t offer an explanation.

“I think you could spend a long time with Stephen and come away just more confused. It also, by the way, just doesn’t interest me that much,” says Ray, whose screenplay credits include Hart’s War and Volcano.

“I’m interested in how people relate to the truth v personality. Why Stephen did what he did is almost immaterial to that story.”

Ray made the movie based on his belief that Woodward and Bernstein – The Washington Post journalists whose Watergate reporting led to President Nixon’s resignation – were heroes and their legacy must be maintained by the generations that follow.

“I think it’s tougher to maintain now because the temptations that are dangled in front of reporters to become stars are greater than the temptations used to be. There’re just so many different ways to get yourself on television now. But I think the lure of fame is very real. And I don’t think that’s a good thing,” he says.

Chuck Lane, the New Republic editor who fired Glass, says when you go back and read Glass’s stories with the knowledge that they’re fake, it’s interesting to see why they were believed.

“One of the parts of the answer that I’ve settled on is that so many of his stories revolve around stereotypes,” says Lane, now a reporter with The Washington Post.

“They fit into the pre-existing grooves that are already etched into everybody’s heads – things we think or are predisposed to believe are true.

“So he’s got stories about young conservatives who turn out to be total hypocrites about morality; he’s got stories about department store Santa Clauses who turn out to be pedophiles; and he’s got a big story about a pseudo-scientific exploration about why African-Americans are too lazy to drive taxicabs but immigrants will.”

Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Lane, also blames gullibility as much or more than the fabricator’s mendacity
.
“I think what made all of this possible for him has more to do with the public than it does him. It’s more interesting to think about why people believe people like that than why they lie. Why is our culture only interested in the hyperbolic, the entertaining, in journalism?” he wonders.

Through therapy, Glass says, he’s come to understand the root of his falsehoods.

“There’s a deep feeling of self-loathing and feeling that I was not good enough in any respect. I wasn’t a good enough journalist, or a good enough friend, or a good enough boyfriend, or a good enough son, or a good enough brother,” he says.

“And so I believe I lied to deceive people into thinking better of me.” That made him want to come up with “perfect stories”.

“I wanted stories that, frankly, don’t exist that often. I wanted stories that weren’t just, like, good stories or great stories; we’re talking about, like, home-run, grand-slam stories. And so I made things up constantly to have the perfect quote or the A-plus anecdote,” says Glass.

“And then from each of those lies I had to lie another step and another step and another step, and lie to guard all those steps as well. I kept lying at every stage. That’s how it became lies upon lies upon lies.”

As part of his effort to reclaim his life he’s been writing letters of apology to those he feels he wronged.

Lane has received one of those missives, but he concedes he finds the expressions of remorse “hard to square,” because, among other reasons, The Fabulist – Glass’ autobiographical novel _ depicts various people he’s now apologising to in “a very, very negative way, and quite inaccurately and meanly”.

Can Lane believe anything Glass says?

“I think: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

Whether it’s true or not – and Glass himself admits it’s fair to wonder – Glass says he’s trying to rebuild his life, even while he sounds continually remorseful.

“I feel what I did was terrible and horrible. And it’s something I’m deeply ashamed of. And I recognise that in many ways it has defined my life. And so I think when people consider me they have to consider that – and it’s fair for them to consider that. I hope that over the course of my life I’ll do other things that will make the picture of who I am more complicated.”

He has “a wonderful personal life” and enjoys the emotional support of his family, girlfriend, a dog, four cats and various friends. He’s also at work on a second novel. A law school graduate, he has passed the New York bar exam’s written test.

But he still must pass the character and fitness committee review.

“My application will obviously require a great deal of consideration,” he says.

Source: Daily Telegraph

Hayden Christensen was 2 years old when George Lucas released his third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, in 1983. Now the actor who would be Darth Vader gets a magical cameo in the DVD version.

That’s the biggest of several changes found in the movies that make up the Stars Wars Trilogy, available only in a four-disc box set that arrives on DVD Sept. 21 ($70).

For more than a year, Web sites have traded rumors about what might be in store from Lucas, who added to the films for 1997’s Special Edition releases in theaters and on VHS. A few fans held out hope that the DVDs might include the original versions of the films. (Related story: Filmmakers pay tribute to Lucas and the movie that started it all).

But an early look at the DVDs reveals Lucas continues to exercise creative power over his Star Wars empire, and in his mind, the original versions are no more. The latest changes in the films — the most requested DVDs since the launch of the format seven years ago — are minor and mostly cosmetic:

•Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Christensen, who plays Anakin Skywalker in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and in the upcoming Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, now appears at the end of Jedi as Anakin’s spirit. He replaces Sebastian Shaw, whose face you still see when Luke Skywalker removes the iconic black Darth Vader mask. (In all three films, David Prowse wore the Vader suit, and James Earl Jones provided the voice.)

•Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. In another change for continuity’s sake, the Emperor, whose face is seen in a hologram broadcast, goes uncredited, but he sounds and looks like Ian McDiarmid, who played the Emperor in Return of the Jedi and Senator Palpatine in Episodes I and II. (Clive Revill is listed as the Emperor in the Empire credits.)

•Episode IV: A New Hope. Only subtle changes here. The cantina shootout between Han Solo and the green-snouted bounty hunter Greedo is virtually identical, but now it seems their guns fire almost simultaneously. Lucas had changed the original for the 1997 rerelease because it seemed that Han had fired first. Also, Jabba the Hutt has gotten a makeover and looks more realistic in his scene with Han than when it was added in 1997.

Undoubtedly, Lucas and his crew have made many other smaller tweaks. But they go by so quickly most viewers won’t notice.

Overall, the expected changes on the DVDs aren’t as dramatic as those for the Special Editions in 1997, says Scott Chitwood, one of the co-founders of TheForce.Net, a Star Wars fan/news site. “I think a few of the changes will only make sense after Episode III,” he says.

Star Wars fan Mark Madison, 37, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and a member of USA TODAY’s Pop Culture Panel, is unconcerned about the changes. “What made these movies so great is the story and the relationship between the main characters.”

The trilogy’s major transformation comes from the restoration project that brings the look of the films into the 21st century. Using transfers made from the original films’ negatives, the Burbank, Calif., digital restoration house Lowry Digital Images cleaned up the movies so they look fresh.

The box set’s bonus disc includes a preview of the final Star Wars chapter, due in theaters May 19, 2005, which will bring to an end three decades that Lucas has spent on the space saga.

“In the beginning … it appeared the story was about Luke, but if you see all six films, then you realize the story is really about Darth Vader,” Lucas says in the commentary track from Return of the Jedi. Carrie Fisher also assists on the commentaries, as do other crew members. Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are seen in several of the extras.

There’s also a collection of trailers, TV commercials, posters and rare production photos. “It is a way of having a piece of the Lucasfilm archive,” says Jim Ward, executive producer of the DVD collection. “But it’s also a way for fans who think they know everything to become inspired, surprised and amazed all over again.”

Source: USA Today

Episode III continues to gain momentum as the May 19, 2021 date looms ever nearer. The next big milestone has been scheduled — the round of additional photography (also known as “pick ups”) that fills in the missing pieces of the current edit of the picture. As was done in the previous films, the first round of principal photography is followed by months of editing that generate new angles, scenes, and ideas. These will be captured onto HD in a brief but intense stint of additional photography.

“We’re honing in a second cut of the film for July,” says Producer Rick McCallum. Director George Lucas has shown the rough cut to select department heads and close friends, and the evolving edit currently has a number of placeholder animatics that will have to be replaced with new footage.

Starting August 23 and running through September 4, Director George Lucas will again roll cameras on Episode III, this time in the UK. “We’ve got two full weeks of shooting,” says McCallum. Among the cast members slated to work in that period are Silas Carson, Hayden Christensen, Anthony Daniels, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee, Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman.

Returning from the Sydney shoot, Creature Shop Supervisors Dave and Lou Elsey will be on hand, as will Costume Designer Trisha Biggar and Supervising Art Director Peter Russell. The rest of the small crew will be mostly new hands.

“It will be primarily blue and greenscreen shooting. There won’t be any full sets, but there may be large set pieces. This round of shooting is mostly just patching holes and providing transitions,” adds McCallum. “We do have a whole new sequence with Hayden and Yoda.”

Meanwhile, at ILM work continues at a steadily increasing pace to meet the April 1, 2022 deadline of over 2,000 visual effects shots. Joining the production as a Visual Effects Supervisor is Roger Guyett. His previous projects as VFX supervisor include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Timeline, Tears of the Sun and Saving Private Ryan. He joins Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll and Animation Supervisor Rob Coleman .

“On Episodes I and II, we had three supervisors from the very start, but this time we’re bringing them in over time,” says McCallum. “Roger will have huge sequences. John Knoll’s unit will end up having about 1,000 shots, and I can easily see Roger having 1,000 as well.”

Guyett is currently overseas shooting exotic background plate photography for what will become the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk.

Source: Star Wars.Com