darth vader

Darth Vader Rings Opening Bell on Wall Street

Dec 23rd 2009 1:32PM By: John Gholson

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Apparently, our nation's economic woes have all been masterminded by the Galactic Empire. It seems like an odd promotional stunt for Lucasfilm, and a weird choice from Wall Street for the Holidays, but Darth Vader, flanked by clonetroopers (ugh - can you please stop shoving Clone Wars down our throats, George?), rang the opening bell for the November 22 session of the New York Stock Exchange.

R2D2 made an appearance on the floor of the NYSE, but his beeps and whistles were ineffectual in keeping Vader away from our financial market.

You can watch video of the Dark Lord of the Sith on Wall Street after the jump.

Filed under: News/Reactions

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Memories Primed: Vader and Me

Nov 2nd 2009 1:31PM By: John Gholson

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"Go get the door, John..."

Assuming it was another party guest, some cousin or playmate with a present in tow, I was happy to oblige. But it wasn't just some kid at the door. It was DARTH VADER, Dark Lord of the Sith, and to my just-turned-five-years-old self it may as well have been the Devil himself looming like a black spectre of death in my grandparents' carport.

There's a picture of me, somewhere in my mother's things, with both legs off the ground, running to the nearest bedroom, away from Darth Vader. I'm about a foot off of the carpet, defying gravity, literally sprinting through the air as I left the entire fate of my partygoers at the cruel hands of the Empire. I was terrified.

Mom dug a couple of pictures out and posted them on Facebook recently, and I'm glad she did. It's one of my favorite moments from my childhood, and it makes me reflect on how kids' brains work in regards to separating fact from fiction. I knew it couldn't possibly be the real Darth Vader, because he wasn't a real person, and yet, there he was, at my fifth birthday party. As I hid in my grandmother's room, I knew in my heart that there was an everyday man in that costume, but there was still a big enough part of me that was incredibly cautious as well, because what if he did turn out to be the real Darth Vader? What then? Would my plastic lightsaber (with three changing colors!) be enough for a one-on-one duel? I needed to be prepared.

Filed under: Fan Costumes, Fan Photos

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Captain's Log: Harry Potter Concept Art, Darth Cathedrals, and More!

Oct 8th 2009 4:14PM By: Monika Bartyzel

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Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

Adam Brockbank's concept art for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince included the Dumbledore funeral fans never got to see (image above). (via The Leaky Cauldron)

Leonard Nimoy's William Bell is heading back to Fringe this week ... and he might just become a slightly more regular master of the universe in the future, according to Reuters. Plus: io9 shares his thoughts on the state of science fiction.

Forget Jesus! Star Wars Blog shares the deep-breathing twist to Washington's National Cathedral: They pray to the altar of Darth Vader. Okay, not really, but his sculpted head IS a part of the building.

The Venture Brothers premieres on October 18, and io9's got a slew of images, including Hank flying through the air with Captain Sunshine.

The BBC is throwing a contest to design the new Tardis for the new incarnation of Doctor Who.

Finally, Movieline shares word that Almodovar will never do a superhero movie. Thanks, that's good to know.

Filed under: Blog Roundup

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The Top Ten African-American Sci-Fi Characters

Sep 10th 2009 11:02AM By: Peter Martin

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Laurence Fishburne in 'The Matrix'

What does Tyler Perry have to do with science fiction? The playwright / actor / filmmaker has not yet ventured into our beloved genre, but the arrival of his next movie, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, made me think about the loyal audience that he's developed. It's an audience -- African-American, religiously-inclined -- that has been severely under served by Hollywood, and so Perry set out to create material that would connect with that audience.

A sci-fi version of Perry has not yet emerged, and so African-American actors and characters remain rare in science fiction films. The upcoming television season will feature Gabrielle Union in ABC's sci-fi series FlashForward, Ving Rhames will appear in Surrogates with Bruce Willis later this month, and Zoe Saldana will star in James Cameron's Avatar later this year. For now, let's look back at the top 10 African-American sci-fi characters -- including those who are not identified by their race in the film. (Please note: Chris Tucker as the constantly screeching Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element did not make my list.)

1. Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix
Playing one of the great teachers of the silver screen, Fishburne as Morpheus tries to guide Neo (Keanu Reeves) to the truth, gently yet firmly. He's on an important, urgent mission, but he cannot overplay his hand or he risks losing everything, far more than Neo -- or the viewer -- can initially imagine. How does he do it? Morpheus implores, "Free your mind," and jumps. Neo can only say, "Whoa."

Filed under: Discussion Posts

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Watch This: 'Star Wars: The Old Republic' Cinematic Trailer

Jun 2nd 2009 4:21PM By: Erik Davis

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A new cinematic trailer for the upcoming MMO game Star Wars: The Old Republic just arrived online, and, well, where the hell is this Star Wars movie!? This one trailer is more exciting than any of the prequels in my opinion, and it features characters I'd love to know more about. Set long before the days of Darth Vader, the trailer gives us our first look at the historic Sacking of Coruscant, which occurred at the end of the Great Galactic War (read more about it on Wookieepedia). What I want to know is who is this dude Lord Angral? In the trailer, he looks like Darth Vader's cooler cousin -- a villain on par with someone like Darth Maul; sinister, agile and definitely not the type of guy you want to meet down a dark alley. Check out the trailer below and a full description after the jump.

Filed under: News/Reactions, Trailers/Clips

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Private Time with Your Favorite Superheroes and Villains

Jun 2nd 2009 3:42PM By: Erik Davis

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From Cinematical.com:

Not long ago we brought you two great photography projects: The Secret Life of Stormtroopers and The Real Lives of Superheroes -- and now Toronto based photographer Ian Pool has arrived with another fantastic superhero-related photo spread that shows what some of our favorite heroes and villains are up to on their days off. I chose to feature the Darth Vader image (see above), only because it cracked me up to see a little flowery decorative sign hanging outside his bathroom that reads, "May the dark side of the force be with you."

Read the rest (and see more images) on Cinematical.com

Filed under: Fan Made, News/Reactions, Photo Galleries, Fan Photos

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