GREETINGS FROM AIRSHIP GLITZVILLE!
The splendiferous exciting adventures and inane ramblings of KT Glitz and his beautiful wife Toni Glitz. There will also be garbage talked about music, movies and Star Wars, a LOT of Star Wars!
If you can't be a good example, you'll just have to be a horrible warning!
Never forget your dreams, they are the hopes of the future!
There was a beautiful sky this morning, a great way to kick things off.
I am pleased to say that things are easing off a bit not the work front already. Don't get me wrong, I am still busy but the pressure is of and the stress is gone. It's a really nice state to be in as I work my last few days of this year. Hopefully tomorrow and Friday will be the same.
You've heard of Elf On A Shelf? Well this is what happens when Grogu (The Child/Baby Yoda) meets him!
The Star Wars saga continued tonight with The Force Awakens....
Here's a round up of a few more bits and pieces of Star Wars related news
Following on from the passing of Kenny Baker last year it has now been confirmed that Jimmy Vee will now be the man inside the suit from The Last Jedi and beyond. On taking the role Jimmy says,
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to have worked alongside the legendary Kenny Baker. Kenny was a fantastic actor and taught me all the ‘tricks’ on how he brought R2-D2 to life which I will continue to portray in his honour. I’m so excited to be a part of the Star Wars universe and can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve been working so hard on for the last year.”
Daisey Ridley appeared at the BAFTA awards and was was asked for information on The Last Jedi. Always one to play with the press she said that Rey will star in it!
John Williams won his 23rd Grammy for ‘Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media’ for The Force Awakens. Another well deserved accolade as I think it's a great soundtrack.
Williams is already scoring The Last Jedi ready for it's release at the end of the year. I only hope that Michael Giacchino gets something next year for the fantastic work that he did on Rogue One.
The droids of Star Wars have now been given a Friends intro mashup resulting in this rather fine video:
I've never been a fan of novelty education and even the inclusion of a Star Wars course leaves me thinking this is not a great idea.
Apparently the University Of Glasgow are looking to run a course called Star Wars and Philosophy: Destiny, Justice and the Metaphysics of the Force. The course will be led by a life long Star Wars fan and philosophy teacher named John Donaldson. Dr. Donaldson said that the purpose of the course is to introduce concepts of free will and moral responsibility by exploring the deeper meanings of George Lucas' Star Wars franchise and believes it's a way of making philosophy more accessible."
I thought it was about time I did a few Star Wars updates as lots of little things have been floating around over the last week. The big news over the weekend is that Lucasfilm have made a formal statement to say that there will NOT be any CGI version of Carrie Fisher in Episode IX or any other Star Wars films.
The full statement said,
"We don’t normally respond to fan or press speculation, but there is a rumor circulating that we would like to address. We want to assure our fans that Lucasfilm has no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher’s performance as Princess or General Leia Organa.
"Carrie Fisher was, is, and always will be a part of the Lucasfilm family. She was our princess, our general, and more importantly, our friend. We are still hurting from her loss. We cherish her memory and legacy as Princess Leia, and will always strive to honor everything she gave to Star Wars."
I thought they did a good job of creating Tarkin and the young Princess Leia in Rogue One I personally had no issue with them moving to CGI to keep Leia in Episode IX especially as Carrie was apparently delighted with what they did in Rogue One.
My worry is that they had completed filming Episode VIII and Leia apparently has a big role so how will they explain her absence in Episode IX? Have her die between films and then just have a ceremony to cover it in Episode IX? That would be lame and unacceptable to me and I certainly don't want some wishy-washy 'she went away' ruse. Time will tell how they handle this but I hope it is done well and in a respectful manner if they are avoiding the CGI route.
Talking of Episode VIII, director Rian Johnson has revealed a few things for us (not spoilers as such...). The film does already have a title but this hasn't been revealed to the world yet. We will learn more about the new characters that first appeared in The Force Awakens. Luke Skywalker is the 'emotional entry point' into Episode VIII. Rey will develop a strong connection to Luke. The film isn't planning on taking a darker route a la The Empire Strikes Back and will emphasise fun and be an enjoyable experience.
Time to pop back to The Force Awakens now with an awesome deleted scene. Given what we see in A New Hope I don't know why this would have hit the cutting room floor other than the question of how and why Unkar Plutt was at Maz Kanata's castle. I love this scene and it certainly provides verifies the famous Han Solo quote from A New Hope. Enjoy!
In Han Solo movies news it has now been confirmed that Woody Harrelson and although these things are always shrouded in secrecy he has been allowed to reveal that he will be playing a mentor to the young Han Solo (and a bit of a criminal).
Felicity Jones recently hosted Saturday Night Live. Although there were no sketches related to Star Wars she did manage to drop some Star Wars references into her opening monologue.
Next up we have an incredible video from an upcoming episode of Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest where he is reunited with his lightsaber from Return Of The Jedi:
If you like your mobile Star Wars games then you will be pleased to know that Star Wars: Force Arena was released today and is available on Android and iOS.
It's not a bad little game, I've had a quick play through and it seems like fun in the short term. Here's a first impressions video (not mine)
Sam and I indulged in a couple of games of Star Wars Destiny tonight. It's a combination of card and dice game that plays really well. Simple to learn and execute, just how I like games.
It was good fun and we'll be trying out the deck building element at the weekend to see what difference that makes to play (and the enjoyment).
...and don't forget everyone, piracy is a crime ;)
Time for some more Star Wars Episode VIII stuff. More set shots from Ahch-To have been revealed online. Some lovely looking buildings being constructed here:
Disney have just released this brief but fun version of The Force Awakens using Emoji:
In case you were wondering, here's everything that is wrong with The Force Awakens:
...and last but not least, let's not harp on about it (SORRY!!!!!!!) Here are the Harp Twins Camille & Kennerly performing some familiar music!
Here we go again, Star Wars trailer time. This time it's the trailer for the digital and Blu-ray/DVD release of The Force Awakens. Deleted scenes and documentaries are part of the bonus material. The trailer shows a deleted scene. Have to say that excitement levels are rising once again and it's released at the beginning of April!
We actually managed to have a lie in which is really unusual these days but Pam had a good long sleep first thing which was most welcome. Once we had sorted out Pam I went and got us all breakfast from Richard's and Toni and I did TV catch up on Grimm and Legends Of Tomorrow.
We finished the day off with some Pirates Of The Caribbean movies and some ice hockey.
If you think you can make it through to Episode VIII without seeing any spoilers (or having questions from Episode VII answered) then I would suggest that you get off of the Internet now. Whilst Episode VII might have been veiled in secrecy this will not be the case with Episode VIII. There will be books, games, toys, comics, cartoons and a million websites that will give major reveals. Unless you want to pretend you are living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland I suggest you are going to see, read and hear things following on from Episode VII and leading into Episode VIII. Whilst I have honoured my promise not to talk about Episode VII publicly for an elapsed period of time I am not going to maintain radio silence for two years! Oh, by the way, Rogue One comes first and who knows what that will reveal!!!
Well tonight it was off to Cineworld Bexleyheath to see Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens for the SEVENTH time! Just can't get enough of that movie!
Our lovely Cineworld start put this by the exit, NICE!!!!:
Time for some more Star Wars music related videos. First up is Galactic Empire doing the Star Wars Main Theme in a rock stylee:
Here's a beautiful Star Wars medley played on a violin by Taylor Davis:
....and here's a clever Stayin' Alive edit:
For comedy value I'd love to share this marvelous Japanese tuna advert from 1978 that is inspired by Star Wars:
Sea Chicken!!!!!!!
As we are getting near to that festive time and as I am in a Star Wars and slightly Xmassy mood I thought I'd share the delights of Darth Santa
After a day of maxing our on Star Wars exciting it was back to earth with a bump today as I had to go back to work. It felt weird, I just wanted to go back to the cinema again and watch The Force Awakens over and over! I did however get to tell everyone how awesome it was so hopefully that will convince lots of my colleagues to go and check it out.
After work Toni, mum, Jade, Zoe and I went out for a lovely meal at Ziyafet as it was mum's last day with us. We had a great time and some delicious food.
It wasn't a completely Star Wars free zone though. The soundtrack came out today which gave me something to listen to at work and my copy of The Art Of The Force Awakens arrived.
After the meal we dropped mum and Zoe at home and then Toni and I took Jade to see The Force Awakens which marked Toni's third and my sixth time! I'm still not bored of it! Still no spoilers from me but my review is taking shape!
This piece contains NO SPOILERS. A full review will follow in a few days to give people a chance to see it. The day had finally arrived! Toni, Sam, Aaron and I hit the 00:05 showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at Cineworld Bexleyheath.
Wow is all I have to say. Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1978! It felt like it was 1978 all over again. The big kid came out in force (full pun intended). I cried many times throughout the film, my emotions were running wild. JJ Abrams restored faith in the Star Wars franchise and kicked off the next set of movies in grand style. The Force Awakens didn't disappoint any of us. The mixture of old and new cast worked well. The plot was good and there are plenty of things in there to take the story forwards.
Sheer joy to watch and John Williams has once again done an amazing job with the music score. If you were one of those who love the original trilogy but were never quite convinced about the prequel trilogy then you are bound to enjoy TFA. It felt old school, there wasn't lashings of CGI instead going back to models once again. If you have any enjoyment of Star Wars then I can't think why you would not like this movie. We all loved it and walked away totally happy and smiling.Was it perfect, no, but it sure was fun!
Sam, Aaron and I were back again for the 09:30 showing and then went in again at 12:40 and 15:50. After that we took time out to meet up with Toni and Jamie and to grab some dunner (as they were joining us for more fun).The final showing was the 3D version and much to the delight of our party I had bought us all First Order trooper 3D glasses!
It's good in 3D, nicely used effects. Personally I preferred it in 2D but that's just my personal choice. My plan is also to try and book both IMAX 2D and IMAX 3D showings as well so I have seen all versions.
Five showings in one day and I wasn't bored of it at all. It did mean that we could focus on different aspects of the film seeing it so many times and I'm already compiling a fun bloopers list for a later date LOL.
As I said earlier, this is a MUST SEE film for anyone with more than a passing interest in Star Wars. So hurry up and watch it so that I can get my review out!
Well this is it. The final day. As the clock ticks over passed midnight into Thursday 17th December we will already be in our seats waiting for the first showing of The Force Awakens. It's been a crazy ride and so much fun to feel like a little kid once again! Has all this hype been way over the top or too much? Well not for me, dear reader! Chances are I will cry when that theme tune blasts out and I won't be ashamed either!
It has now been confirmed that advanced ticket sales have now broken the $100M mark. Whilst The Force Awakens might not take all the box office records I am fairly certain that it will break quite a few and will raise a few bars and rank highly.
Here's that Evolution Of The Lightsaber Duel program that I mentioned the other day:
The Force Awakens is about to be seen and all will be revealed. It's good to know that the Blu-ray release is likely to include loads of deleted scenes etc:
.....hopefully no Special Editions though LOL.
What is the secret of Star Wars?
As you will have seen in some of my previous posts I am a big fan of the pink astromech droid R2-KT. It has now been confirmed that she'll be in The Force Awakens. NBC recently ran a news article on R2-KT:
Time Magazine commissioned a video about Why Star Wars Is So Special:
LEGO Star Wars have created this imaginative The Force Awakens mash-up trailer:
Thank you for sticking with me through these days of countdown madness, normal service will soon be resumed. In the meantime, I think I might have Star Wars Fever
So, dear readers, I will see you on the other side. My blog post tomorrow will have my thoughts on the movie but NO SPOILERS! I'll do a proper diagnostic review after a couple of days to give you a chance to see it..........................
Two days to go. We've had the US red carpet premiere. The press have now seen it and the reviews will be hitting all channels tomorrow after a very tightly controlled emabargo by Disney/Lucasfilm. Apart from my final countdown post tomorrow I will be trying to keep away from social media as the The Force Awakens goes live in France and I want to stay away from any spoilers.
My limited edition Star Wars Loot Crate arrived today. It's pretty awesome!
If you missed the live stream of the The Force Awakens red carpet event then you can see it here:
Here's a little The Force Awakens featurette about JJ Abrams' use of IMAX cameras. We are seeing it in standard 2D and also in (Real) 3D. I think I might have to book a couple more showings to see it in 2D and 3D IMAX too so I have done the full set. *grin*
I'm losing track now trying to work out what I haven't posted up as everything is coming thick and fast and so many online news articles repeat footage that has already come out. Here's an interview with Daisy Ridley that I may, or may not, have used already in the run up.....
Every now and then something Star Wars related pops up that I missed first time round. This is an advert from Dodge that I somehow managed to overlook:
I've covered all sorts of things in my countdown posts but I haven't really touched on anything food related. I'll fix that now with a nice The Force Awakens episode of Epic Meal Time: The Hunger Awakens...
..and we hit the musical trail once again with an acapella mix of Star Wars and science
