Watch It!: Star Wars: Uncut Trailer

In what is at once, of the cooler and geekier ideas to come around in a while, Star Wars: Uncut is giving fans the chance to remake A New Hope, 15 seconds at a time. Here’s the deal 472 people call a 15-second clip of the movie  to make their own, filming it however the see fit, and at the end, you’ve got an interesting new take on one of the most influential films of all time. The trailer seen after the break is one of those moments that can’t help but touch my inner geek. I just hope George Lucas doesn’t decide to shut the whole thing down. Hit the jump for the video and hurry to the site if you want to claim your clip.

Watch It!: R2-D2 Translated

Do you think we have too many Star Wars videos on this site? Trick question, there is no such thing.

Anyway, remember how bad the prequels were? I mean, super-ultra-mega horrible. But, at the very least, it “introduced” one of the best characters in the series: R2-D2. Unfortunately, the audience has never been given the opportunity to actually hear what the world’s greatest droid has to say, only getting his half of the conversation through C-3PO or whoever is piloting the ship he is on. Now, thanks to YouTube user mwomba, now not only do we get R2-D2 subtitles, but he absolutely trashes two of the world’s greatest cinematic mistakes: The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Enjoy them after the jump.

Watch It!: Vader Sessions

Can you tell that we love Star Wars yet?

YouTube user akjak created today’s Watch It! segment and it is a scream. Everyone, including those that haven’t watched the trilogy, knows that Darth Vader is one of the greatest characters ever to be seen on the silver screen and a large part of the magic is that behind the suit is the voice of James Earl Jones, whose deep baritone only makes Vader’s presence scarier. So what if you keep the suit, keep the voice, but change the dialogue? Using clips from Jones’ filmography to overdub various scenes from A New Hope, akjak has made a video that is an absolute riot and most certainly worth watching. Check it out after the jump.

WTF: Meet Julius

I wasn’t planning to post about this but it has been a slow news day, so what the hell.

Norwegian site VG Nett (you’ll need a translator) has reported that Andreas Jankov has legally changed his name. He is not a celebrity nor is he even a person of interest in an ongoing investigation. So why is this interesting, and, more so, why is it being talked about on a movie blog. I’ll tell you why. This is his new name:

Julius Andreas Gimli Arn MacGyver Chewbacka Highlander Elessar-Jankov

A little Star Wars, a little Lord of the Rings and a lot of crazy.

Watch It!: Animals With Lightsabers

Because we had such a busy day yesterday (Read: we forgot), we never posted something for our daily Watch It! segment. To make up for it, we are going to have two for you today.

The first is new website called Animals With Lightsabers where visitors can shop and enter photos or videos of animals…with lightsabers. Is this a hard concept or did I just not get enough sleep last night? It doesn’t sound like much, but as you can probably tell by the picture above, it can get pretty epic. Check out the link and you won’t be disappointed. Happy Friday!

Watch It!: George Lucas in Love

Today’s Watch It! segment is a bit of nostalgia. Geeks worldwide have an obligation to, at the very least, appreciate Star Wars (I’m not including the prequels here). It was a movie made in 1977 that completely revolutionized science fiction and filmmaking, amazing audiences worldwide and becoming one of the most successful films in history.

While many feel that Lucas wrote the script for the prequels the day before production, one does have to wonder what the thought process was going into creating such an expansive universe that has launched beyond film into multiple other mediums. Well, in 1999, Joe Nussbaum and Timothy Dowling asked the same question and wrote George  Lucas in Love, the story of George Lucas and the inspiration behind Star Wars. The short is a must for all Star Wars fans, chock full of references to the series, and supremely well done. It is a bit longer than most of our segments, clocking in at about nine minutes, but it is well worth setting time aside for. Hit it after the jump and remember a time where Lucas was a filmmaker rather than a toy mogul.

Watch It!: 100 Years of Special Effects

We’ve come a long way, baby. In recent weeks we have gotten to see some huge leaps in special effects, be it the extreme realism of the prawns in District 9 or the incredible Avatar preview in IMAX 3D, filming technology has come a long way since a hat could pop out of an easel in 1900. In fact, its hard to believe how incredible special effects were in the late 1960s and 1970s, when 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars amazed audiences nationwide.

To celebrate the feats of the film industry, YouTube user “bengraphics” put together a montage of 26 films from 1900 to 2008 that demonstrate how far visual effects have come, from The Enchanted Drawing to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The video not only shows the finished clips, but also shows the work behind the camera to demonstrate how it was done. Enjoy!

Rant of the Week – Week 3

Some of you have been a little disappointed that there was no rant last week. First of all, shame on you; we already told you this runs whenever we damn well please. Secondly, and more importantly, there really wasn’t much to rant about. We were all treated to back-to-back weekends of wonderful movies (with District 9 and Inglorious Basterds leading the way) and the news looked good. Well never fear, Hollywood will always find a way to bungle things somehow.

WTF: The Star Wars Room

I consider myself a Star Wars fan. When I was a kid and the original films were re-released in theaters, I was completely caught up in it, buying the action figures, trading cards, you name it. I even still have a Boba Fett figurine on top of my DVD collection. Like any staple of pop culture, however, some take it a bit too far. With that, I introduce Cho Woong.

As you can see in the picture above and in the many pictures below the jump, Woong crosses that ever-so-thin line between fan and fanatic. By my count, Woong has at least 77 lightsabers, 7 full-size busts, 10 mini-busts, 11 ship models, 7 blasters, and what must be hundreds if not thousands of action-figures and statues. I don’t speak Korean, but I am sure some of the stuff is authentic, as I find it hard to believe that anyone would spend that much money and not get some of the actual props.

The lengths that Woong has gone are nothing short of astounding and I am sure that your mouth will gape when you check out the full room. I have thumbnailed many of the pics below the jump, but jump over to Woong’s site to see them all.