The big news in 2010, is the 30th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Hasbro is celebrating with a line of special packaging and promotions that will take you back to the day you first saw it in theaters. Here are a few of the new toys with photos and descriptions provided by our friends at LucasFilm.

BOBA FETT HELMET

Show off your bounty hunting skills like Boba Fett, the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, with the STAR WARS BOBA FETT HELMET. Impressively designed and styled, the STAR WARS BOBA FETT HELMET allows children to pretend to be their favorite bounty hunter. (Approximate Retail Price: $34.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: August 1, 2010)

GENERAL GRIEVOUS LIGHTSABER

JEDI warriors have long recognized the prowess of GENERAL GRIEVOUS as a highly skilled, elusive and often multiple-LIGHTSABER-wielding adversary. Now, kids can engage in LIGHTSABER battles just like this powerful cyborg with the new STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS GENERAL GRIEVOUS LIGHTSABER. Battle with the power of GENERAL GRIEVOUS by spinning the two LIGHTSABERS simultaneously in one hand, take out the spinner and connect the two LIGHTSABERS for double-bladed LIGHTSABER action, or use the two separately to ward off an opponent. (Approximate Retail Price: $34.99; Ages: 6 & up; Available: August 1, 2010)

LEGO

The first licensed property for the LEGO Group in 1999, LEGO Star Wars continues to be one of the company’s best-selling lines, appealing to both children new to the story and to adult collectors who have followed Star Wars for years. January kicks off with a mix of modern classics and new Clone Wars sets. Included in the assortment are: Rebel Trooper and Snow Trooper Army Packs, Freeco Speeder™, Trifighter Droid™, Tie Defender™, and the ARC-170 Starfighter™. August proves to be even bigger with six new sets: Plo Koon’s Starfighter, Hoth Wampa Set (Pictured above), General Grievous Starfighter, Palpatine’s Shuttle, Slave I and Clone Turbo Tank .

The next chapter in the award-winning LEGO® Star Wars videogame franchise, LEGO® Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will combine the best elements of all previous LEGO® games while adding brand new gameplay to make it the most action-packed LEGO® videogame to date. The game will feature characters from both seasons of the hugely popular animated television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as some fan-favorite characters from the beloved theatrical Star Wars Saga. The game will ship on the Wii™, Nintendo DS™, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and Xbox 360®videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows in the Fall of 2010.

Personally, I want those Lego sets! What about you? Are you a Star Wars collector? If you’ve got photos of your toy collection, we’d love to see them.

Lucasfilm, Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and related character names, vehicle names and properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners

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Friday, February 12, 2010 on Cartoon Network

Duchess Satine Kryze tries to keep the Republic from interfering in Mandalorian affairs after attacks by the Death Watch, the splinter group advocating a return to the old warrior ways. But when Satine herself is attacked and framed, she sets off – against the better judgment of her Jedi protectors – to uncover the full breadth of the conspiracy and the faction’s true origins. No longer content to operate from the fringes, the mysterious Mandalorian Death Watch sets its sights on the “Duchess of Mandalore.”

“Satine is struggling with many fires now, and trying to keep them from merging into one large inferno that can’t be put out,” says Anna Graves, the voice of Satine in The Clone Wars. “She wants peace above all else, and will shout it as loud as she can. Historical pacifists are often met with more hatred and violence, but that seems to push someone like Satine to fight for peace even harder. I think with any culture that idolizes war and violence, some people will naturally rebel against that traditional way of thinking and focus their efforts on peace and tranquility. I’m sure a lot of people agree with her views, but I’m sure there are just as many who don’t. Her neutrality in The Clone Wars is such a beautiful cry for love and peace, which throughout history has upset those who idolize power and control.”

Set against the backdrop of a sweeping conflict which threatens to consume the galaxy, Satine’s struggle is all the more personal, however, as she faces upheaval from within her own constituency. Using violence as their language of dissent, the Death Watch threatens to unravel all of Satine’s efforts, and to undermine the peace she has fought so hard to preserve. But the war itself is a battle of ideologies. Despite their extremism – or perhaps because of it – the radical faction represents a popular opinion among the re-emerging culture.

“I see Mandalore as an old world, full of history and tradition. After years of glimpses into Mandalorian lore, it’s exciting to get new facts and faces,” Graves says. “Every fan has their own reasons for loving Mandalore, but Boba Fett opened the door with his intriguing armor and history as a bounty hunter. I know fans will want to hear more about Death Watch – and those who oppose them. To be a small part of that history is so exciting. Add a little Mandalorian-Jedi romance, and that’s good stuff!”

Photo:

Satine is pursued by a member of the mysterious Death Watch in “Duchess of Mandalore,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiering at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, February 12 on Cartoon Network. TM & © 2010 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

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“He’s captured the true sinister essence of the Darth Vader that Ralph McQuarrie envisioned in his original sketch,” said Bryan Ono, president of eFX.

The production run is limited to 250 units. eFX began taking orders this past Monday, Feb. 8 and will continue until sold out. The retail price for the helmet is $899, plus shipping and handling, and a non-refundable deposit of $250 will be required at the time of pre-order. The balance will be due when the Darth Vader Concept Helmet is ready to ship, which is estimated to be in late May.

For complete details of the Darth Vader Concept Helmet, the ordering process and additional information, visit the eFX Inc. website at www.efxcollectibles.com.

Photos: eFX

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The Oscar nominations are out

Star Trek comes into the mix with nominations in Special Effects, Make-up and Sound categories. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, gets a sound nod as well.

What do you think? Should Star Trek have received a Best Picture nom as well? Does District 9 deserve the 4 nominations it got? And can Avatar hold the top spot when for the first time since 1943, there are 10 films up for Best Picture?

Find out when all is revealed at the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7.

Steve Martin (right) and Alec Baldwin (left) will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards. (ABC/BOB D’AMICO)

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Yep, Syfy is going down the wooded fairy tale path but you can bet these won’t be the kind of bedtime stories you’re used to hearing. Think Alice. Think Tin Man, and then forget it. We’re talking Syfy Saturday Original Movies – the modern version of the old B-flick and mock if you will, but these movies are fun.

The new genre launch begins with the premiere of Beauty and the Beast on Saturday, February 27, at 9PM (ET/PM).

In this gritty celebration of Valentine’s Day, a young Beauty (Estella Warren, Planet of the Apes) with a gift for healing helps a deformed Prince (Rhett Gilles, Wraiths of Roanoke) regain his throne and defeat the ruthless nobleman who wants to be king — and then together they try to destroy a power-hungry witch. Beauty and the Beast was directed by David Lister and written by Gavin Scott.

Said Thomas Vitale, Executive Vice President, Programming and Original Movies, Syfy:

“By turning familiar timeless stories inside out — like retelling Little Red Riding Hood as a werewolf tale or envisioning a dark version of Shrek — we’re creating an entertaining new genre for our popular Saturday night movie franchise, which has become the television destination for fans of action-packed independent sci-fi, horror and fantasy films.”

Here’s a look at some of the other films in development:

Red — A young woman who is a descendant of the real Little Red Riding Hood brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business – hunting werewolves. He’s skeptical until bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him.

Hansel – Twenty years after his encounter with the witch, a grown-up Hansel returns to the haunted forest, seeking revenge. But there’s a surprise waiting – his sister Gretel (who he thought had been killed) is the witch’s protégée. (My favorite of the bunch.)
8TH Voyage of Sinbad — Sinbad searches for the golden head of the long lost Colossus of Rhodes and, instead, discovers an island where the mythical Minotaur still rules, protecting a vast treasure. Sinbad and his crew have to battle the creature and its minions to get the treasure and save their own lives.
Aladdin (working title) — After accidentally releasing an evil genie from an ancient lamp, Aladdin must find a way to imprison the genie again before it wreaks havoc on the world.

Black Forest – A group of naïve tourists take a sightseeing tour into a supposed enchanted forest, where they encounter evil creatures from the world of fantasy. Trapped in the Black Forest, their only hope of survival is fighting their way out.

There’s a reason these stories have stuck with us all these years and I think they make a great addition to the Syfy Original Movie roster.

What classic story would you like to see re-imagined as a dark and scary Syfy Original Movie?

Photo: Syfy

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“It is nearly impossible to think of certain films without remembering their music scores. Casablanca, Laura, An Affair to Remember, The Magnificent Seven – the list is endless,” said TCM host and film historian Robert Osborne. “Our list celebrates the most memorable and groundbreaking soundtracks, the ones which took the art of film music to new levels and made the most lasting impact on the world of movies.”

Chart-topping rock artist Rob Thomas said music contributes to film by developing a scene. “There is a certain beauty in laying a musical bed and how it builds itself into the scene, creating a lasting moment,” Thomas said. He also film music has had an influence on the concert hall. “Classical presentations that people listen to will always include Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. But as generations grow older, there will also be John Williams and Danny Elfman.”

In selecting the 15 Most Influential Film Soundtracks, several aspects were considered, including the impact they have had on how music is used onscreen to tell a story and on the methodology of song selection. Their influence is also defined by their impact on pop culture.

Here are the scifi films that made TCM’s list of 15 Most Influential Movie Soundtracks, listed in chronological order:

King Kong (1933) – Composer: Max Steiner

Historians disagree over who wrote the first fully symphonic film score, but most credit Max Steiner for either the 1932 Polynesian romance Bird of Paradise or the legendary King Kong. Certainly the latter film established Steiner as one of Hollywood’s top composers and demonstrated how much an original score could enhance a film’s emotional hold on its audience. When penny-pinching executives at RKO insisted Steiner score the film with stock music, the film’s co-director, Merian C. Cooper, reached into his own pocket to provide $50,000 for the score.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – Composer: Bernard Herrmann

Eerie and haunting, the score Bernard Herrmann created for The Day the Earth Stood Still set the style for future science fiction films, from It Came From Outer Space (1953) to Blade Runner (1982). Although Miklos Rozsa in Spellbound (1945) introduced Hollywood to the electronic instrument known as the Theremin, Herrmann was the first to use it to create an all-electronic score. He did so by combining two Theremins with electronic organs, vibraphones and amplified strings, among other instruments. The jarring sounds perfectly captured the anxieties underlying this tale of a UFO landing in the middle of Washington, D.C. Herrmann also recorded on multiple tracks, long before stereophonic sound was widely used in Hollywood. He even played some cues backwards to create an unearthly masterpiece.

Psycho (1960) – Composer: Bernard Herrmann (not really scifi, but come on. . . )

It seems only natural that one of the most iconic sequences in film history – the shower scene from Psycho – should be accompanied by one of the screen’s most iconic musical cues. Bernard Herrmann’s screeching violins have taken on a life of their own in the years since they heralded Marion Crane’s death. Like John Williams’ Jaws theme, they have become an instant signifier of menace, quoted in everything from Psycho’s many imitations to episodes of The Simpsons. Originally, director Alfred Hitchcock wanted to use a jazz score and show the shower scene in silence. Herrmann showed him a better way to generate suspense, impressing the master so much that Hitchcock doubled the composer’s salary. Later, Hitchcock said, “Thirty-three percent of the effect of Psycho was due to the music.”

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Musical Consultant: Patrick Moore; Music Editor: Frank J. Urioste

Rockets revolve in space to the tune of Johann Strauss’ “The Blue Danube” waltz; light streams reflect on an astronaut’s helmet as he plummets through space to the otherworldly music of Gyorgy Ligeti; the sun, moon and Earth align perfectly to the thundering brass of Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra. These are some of the most famous weddings of visuals and music in film history, and they happened by accident. Stanley Kubrick had commissioned a score for his 2001: A Space Odyssey from Alex North, with whom he worked on 1960’s Spartacus. But during filming, the director used classical recordings to set the mood, then incorporated them for a scratch track when MGM’s executives requested a sample reel. The results were so spectacular that Kubrick decided to use a new type of film score composed entirely of commercial recordings of classical music. With 2001’s success, the classical score became a cinema staple, something Kubrick himself would return to for A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Barry Lyndon (1975).

Star Wars (1977) – Composer: John Williams

Before John Williams signed on for Star Wars, director George Lucas was planning to use classical music in the fashion of 2001: A Space Odyssey. But when Lucas’ friend Steven Spielberg convinced him to go with Williams, the composer gave him a rich blend of familiar musical styles, with a title theme inspired by Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s intro to King’s Row (1942) and leitmotifs inspired by Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst and even Benny Goodman (the model for the Cantina Band). The result went on to be voted the greatest score of all time by members of the American Film Institute. Thanks to Star Wars, movie-going was once again a feast for the ears, paving the way for more lush, romantic scores from the likes of James Horner (Titanic), Ennio Morricone (The Mission) and Williams himself (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler’s List).

Other film soundtracks on the list include Shaft, Saturday Night Fever, Goldfinger and The Graduate.

What’s your favorite movie soundtrack? We have quite a collection at our house but we’re always looking for new CDs to add to the rotation.

Photo: Amazon

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This weekend, Michael runs headlong into danger as the star of Syfy’s original movie Meteor Storm. Having survived the rain of fire from the sky, he and I both were muddling through the worst LA rainstorm in recent years when we sat down to chat.  Bright, funny and immensely welcoming,  Michael talked with me about the challenges of making a disaster film, his biggest roles on TV and the career change that changed his life.

Here’s ten minutes with Michael Trucco:

Cynthia: Let’s start by talking about what goes into making a disaster movie. What are some of the challenges involved and how close were you to some of the explosions?

Michael: There’s a lot of discussion of the scene before you start to shoot something, there’s a lot of storyboards, our director and our special effects guys, they get together and they did a really good job of explaining it to us before each shot. They would show us renderings done on the computer of what the final scene was going to look like once they had put all the plates in, but at the end of the day you gotta roll up on a motorcycle and look at a bridge collapse that’s just not there, and it’s a little bit daunting at times. So the challenge in making a movie of this scale is being able to conjure and fabricate images of impending doom that will be seen on screen but at the time you just get talked through it and the director’s going… ‘and then that blows up, and there’s collapsing and there’s devastation and there’s fire’ …you know, because there’s only so much you can do.  I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but you can’t actually destroy the city of San Francisco to make a movie

Cynthia: Really?

Michael: Yeah, they won’t let you do it, it’s weird. We were gonna just kind of carpet bomb and they said no.

Cynthia: I’m pretty sure Irwin Allen did it when he made Towering Inferno, and I loved the little shout out to that film in Meteor Storm.

Michael: There you go, that was intentional so I’m glad you said that.  We’ve been talking about this as sort of in the vein of those 70’s disaster movies, this is certainly not some big you know, Roland Emmerich disaster 2012. We don’t have that kind of a budget, nor do you need it. I think in a good disaster movie you have your story, you put the world in to some sort of impending doom and hopefully all’s well that ends well.

Cynthia: I was particularly surprised by the storm strikes so quickly and then it’s over, and I thought now what are they going to do for an hour and a half?

Michael: Yeah, when I read that is was like, ‘wow they don’t waste any time here,’ they just get right in it. In it to win it. Which I like.  I like that we don’t mess around, just boom and then things start falling, but then there’s. . . you know it goes on in certain ways and it gets more intense and a hell of a lot of fun dodging fireballs coming out the sky that just aren’t there.

Cynthia: Was anything real?

Michael: We did some stuff. There was that guy tossing me out of a car, we lit some things on fire and we had our fair share of explosions and used pyrotechnics for certain explosions. They can throw things with debris cannons, which is basically compressed air and they put a bunch of cork and dirt and dust in them and blow those out of the cannon and that looks pretty realistic. We crashed some cars and turned them on their side and got flame bars and stuff, I like that and for me that just heightens the stakes, heightens the reality.

Cynthia: So I wonder, are you calm under pressure?

Michael: Yes, absolutely.  I was raised the son of a policeman. My father retired as a police captain after 40 years and there’s something inherently stoic in his mannerisms that I think I, in turn, received in my DNA.  I’ve never seen anyone as collected under pressure as my dad, but I think that it just came with his job you know. You have to be able to keep your head clear, and the more you are, the less you incite panic, and that’s generally where things go awry in a dramatic or traumatic situation. I’m a good ballast to my wife. She’s on the other end of the spectrum. She can jump from 0 to 60 just like ‘bang!’… ‘What’s going on?’ I’m just like, ‘wait, hold on a second, it’s just the alarm. Let’s just figure out why it went off, the cat maybe opened up a window. Let’s assess the situation and deal with it accordingly.’ I got that from my Dad, he was like that growing up and I think I have inherited some of that to a degree, and I like that, playing characters like that.

Cynthia: Did you ever consider going into law enforcement yourself?

Michael: Oh yeah absolutely. Before I was a theatre major I was a criminal justice major, because at the time, you know, if your dad’s a cobbler it’s not unlikely that you’re going to make shoes.

Cynthia: So how’d you end up becoming an actor?

Michael: Because he said ‘nah man, you should go try out for one of those plays at the university there. I’d done some high school stuff and I think his intention was ‘be a well rounded individual, extracurricular activities, a new environment. He was saying socialize a little bit. That first audition for a theatre production at Santa Clara University, the chair of the theatre department talked me into taking a class called ‘Theatre for Non Majors’ and upon completing “Theatre for Non Majors” she talked me into changing my major into acting. You can imagine that phone call home.  ‘Hey dad, mom, guess what? Remember that college education we talked about? Yeah? Well mines going to be studying Shakespeare.”

Cynthia: You could say ‘I’m not a police officer but I play one on TV.’

Michael: That’s it exactly. For years that’s always been another dream, like eventually I’d love to be able to play a cop, a beat cop, like a uniform, in the car, the motorcycle cops at my back, because I have a keen insight into that world. When I watch cop shows, I always take my cue from my dad and he would say what’s a good cop show? NYPD Blue, that’s a good cop show, they got it right. See the way those guys interrogate that suspect, see the way those detectives…that’s right, that’s the way you do it. He hated when they put on funny dialogue, or when the cops are yelling on the radio, like they would never talk that much on the radio. You know so, so yeah, one day somewhere down the line I’d love to be able to play a cop; that would be great.

Come back tomorrow for Part Two, where Michael talks about what he’s taken away from his time on Galactica and the most adventurous thing he’s ever done.

Don’t forget to set your DVR for Meteor Storm with Michael Trucco, Invasion’s Kari Matchett and Flash Gordon star Eric Johnson. It premieres on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 9:00 on Syfy.

Photos: Screencaps from Meteor Storm

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What can you tell us about your new Blu-ray & DVD, Surrogates?

The movie is a sci-fi, action thriller and I play an FBI agent called Peters. The device of the story is that there is a surrogate technology being used in the world and the population is addicted to using it. You plug into a device, which is basically a robot, and that robot goes and performs all of your daily tasks for you. When that happens, you can manicure your life. You can organize and control how you want to live and how you want to feel. However, something goes wrong in this society and my character works alongside Bruce Willis’ character to figure out who committed a murder.

What would you use a surrogate to do for you? Perhaps you’d like to jump out of a plane?

I think you’d lose part of the experience if you used a surrogate for something like jumping out of a plane. Part of the experience is about risking your own mortality. I’d love to use a surrogate to do all of the boring things in life that I’ve done thousands of times before, like cleaning or household chores. However, I think I’d want to do all of the exciting stuff for myself.

How much of the stunt work were you allowed to do?

I did some of the stunt work, but there was also a stunt girl on hand. The girl who did my stunts had to swing from ropes between buildings and things like that. There were lawyers on the set making sure I didn’t do too much, but I was allowed to run around in between fast cars and I was strapped to the top of the bus driving through the city. I discovered that I can jump from elevated sections onto targeted marks in high heels, which was fun.

Why is it difficult to play a robot?

It’s difficult to play a robot and still keep drama within a scene because what’s robotic is not necessarily dramatic. However, it’s certainly interesting to watch a bunch of robots sitting around talking to each other. It’s an interesting concept to say the least. Playing a robot was a tricky challenge because you have to cut out any idiosyncrasies we have as human beings. You can’t slouch or shake your arms when you move. Robots are clipped, manicured and purposeful in their movements – and there was always someone on set to tell us if we weren’t doing it right.

What DVDs should everyone have in their collection?

I love the way that you can watch a whole season of a TV show in one sitting on DVD. In that respect, I really like shows like True Blood and Mad Men. However, when it comes to movies, everyone should have Blade Runner, The Matrix and Surrogates in their DVD collection.

SURROGATES is Available on Blu-ray & DVD January 26^th!

Photos courtesy of Touchstone Pictures

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Star Trek

Each cup comes with a code for a free trial run on Star Trek Online and an exclusive in-game shuttle pet. Visit Del Taco’s Facebook page for links to downloads, videos and other Trekkie goodies.

If you don’t live near a Del Taco, rumor on the gaming boards is that you can buy a code by calling Del Taco’s headquarters but I don’t know if that’s true. People who do live near this glorious fast food haven are already offering to buy extra cups for people for a price. Just how valuable are these online codes going to be? I’m assuming you can only have one trial per person so that’s a lot of extra cup codes for me since I buy a macho soda at Del Taco several times a week.

Photo: Del Taco

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The guys behind Fringe and the new Star Trek movie, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, have made a deal with CBS t

O’Loughlin hasn’t had much luck on TV, weathering first the cancellation of his cult favorite vampire drama and then the dismal hospital drama Three Rivers. CBS execs say they’re determined to find a successful vehicle for the charming Aussie actor and this could be the one.

Hawaii Five-O has plenty of remake potential since the only requirement for the series is the unusual locale. It does sound like Kurtzman and Orci might be keeping the original character names, too, which would make O’Loughlin the new Steve McGarrett. The original head of Five-O was played by Jack Lord and it’s a roll that not only made him famous, but in it he became a cultural icon.

From the much mocked opening wave and jazzy theme song, to the oft quoted “Book ‘em, Dano,” Hawaii Five-O is a true TV classic. But can a cult classic be retooled to suit a modern audience? Look at the new Star Trek movie. I’d say if anyone can do it, Kurtzman and Orci can.

Photo: Newscom

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