The Changing Look of Ahsoka Tano

For those of you watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a point of contention has been the character models and, in particular, how one of them is dressed.  Enter Exhibit A:  Ahsoka Tano.

Ahsoka Tano, Padawan to Anakin Skywalker, has spent the last two seasons adventuring around the galaxy in a tube top, tights, and knee-high boots. According to various sources, including the official site and Star Wars Insider magazine, Ahsoka is among the characters getting a revamp. 

 

I feel this is a great direction for the series. It makes Ahsoka look older and more believable as a Jedi fighting in a war. I mean, granted, there have been a few costuming gaffes in Star Wars history, most notably the infamous Snow Bunny Padmé from the Tartakovsky Clone Wars short cartoons.

Skintight clothing in a blizzard?  Somehow, I can't quite believe that.  But the current Ahsoka model stretches my suspension of disbelief to its limits as that poor little teenager tries to save the galaxy in tights and a tube top, which is apparently the only thing in her wardrobe.  Either that, or The Gap had a sale and she stocked up.

Okay, okay, I'll stop picking.  I can only hope that this change in The Clone Wars is permanent.

Rumors Do Not Truth Make

Hide your kids and hide your wife! Here comes this year’s series of Lucasfilm rumors.

 

Star Wars: Episodes VII-IX (and beyond?)

Last Saturday brought us news from usually reliable IESB.net – though that link might still be broken – that Lucasfilm was working on a new Star Wars trilogy.

From IESB.net via Bryan at Big Shiny Robot:

What do we know? First of all, these new film will have nothing to do with the live action television series currently in development. That show already has over 50 scripts ready to go and plenty of pre-production time and money has been spent on artwork and storyboards. Once that show goes into production, Lucasfilm hopes to be able to produce at least 100 episodes since that is the threshold for syndication in the United States.

Too early for story details but one thing that our source is certain about, they will not be prequels but instead sequels. It’s not for certain if they will be the long awaited Episodes 7, 8 and 9 but could instead be Episodes 10, 11 and 12 or possibly even further out in the Star Wars timeline. And by giving space in the timeline, possibly even as far as 100 years or 1,000 years in the Star Wars universe future, Lucas avoids having to make these stories “fit in” with what the previous stories have told.

Okay, look, IESB usually has a certain degree of reliability in these circles, but I doubt it. This pops up every year and each time is immediately debunked by Lucasfilm. In fact, Bryan contacted LFL, and predictably they said:

“This is, of course, completely false. George Lucas has lots of projects keeping him busy right now – including plenty of Star Wars projects – but there are no new Star Wars feature films planned.”

George Lucas has gone on record himself that there would be no more feature films. That would be the end of it, except IESB is playing the conspiracy card by claiming that LFL will debunk it, but they “will stand 100% behind our source.” You do that, guys.

 

Indiana Jones in 3-D

Here comes the next series, this time with the Indiana Jones quadrilogy going 3-D just like Star Wars. Once again, from Lucasfilm via Bryan at Big Shiny Robot:

This is completely false. Right now, we are totally focused on bringing Star Wars to 3D, and we have no plans to do an Indiana Jones conversion.

Just as I thought. I would have put more faith in this story since LFL is already in the 3-D process with Star Wars, but Bryan has a good point on that.

[...] I don’t think Indiana Jones lends itself as well to 3D. Star Wars is an effects extravaganza, Indiana Jones, for all its adventure, is pretty straight drama. It would be a lot easier to convert, I suppose, because there isn’t as much to convert.

But with as many hands in the Indy pie (Paramount, Spielberg, Ford, Lucas, etc.) I wouldn’t expect that LFL would be able to unilaterally decide to do this. In addition to the official Lucasfilm comment, it’s common sense that this wouldn’t be happening.

That should be the end of that. Until next year, anyway...

This Day in History

October 26th is the 299th day of the year, or the 300th during leap years by the Gregorian calendar. There are 66 days remaining until the end of the year.  I’m also somewhat partial to it.

 

The following events are sourced from Wikipedia:

1609 – William Sprague, English co-founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts was born. Coincidentally, he died on the same day in 1675.

1774 – The first Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1775 – King George III goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.

1776 – Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.

1825 – The Erie Canal opens, establishing passage from Albany, New York to Lake Erie.

1854 – C. W. Post, American entrepreneur is born. You know, the cereal guy?

1861 – The Pony Express officially ceases operations two days after the transcontinental telegraph reached Salt Lake City and connected Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California.

1865 – Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman and one of the most prominent American victims of the Titanic disaster, is born.

1874 – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, prominent socialite, philanthropist, and the second-generation matriarch of the renowned Rockefeller family was born. She was especially noteworthy for driving the establishment of the Museum of Modern Art, on 53rd Street in New York.

1881 – The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona.

1914 – Jackie Coogan, Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family, is born.

1916 – Boyd Wagner, First United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighter ace of WWII is born.

1936 – The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes into full operation.

1940 – The P-51 Mustang makes its maiden flight.

1942 – Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook) is born.

1942 – During World War II: In the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during the Guadalcanal Campaign, one U.S. aircraft carrier, USS Hornet, is sunk and another aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, is heavily damaged.

1944 – During World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf ends with an overwhelming American victory.

1946 – Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune is born.

1947 – Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th United States Secretary of State, is born.

1947 – Jaclyn Smith, American actress and Charlie’s Angel, is born.

1953 – Keith Strickland, American musician from The B-52's is born.

1955 – After the last Allied troops have left the country and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares permanent neutrality.

1956 – Rita Wilson, wife to Tom Hanks and American actress, is born.

1958 – Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France.

1959 – The world sees the far side of the Moon for the first time.

1961 – American actor Dylan McDermott is born.

1962 – Cary Elwes (Westley, from The Princess Bride) is born. 

1963 – Singer Natalie Merchant is born.

1967 – Singer Keith Urban is born.

1972 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, dies.

1973 – Animator Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) is born.

1977 – Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) is born.

1977 – The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.

1984 – "Baby Fae" receives a heart transplant from a baboon.

1984 – Figure skater and Olympic Silver medalist Sasha Cohen is born.

1985 – Fictional history:  At approximately 1:15 am, Doctor Emmett Brown successfully tests the world's first time machine, built from the frame of a fully operational DeLorean.

2001 – The United States passes the USA PATRIOT Act into law.

 

Cheers!