The following are all the best feature articles and key news posts of the 2007 year. The goal of the SWNZ website, as well as being to bring you regular Star Wars news and stories, is to establish and evolve an archive of all things pertaining to that Galaxy far, far away, that have particular relevance to the various incarnations of Star Wars fandom in New Zealand. This page is a portal to such content...
Matt G
As a follow on from the earlier posts about vintage newspaper clippings, here are a couple more. This pair of scans originates from the Bay of Plenty Times, circa late 1980, when The Empire Strikes Back screened for the first time in the Tauranga (Odeon) and Mount Maunganui (Regent) theatres. The clippings have been stored in a childhood scrapbook for the intervening decades, and digital archiving now gives them new exposure... ...MORE
Matt G
'Underpants on the Outside', a comic book/sci-fi event. 9:30-2:00pm Saturday 1st December 2007; Grey Lynn Library Hall, 474 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland.
- Recent editions and back issues.
- Star Wars memorabilia and other collectibles.
- Dr Who memorabilia (Dr Who, retro tin toys etc).
- Original fan art.
- Badges.
- Trade paperbacks.
- Figurines.
- Door prizes (drawn at 1pm).
- Entry fee: Kids $2, Adults $5.
Mario
This something I've been wanting to do for a while...a side-to-side comparison of the six unique New Zealand Allens & Regina cards (numbers 67-72) and the series one stickers from Topps that they were based upon. The blue border and the numbering (which is in an altered order as well as being numerically different) are the the most immediately evident characteristics that set these variations apart... ...MORE
Matt G
The latest issue of Bantha Tracks Online, available to StarWars.com Hyperspace members, focuses on Star Wars-related events around the globe, including photos and text from the 'The Star Wars Vault' book launch in Auckland last month (click here to access it). Although you need a subscription to see it, the content has come basically verbatim from SWNZ, so you can access an equivalent article and more here.
Related article: Book Launch - The Star Wars Vault
Matt G
The second stage of the Westfield Albany shopping mall opened a couple of days ago, and was packed with crowds over the weekend. The Farmers store there is the best place to head for Star Wars product - at the time of writing, they still have a selection of TAC figures (although on sale over the weekend, Farmers' standard price for basic figures is $17.99), including Elis Helrot, CZ-4, ROTJ Luke Skywalker, and Vader, and a few different comic 2-packs. The Toys-R-Fun and K-Mart stores are a bit barren, with not much other than the increasingly common piles of Hasbro lightsabers.
Matt G
Although she's only had a little to do with the Star Wars universe since appearing as the Queen of Naboo in Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (she did attend, as a guest, the Episode 3 charity premiere in Auckland), Keisha Castle-Hughes' movie career has been ticking over if not gaining momentum. The New Zealand Herald reported last week that she will be filming in Auckland, France and Belgium early next year, for The Vintner's Luck an adaptation of New Zealander Elizabeth Knox's novel of the same name. The Vintner's Luck will be directed by Niki Caro, who most kiwis will know worked with Keisha on Whale Rider. Click here to read the NZ Herald article.
Related article: Keisha Castle-Hughes biography
Related article: 19 May 2005 'Revenge of the Sith' Charity Premiere
Matt G
Over the last few months we've had a bit of fun updating archived articles from the New Zealand Collection section of the SWNZ website, by adding in new photos and scans that highlight NZ-specific features or show the collectibles and promotional materials more clearly. The latest feature to receive this treatment relates to a 'Phantom Menace' promotion.
In 1999, Bluebird chips released 2 sets of collectible cards: a gold-bordered series with glow-in-the-dark images on the back of each card, and a red-bordered series with chrome-bordered variations. The red-bordered cards are interesting in that, depending on how you want to categorise them, they could be considered as one, two, or four "sets". There are 36 red-bordered cards, but in two sizes (the first 18 are 48 x 66mm, the second 18 are a mere 30 x 40mm) with continuous numbering. And then, there are a further 36, again in two sizes, identical to the red-bordered cards save for their chrome/silver borders... ...MORE
Matt G
The latest issue of 'Star Wars: The Official Figurine Collection', from DeAgostini, is on the shelves of bookstores as I write. This fortnight's edition features a metal AT-AT vehicle...probably one of the largest to be offered with this part-works magazine (75mm tall, but also 85mm long), so it kind of jumped out at me compared to other recent releases. Although the sculpting of this metal figure collection has been fairly good to date, some of the hand-painted finishes have been a little inconsistent in quality. The decor of the AT-AT is such that it comes off well when painted up in the style of this line though - the weathered military-grey armour, with details highlighted using subtle contrasts, make this issue worth getting even if you are not a collector of the whole series. The sculpting too is worthy of mention - small details like the shock-absorbing pistons on the inside of each ankle, for instance, are actual separate components.
You can read the full description of this magazine's format in this earlier SWNZ article. The contents covered in this issue are as follows... ...MORE
Matt G
Although it's appeared on a number of sites now, this information stems only from a single report, so treat it with some caution until further substantiated...but, the word on the web is that Rick McCallum has articulated his desire to cast New Zealander Daniel Logan as Boba Fett in the upcoming live-action television series. You can read more about Rick McCallum's presentation at the Reunion II convention in France, where he revealed a lot about Star Wars television, in this TheForce.net story.
Related article: Daniel Logan biography
Matt G
Issue no.97 (no.73 on the cover of the UK edition) of the Star Wars Insider magazine has been showing up in the mailboxes of New Zealand subscribers in the last few days. There are some minor differences between the US and UK sourced magazines, but this is mainly in the form of the advertising and product prices where they appear.
The material covered within the 84 full-colour pages includes:
- "Com-Scan", latest news (article on the space shuttle flight carrying Luke's lightsaber, Indiana Jones 4 updates etc).
- Howard Chaykin (poster artist) sketches.
- Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher interviews... ...MORE
Matt G
CollectZing.com is a great way for serious Star Wars collectors to manage and exhibit their collections online and if they wish, to share info about their collections with others across the globe.
With collectZing you can easily create and organize catalogs of your collectibles, and store important information about them. CollectZing benefits all types of collectors. New collectors can learn from more experienced ones, join the community and make long-term friendships, and easily maintain a catalog of all their new purchases and finds. More obsessive collectors can benefit from the detailed object descriptions, which can be used to maintain financial and insurance information, track loans, trades and sale information.
The social networking tools on collectZing.com allow members to connect with other collectors, and explore and share each others' collections and collectibles. CollectZing.com is the ideal online meeting place for collectors of everything from Art Deco furnishings to zebra figurines. Most of us have something we collect - even if you don't view yourself as a 'collector' you can still have fun on the site by creating collections of things that are meaningful to you. CollectZing.com is a free service and launched early September with a cute online video capturing the spirit of collecting, called "Amy's Gift". You can view the video on the home page of the website. People who sign up before December 14 will be in the draw for weekly prizes of Amazon vouchers and iPods, plus the Grand Prize of $1,000 cash, a $1,000 Amazon voucher and a Canon EOS digital camera package.
Try it now.
Matt G
This update just in from SWNZ's UK affiliate, The Private Universe: The Private Universe brought you the first pictures of the massive Jawa Sandcrawler, now thanks to TPU'er Luca from Italy, we bring you some fantastic pictures of a Tantive 4 model hand made by his very talented friend...click through to see the pics of, and more details on, this amazing 1.35 metre long model starship.
May The Force Be With You!
The Private Universe
Maybe it's because I'm addicted to the Armageddon conventions, but these pop culture events just seem to get better and better. There was disappointment amongst Star Wars fans when it was announced that both Ray Park and Matt Wood wouldn't be able to make it, but there was still plenty of Star Wars goodness in the form of a huge turn-out of 501st costumers, and merchandise at stores like Reel Collectibles, ToyWorld, Dymocks, and other vendors of collectibles and comics.
From Saturday 20th through to Monday 22nd October, queues stretched across Aotea Square, eager to sample the pop culture of this year's event. Inside, record-breaking crowds filled all available space, and, more so than in previous years, remained numerically strong until late on the last day... ...MORE
Matt G
The Kellogg company has a longstanding, international relationship with the Star Wars genre. In New Zealand, this dates back to their 'Return of the Jedi' promotional stickers and competition. In 2005, associated with the release of Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, the Kellogg's Star Wars branded product and included collectibles are so numerous, it pays to take a systematic approach in order to get a comprehensive overview. The archived article on this promotion has been updated with a series of new photos... ...MORE
Matt G
Monday is the last day for Auckland Armageddon! Get on in there for a chance at some great collectibles and photo opportunities.
The Outpost-42 album is starting to gather momentum. There are also a few photos showing up in this forum thread. Stay tuned for a full report on SWNZ.
Matt G
Auckland Armageddon is underway! If you're in the neighbourhood, check out the 501st costumers on the 4th floor (their group photo is scheduled for 2pm today/Sunday, near the main entrance if weather permits), SWNZ sponsor Reel Collectibles on level 5, as well as all the other attractions.
For some of the early and day one photos, have a look in the Outpost-42 album for the event.
Matt G
Another pictorial update of an archived article for today's post - the sticker scans on the Twinkies ESB Stickers page have been supplemented with higher resolution images. Not heavily branded or bearing visible evidence of coming from a New Zealand manufacturer, these are still a pretty cool set of stickers and are immediately recognisable to those have been around long enough to remember eating their way through the Twinkies themselves... ...MORE
Matt G
Today I've got a couple of websites worth sharing, each for quite different reasons.
It was saddening to hear recently that Christine Hewett passed away. Many will know Christine for her portrayal of Brea Tonnika in the cantina scene of Star Wars: A New Hope. She was also an enthusiastic and regular guest at a variety of conventions. Christine's homepage was ChristineHewett.com - it's worth viewing in its own right, but particularly so now as it may not be online for much longer. Amongst the interesting content is the call sheet from the Mos Eisley scene that Christine featured in - it can be seen by clicking on the bottom right link of this page.
On a less sombre note, I also suggest a look at The Canadian Star Wars Gallery. This site showcases exclusive and unique Canadian Star Wars memorabilia (from 1977-1985) - in many ways this makes it similar in intent to the NZ Collection section of SWNZ. It's worth checking out, particularly if you are a fan of international and/or vintage Star Wars collectibles.
Matt G
Star Wars: "Back On The Big Screen". It's hard to believe that it was over a decade ago now that the Special Edition Trilogy took us back to our childhood through the silver screen. Not everyone was fully enamoured with every single change, and further revisions have since crept in to the canon of the epic, ...but it was, without a doubt, the return of "Star Wars".
'Star Wars', 'Empire', and 'Jedi' were released two weeks apart, on March 27, April 10 and April 24 respectively...New Zealand got them each about 7 weeks after their North American debut. Yup, back then we were still suffering a delay between most of the world seeing movies, and them showing up on our shores... ...MORE
Matt G
Most collectors of the vintage New Zealand Star Wars and Return of the Jedi cards will know that there are key attributes differentiating these derivations from the original Topps versions. When enumerated in full, the Allens and Regina versions are quite unique and collectible. The archived article on these trading cards has been updated with a series of photos highlighting the NZ-specific features... ...MORE
Matt G
In 1997, before the hype of the prequels really kicked in, and hence during the relative lull in Star Wars collectibles (particularly in New Zealand), Quality Bakers ran a promotion and competition that coincided with the availability of the Original Trilogy on VHS. The main yield from that promotion was a set of collectible cards, but the Star Wars-branded bread wrappers are also sought after. The archived article on the Quality Bakers Cards has been updated with some new photos that show the bread wrappers more clearly, and in their original state... ...MORE
Matt G
This update just in from SWNZ's UK affiliate, The Private Universe: Hello to all you Star Wars fans on the other side of the globe! I would like to inform you of our latest interview available to read here at TPU. Trooper Daryl sat down for an exclusive chat with Charles Ross from "The One Man Star Wars Show"! Read part one here and part two here.
You can still read our other great interviews too with Ken "The Elvis Trooper" Tarleton and Cris Macht - "The Force Among Us".
May The Force Be With You!
Simon
The Private Universe
'The Star Wars Vault' is described as a "comprehensive box set book containing hundreds of photos and artwork images, rare and never before published memorabilia". As interesting as that sounds, I have to admit that, up until I got my hands on the product, I still felt slightly in the dark as to what it actually contained. In many ways, the 'The Star Wars Vault' is more of a treasure trove than its brief description conveys. For that reason, I think it is more than worth while sharing a bit about the Vault and its contents.
To start with, it's larger than it's publicity photos suggest. A slipcase measuring 34 x 29 x 4.5cm protects the book itself. But what's inside? Those who have one of Steve Sansweet's earlier books, 'Star Wars Scrapbook: The Essential Collection' will find familiarity in the basic format of the Vault - it is in a number of ways a larger and more comprehensive version of that earlier book (the material itself is all new, however)... ...MORE
Matt G
As a follow-up of sort to the Kevin J Anderson Book Signing in Auckland, Dymocks on Queen Street hosted the Launch of 'The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives' yesterday (Saturday 6th October).
Created to celebrate 30 years since the release of the original 'Star Wars' Movie Episode IV: A New Hope, this comprehensive box set book contains hundreds of photos and artwork images, rare and never before published memorabilia, including reproductions of Lucas' own handwritten script pages, flip through catalogues, posters, T-shirt transfers stickers, blueprints, production notes, animation cells, 2 audio CD's featuring over 2 hours of vintage radio ads, original cast interviews, excerpts from the NPR Star Wars radio drama, George Lucas commentary and much more! (Stay tuned to SWNZ for a look inside, coming within the next couple of days)... ...MORE
Matt G
Another pictorial update of an archived article for today's post - the sticker scans on the R2-D2 Space Ice page have been supplemented with higher resolution images. These are still amongst my favourite of the New Zealand exclusive collectibles... ...MORE
Matt G
Fred's the name and I've been collecting since POTF2 came out back in '94 (or was it '95?) Any hows, I recently took advantage of the high kiwi dollar a few months back and started to put together a ROTS - Darth Vader mannequin. It stands at around 195cm (including boots) and is my pride and joy of my collection. I've only just started to upgrade it with the addition of a Master Replica ROTS Vader Helmet which will need to go onto a more mucular mannequin and more stable armour seeing as I'm currently using the rubies Supreme Edition version... ...MORE
Fred C
The above newspaper clippings (1978) have been stuck in one of my childhood scrapbooks for nearly three decades! I could never have guessed at the time that I cut them out as a seven-year old (hence the less than perfectly straight edges and not quite right-angled corners) that this would be their ultimate fate. They appeared in the Bay of Plenty Times, and highlight the fact that not only did Star Wars enjoy quite a long run in the cinemas for its initial release, but it was re-screened on few occasions through 1978, around the country - these clippings relate to its time in the Tauranga (Odeon) and Mount Maunganui (Regent) theatres during one of the school holiday breaks... ...MORE
Matt G
HarperCollins Publishers is launching their newest Star Wars book with fanfare. Be amongst the first in the world to buy 'The Star Wars Vault', at Dymocks in Queen St, Auckland, this Saturday (6 October), at midday. The event will be supported by the troops of the New Zealand 501st Garrison.
Press Release: "Created to celebrate 30 years since the release of the original 'Star Wars' Movie Episode IV: A New Hope, this comprehensive box set book contains hundreds of photos and artwork images, rare and never before published memorabilia, including reproductions of Lucas' own handwritten script pages, flip through catalogues, posters, T-shirt transfers stickers, blueprints, production notes, animation cells, 2 audio CD's featuring over 2 hours of vintage radio ads, original cast interviews, excerpts from the NPR Star Wars radio drama, George Lucas commentary and much more!
To celebrate the launch of this exquisite piece of Star Wars memorabilia, Simon & Schuster Publishers together with Harper Collins New Zealand and the New Zealand 501st Garrison: 'Outpost 42' have arranged for various Star Wars characters to attend a book launch and celebration at Dymocks Bookshop, 246 Queen Street Auckland City this Saturday the 6th of October from 12pm.
Stormtroopers, Imperial Guards, Jedi Knights and assorted Star Wars characters will be available for photographs, weapon drills and discussions on intergalactic domination with the general public.
Refreshments in the form of a Star Wars 30th birthday cake will also be provided!
'The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives' by Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur. ISBN 9781847371065. $110.00 RRP. Published by Simon & Schuster, Distributed by Harper Collins Publishers New Zealand."
Full details about the book are available on the HarperCollins website. This book can also be purchased through FishPond.co.nz.
Matt G
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise a rocketeer named Andy Woerner, with the help of his rocketry club members, has built a 21 foot long replica of the X-Wing Fighter that will actually fly on four rocket motors in the scale engine locations. Click here to see how they built it and what the finished product looks like. It's big enough a child could fly in it.
A 1/4 scale flying model of the Y-Wing fighter will be launched at the same event as the X-wing flight (PlasterBlaster.com/projects.html). These creations will fly on October 6, 2007 at the rocket launch event called Plaster Blaster IV located near Plaster City, California, USA. The Plaster Blaster website can be found at: www.PlasterBlaster.com.
Matt G
This is the continuation of the Toltoys NZ story, which began here. The gamut of Toltoys-branded Star Wars merchandise included action figures, vehicles and playsets, board games, electronic games, plush characters, Star Wars Play-Doh, jigsaw puzzles, the Give-a-Show projector, an electronic toothbrush, colour-by-numbers and poster art sets. The photographs on this, and the previous, page will testify to the diversity of the product range.
Toltoys role in bringing such toys and collectibles into NZ was a mix of marketing and manufacturing; the origin and branding of their licensed wares falls across an array of inconsistent categories. We see, for instance, NZ manufactured product bearing the Toltoys logo... ...MORE
Matt G
Pictures, more than words, for today's posting. The Allens and Regina (Topps) Trading Cards archived article has been updated with a couple of hi-res scans of the New Zealand bubblegum wrappers - see them in all their aged but nostalgic glory... ...MORE
Matt G
The 'Figure of the Month' is a semi-regular SWNZ feature, wherein we take an up close look at a selected character collectible, focusing on interesting features of both the toy and its on-screen persona. We don't aim to compile an extensive database about all available Star Wars figures, but make a choice based on elements of interest to hopefully expose readers to different collectibles, or new directions of collecting. Today, we take a look at the Celebration IV exclusive 2-pack - Ralph McQuarrie conceptual R2-D2 and C-3PO.
Conceptual designer Ralph McQuarrie is credited with playing a key role in the initial funding of Star Wars - his early renderings accompanied George Lucas's screenplay when it was pitched to 20th Century Fox, and were arguably pivotal in convincing the production company to provide an initial budget. It was an interesting progression from his earlier work as a technical illustrator with the Boeing Aircraft Company, and even providing material for NASA, but he also went on to work on an array of films that includes Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extraterrestial, Batteries Not Included, Totall Recall, the original Battlestar Galactica, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was for his Cocoon that he won an Academy Award.
McQuarrie's artwork bestowed features and form to many Original Trilogy characters, creatures, spaceships and environments... ...MORE
Matt G
The archived article on the 1984 Kelloggs Cornflakes Return of the Jedi Competition has been updated with a few more...contextual...photos. Just for fun...! ...MORE.
Matt G
(with thanks to Brent M)
Richard Neumann, the author of When the Force Isn't With You, warns us early on that the writing style employed to communicate his tale is loose and meandering. Don't let this put you off - it works well as the collected anecdotes weave their way across the decades since Star Wars, with the threads given commonality through a shared objective: the pursuit of a dream. This is not a book about Star Wars, George Lucas or ILM. It does, however, touch on all of these entities; on a recurring basis and in a way that Star Wars fans will easily relate to.
During the journey we are taken along to visit and find out the meaning of The Egg Company, past the facade of Kerner Optical Labs, and even to lunch at Skywalker Ranch. The author's goal on his labyrinthine journey? To secure employment somewhere in the Empire of Lucas. We follow the ups-and-downs of his career and life, repeatedly brushing tantalisingly close to Lucasfilm...but the receipt of rejection letters from various LFL human resource departments is a sustained theme. Will his sheer persistence (categorically distinguished from stalking!) win him the desired trophy? How will, to quote directly, "120,000 cows and one very persistent stone" play their role...? ...MORE
Matt G
I was recently asked how I do lightsaber effects in Photoshop. There are lots of tutorials online (even some pre-built Actions...but I prefer the control given with a manual approach), with varying results, but I thought I'd post the technique I use, since I was going to write it up anyway...it's based predominantly on a method discussed on TheForce.net, but with a few mods/tweaks. ...Read on at the Outpost42 forums.
Matt G
Kevin J Anderson's brief but busy book signing tour of New Zealand wrapped up yesterday, and the Star Wars author has already departed to Australia to make an appearance at a writers festival there. Kevin's tour in New Zealand was organised by HarperCollins Publishers, and consisted of book signing functions in Christchurch (at Scorpio Books, on Sunday 9th September) and Auckand (at Dymocks Bookseller, on Tuesday 11th September). The events were after-hours, RSVP-only affairs, adding to the literary ambience of the venues. Supported by local 501st Legion members (Kevin is an honorary member of that international Star Wars costuming group), the popular author regaled the enthusiastic crowd with the story of his writing career, before taking questions from the audience, and signing his way through a veritable pile of science-fiction bestsellers... ...MORE
Matt G
According to today's issue of the New Zealand Herald, Anakin and Padme have been awarded the unfortunate title of "couple with the most unconvincing on-screen chemistry". Read the article here
Matt G
The New Zealand Herald archives confirm that the Auckland public premiere of Star Wars took place on Christmas eve of 1977 ...but... I've just received the above scan from Stuart T., giving evidence that there was at least one invitation-only preview screening some time earlier, in conjunction with the 1ZM radio station. Check out the date on the ticket... October 16th [1977]! ... ...MORE
Matt G
Monday 28th May saw the conclusion of the Celebration IV convention. Opening hours were a little shorter, and there was mild melancholy in the air at the realisation that the experience of living and breathing pure Star Wars, 24 hours per day, was coming to a close. On the bright side, though, was the fact that prices in the dealers room traditionally and predictably drop on the last day, as the sellers understandably want to lug home as little as possible in the way of bulky merchandise. Even the official C-IV shop slashed the prices on their remaining items (excluding the exclusive action figures) in half. So, let's focus on that, as we kept our eyes open for the final-day bargains, and ran around making sure that there wasn't anything that we missed, whilst wringing every last ounce of "Star Wars" out of the experience.
The day started early, as the 40-or-so presenters from the collecting panels got together in a breakfast meeting, in the theater used for our respective presentations, for a bit of a formal reception with Steve Sansweet (where the Collecting Panel Medallion sets were disseminated). This was also a good opportunity, being one of the few times that the room was less than full-to-capacity, to properly inspect and photograph some of the interesting collections set up around the room... ...MORE
Matt G
At the 2006 Winter Festival, in a Queenstown first, Reel Collectibles brought to town 9 Star Wars Stormtroopers and costumed characters, including the notorious Boba Fett. As well as trooping in the Winter Festival Float Parade, Star Wars fans and general public crowded the Reel Collectibles store for about 2 hours afterwards to meet and get pictures taken with the Stormtroopers.
This year, the Empire Strikes Back.
The event was so popular that it has become legend throughout the galaxy. So much so, that even more Stormtroopers and characters will be coming this year, including Princess Leia and the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader. Darth Vader has decided to make a personal appearance at this year�s event to inspect his troops and see why Reel Collectibles is so popular with Star Wars fans.
The event has been timed by Reel Collectibles to coincide with the Queenstown Winter Festival as an extra exclusive feature for the community, children and Star Wars fans in general. It is likely to be one of the largest ever concentrations of Star Wars Costumed Characters in New Zealand.
The troopers are all members of either Outpost 42, the New Zealand Garrison of the worldwide 501st Legion, or the Rebel Legion � both Lucasfilm's preferred organisations for people who own and proudly wear professional quality costumes from the Star Wars movies.
The troopers will be available for group and individual photos with public at Reel Collectibles, First Floor, Stratton House, Beach St, Queenstown from 2pm to 4pm, Saturday June 23rd. Public are advised to bring their cameras for this great opportunity to meet a Stormtrooper or Star Wars character.
For more information contact:
Hugh Clark
Reel Collectibles
Ph 03 442 9429 or 027 223 2997
Email: [email protected]
Website: ReelCollectibles.co.nz
Related article: 06 Jul 2006 Queenstown Winter Festival 2006 Report.
Reel Collectibles
Sunday 27th May was the fourth day of the C-IV convention. A couple of scheduled events defined the day for me in particular - the International Collecting Panel in the morning, at which I presented on New Zealand collectibles, and a second costume pageant in the afternoon (2 costume pageants/competitions were run this time around, due to popular demand).
The collecting panels are an array of presentations covering all imaginable aspects of Star Wars collecting, from the common, to the very obscure, including next-to-impossible-to-get collectibles like unproduced or pre-production concept pieces. Speakers tend to make very good use of photos in their slideshows, giving the audience an opportunity to see items from many private collections. As an apt bonus, collectible medallions, limited to runs of 350 per piece, were handed out to audience members during randomly selected presentations. The twelve designs were inspired by the twelve very first Star Wars action figures released by Kenner. These are not mere coins, but are large, weighty pieces of cast metal that fully deserve to be referred to as medallions. The limited available numbers meant they have already become very sought after, with full sets in particular fetching high bids on eBay.
I was again involved in a joint panel on International Collecting, covering those items and promotions exclusive to New Zealand... ...MORE
Matt G
It's all over now, but there are still plenty of photos to be shared, and stories to be told. Travel and limited internet access have introduced minor delays into the SWNZ C-IV coverage, but stay tuned for the concluding installments coming along very soon.
Matt G
The start of the weekend today bought in a few more children and casual attendees, but the abundance of tailored activities like the Jedi Training stage in the Fan Club section, and the Family rooms, meant that they all found appropriate entertainment. The usual schedule continued on; ramped up a little even. So many things happened today that when I was sorting through my photographs this evening, I was looking at the earlier ones and finding it hard to convince myself that they weren't taken a day or two ago. Let me see what I can recall, in my current sleep-deprived state.
The R2 Builders' room (top row of images) is a drawcard that has grown in size since Celebration II. The displays and variety in the room proper somehow managed to surpass the C-III presentation, perhaps aided by a few ancillary and related characters like Jawas, an IG-88 torso, and a Mustafarian lava transporter droid. The number of complete and radio-controlled droids in the group has grown, and this meant many astromechs were spotted roaming the convention to the delight of many.
In addition to the props and costumes... ...MORE
Matt G
Today was the day that Celebration IV officially opened to the public, and, although this resulted in slightly increased crowd volumes, things still went very smoothly. The opening ceremony actually took place in the evening - it'll mean running through things backwards, but that actually seems to be a good place to start. The mayor of Los Angeles (Antonio Villaraigosa) had the honour of formally opening C-IV, and in doing so pronounced the 25th of May as 'Star Wars' day in Los Angeles. It was also the day that the United States Postal Service launched its Star Wars stamps (a rare privilege for the SW franchise), and announced the winner of the voting for the stamp that would be sold individually (as well as the joint sheets of the whole Star Wars set)...and the winner was...Master Yoda (ESB Style!) A surprise bonus came in the form of first day envelopes of the stamps in question, handed out to all attendees of the evening session.
The USC brass band marched down the aisles to hype the crowd once everyone was seated, and, in an impressive feat of logistics, everyone in the I-don't-know-how-many-thousand audience was served with birthday cake to celebrate the Star Wars 30th anniversary!
Following on from the USPS stamp launch formalities... ...MORE
Matt G
Day 1, and the doors are open! For some components of the convention, they'll remain open 24 hours a day. So far, in all regards, the organisation and outcome has been superior to the immediately preceding Celebration. We got in the doors without any queue time, and have been able to move around and get to see oh-so-much-stuff without too much in the way of crowding. The event centre is a better layout and size than Indianapolis, despite the disappointment of many about the less-than-central location, but, for those that are here, the change is for the better.
We started the day with a bit of exclusive shopping. There were queues for some of these, but even those had an upside - those standing in the line for the very popular Gentle Giant merchandise got to admire the incredible lifesize Jabba and great displays of current and upcoming merchandise as the circumferential parade of shoppers slowly wound its way around the stand. We ended up with so much product, a quick trip to dump it in the hotel was required.
Most of the rest of the day was spent quickly sampling... ...MORE
Matt G
The day before it all. Not much to report today, apart from to show off a few teaser pics of the convention center, taken when we went down to pick up our tickets at the registration... ...MORE
Matt G
The New Zealand Woman's Weekly Comic Strips article has just been updated with a colour image of the cover of the August 1979 issue that heralded in years of weekly Star Wars fun. Big thanks to Chris N for sourcing this, and much gratitude to him for getting it to me in time to show when presenting on New Zealand collectibles at Celebration IV in a few days... ...MORE
Matt G
A contingent of Imperial troopers, patrolling a forest planet. A recently recruited Sith apprentice, alone on a training mission. A ferocious and alien hunter, moving from world to world in search of prey. Who is stalking whom? And what will the outcome of the inevitable confrontation?
Members and supporters of the New Zealand 501st (Outpost42.co.nz) ran around in native bush over a couple of film shoots, working under the directorship of one of their own to put together this fun project - a self-contained trailer for an imaginary face-off between the Sith, the Imperials and the Predator... ...MORE
Matt G
Press release: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Symphonic Pops: 'A Night At the Movies', 8pm, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE.
Some of the world's most memorable movie themes will be presented in their full symphonic glory at the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Symphonic Pops concert, A Night At the Movies, on Saturday 2 June at the Aotea Centre, THE EDGE.
The concert, conducted by Tecwyn Evans, will conjure up images of Hitchcock blondes, Imperial stormtroopers, gladiators, Spider-Man, flying boy wizards and sultry Bond divas, featuring works by both contemporary composers and renowned originators of the genre.
Movies and classical music have long been successful partners. Silent film stars would frequently engage string quartets to play while they were filming scenes to help them get in the right mood, and music in the theatres was key to expressing what was happening on screen.
Film scores did not lose their impact with the advent of talking pictures and excerpts from some of the most memorable scores are presented at the APO concert, including three works by legendary composer, Bernard Herrmann, whose celebrated partnership with director Alfred Hitchcock is a prime example of effective music and movie matchmaking.
For example, Herrmann's orchestration for Psycho used strings only, complementing the stripped back black and white photography and providing audiences with one of the most intense scenes in movie history.
Herrmann's Hitchcock compositions feature alongside modern classics from Gladiator, Spider-Man, Harry Potter, Star Wars and a selection of James Bond music performed by popular mezzo-soprano, Helen Medlyn.
A Night At the Movies marks Helen's fifteenth year of appearances with the APO. She first worked with the orchestra in 1992 when she was asked to replace an indisposed singer in a concert called West End Magic. Since then, she has sung numerous roles, including a cowgirl, a cake, a biker chick and now a James Bond chanteuse.
APO Chief Executive, Barbara Glaser, says it is a pleasure to have Helen performing with the orchestra again in a concert that offers fantastic family entertainment.
"Movies are one of the most common places that people hear classical music and the A Night at the Movies concert will amplify the soundtrack experience, providing the thrill of hearing these familiar pieces of music performed live by a full orchestra," says Ms Glaser. "This is one Saturday night at the movies you won't want to miss!"
Tickets $20-$80 (booking fee will apply) available from Ticketek Ph 09 307 5139, www.ticketek.co.nz.
Programme:
Hermann - North by Northwest Overture.
Hermann - Vertigo Prelude.
Hermann - Psycho Suite.
Rota - La Strada Suite.
Various - Music from James Bond films.
Schifrin - Mission: Impossible.
Interval.
Williams - Harry Potter Theme.
Zimmer - Gladiator Suite.
Elfman - Spiderman Suite.
Williams - Star Wars Suite.
Related trivia: Movie Composer Trivia
Matt G
The Wellington Armageddon convention really seems to have found its groove. Maybe it was because I was there with family and lots of good friends, but I found this year's event to be one of the best that our capital has hosted. "WellyGeddon" has quite a different feel to the Auckland Armageddon expos, but I like them both, and often attend both, for that very reason.
The weekend was memorable, in particular, for a great selection of guests, a decent amount of merchandise, all laid out in a fairly accesible floorplan, and cool costumed characters making their way around the centre.
The New Zealand 501st contingent, Outpost-42, had a stand/backdrop at the entrance of the Queens Wharf Event Centre, and worked with other Star Wars and big-screen costuming groups and individuals to provide all sort of interesting photo opportunities. In addition to the 501st's official presence and the cosplay entrants, there also seemed to be a growing number of fans turning up in costume just for the fun of it. On a number of occasions, there were as many as 8 or 9 Star Wars characters in one place, with a greater total number in attendance, posing for photos - plenty of cross-genre gatherings were also spotted!... ...MORE
Matt G
The Wellington Armageddon convention kicks off in about...30 minutes. We'll be taking photos of the Star Wars and related stuff for SWNZ, but, if you want to check out some early pics and details, you can do so in the Outpost 42 Galleries (click here) and the Outpost 42 Forums (click here for the relevant thread).
Matt G
Here are a couple of cool new figure pics, courtesy of Mousedroid.com, of some upcoming miniature (3.75" scale) remote-controlled astromechs from TOMY. Up until now, they've only done R2 droids in this line, but the R5s look great!
Matt G
The 'Figure of the Month' is a semi-regular SWNZ feature, wherein we take an up close look at a selected character collectible, focusing on interesting features of both the toy and its on-screen persona. We don't aim to compile an extensive database about all available Star Wars figures, but make a choice based on elements of interest to hopefully expose readers to different collectibles, or new directions of collecting. Today, we take a look at an Expanded Universe figure - Republic Commando Scorch, from Delta Squadron.
Although Hasbro is starting to cater a little more to the fans of Expanded Universe characters, they have, in the past, delved only superficially into this realm. This is even more true for game-based characters. Last year, however, they caught the wave of popularity of the Republic Commando PC and console game, and released Scorch, RC-1262, as part of the Saga Collection. Scorch came out first as a basic carded figure, and later in the year in a boxed set with the rest of Delta Squad (all basicaly repaints of the same sculpt, but with different accessories) and a small swarm of Geonosians. The figure also ties-in to the second of Karen Traviss's Republic Commando novels, "Triple Zero" which features both Delta and Omega RC squads.
"Republic Commando Delta Squad. From the very beginning, it was understood that the tactical superiority of the Grand Army of the Republic would reside in its flexibility of response. Hopelessly outnumbered by the armies of the Separatists, every clone trooper is expected to be the equal of ten of his enemy. Sometimes, though, ten-to-one odds is too much to hope for, and that's when you call in the Deltas."... ...MORE
Matt G
Warwick Davis, the actor who played Ewok Wicket in Return of the Jedi, Anakin's young Rodian friend Wald in The Phantom Menace as well as main star of Willow and Harry Potter roles, shopped in Reel Collectibles on Wednesday to buy a present for his daughter back in England. Warwick was in Queenstown filming for his current project of the role of Nikabrik in the upcoming Prince Caspian Narnia film. After a long chat and a couple of photos, Warwick returned to Reel Collectibles on Thursday to kindly sign some photos and DVD's for us and get a bit of local info on what to do in Queenstown. We then met up with him again on Friday to play a round of Frisbee Golf in the Queenstown Gardens, followed by the obligatory pint and dinner at a local watering hole. Warwick was a really lovely guy and a pleasure to meet and he has suggested to keep in touch so we can meet up again in the future.
Check out photos of Warwick, Hugh & Sarah on the Hall of Fame page on the Reel Collectibles website.
Hugh Clark
The 'Figure of the Month' is a new semi-regular SWNZ feature, wherein we take an up close look at a selected character collectible, focusing on interesting features of both the toy and its on-screen persona. We don't aim to compile an extensive database about all available Star Wars figures, but make a choice based on elements of interest to hopefully expose readers to different collectibles, or new directions of collecting. Today, we take a look at one of the oldest of Star Wars toys - the See Threepio mini-action figure from Kenner's "first twelve".
In early 1978, shortly after Star Wars changed the face of big-screen sci-fi, George Lucas began his second marketing coup with the reinvention of boys' toys - the Star Wars mini-action figure line from Kenner was the first character replica to easily fit in your pocket. The first wave of 12 figures hit the market a little later than might have been ideal, but it wasn't long before the number of Star Wars mini-action figures outnumbered the head-count of children in America.
The sculpting of the early figures was basic at best...but that's where childhood imagination is supposed to come into play!... ...MORE
Matt G
I came across some unexpected Star Wars merchandise while at the local Westfield shopping mall yesterday - the Jay-Jays chain of clothing stores have a line of exclusive, licensed "Old Skool" t-shirts, which include a couple of Star Wars designs (one with an ANH graphic, featuring R2 and 3PO, and one with an ESB logo). They come in men's sizes XS to XL, for the reasonable and convenient price of $25 each!
Matt G
This review just in from SWNZ affiliate ReelCollectibles.co.nz: Gentle Giant's Mos Eisley Cantina Han Solo & Greedo bookends.
These bookends arrived in our last shipment of stock and are one of the first collectibles to arrive in NZ with the Star Wars 30th Anniversary logo. I've always liked bookends as collectibles. Not only do you have a cool Polystone hand painted collectible that weighs a bunch, it's functional! Collectible bookends like these (plus the LOTR, Narnia & Kong sets) look awesome on a shelf holding up your DVD's, books or whatever.
Ever since I read about the release of these they were a must-have for my personal collection. SW, Bookends, Original Trilogy... you get the drift. Gentle Giants have done a very nice job of these and I am not disappointed with my wait. Like the Gentle Giants Balrog Statue, these have a the new 2 tone colour boxing and the 30th anniversary logo... ...MORE
Hugh Clark
There are a number of ways to celebrate Star Wars...if you're really serious, you'll make it permanent...
Upon returning from a pilgrimage to meet "The Maker" in Los Angeles this past holiday period, I decided to get some new ink to commemorate not only that event, but also the 30th anniversary of some "space movie"...
Happy Birthday Star Wars!
Callum F
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