Results tagged “starwars”

                         

Lollapalooza wasn't the only big event going on this weekend. It was also the annual Chicago Comic-Con. And judging by these pictures, it was an incredible, surreal time for all involved. A miniature Darth Vader? Check. Billy Dee Williams signing a bottle of Colt 45? Check. More comic costumes than you could ever dream of? Check. And there's plenty more where these came from.

Earlier today, we honored the anniversary of D-Day. This time around, though, we've gone back to the more light-hearted stuff. Witness this brilliant mash-up.

Yes, that is a kid playing the Star Wars Cantina Band song on a harp. Dude can also play Herbie Hancock. We realize now that we have done nothing with our lives. [via The Daily What by way of my Chicagoist predecessor who's now at Entertainment Weekly]

The future is now, at least over at CNN. During tomorrow night's election, the network is planning on using three-dimensional holograms to supplement those weird touch screens they've been using. They'll project holographic images of their field correspondents stationed around the country, including Chicago, onto their set using 44 cameras and 20 computers in each location to get the image rendered correctly. Holy shit. I will pay $50 to the first CNN tech who manages to slip in a glimpse of the Death Star blueprints instead of, say, Anderson Cooper.

There are a lot of spoof posters out there, but this one, by David Friedman of Ironic Sans, is the clear winner.

We've all got a bad case of the Fridays--perhaps because we're so pysched for the Media Slam this weekend. We need some awesome stuff to get us through the rest of the afternoon....

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has just announced its 2008 / 2009 season. Tickets are already on sale, so here are a few Chicagoist recommendations to keep in mind:

Love him or hate him, you can't deny Kanye West has a certain flare. Proving himself to a more prolific blogger than Steve Johnson (and more entertaining, too), Kanye has dropped a few details about an upcoming tour. He'll be touring with fellow Chicago MC Lupe Fiasco, supporting his recently released (and excellent record The Cool), along with Rihanna, and Neptunes side project N.E.R.D. Whatever you think of Mr. West, that lineup is nothing to sneeze at. We also dig that Star Wars/Max Headroom promo poster you can see over to the right.

There is a new international polar bear sensation! The yet-unnamed cub at the Tiergarten Nürnberg zoo in Germany is so fucking adorable we think we might die. (more photos) She had to be taken away from her mother because Mama Bear kept dropping her and acting strangely, and the other polar bear in the enclosure ate her two offspring.

We know it's everywhere, but we can't not include it--it's the awesomest link of the day! Your Star Wars Guide to the Presidential Candidates. We also love "Obi-Ron Paul-obi." But maybe you prefer candidates as video game systems. [via]

To the five people checking the site today, specifically my father: Please enjoy the above video of John Denver and the Muppets singing "Where The River Meets the Sea" from Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. Can you watch this without choking up? We cannot. Anyway! It's been so stupid-cold the last few days we've barely left our warmth cocoon on the couch (tip: the fuzzy robe makes a huge difference), but if you haven't...

Dun-dun duuun, duuun, dadada duuuuuuuun! The ": Where Science Meets Imagination" exhibit opens at the MSI today, sure to delight both science and Lucasfilm geeks alike with its focus on the legit science behind some of the fantasy elements of the movies.

One of our favorite writers J.G Ballard once wrote, “It is a curious paradox that almost all science fiction, however far removed in time and space, is really about the present day.” In no other medium is this quite so true as it is in film. We wouldn’t be the first to point out that watching Star Wars tells us a lot more about the year 1977 than it does about a galaxy far, far...

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as...

• The local film DIMENSION is screening tomorrow at the prestigious Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose. In the film, three lonely residents of a Chicago neighborhood are divinely granted a wish. But it comes with a condition: they can only change exactly three inches about themselves. The movie was shot in Chicago during the summer of 2005, and it's one of only fourteen movies in competition in the festival's Maverick Narrative Category. Let's hope a Chicago screening is on the horizon.
• On Saturday, the really cool Intuit Center concludes their ELUSIVE Evidence series of film screenings about extraterrestrials with John Carpenter's cult classic They Live. And 80's WWF wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper plays a drifter who stumbles upon a weird set of sunglasses; when he dons them he's able to see the truth: evil aliens have disguised themselves as businessmen and politicians, keeping the earth's population docile through the use of subliminal messages. This flick has always been a favorite of ours, fondly remembered from countless Saturday afternoon showings on a local low-powered UHF channel. The Intuit Gallery is at 756 N. Milwaukee Ave.; the show begins at 2 p.m., and admission is free (donation suggested).
• Saturday night at Chicago Filmmakers you can see what Dick's Staff Shot. (Get your minds out of the gutter!) "The Nixon White House Staff Super-8 Films" consists of ultrarare "home movies" from the Nixon Administration! The footage was shot by Tricky Dick's staffers between 1969 and 1974 and later confiscated from John Erlichman's office by the FBI. Included are scenes from a performance of the musical 1776; Nixon visiting a Washington Redskins football practice; and appearances by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Indira Ghandi, Bob Hope, and Pat Boone. Admission is $8; more info at the Chicago Filmmakers site.

An unfortunate side effect to the blustery and icy wind is that our mailbox jams for the postal worker. We normally get started in the morning by popping in a movie to get the wheels turning and drinking exorbitant amounts of coffee to shake off those gin and tonics from the night before. We imagine our postal worker is still carrying around those Netflix movies in her pouch, because this morning we've got nothing. So...

Those of us at the Chicagoist offices enjoy video games as much as the next person. It's not that uncommon for us to go head-to-head in a round of Mario Kart while we're waiting for new stories to post. Why, last week, we were on the last lap of the 150cc dinosaur track when KFed became Fed-Ex. The losers in last place driving the Goomba Kart decided that we had to post that story right then and there, and that was the end of our match. (Frakking editors...)

Frequent are the days, especially in summer, when Chicagoist finds ourselves struggling to make a decision between two or more fabulous things to do. Of course, we're usually deciding between work and sleep, but tomorrow night is something special. We know what we're doing, mainly because our roommate has never in her 24 years seen Star Wars, but we also really wish we could go to the Bookslut Reading Series at the Hopleaf. It's the second of a monthly series put together by the fine folks at Bookslut--we heard the first was awesome, and tomorrow's reading promises to be swell as well. And entirely free of light sabers! (We assume.)

Have you ever had one of those moments like in the movies, where everything suddenly starts moving in slow motion and you can’t believe what you’ve just heard? Like when the call is coming from inside the house? That was me, when our mother recently told us she procured a KitchenAid mixer. That she got. For $60.00. Retail. Through a series of events we won’t go into here.

While not quite approaching the fever pitch the final Star Wars film achieved, there’s still plenty of excitement over Batman Begins, opening tomorrow in Chicago (and everywhere else in the country) before its planet-spanning mega-release this weekend.

The films that make up the Star Wars franchise have never been the “sleeper hit” of any summer. But we were still surprised to see Hayden Christansen’s pouty face adorning the front page of the Sun-Times this morning. Man, that Revenge of the Sith hype machine is something. Ebert gave it a rave review as did Michael Wilmington in the Tribune. Their accolades aren’t entirely surprising. Reviews of early screenings (most notably Kevin Smith’s review...

Media commentators have been falling all over themselves to proclaim that Hollywood’s in big trouble due to a six percent decline in overall box office receipts when compared with last year’s take. Some have even gone so far as to say that the “summer box office season” has gone into a slump thanks to last week’s underperforming Kingdom of Heaven. Wha? Since when does summer start in the beginning of May? Chicagoist is old-school and...

We don't normally go to Bill Zwecker for breaking news, but we'll give credit where credit is due. Though the AP wires just picked it up this weekend (thanks to a press release from Disney), Zwecker reported back at the beginning of April about Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Timed to coincide with the end of his Overlooked Film Festival wrapped up in Urbana, the announcement also...

Chicagoist finally caught the teaser trailer of the final Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith, at the theater this weekend. Damn, it was cool. When Darth Vader showed up, we almost peed ourselves. And that hasn’t happened since…well, last week. But it wasn’t because of Darth Vader.

Chicagoist has been knocking itself out keeping you informed about today’s election and providing you with opportunities to party with like-minded folks of every political persuasion. But let’s face it: voting is hard work. You’ve been downloading ballots, checking the Chicago Bar Association website to see which judges to retain and weighing heavy policy matters for months! You need a break, hoss. Or maybe you’re one of those folks who thinks all politicians are crooks so what’s the point in voting? Well Chicagoist isn’t here to pass judgment on you, Eeyore. Whatever your reason, allow us to present some hideouts if you’re looking to avoid all of tonight’s election craziness:

Oh man! Chicagoist is having some major flashbacks today. No, we’re not still feeling the effects of the tequila shots. The trippiness is due to the return to Chicago of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.