Homegrown Star Wars, with big-screen magic intact

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material over the years, ranging from blocking an experimental theater group in Seattle from performing a live re-dubbing of one of the movies last year, to a flurry of cease-and-desist letters sent over the years to Web sites using Star Wars themes in their domain names.

But as long as a film is noncommercial and not obscene, the company says it is all in favor of fan productions. Lucas himself is even judging a competition, sponsored by Atom Films, for the best Star Wars-themed fan productions, with results to be released Friday at the Celebration III fan conference.

"We are very supportive of Star Wars fan films at Lucasfilm," said Lynn Fox, the company's director of domestic publicity. "We think it's a great way to celebrate the saga."

Distributed filmmaking, online and on location
Most fan productions don't come anywhere near the technical ambition of Felux's work, which aims to explain how Jedi Knights vanished between the as-yet-unreleased third movie and the fourth, original Star Wars film.

Without a budget--and with a full-time job--Felux largely tapped friends and former acting colleagues for his cast. For crew members and equipment, he contacted his local film commission for names, and then cold-called potential volunteers. He bartered Web and graphic design skills in return for time and access to sound equipment, and got virtually everything he needed.

Want more Star Wars fan films? Check out:

"Troops" (1997)

"Anakin Dynamite" (2005)

"Sith Apprentice" (2005)

And the immortal:

"Star Asciimation Wars" (ongoing)

The team filmed on location over the course of two years of weekends. Two of his actors drove four hours each way from New Jersey for every shoot, he said. As he accumulated raw footage, he began taking it to the Net for animation and post-production work.

The most striking thing in watching the film is its technical competence. The computer graphics are easily as good as most TV science fiction programs, with complex spaceship battles and cinematic camera work. The sound is crisp and unmistakably Star Wars. The soundtrack is wholly engrossing.

Most of this work was done by an ever-changing roster of 30 to 40 volunteers online, drawn from around the world, most of whom Felux had never met until the first real-world screening of the movie in Baltimore last week. The soundtrack was written from scratch by a British composer sounding very much like John Williams.

The result is a product of astonishingly high technical quality, which has even been reviewed by major newspapers. This puts it

[Willy Wonker]

Im going to watch it

Which better is wmv or mov?

.MOV

Cos anything done in WMV sucks. Anything done in WMA sucks. Just face it, Windows MEdia is horrid.

cool movie

This is a very COOL movie! The producers, actors, and all those involved in creating it should be given a standing ovation. The Force is with you!

[Tex Murphy PI]

Lucas will SURELY watch it!

And so will his lawyers as they prep for a LAWSUIT!

The sad thing is, these folks have what Lucas lost Long, Long Ago, in a Galaxy Far Away - his passion for making a great story.

[Sboston]

Umm no,

In the article it was reported that Lucas didn't have a problem with it as it was a non-commerical production.

[Doug L]

Duality

Look up the Duality movie. It's strictly a duel but more satisfying than Episode I's.

And if you like Macs, it was all done with Macs.