Homegrown Star Wars, with big-screen magic intact

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at the high end of a stream of productions that have grown ever more sophisticated with the help of digital video cameras, computer graphics and high-powered home processors.

At the extreme other end of the fan film spectrum, though no less obsessively ambitious, remains "Star Asciimation Wars," an ongoing project aimed at re-creating the entire original Star Wars film using the #, @, and %'s of ASCII animation to illustrate the various characters and scenes. Now nearly eight years into the project, animator Simon Jansen says on his Web site that he's not sure he'll ever finish.

"Don't hold your breath waiting," he advises in an FAQ on his site. "You have to be very bored to do something like this."

Modern folk art
Academics say that this tradition of fan production is as old as filmmaking itself, although it has taken different forms as technology and social conditions have evolved.

Ithaca College film professor Patricia Zimmerman, who has written extensively on amateur film production, likened fan films to folk art. Modern consumers are constantly surrounded by media, and naturally draw from those images and stories for their own production, she said.

"This is part of a long tradition of American cultural practice, about always being in dialog with mass culture."

--Patricia Zimmerman, film professor, Ithaca College

"This is part of a long tradition of American cultural practice, about always being in dialog with mass culture," said Zimmerman, noting that even avant-garde filmmakers have often performed homage to directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, or to B-genres like horror films in their work.

But unlike the products of some underground film communities, fan films (barring plots based on gender and sexual-role switching) are rarely socially or even commercially subversive, she noted. Instead, they serve as homage to characters and creations genuinely loved by the amateur filmmakers.

That's certainly true for Felux, and for most of the spoof filmmakers that Lucas will be judging at Atom Films. "Revelations" is a tribute, not an attack, and Felux said he felt that at no time more than at last week's Baltimore big-screen premiere, attended by more than 900 people from around the world.

"It was a dream come true," Felux said. "I got to see myself and my project up on the big screen, which is what I'd wanted since I was a kid. And it was Star Wars."

[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.