R.I.P. Star Tours v1.0

Today marks a significant entry in history. Star Tours, at Disneyland, will send it’s final passengers on their first flight to the forest moon of Endor this evening.

The popular Disneyland attraction will be closed from July 27th until sometime in 2011 as the 23 year old ride gets a complete makeover. The enhancements will include new high-def projectors, new motion simulators, 3-D effects, and most intriguingly… NEW DESTINATIONS.

Thats right, come 2011, space travelers won’t be limited to The Endor Express. When the attraction re-opens our trusty pilot Rex and his StarSpeeder 3000 1000 will be making new stops at differnt ports-of-call. Exactly what destinations will be added or sticky situations we might encounter remain a mystery.

But, while the creative forces of Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic are hard at work preparing the new ride system, speculation will continue to grow as the “Star Tours v2.0″ re-launch date approaches. Might we find ourselves on Tatooine, Hoth, Coruscant? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I’ve Got A Very Good Feeling About This!

Watch the cool Star Tours v2.0 announcement video below.

P.S. When Star Tours first opened in 1987 Disneyland remained open for 60 straight hours to celebrate! I hope we can expect something equally as epic this time around.

VIDEO: Star Wars Subway Cars

For [their] latest mission, [Improv Everywhere] staged a reenactment of the first Princess Leia / Darth Vader scene from Star Wars on a New York City subway car. The white walls and sliding doors on the train reminded [them] of the rebel ship from the movie, and [they] thought it would be fun to see how people would react to a surprise appearance by the iconic characters. [They] spread out the actors along the train line, staging it so they would enter the right car at the right time. Enjoy the video first and then go behind-the-scenes with the photos and report at IMPROV EVERYWHERE.

Greg Peltz X Star Wars Portraits

Artist Greg Peltz has been receiving plenty of attention, thanks to his Ye Olden Days themed Star Warscharacter portraits, and rightly so, these images easily fall into the impressive basket. Original and captivating, these make-overs are a fascinating take on George Lucas’ iconic sci-fi / fantasy creations, proving Star Wars is an ongoing source of creative inspiration. Featuring C-3PO, Boba Fett, Chewbacca and Darth Vader, this series isn’t from a Galaxy far, far away, rather it has been lifted from a place where the Buffalo roam and gentlemen bow in the company of Princess Leia.

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adidas ORIGINALS X STAR WARS CANTINA

adidas Originals invites you to join David Beckham, Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, Franz Beckenbauer, Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown, Ciara, Jay Baruchel, DJ Neil Armstrong and some of your dear, old friends for an intergalactic 2010 FIFA World Cup™ viewing party that you’ll never forget.

STAR WARS + ADIDAS

In June the good people over at LucasFilm announced a partnership with adidas Originals to produce a line Star Wars inspired/branded shoes and street wear. This news, while epic, was just a bit unfair. As you found out a few weeks ago, we are HUGE quasi-nerdy Star Wars fans. And, coincidently, I am also a huge adidas fan (I wear them exclusively). So while the announcement was nice and all what I really wanted to see was pictures. Adidas has a somewhat sketchy history of taking good ideas and making them less than stellar so I was initially kinda worried that these two great things would somehow suck when combined and subsequently ruining my childhood memories.  But, all we could do was wait and see.

Then, finally, in the last few weeks pictures started to pop up around the internet of what these things look like. I must say, so far, I like what I see. Below are pictures I stole from other websites.

The Star Wars inspired adidas Originals line in due to hit shelves in January.
Photo credits belong to: Star Wars, adidas, hypebeast.com & highsnobiety.com

STAR WARS: IN CONCERT

Okay, here’s the deal. Im a fan of Star Wars. No, I don’t dress-up or have lightsaber duels with other TFL#! staff members but I DO know a little more about the films and culture than your average moisture farmer. I especially appreciate the the films’ musical score by John Williams (and the London Symphony Orchestra). So, when “Star Wars: in Concert” came to town I of course procured tickets to the event. Seriously… live orchestral music, a giant hi-def screen showing Star Wars montages, movie props, costumes, concept art…. ok, calm down.

Anyway, last night was the big event so I ventured out to the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on a man-date (not even my fiance would go with me) to geek-out and take-in all that George Lucas and Co. have to offer. I could go on about how remarkable the concert was, how funny and talented Anthony Daniels (aka C-3P0) is as host or how breathtaking Binary Sunset is in person but, if you’re a fan of the films I’d just be preaching to the choir and if you’re not a fan of the films then I’d just be making myself look like an idiot. So, if you’re a fan – go see it! If you’re not a fan – you’re missing out.