The International House of Mojo

I was going to update with some "exciting" news but it turned out to be really widely know and boring... but I've done it now so... have it. The stores are now taking pre orders for the greatest Jedi film of the last 3 or so years!

Episode II attack of the [funny pun] both VHS and DVD are available to pay for and then get delivered to you a few weeks later... By which point you don't even remember any more and its really exciting, 'cause you get a call from work, and they are all like:

"There is a package for you here,"

And you go, "I don't remember ordering a pack.. wait.. is it from Toys R Us?"

"Well yeah... it is actually."

"... w00000000t"

....and so on so forth. So that's Star Wars Episode II, UK release date Nov 11th 2002, available for pre order now, and in the US, Nov 12th (my birthday) also available now and you can get it in other places besides Amazon funnily enough.

For those of you who don't already know (shame on you), Lucasfilm announced last monday that Episode II will be released onto IMAX screens across North America. Here's what Jim Ward, Vice President of Marketing for Lucasfilm had to say:

"Star Wars: Episode II The IMAX Experience will provide an entirely new way to experience the Star Wars universe, for the first time, fans of Star Wars will be able to see all their favorite characters, environments, vehicles and droids in a setting that is up to eight stories high and over a hundred feet wide."

You can read the entire article here.

Well, not exactly. An accidental fire broke out on the set of Disney's upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The damage to the set will cost about $350,000 (or $525,000 as some sites are now reporting) and will delay production a few days. See, this is what happens when you mix pirates with curses.

Cinefex has reported that George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic has been tapped to do the visual effects for the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie. If you didn't keep ignoring us when we talked about this, you'd already know that the Disney theme park ride was a major inspiration for Ron Gilbert and his creation of Monkey Island. They share such similarities as island governors, the undead, sinister curses, loads o' booty, and of course, loveable pirates. John Knoll, responsible for some of the effects in Episode I and II, will supervise the visual effects for this movie.

Source: Corona Coming Attractions

In case you missed this one, our own LucasTones has posted an article concerning the upcoming film based on the Disney theme park ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. The article discusses the connections between the ride and Monkey Island as well as providing an overview of what we know about the movie thus far. Also, for those of you who haven't been on the ride, you can find a lot of Pirates of the Caribbean pictures, video, music, and more. Check it out. It's more fun than gettin' drunk with pigs. Yarrrr!

An editorial has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled "Stop privatizing the Presidio." As we reported earlier, the Letterman Digital Arts Center in Presidio is a complex being built to house LucasArts, Industrial Light and Magic, THX, Lucas Learning Ltd. and Lucas Online. This new construction has been controversial to those who feel that the complex would ruin the historic and natural park atmosphere of the land. Here's a quote from the editorial:

It is time for the trust to admit that its own data show that it doesn't need real estate development for financial self-sufficiency of the park. The trust should therefore terminate pending agreements with Lucasfilm; abandon plans for 700,000 square-feet of more new buildings; and use trust funds to rehabilitate buildings. That way, the Presidio will be a park, not an office park on public land.

After the Editor's Day event last month, Mixnmojo stopped by to take a few pictures of the current status of the Presidio grounds. Check 'em out if you're at all interested.

FilmForce.com has published a great article about Disney's upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The film, which is based on the Disney theme park ride of the same name, served as the main inspiration for Ron Gilbert's Monkey Island series.

Neither LucasArts nor LucasFilm appear to be involved in the movie, but due to the source material, it seems that the film will encompass many of the elements that we love about Monkey Island. This includes dastardly pirates, ship battles, a governor's mansion, and the living dead.

Be sure to read the full article for information on who is in the movie and a long plot description. Thankfully, it seems the elements of time travel have completely been removed from the movie. Let's hope that it still manages to be much better than Country Bears. Arrrrg!

Orson Scott Card, probably best known to you guys as the dialogue writer for the LucasArts graphic adventure The Dig, has gone on record to say that he hated Attack of the Clones. Mr. Card writes a weekly review column for The Rhinoceros Times, and in his July edition, he discusses the difference between Men in Black II and Episode II. Here's a quote:

... Attack of the Clones is a wretched waste of time and money - the filmmakers' and ours - while MIIB pays off exactly as well as it should. And it doesn't try to give us a bogus religion in the process.

Why the difference? MIIB has a good script and a director who knows how to get the best out of his actors."

Hear that? That's the sound of Orson Scott Card being blacklisted from all future Lucas projects! Just kidding... ?

Source: TheForce.net

According to SFGate.com, the plans for George Lucas' huge Letterman Digital Arts Center in the San Francisco Presidio (a former military base) may be scaled back. As you may remember, it was reported quite a while ago that land in the midst of the natural park atmosphere in northern San Francisco was bought by Lucas to create a new facility. The buildings would house LucasArts, Industrial Light and Magic, THX, Lucas Learning Ltd. and Lucas Online. You can view concept art for the new facility here.

Preservationists, park service officials and others complained that the planned 900,000 square foot complex would ruin the historic and natural park atmosphere of the land. In response to the controversy, the plans for the facility have been reduced.

No word whether or not the scaling back of these plans will affect LucasArts in any way, but the plans should be revealed within a month. Read the full article for more information or links to previous Presidio news.

A curious finding. While surfing the internet, one of our readers named Tim (no, not Schafer) discovered that if you go to www.indyjones.com, you will be redirected to the LucasArts 20th Anniversary page. Upon doing a whois, it seems that LucasFilm registered this domain name back in March.

What, if anything, does this have to do with LucasArts' 20th anniversary? It's far too early to make wild speculations, but let's face it. The internet was built on wild speculations! We'll keep our eyes open in the meantime.

It would seem that on Monday, LucasFilm announced that it will expand THX into car audio systems and video game consoles. The newly formed independent company will be an extension of the current THX company, which provides sound standards for motion pictures. Perhaps this will cause LucasArts' strong support for game audio to evolve in new ways, eh? It will be interesting to see how this technology will be used to enhance future titles.

Source: Internet Movie Database

Alright! LucasArts.com has officially confirmed the existence of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on it's E3 2002 page. A clone trooper has filled in one of the last two remaining sihlouettes silhou shadowed images.

Clone Wars is said to begin at the point in time that occurs at the end of Attack of the Clones. More details about the game can be found in the official press release.

The House of Mojo review of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is now available. Currently there are 3 reviews by 3 people giving different views. More will be added by other staffers at some point! Oh yeah there may be some spoilers in some of them, but not the first one :)

You can discuss Episode II, whether you've seen it or not, in the dedicated forums.

It's a Disaster... Skywalker we're after.

After going to the midnight preview of Episode II: Attack of the Clones, I can clarify that yes, it is Guff. First impressions from me and friends are mixed, but the overall decision is that it is a disappointing film with only about 30% of it worth bothering with. They attempt humour too often and the acting makes a school play seem worthy of Oscar nominations. However, some of it does actually rule.

A full review of the film, with maybe different opinions, will appear at mid-day (GMT) tomorrow, written by our old friend Narrative (Matt Shaw) who is possibly the biggest Star Wars fan I've ever met. So look forward to that.

While I hope that in time I will learn to accept this film, perhaps Episode 3 should be called "The Last Hope".

I'll leave you with these quotes from my friends:

"this film made me really cross" - Nick Walker

"That was weak" - Bob Watson

"Awwwwwww, dude... Count Duckula Dukoo sucks...." - Simon Lawrence

"Overall I enjoyed myself... mostly... Natalie Portman in that white outfit is the saviour of the film" - Spaff

You can discuss Episode 2: Attack of the Clones in our New Dedicated Forum or vote on it in the Poll!

Update: Last night seems like a bad dream... I can't help but feel that maybe I was a bit harsh... but hey! You can't beat people's first impressions! I'll have to go and see it again to confirm or destroy my thoughts.

StarWars.com has put up an interesting article that shows the Episode II stars' reactions the film, and seeing it for the first time. It also includes a bit at the end about the events in the next installment, Star Wars - Episode III: Swordfish.

FilmJerk has posted a review of the upcoming film, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. It's a great review--basically, the reviewer put it in the same league as A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, which sounds very promising.

I give Attack of the Clones an A- for effort and an A- for execution. This is the film Star Wars fans have been waiting for since 1980.

Check it out for yourself here!

Source: Forest Wilson

StarWars.com has released a series of commercials for the upcoming Star Wars prequel, Attack of the Clones. Each focuses on a major character (or group of characters), and are somewhat reminiscent of those "priceless" MasterCard?? ads. Some include never-before seen footage, so they're all worth a look! Check them out here!

A few days ago StarWars.com released a music video for the upcoming film, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. It shows conductor John Williams at work with the London Symphony Orchestra, mixed in with AOTC footage.

Although most of the scenes used have been shown already in the trailers, there are a few new gems to look at. Overall, it's a very entertaining video, so check it out!

According to this Fox News story as well as many other news articles, Lucasfilm is promising that there will be less products marketed for the new Star Wars film, Attack of the Clones. However, will LucasArts be affected by the dramatic slash in Episode II merchandise? Probably not. Here's a quote:

"We've scaled it back a lot," Lucasfilm licensing executive Howard Roffman said. "We're going to stick to the basics ? toys, video games ... the things our fans prefer, rather than some of the fringe items."

While this may come as bad news to some fans, we can rest assured that LucasArts has learned a lesson or two from their less-than-wonderful Episode I games.

Source: Fox News Article

Schmatz has posted an interesting tidbit on the Mixnmojo forums having to do with the role of everyone's favorite gungan in the upcoming movie, Attack of the Clones. This information was taken from Jar Jar's Episode 2 action figure packaging.

Highlight for spoilers:

Now a Senate representative from Naboo, Jar Jar wears the elaborate Gungan outfit deemed proper for the ceremonial grandeur of the Senate. In a twist of fate, Jar Jar is manipulated to propose the motion that gives Chancellor Palpatine the powers of an emperor.

Post your reactions in this thread.