The audience is now deaf

Today I'd like to show you two parodies of the well-known THX trailers's "Deep Note", i.e. the audio logo that's the trademark of the sound system.



Wikipedia: "The 1992 made-for-video feature Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation shows a Deep Note–like trailer blasting a theatre, concluding with the text 'THUD: The Audience Is Now Deaf.'"



I really love this movie. I watch it every 30 June.

Wikipedia (again, I'm lazy today): "In a 1994 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Burns' Heir", a THX trailer plays before a film, blowing the audience back, shattering eyeglasses, teeth, and even causing one person's head to explode; The audience whoops in response. Grampa Simpson shouts, "Turn it up! Turn it up!" This segment was later turned into a THX theatrical trailer."

Indiana Jones IV: the trailer (2)

The second official trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has (eventually!) been released. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.



More TV trailers are to be seen on the official website. I'm really looking forward to watching that movie. I'm so eager that I'll sacrifice an afternoon in my study period to go to the cinema on 21 May when it is released. (Some call this day "InD-Day"!)

Uncyclopedia's featured article: Indiana Jones.

George Lucas in Love

About ten years ago, a fan of the first Star Wars trilogy decided to make a short film that would depict how the "holy creator", George Lucas, got his inspiration for the different events and characters of his space saga. Please watch George Lucas in Love:

"It's about a young space farmer…"

"Ahhhhhhhh! My hand!"

"Hey George! Check out my new duck: I named it Howard."

The title of this short film is of course a spoof on Shakespeare in Love.

If you're interested to see what Star Wars looks like in German, here's the trailer for Revenge of the Sith:

Tribute to Jek Porkins

In Star Wars even characters that only appear a few seconds in a movie have a fully developed background in the Expanded Universe and often have adamant fans who worship them. This is the case of Jek Porkins, a pilot of the Red Squadron attacking the Death Star in Episode IV. Here's one of his two scenes (the first being him just saying "Red six"):



Despite his death, Porkins got somewhat elevated to the status of a legendary hero who died on the (space) battlefield. Some nerds suggested that Lucas hid the reason why Porkins exploded:



I can hold it!

Another version of his death is the following:



Jek Porkins was portrayed by the late William Hootkins, who also played "Lt. Max Eckhardt in Batman (1989), and Major Eaton, one of the army intelligence men appearing at the beginning and the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark", as stated on Wikipedia.

Porkins flies a starfighter (i.e. a spacecraft) named X-wing in the Star Wars universe. In 2007, the San Diego Tripoli Rocket Association built and launched a 23-foot-long X-wing model propelled by four rockets. Then, what if Porkins climbed in that X-wing fighter?



No, wait, here's what really happened:



That black starfighter is called "TIE fighter".

When Harrison meets Sean

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is scheduled for release on 22 May (and since that day I will probably have an exam, I won't be able to go and see it at the cinema! Grr!) and millions of fans (amongst whom your humble servant) are eagerly looking forward to it. No official trailer has yet been released, but I think it will soon. One thing is for sure, Sir Sean Connery won't appear in the movie:

Sean Connery turned down making a cameo appearance as Henry Jones, Sr., finding retirement too enjoyable.^[1] Lucas stated that in hindsight it was good that Connery did not briefly appear, as it would disappoint the audience when his character would not come along for the film's adventure.^[2]

But who can tell whether the producers actually attempted everything to get Sean Connery back, for instance (say) with Harrison Ford visiting him in his castle in Scotland:



"This was a priceless vase from the Ming dynasty. A gift from my wife too…"
"We put everything on hold to find you."
"It must have cost millions!"
"You're worth it, though, Sean."
"I don't believe my eyes: it's from Wal-Mart! You can tell from the inscription here: Wal-Mart!"
"No! I could have get you a refund!"

[…]

"Goldfinger! A remake! It was always my favourite one… Pussy galore, here I come…"
"Of course, you will have to look out your wig again."
"It's a small price to pay for this role…"
"And there will be stunt doubles for the sex scenes."
"Stunt double!"
"Well, we can't take any chance with you what with your age and such."
"I'll manage fine myself!"
"Really!"
"I've never had any problems in that department and I'm not gonna now…"
"Whatever."

[…]
"You're too old!"
"Too old? I had an Aston Martin with ejector seats!"
"Yeah, and now you have a bus pass!"
"Watch it! I'm not too old to kick your ass!"

This idea of writing subtitles on a foreign version is brilliant! Of course, it works better if you don't know the language at all, because if it were in French, we'd have to turn the volume off.

And an alternate ending for the third film:



And because I love the French version, here's one of my favourite scenes, namely that of the plane escaping the Germans:



— Qu'est-ce qui se passe à 11 heures ???

(…)

— Il me semble que ces gens essaient de nous tuer !
— Je sais, père !
— C'est une nouvelle expérience pour moi !
— Moi, ça m'arrive tout le temps.

(…)
— Mais c'est intolérable !

Dubbing voices:
– Harrison Ford: Richard Darbois
– Sean Connery: Jean-Claude Michel

Movie Mistakes: Star Wars

I forgot to show you some of the most striking mistakes to be spotted in Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope. I knew most of them, but I had never thought of a couple (e.g. the first one):



Even though I have already seen this episode like 200 times, I had never noticed such obvious things. But I still love this movie.

Darth Vader: The Origins

If you wonder how Dart Vader sounded like before James Earl Jones took care of it, just watch this:



If Lucas had kept the voice of David Prowse, Star Wars would never have been as successful as it is now.

Indy Is Back!

Back ten years ago, I could read in Lucasfilm Magazine issue n°11 that the film Indiana Jones IV would soon be shot and released in 1999, before Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace is released.

I waited. We waited. I mean all fans in the wide world. We have been waiting for years… It wasn't released in 1999, nor in 2000, nor… up to now. There were problems of production, but also a problem of script: both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg had to agree on the screenplay. We waited. They eventually agreed on a script. And now it's official: Indiana Jones IV (we don't know the official title yet) is currently being shot in Connecticut and Hawaii, and will be released on Memorial Day 2008!!!

Meanwhile, you can watch some offical videos on the Indiana Jones website. I hope you enjoy.

PS. Comment if you are a fan too!

And the Oscar® Goes to…

Last night took place in the Kodak Theater of Los Angeles the most important event in the industry of cinema: the Academy Awards Ceremony. Martin Scorsese was—at last!—rewarded for his most recent film, "The Departed", featuring Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others. He was given an Oscar® for being the Best Director and for having made the Best Movie. The statuette was given by a shock trio: Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, maybe the world's best directors ever—and good friends of Scorsese's.

Apart from that, as expected, Forest Whitacker and Helen Mirren were elected Best Actors, and Al Gore (former US Vice-President) was awarded the Oscar for the Best Documentary. The Oscar was given to him by the famous stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld (whom I am a great fan of).

PS. If you click on the title of this message, you'll be redirected on the official Academy Awards website, and you'll get the complete results (nominees and winners).