Star Wars

For toys, see Star Wars toys. In April 2005, De La Hoya and a Southern California real estate developer, Highridge Partners, formed a real estate investment partnership named Golden Boy Partners to invest in Latino neighborhoods. Other games are Knights of the Old Republic by Bioware, Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lord by Obsidian, Battlefront, Republic Commando, Episode 3, the loveable Lego Star Wars, Jedi Knight Outcast and Academy and soon to come is Empires at War. De La Hoya's record stands at 37 wins and 4 defeats, with 31 wins by knockout. Two Star Wars role playing games have also been published, and in 2005, Hasbro developed and released a DVD TV Game based on Star Wars and utilising the Trivial Pursuit game-play format. He lost to Hopkins by a ninth round knockout on the appointed date; a left hand to the body sent him to the canvas, knocking De La Hoya out for the first time in his career. The third, "Return of the Jedi", used more traditional raster graphics. Because of this, NBC has filed a lawsuit against him, asking for 30 million dollars.

Atari produced arcade games based on the original trilogy, beginning with "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back", which were both 'flight sim' style games that utilized vector graphics. De La Hoya cancelled a contract with NBC to cover the Olympic Games in Athens so that he could fulfill the compromise against Sturm, and later on, against Hopkins. Dark Forces is a significant computer game series. After that, he hoped to unify that title with the three other world Middleweight championships, held by Bernard Hopkins, on September 18. The Rogue Squadron series, developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts, is a notable video game series. De La Hoya next challenged Felix Sturm for the WBO world Middleweight title on June. He won that fight by a close but unanimous decision to become the first boxer in history to win world titles in six different weight divisions. Other early titles include the Star Wars Nintendo Entertainment System game (published by JVC) and three other titles for the Atari 2600. On February 9, 2004, the FBI announced it would investigate whether the rematch with Mosley had been fixed, placing Arum's promoting company, Top Rank, in the middle of a scandal that allegedly involved bribing the judges so they would score the fight for Mosley.

Since 1983, over 120 video games have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning with 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. On September 13, he and former rival Mosley met once again, in Las Vegas, and Mosley once gain took away De La Hoya's world title belts, with a 12 round unanimous decision over The Golden Boy. See also Star Wars computer and video games. De La Hoya hurt his left hand in the process of defeating Campas. In addition, the company has reprinted several Japanese manga interpretations of the films which retell the stories using the artistic devices and idioms of the form. On May 3, 2003, as part of the Cinco de Mayo festivities, he retained his WBC and WBA world Jr Middleweight championships, when the corner of his rival, former world champion Yori Boy Campas understood that Campas had taken too much punishment in round seven and threw in the towel, indicating that they were giving up, and officially giving De La Hoya a seventh round knockout win. Dark Horse has also published the Marvel series in a collection entitled Classic Star Wars. The two were found safe five days later.

These include Star Wars Republic, Star Wars Empire, Star Wars Tales and Star Wars Jedi. In June 2003, Desbrow's family reported her and Devon missing, their car found parked at a Riverside, California shopping center. Starting in the 1990s, Dark Horse Comics has published a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. March 29, 1999) by actress Shanna Moakler. Star Wars was also a daily newspaper comic strip from 1979 to 1984, written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Al Williamson. November 30, 1998) by former dancer Angelique Desbrow and Atiana Cecilia (b. In the 1980s, as part of their Star Comics line aimed at young children, Marvel also published the short-lived series Ewoks and Droids, based on the Saturday morning cartoons. February 18, 1998), Devon (b.

Some fans, including some officials at Lucasfilm, no longer consider the Marvel series story canon, although some events have been mentioned in Star Wars reference books. He married Puerto Rican singing superstar Millie Corretjer on October 5, 2001, and lives half of the year in Los Angeles and the other half in Puerto Rico. De La Hoya has 3 children by 3 different women: Jacob (b. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Poratio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. He designed his own house in Big Bear Lake, California, has a clothing line (BUM, or Boxing UniforMs) and released a Grammy nominated cd. Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. De La Hoya's interests outside the ring include architecture, acting, fashion designing, and singing. See also: List of Star Wars comic books. De La Hoya is one of the favorite boxers of American cable channel HBO, where he currently produces a popular Spanish language boxing show called Boxeo de Oro.

Another series of books is the Young Jedi Knights, by Kevin J Anderson, which follow the adventures of Jason and Jaina Solo, and their freinds. He also has lost to world champions Félix Trinidad (Majority decision loss 12), and Shane Mosley (UD loss 12, split decision in 12) and Bernard Hopkins (knocked out in nine rounds). Other notable books include The X-Wing Series, by Michael Stackpole, and the New Jedi Order series, by various authors. De La Hoya signed for 1 million dollars with promoter Bob Arum and went on to win 5 world titles and beat former and current world champions like Troy Dorsey (KO 1), Jimmy Bredahl, (KO 10), Jorge Paez, (KO 2), Genaro Hernandez (KO 6), John John Molina (Split Decision win 12), Rafael Ruelas (KO 2), Julio Cesar Chavez (KO 4, KO 8), Miguel Angel Gonzalez (Unanimous Decision win 12), Jesse James Leija (KO 2), Pernell Whitaker (SD win 12), Hector 'Macho' Camacho (UD win 12), Ike Quartey (SD win 12), Arturo Gatti (KO 5), Francisco Javier Castillejo (UD win 12), and Fernando Vargas (KO 11). In 1991, however, Timothy Zahn's celebrated Thrawn/Heir To The Empire Trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe that gained momentum with the releases of the special editions and new films beginning in the late 1990s. She soon passed away at 35. Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original series (1977-1983), but slowed to a trickle afterwards. On her death bed she made him promise he'd win the gold, and he did.

In addition to filling in the time between the movies, this additional content greatly expands the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series. He was, much like Ernie Gonzalez also, the United States' top Olympic boxing hope when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first EU work to be released. Oscar De La Hoya (born February 4, 1973) —nicknamed the Golden Boy— is an American boxer who won the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first movie, with the 1976 novelization of "A New Hope" (written by Alan Dean Foster but credited to George Lucas). See also: List of Star Wars books.

The first will be a fully 3-D, half-hour length continuation of the Clone Wars cartoon; the second a live-action, hour-long series taking place sometime between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. On April 23, 2005, at the Celebration III fan convention, George Lucas announced that two new television series would be produced for a 2006 or 2007 debut. Clone Wars is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, as the Jedi fight against the Confederacy of Independent Systems in the Clone Wars. Droids follows C-3PO and R2-D2 between Episodes III and IV.

Ewoks features the adventures of the Ewoks prior to Return of the Jedi. The first two, Ewoks and Droids, debuted in 1985, while Clone Wars began in 2003. Three cartoon series have been based on Star Wars. It was followed by adaptations of the next two films of the series.

Star Wars, the radio adaptation (NPR 1981), was written by science fiction author Brian Daley. Since the premiere of Star Wars, there have been a handful of officially sanctioned parodies and Expanded Universe live-action productions:. Some purists reject the Expanded Universe, believing that only the events in the Film Series are part of the "real" Star Wars universe. Occasionally, elements from the Expanded Universe are adopted into the highest tier of Star Wars canon, the movies (e.g., the name of the planet Coruscant first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire).

Therefore, Lucasfilm Licensing must devote considerable effort to ensuring continuity between various authors' works and Lucas's films. George Lucas has chosen to personally concentrate on his films rather than EU material, but he retains ultimate creative control over the Star Wars universe. The works of the EU began with Alan Dean Foster's 1978 book Splinter of the Mind's Eye. The Expanded Universe (EU) refers to all of the officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the two trilogies, including books, comics, games, and other forms of media.

There seem to be repeated elements amongst the Star Wars films:. This site (http://hem.bredband.net/wookiee/development/) explains this theme and others in its analysis of the writing of Star Wars. This concept emphasizes the general idea that technology is in opposition to humanity. The TIE fighter attacks are shown as impersonal swarms of metal while the X-wings are individuals; a similar symmetry also exists between the faceless, armor-clad Imperial Stormtroopers and their crisp, uniformed officers, and the various individual members of the Rebel Alliance. More recent examples can be seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, mounted atop a lizard-like veractyl, pursues and combats the semi-mechanical General Grievous mounted atop a one-wheeled mechanical vehicle; after the execution of Order 66, the somewhat inhuman Clone troopers are shown slaughtering a number of Jedi characters, whose striking art design gives them clear individuality.

For example, the rebels wear clothing that match their environment (greens, browns or whites) while the storm troopers always wear white synthetic armor. Many of these asymmetries are between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Throughout the films, under-armed nature dwellers (Ewoks and Gungans) defeat highly mechanized space ship dwelling enemies. Another archetypal conflict in the series is between technology and nature.

Indeed, the plot arc of the prequel trilogy, in which an ambitious politician orchestrates a "Phantom Menace" to fuel his rise to ever-greater power, has been referenced extensively by some opponents of the 2003 invasion of Iraq who believe that the now-discredited weapons of mass destruction threat was in some senses a "phantom menace.". At the Premiere of Episode III in Cannes, George Lucas mentioned the political stance, notably saying "I hope this doesn't come true in our country [the USA]" and "Maybe the film will waken people to the situation"; he went on to comment on the war in Iraq.[3] (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,156585,00.html). The response, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" from Obi-Wan Kenobi can be seen as a critique of Bush's position. Bush's stance on terrorism.

In the same film, Anakin Skywalker as an evil Sith lord says "If you're not with me, you're my enemy", which has been interpreted by many to be a reference to US President George W. This line has also been thought to be a reference to the Patriot Act and the post-9/11 wave of popular support for restrictions of civil liberties in the United States. A line from "Revenge of the Sith" which seemed to resonate very politically was the following, spoken by Senator Amidala: "So this is how liberty dies; with thunderous applause." This was seen by some critics as referencing the fall of the Weimar Republic. Lucas has recently stated that the concept of a battle of a small band of rebel insurgents against a powerful Galactic Empire in some ways was inspired by the Vietnam War, with the United States government seen as parallel to the Empire. However, there is little detail in the original trilogy (Episodes IV to VI) that specifically supports this interpretation.

The rise of Palpatine in particular bears many similarities to the rise of Augustus; and although notable differences in their objectives and demeanors undermine this assertion somewhat, the similarity of the circumstances under which they both came to power is undeniable. The overarching transition of Galactic government from republic to empire, via increasing corruption and an intermediary stage of popular dictatorship, mirrors in many ways the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. It offers no subjective stance on alternatives to the corrupt Republic's government, while some see it as supporting monarchy over democracy. It should, however, be noted that the republic presented is portrayed as an initially suitable form of democracy, yet one which demonstrates an almost inherent tendency to fall into corruption (as the first stage in a process of decay which eventually leads to a dictatorship), and even the films' most prominent monarchy—Naboo—is democratic. the Jedi Council with its keepers of peace counsels the Senate over all matters in the Galactic Republic, is similar to the philosopher-king of the Platonic Dialogues.

Some interpret Star Wars to advocate meritocracy over dictatorship, a form of government in Plato's Republic which theoretically triumphed over other forms of government, i.e. See also: The Tao of Star Wars, Or, Cultural Appropriation in a Galaxy Far, Far Away (http://pcasacas.org/SPC/spcissues/23.1/wetmore.htm). Likewise all Imperial officers were dressed to kill with tailor-cut Nazi-like uniforms, with the Rebels in looser and more ascetic overalls. With the exception of Anakin in the teenage years in Episode II and III and Luke Skywalker in Episode VI, black costumes seemed to have been reserved exclusively for the darker Empire and its Sith Emperor. Whether intentional or not, the use of language was dramatized — the Empire minions almost always spoke with British accents whilst most of the Rebels spoke unadulterated American English.

The sequel started in Episode IV with the obvious cliche — Darth Vader in matte and shiny black outfit, with Leia Organa in pristine white robes, alluding to the concepts of Good versus Evil. It also aligns with secular Enlightenment thought, based in reason (the light side) and passionate and often violent pre-WWI romanticism (the dark side). This aligns with the philosophy of most all religions, which emphasize rational thought and meditation as the path to enlightenment, as opposed to the "Dark Side", of violent passion and emotion. For example, Luke Skywalker is told to remain on Dagobah to complete his training rather than rescue his friends from Cloud City, because doing so will "destroy all for which they have fought and suffered.".

Star Wars stresses the self-destructive nature of fear, anger, and hate, summed up in Yoda's words ("Fear is the path to the dark side: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering"), as well as placing one's feelings for certain people aside. (See main article: Force (Star Wars)). The essential trademark of Star Wars' philosophy is its reliance on The Force, which closely resembles the Odic force of Karl von Reichenbach. He has also called the first movie's similarity to Akira Kurosawa's film The Hidden Fortress a "homage".

Lucas has stated that his intention was to create in Star Wars a modern mythology based on the studies of his friend and mentor Joseph Campbell. Starting as an apprentice, he grows to become the most powerful Master of his art in Kung Fu and rightfully settles old scores inflicted to his loved ones. The influence of Japanese pathos is obvious in the technique of the lightsaber being similar to the use of the Japanese Samurai swords, and the etiquette-conscious Jedi humility to the Japanese bows in greetings. In films of this genre, the protagonist almost always begins with a clear objective to avenge the death of someone dear (an old master, his father, or his entire family). The Star Wars films also show considerable similarity to Asian Wuxia "Kung Fu" films.

For example, Luke's relationship to his father shows evidence of influence from Greek tragedy. Many of the themes within Star Wars reflect elements of Greek tragedy, Roman mythology, and Japanese chambara such as the prominence of prophecy and the inability to control one's destiny. At a ShoWest convention, George Lucas stated that he is going to release all of the movies in 3-D. Many fans see this attitude as hypocritical, others argue that the types of alterations Lucas is opposed to are done without the consent of the artists involved in the original production, as opposed to changes he made to his own films.

Congress in opposition to colorizing black and white films (a position he has reiterated as recently as August 2004 [2] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5651949/)). Ironically, Lucas testified before the U.S. The fans' ire is increased by the impossibility of legally obtaining DVDs of the original releases. The re-release changes are a point of contention among fans, many claiming that they taint the movies.

After fan outcry that this ruins the introduction of Han as a rogue, the 2004 DVD release of the film edits the scene slightly so that both characters fire at the same time. In the 1997 re-release this scene has been changed so that Greedo shoots first (and misses terribly) and Han's shot is clearly in self-defense. For example, one of the more controversial of the changes is known by fans as "Han shot first": in the original release of the 1977 film, Han sits at a bartable with an alien named Greedo who tries to extort money out of him; Han casually shoots and kills the alien. Other changes affect plot or character development.

Some of the changes are cosmetic, such as adding new special effects which weren't possible with previous technology. In a September 2004 interview with AP (http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/20/film.qa.george.lucas.ap/), he explains his reasons for the changes:. The films underwent extensive clean-up and restoration work, and Lucas took advantage of this opportunity to make a number of changes. Episodes IV through VI were remastered and re-released (both theatrically and on VHS) during 1997, and again on DVD in September 2004.

George Lucas has tinkered repeatedly with the original trilogy. Tunisia has served as the location for filming scenes set on the desert planet Tatooine in A New Hope, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. The Phantom Menace was filmed at Leavesden Film Studios and the subsequent prequels were filmed in Sydney, Australia. All the original films were shot at, among other locations, Elstree Studios, in Hertfordshire, England.

There is, however, much Expanded Universe material devoted to that time period. There is much rumor and myth concerning a supposed third trilogy concerning the fall of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the New Republic, however, the original script did not contain any material after Return of the Jedi. He used this story as a guide when write Episode 1 to 3 in the late 1990's and early 2000's. He also wrote a back story to help him understand the relation of Vader, Luke, and Obi-Wan.

Lucas originally wrote the script for the first three movies as one film, but later decided to divide it into episodes. The sixth and final Star Wars film, Episode III, was released on May 19, 2005. The first film was released in 1977, and its novelization hit the shelves a year earlier. Due to countless problems during the filming, majority of critics and movie goers thought the film would bomb.

He went through several revisions, which helped provide plenty of material for the subsequent films. George Lucas conceived Star Wars in the early 1970s. Luke successfully resists the efforts of Vader and the Emperor to turn him to the Dark Side; instead, he turns his father back to side of good while the Rebel Alliance fleet scores a decisive victory to end the war. He trains to become a Jedi like his father, who he believes was killed by Darth Vader, and is despondent upon learning that his father is actually Darth Vader himself.

Episodes IV, V, and VI center on Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker. Restless for adventure, Luke joins the ragtag Rebel Alliance in its struggle to overthrow the evil Empire. After the final defeat of the Separatists and the near-extermination of the Jedi (with Vader's help), he declares himself Emperor of a new Galactic Empire. Sidious manipulates the Trade Federation into invading and occupying Naboo and secretly orchestrates a conflict between the Galactic Republic and a Separatist movement, the Confederacy of Independent Systems which he also controls. Episodes I, II, and III show Anakin Skywalker's rise as a gifted young Jedi and his eventual fall to the Dark Side of the Force as Darth Vader, under the influence of evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious.

For more detailed storylines, see the individual film articles.. Together these three films are known as the "original trilogy." After a hiatus of sixteen years, Lucas followed up with the "prequel trilogy" of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). After its popularity boomed, the episode number was added and it was followed by Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983). It was originally titled Star Wars without an episode number; it works as a standalone story, although Lucas claims it was always intended to be a part of a larger saga.

The first film released in the series, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), has been selected to The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress [1] (http://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html). This break from traditional science fiction films may have influenced the cyberpunk genre that emerged around 1984. In interviews, Lucas tells of rubbing the new props with dirt to make them look weatherworn, a concept he refers to as "a used future." He may have been inspired by Sergio Leone, whose 1960s films performed a similar function for the Western genre. Unlike traditional science fiction films preceding it, the Star Wars world, particularly of the original trilogy era, is portrayed as dirty and grimy rather than sleek and futuristic.

As far as location, all of the characters of Star Wars come from the same galaxy (except a race called Yuuzhan Vong introduced in a novel series dubbed New Jedi Order). Although it is unclear when the stories take place, the scope of the entire Star Wars fiction covers over 25,000 years, with the film series spanning only two generations. Lucas himself intentionally left the details open to interpretation. It may reflect that the films are to be interpreted as myths of the future, as opposed to literally meaning the events take place in the past.

This is an allusion to the classic fairy tale line "Once upon a time, in a faraway land...", and other variations thereof. The only clue given to indicate the time setting of Star Wars is the line that opens each film: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...". It is an excellent example of the space opera sub-genre of science fiction. The Star Wars story is set in outer space and employs archetypal motifs common to both science fiction and classical mythology.

In 2005, Forbes Magazine estimated the overall revenue generated by the entire Star Wars franchise (over the course of its 28-year history) at nearly $20 billion U.S., easily making it the most successful film franchise ever. The six-film series began in 1977 with the release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and has since become a pop culture phenomenon, spawning a major franchise of films, books, video games, television series, and other merchandising spin-offs. Star Wars is a series of science fantasy films created by writer/producer/director George Lucas. The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards is a Lucasfilm-sponsored contest of short films made by Star Wars fans about, referencing, and parodying the Star Wars phenomenon.

The Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage (1984) and Ewoks: Battle for Endor (1985) center on a family marooned on the forest moon of Endor. It is significant for introducing bounty hunter Boba Fett. It was greatly anticipated by fans, but then was just as greatly reviled due to its meager plot, lack of action, and nonsensical musical numbers. The Star Wars Holiday Special was a two-hour television special which aired during the 1978 holiday season.

The titles are parallel: "The Phantom Menace" and "A New Hope" can be seen as referring to Anakin and Luke Skywalker; "Attack of the Clones" and "The Empire Strikes Back" both refer to the galactic government mounting a military attack against a rebellion, while "Revenge of the Sith" and "Return of the Jedi" both refer to the ultimate victory of a decimated, Force-based religious order. In both cases, Anakin/Darth Vader comes to the aid of the weaker combatant (Palpatine himself in III- although most fans believe Palpatine was faking weakness, Luke in VI) begging him for aid while being electrocuted by Palpatine's lightning storm, and hurls the stronger combatant (Mace in III, Palpatine in VI) into a chasm. Also, in both episodes, Anakin is the observer to a life-or-death struggle between Palpatine and another opponent (Mace Windu in III, and Luke in VI). In the third part of each trilogy (Episodes III & VI), Palpatine encourages Anakin and Luke to finish off their defeated opponents - except that Anakin gives in to Palpatine's wishes, while Luke doesn't.

At the end of the middle episodes in the trilogy (Episodes II & V), the main protagonist (Anakin in II, Luke in V) puts his arm around the main female character (Padme in II, Leia in V) beside the two droids R2D2 and C-3PO. In the second part of each trilogy (Episodes II & V), the main protagonist suffers the loss of his right hand (Anakin, Luke). Both protagonist also abandon there duty ( Luke-jedi training;Anakin-protecting Padme)and go off in attempt to save his loved one(s). In the second part of each trilogy (Episodes II & V), the main protagonist both see visions of loved one(s) in danger: Luke- Han, Leia and the rest of his friends; Anakin- His mother.

In Episode I & IV, the main protagonist helps win a battle at the end of the film (Anakin destroys the Trade Federation Droid Control Ship, Luke destroys the Death Star).