Well, we’ve reached the end of our Star Wars blog fest. In honor of today’s theatrical premiere of The Clone Wars, I’d like to finish up here with another type of animated Star Wars film…the parody.

I’d never heard of Robot Chicken before yesterday, because I don’t have cable television. But I’m glad I ran across this hilarious little morsel on the internet.

Cartoon Network’s popular Adult Swim series, Robot Chicken, created this 2007 Star Wars parody using stop motion animated toys & puppets. Funny man, Seth Green, directed the 22 minute episode which was nominated for an Emmy. It’s available for purchase on Amazon.com, but you can check out some clips right here:

If this merely wet your appetite for Star Wars parodies, you’ll be happy to know that there’s another Robot Chicken Star Wars episode in the works!

Many members of the voice cast from the first special, including original Star Wars actors Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams will lend their voices to the sequel.

This time around, the focus of the show will explore the stories of the bounty hunters. Robot Chicken Star Wars, Episode II, will premier on the Cartoon Network November 16th.

We’re continuing with our Star Wars theme this week. I thought it would be fun to show some Youtube clips of great costumes and creativity.

Star Wars (Sweded): A Cardboard Hope
We’ve talked about Sweding before. This video was made for the popular BeKindReWind’s sweding competition, and it’s very well done.

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Next we have a fine procession of costumers at the 2008 Motor City Con in Novi, MI. Darth Vader looks terrific, but what really impresses me is the costume of General Grievous.

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Star Wars: Attack of the Lightsaber Clone
And finally, the good people of Backyard FX, the masters of DIY filmmaking, put together a funny lightsaber video along with a tutorial for making your own weapon. Great stuff!

You know, George Lucas invented the lightsaber over 30 years ago. It’s rather hard to believe that our top scientists haven’t been able to make one for real. What’s up with that?

Disney knows a good thing when they see it. So they came up with their own line of Disney / Muppets Star Wars action figures.

The Disney action figures will be sold individually for $9.95, and include Mickey Mouse as Anakin, Minnie Mouse as Amidala, Goofy as Jar Jar, Donald Duck as Darth Maul, and Stitch as Yoda, available for sale inside Disney Theme Park gift shops.

Muppets Star Wars figures will be packaged separately or in a boxed set. Characters include Kermit as Luke Skywalker, Miss Piggy as Princess Leia, Beaker as C3PO, Fozzie as Chewbacca, Rizzo as Yoda, and Gonzo as Darth Vader. These figures are also for sale sale inside Disney Theme Park gift shops.

Just when you thought you were done collecting action figures…

You know how they say that life is stranger than fiction? Maybe that’s because sometimes life tries to mimic fiction but it doesn’t go so well.

This past weekend, Spencer Taylor, 20, of Three Rivers, Mich, tried to steal posters and other items related to the new Batman movie from a cinema lobby while dressed up as the Joker.

Unfortunately Spencer, who was wearing a purple suit, green wig and face paint in the style of the Dark Knight’s nemesis, is no criminal mastermind. He was detained by the theater employees until police arrived.

Now our young not-so-super villain may face larceny and malicious destruction of property charges.

Look’s like the joke is…on this joker.

Do you like superheroes and supervillains? Are you a fan of musicals? Then wait no longer.

Head on over to www.drhorrible.com to view Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!

It’s the story of a low-rent supervillain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.

This musical will be free to watch for one week only. After July 20th, 2008, the video will only be available for purchase on iTunes. A DVD packed full of fun extras will be released sometime in the near future.

For an additional back story of Capt. Hammer, be sure to check out his “Be Like Me!” Capt. Hammer online comic published by Dark Horse Comics.

 

And don’t forget to pick up your Dr. Horrible T-shirts!

So what are you waiting for? And be sure to tell your friends.

www.drhorrible.com

Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, is about to debut his newest creation: Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It’s a musical web series that will appear online in just a few weeks.

Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day, the story is about the evil Dr. Horrible and his nemesis, Captain Hammer.

It looks totally funny! Check out the teaser trailer:

Flight of the Conchords band members Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement

Just who are the Flight of the Conchords?

Well, either you love them, or you’ve never heard of them.

The self-proclaimed “fourth best band” from New Zealand, Flight of the Conchords are a musical comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Their music is simply awesome, and they are extremely funny as well. So good, in fact, that last year HBO gave them their own show.

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Does anyone remember The Greatest American Hero? It was on TV in the early 1980’s. Man, I LOVED, LOVED that show as a kid. I wanted my own suit in the worst way. Thankfully, now that the show is on DVD, I get to watch it all over again. There’s also rumors flying that a GAH movie will be made!

I want to talk a bit about the show, the spinoff pilot that never got picked up, and then take a look at some great fan-made costumes.

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Prince Caspian opens in theaters tomorrow, and all around the world, Narnia fans are rejoicing. The story is fantastic, the cinematography is breathtaking and the costumes are out of this world.

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The Dragonfly costume from Superhero Movie is up for auction on Ebay.

Direct from the set, this is Mike’s screenworn Dragonfly stunt costume. This hero stunt costume includes a green and black w/ black dragonfly on front and attached mask spandex zip up the back dragonfly superhero shirt, green and black w/ hard shoes inside spandex dragonfly superhero pants and a green and black w/ velcro belt that attaches to shirt w/ black buckle. Includes the original wardrobe tag.

This movie is a silly spoof on superheroes. It was released in theaters last March, and the DVD comes out this July, 2008.

Here’s the official movie trailer, if you haven’t seen it already:

MovieWeb is giving away an official costume from A&E’s upcoming miniseries, The Andromeda Strain.

The costume is an actual Wildfire Lab costume from Daniel Dae Kim’s Dr. Tsi Chou character in the mini-series!

The outfit consists of one pair of pants, two jackets, two t-shirts and one pair of shoes.

Click Here for complete contest information. One lucky winner will be randomly selected.

The Andromeda Strain premieres on A&E for a 2-night special event on May 26-27. The DVD will be released on June 3rd.

An entire town is killed by a mysterious virus brought to earth by a returning satellite. A search through the town reveals two survivors: a baby and an old man. Why the virus spared them could provide the key for immunizing the populace. A crack team of scientists isolates themselves with the survivors in an underground laboratory, and now they only have a few days to find a cure before the world is destroyed.

For more information on this miniseries, visit the Official Website.

With the new “The Incredible Hulk” movie coming out next month, I thought it would be fun to take a look at our giant green friend throughout the years.

“The Incredible Hulk” TV Show (1978)

Before CGI animation existed, the Hulk was played by *gasp* a live person. Bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno painted his skin green and played a pretty good Hulk.

The show ran for several years and was cancelled in its fifth season in 1982. Six years later, three “made for TV” movies were produced with Lou Ferringo reprising his role as the Hulk.

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Buzz is everywhere for summer blockbuster movies, and since the season is just beginning the stream should be steady.

Amidst that, a second trailer for Steven Spielberg’s new installment in the Indiana Jones series has just been turned loose and is already getting people pumped. Here’s the high quality version from the site.

So it’s not surprise that everyone is uncaging their retrolust for this movie. However, we have seen some IP rehashes that were less than what was expected. Indiana Jones movies have always been the perfect mix of fun, humor, action, adventure, and cheesy romance. We’ll see this time around if Spielberg still has it. As for me, I’m not getting psyched and overshooting my expectations.

How do you think this one will turn out. Leave some thoughts in the comments section.

This is probably the best fan-made costume I’ve ever seen! Custom molded and painted, this looks EXACTLY like the Iron Man suit in the movie. You can read more about the creation of this costume on the Replica Prop Forum.

All the armor parts are fanmade out of glassfiber with strong and sharp details, then carefully painted in rich red and gold colour. The midsection armor and neckseal is made from flexible plastic, painted in rich red colours. The gloves are made of foam rubber. The helmet comes with see through eye lenses. The lenses reflect light and does not allow anyone to see your eyes.

SIZE RANGE:
The armor is made to fit a person approx. size 6 -6.4 foot tall with from 32 - 38 inch waistline. Ideal size: 6.2 tall, 35 inch waistline, approx. 220 lbs.

Well done, sir. You are a costume master!

Well, today is an exciting day for Batman fans around the world. Lots of new promotional pictures and posters have been released for the upcoming “The Dark Knight” movie. Here at MyDisguises, we are salivating at all the costume goodness.

This movie keeps looking better and better!

Also, keep your eyes on this website - a new Dark Knight trailer will be released this Sunday.

In closing, I’d like to pay tribute to the 1960’s Batman TV show and the infamous “Batusi” dance. The Dark Knight sure has come a long way, hasn’t he?

Why so serious? Indeed.

According to a note posted on Mediumatlarge.net at least 64,000 people were in attendance at the New York Comic Con over this last weekend. That’s a hearty boost up from the previous year which rolled in just under 50k.

Yeah, comics and comic book culture are big in a big way. It seems to only be getting better too.

Put together the combined efforts of film, print media, and now a growing video game market and it makes a lot of sense. This kind of growth has been a common trend for the last seven years, and it looks to grow even more through 2008 with the big Iron Man release.

With so much going on, it’s hard to highlight just one thing. However, I’d say the emergence of Frank Miller’s new on screen project will do just fine. This time, Miller is taking on The Spirit in tribute to Will Eisner’s core comic classic. Fans will be watching this project and trying to keep pace with the success of the artsy combination of animation and live action that Miller does so well.

Here’s a bit of a teaser to sharpen your comic wits on for now…

2009 will be more than just the year before 2010.

It will also be the year that Dragonball Z superfans will emerge from their lairs to go see the live action film. Anime-to-film adaptation? You bet your tomagotchi, amigo.

Over a week ago a few leaked photos from the set and costumes made it onto the Internet and generated enough buzz to get the attention of Twentieth Century Fox Films. Naturally, to protect the IP and prevent rampant rumor spreading, they asked for the photos to be taken down. Fan reactions were all over the place, despite the work likely not being done.

So what was seen?

From the pulse we found around blogs and sites who had the pictures, it looks as though the makers are taking some liberties with the film and the outfits. How much of those are due to restrictions of translating manga to live action remain to be seen, but the general disapproval will prove to be a marketing obstacle if these unfinished photos spread too far. We’ll keep checking back to see how this story develops.

A Maker or Breaker Deal?

Donning a costume can be a hard task for a superhero, but it may not be as hard as making a Marvel film studio fly.

Well, hard or not, it’s happening. Marvel is working on releasing both Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk this year, and prospectively working on 2 more titles for ‘09. Purpose? Marvel wants to have a good deal of control over how their various IPs get thrown on screen. Heavy undertaking, if you ask us. In fact, Screen Rant reports that limiting factors may be putting this fancy goal on hold.

As the first film to be birthed by the studio, Iron Man appears to be setting them up all pretty. The movie has boasted so much buzz, that one hardly wonders about success. But amongst the rumors and scuttlebutt orbiting this new venture is the fear that the formula has already been overworked. From an article found in Newsday today:

Launching a major movie production company right now seems like a dicey venture. But the Marvel formula has been a spectacular success for other studios the past eight years. The self-doubting Spider-Man, the bickering Fantastic Four, the misunderstood X-Men and all the other Marvel misfits have racked up a stunning $5 billion in worldwide box office, most of that for Sony and Fox.

So the question is, has the genre already made its chunk of money? Investors may chomp at the bit to get a piece of this pie, but are there enough capes with compelling enough stories to make this juggernaut of an idea turn into marketable goods?

[Image via MyExtraLife.com]

We interview Scott Johnson for his take on the new Marvel Studios

We sent a few questions over to Scott Johnson, cartoonist and comic artist. Scott pristinely runs a couple of popular podcasts about World of Warcraft as well as comics and all things of the sort. Scott’s work is mostly shown either on his website, MyExtraLife, or on his Flickr page. In short, he knows his stuff. Here’s what Scott had to say:

MyDisguises: What do you think of Marvel starting their own film company? Do you think it will serve a need that hasn’t been served with other studios?

Scott: I think its actually a little weird. They should just leave it to the people in the know, and press more for creative control over their own property. Heck, maybe that’s why they are doing it in the first place. The film business is such a jungle sometimes.

MD: Is the whole comic-book-into-film thing hitting a dead end anytime soon? Most of the big names in comics have made it to film… is there much else out there to explore?

Scott: I think there is room to grow, but I think Marvel and others need to start working on building new character possibilities like folks at DarkHorse, Image and others have been doing.

MD: How vital do you think it is for Marvel to get this first film right? Will fans lose faith fast or will they trust the Marvel name?

Scott: I think the first movie that comes from this will make or break the deal. if they deliver the goods, then people are on board. If the first effort sucks rocks, then they are screwed.

MD: Now that Marvel has their own studio, do you think we’ll be seeing
some more obscure characters get some time on screen?

Scott: I hope so. Cable anyone? Oh yeah, baby.

MD: How do you think fans would respond to animated features by Marvel?

Scott: I think they will give it the one big shot, but they will be picky.

MD: Why do you think there are so many comic book characters that flop in film?

Scott: Because people don’t really think through the characters and such. Take movies like 300, Road to Perdition, the first Men in Black, Spiderman II, X-Men one and two…these movies were taken seriously by both the creators and the film makers and as a result, we got really great stuff. I think if you put really talented people on it that love the work, great things can and will happen.

With a couple of the big blockbusters set to hit this summer, we’ll find out soon enough.

The 80th Annual Academy Awards almost slipped by us under the Writer’s Guild strike, but alas we got our show. Sunday night, big films like No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood took home high honors. But, what about the costume design award?

The Nominees

Across The Universe - Set in an unsettled time, Across the Universe tackles the turbulent times of the 70’s. A young Englishman makes his way to the US and finds the woman he’s always dreamed of. Just as they delve into the world head first without want for caution, the Vietnam War hits and their world is changed.

Designer Albert Wolsky has credits to his name that need no explanation. Recently he did both Across the Universe and Charlie Wilson’s War, films with a taste for throwback appeal. As far as Universe goes, director Julie Taymor did an impeccable job echoing the feel for the psychadelic era in a way that a film should.

Atonement - We featured a bit about the movie Atonement earlier with Time magazine’s "best movie costumes" article. Jacqueline Durran, also noted for her awards with designing costumes for the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, has recieved a ton of clout for the costumes of this film. It’s with good reason too.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Who doesn’t love a good Tim Burton film with the clever macabre charm. Sweeney Todd originated a couple of decades back on the stage, and Burton has brought it back with Johnny Depp to the silver screen. Colleen Atwood has worked with Burton for a long time and has a significant list of heavyweight titles to her credits.

La Vie En Rose - Marit Allen is a first timer to the Academy Awards. Her work in the film La Vie En Rose is another tribute to early century European style. The film traces the life of famous French pop singer, Edith Piaf and the tragic events of her life. The movie premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and has had numerous awards and nominations since.

Alexandra Byrne Wins For Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Despite a long list of great achievements in film costuming, the winner of this year’s Academy Award went to Alexandra Byrne of Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Byrne has only costumed 8 films up through her work on Elizabeth. Nonetheless, she is used to getting recognition for her work. Being nomiated 3 times before for Hamlet (1996), Elizabeth (1998), and Finding Neverland (2004), Byrne exemplifies excellence in classic themed costume design. Beginning of a trend?

It turns out interesting that classic costumes seem to rule the pack when the Academy makes their vote. It’s a great lesson in the importance in imagination and style, but accurate detail to authenticity. Byrne’s work is likely to be commissioned by directors for a long time.

We have yet to see what 2008 will bring us, and we’ll probably make some suggestions along the way. However, for now the results are in and it looks like the choice was a good one. 

I can’t help but wonder a lot about this upcoming film. If you’ve seen the original G.I. Joe, and you know anything about the current political climate, it’s enough to make you rather do some quantum physics than figure this out. Nonetheless, Dennis Quaid is starring as General Hawk in the new G.I. Joe movie and this image has made itself apparent on the Internet.

According to slashfilm this appears to be a first emerging photo for the movie. Quaid talked about putting blonde streaks in his hair, and it makes sense if you see old images of General Hawk. Either way I’m sure it will work. We’ve gracefully entered a period where old cartoon and comic-to-movie adaptations have turned out pretty good. Quaid will star alongside Sienna Miller and Channing Tatum in the classic 80’s cartoon remake.