UPDATE: Appears the events listing for movies in the park has been removed from Jefferson Square’s website. We’re looking into this. Thanks for the heads up Hannah. We want Star Wars in the park too!

According to Jefferson Square Park’s website, they are screening Star Wars in the park next week, on Wednesday, June 9th.

The screening starts at 8pm. The website currently says they are screening Star Wars, but they don’t specify which film. New Hope? Phantom Menace? Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure?

I guess we’ll find out. See you there, geeks.

Jefferson Square Park [ Events Page ]

Our good friends, the Pennsylvania Jedi, were on NBC’s “The 10! Show” on Monday, February 15th.

If you’ve never heard of the PA Jedi, you can read Dan’s in depth article about them, here. They’re a good group of fun people, and we always enjoy bumping into them at local conventions.

Congrats, guys and gals. We’re proud of you! Check out the video embedded below.

For more information on the PA Jedi, visit their official website.

If your like me if you have seen your fair share of Star Wars films but one thing that has always bothered me, where exactly do the title crawls go? I know they start the film off and kind of drift off, but where exactly are they headed? Well apparently I wasn’t the only one with that question and some very talented individuals put together a very slick short film to answer that. Check out the video below!

Speaking of zombies, a teaser for a Left 4 Dead fan film started to circulate the nets this week and it looks very promising to say the least. I love fan films, even though they might not have the budgets of bigger films there is a whole lot more heart in the details. I am always amazed at the ingenuity of the directors to come up with a big budget look using almost no budget at all.

If you check out the film’s website, apparently they are still in pre-production, but once the film is complete they plan on giving it away for free. I highly suggest if you like what you see, dropping them a donation.

Boba Fett with a lightsaber after the jump!

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It’s really interesting how all the hype around Avatar has drawn comparisons to the another “revolutionary” super-hyped sci-fi epic Star Wars: Episode One The Phantom Menace. I think it’s a very valid comparison in the marketing and buildup. Both were huge budgeted super secret films, shot in a revolutionary new way, where we were promised “to be whisked off to a far away galaxy, to see things we had never dreamed of seeing on the big screen.” Both were years in the making by a perfectionist auteur who would accept nothing less than his absolute vision. I remember having the same thoughts as I walked out of Avatar Friday night. But unlike Avatar you don’t have the fanboys renouncing their faith burning their Boba Fett bed sheets, like they did after spending an hour and a half with Jar-Jar Binks. I know personally after walking out of Episode One I lost quite a bit of respect for Lucas, which by Episode 3 had me feeling like an abused girlfriend, who fondly remember how good he was when he was he was The Empire Strikes Back.

I am not the only one who feels this way, there has been quite a few people drawing the same conclusions and thanks to that, I found the greatest review of Episode One ever. It’s a video review and clocks in at over 70 minutes spanning several parts on YouTube. But while it at times can be bizarre, it can also be spot on to the point of “why didn’t I notice that before?” My favorite part is his deconstruction of some of the web documentaries filmed during the production of Episode One(remember those?) where he notes the fear in people’s eyes when confronting Lucas about any decisions involving the production. Episode One was a completely “Independent” production, and Lucas had COMPLETE creative control and we learn how when no one will tell you your ideas sucks; the ideas can get pretty bad. Like when they show the faces of Lucas and his trusted inner circle when he first screened Episode One, they knew that someone should have told him the whole Midi-chlorians thing was a load of BS. I think enough time has passed that we can look objectively at this film and it’s legacy and no matter how creative you are sometimes you need to have an auditor, in case you decide to go basing all your characters on racial stereo-types. So enjoy and be warned some dialog maybe NSFW, so turn you speakers down first.

Well I know it’s not in Philadelphia, but this was quite honestly too good to miss. If there is one thing we love here on Geekadelphia more than Battlestar Galactica it’s Star Wars. Well Charles Ross who does the off-Broadway show One-Man Star Wars Trilogy will be coming to The State Theatre Regional Arts Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey January 30th for 2 shows at 6:00 and 9:00pm.

Ross has been doing the play since 2001 and it runs for approximately 75 minutes, with Ross playing all the characters and doing sound effects and score as well in some spots. The show is actually licensed by Lucasfilm, he did do a One-Man Lord of the Rings but was asked to stop by the intellectual property holder.  You can get tickets here. Thanks Rob!

With that, have a safe Halloween weekend, Philadelphia.

Thanks for the link, Steve!

It’s not very often I get to use the word eviscerated on Geekadelphia, but when I saw this cake I was reminded of that scene from Dawn of the Dead where the zombies… oh, you get the idea.  But needless to say when I saw this cake popping up on the blogs: while the idea sounded really cool like that sleeping bag, the delivery seemed somewhat horrific just look at that sad little look in the Tauntaun’s eyes.  I can just imagine what the mother-in-law probably thought of this.

Via the Official Star Wars Blog

No matter how big of a Star Wars fan you are, there is just something– dare I say– universally unappealing about the Star Wars Holiday Special. Maybe it’s the 15min long family Wookiee conversations punctuated by live performances of soft rock with trippy animations (no, not as cool as it sounds), but it’s just sort of… hard to get into. On a level of one to ten of general discomfort, I’m going to say, “These go to eleven.”

When my friend brought today’s hilariously accurate XKCD comic to my attention, how could I not post?!

I’m sure half of our readers probably have access to this cinematic holiday space abomination on VHS, but just in case you want to make your day more awkward, or need to remind yourself to never bring this subject around any woman you are romantically inclined toward, here is a link to watch– complete with commercials from 1978. Unfortunately, this does not include our boy Lando endorsing Colt 45.

Note: While the link is technically safe for work, I’m going to say you can take on the string soundtrack and wookiee sound effects at your own risk. And yes, I know it’s so bad it’s good sometimes… but remember, it’s mostly just bad.

It probably won’t look nearly as awesome as this.

Attn: Philly Star Wars Geeks. Come Sunday, November 15th, Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center will host Star Wars: In Concert.

The production is narrated live by Anthony Daniels, the guy who played C-3PO in all six Star Wars films, and features a symphony, choir, and visuals from the films on a three-story-tall, HD LED screen. The show synchornizes the live music and film elements to delivery an awesome Star Wars experience. According to the press release “the full dramatic sweep of [John] Williams’ scores can be heard performed live in one evening.”

Along with the show, there’s an exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork, and more, several of which are leaving George Luca’s house for the first time. Pages from John Williams’ sheet music, for example.

With tickets priced at $25, $55, and $75, this is certainly a pricey event. I’m hoping they’ll offer up discounts for those of us who only want to see the final half of the production. Cause as magical a production as this is going to be, NOTHING is magical about Episodes 1 through 3, except how they magically stole nine hours of my life that I’ll never get back.

You can get more details about the show on the official website.

Star Wars: In Concert @ the Wachovia Center
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
www.starwarsinconcert.com

Oh Zoe Lukas. We heart you.

This time, our favorite local baker whipped up (Get it? Cause she runs Whipped Bake Shop?) this amazingly detailed, hand-painted Yoda cake. You can view several photos of the cake on her Flickr page, as well as another snap after the jump.

It’s also worth mentioning that Zoe’s store will officially open next Wednesday, October 14th, at 636 Belgrade Street, the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. You can buy cupcakes in the store, talk about cakes, etc. You can check out snaps of the store under construction here. We’re super excited and happy for her and her husband, Brennen. Congrats you two. You’ve been hard at work for a while, and deserve all the success in the world.

Whipped Bake Shop
www.whippedbakeshop.com

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If you have been to a convention you’ve probably seen them, their colorful lightsabers and colorful costumes you really can’t miss them, they are the PA Jedi -  and among Star Wars fandom they are a unique bunch. This is probably due to the fact that they are not the most canon fan group out there. Canon for those of you not in the know basically means “authentic, from the movies or licensed media”. This is a big point of contention in many fandoms from Star Wars to anime, it’s a pretty big deal. Because while most groups like to see how accurate they can be to the films and media the PA Jedi Like to see how creative they can be with the world Lucas has given them.

I went to one of the PA Jedi’s meetings last Friday, they meet at St. Stephens Church Parish Hall every week. They are not affiliated with the church but do donate for using the space for their meetings.  When I was asked to do this quite I honestly I didn’t know what to expect. I arrived early as I normally do with every thing(nervous habit of mine), and was met with a nice couple Phoenix and Dale who were there early was well. I chatted with them a bit about the organization. They also showed me their custom made lightsabers, it’s here things start to get interesting. See unlike most fandom groups the PA Jedi not only want to look the part but they also train as the part as well.

The lightsabers some of them use are master replicas that are converted to be more durable, because they also use them to spar and train with. See, the way the really expensive master replica lightsabers are designed, heavy use will eventually shatter the LEDs in the blade – and when your fencing and fighting with your lightsaber on a regular basis this doesn’t bode well for said LEDs. The conversion as they call it changes the lighting system in the blade and they sometimes put a more durable blade onto the hilt as well.  Several members also custom make their own brand of home-made lightsabers made to hold up to the rigorous training it will need to withstand as someone learns the fighting style of the PA Jedi. (more…)