Apr 01
The winner of the next Star Wars fan film awards
…will be Fanboys. Period.
But let’s start from the beginning. I have seen Star Wars. And yes, I liked the making-of featurettes on Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace more than the actual film. Also: I have seen StarGeeks (and enjoyed it!), watched the guys with the lightsabers and slept through many of the more mediocre fan films. So, as the 80s-nerd-rules state for that: I am a guilty of being a film geek, with a hint of Star Wars geekiness.
Now, how in the world could it happen that I totally missed out the revolutionary things that were going on around Skywalker Ranch? George Lucas officially blessed a fan film project to enter the hallowed compounds of the ranch for filming? What’s the piece’s name: Fanboys? The only excuse can be that I am a Europe based blogger and by definition can’t hear about every rumor. To make up for that I promise to read AICN at least twice a day, for at least the next two weeks..
What happened? An article in the latest issue of Wired (read it online here) recreates the background story of surely one of the greatest fan films made about the Star Wars franchise so far. So for everyone like me, who has not heard of it yet, the basic plot is as follows:
A diehard Star Wars fan catches the news about the long awaited prequel to the three original Star Wars films, Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (imdb). A completely irrational fear overwhelms him: he might actually die before the film will be out! Soon after that, the plan is to break into Skywalker Ranch and get away with a first glimpse on the unreleased footage of the film, which should be in post production at the time.
Now, if you do research on the story of the films making itself, you will be surprised how much ups and downs there are. At first, writer Ernest “Ernie” Cline had trouble getting the legal side right, as his promising script violated numerous Lucasfilm rights. Nevertheless, the project started to gain momentum when the industry catched on and finally serious money entered. Kevin Spacey was the first to jump aboard, his company Trigger Street Productions secured first options. With the Hollywood star on their side, the script made its rounds and finally Harvey “The Big Man” Weinstein greenlighted production. Principal photography began on 22 February 2006. Yes, that’s two years ago! Now, where is the film?
The story continues: As the fans had a great impact on the production right from the start, the actual process of finishing and releasing such a small studio film, was destinned to head for discussion. At the center of the film’s plot is the young protagonist who is diagnosed with having cancer, the pivotal epicenter of the flick. The discussion whether this particular detail should stay in the film or not was the base for another two years of undecided limbo, a struggle the Hollywood Reporter details here.
Finally, it seems as the film will actually be released soon. So fanboys rejoice! You can follow the updates on theforce.com and sign up to be notified when the film is out on amazon.com (as Miramax is planning to do only a straight-to-video release).
Until that will be, time to petitition for the starwars.goeszen.com blog! Or kill some time here or here.
And, I haven’t read the rules so far: Does Fanboys actually qualify for the fan film award?
By the way: the deadline for this year’s Star Wars fan film awards is May 27th!
Related:
Don’t confuse with this film of the same name (older and fully downloadable)
