lucas

The sounds of 'Star Trek': This man makes them happen

NICASIO, Calif. -- Growing up in the 1960s, Ben Burtt was such a big "Star Trek" fan that when he went off to college at a school where he had no TV, he had his father record the audio from each week's episode and mail it to him.

Sitting in his dorm room, Burtt would listen to the shows with headphones on, taking in each new episode with no pictures. But he didn't need the video to understand what was going on. "It was so vividly portrayed with excellent sound effects," Burtt said, "… Read more

EA is the 'Star Wars' games company Disney is looking for

Disney and Electronic Arts said today that the two entertainment giants have signed an exclusive deal under which EA will begin developing and publishing a series of new "Star Wars" video games.

In a release, Disney and EA said that the new "Star Wars" games will be created for "a core gaming audience," and that they will be developed for "all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres."

However, while the deal was termed "exclusive," the announcement noted that Disney will still maintain the right to develop other new … Read more

Low Latency No. 58: Tragic Kingdom

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Friday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

Disney shuttering LucasArts, moving to licensed games model

Disney has shut down LucasArts, the video game arm of the Lucas entertainment empire, laying off its staff and ceasing its development of two forthcoming "Star Wars" games.

"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games," LucasFilm said in a statement. "As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have … Read more

Designers cram entire hotel room into a suitcase

Hotels can be a hassle. You have to read reviews, check booking sites, arrange transportation, and sometimes deal with noisy neighbors. If you got a Hotello instead, you could just pop open your hotel room wherever you felt like it and settle in for some quality work or nap time.

Hotello is a concept portable hotel room and working space created by architect Antonio Scarponi and artist Robert de Luca for Swiss design group Das Konzept. The whole thing packs down into a red trunk with wheels on the bottom, so you could conceivably carry it with you, though it would have to go into checked baggage on a plane, and you'd probably have to cough up a lot of extra luggage fees.… Read more

Harrison Ford: I think 'Star Wars' reunion will happen

Will "Star Wars" fans see Luke, Leia, and Han pop up in the next film? Harrison Ford certainly thinks so.

Rumors have soared lately over whether the trio would reprise their classic roles in "Star Wars: Episode VII," which is expected to be released in 2015. George Lucas and Carrie Fisher have churned up those rumors with their own off-the-cuff comments. Now the man who brought Han Solo to the screen has chimed in with some tidbits of his own.

Ford is on tour to promote "42," a film about Jackie Robinson in which … Read more

Lucas hints Ford, Fisher, Hamill will be in new 'Star Wars'

If you've ever watched "Entourage," you'll know how Hollywood studios like to control things.

If you've ever watched "Entourage," you'll know how funny it is when they don't.

It is appearing increasingly possible that there might be a few Hollywood weaves being torn out at the latest pronouncements about the projected new "Star Wars" movies.

The story so far: Carrie Fisher said that she would reprise her role as Princess Leia in the latest "Star Wars" adventure.

Then her rep said she was joking. … Read more

Carrie Fisher back as Princess Leia? Hmm, not so fast

There seems to be a great disturbance in the Force.

Was Carrie Fisher pulling fandom's collective legs when she said she'd be returning to the Star Wars universe to reprise her role as Princess Leia?

In a recent interview with Palm Beach Illustrated, Fisher gave a simple "yes" when asked to confirm if she'll be putting on the buns and bikini in the next Star Wars trilogy. Fisher joked that Leia would be elderly and living in an intergalactic old folks' home but said the princess would "be just like she was before, only … Read more

Carrie Fisher to return as Leia in new 'Star Wars' films?

Update, March 7 at 9:18 a.m. PT: A representative for Fisher says she was just joking about signing up for a future Star Wars film and that nothing has been announced. You can read our full story on that here.

The Force seems to be growing stronger with the upcoming new "Star Wars" films.

Actress Carrie Fisher will return to a galaxy far, far away to play the role of Princess Leia in the next "Star Wars" movie.

In an interview with Palm Beach Illustrated, Fisher gave a simple "Yes" when asked … Read more

'Star Wars' spin-offs said to focus on Han Solo and Boba Fett

The first two "Star Wars" spin-off films will focus on Han Solo's origin story, and the "rogue's gallery of galactic scum" in bounty hunter Boba Fett's world, Entertainment Weekly reported today.

Yesterday, Disney announced that it would be releasing a series of spin-off films built around individual "Star Wars" characters and produced alongside three forthcoming full-length "Star Wars" sequels. According to EW, the first two side projects will be about a young Han Solo and about Boba Fett.

"Several sources close to the projects confirmed this was the direction the development was taking," EW wrote, "although each cautioned it's still very early in the process, and, well, the deal could always be altered further." … Read more