Fan-created Star Wars Spinoff in The Works

Lazarian writes "According to an article from the Edmonton Sun, director Mark Twitchell from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology has begun filming Star Wars: Secrets of the Rebellion, a non-profit venture expected to be released in 2008. From the article: "The 27-year-old Edmonton director begins shooting a feature-length independent Star Wars spin-off film at NAIT Saturday, and has amassed $60,000 to bring his dream to life. "I'm the only guy crazy enough to do this, because I'm not allowed to turn a profit. The film is for hardcore fans who miss the character development of the original trilogy.""

Too bad IMPS died.

[the linux geek]

I actually really enjoyed chapter one of IMPS: The Relentless (impstherelentless.com) but it seems to have died. It's a pity; that was probably the best SW fanfilm out now.

Democracy does work!

[andrewman327]

This has the most potential of any story I've read on /. in a while. Like many geeks, I was terribley disapointed by the three prequels. One of my bigger complaints is the heavy handed use of digital effects. Considering this film's budget, I doubt that that will be a problem.

Re:Obligatory ...

[Mayhem178]

downfall of the Jedi, the theft of the Death Star blueprints, and the Empire's efforts to reclaim them.

There's 18 years seperating the first event and the second/third event in that list. That's a lot of time to span. Plus, you have to consider that that timespan has already been spoken for in the upcoming Star Wars television series [bbc.co.uk].

99% of all Star Wars Fanfilms suck

[mrshowtime]

I think most Star Wars Fan films do try and not suck, but mostly all of them end up becoming a lightsaber/cgi fest with no story or plot. Ironically, much the same could be said about the "new" trilogy. The only good fanfilm I have seen that is coming out is http://www.tydirium.tv/ [tydirium.tv] they actually built a huge Star Destroyer model and had real sets.

Re:Star Wars Kid

[Aladrin]

Why? That kid won his frivolous lawsuit and already has all the money/fame he deserves. Before he won it, there was still the chance he's see sense and drop it and I was for giving him a role in an official Star Wars movie. Now, forget it. He lost his chance for something real, instead of just being a jerk.

Yeah, I get that he was humiliated in front of all of mankind. I also get that he used the school's very expensive equipment wrecklessly and without permission. Maybe the school should now sue him for that $60k he just won in his lawsuit.

Re:Between Eps III and IV?

[Motterman]

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category= 3&id=35849&type=0 [scifi.com] Rick McCallum, George Lucas' longtime Star Wars producing partner, told SCI FI Wire that future projects are a ways off, including a live-action TV show that is at least a year and a half away. "Star Wars TV series, probably not for a couple of years," McCallum said in an interview at the Saturn Awards in Universal City, Calif., on May 2. "George is starting to start the basic concept of it. ... We're interviewing writers. We're seeing a lot of people. But I'd say it's not going to be happening for another at least 18 months." McCallum also denied rumors that the new series would focus on members of the Skywalker family, but repeated that the show will take place in the timeframe between Episode III and IV. "All-new characters," he added. "That missing 20-year period when Luke is growing up. ... Think bounty hunter. That's all I can tell you. There's nobody else that you'll know [in it]. At the moment. You know, it's still [in] really, really early stages. He hasn't really sat down to think about which direction [he's going]."

Re:SFX and quality

[bahamat]

That isn't true. Take for example Battlestar Galactica. The ships in BSG look like they've gotten the shit kicked out of them on more than one occasion, and they're all done in CGI. Scale models can look just as pristine as CGI. It's all about the level of detail the producer deems necessary. Ron Moore gives a shit about his product and George Lucas obviously doesn't. That's all there is to it.