Soon to destroy your bookshelf…Star Wars Frames

Imagine a high-quality coffee table book full of images picked by Papa George himself…well, that’s what you’re gonna get with Star Wars Frames, a limited edition six-volume set coming in January 2009. No word yet on how much it will cost but it is limited to 1,138 editions and it comes with an embossed case. Rebelscum.com posted that the set will weigh over 200 pounds! This doesn’t sound like it will be cheap at all. Read more here.

Have a Clone Wars Party

Want to celebrate CW’s release? Do you happen to have a birthday around that time? Hallmark’s got you covered with a whole line of CW-themed partyware scheduled to appear in stores in early August:

Party on, Anakin!

Vote for SW Fan Movie Challenge Finalists

The 2008 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge finalists have been selected. This year’s batch includes animation, mash ups (taken from actual footage from the saga), and original films. Choose from the likes of Ryan vs. Dorkman 2, a few Darth Maul-themed entries, The George Lucas Hip Hop Awards, and a Juno spoof called Padmé.

Votes must be cast by July 10. Visit atom.com to view the finalists and to vote!

ShopStarWars.com sells CW displays

Back in the ’90s and early ’00s, it was easy to get store displays and other promotional material from shops or restaurants no longer using them. I got giant window clings, a cardboard foldout Artoo, and other goodies from a Taco Bell FOR FREE after the Special Editions promotion in 1997. It was a little harder with TPM but I still managed to score some items and whatever I couldn’t get from store managers, I bought on eBay cheap. For instance, I bought a packaged Obi-Wan standee made to promote TPM’s video release for six bucks and a Pizza Hut Queen Amidala apron given exclusively to employees for less than $20. Good luck finding stuff like that now.

I don’t have a basement or anywhere else to store displays anymore but those of you who do have room but don’t want to pay inflated prices on eBay for stuff that may not be in mint condition when you receive them, you might want to check out ShopStarWars.com for some new CW displays. They include theater standees, window clings, and banners:

Click here!

Toys R Us Midnight Madness

Toys R Us will continue the Midnight Madness tradition to kick off the Clone Wars mini-blitz of merchandise, scheduled to drop July 26. The catch? Midnight Madness will be at only two locations nationwide: the flagship store in New York City’s Times Square and my local TRU in San Diego. The 25th just happens to be the same weekend as Comic Con, when hundreds of thousands of geeks descend upon America’s Finest City. Lucasfilm’s Steve Sansweet will be onhand for the fun and frolic at the San Diego store, as will yours truly!

Update: It now appears 225 stores nationwide will be participating in Midnight Madness. Click here to see if your local store is on the list.

McDonalds and Clone Wars: We’re Lovin’ It!

Just as you lost all of the weight you gained from Burger King’s Indiana Jones promotion, McDonalds will launch a Clone Wars promotion in August. This time fans kids can buy CW-themed Happy Meals which will undoubtedly come with cool toys to collect and play with.

NYT Talks to GL about CW

Check out this New York Times interview with Papa George on Clone Wars, which includes a couple of new pictures

Clone Wars clips online

Some very short clips from CW have been leaked! Check ‘em out here! Note: The site is in French.

A horse named Shmi

Some horse breeder/owner out there is a big SW fan. Of course, it always brings a smile to my face to see unexpected SW references but it’s the extra cherry on the cake when said SW ref is to a secondary prequel character:

Shmi Skywalker Should Show Some Force

Her mother was “Lady Skywalker,” hee hee!

More details on CW novels by Karen Traviss and Karen Miller

EU Cantina posted more info about a series of upcoming novels by Karen Traviss and Karen Miller:

http://www.eucantina.net/archives/801