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The collector investment resell value of this Lego set just skyrocketed thanks to the cultural and racial hypersensitivity of those looking to be offended by anything and everything in the world. Why? Back in January, a Turkish cultural group in Austria became outraged over a Lego set: Lego has been accused of racism by the Turkish community over a Star Wars toy allegedly depicting a mosque. The critics claim that the Jabba's Palace model, part of Lego's Star Wars range, offends Muslims as it resembles the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul - one of the world's most renowned mosques. Members...

On March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech that horrified the liberal establishment of the time: his call for a Strategic Defense Initiative. Ronald Reagan was not your typical politician. The only president born and raised in Illinois (yes, Lincoln, Grant, and Obama moved to Illinois as adults, but only Ronald Reagan grew up there), he came to politics with a heartland sensibility: do what makes sense, do what’s right; don’t worry about what the elites from the Ivy League or Foggy Bottom insist upon. Reagan came to party activism late in life, running for public office for...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Nobody's going to win an Emmy for a parody of the TV show "Star Trek" filmed by Internal Revenue Service employees at an agency studio in Maryland.</p> <p>Instead, the IRS got a rebuke from Congress for wasting taxpayer dollars.</p>

When Star Wars: Episode VII was first announced, it seemed like the entire world had exploded, Alderanian-like with excitement. Star Wars themed news was spewing out of every orifice of movie information, most of which turned out to be nothing more than pure speculation and the delayed fantasies of fan-boys the world over. Since then we’ve all calmed down a bit. The clean up after our Star Wars themed binge party has begun and now we’re actually getting some solid details. J.J. Abrams will direct, Toy Story 3‘s Michael Arndt will scribe, and it looks like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill...

Missile Defense: As Pyongyang threatens a nuclear strike, the administration says our missile defenses can handle anything they can throw against us or our allies. If so it's not because of anything the president did. 'I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday after North Korea's raging runt, Kim Jong-un, said Pyongyang was scrapping the 1953 armistice deal that ended the Korean War. He threatened a "preemptive" nuclear strike against the U.S. Carney added that "our recent success in returning...

George Lucas Says Original 'Star Wars' Trio Returning for New Film It appears the Force is still strong with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. In an interview posted online Thursday, George Lucas said the trio from the original "Star Wars" trilogy will reprise their iconic roles of Hans Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in the new "Star Wars" film. Lucas told Bloomberg Businessweek that all three were signed for the new "Episode VII" film in advance of Lucasfilm's $4 billion purchase by Disney. "We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison _ or were pretty much...

Many Freepers have been commenting on the most recent Star Wars casting rumors http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2994628/posts. But one comment gives inspiration for an inquiry. The gist of it was that Lucas HAS to use the original actors. But suppose you didn't want to engage in heavy make-up or CGI trickery to present Hammil, Fisher and Ford as youthful characters in their beloved roles. You are asked to pick some of today's performers to step into their shoes. So...IF you were to cast Episode VII as though it was picking up where Return of the Jedi left off: Who would you cast ast...

Another day, another Star Wars rumor -- though this one is more trustworthy than most. In a new profile in Bloomberg Businessweek, George Lucas and Disney executives discuss the long road that led to the purchase of Lucasfilm in October. Of particular interest for fans of the movies is the fact that Lucas confirms that he had begun talks with original Star Wars stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford to have them return to the franchise for its new films -- before he had even begun the process of the corporate offloading. "We had already signed Mark and...

J.J. Abrams, I hope you’re reading this. I know you love to collaborate with Michael Giacchino. He’s done some great works including the Medal of Honor theme, Up, Star Trek and Ratatouille. With Star Trek, it was okay that you went with Giacchino, since the Star Trek franchise has had many different composers over the years. Star Wars music, however, is synonymous with John Williams. He already struck out when it came to who was going to compose the Man of Steel movie. The winner went to Hans Zimmer, the same guy who took over Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy from...

William Shatner is a man who has never been shy about expressing his opinion of Star Trek Into Darkness (and future Star Wars: Episode VII) director J.J. Abrams. During a recent press junket to promote Escape From Planet Earth, the original Captain Kirk had a few words for Abrams. During the interview, Shatner discussed Abrams along with his thoughts regarding the possible homogenization of the science-fiction film genre.

Stuart Freeborn, the British make-up artist renowned for his contributions to 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Star Wars films, has died at the age of 98. Largely self-taught, his six-decade career saw him create make-up and prosthetics for such cinematic legends as Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers.

The Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO confirmed on Tuesday that there are indeed films in development, in addition to the already announced trilogy of new "Star Wars" entries beginning with Abrams' "Episode VII." "There has been speculation about some stand-alone films that have been in development, and I can confirm to you today that in fact we are working on a few stand-alone films," Iger said on CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo." Iger's confirmation of "Star Wars" stand-alone films comes in the middle of new rumors surrounding that galaxy far, far away. On Monday evening, Ain't It Cool...

Abrams was frequently cited as a fan-favorite pick for the "Star Wars" job, but his connection to the "Star Trek" series seemingly took him out of the running. Abrams even clarified in a December interview that he was approached by Lucasfilm to direct the new "Star Wars" movie, but he passed out of loyalty to "Trek." "[Lucasfilm president] Kathy Kennedy is a friend and there are no smarter producers," he said at the time. "It's in great hands. There were the very early conversations and I quickly said that because of my loyalty to 'Star Trek,' and also just being...

Star Trek Into Darkness helmer J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII for Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm, reports TheWrap. The site says that Ben Affleck was also in contention.

Lego has been accused of racism by the Turkish community over a Star Wars model that supposedly resembles one of Istanbul’s most revered mosques. tria’s Turkish community said the model was based on Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul and that the accompanying figures depicted Asians and Orientals as people with “deceitful and criminal personalities.” The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria released a statement calling for Lego to apologise for affronting religious and cultural feelings. The anger was provoked by “Jabba’s Palace”, a model of the home of Jabba the Hutt from Lego’s Star Wars product range based on the blockbusting...

WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO: Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016. Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016. By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.

'When 'Star Wars' came out in 1977, folks went nuts speculating about the sequel. The rumour mill threw up all kinds of crazy story ideas for 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi' - from time travel to vampire aliens. Without the internet, it fell to legendary sci-fi rag 'Starlog' to collate the fevered imaginings of bearded super-fans. Here's a few of our favourites. We hope the rumours for 'Episode VII' are just as outlandish.'

I don't know out rules on Fox, but suffice it to say they mention a bunch of actors and actresses I have never heard of.

BREAKING…. Disney has just confirmed that it has agreed to acquire George Lucas‘ Lucasfilm Ltd, and that includes rights to the Star Wars franchise that will now continue on. The companies have targeted a 2015 release for Star Wars: Episode 7, with Episode 8 and Episode 9 to follow as the the long-term plan is to release a new feature every two or three years. “The last Star Wars movie release was 2005’s Revenge Of The Sith – and we believe there’s substantial pent-up demand”, Disney said. The deal also includes rights to the Indiana Jones franchise. The stock and...

The Walt Disney Company announced Tuesday it has agreed to buy Lucasfilm, which includes the Star Wars franchise, for $4.05 billion in cash and stock from George Lucas. The deal includes a tentative release date of Stars Wars Episode 7, along with the possibility of growing the franchise with more feature films. “Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement. Current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, will become President and report to Walt Disney Chairman Alan Horn. “This...