Roundup 7.28.11: STAR WARS
Scouring the Holonet so you don’t have to!
[Main photo by Dani Gillihan]
A Partial Victory Against the Lucas Empire
The British Supreme Court struck a blow against Lucasfilm this week when it decided that Andrew Ainsworth could continue creating and selling replicas of the famed Stormtrooper helmets in the UK.
The ruling determined that the helmet replicas created by Ainsworth “were not covered by copyright law because they were not works of art.” Ainsworth made many of the Stormtrooper helmets used as props in the 1977 movie and has been using the same molds to produce the replicas.
Lucasfilm did prevail on one count; the court ruled that Ainsworth could not export the helmets to the U.S. Ainsworth did not appear concerned with the setback, stating, “We don’t export to the US, so it doesn’t affect us. We export everywhere else: Australia, Singapore…”
Lucasfilm did release a statement aimed at deterring any who might be emboldened by the court’s ruling. In it they affirmed its goal of “aggressively protecting its intellectual property rights…in the UK and around the globe.”
The Droids Gamers Are Looking For
Did you finally get one of those spiffy XBox slim consoles? If no, then wait a couple of months; if yes, then you are in the same unenviable position as other Xboxing Star Wars fans. Microsoft has announced a new Star Wars-themed Xbox 360 bundle just in time for the release of Star Wars Kinect!
With an all-new color scheme that resembles everyone’s favorite Astromech, the R2D2 Xbox is looking great! Blue Paneling straight from Artoo’s body conceal USB ports and the disc drive (which conceals a secret message!) while the gold C-3PO controller has a custom paint job that mimics the exposed wiring of Threepio’s torso. Coupled with a new 320GB hard drive, a Stormtrooper-white Kinect sensor and the new Star Wars Kinect video game, this Xbox bundle is the ultimate Star Wars gamer’s weapon in the galaxy. Microsoft suggests you buy it.
The bundle will be released in time for the holidays with a $450 price tag.
It’s as though millions of wallets cried out in terror, then were suddenly silenced. Time to sell that boring black XBox and start saving. Hit the link below for some good shots of the bundle’s various components.
[MORE at Gizmodo] [MORE at Xbox.com]
More Cool LEGO Star Wars Stuff
Did you hear they re-released the LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon? Did you watch the LEGO Star Wars TV special on Cartoon Network? LEGO Star Wars is everywhere, and now a new book is coming. From the preview recently offered on Starwars.com, it is looking good!
DK Publishing is bringing the LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia to retail this fall, spotlighting “the hundreds of LEGO Star Wars figures produced to date.” From the publisher:
“Organized in order of their appearance in the Star Wars movies, each LEGO Star Wars minifigure has a full-page character profile with lots of fascinating facts. LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia features over 400 captivating images. Each minifigure’s profile page has a full image of the minifigure along with picture boxes showing interesting unseen elements, images of any rare versions of the minifigure, and set images when a set is of special interest.”
Included with the book will be an exclusive Han Solo minifigure, which looks to be a likeness of Solo from the end of A New Hope, smiling and proudly wearing his “Blow up the Death Star” medal. (Chewie gets to wear it every other weekend.)
LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia is due October 3, 2011. Be sure to hit the link below for some preview shots of the book.
