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Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and Weapon of mass destruction, superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' Space opera, space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves to enforce the Empire's reign of terror. Appearing in the original 1977 film Star Wars (film), ''Star Wars'', the Death Star serves as a central plot point and setting for the movie, and is destroyed in an assault by the Rebel Alliance in the climax of the film. A larger Second Death Star is constructed in the events of the film ''Return of the Jedi'' featuring substantially improved capabilities compared to its predecessor, however it too is destroyed by the Rebel Alliance while under construction. Since its first appearance, the Death Star has become a cultural icon and a widely recognized element of the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It inspired numerous similar superweapons in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
From The Adventures Of Luke Skywalker
''Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker'' is the novelization of the 1977 film ''Star Wars'', ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, but credited to George Lucas. It was first published on November 12, 1976, by Ballantine Books, several months before the release of the film. In later years, it was republished under the title ''Star Wars: A New Hope'' to reflect the retroactive addition of a subtitle to the film in 1981. Although the book contains some differences from the film, it also includes references to Palpatine and his rise to power in the prologue, setting up the backstory for future films. Development The book was written by Foster and based upon Lucas's screenplay for the first ''Star Wars'' film. On how he got the job, Foster said: My agent got a call from Lucas's lawyer of the time, Tom Pollock (now one of the most powerful men in Hollywood). Someone had read a book of mine, '' Icerigger'', knew that I had already done novelizations, and thought I might be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of novels or short stories, cover a wide range of genres and are noted for their innovative cinematography, Black comedy, dark humor, realistic attention to detail and extensive set designs. Kubrick was raised in the Bronx, New York City, and attended William Howard Taft High School (New York City), William Howard Taft High School from 1941 to 1945. He received average grades but displayed a keen interest in literature, photography, and film from a young age, and taught himself all aspects of film production and directing after graduating from high school. After working as a photographer for ''Look (American magazine), Look'' magazine in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he began making short films on shoestring budgets, and made his first major Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Praxis Effect
''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' is a 1991 American science fiction film directed by Nicholas Meyer, who directed the second ''Star Trek'' film, ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Wrath of Khan''. It is the sixth feature film based on the 1966–1969 ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek'' television series. Taking place after the events of ''Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'', it is the final Star Trek (film series), film featuring the entire main cast of the television series. The destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis leads the Klingon Empire to pursue peace with their longtime adversary, the United Federation of Planets, Federation; the crew of the Federation starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A), USS ''Enterprise'' must race against unseen conspirators with a militaristic agenda. After the critical and commercial disappointment of ''The Final Frontier'', the next film was initially planned as a prequel, with younger actors portraying the crew of the ''Enterp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CalArts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual and performing arts. It offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees through its six schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater. The school was first envisioned by many benefactors in the early 1960s, staffed by a diverse array of professionals including Nelbert Chouinard, Walt Disney, Lulu Von Hagen, and Thornton Ladd. CalArts students develop their own work, over which they retain control and copyright, in a workshop atmosphere. History CalArts was originally formed in 1961, as a merger of the Chouinard Art Institute (founded 1921) and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music (founded 1883). Both of the formerly existing institutions were going ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Imhoff
Gary Lee Imhoff is an American actor. He was a teacher at Milton Katselas' Beverly Hills Playhouse. Imhoff teaches The Professional Artists Workshop and The Musical Artists Workshop at The Whitmore-Lindley Theatre in North Hollywood, California. Imhoff is probably best known for playing Curtis Estabrook on the TV series ''Falcon Crest'' and for providing the voice of Prince Cornelius in the Don Bluth film ''Thumbelina (1994 film), Thumbelina'' and Harry Osborn in the 1994 ''Spider-Man (1994 TV series), Spider-Man'' animated TV series. He is a Scientology, scientologist. Television *''Another Day (TV series), Another Day'' (1978) - Peter Sloane (2 episodes) *''The Runaways (TV series), The Runaways aka Operation Runaway'' (1978) - Danny (1 episode) *''How the West Was Won (TV series), How The West Was Won'' (1979) - Lt. Barker (1 episode) *''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1979) - Richard (1 episode) *''Barney Miller'' (1979) - Joseph Hutton (1 episode) *''The Waltons'' (1980) - Roland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Cuba
Larry Cuba (born 1950) is a computer-animation artist who became active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Born in 1950 in Atlanta, Georgia, he received A.B. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1972 and his Master's Degree from California Institute of the Arts which includes parallel schools of Dance, Music, Film, Theater, Fine Arts, and Writing. The Cal Arts faculty included abstract animator Jules Engel, Expanded Cinema critic Gene Youngblood, and special effects artist Pat O'Neill. In 1975, John Whitney, Sr. invited Cuba to be the programmer on one of his films. The result of this collaboration was ''Arabesque''. Subsequently, Cuba produced three more computer-animated films: ''3/78 (Objects and Transformations)'', ''Two Space'', and ''Calculated Movements''. Cuba also provided computer graphics for '' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' in 1977. His animation of the Death Star is shown to pilots in the Rebel Alliance. Cuba received grants for his work from the American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA and managed by the nearby California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The laboratory's primary function is the construction and operation of planetary robotic spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions. It is also responsible for operating the NASA Deep Space Network. Among the laboratory's major active projects are the Mars 2020 mission, which includes the ''Perseverance'' rover and the '' Ingenuity'' Mars helicopter; the Mars Science Laboratory mission, including the ''Curiosity'' rover; the InSight lander (''Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport''); the ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter''; the ''Juno'' spacecraft orbiting Jupiter; the ''SMAP'' satellite for earth surface s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starwars Explosion
''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture Cultural impact of Star Wars, phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into List of Star Wars films, various films and Star Wars expanded to other media, other media, including List of Star Wars television series, television series, Star Wars video games, video games, List of Star Wars books, novels, List of Star Wars comic books, comic books, List of Star Wars theme parks attractions, theme park attractions, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. ''Star Wars'' is one of the List of highest-grossing media franchises, highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The original film (''Star Wars''), retroactively subtitled ''Episode IV: A New Hope'' (1977), was followed by the sequels ''The Empire Strikes Back, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matte Painting
A matte painting is a painting, painted representation of a landscape, set (film and TV scenery), set, or distant location that allows filmmaking, filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques to combine a matte-painted image with live-action footage (compositing). At its best, depending on the skill levels of the artists and technicians, the effect is "seamless" and creates environments that would otherwise be impossible or expensive to film. In the scenes, the painting part is static while movements are integrated on it. Background Traditionally, matte paintings were made by artists using paints or pastels on large sheets of glass for integrating with the live-action footage. The first known matte painting shot was made in 1907 by Norman Dawn American Society of Cinematographers, (ASC), who improvised the crumbling California Missions by painting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began production on the original ''Star Wars'', now the fourth episode of the Skywalker Saga. ILM originated in Van Nuys, California, then later moved to San Rafael in 1978, and since 2005 it has been based at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio of San Francisco. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired ILM as part of its purchase of Lucasfilm. History Lucas wanted his 1977 film ''Star Wars'' to include visual effects that had never been seen on film before. After discovering that the in-house effects department at 20th Century Fox was no longer operational, Lucas approached Douglas Trumbull, best known for the effects on '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) and '' Silent Running'' (1972). Trumbull declined as he was already commit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adventure strip. Creation The ''Buck Rogers'' comic strip had been commercially very successful, spawning novelizations and children's toys, and King Features Syndicate decided to create its own science fiction comic strip to compete with it. At first, King Features tried to purchase the rights to the ''John Carter of Mars'' stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. However, the syndicate was unable to reach an agreement with Burroughs. King Features then turned to Alex Raymond, one of their staff artists, to create the story. One source for Flash Gordon was the Philip Wylie novel ''When Worlds Collide'' (1933). The themes of an approaching planet threatening the Earth, and an athletic hero, his girlfriend, and a scientist traveling to the new planet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Stears
John Stears (25 August 1934 – 28 April 1999), known as the "Dean of Special Effects", was a British two-time Academy Award-winning special effects expert. He created James Bond's lethal Aston Martin DB5, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, the Jedi Knights' lightsabers and the robots R2-D2 and C-3PO, as well as a host of other famous movie gadgets and special effects. Life and family John Stears was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex (now part of Greater London), on 25 August 1934, and grew up in nearby Ickenham. Stears studied at Harrow College of Art and Southall Technical School before working as a draughtsman with the Air Ministry. He served as a dispatch rider during his National Service, then joined a firm of architects where he was able to utilise his passion for model-making by constructing scale models of building projects for clients. For most of his life he lived at Welders House in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, where he reared cattle and his wife ran the Livny Borzoi Kennels, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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