Stormtroopers Arrest Santa

Report from Gizmodo.com:

SANTA’S FACTORY, North Pole (Agencies) – An Imperial Stormtrooper commando broke into Santa’s Factory in the North Pole yesterday evening, killing an undetermined number of elves, arresting the owner and confiscating his sled. Joe Kwazansky, local spokesman for the Evil Galactic Empire in Los Angeles, appeared in a press conference this morning confirming the rumors of an Imperial takeover of Christmas’ celebrations. “The Emperor wants to assure His subjects that Xmas will continue as planned. The pug-nosed fatso, however, will pay for his crimes,” Mr. Kwazansky said amidst the palpable shock in the press corps. Apparently, the arrest has occurred in connection with earlier reports on the manufacturing and stealth placement of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Read full story here:
Imperial Stormtroopers Arrest Santa, Emperor to Take Over Xmas

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SOURCES:
Gizmodo, Club Jade

The Force is with the Sydney Symphony

(Photo from The Daily Telegraph)

Stormtroopers from the Terror Australis 501st Garrison posed outside the Sydney Opera House with two violinists ahead of concerts featuring the work of Star Wars music composer John Williams.

Science fiction met classical tradition as violinists Alex Mitchell and Emma West proved they have more than one string to their bow when they braved hordes of tourists.

Read all about it here.

And learn all about the 501st Garrison in Australia:
Know A Legion: Terror Australis Garrison

Jabba the Puppet

Every year the 501st Legion’s New England Garrison marches in the Woburn, MA Halloween parade. Last year their float featured Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader re-enacting The Empire Strikes Back “I am your father” duel. This year it’s Jabba’s palace, featuring a full sized Jabba the Hutt puppet!

Check out the video here.

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SOURCE: ClubJade.net

Darth Vader Teams Up with Dolby in Japan

Throughout the last 30 years Dolby and Star Wars have formed a strong symbiotic bond in providing the ultimate entertainment experience. So it was no surprise when Dolby teamed up with the 501st Legion’s Japanese Garrison to attract conference attendees to its booth at CEATEC Japan — one of the largest Consumer Electronics shows in the Asia Pacific region which took place from October 2-6. Darth Vader, accompanied by the Emperor’s Royal Guard and stormtroopers, was on hand to patrol the Dolby booth and attract conference attendees to Dolby demonstrations at the show.

The Force was strong with Dolby and the 501st Legion as thousands of attendees witnessed Dolby unveil its latest entertainment technologies. These included Dolby 3D Digital Cinema for movie theaters, Dolby Vision and Dolby Contrast to improve LCD TVs with LED backlighting as well as Dolby Volume.

Check out the photos from the event here.

Snapshots from Renegade Squadron Launch Party

In honor of the launch of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and the Sony Star Wars Battlefront PSP Entertainment Pack, Sony and LucasArts threw a launch party at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco.

Check out the photos here:
Renegade Squadron Launch Party

501st Legion in the Record Books

The new 2008 Guinness Book of World Records now lists the 501st Legion as the world’s “Largest Star Wars Costume Group.”

According to 501st.com:

Page 174 of the newly-published book features a write-up and photos of the stormtroopers from the 2007 Rose Parade. Click here for a photo of the page.

Congratulations to everyone in the 501st Legion!

To read more about the 501st, check out our Know a Legion series on starwars.com.

Stormtroopers Invade Weird Al Concert

(photo by Bob DeSimone)

A recent concert review in New York Magazine reveals that our favorite comedian/singer/curly-haired god — Weird Al — invited the Empire City Garrison of the 501st Legion which included a Darth Vader, two sandtroopers and 10 stormtroopers to come up on stage with him — impressing fans including this music critic!

The evening’s undeniable highlight was the half-hour mash-up of Al’s best-loved song parodies — yep, he played “Eat It.” “Amish Paradise” too — culminating in “The Saga Continues,” his Star Wars–themed version of Don McLean’s “American Pie,” for which he was flanked by Darth Vader and eight dancing Stormtroopers. Even some girls enjoyed it!

Read the full review here:
‘Weird Al’: Still Great! (via New York Magazine)

Be sure to check out our own interview with Weird Al about his love for Star Wars here on starwars.com:
“Weird Al” — Nerdy Something

Chewie Hands off Lightsaber to NASA

(Photo: Bonnie Burton/LFL)

Luke Skywalker’s original Jedi lightsaber film prop from Return of the Jedi makes its way into space (for real) with NASA astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery in October. To commemorate the historic event, Star Wars characters visited the Oakland International Airport where Chewbacca handed the lightsaber over to NASA’s Space Center Houston during a special ceremony on Aug. 28, 2007.

Arriving by Escalade and Hummer stretch limos (the Falcon‘s in the shop) Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, X-Wing pilots, Jedi and stormtroopers (from the Golden Gate Garrison of the 501st Legion) accompanied Chewie for the fun-filled press event which took quite a few travelers and tourists in baggage claim by surprise. NASA’s Space Center Houston Director of Marketing Roger Bornstein greeted the intergalactic guests and warmly thanked everyone’s favorite Wookiee for bringing him Luke’s lightsaber.

Celebrating Elvis Star Wars Style

August 16 marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death and while fans everywhere are celebrating his contributions to rock ‘n roll, Star Wars fans have their own way of feeling the King’s presence in the form of a very special stormtrooper.

Hailing from Merced, Calif., Ken the Elvis Trooper (TK-432) is one member of the 501st Legion that all fans can find easily in a convention crowd. Wearing sunglasses, a white cape and of course stormtrooper armor, you’ll find Elvis Trooper at cons wooing the ladies with his “Thankyaverymuch” drawl and taking endless photos with fans.

Recently this year, Gentle Giant Studios released a limited-edition mini-bust of Elvis Trooper as a collectible replica which made fandom history as this was the first time the company released a replica of a fan. Proceeds went to help the fight against cancer.

To quote the wise Master himself (Mojo Nixon, not Yoda): “Elvis is everywhere.”

Check out Elvis Trooper online here:
ElvisTrooper.com
Elvis Trooper’s MySpace Page
Photos tagged Elvis Trooper (Flickr)

No More Gutterballs for Darth Vader

(“This is bowling, Vader. There are rules.“)

While bowling enthusiasts knocked down pins for the last time at their beloved Plympton Megabowl in the United Kingdom, Darth Vader and his gang stopped by to join in the closing festivities.

A host of Star Wars characters were out in force to ensure the final session at the rink was not a sombre and sad occasion. Also on hand to give their own bowling tips were Darth Maul, a collection of Imperial stormtroopers, Queen Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

To read the full story click here:
Star Wars Fans See Off Megabowl in Style

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SOURCE: This is Plymouth.co.uk