As we have been a little out of touch in the past week; let me fill you in on details from the Star Wars universe worth taking note :
First of all, there is Official confirmation (StarWars.com) that Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks, Natalie Portman as Amidala and Ewan McGregor as (a possibly bearded?) Obi-Wan Kenobi will return for Episode II. This is probably one of the first official bits on the site; and it takes me a few years back… whtn we had started hearing rumors about Episode I.

The Official site also has a cool expanding feature on the Women of Star Wars; now including many more than before; like Yaddle, Mon Mothma and others. Also, a few cool snapshots in the past few days; while GalaxyFarAway.com was asleep!

Also, this week, our sponsors Brian’s Toys have a $85 worth Chewy Give-away. Go now and enter for the draw!

At the official site today there are 3 major updates. One is about Episode II Casting; where they tell us that you really don’t have a chance in Episode II without an agent. So no unsolicited applications will be accepted. An I thought I had a good chance for Kitster (:-( (I am Indian, you know!).
The next official update is that This Friday, November 5, 7:00pm PST, American Movie Classics (AMC) will launch a new TV series called Cinema Secrets. which will feature behind the scenes TPM footage!
Also, today’s Episode I Snapshot is Anakin’s Pod Race Flag. Cool stuff, as usual.

We have news from Australia and the opening of Fox Studios Australia on the 7th of November. We bring this news to you in association with The Australian Prequels site theprequels.net. Thanks George!

Fox Studios Australia
We have news about the Fox Studios Australia opening in 3 days :

Special guests and Appearances
The official opening will be performed by Rupert Murdoch himself. Lachlan Murdoch and dozens of other key Fox / News Ltd executives will be mingling with the celebrities such as Ewan McGregor, R2D2 and C-3PO, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Jack Thompson, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Jeanie Drynan, Matt Day, Sascha Horler, Genevieve Lemon, Aaron Pedersen, Magda Szubanski, Alex Dimitriades, Sigrid Thornton, Andrew Mason, Kerrie Anne Moss, Val Kilmer, and others!

Special Performances
Tommy Tycho – the 71 year young Maestro – leads a 50 piece orchestra, accompanying the 100 dancers and performers in a tribute to Hollywood’s golden age – and a special nod to Rodgers and Hammerstein as well as performing musical numbers from Titanic, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet.

Some of the performers include, Hugh Jackman – compere, Shirley Jones, Kate Ceberano, Human Nature, Marcia Hines, Tina Arena, Jon Stevens, Kylie Minogue, Andrew de Silva and others.
“The giant stage – 40 meters in diameter – will be lit from a special webbed roof and the finale will be a pyrotechnic extravaganza.”Telecasts and more information
The opening will be shown on the Nine Network (tv) and also via a 30 min delayed webcast produced by the Telstra Australia – http://www.telstra.com.au/ and Urban Cinefile – http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/ (where Andrew L. Urban will conduct ‘red carpet’ interviews as the guests arrive – and also looks behind the scenes. You can check out the web-cast site here http://entertainment.bigpond.com/FoxLaunch/.

Also check out – Fox Studios Australia News @ http://theprequels.net/foxstudios/ for more.

I wonder if anyone has already noticed/commented upon this. Have you ever wondered what would have happened if C3-PO were to meet Darth Vader in any of the Classic Trilogy films? Darth Vader would have surely recognized his creation, right?
Well, there was one instance where it was possible for them to meet; on cloud City, when Lando betrays them to Darth Vader. The entire group enter a room where Vader is waiting for them. But C3-PO is not with them here! Why? Because just before that he was blasted into pieces by the Ugnaughts!
And in the scene right after, Chewy is putting him back together again! So why did C3-PO have to be in pieces for only 10 minutes in the film?

So that Lucas did not have to put him in the awkward position of facing Vader! It seems so obvious now that we know…

Jar Jar lovers alert! The Jar Jar Fan Site at Galaxy Far Away is moving it’s message boards to the Mos Espa Marketplace Message Boards of the GalaxyFarAway.com. Also, a new layout/design at the Jar Jar site!
A new essay from our newest staff member on the similarities between the Odyssey and ROTJ. Sounds too heavy for you? Well, check it out to be surprised!