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Animated 'Star Wars' to hit theaters
Lucas' 3-D project going bigscreen before small
By DIANE GARRETT
Another "Star Wars" tale is on its way to the bigscreen, but it won't
be distributed by Fox.
Lucasfilm has partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner
Broadcasting on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," a 3-D toon that will bow
in theaters this August before moving to the smallscreen in the fall.
The Aug. 15 feature will set the stage for the spinoff skein, which
will bow on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT. International
release dates for the feature and TV series are still being set.
Multiplatform project is an expansion of the earlier "Clone Wars"
microseries that aired on Cartoon Network. However, Fox's homevid arm
released those episodes on DVD, just as it has distributed every "Star
Wars" theatrical release since 1977.
Lucasfilm said Warner Bros.' cable and theatrical resources made it an
especially good fit for the project. "We're trying to do something
unprecedented -- marrying TV series and theatrical release," a rep
said.
Under this deal, Warner will release the film and TV skein on DVD.
Warner execs eagerly tracked the project throughout the development
process, and decided to give the property a theatrical launch after
seeing footage.
"I don't know anyone who wouldn't want it," said Stuart Snyder,
president and chief operating officer of Turner Animation, Young
Adults and Kids Media, who said a theatrical launch "has always been
contemplated as part of the process."
The "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" movie is expected to run around 100
minutes and pick up between episode II and III. A****in Skywalker is
not yet Darth Vader. The story will then continue in 30-minute
smallscreen installments.
George Lucas, who has revisited the property and time again over the
decades, said he mounted this new spinoff because he "felt there were
a lot more 'Star Wars' stories left to tell." He said he wanted to
tell them through animation, pu****ng the technology forward at the
same time.
Lucas serves as exec producer on the project, which will primarily
employ voice actors. The only original actors returning are Anthony
Daniels as C3PO and Matthew Wood as General Grievous and the
battledroids.
Dave Filoni is the helmer. Henry Gilroy, Scott Murphy and Steven
Melching are the writers. Catherine Winder is producer.
Lucasfilm Animation has already produced more than 30 episodes in the
TV skein, with production continuing in Singa****e and Taiwan. On
Tuesday, Lucasfilm is launching an online Web docu about the project
at Starwars.com.
(David S. Cohen contributed to this re****t.)
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