Headlines from the network and other sources, as well as downloads of trailers and clips. The Death Star, known officially as the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, also known as the Death.

Ways to Become a Star Wars Fan.

The Real Force Behind 'Star Wars': How George Lucas Built an Empire. This story first appeared in the Feb. The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Star Wars homages certainly have had a storied history.

While i agree that this is better than the acutal plot for episode one i’d personally stay away from everything that was in the prequels/games. it needed a total re.

Read reviews, watch trailers and clips, find showtimes, view celebrity photos and more on MSN Movies. Read all the hottest movie news. Get all the latest updates on your favorite movies - from new releases to timeless classics, get the scoop on Moviefone. Khloé Kardashian Celebrates Halloween As Mother of Dragons from HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' Rosanna Pansino Creates Spooky Treats That Anyone Can Make! Watch the original Star Wars trilogy. Buy or rent the first three films or watch them online. The original Star Wars trilogy sparked the global Star Wars craze, and.

There are Seth Green's Robot Chicken specials, the recent Christmas episode of Glee, the "Blue Harvest" episode of Family Guy, even Mel Brooks' 1. Spaceballs. And then there was this year's Super Bowl, where Volkswagen debuted a 3. The Dog Strikes Back" featuring a pooch inspired by a new 2. VW Beetle to get into shape. The commercial cuts to the Cantina scene from the original Star Wars, filled with characters from the movie - - including Darth Vader - - arguing over which ad is best. This on the heels of the automaker's mid- January teaser, "The Bark Side," that showed a group of dogs barking Star Wars' Imperial March music. PHOTOS: The 'Star Wars' Universe: $2.

Billion Worth of Toys, Rides, Books and Games. What Star Wars has to do with selling cute German imports is not entirely clear.

But the tie- in of Star Wars to Volkswagen's advertising is: The ads immediately went viral (as does virtually anything Star Wars), thus not only promoting the new Beetle but also the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, in theaters Feb. D conversion. Of course, the Volkswagen vignette is just one drop in the story of the most successful Hollywood marketing franchise in history. A 3. 5- year- long tale, it began with the 1.

Star Wars: Episode IV - - A New Hope. Last year alone, the franchise raked in $3 billion in licensing revenue (the next most profitable licensed movie merchandise is that of Cars). From light sabers sold at Target to the more than 1. Watch Bad Country 4Shared on this page.

Star Wars: The Old Republic since December to every little Yoda who shows up to your door on Halloween, Star Wars is as ubiquitous as ever. The great achievement of Star Wars had been to take a moribund genre in science fiction and restore it to popularity," says Toby Miller, social scientist and chair of Media and Cultural Studies at UC Riverside. George Lucas took a genre that looked cheesy and made it look like a high- concept movie by investing in new ideas, technologies and people.

Finally, the story and imagery have been the stars rather than the actors."STORY: 5 Questions With George Lucas: Controversial 'Star Wars' Changes, SOPA and 'Indiana Jones 5'Indeed, Star Wars' fundamental tale of good versus evil set against the backdrop of a dysfunctional father- son relationship contains themes that resonate with viewers of any age. Ask anyone with children: What once was a game of cowboys and Indians on pre- Star Wars playgrounds has morphed in the post- Lucas era into moral battles involving characters now easily purchased. Over the span of Star Wars' lifetime, $2.

With an ever- renewing fan base, Cartoon Network has a ratings behemoth in its animated hit Clone Wars (2. Padme Amidala and a young Obi- Wan). Just in its partnership with Lego, Star Wars propelled the faltering toy brand to new heights and more than 1. Lego Star Wars video game. But how has Lucas, who has only become a more complicated figure in the past two decades, kept this most enduring and lucrative of entertainment empires going? Call it a question of focus - - on story over stuff. I'm just the movie guy.

The branding and the licensing and that sort of thing, it's fun," says Lucas. I like that there's lots of great toys and funny T- shirts and really great gadgets and things that are fun. But at the same time, my main focus is on just making the movie. I haven't seen the VW commercial, although I saw the first one and thought it was extremely funny."It all began modestly. As You Are Movie Watch Online there. After his success with American Graffiti in 1. Lucas wanted to make a Western set in outer space to refresh the genre.

He was turned down by several studios but found a champion in Alan Ladd Jr., then running 2. Century Fox - - even though most of the other Fox executives and the company board didn't agree.

Fox let Lucas pass up an additional $5. VIDEO: 'Star Wars: Episode I' 3. D Trailer Debuts During Super Bowl. Beginning with the second episode, 1. The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas took full ownership and control. He would never work in the Hollywood mainstream again, choosing to base himself away from the madness in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he had grown up. Lucas expanded his special- effects department into Industrial Light & Magic, which became a key partner to moviemakers in need of state- of- the- art effects.

His Skywalker Sound provided a range of technical services. Over the years, he had computer divisions (one of which was spun off into Pixar), book imprints and other ventures, as he made movies including the hit Indiana Jones series. While the movies have been lucrative, it is the licensing and merchandising that has brought a bonanza. Even Lucas was unprepared for the huge instant success of Star Wars in 1. Lucas had sold toy- merchandising rights to his movie to Kenner (then a division of cereal maker General Foods) in advance of the opening for a flat fee of $1. However, Kenner wasn't ready for the explosion of interest, either.

PHOTOS: 2. 01. 1's Biggest Rule Breakers - - George Lucas, Netflix's Reed Hastings, Chuck Lorre and Ashton Kutcher. Unable to meet the demand by Christmas 1. Kenner sold an "Early Bird Certificate Package," which included a kind of I. O. U. that could be redeemed later for four Star Wars action figures (Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and R2- D2), a display stand, stickers and a Star Wars fan club membership card.

In 1. 97. 8, Kenner brought out four more action figures from the movie's Cantina scene, and soon after that the line grew to 2. By the end of 1. 97. Kenner had sold more than 4. For the release of Empire Strikes Back, Lucasfilm and Kenner were ready, doing mail promotions and adding figures including Boba Fett. That was the beginning of the era of TV- driven marketing tied to a movie, according to Derryl De. Priest, vp global brand management for Hasbro, which acquired Kenner in 1.

Galoob, another early Star Wars toy licensee: "That's been the lasting legacy of Star Wars. The impact it has had on really big event- style merchandising."VIDEO: 'Star Wars: The Complete Saga' Blu- Ray Gives Yoda a Makeover: Before and After. Today Star Wars is consistently among the top five licensed toy brands, bringing in retail sales of more than $3 billion in 2.