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Welcome
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Roderick Vonhögen's
Virtual Edition
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| April 2005 |
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Return of the Roderick !
23rd April 2005 |
| The WebMasters page here briefly describes who Roderick Vonhögen is and where he comes from, and his genesis of the Virtual Edition. Back in 1997, this Dutch Catholic priest, who was also somewhat enthusiastic about the Star Wars Saga, having initated a discussion forum, began an 'illustrated' version of what was then known about Episode I. This was hosted at TheForce.Net, and can be seen via the link at the top left here. |
| But in the early days of Episode II, Roderick's theological duties and studies took up much of his time and carried him away from the VE. He promoted myself and Jom as co-moderators of the VE forum board, and I took it upon myself to continue the storyboarded legacy that Roderick had begun so excitingly a few years before. Circumstances meant that we lost the VE.com, but I was able to safeguard the name and the content under the .net domain ! |
| Contact with Roderick waned as he travelled between the Netherlands and Rome. Until now. Forumer JediPabst came across the site CatholicInsider.com, managed by none other than Roderick Vonhögen ! Using 'podcasts', he provides a spoken weblog for his thoughts in Rome and Amsterdam ; one such blog, from the 16th of april, even describes in enthusiastic detail how he came to be caught up in the Star Wars phenomenon ! I emailed Roderick, and within hours he replied with a friendly "hello" ! |
From : Roderick Vonhogen
Sent : 20 April 2005 20:11
To : Nathaniel Reed
Subject : Re: Hello Roderick !
Hi Nathaniel, great to hear from you!! My recent podcast about Star Wars was a great occasion to dive back into the world of Star Wars and all the great memories of the past couple of years.
I've finally found my balance work-wise after three extremely intensive years (did you know that I switched from theology to social communications and mediaproduction when I was in Rome? - I graduated in televisionproduction), and the Catholic Insider project reminds me in more than one way of the incredible adventures we had with the Virtual Edition.
It's good to see you are all still active on the VE forum. I'm totally in the dark about Episode III, I haven't followed the news or the spoilers. But I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.
Great news that you're engaged! We should definitely take some time to reconnect one of these days.
Say hi to everybody over at the VE!
Regards,
Roderick.
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| I'm sure he will enjoy Episode III : Revenge of the Sith !!! |
| And someone else who waxes lyrical about ROTS is actor Ian McDiarmid, a.k.a the Sith Emperor ! The Official Site has just released a superb 32 minute interview with Ian, accessed via the HyperSpace subscription. With a chuckle he recalls his 10 minute 'interview' with Lucas and Marquand after filming had begun on Episode VI, and similarly when Lucas came looking a second time for someone to play "an Emperor". Ian provides an insight into the character he has played, not only Evil Incarnate, but also that of the beguiling senatorial mask. And the inspiration for the infamous Sithly gravel-voice ? It came from the aged make-up, and thankfully Lucas was impressed enough not to go with another actor's re-dub ! |
| Ian joins Frank Oz in participating in five of the six episodes, deferring by one to Tony Daniels' ubiquity !! Additionally, he appears to know his lore quite well too ! :o) |
| Nathaniel Reed, 23rd April 2005 |
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Revenge of the Sith is almost here !
6th April 2005 |
| The start of april 2005 saw a flurry of activity ! First up was the Hyperspace release of webdoc 16, 'The Making or Episode III', focusing on Hayden Christensen and his portrayal of the tragic Anakin Skywalker. Some interesting insights were given, not just by the actor, but by other cast and crew. In particular, it is clear that Ian McDiarmid - the Sith Emperor - greatly enjoyed working with Hayden, and the camaraderie with Ewan McGregor meant the two Jedi could genuinely relate to one another as friends. |
| The second of April saw the publication of much of the tie-in books, such as the novel, the 'Visual Dictionary', the 'Scrapbook', the 'Making Of', and the 'Art of', and we've been discussing them in the forum. I'm personally still waiting on my copy of the 'Art of Revenge of the Sith' to arrive, but since this is sure to be a lavish spectacle, and I'm a patient Jedi, I can wait. Just. ;o) |
| Lucas' screenplay has been adapted for the novel by Matthew Stover, who has written two other entries for the Star Wars EU. Stover writes to reveal the characters' thoughts and driving forces, as well as to play out the unfolding events. Although artistic licence is present, the author collaborated closely with Lucas on its creation. The 'Making of' tome is a comprehensive account of the creation of Episode III, starting right from the location and plate photography captured in Tunisia during the filming of Attack of the Clones ! There are many anecdotes and insights into the development and the culling of ideas, and this will definately be a fan-favourite over the years to come ! |
| What were the factors in ultimately seducing Anakin to the Dark Side ? Now such material is being released, further revelations and insights are becoming known, especially regarding the Knight's burning desire to keep his belovéd from her early death that he keeps dreaming about. Palpatine had tantalized Anakin with the promise of the power to grant an "eternal life" .... and discussion is rife in this forum thread ! |
| And on April the 4th, the Official Site released a preview of the forthcoming John Williams score with the cue 'Grievous speaks to Lord Sidious', depicting General Grievous' flight to the sinkhole world of Utapau, and holographic contact with Darth Sidious. The cd will be released in early May, and will be accompanied by a dvd entitled 'Star Wars : a musical journey'. This will be a 70 minute long piece musically charting the tragic history of the Skywalker family bound up with the formation of the Sith Empire, and narrated by the actor, Ian McDiarmid. Fan site jwfan.net has a comprehensive summary of the creation of the score, and the track listings for both music releases. |
| We've been speculating on John Williams' music for Revenge of the Sith in the forum here, while this thread discusses the forthcoming cd release. |
| Nathaniel Reed, 6th April 2005 |
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