This week On the Radar George Lucas seeks to capture the minds of even younger viewers, Image Comics takes a shot at Marvel, and one of the most famous music videos of all time may go 3D.  All that and whole bunch of other fun stuff!

Crispin Glover talks Back to the Future controversy

Personally, I didn’t realize Back to the Future was mired in any kind of controversy, but it is.  Speaking at a promotion for Hot Tub Time Machine, Crispin Glover, who played Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) Dad spoke about the raw deal he was dealt after the first film came out:

“On the DVD to the Back to the Future trilogy, Bob Gale has said something that’s totally fabricated,” Glover told a group of reporters at this weekend’s press junket forHot Tub Time Machine. “He said I asked for twice the amount of money that Michael J. Fox asked for in the first film. In the negotiation for the second film, they offered me less than half of what any of the actors that were being asked to come back in the film—Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson. They had all done studio films, and they’d made a lot more money. I was being penalized.”

Interesting stuff.  Mind you, considering the somewhat lackluster opinions of the second and third film maybe Glover got off easy by not being in them.

Jamie Foxx to star in Kane & Lynch video game adaption?

There hasn’t been a lot of talk about the film adaption of video game Kane & Lynch other than it could star Bruce Willis as Kane.  Now, another big name is being tossed around to play opposite Willis, Jamie Foxx.  Developed by IO Interactive Nu Image/Millennium is set to finance with Lionsgate distributing.  While I’m confident in the actors involved, video games are not well known for the best of translations to the big screen.

George Lucas bringing Galactic Heroes to TV

Ask any “real” Star Wars fan and they will probably tell you that The Clone Wars cartoon is pretty childish.  Well, prepared to consider that more mature entertainment.  Looking to draw in even younger viewers to the Star Wars universe, George Lucas is working on a cartoon adaption of the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes toy line.  You know, those chunky figures with a whopping two points of articulation (usually the arms).  Worse yet, this problem means more screen time with the one Star Wars character that can relate best to 3 year olds-Jar Jar Binks.

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Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment have finally released an official synopsis of the plot for their upcoming big screen adaptation of Thor, starring Star Trek’s Chris Hemsworth and Star Wars‘ Natalie Portman. Along with the sysnposis, they’ve also included preliminary credits which carry the favored disclaimer “Credits Not Final.”

This is amusing considering the film is already in production and you would have to expect that those pesky contracts had already been finalized before any actors stepped in front of a camera. Anyway, no big surprises in the synopsis but we do get a few good confirmations.

Check it out after the jump, courtesy of the fine folks at Paramount and Marvel Entertainment:

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This week on the radar we’ve got news on Steven Spielberg’s potential return to dinosaurs, the status of the third Mortal Kombat film, NBC gets a Gold in the ratings competition, and what comic book legend may show up on one of our favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

Boba Fett, finally the deadliest action figure in a galaxy far, far away

If you’re like me, you grew up on the first generation of Star Wars toys and action figures. You know the ones, they had a massive (sarcasm) five points of articulation. Well, one figure that was sort of an urban legend was the missile-firing Boba Fett.  We all heard of it, but rarely saw it.  Well, now it can be yours with the purchase of five other figures!  Offer expires 3/31/2011, while supplies last, only valid in US and Canada…and a whole lot of other legal fine print I’m sure.

Tron: Legacy viral campaign starts to gear up

Disney teased everyone at last year’s Comic Con about a Tron viral campaign. With the highly anticipated film set to open this December online viral goodness have started to trickle out.  The first is a new site with a somewhat enigmatic theme to it.  Can you figure out what it is?  I don’t want to ruin it, but if you must know check this link out.

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If you’re a Star Wars fan, then this news is for you. Dark Horse has just announced a new way to feed your Star Wars needs. Writer John Jackson Miller (Mass Effect: Redemption, Knights Of The Old Republic) will be writing a new tale of Star Wars called Star Wars: Knight Errant first as an ongoing comic series, and then as a novel to be published by Del Ray Books. The novel will be set in the same era and feature the same characters but following them in an all-new adventure.

Knight Errant will introduce us to Kerra Holt, a young Jedi who’s about to realize that her role in the galaxy is far more important, and vastly different than she could have ever imagined. The series and novel will be set one thousand years before Episode I, in the “Dark Age of the Republic.” According to Dark Horse, this pivotal time in the history of Star Wars has been largely unexplored, until now.

Miller, in particular, is very excited to be taking on this new Star Wars project:

“There’s such wonderful chaos going on in the galaxy in this period,” said writer John Jackson Miller. “More than a generation before Darth Bane introduced the Rule of Two, Sith Lords are colliding not just with the Republic, but with each other. Kerra’s going to find that good intentions just may not be enough in a galaxy gone mad! This is a wide-open area to explore, and I’m thrilled that Dark Horse and Del Rey have given me this opportunity to do so.”

“With John writing both the comics and the novel, Knight Errant will be a Star Wars story on a scale we’ve never undertaken before,” said comic-series editor Dave Marshall. “This will be a first-of-its-kind opportunity to introduce the Expanded Universe of the Dark Horse comics to the fans of the Del Rey novels and vice versa!”

The Star Wars: Knight Errant comic hits stores later this year with the novel coming out early in 2011.

Much like other classic battles including Mac versus Windows, New Coke versus Old Coke, Nikon versus Canon, Edward versus Jacob and Democrats versus Republicans, the debate between fans of Star Wars and Star Trek rages on and never seems to be fully resolved. Fans on both sides of the isle vehemently defend their position that their choice of sci-fi entertainment is vastly superior to that other crap losers believe in.

Some fans intimately entrenched in this debate got together and decided to make a video and post it on YouTube. Of course, in this modern world of ours if you have such a debate, that’s what you do these days and this video is the result.

In the video the debate rages on between Star Wars and Star Trek. Which is superior, and why? Is Luke Skywalker a better hero than Captain Kirk? These questions, and many more, get discussed, debated and dissected in this video. Ok, actually none of that happens, but the video is still really inventive and well done.

Be sure to stay until the end. Check it out after the jump.

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As if the geek community (myself included) wasn’t excited enough when Adidas announced their line of Star Wars themed clothes last month, but the clothing company just amped up their marketing with a sexy new commercial, which should get plenty of people ready.

The commerical, which suspiciously aired just in time for the Super Bowl in a few weeks, shows off plenty of the new articles of clothing, including the X-Wing shoes and Darth Vader hoodie.

The clothes are certainly worth a purchase from any true fan of Lucas’ universe, regardless of age. Check out Adidas’ official site for the line, and be sure to get even more excited by watching the new commercial after the jump.

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With Christmas less than 72 hours away, it looks like the studios are putting out quite a few last-minute gift ideas for you to snatch just in time to throw under the tree. This week’s big releases include District 9, (500) Days of Summer, and the second Family Guy Star Wars Special: Something Something Something Dark Side.

Of these releases, we are all pretty excited about the new Family Guy DVD this week. It’s the sequel to 2007’s Blue Harvest Star Wars special. This time, Seth McFarlane and his team spoof the events of The Empire Strikes Back. This special is never-before-seen, and won’t get airtime until mid-March.

Check out this week’s releases:

Movies

District 9 ~ Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope (DVD and Blu-ray)

(500) Days of Summer ~ Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (DVD and Blu-ray)

All About Steve ~ Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church (DVD and Blu-ray)

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By now, the likelihood that you’ve seen, or at least heard about the mega-review/breakdown of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is pretty certain. However, for those lucky few that have yet to enjoy it, here is the first video (of seven) that presents a meandering, yet quite funny, synopsis on everything wrong with the first of the three Star Wars prequels.

The filmmaker, who on his YouTube profile page, lists himself as Mike from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, uses his production company’s name, Red Letter Media, to provide a number of sci-fi movie reviews, fan-edits and original content (check out the ‘Dudebros.’ episodes for a laugh).

The review of Episode I has made it’s way into just about every corner of the internet; and I’m sure before it received the backlash that all these meme’s get, enjoy it for the fun that it is. Also, it should be noted that the videos are probably best considered NSFW, and if you care, “spoiler-ific”.

Check out one of seven after the jump, with a list of links if you so choose to continue on.

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This past weekend, Spike gave its annual salute to the video game world with their Video Game Awards show. Featuring performers such as Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg, the show has grown in to a larger spectacle each year to award the best in the video game industry. Along with all that hype has come exclusive trailers for the biggest premieres in the video game industry.

Some we knew were coming like the prequel to the Halo trilogy with Halo: Reach’s first in game footage while others were merely rumored and mired in PR confusion like Green Day: Rock Band.

Even more exciting were the surprise announcements like that of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 which had predecessors that dominated the video game charts of the past year. Take a look below at all of the trailers and let us know which ones get you most excited.

We already are placing our bets over in the Flickcast offices about which games are going to make the biggest splash in 2010. Take a look at some of our favorite trailers after the jump.

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While it may be a few decades late, Star Wars has now become a fashion statement of sorts, with Adidas branding the film series for a line of shoes. As much as we’d love for these to make it onto our Holiday Gift Idea list, they won’t be hitting the retail shelves until January 2010.

With the new line, you can show off your support of the Empire or the Rebellion in style. From what we’ve seen in the preview of next year’s line, the following shoes will be split into three packs – Characters, Vehicles, and the Direct Pack.

Characters Pack
This pack takes the most iconic moments and characters from the Star Wars saga and brings them to life across five sneakers, two short sleeve T-shirts and the Superstar Track Top.

Vehicles Pack
For this pack, we have taken inspiration from the well known vehicles and crafts from the Star Wars saga and translated them to our five most iconic adidas Originals sneakers and two key adidas Originals apparel models. Across these models we have paid homage to the distinguished features of airborne crafts and land based vehicles from both sides of the Force and executed them to appeal to both adidas and Star Wars fans alike.

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