This past week John Williams had his 80th birthday. One of the first thing he will do during his 80th year will be attending the Oscars later this month where the Maestro is nominated for 2 best score awards. Even at this age Williams is at the top of his game.

In honor of the most prolific film composer alive today I wanted to use my weekly film score soap box to celebrate the man who has provided the soundtrack to the imaginations of several generations.

Everyone knows about his contributions to Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, but how many people are aware that he wrote not one, but two classic themes for Lost in Space?

It was John Williams music that made me fall in love with film music. I can pinpoint it all the way back to a single moment in Jurassic Park when the helicopter approached Isla Nublar, the cue still gives me chills to this day, and nearly two decades later I still look to Mr. Williams as the inspiration for a life long passion.

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If there is one thing George Lucas has mastered over the past few decades, it’s reminding us that the first three Star Wars films were a fluke. Between pre-teen Darth Vader, Jar Jar, and a ridiculous dance sequence in Jedi, we have all come to the realization that the phenomena of Episodes 4-6 should be untouched and never tainted by the hands of its creator.

With that in mind, Lucas is (kind of) backpedaling from a drastic change to A New Hope that had fans up in arms when the Remastered version was released. In it, the famous scene where Han Solo kills Greedo was brought into question. The original had Han shoot first, killing Greedo before he gets a chance to fire. In the new version, Lucas changed history (Long Time Ago, etc etc) by having Greedo shoot first and miss, allowing Solo to shoot to kill.

Turns out, Lucas never changed anything, he just pulled the camera out a bit. Yeah.

The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t.

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Ever since the beginning of the motion gaming movement we have been waiting for a game that lets us slice and dice with a lightsaber. Finally that dream is becoming a reality with the brand new game Star Wars Kinect, a motion based game that puts you in the Jedi army during the thick of the clone wars.

This game was originally meant to be released last year, but a release date has finally been confirmed for the long awaited project, April 3rd. And to celebrate the release a special edition Kinect bundle pack is being released with a 320GB R2-D2 themed 360, a C3-PO gold controller, a white Kinect and of course the game as well.

Additionally more details about what we can expect in the game have been released, including the new Duels of the Fate mode which pits you one-on-one against Sith baddies, cool. Also a Galactic Dance-Off where you can take on Darth Vader Dance Central style, much less cool.

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This past weekend we saw the release of Beauty and the Beast in 3D, the most recent in a string of classic films getting a 3D face lift.  The next big re-release is only a few weeks away with the first of the Star Wars 3D updates. Lucas is starting with Episode One, and is moving on through the franchise with a new re-release every year.

Even though the prequel trilogy lives in infamy among most film fans, the impending arrival of a Star Wars film on the big screen still holds some weight. In advance of the February launch a new set of five posters has hit the web, each with a wildy different design and most of them actually pretty cool.

It is gratifying that the posters excise the existence of Jar Jar Binks completely, although it would have been nice had Jake Lloyd received the same treatment. The upcoming 3D versions of these films represents the greatest perk of the 3D post conversion era we live in.

To have an opportunity to watch classic films on the big screen again in new and exciting ways is an exciting proposition. Hopefully lesser films like the prequel trilogy don’t ruin it before we get back to the original trilogy.

You can see the whole set of new posters after the jump.

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There are 50 scripts out there somewhere, 50 episodes of a TV series that most fan boys can’t wait to see. The Star Wars live action show has been discussed for years, Lucas has the scripts ready but is waiting for technology to be cost effective enough to make a show that looks like the prequel trilogy every single week.

That is a daunting goal, and requires a bit of a waiting period while the world of digital effects catches up. In the mean time small tidbits about the show keep getting dropped like bread crumbs leading us through the forest. In a recent sit down with IGN, Rick McCallum let slip that the working title of the show is Star Wars: Underworld.

What we know so far about the show, is that it takes place in the twenty year gap between Episode III and Episode IV and will revolve around bounty hunters. This is a very intriguing concept for a show, showing the rise of the Galactic Empire from the perspective of the criminals who thrive under it’s rule. It is also very encouraging to hear McCallum discuss the darker nature of the scripts.

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There is only one thing that George Lucas doesn’t want to make a dime off of, only one thing he wants to see disappear and never brought up again. That would be the horrible, no good, very bad Star Wars Holiday Special which details Chewbacca’s attempt to get home to his family on life day. While we wont get a chance to see the special officially released anytime soon, Chewie is getting back into the holiday spirit.

The cast of Glee welcomed the wookie on set to film his appearance on next week’s Christmas themed episode. One of the series’ stars Matthew Morrison, who is also directing the episode, recently revealed on the Jimmy Kimmel show that the episode will be paying homage to the previously mentioned Star Wars Holiday Special and the Judy Garland Christmas Specials too.

“We called up George Lucas and he gave us Chewbacca. There is only one guy who can officially be Chewbaccca, and he lives in Northern California and they flew him in,” Morrison said. “We had Chewbacca for the day, and it was just great, and we were all taking pictures with him. This is a guy who has been doing it for 12 years.”

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Fan films seem to be huge again all the sudden. This new one featuring our favorite Transformer and a bit too many lens flairs.

This new commercial for Soul Wax Radio features nudity, machinery, and Chevy Chase’s famed comedy album. Warning: Definitely NSFW.

Our favorite puppet bloggers Mario and Fafa of Glove and Boots welcomed their newest character, Jack Woods in their latest video blog.

Fans of the sueprcut fan film rejoice as the official 2011 portfolio is here to show you all of the cool flicks you saw this year.

Speaking of fan films, those who love Naruto may dig (and understand) this true-to-form fan film more than anyone that works here.

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The fun folks over at Corridor Digital finally made a follow-up to their classic Graphic Violence video from a year ago with a new one, Brush with Death.

Speaking of all things internet and fun, Freddie Wong produced a new video over the Thanksgiving break, and those Dragonball Z fans have been clamoring for this one for quite some time.

The holidays are upon us, so why wouldn’t someone cut a mash-up video between Star Wars and How the Grinch Stole Christmas? The only difference is that Vader’s heart didn’t grow 3 sizes…he took his mask off and died.

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

• While things aren’t going so well for the Uncharted or Assassin’s Creed film adaptations, that hasn’t stopped a studio from moving forward on a film based on the classic monster game Rampage.

• The heads of action fans everywhere may just explode when they see the very first poster for The Expendables 2 featuring Norris, Van Damme, and the whole cast.

• Take a jump in a depressing time machine as you see young Tim Burton acting as normal as ever in this footage from Disney Studios circa 1980.

• It looks like the internet is seeping into mainstream media again, as The Annoying Orange was just announced to have a show coming up on Cartoon Network.

• Exactly how many times did The Force get brought up in all 6 Star Wars films? We have no idea, but here they all are.

• You may know the prime Muppets, but here is a list of the best known Muppets from around the world that you may have never heard of. Like Oscar the Grouch’s Israeli cousin.

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

• We’ve seen some pretty lame posters for movies that already exist, but here are some pretty amazing posters for movies we’ll sadly never see.

• We love Star Wars as much as the next movie site, but when it’s mixed with AC/DC’s best tunes, it is completely mind-blowing.

• Speaking of mind-blowing music, here’s a special look at the recording sessions for the Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary theme.

• Everyone is getting ready for Skyrim to take up their lives for the next few weeks, so why not get this catchy rap stuck in your head getting ready for it?

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

• It looks like Thor 2 has found its director, and it won’t be Brannagh again. Looks like Monster director Patty Jenkins is taking on the task this time.

• Chris Pine and Tom Hardy fight over Reese Witherspoon for some reason in the first trailer for This Means War.

• Talk about random, here’s an amazing Voltron fan film made by Digg’s Alex Albrecht, starring Psych star Tim Omundson.

• Just to get you ready for the 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode 1, here’s a Maul-happy poster to remind you of the times without Jar Jar Binks.

• Don’t check your calendars, it’s not 1999, yet CBS has announced that they are taking on Fred Durst to star in his own sitcom. Why? We have no idea.

• Walking Dead picks back up this Sunday with season 2, so why not see what you missed last season in every zombie kill in 5 minutes.

• You’ll be too busy getting ready for next week’s release of Batman: Arkham City to realize how awesome Gotham City Impostors will be next year. Here’s a trailer showing you the fun you’ll be missing.

• Unboxing videos are all the rage these days, but what happens when an unboxing goes horribly wrong? Technivator finds out for us.

Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

• Want to geek up your next romantic evening? Make it so with the Lightsaber Candlesticks.

• It’s the 90s all over again as Beavis & Butthead make it back to the airwaves. here’s another trailer to get you ready.

• Speaking of retro, here are some of your favorite current games done like the were old NES games. A God of War side-scroller would actually be pretty awesome…

• Paying respects to the man himself, here’s a collection of Apple products depicting the late, great Steve Jobs.

• Love everything about the film Drive? Then you’re going to have to get one of the scorpion jackets from the film. Just drive safely.

• AMC’s Walking Dead makes its triumphant return to TV in just a few weeks, so why not check in with the world of zombies with their original webisodes.

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