Translate this Article...
Written by friends across Canada and the U.S., filmed in Sweden, and worked on by hundreds of fans around the World, Star Wars: Threads of Destiny, is finally seeing the light of day!
I know this isn't the usual fare for this blog. For one, Star Wars: Threads of Destiny is not a B-Movie but a fanfilm. For two, this isn't a review but an announcement post with some interesting little inside tidbits and info. The reason I'm making this exception though is because I co-wrote the script for this fanfilm with fellow B-Movie Shelf reviewer, Michael Banno, so I'm pretty excited to get the word out...
...especially when you take into account that it took NINE YEARS to get this fanfilm made. Yes, that would be 9 damn years, so you'll excuse me if my excitement level is pretty high at this finally coming out, hahaha.
The script was written, and the bulk of the filming, was all done 9 years ago, but the CGI is what held this movie up. Remember, this is a FAN film, which means it was all done for free, in everyone's spare time. This is a full-length fanfilm, set in the Star Wars universe. As you can imagine, there is a lot of CGI work that needed to go into this thing. So much so actually, that an entire action scene ultimately had to be cut out of the final cut of the movie because that was the last scene left that needed CGI work done on it, but to do so would have delayed the movie yet another year, if not longer. While the scene is one that I personally loved, ultimately it really didn't add anything new to the movie that isn't already presented in other scenes, so I totally understand and agree with the director's choice to cut it in favor of releasing the movie now. After 9 years, I think the people that have been looking forward to watching this have waited long enough anyway.
Another thing to make note of, is that it was filmed in Sweden, so the majority of actors don't actually speak English. However, the director knew that the majority of people watching it would be from America most likely and thus decided to film it in English, which means most of the actors are actually getting through their lines phonetically, so I admit there will be quite a lot of iffy points throughout when it comes to the acting, but please keep in mind the circumstances behind that.
Threads of Destiny was written to be Part 1 in a pre-planned trilogy, and while we have notes, ideas, and treatments written for Parts 2 and 3, seeing as how it took 9 years for this one to come out, I honestly have no idea what the plan is now. Most of the actors have moved on to other things and probably will be unreachable or not really wanting to return to do another two fanfilms (for instance, the actress for Princess Arianna is now actually an award-winning journalist in Sweden). However, I really hope the director decides to go ahead with the other two parts and manages to find a way to make it work, because as someone on the inside, I can assure you that this first movie only touches the surface of what this extensive and ambitious fanfilm project has to offer.
As for the plot:
"94 years after The Battle of Yavin, the New Republic has been resurrected and democracy once again rules the galaxy. The Jedi Order has been re-established on the planet Yavin IV, and has continued to train new Jedi Knights in the art of peace and justice. But all is not peaceful in this new world. With the fall of the Dark Empire, the ancient Skenvi Empire now comes out of the shadow to make its move. The Skenvi oppose the New Republic for control over the galaxy with their aggressively growing empire. The Skenvi seek to seize control of all the galaxy's most valuable resources to cripple their enemies, and if a planet refuses to join them, they have been known to take very aggressive actions.
Caught in between this struggle over the fate of the galaxy is the little planet of Coreign. The planet possesses a very powerful resource that would greatly favor the side that has access to it if a galactic war was to emerge. In its eagerness to gain access to Coreign's resources, the Skenvi Empire sends its most infamous negotiator, Lord Siege. He is a man who is known throughout the galaxy for seeing that the Skenvi Empire gets what it wants by any means necessary. The New Republic sends two of its Jedi ambassadors, Master Soran Darr and his padawan, Raven Darkham to handle the situation."
As you can tell, this ignores ALL Expanded Universe stuff. The only things we took as cannon for this is strictly what's in the 6 movies and that's it. We didn't want to feel constricted by decades of novels and comics, and Clone Wars just didn't exist back when we initially wrote this. Hell, if memory serves me correctly, Revenge of the Sith hadn't even been released yet when we started on this project.
Without further adieu, below you can find all the links you'll possibly need if you're interested in checking this full-length fanfilm out: The full movie, the official site, the Facebook and Twitter pages, ect. Below that however, if you're still interested in knowing more about the behind the scenes project, you can find two interviews that Michael Banno conducted for his own website, one with myself and one with the director.
Star Wars: Threads of Destiny Official Website
Star Wars: Threads of Destiny Facebook Page
Star Wars: Threads of Destiny Twitter Account
Watch the full Star Wars: Threads of Destiny movie right here!
The following interviews were conducted by Michael Banno, the original creator of this entire project, for his personal blog, The Mike Blog. The formatting is a bit weird however, and he apologizes for that. Neither him nor myself can figure out what Blogger did to his formatting and every time he tries to fix it, Blogger just doesn't let him. But if you don't mind the weird formatting of the interviews, you will find tons of nuggets of behind the scenes information on how the project came to be and the off-screen trials and tribulations that faced the project.
Michael Banno's Behind The Scenes On His Conception of the Project and His Interview With Co-Writer Jeffrey Long
Michael Banno's Interview With Director Rasmus Tirzitis
I hope you all enjoy what you see when you watch the film. It's been 9 years in the making, a very long 9 years, but 9 years filled with nothing but the utmost love and genuine passion by everyone involved. And if you end up enjoying what you see and you would like to see Chapters II and III get made, be sure to be vocal about it on the Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube pages. The more interest there is in the sequels, the better chance that the director will decide to try and get them made!
