Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge [Disneyland Park - 2019]

Mais possible, ça ferait quand même un aveu de la part de Disney que cette postlogie est un échec sur presque tous les points (si on exclut les recettes au box office).

Stan Verrett et Chiney Ogwumike, présentateurs sur ESPN, visitent la cantina de Seezelslak sur la planète Batuu dans ce spot publicitaire pour l'expérience en réalité virtuelle Star Wars : Tales from the Galaxy's Edge (Oculus Quest) :  

Citation :

ESPN hosts Stan Verrett and Chiney Ogwumike visit Seezelslak's Cantina, a key location in ILMxLAB's new virtual reality experience Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge. You'll explore the planet Batuu, battle the Guavian Death Gang, and become the hero of your own Star Wars adventure. Available now for Oculus Quest.

Citation :

Go ‘Behind the Magic’ of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm

For decades, Star Wars fans dreamed of actually visiting the galaxy far, far away that we all love. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge turns that wish into reality at Disneyland park in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida – a step into a larger world that invites you to live your own Star Wars story.

In this latest installment of our “Behind the Magic” series, you’ll hear from Scott Trowbridge, portfolio creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, and Doug Chiang, vice president and executive creative director for Lucasfilm, as they share the inspiration and creative mission for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. You’ll also learn more about how they developed the land’s setting, stories, attractions and the smallest details that make Star Wars come to life each day for guests.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/01/disneymagicmoments-go-behind-the-magic-of-star-wars-galaxys-edge-with-walt-disney-imagineering-and-lucasfilm/?CMP=SOC-DPFY21Q2wo0114210120210009C

Vinc a écrit:

Après le guide du voyageur dont la sortie est maintenant attendu à l'automne (Star Wars Galaxy's Edge : Traveler's Guide to Batuu par Cole Horton), Star Wars Galaxy's Edge aura droit à son Art book : The Art of Galaxy’s Edge par Amy Ratcliffe ! 256 pages et 300 illustrations couleurs (dont une partie inédite). Sortie prévue fin avril 2021 chez Abrams Books.

Pour rappel, l'Art book de Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge (qui aborde également l'expérience immersive Star Wars : Galactic Starcruiser de Walt Disney World Resort) sort la semaine prochaine.

Des exemplaires ont été envoyés aux médias et blogueurs/influenceurs, en voici le sommaire :


Parmi les trois cents illustrations que contient l'ouvrage, la première esquisse de l'avant-poste Black Spire :


Mais aussi des ébauches, croquis et visualisations de boutiques, restaurants et attractions non-réalisées :

Alors si il veulent aller dans la direction du dernier CA pour le SWland Parisien je signe de suite

Ils doivent se mordre les doigts de ne pas avoir exploiter le Bounty Hunter concept.

Citation :

BRIGHT SUNS: INSIDE THE ART OF STAR WARS: GALAXY’S EDGE – EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW

GET A FIRST LOOK AT NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN CONCEPT ART FROM THE MAKING OF THE STAR WARS-THEMED LANDS.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge brought the galaxy far, far away into our own. Now, a new book from Abrams will reveal how the Star Wars-themed lands at Disney Parks came to be.

The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge arrives April 27, and comes loaded with concept art and insights chronicling the ideation and design of its namesake.

“Bringing The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge together was such an undertaking from everyone involved,” author Amy Ratcliffe tells StarWars.com. “I conducted a ton of interviews with Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm geniuses, and I was continually grateful for how available everyone made themselves. And also I was super impressed with everyone’s long-term memory as we went back years and years to the beginning of ideas for what would become Galaxy’s Edge!”

For Scott Trowbridge, portfolio creative executive, Walt Disney Imagineering, The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a chance to show fans the evolution of ideas and the work of many unsung heroes. “While guests and audiences always get to see the finished product, I’m excited to be able to share this rare glimpse into the creative process and to share how Imagineering develops a concept from the earliest brainstorms and sketches, to developing those into fully fleshed out and buildable designs,” he says. “I think that it might be surprising to learn that for every element that is eventually built, there may be dozens and dozens of explorations and options that led up to that final version.

The book collects art from the development of every aspect of the land, from eateries to attractions to the marketplace. Even Ratcliffe was surprised at what she found during her research.

“In flipping back through the notebook I used for interviews and research I revisited so many highlights,” she says. “I had an amazing time talking to so many people who are passionate about their work. In talking with Disney Parks’ senior costume designer Joe Kucharski, who helped design the cast members’ looks for Galaxy’s Edge, he told me a man wearing baggy cargo pants and styling his socks as leg warmers in the parking lot of a Trader Joe’s on a rainy day was the starting point for the gaiters many cast members wear. Inspiration is everywhere!”

“I’m particularly excited to share some of the very early notions and sketches from when we were exploring what a new Star Wars destination should feel like,” adds Trowbridge. “Creating a never-before-seen place that simultaneously felt like the perfect stepping off point for adventure, that felt authentically Star Wars, and, that we could actually build in THIS galaxy was a challenging exploration with a huge obligation to get it right.”

See below for a first look at just a few pieces of gorgeous art you’ll find in the book. Bright suns!

https://www.starwars.com/news/the-art-of-star-wars-galaxys-edge-exclusive-preview

Interview d'Amy Ratcliffe, auteur du livre The Art of Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge :

Citation :

Take an In-Depth Look at the Creative Process for Designing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in New Book

When Imagineers set out to create a new land, attraction or experience, we sometimes come up with hundreds of options for every element of the project. And no matter how great all of those options or elements might be, we always have to make the difficult choices in determining which versions of which concepts will make it to the final product. While we rarely have the opportunity to go in depth on our creative process and be able to share all these many options with our fans and our guests, there were so many fantastic pieces of concept artwork developed by the creative team for both Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and for the forthcoming Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, we wanted to share these with you in a new book, The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, written by Amy Ratcliffe.

Amy is a huge Star Wars fan and is very knowledgeable about our Star Wars projects. She has interviewed many of us from both Imagineering and Lucasfilm about this creative journey we undertook together. I sat down with Amy to talk about her involvement with this book and we have included a few of these conceptual images from the book throughout this interview.



You’ve written extensively about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in the past. What are some things that you learned while writing The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that you didn’t previously know ?

I was invested in all things Galaxy’s Edge from the moment it was announced. Star Wars and Disney Parks are two huge passions of mine, so I couldn’t believe they were intersecting in this way. And while I obviously knew Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Imagineering worked closely together to create this immersive land, I didn’t know Imagineering went to Pinewood Studios in London to work with the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story production design team. The group that designed sets for the film applied their skills to helping to imagine Batuu and Black Spire Outpost.

And I had an assumption that Imagineering generated a lot of art and ideas when dreaming up new experiences, but I didn’t know just how much. It’s kind of staggering.



There have been other “art of Star Wars” books before but never for a real or physical place.  Did you discover anything interesting about the design process for a place that either actually exists or will exist ?

The Star Wars films and animated series are beautifully designed. When artists and production designers imagine possibilities for on-screen stories, they can take into account that sets can show certain angles of a building, for example, but not the entire thing. And also the sets will only last for as long as filming needs require—maybe days or weeks. But with Galaxy’s Edge, everyone had to consider permanence and how guests would see structures, interiors, and everything from multiple vantage points. So it was fascinating to talk with you, Doug Chiang, Chris Beatty, and so many others about using different techniques and tricks to guide the guests’ view a little.



Do you have a favorite piece or pieces of concept art and what do you like about it (them) ?

My answer is one hundred percent biased: it’s one of Iain McCaig’s illustrations of Elee. First of all, it’s Iain McCaig, the artist responsible for Darth Maul’s look and innumerable other designs in Star Wars. Secondly, I adore Elee. She’s a sweet creature, a therii, who belongs to Salju and I got to share her story in Elee & Me. I felt like I bonded with her. Imagineering created models and thought about how to maybe bring her to life, and I just loved seeing that exploration.

Could you please tell us some basics about the book – how many pieces of concept art?  How did you go about researching for this book? Who are some of the key people with whom you spoke ?

As a fan of the art books for the Star Wars films, I knew The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge would be packed full of fascinating concepts. And it is. We included over 700 pieces of concept art. It was enough to make me use a second computer monitor at home for the first time because my 13 inch laptop screen just wasn’t the best way to appreciate the images.

Researching this book was a process—a joyful one. I went through previous interviews myself and others conducted about Galaxy’s Edge and revisited every bit of material I’d read about Batuu, including the fiction stories. My many, many trips to Galaxy’s Edge as a fan (and all the Ronto wraps I ate) hugely informed me. But the key was conducting interviews with the talented folks at Imagineering and Lucasfilm.

I spoke with everyone from Carrie Beck (Lucasfilm), to Doug Chiang and Erik Tiemens (Lucasfilm), to Margaret Kerrison (Imagineering), to Imagineering designers who worked on graphics and fonts for the land. Basically I talked with everyone I could to get both an idea of the big picture of Galaxy’s Edge and all the details that make it such a special place.



Has the information you’ve discovered while writing this book changed your perspective of the lands at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort ?

I’ve spent a lot of my time in Galaxy’s Edge soaking everything in. I like to hang out in the market and absorb the sounds and the way the light shines through the coverings. I’m the person who gets really excited about lovingly weathered stones and a carefully placed rust stain. So now after learning so much in writing this book, I just have a whole other level of reverence for the care and thought behind Galaxy’s Edge. On my next visit I’ll be thinking about stories you shared about the early days or about the paintings Erik Tiemens told me inspired him—I’ll get to see everything with a new perspective.



This book includes a bit of a sneak peek at our next, and in many ways, the most immersive experience we’ve ever developed. What were you most excited to learn about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser ?

Ha, everything! I had the best time talking to Ann Morrow Johnson about Galactic Starcruiser. Her enthusiasm for the project came through in every conversation we had. But if I have to pick a single thing it’s that I was happy to see how much of the ship, the Halcyon starcruiser, guests will be able to explore throughout their journey. It’s interactive in ways I didn’t expect.



Thank you, Amy! I hope our fans and our guests will enjoy this glimpse into the creative process as much as we enjoyed bringing it all to life.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/04/take-an-in-depth-look-at-the-creative-process-for-designing-star-wars-galaxys-edge-in-new-book/

Avec une durée de 18 minutes, Star Wars : Rise of the Resistance dépasse la durée autorisée par les protocoles sanitaires californiens qui limitent la durée en intérieur à 15 minutes maximum.

Pour ouvrir l'attraction vendredi, l'une des plus populaires du parc Disneyland, son temps de parcours va devoir être raccourci de trois minutes !

Citation :

How COVID changed Disneyland’s Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

The Disneyland ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is an 18-minute space adventure in which riders join the resistance movement, get captured by the evil First Order and finally escape with the help of members of the rebellion.

But even in a galaxy far, far away, Earth’s deadly pandemic has had an impact: California health protocols mandate that all indoor rides last no longer than 15 minutes. To offer Rise of the Resistance, Disneyland has to shorten it.

Disneyland officials promise that when the park reopens Friday, the ride’s major plot points will remain intact, including lots of explosions, drama and high-tech mayhem.

Disneyland representatives said the overall experience would be shortened by cutting down the “dwelling points,” where riders wait or stroll through the attraction. That could include the segments when visitors are waiting to be interrogated by the First Order’s leader Kylo Ren or when they are allowed to linger before a unit of stormtroopers in a Star Destroyer’s hangar bay, according to Disneyland representatives.

A speech given at the beginning of the ride by a hologram of resistance hero Rey may also be shortened, they said.

To help reduce crowding in the park, Disneyland has also expanded its virtual queueing system for the ride, allowing park visitors to join the queue through the Disneyland app twice daily — at 7 a.m. and at noon — instead of once. In the morning session, visitors can join the queue without having to be in the park. To join the queue at noon, parkgoers must be inside either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park. The ride is Disneyland’s newest attraction, added only two months before the pandemic closed the park last year.

These changes are among several ways the state’s health protocols are altering how theme park fans experience their favorite attractions.

The state guidelines that allowed theme parks to reopen this month include rules that are designed to reduce the time parkgoers spend doing things in close proximity to strangers, such as standing in queues or inside poorly ventilated areas. For that reason, the rules limit the parks’ overall capacity and require that all queues be outdoors and that indoor rides last no longer than 15 minutes. (As the rules state, “indoor settings pose a much higher risk of transmission than outdoor settings.”)

Over the last couple of decades, major theme parks such as Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood had leaned the opposite way, investing heavily to make rides’ long lines more tolerable by moving them indoors. That protects visitors from the weather and creates an opportunity to fill the space with entertainment — video screens and talking animated characters — to enhance the overall theme or plot of the ride.

The parks “spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours designing all the stuff in those queues,” said Martin Lewison, a business administration professor and theme park expert from Farmingdale State College in New York.

Now, where possible, the parks are shortening or eliminating the indoor queues instead of shortening the rides.

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia opened April 1 with most roller coasters operating as normal. But people waiting to board the Superman: Escape From Krypton ride no longer shuffle into a structure that resembles Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.

At Universal Studios Hollywood, which also reopened this month, one of the most popular rides — Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey — takes place primarily inside what resembles the enchanted Hogwarts castle. During the indoor queue, parkgoers stroll past statues of wizards and listen to dialogue coming from moving paintings, animated creatures and 3-D projections of Harry Potter and his friends.

To keep the parkgoers moving and reduce the time spent inside, Universal Studios is now sending visitors into the queue in what Senior Vice President of Operations Scott Strobl described as “pulses” of 15 to 20 people at a time, with short breaks in between. The idea, he said, is to keep visitors from stopping to form a bottleneck.

Rides without indoor queues have been affected as well.

The WaterWorld stunt show at Universal Studios has been shut down — but not because of concerns about members of the audience, who sat outdoors. It’s because the stuntmen and stuntwomen can’t wear masks and maintain physical distance while punching, kicking, hugging and trying to kill one another in the show.

A few indoor attractions, such as Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem and the Simpsons Ride, were temporarily closed because their theater-like seating doesn’t lend itself to physical distancing. The pre-show elements of the attractions have been shortened and the rides were recently reopened.

Most theme park fans are not likely to protest changes, said Lewison, noting that park enthusiasts have been shut out of their favorite pastime for more than a year.

“I think everybody is willing to make some tradeoffs to get into a theme park right now,” he said.

Hastin Zylstra, a theme park fan from Santa Ana, said he would be upset if the coronavirus rules eliminate important elements of the Star Wars ride.

But there is a way to satisfy him.

“If it’s a case of just improving operations so there’s less standing around, that’s a win in my book, and a preferable way to do it,” he said.

Los Angeles Times - 28 avril 2021.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-04-28/disneyland-star-wars-ride-of-the-resistance-covid-19

Bon, faut espérer que l’immersion et le storytelling soit toujours au rendez vous.

La débilité du truc.
Les visiteurs sont confiners bien plus longtemps dans le parc à bœufs qu'est la file d'attente (même avec des boarding pass), que dans l'immense show building ventilé de la partie ride.

Je crois avoir vu sur les réseaux sociaux que justement ils font entrer les visiteurs directement dans le vaisseau impérial en sautant le passage dans le vaisseau sol-air ?

C'était pour Rise of the Resistance mais à Disney's Hollywood Studios  @ventban .

Ce fait a été reporté sur Blog Mickey

Je n'ai pas vu la même information passée pour celui du Disneyland Park, mais je vais chercher.

Edit : j'ai rien vu qui va dans le sens où c'est aussi le cas.

Capitaine a écrit:

C'était pour Rise of the Resistance mais à Disney's Hollywood Studios  @ventban .

Ce fait a été reporté sur Blog Mickey

Je n'ai pas vu la même information passée pour celui du Disneyland Park, mais je vais chercher.

Edit : j'ai rien vu qui va dans le sens où c'est aussi le cas.

Je me demandais justement pour quel parc c'était. En tous cas, ça amputerait au ride une durée je pense suffisante pour rester sous la barre de 15min. Après, vu qu'il y a une coupure où on passe à l'extérieur entre le preshow et le vaisseau, ils comptent quand même ça comme de l'intérieur ?

Bonne question : mais si passage en extérieur entre les deux, je vois pas pourquoi cela compterait...

La situation en cours à Disney Hollywood Studios est, d’après les dires des équipes, ce à quoi il faut s’attendre pour se conformer aux restrictions et à cette obligation de temps en intérieur. Des images montrent également sur Haunted Mansion à Disneyland Resort des visiteurs passant directement de la file extérieur à la zone d’embarquement via une porte donnant sur la file extérieure.

Il n’y a cependant pas d’information sur la durée de ce process sur Walt Disney World ni les raisons. Rappelons que le fait est déjà parut en debut de crise pour faciliter et assurer un embarquement plus fluide et rapide mais aussi en cas de difficultés techniques.

C’est une décision qui lorsqu’elle ressort de la législation est bien triste mais d’une décision dans un but d’efficacité ou de fluidifier un flux pour des raisons de rendement est discutable et décevante. D’autant plus pour ce type d’expérience avec les attentes des visiteurs et les restrictions et difficultés de base sur son accès.

On a notre réponse @ventban !
Les visiteurs n’ont pas le premier pré-show mais on a bien le vol entre Batuu et le croiseur impérial.

C’est ici : https://dlnewstoday.com/2021/04/photos-video-rise-of-the-resistance-reopens-with-distancing-plexiglass-and-no-briefing-pre-show-in-star-wars-galaxys-edge-at-disneyland/

Capitaine a écrit:

On a notre réponse @ventban !
Les visiteurs n’ont pas le premier pré-show  mais on a bien le vol entre Batuu et le croiseur impérial.

C’est ici : https://dlnewstoday.com/2021/04/photos-video-rise-of-the-resistance-reopens-with-distancing-plexiglass-and-no-briefing-pre-show-in-star-wars-galaxys-edge-at-disneyland/

Quelle ride de fou ,franchement c'est dément même si on y perds un peu en version gestes barrière mais faut faire avec pour le moment .Ce ride est une hallu .

Black Spire Outpost Market a rouvert avec une capacité limitée (contrôlée en temps réel à l'entrée et à la sortie par des cast members munis de tablettes), une direction imposée, une signalisation complémentaire, des distributeurs de gel hydroalcoolique et des plaques de polyméthacrylate de méthyle transparent aux stations de paiement des boutiques :

Vinc a écrit:

et des plaques de polyméthacrylate de méthyle transparent aux stations de paiement des boutiques

il va être dur à placer au Scrabble celui-ci !

Starbucks propose dans sa collection Been There Series une tasse à café inspirée de Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge.

Celle-ci a été spécialement conçue pour Disneyland Resort et Walt Disney World Resort où elle est exclusivement vendue (avec une petite exception malgré tout puisqu'on la retrouve en ce moment en ligne sur ShopDisney aux Etats-Unis).

Les planètes Tatooine et Endor ont également leur déclinaison au côté de Batuu.

Après le parc Disney's Hollywood Studios en Floride, c'est Disneyland Park qui va tester la file d'attente traditionnelle (standby queue) pour l'attraction Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

Citation :

Disneyland will begin the day with standby queue access for Rise of the Resistance and the Park could potentially activate the virtual queue on certain days and times. The virtual queue will be paused during the test.

Since the attraction opened in January 2020, at 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. PT daily, Disneyland Guests race to attempt to secure a boarding pass for the Star Wars-themed ride, which features sequel trilogy characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), and the adorable droid BB-8.

Disneyland visitors are encouraged to check the Disneyland mobile app prior to 7 a.m. before arriving at the Park and throughout the day to see if Rise of the Resistance is using a standby or virtual queue.

If the virtual queue is activated, visitors will need to be inside Disneyland to access the Rise of the Resistance virtual queue. Previously, the Rise of the Resistance virtual queue could be accessed anywhere — at Disneyland, DCA, Downtown Disney, or from home or a hotel.

Rencontre avec le documentariste Brian Volk-Weiss, auteur, réalisateur et producteur des séries documentaires The Toys That Made Us, The Center Seat : 55 Years of Star Trek, A Toy Store Near You, The Movies That Made Us et Behind the Attraction (Disney+) :

Citation :

FROM KENNER TO STAR WARS: GALAXY’S EDGE

BRIAN VOLK-WEISS, CREATOR OF THE TOYS THAT MADE US AND BEHIND THE ATTRACTION, ON MAKING HIS OWN BRAND OF STAR WARS DOCUMENTARY AND LOVING THE GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY.

Most Star Wars fans have dreamed of flying an X-wing. When Brian Volk-Weiss was five years old, however, he was a little more serious about it.

“I was young enough when I saw Star Wars that I really didn’t understand what a movie is,” he tells StarWars.com. “And I didn’t know the word ‘documentary,’ but if you looked at how I was acting after I saw the movie, you would think I thought it was a documentary. Whenever somebody would say to me, ‘Hey, Brian, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ I would say, ‘Well, you know, I’d like to be an X-wing pilot in the Rebellion, and I love T-65s…’” Yet while this response was cute, his family began to feel a disturbance in the Force.

“My mom’s a scientist, and it was starting to really freak her out,” the Queens, New York, native continues. “She bought me this book [called Star Wars: The Making of the Movies] for five-year-olds that shows ‘The Death Star’s not the size of a moon, it’s the size of a beach ball! C-3PO’s not a robot!’ There was a picture of him with his mask off and you could see Anthony Daniels.” Thankfully, the nature of movies and moviemaking became clear, putting Volk-Weiss on another career trajectory.



“I’m very blessed that from the moment I got that book — and understood what it meant, that it was not a documentary, that I could not join the Rebellion — all I’ve ever wanted to do was be in this business.”

Volk-Weiss would get there, going on to create, produce, and direct the popular docuseries The Toys That Made Us, The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek, A Toy Store Near You, The Movies That Made Us, and Disney+’s Behind the Attraction. And he told real-world Star Wars stories along the way.

The pop culture that made us

Volk-Weiss’ journey to pop-culture documentarian was one that could not be mapped out. He studied communications at the University of Iowa, where he made some student films. Later, he’d land a gig as a production assistant on Castaway, which proved to be valuable in teaching him what he didn’t want to do. (“I remember watching Robert Zemeckis directing the Thanksgiving scene. He was talking about the foods, and the wardrobe, and the hair, and the motivation, and I remember watching it being like, ‘Yeah, that’s not me. I’m more into the business side of showbusiness.”) This led to Volk-Weiss becoming a manager of comedians and forming The Nacelle Company, building a library of standup specials. But he always held onto his love of pop culture and, armed with an equally fervent love of documentary filmmaking, had an idea for a show. After seven years of pitching, The Toys That Made Us was finally picked up by Netflix, telling the behind-the-scenes tales of the world’s biggest toy lines.

And the series kicked off — season one, episode one — with Star Wars in December 2017. The Star Wars episode opens with a recreation of the moment that Kenner designer Jim Swearingen visits Industrial Light & Magic to see this new space movie they’re making, and that he’d be making toys of. They’re shooting the sequence from A New Hope in which the Death Star pulls in the Millennium Falcon. Swearingen stands in awe as he sees the Millennium Falcon model, in front of a blue screen, for the first time — a total audience surrogate — before the show cuts to the real Swearingen, today, recounting his feelings. For a generation that loved Star Wars and Star Wars toys, it’s beautiful.

“It was magical. First of all, we shot in the real building where ILM was for A New Hope,” Volk-Weiss says, though he admits it wasn’t the exact location. “My joke about Toys That Made Us, the entire thing was an excuse to replicate ILM. Like, that’s all I wanted to do. The rest was a bonus.”

The episode would set the tone for everything Volk-Weiss would do after, mixing laughs and playfulness with real emotion, a complete love letter to everything he, well, loves. (A formula he calls “Robocop.” It references a scene in the film of the same name, in which the cyborg-officer’s point of view switches back and forth between his previous and current life, light moments and heavy moments.) It’s filled with great stuff: protypes, rare figures, old commercials, and interviews with collectors and the talents behind the toys. It ends on a particularly poignant beat, with Swearingen revisiting his old office in Cincinnati, followed by Kenner’s Dave Okada talking about the power of toys. “If a kid had a bad day at school,” he says, “Luke will be waiting for him.”

“It was just raw joy,” Volk-Weiss says of making the episode. “Meeting these people that inspired my entire life and career.” But it wouldn’t be his last trip to the galaxy far, far away.



With Behind the Attraction, which premiered July 2021 on Disney+, Volk-Weiss returned to Star Wars, this time chronicling the making of Star Tours and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in one episode. For Star Tours, an attraction that finds passengers boarding a Starspeeder and taken on a misadventure through the galaxy (and iconic Star Wars moments), the installment goes from the idea to approach George Lucas for a partnership, to ILM legend Dennis Muren revealing his tricks for the on-screen effects, to the various updates it’s had through the years. But there’s one amazing note in the story of Star Tours that stands out.

“What we do with all of our shows is, we start a two- to three-month research phase. And the thing that we’re doing in that research phase is what I call, ‘Looking for the spinal column.’ I like to find a simple story or a simple moment or a specific person that literally acts as the spinal column of that entire episode,” explains Volk-Weiss. “The spinal-column story was the Imagineers basically being told by George Lucas, ‘Yeah, we’re not doing a roller coaster.’ Six months, they were trying to figure out what it could be. [Then out of nowhere was] George, walking through the hallway, ‘There it is. What’s that?’”

As discussed in the episode, Lucas, while visiting Walt Disney Imagineering for a meeting on the yet-to-be determined Star Wars attraction, spotted storyboards on a wall. They caught his eye, depicting first-person shots of white-water rafting and flying in airplanes. Turns out they were from a research and development visit to London-based Rediffusion, who had developed a hydraulics-operated simulator. Lucas thought this could work for Star Wars. “And then these Imagineers shipping out the next day to England, to all get motion sickness, and then fly back home and figure out how to do this crazy thing.”

They would figure it out, of course, with this new tech forming the heart of the experience. Volk-Weiss loved this so much, he included an Easter egg within the unearthed footage of simulator tests. “It was literally them landing a 747 [on the monitor of the simulator],” he says. “We edited out the 747 footage landing at Heathrow [Airport], and put in the footage of the attack on Death Star II. So you literally see, through the window, these two British pilots trying to take out the Super Star Destroyer. My favorite moment. If you blink, you miss it.”



In telling the story of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars-themed land at Disney Parks, Behind the Attraction features testimony from the Imagineers who dreamed it up, as well as Lucasfilm legend Doug Chiang, who led design, recounting how the land evolved from idea to reality. The segment addresses why the team decided upon creating a new planet, Batuu, for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge; reveals the clever way that multiple groups of fans can fly that famous hunk of junk at once on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run; and goes inside Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, including how its droid “narrator” hearkens back to Artoo and Threepio. But it leaves just enough magic intact, which was important for Volk-Weiss, who warmly remembers his first visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge during preproduction.

“Everything I want to say to you is so cliched. And I’ll say it to you because it’s true, even though it’s so cliched. I felt like I was in the movie,” he says. “I mean, I really did. Disney and the Imagineers use the term ‘immersion’ all the time. I don’t think that word has ever been fully accurate until Galaxy’s Edge. It was magical. It made me happy to be alive.”



The circle is complete

Volk-Weiss remains as passionate about Star Wars as ever. Maybe more than ever. He counts his favorite characters as Luke Skywalker, specifically from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and Ahsoka Tano, a combo that he sees as evidence of the saga’s long-last power and evolution.

“One character has been with me for, basically, 98 percent of my life. The other character has only been there for a little over 10 years,” he says. “That’s what George Lucas did so brilliantly. Just like the Constitution is a living document, I feel like Star Wars is a living canon.”

His ongoing love of Star Wars is also reflected in his greatest hobby. During our Zoom interview, Volk-Weiss sits in his office — a very real background of shelves and shelves of toys behind him.



His toy collection contains over 3,000 items, a blend of old and new, with Star Wars taking prominence. There are shelves devoted solely to Jedi Luke and Ahsoka. He’s gotten into the rarities game, scoring original prototypes of several Hasbro Star Wars figures. And he still has his original Kenner R2-D2, which he made sure to include in The Toys That Made Us — a tribute to his old plastic friend.

“As with any kid, my parents got me stuff, and that’s what I played with. Star Wars was different,” Volk-Weiss says. “I remember, like it was an hour ago, opening the wrapping paper and seeing the Millennium Falcon. Other than the birth of my kids, and my wedding, and maybe a couple of other little things, one of which is going to the Lucasfilm Archive, there’s no greater moment in my life than when I got the Millennium Falcon.” That might sound like hyperbole; but as his voice cracks with emotion, it’s clear that Volk-Weiss speaks from the heart. And it’s easy to understand how the five-year-old who wanted to fly an X-wing grew up to be the filmmaker he is today.

https://www.starwars.com/news/brian-volk-weiss-interview

La compagnie aérienne Alaska Airlines a remis en service ce 4 mai 2022 son Boeing 737-890 immatriculé N538AS après lui avoir donné un nouveau design "Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge".  

L'appareil, rebaptisé “Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort", a effectué son vol inaugural depuis l'aéroport International de Seattle-Tacoma à destination de l'aéroport John Wayne situé à Orange County à approximativement 15 miles (24 kilomètres) de Disneyland Resort !

Il s'agit déjà du septième design thématisé fruit de la collaboration entre Alaska Airlines et Disneyland Resort.

Citation :

New Alaska Airlines Themed Aircraft Celebrates Adventures to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort

Alaska Airlines joined forces with Disneyland Resort today, May the 4th, to unveil a new, one-of-its-kind Star Wars-themed aircraft that even Chewbacca would be proud of! The plane, painted space black with the iconic Millennium Falcon emblazoned on the tail chased by TIE fighters, celebrates Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the newest land of adventure inside Disneyland park. The plane is now flying on routes across Alaska’s network for the universe to enjoy!



For this latest collaboration – Alaska’s seventh painted plane for the Disneyland Resort – no Jedi mind tricks were needed for a Star Wars livery to enter Alaska’s fleet. The aircraft’s official name is “Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort” with a tail number of N538AS. After the big reveal and celebration at the gate in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the plane made its inaugural flight today and ultimate arrival at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.





The unique design of the Star Wars-inspired plane is a collaboration among teams at Alaska, Disneyland Resort and Lucasfilm. Familiar spacecraft span each side of the plane with hand painted, detailed imagery: the Millennium Falcon and four TIE fighters. Designers at Disneyland Resort focused on the incredibly identifiable, widely recognized Millennium Falcon for the spotlight, in addition to the well-traveled spaceship being the focal point at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a 14-acre land in Disneyland park.

The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Disneyland Resort logos are featured in the center of the fuselage. For a lighthearted touch, cute porgs look back at passengers from both winglets and greet guests at the boarding door.





To bring the imagery to life, the plane’s exterior required 228 gallons of paint applied during 540 work hours over 27 days. For the painting, 23 base colors were used with numerous custom colors mixed onsite for the detailed airbrushing of the Millennium Falcon and the TIE fighters.

“Star Wars Transport to Disneyland Resort” is scheduled to fly in the Alaska fleet and throughout Alaska’s network. You can also spot “Friendship and Beyond at Disneyland Resort” at airports and in the skies with a whimsical tribute to Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure park – our last Disneyland Resort-themed aircraft that began service in October 2019.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2022/05/new-alaska-airlines-themed-aircraft-celebrates-adventures-to-star-wars-galaxys-edge-at-disneyland-resort/

La communication de la compagnie aérienne Alaska Airlines sur son site internet, suivie du communiqué de presse diffusé hier :

Citation :

Alaska’s new Star Wars-themed aircraft celebrates adventures to “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” at Disneyland Resort

Alaska Airlines joined forces with Disneyland Resort today, May the Fourth, to unveil a new, one-of-its-kind Star Wars-themed aircraft that even Chewbacca would be proud of!  The plane, painted space black with the iconic Millennium Falcon emblazoned on the tail chased by TIE fighters, celebrates Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the newest land of adventure inside Disneyland park. The plane is now flying on routes across Alaska’s network for the universe to enjoy!

For this latest collaboration – Alaska’s seventh painted plane for the Disneyland Resort – no Jedi mind tricks were needed: the force was strong for a Star Wars livery to finally enter Alaska’s fleet. The aircraft’s official name is “Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort” with a tail number of N538AS. After the big reveal and celebration at the gate in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the plane made its inaugural flight today and ultimate arrival at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.





The unique design of the Star Wars-inspired plane is a collaboration among teams at Alaska, Disneyland Resort and Lucasfilm. Familiar spacecraft span each side of the plane with hand painted, detailed imagery: the Millennium Falcon and four TIE fighters. Designers at Disneyland Resort focused on the incredibly identifiable, widely recognized Millennium Falcon for the spotlight, in addition to the well-traveled spaceship being the focal point at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a 14-acre land in Disneyland park.

The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Disneyland Resort logos are featured in the center of the fuselage. For a lighthearted touch, porgs (the cute avian creatures that lived on Luke Skywalker’s remote island) look back at passengers from both winglets, as another porg greets guests at the boarding door.



To bring the imagery to life, the plane’s exterior required 228 gallons of paint applied during 540 work hours over 27 days. For the painting, 23 base colors were used with numerous custom colors mixed onsite for the detailed airbrushing of the Millennium Falcon and the TIE fighters.

Watch how this Alaska Airlines plane was transformed !



“Star Wars Transport to Disneyland Resort” is scheduled to fly in the Alaska fleet and throughout Alaska’s network. You can also spot “Friendship and Beyond at Disneyland Resort” at airports and in the skies with a whimsical tribute to Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure Park – our last Disneyland Resort-themed aircraft that began service in October 2019.

https://news.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/starwars-galaxysedge-livery/

Citation :

Alaska Airlines launches new Star Wars-themed aircraft to celebrate adventures to 'Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge' at Disneyland Resort

Fans wearing their favorite Star Wars clothing today enjoy early boarding on their flights

Alaska Airlines joined forces with Disneyland Resort today, May the Fourth, to unveil a new, one-of-its-kind Star Wars-themed aircraft that even Chewbacca would be proud of. The plane, painted space black with the iconic Millennium Falcon emblazoned on the tail chased by TIE fighters, celebrates Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the newest land of adventure inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif. The plane is now flying on routes across Alaska's network for the universe to enjoy.

In celebration of the themed aircraft, Alaska guests wearing Star Wars-branded clothing enjoy early boarding today on their flights. So grab your classic Princess Leia T-shirt or Darth Vader sweatshirt and we'll see you at the gate.

Watch how we transformed one of Alaska's jets into the new Star Wars-themed plane at the Alaska Airlines Newsroom.  

"As part of our strong collaboration, Alaska is proud to combine forces with Disneyland Resort for another magical, special-edition aircraft," said Natalie Bowman, managing director of marketing and advertising for Alaska Airlines. "The detailed artwork and intricately painted design is out of this world, and our guests, especially lifelong Star Wars fans, will feel instantly transported and eager to land at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge the moment they see it."

For this latest collaboration – Alaska's seventh painted plane for the Disneyland Resort – no Jedi mind tricks were needed: the force was strong for a Star Wars livery to finally enter Alaska's fleet. The aircraft's official name is "Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort" with a tail number of N538AS.

"Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is one of the most popular destinations at Disneyland Resort," said Lynn Clark, Disneyland Resort, vice president of sales and services. "Now, thanks to our great friends at Alaska Airlines, our guests can begin their Star Wars experience even before they arrive at Disneyland Park."

The unique design of the Star Wars-inspired plane is a collaboration among teams at Alaska, Disneyland Resort and Lucasfilm. Familiar spacecraft span each side of the plane with hand painted, detailed imagery: the Millennium Falcon and four TIE fighters. Designers at Disneyland Resort focused on the incredibly identifiable, widely recognized Millennium Falcon for the spotlight, in addition to the well-traveled spaceship being the focal point at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge – a 14-acre land in Disneyland.

The Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and Disneyland Resort logos are featured in the center of the fuselage. For a lighthearted touch, porgs (the cute avian creatures that lived on Luke Skywalker's remote island) look back at passengers from both winglets, as another porg greets guests at the boarding door.  

To bring the imagery to life, the plane's exterior required 228 gallons of paint applied during 540 work hours over 27 days. For the painting, 23 base colors were used with numerous custom colors mixed onsite for the detailed airbrushing of the Millennium Falcon and the TIE fighters.

"Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort" is scheduled to fly in the Alaska fleet and throughout Alaska's network for at least eight years. You can also spot "Friendship and Beyond at Disneyland Resort" at airports and in the skies with a whimsical tribute to Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure Park – our last Disneyland Resort-themed aircraft that began service in October 2019.

Guests can always book their next trips to Southern California (or hundreds of other destinations) at alaskaair.com. And once there, it's always a perfect time to visit Disneyland Resort and all it has to offer.

Alaska Airlines - 4 mai 2022.