Elvis Presley

News From The Frontier: Star Wars, Hallmark, Bread & Circuses [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Happy Friday, everyone. TY here with your daily, uh, weekly, er, occasional dose of news from the frontier!

The death of Star Wars?
1985-1996 was a dark time for Star Wars. There was an ill-conceived sequel to an ill-conceived TV movie about Ewoks. There were a couple of quickly cancelled Saturday morning cartoons, one dealing again with Ewoks and the other with the early adventures of Artoo and Threepio. Pretty much Star Wars minus all of the good stuff.

Die-hard fans were eventually able to find some solace in books and video games, but for the general public, Star Wars became a distant memory, a relic of the past.

When the 20th anniversary special editions of the trilogy hit theaters in 1997, the world suddenly fell in love with Star Wars all over again. And though some claim the 1999-2005 prequel trilogy did more harm than good to the franchise, it sustained and built upon Star Wars‘ resurgence in popularity.

Star Wars has entered a dark time again. Last week, there was little mainstream media coverage of the 30th anniversary of the original film.

Even the official Star Wars site failed to run a story on the anniversary. Their headline story on May 25 was a three-day-old entry promoting Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed on The History Channel. Whatever happened to that “30 Years Ago This Month” feature they started back in March? I’m nothing if not sentimental, so The Film Frontier lovingly covered the anniversary of the film.

The “front door” of the Star Wars site was spruced up a bit for the anniversary, at least, though I actually prefer the simpler version. They have also added some video features.

As we’ve been hearing since 2005, two Star Wars TV series are in the works. In case you’re curious, here’s a teaser poster for the forthcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a 3-D animated series taking place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. As posters go, it’s not exactly a classic. Hopefully the actual show will be better.

Will these new TV series bring Star Wars back to life? Or just continue the dark times?

Here are a couple of news columns with further opinions on the current state of Star Wars:

Is Star Wars over? (The London Free Press)
A convention almost killed ‘Star Wars’ (Argus Leader)

Oh yeah, and Yoda wins
Remember that whole Star Wars postage stamp contest? Though the winner was announced a week ago, you may very well not have heard due to the above-mentioned lack of coverage and, dare I say, lack of interest.

With little surprise, Yoda won. This means that the Jedi Master will get his own sheet of stamps this Fall, in addition to being part of the set that went on sale last week. That’s right, all of the voting was for a double-dip.

The voting results were also not covered on starwars.com, though it was revealed at http://www.uspsjedimaster.com, the horribly named “Jedi Shipping & Mailing Master” site that promotes the stamps.

I think the whole voting for a stamp thing failed to light up the Web as Lucasfilm and the postal service might have predicted.

The difference between this and the promotional bonanza created by the 50s Elvis vs. 70s Elvis stamp voting 15 years ago is that all of these Star Wars stamps would be released either way. It was a contest with little meaning.

Nothing against Yoda, as he’s one of my favorite characters, but I was hoping an image from the 1977 film would win instead, to honor the anniversary. Yoda’s first appearance was in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back. Oh well, not worth staying up at night over it.

You can get Yoda and the other 14 Star Wars stamps at post offices now.

Christmas is only seven months away. . . .
So that means it’s time for Hallmark’s catalog of 2007 Christmas ornaments.

Page 33: Superman (“Quick-Change Artist”) From the looks of things, I’ll be skipping this one. I suppose it is marginally better than a recent Superman ornament that featured the Man of Steel laying across the Daily Planet globe (“flying” is what they were going for, I guess).

Pages 34, 35: Star Wars and Star Trek
There are three ornaments celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars: “R2-D2 and Jawa,” “The Adventure Begins” (featuring the Millennium Falcon over Mos Eisley), and “A Jedi Legacy Revealed” (Ben explains the Force while Luke tries out his father’s lightsaber for the first time).

For Star Trek, there’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which is an Enterprise bridge scene with the Reliant on the viewer. You can’t see the character faces in the picture, and they will likely make or break the ornament. Nice for Trek II to be remembered, in any event.

For you TNG fans out there, there’s “Future Enterprise“, the vessel seen in “All Good Things. . . .” Sorry, even spruced up, the Galaxy Class just doesn’t do anything for me.

Page 47: Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots One of the classic toys of Christmas certainly makes for a decent ornament. I used to have the Transformers version of this way back when, with Optimus Prime vs. Megatron.

Page 57: Superman and Wonder Woman
“Just Like Superman!” is basically a miniature Clark Kent jacket and shirt on a hanger with the Superman suit peeking out underneath. A simple concept, but better looking than the Superman in phone booth ornament above.

Speaking of phone booths, I remember reading somewhere that DC was “anti-phone-booth” now in regards to Superman and was not allowing that imagery to be used. Apparently this either didn’t apply to Hallmark, DC changed their collective minds, or I shouldn’t believe everything I read on the Web. Let that be a lesson to you.

“A Real Wonder Woman” is basically the same concept, with Diana’s cape and costume on a hanger. Though I’ve never gotten the impression she stored her costume on a hanger, who am I to wonder about such things?

That’s some of the highlights, anyway. There are also lots of Peanuts and Looney Tunes ornaments scattered throughout. And lots of boring, more Hallmarky stuff. That’s one hefty catalog.

And yes, it really is a slow news day if I’m sitting here making up content by flipping through a Hallmark catalog.

Rome: Remastered
This weekend on Star Trek: Remastered, it’s “Bread & Circuses.” The Enterprise discovers a planet where its equivalent of the Roman Empire has survived into its equivalent of the 20th century. The gang gets drafted for a reality TV series. Those Romans were ahead of their time.

And no, despite my alias here, I am not Roman. For one thing, I’m usually behind my time rather than ahead of it.

* * *

And that’s all for this installment of Frontier News.

Coming next time, the leftover, minor news items that I just couldn’t find room for today: JJ Abrams announces cast for Star Trek XI and George Lucas announces a Star Wars sequel trilogy.

(That’s a little joke. Very little.)

USPS announces 15 Star Wars stamps & a vote [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Not being the most popular site on the Web (yet), I have to celebrate small victories here at The Film Frontier, so . . . with all due humility . . . what can I say, but . . . I called it!

But first, the big news of the day. The United States Postal Service unveiled 15 Star Wars stamps that will be sold as a pane starting May 25 — the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars. For more details and to see the new stamps, check out http://www.uspsjedimaster.com.

Also announced today, the postal service is holding an online vote to determine which of the 15 stamps will be available on its own, separate sheet in addition to the group pane. The vote is only the second time in history that the public will help to determine the fate of a postage stamp.

Here was my speculation (pulled out of thin air, mind you; I had no “sources”) back on March 17:

Associated Press reports yesterday also seemed to confirm the obvious, that the big announcement on March 28 is indeed for Star Wars stamp(s).

Will the announcement be as simple as that, though? Or will the post office deliver up another Elvis-style contest? Rather than 50s Elvis vs. 70s Elvis, it could be Vader vs. Yoda, for instance.

While the same person cannot be honored on more than one US stamp within the same decade, there is no such restriction on fictional characters. Any such contest would be only a marketing ploy. And they would never do that, would they?

Unlike Elvis fans, who were only able to purchase the winning stamp, Star Wars fans will have the opportunity to buy all 15 stamps no matter which one prevails. The postal service will be turning most of these sales into pure profit, since many of the stamps will never actually be mailed. I’d have to call that a win-win scenario.

The 15 stamps (and contenders for the solo sheet) are as follows:

  • Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back)
  • The Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)
  • The Emperor (Return of the Jedi)
  • Vader vs. Obi-Wan (Revenge of the Sith)
  • Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
  • Leia & Artoo (Star Wars)
  • Threepio (Star Wars)
  • Queen Amidala (The Phantom Menace)
  • Obi-Wan (Star Wars)
  • Boba Fett (The Empire Strikes Back)
  • Darth Maul (The Phantom Menace)
  • Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back)
  • Chewie & Han (Star Wars)
  • X-Wing (Star Wars)
  • Stormtroopers (Star Wars)

I was surprised by a number of things. First, I didn’t expect to see depictions of the human characters. I suppose the regulation that a person must be dead for ten years to appear on a US stamp does not apply if recognizing a character played by an actor.

Given the number of items their images have been used on over the years, I imagine the Star Wars actors won’t feel as weird about seeing themselves on a stamp as most others would. Once you’ve been an action figure, it’s pretty much all downhill from there.

And, honestly, I didn’t expect to see any prequel trilogy stamps. I don’t mind it, but it is surprising.  If you’re going to include the prequels, though, why leave out Attack of the Clones?

It would have been nice if Han and Leia had rated individual stamps. They are two of the most important Star Wars characters, after all.

Be sure to vote, early and often.

Reporters begin sniffing at Artoo mailboxes [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

It didn’t take long. Yesterday, I told you about Artoo Detoo mailboxes appearing around the country as part of a joint marketing effort between Lucasfilm and the US Postal Service.

Meredith Heagney of The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio has already mentioned the mailboxes in two articles, and we see an attempt to start a controversy.

On Thursday, Heagney reported:

Once the Postal Service does talk, it will have to explain who paid for the custom mailboxes, in light of a proposed increase in first-class postage to 41 cents. Mark Haberman wasn’t impressed with the special mailbox[…]. “I think it’s a waste of money,” said Haberman, the assistant director of the Ohio Building Authority.

Yesterday, she continued the angle:

The Postal Service says it was a “Jedi mind trick.” Here on Earth it’s called a “publicity stunt.” […] [Melissa] Dodge [a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service] refused to say how much the graphics cost the Postal Service, calling it “proprietary information.” She said the cost was “very minimal.” Star Wars’ parent company, Lucasfilm, did not provide funds for the mailboxes, and the Postal Service didn’t pay to use R2-D2’s image, Dodge said.

Associated Press reports yesterday also seemed to confirm the obvious, that the big announcement on March 28 is indeed for Star Wars stamp(s).

* * *

Will the announcement be as simple as that, though? Or will the post office deliver up another Elvis-style contest? Rather than 50s Elvis vs. 70s Elvis, it could be Vader vs. Yoda, for instance.

While the same person cannot be honored on more than one US stamp within the same decade, there is no such restriction on fictional characters. Any such contest would be only a marketing ploy. And they would never do that, would they?

Primary Information Sources
The Columbus Dispatch: Mysterious it is, this R2-D2 mailbox that left in a flash
The Columbus Dispatch: ‘Star Wars’ mailbox sequels debut today
The Associated Press: `Star Wars’ droid R2-D2 to collect mail

Elvis and the Artoo mailbox [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Starting today, if you live in the US, you will be able to deposit your mail in officially sanctioned Artoo Detoo mailboxes around the country.

No, this is not an early April Fool’s joke.

In an unprecedented marketing scheme, Lucasfilm has teamed up with the US Postal Service to promote a new web site. Official US Postal Service mailboxes in many areas have been transformed to look like the popular astromech droid.

The mailboxes promote http://www.uspsjedimaster.com, which promises a major announcement on March 28 about a collaborative project between the postal service and Lucasfilm.

I don’t think I’m going very far out on a limb here by predicting the announcement will include a Star Wars stamp or set of stamps. After all, entertainment stamps tend to be huge profit-makers for the postal service since they often are saved by collectors rather than actually used.

A 1993 stamp featuring Elvis Presley remains the most popular US stamp of all time. Other popular entertainment stamps include last year’s DC Comics Superheroes set and various Walt Disney stamps.

As long as I’m making predictions, I also foresee some sort of general public outcry over the Artoo mailboxes. Perhaps a Congressional investigation into whether or not taxpayer money went into the marketing gimmick and how the President is likely to blame.

I know, I know, I’m nearly as great as Carnac the Magnificent.

Primary Information Sources
StarWars.com: R2-D2 mailboxes coming to your galaxy
WashingtonPost.com: Elvis remains the King of postage stamps

General comments on SUNRISE [Elvis reflections]

/ TY

I was 24 when I wrote this item back in 1999. This is part of a series of archival Elvis writings — informal pieces originally written for family, friends, other purposes, or just me. They reflect how I was engaging with Elvis’ music in the years between The Elvis Beat and my blog writing.

Sunrise (1999)

  • I haven’t had time to compare Sunrise with The Complete 50s Masters to see if the quality is the same, better, or worse. My initial reaction when I played it for the first time a few months ago, though, was that the tracks sounded slightly better than the ones on The Complete 50s Masters. I could’ve been fooling myself, though. I’ve done that before.
  • The first four songs on Disc 2 are, of course, Elvis’ historic first acetate recordings. The first three had been released before, but “It Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You” was included for the first time here. That’s actually one of the main reasons I bought the set, because I wanted to have the remaining pre-professional recording. I believe that’s the last of them.
  • Track 10 on Disc 2 starts mid-song. No explanation was given in RCA’s liner notes. It is, after all, an alternate, so it may be that the beginning of the song did not survive or was unusable. Although I’m not sure RCA considers anything “unusable” anymore, as you’ll find later on Disc 2.
  • Tracks 12 and 13 on Disc 2 are acetate recordings of moderate sound quality.
  • Tracks 14-19 on Disc 2 are all live acetate recordings. The sound quality is, to say the least, horrible. I’m not sure why RCA chose to release these particular tracks, other than an excuse to slap a “previously unreleased” star beside more songs. The horrendous sound quality makes them of little real value. Clearer live versions of nearly all of the tracks from the same time period were already available. Oh well.

Tracklist

Disc 1

  1. That’s All Right
  2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
  3. Good Rockin’ Tonight
  4. I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine
  5. Milkcow Blues Boogie
  6. You’re A Heartbreaker
  7. Baby, Let’s Play House
  8. I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone
  9. I Forgot To Remember To Forget
  10. Mystery Train
  11. I Love You Because
  12. Harbor Lights
  13. Blue Moon
  14. Tomorrow Night
  15. I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’)
  16. Just Because
  17. I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone (slow version)
  18. Trying To Get To You
  19. When It Rains, It Really Pours

Disc 2

  1. My Happiness
  2. That’s When Your Heartaches Begin
  3. I’ll Never Stand In Your Way
  4. It Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You*
  5. I Love You Because (alternate take)
  6. That’s All Right (alternate take)
  7. Blue Moon Of Kentucky (alternate take)
  8. Blue Moon* (alternate take)
  9. I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’) (alternate take)
  10. I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine (alternate take)
  11. I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone (slow version) (alternate take)
  12. Fool, Fool, Fool
  13. Shake, Rattle & Roll
  14. I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone* (live)
  15. That’s All Right* (live)
  16. Money Honey* (live)
  17. Tweedlee Dee* (live)
  18. I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine* (live)
  19. Hearts Of Stone* (live)

*Previously unreleased

10 favorite Elvis albums & songs [Elvis reflections]

/ TY

I was 23 when I wrote this item back in 1999. This is part of a series of archival Elvis writings — informal pieces originally written for family, friends, other purposes, or just me. They reflect how I was engaging with Elvis’ music in the years between The Elvis Beat and my blog writing.

What are your 10 favorite Elvis albums and why?

  1. That’s The Way It Is
    Elvis at his musical best. Songs such as “Just Pretend” and “I’ve Lost You” could easily be hits today if RCA took the proper marketing steps.
  2. The Memphis Record
    The best compilation of Elvis’ incredible 1969 Memphis Sessions, and many tracks are mixed better than their counterparts on ELVIS: From Nashville to Memphis – The Essential 60’s Masters I.
  3. Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
    This is his best live album, containing definitive versions of some of his classic hits as well as some terrific new songs.
  4. Elvis On Stage – February 1970
    Another impressive live album. Unfortunately, only a handful of Elvis’ live recordings from this year have been released by RCA so far.
  5. ELVIS – NBC TV Special
    Most notable for containing his finest song, “If I Can Dream”, and also includes some stirring live performances.
  6. Elvis Country – I’m 10,000 Years Old
    Although the “I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago” interludes between each song are somewhat annoying, this one has some great recordings such as “Tomorrow Never Comes” – one of the best songs of his career that is unfortunately often overlooked.
  7. From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee
    This album is certainly one of his finest when considered as a whole. It has a definite theme to it, unlike many of his other albums. Gems such as “Solitaire” and “Never Again” can only be found here.
  8. Today
    A remarkable album that is notable for being 15 years ahead of its time, since many of the songs sound like 90s country music. “Bringing It Back” and “Fairytale” are not to be missed.
  9. ELVIS: Walk A Mile In My Shoes – The Essential 70’s Masters
    Overall, the 1970s is a severely underrated musical era for Elvis, so I felt this compilation should be included to represent that. Unfortunately, the collection was assembled in an uneven fashion. A 10 or 15 disc “Complete 70s Masters” would have been much better, even if split across multiple releases.
  10. Elvis’ Golden Records
    A good overview of his 1950’s hits with RCA.

10 favorite Elvis songs

  1. “If I Can Dream” (1968)
  2. “Mystery Train” (1955)
  3. “Always On My Mind” (1972)
  4. “Baby, What You Want Me To Do” (1968)
  5. “One Night” (1957)
  6. “Baby, Let’s Play House” (1955)
  7. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (1960)
  8. “Jailhouse Rock” (1957)
  9. “Trying To Get To You” (1955)
  10. “Just Pretend” (1970)

68 Special [Elvis reflections]

/ TY

I was 23 when I wrote this item back in 1998. This is part of a series of archival Elvis writings — informal pieces originally written for family, friends, other purposes, or just me. They reflect how I was engaging with Elvis’ music in the years between The Elvis Beat and my blog writing.

Leaving out the studio production numbers (such as the gospel and road medleys), I’ve put together this list of recording dates for the ’68 Special. I also left out “one line” songs, such as “Tiptoe Through The Tulips” and “MacArthur Park.” Except for the dressing room rehearsals, all of the following songs were taped for the special, although not all of the video footage has been officially released yet.

Dressing Room Rehearsals (June 24-25)

(Informal audio recordings)
Note: Not a complete list of songs

  • I Got A Woman (Platinum: A Life In Music CD)
  • Tiger Man (Platinum: A Life In Music CD)
  • Blue Moon/Young Love/Oh Happy Day
  • When It Rains, It Really Pours (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  • Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  • Baby, What You Want Me To Do (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  • Blue Christmas
  • Are You Lonesome Tonight/That’s My Desire/That’s When Your Heartaches Begin
  • Love Me
  • When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
  • Blue Christmas [#2]/Santa Claus Is Back In Town

6:00 PM “Sit Down” Show (June 27)

(Complete show released on Elvis: One Night With You video and Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD.)

  1. That’s All Right
  2. Heartbreak Hotel
  3. Love Me
  4. Baby, What You Want Me To Do
  5. Blue Suede Shoes
  6. Baby, What You Want Me To Do [#2]
  7. Lawdy Miss Clawdy
  8. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
  9. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
  10. Blue Christmas
  11. Trying To Get To You
  12. One Night
  13. Baby, What You Want Me To Do [#3]
  14. One Night (“No Strap”) [#2]
  15. Memories

8:00 PM “Sit Down” Show (June 27)

(Complete show released on Tiger Man CD.)

  1. Heartbreak Hotel
  2. Baby, What You Want Me To Do
  3. That’s All Right
  4. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
  5. Baby, What You Want Me To Do [#2]
  6. Blue Suede Shoes
  7. One Night
  8. Love Me
  9. Trying To Get To You
  10. Lawdy Miss Clawdy (ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  11. Santa Claus Is Back In Town/Blue Christmas
  12. Tiger Man (ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  13. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
  14. Memories

6:00 PM “Stand Up” Show (June 29)

  1. Heartbreak Hotel/One Night
  2. Heartbreak Hotel [#2]/Hound Dog/All Shook Up (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD; ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  3. Can’t Help Falling In Love (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD; ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  4. Jailhouse Rock (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  5. Don’t Be Cruel (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  6. Blue Suede Shoes
  7. Love Me Tender (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  8. Trouble
  9. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  10. If I Can Dream

8:00 PM “Stand Up” Show (June 29)

  1. Heartbreak Hotel/Hound Dog/All Shook Up
  2. Can’t Help Falling In Love
  3. Jailhouse Rock (ELVIS: NBC TV Special CD; ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  4. Don’t Be Cruel (ELVIS: NBC TV Special CD; ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  5. Blue Suede Shoes (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD)
  6. Love Me Tender (ELVIS: NBC TV Special CD; ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  7. Trouble/Guitar Man (Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special CD; ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special video)
  8. If I Can Dream

“ELVIS” – Original NBC Broadcast – December 3, 1968 (9:00 PM)

  1. Trouble/Guitar Man (studio)
  2. Lawdy Miss Clawdy (6/27 8 PM)
  3. Baby, What You Want Me To Do (6/27 6 PM, #2)
  4. Heartbreak Hotel/Hound Dog/All Shook Up (6/29 6 PM)
  5. Can’t Help Falling In Love (6/29 6 PM)
  6. Jailhouse Rock (6/29 8 PM)
  7. Love Me Tender (6/29 8 PM)
  8. Are You Lonesome Tonight? (6/27 6 PM)
  9. Where Could I Go But To The Lord/Up Above My Head/Saved (studio)
  10. Baby, What You Want Me To Do (6/27 6 PM, #3)
  11. Blue Christmas (6/27 8 PM)
  12. One Night (6/27 6 PM, #2)
  13. Memories (6/27 6 PM)
  14. Nothingville/Big Boss Man/Guitar Man/Little Egypt (studio)
  15. Trouble/Guitar Man (studio/6/29 8 PM)
  16. If I Can Dream (studio)