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A couple of months ago I reviewed the iOS video camera and video editing app called 'Video Camera by i4Software' (App Store affiliate link) on the Photo Focus channel on Mobli. The app is normally $7.99 (USD) in the Apple App Store. For this Labor Day weekend the developer is having a 3-day sale for it.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who plays Chewbacca (Chewie) in the Star Wars saga will be getting his own movie reports Hollywood Reporter. It's not a movie taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but rather one taking place some 36 or so years ago around the making of the original Star Wars film (A New Hope) released in 1977.

It feels like it was just the other day I was writing about the 32nd anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back because it was just the other day (it was Monday, May 21st). Though there wouldn't had been a Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, if there wasn't for Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope, or as we knew the film back in 1977, simply "Star Wars."

Has it really been 35 years? Indeed it has though it is difficult to swallow at times. I am an original Star Wars fan. I was 11 when the film opened and it changed my life. I had always been a science fiction fan, but I knew from the very first frames of this movie that this was going to be a game-changer. Seeing that Imperial Stardestroyer fly overhead, lasers shooting over the screen, explosions that rattled the seats next to me in the theaters, I hadn't seen or experienced anything like this before that time.

Why is May 25th the real "Star Wars Day"? The date actually has significance. It was the day the film opened in 1977. It didn't have the same fanfare as the opening of the subsequent movies in the saga, and far fewer screens which it could had been seen on back then. Though it was a different time then. Sure, a couple years before we had Jaws which may had brought in the tradition of "summer blockbusters" in the movie business, but it was Star Wars that really cemented it in.

It is unimaginable that it has been so long ago. It was 32 years ago on May 21, 1980 that I found myself standing in a long line to see the first sequel in the Star Wars saga, The Empire Strikes Back. At the time, 3 years seemed like a long wait after the original Star Wars film, it's difficult to think that it's been 35 years now since the opening of that movie (more on that later this week).

In the video below I recall some distant memories from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… well, 32 years ago at least in a movie theater. What were you doing 32 years ago?

Doctor Who: Podshock - Episode 261
Running Time: 1:25:04

Our special panel discussion on the many possibilities of a Doctor Who theatrical movie. Recorded live at our November meet up with a stellar line up of panelists consisting of Graeme Sheridan, Dave Cooper, Victor 1st Mornington (Doctor Who Exposition & Katrina), Dave Lewis (TARDIS Newsroom & Paradox Island), Mike Rall (Who Island), and Saffia Widdershins (Prim Perfect Magazine), hosted by Louis Trapani.

Apple has released Final Cut Pro X to the Mac App Store (store link: Final Cut Pro - Apple®) today. The long awaited upgrade for this professional movie editor software has been rewritten from the ground up. The big news when it was announced a few months ago was that it would be coming to the Mac App Store with a new price of only $299 (previously FCP itself was $999). Other companion apps that had been included in Final Cut Pro Studio suite such as Motion and Compressor are sold separately also in the Mac Store for $49 each. It doesn't look like Soundtrack Pro has made the cut though, at least not yet.

The GetGlue app (from AdaptiveBlue) for iPhone and iPod touch has been updated and with it, it has a newly enhanced user interface and more. (See my previous article, Get Glued on GetGlue for more details on GetGlue). In addition to the user interface refresh, which is a quite welcomed refresh, it also now allows you to check into "sports" in addition to the previous categories already available such as television, movies, books, music, wine, etc. Also it now offers Foursquare location check-in integration as well (unfortunately, Gowalla is not also offered as an option as well).

"Look over there! On the other side of your galaxy, that's home."

Doctor Who: Podshock - Episode 238
Running Time: 0:48:29

Daphne Ashbrook joins us for a conversation on the 1996 Doctor Who movie DVD release in North America as well as her new CD - Grace Notes (iTunes link), plus Gallifrey One 2011 reminders, Doctor Who news and more.

Hosted by Louis Trapani ( @LouisTrapani ) and James Naughton ( @JamesNaughton ).

Come and join us for a very special event celebrating 25 years of the Gallifreyan Embassy on Tuesday, the 16th of November 2010 with our very special invited guest, the lovely Daphne Ashbrook!

We have been celebrating the quarter of a century mark of the Gallifreyan Embassy all this year. If you missed our last big event in May, here's another opportunity to join in on the fun!

Joining us at the event is the always lovely Daphne Ashbrook (Grace Holloway in the 1996 Doctor Who movie).

Date: Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Time: 7pm Eastern until (to be announced)
Location: Eleanor Rigby's • 113 Mineola Blvd., Mineola, NY
Cover: $20.00 (Podshock Supporting Subscribers receive a 20% discount)

The event is taking place at Eleanor Rigby's in Mineola, NY. As you may have guessed by the name, it is a Beatles themed venue. It is very accessible from the LIRR train station as well as the Long Island Expressway and Northern & Meadowbrook State Parkways and there is plenty of parking in the rear. They offer a varied selection of menu options for food and beverages. Visit their website for more details and menu offerings. (Please note that the cover charge does not include food or drinks).

For 25 years now the Gallifreyan Embassy has been celebrating the adventures of a certain Time Lord through time and space. Now we are coming together to mark the milestone at this event which is open to everyone (you don't need to have been or be a member of the Gallifreyan Embassy).

A snapshot of the history of the future… Going back today to the 1960s to see how they visualized 2001 then is what this upcoming documentary, years in the making, sets out to accomplish.

A documentary that really tells the story of the making of 2001, not just the technical story but the human story, the personal story, the experiences of people who interacted with Kubrick that is really true to the style and look of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Take a peek for yourself in this trailer promo for the documentary (sorry, I could only find Flash versions of this embedded video):

Recently I have gotten glued to GetGlue. What is Glue or GetGlue? Before I explain, let me tell you how I came to discover and use GetGlue.

If you follow me on Twitter @LouisTrapani or the all so many other social media sites that I maintain a presence on, well, you know that I maintain some sort of presence on these various said services. Some I am engaged with more than others.

This may be old hat for long time, die-hard Star Wars fans such as myself, but Star Wars today spans several generations and you may be at different level of fandom.

Today, The LA Times ran this piece about Gary Kurtz, the producer of Star Wars: A New Hope(affiliate link) and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back(affiliate link). He parted ways with George Lucas after TESB and many would argue that Star Wars: Return of the Jedi(affiliate link) would had been a very different film if the team stayed together.

This is not the first time that Gary Kurtz has spoken openly about how things were envisioned differently initially when he was involved.

If you read my previous post, Photo Walking 2010… Officially you will know that I took part once again in this year's Worldwide Photo Walk (WWPW). It took place on Saturday, the 24th of July 2010, the same day that YouTube was soliciting videos shot on that very day for their Life in a Day project. With the material sourced from these video submissions, director Kevin Macdonald will edit select footage to create a documentary movie executive produced by famed director Ridley Scott to be shown at the Sundance film festival in January.

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All the way back in 1983, I had an opportunity to meet Ray Harryhausen and see some of his work at a convention he was a guest at in New York. Having always been an admirer of his work, I knew then how special it was for me. What I didn't realize was just how rare it was, as I have not had that same opportunity since.

Long before CGI took over as the 'go-to method' of doing special effects in media today, a process known as stop-motion animation was the way to go. It and variations of it (Harrhausen created 'Dynamation' which allowed live-action integration) was one of the dominate methods of doing certain kind effects from the time of original King Kong (most famously) onwards until Jurassic Park changed everything (proving what CGI can do).