'Empire Strikes Back Uncut' mash-up video debuts Friday
Star Wars fans making their own versions of their favorite movies was so popular the first time, they did it again.
The crowd-sourced, fan-made mash-up video The Empire Strikes Back Uncut premieres on StarWars.com Friday and is comprised of 15-second, shot-by-shot snippets from George Lucas' 1980 Star Wars sequel done in a variety of styles. Amateur filmmakers could use whatever they wanted to tell their piece of the story, including action figures, artwork or even themselves.
Lucasfilm received more than 1,500 responses to pull together the final film, a follow-up to the Emmy-winning Star Wars Uncut.
In addition, Lucasfilm is jumpstarting the Star Wars Fan Film Awards, which launched in 2002 but was retired 10 years later. The event will begin accepting submissions — no longer than five minutes — this month and the best of the best will screen at the Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim, Calif., in April.
Categories for the awards include Best Animation, Best Non-Fiction, Spirit of Fandom, Best Comedy, Best Visual Effects, Audience Choice and Filmmaker Select, whose winner will be personally selected by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
"Since Star Wars has inspired so many to take up a camera and begin their own filmmaking careers," she said in a statement, "we'd like to share some of that inspiration with an audience and encourage those filmmakers to follow their bliss."
For more about the Star Wars Fan Awards, visit starwarsfanfilmawards.com .