Darth Vader

Thanks to CGI animation, the "Stars Wars" saga is coming back to theaters this summer -- but George Lucas said fans shouldn't get their hopes up about any future films that take the epic beyond the point of Darth Vader's death at the end of "Return of the Jedi." In other words, it ends with the Ewoks. "Whatever it is that happens afterward," the 63-year-old filmmaker said, "that isn't the core 'Star Wars' story that I like to tell."

Molly Ivins has written a hilarious column about Ralph Nader (July 17). While she thinks that Nader lives on $25,000 per year, that wouldn't even cover his travel expenses, let alone his Saabs. With regard to what Nader has done for auto safety, cars are now so uncomfortable and unsafe that no one wants to drive a car anymore or anything except an SUV, and what has that gas mileage done for the environment? People like Sen. Dianne Feinstein think that SUVs are wonderful, but that the makers of them should be forced to make them with the gas mileage of a Honda Civic (July 14)

Another day closer to the Super Bowl brings us another automaker teasing the ads they've paid millions to air. This time it's Volkswagen, the company behind a number of memorable Super Bowl ads, including the adorable "The Force" spot from 2011 in which a mini Darth Vader breathes life into a Passat. For 2013, the message is "Get Happy. " The teaser ad doesn't show any VWs, just Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Jimmy Cliff singing "C'mon, Get Happy" in a field. Joining him are various YouTube celebrities known for their decidedly unhappy online tirades or breakdowns.

As part of a multiattraction expansion this spring, Legoland California plans to update the Star Wars Miniland area that debuted last summer, add a pirate-themed shoot-the-chutes water ride and install a crab exhibit at the adjacent SeaLife Aquarium. Set to open March 29, the Star Wars Gallery will include 3-foot-tall Lego models of a dozen characters from the epic film saga, including Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2D2, Yoda and Darth Vader.  At the same time, model builders will install new characters, weapons and spacecraft to existing Star Wars Miniland scenes rendered in 1:20 scale using Lego bricks.

Now that Disney has purchased LucasFilm, with the intent of churning out additional sequels or prequels to the "Star Wars" franchise as well as holding all rights to use the familiar characters for Saturday morning cartoons or whatever else it pleases, die-hard fans are clearly afraid that the universe of Naboo and Tatooine has gone over to the dark side. This is the company that tweaked the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Little Mermaid" to have a happily-ever-after ending.

The Big Game might be more than two weeks away, but marketers already are shifting their Super Bowl ad campaigns into overdrive. To get more bang for their bucks, major advertisers and their advertising agencies are giving previews, running teaser spots and even releasing their ads early to generate chatter on social media platforms. Deutsch LA, which does the creative work for Volkswagen, let the dogs out this week. The Marina del Rey firm released a "teaser" ad Wednesday for its upcoming Super Bowl spot.

If you are among the vast constituency that believes what almost every guru of gold has been proclaiming since last summer, then you know: " Inglourious Basterds' " Christoph Waltz has the supporting actor statuette all but locked up. With almost mind-numbing constancy, the Austrian actor has been heralded as a front-runner after bursting into consciousness as sadistic Nazi Col. Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's history-rewriting spaghetti western...

Suzuki's highly anticipated B-King is a two-wheeled version of Darth Vader. It's big. It's black. And the Force is definitely on its side. Built around a minimally modified version of the newly overhauled 1,340 cc Hayabusa engine, the B-King handles nothing like its sporty older brother. It's a mean, but not so lean, naked bike that rides like an Abrams tank on nitrous. That isn't a bad thing.

Re "Congress Backs War on Iraq," Oct. 11: The congressional backing of the resolution giving this president, or any president, the broad power to attack Iraq under the circumstances as presented in President Bush's own recent speech is a potential error of the first magnitude -- even if it is, as some claim, simply an attempt to extract the fullest leverage from other diplomatic initiatives. Indeed, if this were Hollywood circa 1977 and the initial "Star Wars" trilogy were being developed, it is lamentably clear that the United States would be cast as the Empire and represented by the persona of Darth Vader.

"Oh, Jesus, no," Harrison Ford says, suddenly throwing the hulking tan pickup he is driving into reverse. Instantly, Ford's jaw muscles tighten, his eyes harden, and the unmistakable stench of death fills the air. (Later it turns out that the unmistakable stench of death was actually a dumpster filled with day-old chicken bones.) "We can't go in there," he hisses, the unmistakable stench of fear in his voice, and it is only then that it becomes obvious. Harrison Ford is afraid.