Solo: A Star Wars Story managed to snag an Oscar nomination in the Visual Effects category for this year’s Academy Awards. It will have stiff competition against films like Avengers: Infinity War and Ready Player One both of which had visual effects supplied by ILM.

Industrial Light & Magic expanding its offering of best-in-class visual effects and animation services to include the streaming and episodic television market with a new division: ILM TV. The division will be based out of ILM’s new 47,000 square foot London studio and supported by the company’s global locations in San Francisco, Vancouver and Singapore.

The ILM TV team will be lead by Visual Effects Supervisors Hayden Jones and Jonathan Privett alongside Executive Producers, Louise Hussey and Stefan Drury. Previously, the team set up and oversaw DNEG’s television division; winning a BAFTA for Special, Visual and Graphic Effects for their work on BLACK MIRROR.

ILM TV’s first projects will be Lucasfilm’s eagerly anticipated live action series based in the Star Wars universe, THE MANDALORIAN, being developed by Jon Favreau and Superman prequel series KRYPTON, now in its second season, based on DC characters from Warner Horizon Scripted Television for SYFY.

For the full details, visit ILM.com

ILMxLAB with Oculus have revealed the first teaser for a new VR experience coming in 2019. Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series 

The 3-part series takes place on the lava planet Mustafar between Revenge of the Sithand A New Hope, and features a unique combination of immersive cinematic storytelling and dramatic interactive play. You’ll go inside Vader’s fortress, first seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is set in the fiery wasteland the Sith Lord calls home.

For the full details, visit ILMxLAB.com

This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the nominees for this year’s 90th Academy Awards and Star Wars: The Last Jedi gathered 4 nominations:

Best Visual Effects
Best Original Score
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing

Congratulations to Disney, Lucasfilm, ILM, Skywalker Sound and John Williams for their achievement.

Last night, the 43rd Annual Saturn Awards were held and Star Wars took top honors in the following categories:

Best Science Fiction Film: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Best Direction in Film: Gareth Edwards (Rogue One)
Best Film Visual / Special Effects: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Best Animated Series or Film on Television: Star Wars Rebels

“Strange Magic,” a new animated film from Lucasfilm Ltd., will be released by Touchstone Pictures on January 23, 2015.  “Strange Magic” is a madcap fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Popular songs from the past six decades help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion. Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic, which created the CGI animation for 2011’s Academy Award®-winning film “Rango,” bring to life the fanciful forest turned upside down with world-class animation and visual effects.

With a story by George Lucas, “Strange Magic is directed by Gary Rydstrom (“Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation,” “Lifted”), produced by Mark S. Miller (associate producer “Mars Attacks!”) and executive produced by George Lucas, with a screenplay by David Berenbaum (“Elf”), Irene Mecchi (“Brave,” “The Lion King”) and Rydstrom. An extraordinary roster of film, television and Broadway stars lend their voices to “Strange Magic,” including Alan Cumming (CBS’ “The Good Wife,” Broadway’s “Cabaret”), Evan Rachel Wood (“The Ides of March”), Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway’s “Wicked”), Maya Rudolph (“Big Hero 6,” “Bridesmaids”), Sam Palladio (ABC’s “Nashville”), newcomer Meredith Anne Bull, Alfred Molina (“Chocolat”), Elijah Kelley (“Hairspray,” “The Butler”), Bob Einstein (HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Peter Stormare (“Fargo”). Well-known music producer Marius de Vries (“Moulin Rouge”) serves as both the musical director and composer.

]Before Episode IV: A New Hope, before CGI and the “Special Editions” and before the prequels, there was simply Star Wars – a film that shaped a generation and from that point on, movies (and toys) have and would never be the same.

All of us here at Yakface wish a Happy 35th Anniversary to George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd. and all that is Star Wars.