In the new animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”, you get to see two major new characters and a whole host of new stories. (Read the full “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” interview with George Lucas here.)

But one thing you won’t see is perhaps the most familiar of all “Star Wars” tropes. And its absence will be noticed immediately.

“Because we originally developed this as a TV series, George [Lucas] felt that the crawl wasn’t going to be effective as a way to introduce the audience to the TV series,” director Dave Filoni said of the ‘Star Wars’ crawl, the distinctive prologue which has begun every single feature adventure so far. “He wanted it to be faster and he wanted to do it visually.”

Instead, Filoni and Co. utilized a “Starship Troopers” esque newsreel trope, complete with 1940s style radio announcer.

“We kind of borrowed from old serials that would have like the little circular wipes and show you what Flash Gordon was up to the last time you were at the theater and we did it in a more traditional sense,” Filoni said of the change. “The narration also is kind of a nod to old newsreel footage that you could see during a war, where they would update you on where the allies were at and their battle against the axis.”

But more than anything, though, it was a chance, Filoni said, to clue an audience into thinking that this wasn’t your father’s “Star Wars,” even though it kind of is.

“It was an attempt to say to the audience, ‘This is animated but it’s different in a couple more ways than that,’” Filoni said. “It’s going to be a new experience even though its involved with the characters you know and love.”

But… but… no Star Wars crawl! Read all about “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” here and let us know – are you ok with them beginning differently? Sound off below.

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When I read the headline this morning that a Roth had been cast in Quentin Tarantino’s long-delayed but now seemingly close-to-happening WWII flick, “Inglorious Bastards,” I assume I wasn’t the only one who jumped to the conclusion that the story concerned Tim Roth. After all, the “Reservoir Dogs” star has been rumored to be in the flick for years. But no, this morning we’ve learned that the first Roth to hop aboard this one is in fact Eli, the director of “Hostel.” I guess it’s not a complete surprise. Roth has acted before, most notably for Tarantino himself, in “Death Proof” but still, was this the next big casting announcement we were all anxious to hear about?

Meanwhile Variety says that those rumors of Leonardo DiCaprio joining the cast are not going to turn into reality. “Tarantino had planned to meet with Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of SS Col. Hans Landa, only to decide that the role should be played by a German actor,” says the trade.

Even without DiCaprio, “Bastards” is sure to have plenty of starpower. According to Variety, “Brad Pitt is still in talks to play Aldo Raine, leader of a rogue band of Jewish-American soldiers who wreak havoc on the bad guys in Nazi-occupied France.”

So if not Leo, who? Who would you like to see Tarantino team with in “Inglorious Bastards”? Over the years everyone from Adam Sandler to Michael Madsen have been rumored. What do you think?

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FROM SPLASH PAGE: Guillermo del Toro talks about the “Hellboy” movies being a trilogy – what with the first film being about his birth, the second his teenage choices, and the third about becoming an adult and facing the consequences of those choices. “The third one would be facing your destiny, if such a thing exists, and making the ultimate decision,” del Toro says. Tantalizing, but vague. So we asked “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola to clarify – what would the final installment be about, besides bouncing Hellboy babies? Turns out, quite a bit. Read More…

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