Interview
Publié : 18 août 2007 20:23
SOURCE : SWANThis was posted over at Rebelscum by BlueSnaggletooth.
"Interview with Gentle Giant - Conducted 8/17/07
Big thanks to Amanda Burns for taking on these questions and a big thanks to Philip Wise for giving the go-ahead to do the Q&A. I look forward to reading everyone's comments.
Q: The Animated Emperor maquette was a big hit at SDCC this year. Seeing the Emperor and his resemblance to the version seen in Clone Wars got some of us thinking: Now that the Clone Wars line has come to an end (per LFL's request), are there any plans to do a Prequel Trilogy line of maquettes? There are many characters from Clone Wars that fans would still like to see that could be done as "Prequel Trilogy" characters (Count Dooku, Shaak Ti, Aayla Secura, Kit Fisto, A new version of Padme - just to name a few).
A: Now that we have closed out our Clone Wars Maquettes, we will be continuing to focus more on the classic Original Trilogy characters under our Star Wars Animated line. We may go back and revisit the Clone Wars Maquettes at a later date. But the prequel characters do show up in the new Animated Clone Wars TV show, so you never know where one of the PT characters may pop up.
Q: Any plans for another MBNA exclusive bust?
A: No, not at this time.
Q: Gentle Giant had a bronze Indiana Jones bust displayed at their booth at SDCC. Will there be bronze pieces produced for other licenses as well, or will that be a one-time offering?
A: Possibly down the line, but we want to see how the first offering goes.
Q: Speaking of the Indiana Jones franchise, an Indy on motorcycle statue and an Indy on horse statue were seen at SDCC. Does Gentle Giant's Indiana Jones license cover the entire spectrum of GG products (Mini-Busts, Maquettes, Bust-Ups, etc)? "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" you tell us what the first official piece will be and when it will be available for pre-order?
A: Yes, we have the same product lines for Indy as we do for Star Wars. The first official Indy piece (one of the ones shown at SDCC) will be up for pre-order soon…
Q: The recent Clash Of The Titans Bubo statue was a popular piece - both critically and commercially. After the success of Bubo, "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" we expect more Clash Of The Titans and/or Harryhausen stuff on the horizon?
A: We hope to possibly have more Clash and Harryhausen products released within the next year.
Q: We've gotten five of the six bounty hunters from ESB in mini-bust form - Boba Fett, IG-88, Bossk, Zuckuss and Dengar - leaving only one left to be made: 4-LOM. Any word on when he will be produced?
A: Of course we won’t leave 4-LOM out. He’s on the list.
Q: When will the Collector's Collections feature be updated on the main site?
A: Yes, we hope to get this up and running in the next few months and start up the ‘Collection of the Month’ contests again.
Q: Any word on when the originally-scheduled-for-July Jabba the Hutt/Max Rebo Band statues will be appearing? Also, any idea if both statues will be shipping together (the same week)? If so, that's gonna be an expensive week for collectors that some may want to plan ahead for.
A: I believe both Jabba and the Band have just made it to the docs and/or will be in the next few days and should be arriving to our warehouse within a week or so. That should make these items getting to retailers/distributors end of August, beginning of September.
Q: Looking at the prototype of the Dooku/Asajj statue at SDCC, it appeared as if their lightsabers could have a light-up feature. Is this something that is planned for this statue?
A: Right now no, but that could change as we are still in development on the piece.
Q: Are there any plans to do a "Fans Choice" mini-bust where PG members get to vote on who they want?
A: There are no current plans, but you never know what may pop up in the future.
Q: Any word on the upcoming Blue Senate Guard statue and who it will be exclusive to?
A: Nothing has been determined yet. We will let everyone know when something has been decided.
Q: What is the status of the Gentle Giant Blog? Any plans to bring back the comments section?
A: I hope to bring back the Blog comments sometime next month.
Q: The Blister store in Japan was awarded more exclusives the past twelve months than any other retail outlet. Many of us have wondered: why do they get so many exclusives? To the casual observer, Blister appears to be the equivalent of a Virgin Megastore here in LA - seems like a cool enough store, but there's nothing obvious about it to give collectors a clue why they get so much love from GG. Any light you could shed on this would be much appreciated.
A: I "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" see what it looks like to the casual observer, but Japan is actually a huge market for Gentle Giant and Blister is not just a store. For starters, they are also a Star Wars licensee. Blister produced the R2-D2 trashcan, that we imported to the U.S.. Plus, Blister also happens to be our main distributor for Japan.
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I will reiterate it again, we’re already looking/planning ahead into 2008/2009 and are toning down the amount of total exclusives we will be producing as well as the outlets that products are exclusive too.
Q: Any word on the price point for the AT-TE Gunner Accessory Pack and when it will be available for pre-order?
A: I don’t have a final time when this will be up for pre-order, but I believe it will be around $15/$20.
Q: Will we see Biggs/Wedge mini-busts in pilot gear to accompany Pilot Luke soon? It would be nice to have a rebel pilot squad...and also the TIE pilot in mini-bust form.
A: There is always the possibility of producing Biggs and/or Wedge in some form down the line.
Q: You mentioned previously that the Max Rebo Band Concert Black-Light Poster will be shipping out to PG members soon. Will the other PG goodies be shipping at the same time, or will they be shipping later on? "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" you give any hints as to what those other items might be?
A: The posters should be starting to ship out next week. The other licensed and GGLTD goodies will be shipped later. One hint I will give is there are 3 licensed products and 3 GGLTD items. All the licensed products are exclusive to the PG and will not be available anywhere else. Some items will be great for display and some you will be able to use everyday.
Q: There has been a bit of a push lately from collectors to see the other Cantina denizens join Greedo in mini-bust form. (I know of at least one collector who would really like a Snaggletooth mini-bust). Anything in the pipeline right now?
A: There is nothing in the pipeline right now, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.
Q: Any plans to improve the PG program next year to provide better access to exclusives (not via raffle)?
A: Yes, we’ve already started planning for 2008. Plus be on the lookout before the end of the year there might just be a few more Premier Guild only items popping up.
Q: Is the Blackhole Stormie Maquette considered the "official" Black and White version of the Stormtrooper maquette, or is there a "grey" B&W version on the way? Will the B&W line of maquettes be continuing?
A: There is no B/W variant of the Stormtrooper Maquette. The Blackhole Stormtrooper Maquette is the ‘variant’ to the Stormtrooper Maquette. There are no immediate plans to continue the Black/White Maquette variants.
Q: In the past several years GG has had Ray Harryhausen at their booth at San Diego comic con and there has been sold a mini-bust of Ray. Are there any other legendary folk that GG would like to also have sign at their booths and have made into mini-busts? I'd personally love to see a line of SPFX/Movie pioneers and include mini-busts of Willis O'Brien, Stan Winston, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and others.
A: The little bust of Ray Harryhausen, is actually something Gentle Giant Studios put together, and is not really a Gentle Giant Ltd. product. Gentle Giant Studios has scanned many directors/actors throughout the years, but Ray stands on his own.
Q: I've heard that there is a statue of Mr. Harryhausen at the GG office - any chance you "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" give the PGM a sneak peak at the GG offices and show us fans the statue and other office goodies?
A: There is a really good chance of that. We’re in the process of possibly re-vamping the “studio” section on our website into more of a behind the scenes type section.
Q: Will there be preorder pick-ups at the Baltimore comic-con?
A: Yes, I believe this was stated when we first announced we would be doing the show. The Gentle Giant Booth will just be where you "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" pick-up your Pre-Orders. We will not be selling the exclusives, or any other products at the show. Baltimore comic-con will be handling the sale of the convention exclusives at a separate booth. We will be posting more information closer to the show.
We will also be offering the PG members an advance window time to place their “Pre-Orders for Pick-Up”, before opening it up to the rest of the members of our Collector’s Club.
Q: Has GG considered making a small amount of Holiday busts available to PG members via the raffle? That would be pretty cool for regular collectors to have a shot at one.
A: At this time no.
Q: This question concerns the Star Wars LEGO Maquette line. When we first heard about the initial two - Vader and Stormtrooper - on StarWarsShop.com, it was stated that they were simply "sculpted by the artisans at Gentle Giant." I think most assumed that this line was being distributed by Lucasfilm, with GG just doing the initial sculpts. With the exclusive LEGO BHS maquette being sold at Blister, many began thinking that this was an official GG line after all. The GG packaging and COA seemed to lend even more credence to that theory. However, when the Blister event items were raffled to PG members on the Gentle Giant website, the LEGO BHS was not included. As a matter of fact, there is no mention of the LEGO line anywhere on the Gentle Giant website. Are they considered "Official" Gentle Giant products? And if not, who is "steering the ship" when it comes to this line?
A: Originally, the LEGO Maquettes WERE NOT/ARE NOT official Gentle Giant Ltd. products. All the LEGO maquettes were being distributed by SWS/Lucasfilm. Gentle Giant Studios just worked on the prototyping of the LEGO maquettes under the direction of LEGO/Lucasfilm. However, starting with the LEGO Blackhole Stormtrooper is when Gentle Giant Ltd. got involved. Gentle Giant Ltd. is now the official licensee for Star Wars LEGO resin products. The LEGO Blackhole Stormtrooper Maquette is the first official LEGO/Gentle Giant Ltd. product.
Q: At CIV, Gentle Giant representatives mentioned plans to offer a quantity of Life-size Animated Princess Leia maquettes for sale to collectors, along the lines of the Clone Wars Yoda monument. Just wondering if that is still the plan, and if so, if a projected price point/pre-order date is known.
A: Offering up the Life-Size Animated Princess Leia, is still the plan. We are still working out pricing and a release date. As soon as that information is determined, we will release it.
Q: And now for the $25,000 question: There has been a lot of discussion recently involving the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone Armor statue. Will Gentle Giant be producing a companion piece, as many have speculated? And if so, "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" you elaborate on what the piece will be and how it will be sold?
A: No Comment.
Thanks again to Amanda and I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this Q&A!"
