The Never Played Symphonies / The Public Image / Honey You Know Where To Find Me
May 8th, 2008 by Adam_MayOh yes, three obscure Morrissey titles, so I’m a little bit fired up today.
Now, as I posted previously, my partner (of 12 years) had a motorcycle accident over the past weekend, and yesterday he underwent major surgery to repair damage that could have left our "family" in all sorts of peril. That’s life. That’s what all the people say. (Or so sang Mr. Sinatra.) This all relates to my release of the images of the BMF Millennium Falcon, and I’m just going to put it out there for you, the few, the reading public, to know about.
After the release of the pictures, our Editor-In-Chief, Michael Sullenger, was contacted by the publishers of The Star Wars Insider (Titan Magazines, based out of the United Kingdom) to inquire about where the photos came from. Being English and all, I know that the publishers may not be familiar with our quaint laws and provisions, so I issued a statement:
"Unfortunately, I am unable to provide any information regarding the source of the photos. The Constitution of the United States of America protects journalists and their sources from such disclosure. (This includes the entire staff of GalacticHunter.com.) Being a news-gathering organization, I’m sure that Titan Magazines can appreciate the significance of protecting the very foundation of the free press. Unfortunately, based on this very principle, I cannot comment any further."
Mr. Sullenger, our editor-in-chief, has been out of the loop for a bit due to a career advancement and a family tragedy. I am solely responsible for my own editorial decisions, just to clear that up.
I was later contacted by a third party (from another prominent Star Wars site) who asked if I would object to speaking to a representative from Lucasfilm Ltd. to clear up whether or not a specific person had sent the BMF photos to me. I agreed to do so, and I assured the LFL representative (who is as nice as pie, might I add) that I did not know, had never met, and did not receive the photos from the person-in-question. This was all apparently at the behest of Hasbro (and I’m not sure if this is the US or UK division).
Hasbro allegedly suspect this person, who has previously written for the previously mentioned prominent fan site, and they (again allegedly) insist that the photos came from him. I have made it 100% clear that the images did not come from this person to me, and I don’t believe they came from anyone remotely associated with him. I’ll even go so far as to say that (to the best of my knowledge) the images surfaced from a non-European source.
Apparently, while I was sidelined by the above-mentioned personal matter (i.e. the surgery), this all progressed in a negative manner. I received an e-mail this morning asking me to provide material means by which the photos may have been relayed. My response is the same as above. I cannot, I will not, reveal any source or materials, despite my menial, unpaid position as a blogger, I still stand by my protections as a citizen of the United States who provided information to the public in a press context.
As of this writing, I am throwing the ball into the court of Hasbro (US or UK). Contact me directly, or let this issue drop. The Millennium Falcon has appeared at a major international trade show, and it was photographed for the world to see. What is the problem? I’m here. I’m waiting, and I hope you’ll have some form of civil discourse with me about the whole issue. If anything, the "leak" of these photos has only piqued and raised interest in the piece, and even your own press release conceded that such a piece couldn’t stay under wraps forever.
Now to show off some stuff that was developed and totally unreleased, I present to you these cool 16" (and totally collectible) Queen Amidala dolls from the Episode I ‘Queen Amidala Collection‘ that never saw the light of day. (If anyone has them, I’ll pay top dollar, just contact me!) This is why people like me actually work to document and present these pieces as news, in the hopes that we can build public support for products that may be on shifting sand. We want these large, collector pieces. If a BMF was made, and no one ever saw it, would it make a sound if it was nixed? (Note to Diamond Direct — please resurrect these figures in your new 1/4 scale line!)
These, too, are big things that should never have stayed "under wraps", and due to their lack of publicity, they were never released. Do you see a connection at all?
So have a look, and I’ll post more and more unreleased stuff as I uncover it. (I’ve recently received a cache of cool unreleased goodies, and it’s coming right around the bend — hang in there.)
P.S. There’s one other key point I’d like to make in regard to this whole BMF issue, and I’ll try to be brief.
Because I’m working in a volunteer capacity for GalacticHunter.com, and I am shy with crowds, I drew up a written agreement with the GalacticHunter.com owners that excludes me from attending public appearances and social gatherings. As a result, I don’t mingle with the staff at various levels of LFL, Hasbro, or other related entities, and only attend full trade shows (e.g., Toy Fair) as a photographer and volunteer writer. Therefore the chances that I would have met the writer in question, or anyone close to him, are practically nonexistent. (Trade shows like Toy Fair are not exactly "social" mixers, and I’m happy to attend anything in the atmosphere of business.) I’m not good at glad-handing, and the site ownership respects that. I’m much better at documenting and tracking down information. I prefer to remain away from stories. Any personal aspects of my interaction with the site go here. I rarely even post in our own forums, except the Q&A section, since I submit the questions.
Hasbro, you know I’m your biggest cheerleader, but even I have a hard time trying to pitch this one. I can forgive the strange, limp marionette bodies of the upcoming Battle Droid Pilots from the 
[Blogger’s Note: Some questions are edited for the sake of the English language.]
