Last night, Stephen Colbert finally announced the winner of his Green Screen Challenge (which was not a contest). The competition had finally boiled down to two finalists... Bonnie R. and some random guy named George L.Yes. Yes. George freakin' Lucas made an appearance on the show to present his green screen entry. The man whipped out the big guns from LucasFilm and created a hilarious clip... complete with Jar Jar Binks interaction! I can safely say that's the first time I've ever laughed at Jar Jar.
Bonnie R.'s entry was quite cute, I thought. It wasn't as violent or Star Wars-ish as some of my personal favorite entries, but it was a cool concept and very well-done. Stephen commended Bonnie for her efforts, live on the phone. Part of me was thinking, "Seriously, how can anyone expect to beat LucasFilm?", but another part was wondering, "Would the Colbert Report folks be mean enough to take the prize away from a real fan on-air?" As it turned out, Colbert Report folks really know how to make a girl feel good. Bonnie was declared the winner and, after she had an adorable excitement-overload over the phone, "George L." was given a few consolation prizes (irregular t-shirt and a mug).
Hey, Bonnie R. from California! You're better than George Lucas!
Anyway, Lucas was a great sport about coming on the show and it was good to see him goof around. He even had a light saber fight with Stephen at the end of the episode! Millions of geeks all over the universe would give their arms and legs and painstakingly-made, handsewn Chewbacca costumes to have Lucas stab them in the balls with a light saber. Yup. Stephen Colbert pretty much has the best job in the world.
YouTube doesn't seem to have anything yet, but ColbertNation.com has a few videos from last night (but no Lucas entry, for some reason).
Edit: YouTube still doesn't have Lucas' entry, but you can watch the light saber duel from the end of the show...
Edit again: ComedyCentral.com's Motherload has the George Lucas entry. Motherload doesn't always work (not sure why), but you can give it a try.
Edit again, again: Here's Bonnie's entry, YouTube-ified...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-12-2006 @ 12:44PM
Ryan S. said...
Best bit i've ever seen on The Colbert Report, i thought it was so funny. And like you said, the Lightsaber fight between colbert and George L., brilliant. One of the best episodes ever.
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10-12-2006 @ 1:59PM
r.r.r. said...
this episode was excellent. i like how "let the eagle soar" was playing in the backround. awesome! i love this show.
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10-12-2006 @ 2:08PM
Alan said...
I was really dissapointed in the winning entry. I think just about every one in the montage was better than the one that won.
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10-12-2006 @ 2:14PM
christine dix said...
It was very sporting for Lucas to come on the show, and enter the green screen challenge himself. Very entertaining and Kudos to everyone who created one; I kept a close eye on the entries
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10-12-2006 @ 2:25PM
Del said...
The one of hundreds of Colberts a la Smith in the Matrix had me laughing so hard
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10-17-2006 @ 2:32PM
Polina said...
"3. I was really dissapointed in the winning entry. I think just about every one in the montage was better than the one that won."
I think you missed the joke. The "winning" entry was obviously a setup created by the Report. Apparently Colbert actually meant it when he said it wasn't a contest: the punchline of the bit had been set up from the very start. If you don't believe me, listen to the ending of Colbert's conversation with the "winner": when he asks her how she feels, she says "Empowered." That's a scripted, tongue-in-cheek answer if I ever heard one.
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10-18-2006 @ 4:52AM
Bonnie R. said...
I'm the woman who won the contest, and I can tell you it was SOO not scripted, I really did win! The only reason I said "I feel empowered" was because his show the night before was all about empowering women so that popped into my head. All they told me was that I was the finals, and they wanted me on the phone. I had NO IDEA the other "contestant" was George Lucas when I was on hold listening to silence during George L's bit. Plus, while I was on hold before the part where Stephen talked to me on the air, Stephen came on the phone and told me there was another contestant, and said "even if you don't win, thank you for your entry." He totally tricked me into thinking I really was probably going to lose, and so my reaction was GENUINE surprise! I didn't know until I saw the show that night that it was George Lucas, and fell on the floor lauging.
Wow. So this is what it feels like to have people think things about you that you know aren't true! How weird!
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10-19-2006 @ 11:53AM
Jason said...
I thought the winning entry was excellent. Very creative and "outside-the-box." I too loved the fact that "Let the Eagles Soar" was the soundtrack... I was LMAO...
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