A trailer for the Chinese-American co-production Empires of the Deep has gone online.  I was completely unfamiliar with the project, but Twitch did a good job catching me up.  The project was originally set to star Monica Bellucci, be directed by Pitof (Catwoman), and produced by the late Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back).  They all quickly fled the project, leaving Jonathan Lawrence and then Michael French to direct, Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) replacing Bellucci, and no one to produce.  And if you’re wondering what a real producer does, it’s the person who works hard to prevent delays and budget overruns.  Guess what happened on Empires of the Deep.  Partially financed by Chinese real estate tycoon Jon Jiang, who also wrote the script, the project has reportedly ended up costing $130 million.  And the result?  A movie that looks like crappy underwater Avatar or a gritty live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Advance warning that the audio and video quality of this video is far from ideal. Nevertheless, I’m guessing that fans of the franchise are willing to sacrifice quality for what appears to be an ultra-rare outtake from the set of Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. What you’ll find after the jump is a video of Barbra Streisand, Carrie Fisher, and The Empire Strikes Back‘s late director Irvin Kershner showing up to play a little practical joke on Harrison Ford during the scene in which Indy is being whipped by the Thuggee goon at Mola Ram’s temple.

The video is reportedly from Spielberg’s personal reels although there is no absolute confirmation on that front. Watch the video and read a rough transcription of it (yeah, it’s that low quality) after the jump.

Director Irvin Kershner passed away this morning at the age of 87.  I’m sure most of you remember him as the director of The Empire Strikes Back, as I do.  Funnily enough, that’s not the first thing that comes to the mind of Star Wars guru George Lucas.

Before Lucas employed Kershner to direct the Star Wars sequel, he knew him as a teacher in the film program at USC.  You can find Lucas’ words of remembrance for his friend, colleague, and mentor, “Kersh,” after the jump.

Director Irvin Kershner has passed away today at the age of 87.  According to the AFP, Kershner had been suffering from a long-illness.  Kershner was born in 1923 in Philadelphia and was a graduate of the University of Southern California film school.  He was later one of George Lucas’ instructors in college.  He initially turned down the director’s chair for Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, but his agent convinced him to take it.  Widely considered to be the best of all the Star Wars films, fans the world over are glad he took the gig.  Kershner’s other credits include the “unofficial” James Bond film Never Say Never Again, which brought Sean Connery back to the franchise, and Robocop 2.  His last directorial work was on the TV series SeaQuest 2032.

Our deepest condolences go out to Mr. Kershner’s friends and family.