The front page of TFN on October 17, 2010 |
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| URL | TheForce.Net |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | Yes |
| Type of site | Star Wars news site |
| Registration | Optional |
| Owner | part-owned by Philip Wise |
| Created by | Scott Chitwood and Darin Smith |
TheForce.Net is a Star Wars news site. It has material related the movies and associated games, publications, and other merchandise (the "Expanded Universe").
It originally began in 1996 as the "Star Wars Site At Texas A & M", founded by Scott Chitwood and Darin Smith. Its message board, the Jedi Council Forums, aims to provide detailed information on a wide variety of Star Wars-related topics. TheForce.Net is also the home to FanForce.Net, a Star Wars fan community that brings together Star Wars fans from different cities around the world. Additionally, it hosts the Star Wars Technical Commentaries and FanFilms.com.
The Star Wars Technical Commentaries are a set of detailed documents exploring the nature and limits of the technology of the Star Wars universe. They are maintained by Dr. Curtis Saxton, Ph.D. (Astrophysics) and located at TheForce.Net. SWTC attempts to physically rationalize the depiction of technology and science in the Star Wars franchise, an effort that has provoked mixed reactions from online fans and particularly amongst participants in the ongoing Star Trek versus Star Wars debate. Incredible Cross Sections of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Incredible Cross-sections of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, two official publications by Dorling Kindersley also written by Dr. Saxton, draw on material and insight available at SWTC.
The site has hosted a number of videos that are important to the Star Wars fandom. In the summer of 2000, the site hosted a fake movie trailer for Star Wars: Episode II that included actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Hayden Christensen. The trailer surpassed one million downloads and generated favorable publicity for the movie itself.[1] The following year, the site hosted leaked production footage of Episode II. The footage, taken at an awards ceremony against Lucasfilm's wishes, was taken down within a few hours.[2]
TFN, officially TheForce.Net, LLC, is currently part-owned by Philip Wise, who also runs the Star Wars collecting news site Rebelscum.com.[3]