"The Ric" directed our attention to this E2 status report that appears in today's San Francisco Chronicle. It provides an overall assessment of the status of the production, in addition to a few quotes from Hayden Christensen and Lynne Hale.

From the article...

Christensen, who was chosen after a long process involving more than 400 candidates, will play Anakin in the next two installments. No mannequin, this new Anakin is apparently an athletic fellow who plays tennis and enjoys skateboarding, in- line skating and mountain biking. He was in his apartment in Vancouver when the good news came.

"I was stunned in disbelief,'' he recalled, speaking by phone. "I called my mom first thing, and my roommate put the "Star Wars' theme music on the stereo and he cranked it up loud, just blasting it. She heard that, and she knew and started screaming."

"To me, it's just monumental to get to play Darth Vader," said Christensen. "It was really just enough to be considered. But to actually get the part . . . well, that's why I felt so stunned. I'm thinking to myself, I'm going to be playing the guy that becomes Darth Vader."

The most disappointing news is the confirmation that the irritating, computer-generated Jar Jar Binks will also be returning in the next episode. With all the recent talk about computer viruses, there had been hope, in some circles, that Jar Jar might have caught one.

"Ohhh, but the kids love Jar Jar Binks," says Hale. "We get more mail for Jar Jar than anybody."

But he's computer generated.

"So what? People love Yoda," says Hale, "and he's a puppet."

Click here to read the entire article.