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Features

Force isn't so strong in this one just yet

Darth Vader's stumbling, bumbling kid brother strikes out for his own galactic conquests.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 5, 2007

MADISON, Wis. - Poor Chad Vader.

The younger brother of the evil Jedi knight slayer Darth Vader is stuck managing a grocery store in a series of short films that have become an international hit thanks to YouTube and MySpace. The six wacky episodes created by Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan have been viewed more than 9.5-million times on those sites alone.

The popularity of Chad's misadventures has allowed Yonda and Sloan, aspiring filmmakers, to quit their jobs and negotiate a contract with a major media company they won't name.

Chad Vader is not strictly a Star Wars parody. The filmmakers say they wanted to build a universe of their own and avoid such cliches as "Luke, I am your father." Instead, the episodes, which run about five minutes each, feature Darth's little brother being demoted, facing derision from colleagues and struggling to win over a crush, even though he wields a light saber and can move objects with his mind.

"He doesn't command the respect that Darth Vader does. He has the powers, he could be great, but he's missing something," says Yonda, who transforms from a 34-year-old metal shop worker into Chad when he slips into his Supreme Edition Darth Vader costume. "Some key personality flaw is preventing him from getting past that level that he needs to get to become Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army."

Sloan, who does the character's voice with an uncanny resemblance to James Earl Jones' Darth, said the goal was to humanize Vader by "making him that guy who doesn't know how to handle his authority and goes way over the top ... but at the same time making him really likable."

Yonda and Sloan previewed their first episode to a small group at a Madison coffee shop last year and were nervous when they got few laughs. They made changes, submitted it to a monthly film contest in Los Angeles and won. YouTube started featuring the episodes, and fans quickly began e-mailing them to friends. ABC's Good Morning America debuted their fourth episode, and VH1 will feature Vader among its top 40 Internet superstars in April.

The filmmakers say they plan to do two more episodes - which take as long as 11 hours to film and cost up to $1,000 apiece - to finish the "first season" and then film a second eight-episode season. Sloan said the contract being negotiated by their talent agent will be with a major Internet site to create a new series. The two have also been in meetings with NBC and Cartoon Network executives to pitch ideas.

[Last modified March 5, 2007, 12:33:05]