Category: people

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Episode IX: Costume rumors, Daisy Ridley sighting

→ Another fruitless few days of official Episode IX stuff (though Rey and Kylo are getting Galaxy of Adventures figures) but at least Making Star Wars has a something something, this time about costumes. And a brief on what role Billy Dee Williams’ Lando plays in the film. But, more importantly – what is he wearing? What will Rey really do with her hair? What… Threepio is wearing? And some more Black Park pictures.

→ But back to Rey, John Boyega did share a photo of Daisy Ridley the other day. Obviously, she’s not in costume, but it does point to her still being filming.

→ Richard E. Grant was on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, and of course Episode IX came up.

→ And as an added bonus, Claudia Gary’s Bloodline, which is still really the only original novel to get fairly close to the new films, is on sale for $1.99 in Kindle today.

→ Meanwhile, Kiri Hart, who established the Lucasfilm Story Group, now has a new gig as as creative advisor for the Rideback TV Incubator, a program to help boost TV writers from diverse backgrounds. She’s still a consultant for Lucasfilm.

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Adam Driver, Richard E. Grant among Star Wars actors up for for Golden Globes

Several Star Wars actors got Golden Globes nominations today –Adam Driver (for BlacKkKlansman) and Richard E. Grant (for Can You Ever Forgive Me?) are both in the running for a supporting nod, while in the TV categories we have Donald Glover (for Atlanta), Keri Russell (for The Americans), Laura Dern (The Tale) and Thandie Newton (Westworld), all in different categories (lead comedy, lead drama, lead limited series and supporting series, respectively). Grant and Russell will make their Star Wars debuts in the upcoming Episode IX.

We also see Marvel get their first Best Drama nod at any major awards show, for Black Panther. This is the first superhero picture, period, to be nominated to the category for the Golden Globes. (Deadpool did get a nod in 2017, but as a Comedy.) It’s also up for Song and Score.

You can check out all the nominations at EW.

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Chuck Wendig fired by Marvel

Only a week after announcing a new project at NYCC, Marvel has fired writer Chuck Wendig, the author first revealed on Twitter. Shadow of Vader #1-3 will go ahead as planned, but he’s off the last two issues, as well as another Star Wars comic that hasn’t been announced yet.

The firing was over his Twitter feed, Wendig says (and verified by sources within Marvel, per Vulture.) “I was too vulgar, too political,” he tells them.

Neither trait is particularly new for Wendig’s Twitter feed – he’s always been vulgar, and political, and unapologetic, particularly when butting heads with the more obstinate parts of fandom. What has changed in the past week or so is that he’s attracted the attention of some of Twitter’s more high-profile right-wing personalities, resulting in a fresh wave of trolling. That puts this more in the range of a situation like James Gunn’s – and the implications are that this is yet another example of Marvel (though the comic side and the movie side are very much removed from each other) caving to right-wing pressure. Granted, Wendig has been getting the short end of the troll stick since Aftermath – something he brings up for context – but the higher-profile attacks have brought a much more relentless wave.

The firing is 100% Marvel – neither Lucasfilm nor Del Rey were involved, something Wendig affirmed in a follow-up tweet thread. Love or hate Wendig or his work, this is still a disturbing trend.

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Star Wars, Empire producer Gary Kurtz dies at age 78

Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz died Sunday from cancer, his family has announced. He was 78.

Kurtz produced American Grafitti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back with George Lucas. He also produced The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz. Kurtz has become a somewhat controversial figure where it comes to the mythos of making Star Wars. Chris Taylor has an interesting interview with him from 2014.

StarWars.com has posted an obit, and there are more remembrances below.

Continue reading “Star Wars, Empire producer Gary Kurtz dies at age 78”

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Kathleen Kennedy to get an honorary Oscar

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy will receive an honorary Oscar at the Motion Picture Academy’s 10th annual Governors Awards. Kennedy and her husband and producing partner, Frank Marshall, are being honored with Thalberg Award, given to producers “whose body of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production.” Kennedy will be the first woman to receive the award, which was last given to Francis Ford Coppola in 2010.

Kennedy has been nominated for 8 Oscars, due to Best Picture nominations for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Color Purple, The Sixth Sense, Seabiscuit, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, War Horse, and Lincoln.

Kennedy joined Lucasfilm in 2012 as George Lucas’ hand-picked successor.

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Domhnall Gleeson knows “everything” on Episode IX, and he’s terrified

They’re filming Episode IX, but Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac both have movies coming out (The Little Stranger and Operation Finale) and are making the press rounds. They can’t say much about IX, obviously, but there are a few things of note, plus a check-in with Keri Russell and Dominic Monaghan.

Continue reading “Domhnall Gleeson knows “everything” on Episode IX, and he’s terrified”

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Kelly Marie Tran refuses to be marginalized

Kelly Marie Tran speaking out for the first time since she deleted all her posts on Instagram earlier this year, in an essay for The New York Times. The move was widely believed to be about the harassment she’s received, something she confirms here, but it’s also part of a larger picture, part of growing up “as a person of color in a white-dominated world.”

I won’t quote much more, as the piece needs to be read in its entirety. I know, it’s the internet, we don’t click links anymore, it’s the NYT and they have a paywall. Open up a different browser. Read it on another computer/device. But it’s important to read it.

Harassment is never okay. Harassing someone over their race, their gender, or because you don’t find them attractive is not the exception. Saying mean things about someone because you didn’t like a movie isn’t either. I don’t know why people seem to need a reminder that just because you can be an ass on the internet doesn’t mean you should. And just because you haven’t experienced something doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened to someone else.

Just read it, okay?

Here’s a quick lesson in how to properly pronounce her real name, Loan: