Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
It’s time for another Profiles in History auction! As always, they have plenty of neat movie props and memorabilia, and while it’s probably beyond most of our budgets, at least we can browse!
The Star Wars items start with Lot #345 and include Luke’s blue lightsaber, a piece of the Death Star, C-3PO’s hands and several Vader Project helmets! There’s plenty of Indiana Jones items as well, including a Temple of Doom fedora.
Okay. So a certain online bookseller apparently has the street date for Carrie Fisher‘s Wishful Drinking a wee bit early. But I don’t care, as it has allowed me to get it and read it.
If you like snark, then this book is for you!
The interesting part about this book, compared to her other books, is that it is very blatantly autobiographical, as opposed to the psuedo-biographical nature of her fiction work. And she just gets right down to it: her family dysfunction, her brain’s dysfunction, the more interesting events in her life.
A bit disappointing to this Star Wars geek is the general lack of actual Star Wars stories. She mentions getting the role and the oddness of being a collectible, but basically stays away from stories about the production or other behind-the-scenes tidbits. But, then again, the way she describes her state of being at the time and episodes since then, one might have to forgive her. She might not actually remember it!
In spite of that, this is a really intriguing look at mental illness and life in Hollywood. And it’s nice to have some things cleared up that have been a bit obscured by tabloids and internet gossip.
And, when you get right down to it, it’s hilarious. Her sarcastic wit and style of writing makes you feel like you’re right there having a conversation with her. So the conversation rambles a bit. And you come out understanding someone just a little better.
The pictures are enlightening and the captions even better (Check out the tabloid headlines. Brilliant!) I laughed at least once a page.
Of note, this might not be the best book for those under high school age. There is profanity. There are some serious situations she has dealt with. Parents might not be so thrilled with younger minds (and maybe not even high schoolers) reading it.
But if you do not fall into this age group, I’d highly recommend it.
Carrie Fisher’s memoir is due in bookstores next Tuesday, and the early copies are making their way into the hands of the media. There’s a hefty three-part except – Star Wars is the middle selection – in the Daily Mail. A shorter and less safe-for-work bit was highlighted by Jezebel last week.
Fisher will even be making at least one bookstore appearance – look for her at New York’s Lincoln Triangle Barnes and Noble on December 10th.
I realize that I am in the minority here, but I’ve always thought that getting books signed by their author is rather pointless. So I really don’t understand why anyone would want to bother getting an edition of a Star Wars novel with a personalized dedication page. (At least they’re not offering to do a find-and-replace with [insert character here]?) I suppose it makes sense for gifts, and it’s getting be that season… But still. Oh well: Whatever floats your boat.
The paperback of Death Star, by by Steve Perry & Michael Reaves, will be cruising into bookstores tomorrow. Roleplayers or the detail-oriented might also want to look for WOTC’s Scum and Villainy supplement, which came out last week.
As for comic fans, Wednesday will bring the Vector storyline even closer to an end with part 11 (of 12) in Legacy #30.
Cleolinda, whose Twilight-for-the-lulz obsession has fed all our urges to know more about the not-quite-Harry-Potter event of the year, has come through with Twilight in Fifteen Minutes.
Since we’re on the topic, the movie made an estimated $70.5 million opening weekend, and the sequel was promptly greenlit. Poor Robert Pattinson – there’s no escape for him now.
StarWars.com has the obligatory updated episode guide and a video commentary. Also, a very pretty screenshot of that slug-thing, seen above.
Holiday Special week fallout: Han Solo’s little-known furry roots glommed on by internets, many bad jokes (and debate?!?) ensue.
Better a Wookiee than a Selonian, I guess. (We’ll leave them to Corran.)
I think he needs more whiskey. Let’s take up a collection. (Via the nutcases of #eu.)
The notable lack of a big franchise fantasy film* for the season makes the coming months slim pickings for genre fans, unless one happens to be a preteen girl (Twilight) or their younger siblings (Bolt) or a [male] comics fan (Punisher: War Zone, The Spirit) or one of the two people who thought The Day the Earth Stood Still remake was a good idea. Okay, so maybe I’m wrong.
At least the rest of us can console ourselves with the fact that there now exists a sci-fi horror musical with Giles Anthony Stewart Head rendering violence upon Paris Hilton. Right? Or at the very least, Daniel Craig takes his shirt off. Vote for up to eight movies beneath the cut! Continue reading “Poll: Pick your winter genre movies”
