Author: jawajames

San Diego-based Jawa.
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Back on TV this weekend: Doctor Who, The Venture Brothers special

Just a reminder that Doctor Who returns this Saturday, with a look at a classic time travel trope in ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’. This start to the second half of the season is followed by the last ‘Doctor Who: Best of’ show: ‘Best of the Companions’. Check out this exclusive sneak peek of the new episode, or, if you’re not caught up on Series 6 yet, BBC America will be doing a marathon of the first half of the series before the new episode at 9 PM.

Also, in news that may only be exciting to Dunc and myself, The Venture Brothers returns on midnight on Sunday, August 28 with a special mockumentary on Hank’s band: From the Ladle to the Grave: The Shallow Gravy Story. The new 15-minute episode follows a VB marathon starting at 9:30 on [adult swim]. Crave more gravy? Get more info on Shallow Gravy EP from Amazon and iTunes. Go Team Venture!

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New Blade Runner without Harrison Ford?

Following up with the announcement that Ridley Scott is returning to helm another Blade Runner film, producer Andrew Kosove is not interested in having Harrison Ford return to the Rick Deckard role. Kosove told the LA Times blog: “But if you’re asking me will this movie have anything to do with Harrison Ford, the answer is no. This is a total reinvention, and in my mind that means doing everything fresh, including casting.” Kosove, from Alcon Entertainment, also reports that the earliest that shooting could begin would be early 2013, meaning that the soonest that the film could be out would be 2014.

Following the Blade Runner buzz:

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Ridley Scott to revisit Blade Runner

Deadline reports that Ridley Scott has committed to directing and producing another Blade Runner movie, almost thirty years after the release of the first cult sci-fi classic. No details yet on whether the new film for Alcon Entertainment, will be a sequel, prequel or reboot to the dystopic franchise that had Harrison Ford portray a cop hunting down replicants, robots that look human in a corporate-controlled urban future.

MTV gleaned from Ford in July that he hasn’t rejected a return to the Deckard role, and that he was in touch with some of the new film’s people. A new Blade Runner won’t be Scott’s first return to one of his masterpieces – he’s currently working on Prometheus, which an Alien prequel – sort of.

With Scott returning to his earlier works, it seems that the 1980s-remake bandwagon is nearly complete – all we need is a reboot to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and a sequel to The Abyss.

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Chat highlights with Fate of the Jedi: Ascension author Christie Golden

Del Rey hosted a chat on Facebook with Fate of the Jedi: Ascension author, Christie Golden, this afternoon on her new novel and writing Star Wars in general. First, some spoiler-free highlights:

  • On the challenge of sandbox writing and characters that can’t die: “It’s never really bothered me, as I actually started out with tie-in work. It’s just part of the whole picture. You can, however, make them suffer, have them have major setbacks, or lose something precious to them…which is sometimes harder for a person to bear.”
  • On capturing the right feel: “I rewatched the movies (oh, twist my arm!) and really just tried to “sit” with the feel of it. Also tried to pay attention to what Troy [Denning], Karen [Traviss] and Aaron [Allston] were doing with LOTF [Legacy of the Force], so that it would feel a believable continuation from that as well.” and “I try hard to make things feel “bigger” than just the events of the series. There’s 40 years of history here to mine. For instance, I needed a planet in a certain area…I researched it…Klatooine not only fit the bill but had that amazing fountain of glass–how perfect! I think everyone feels that way–this is a big universe and there’s a lot to play with.”

Continue reading “Chat highlights with Fate of the Jedi: Ascension author Christie Golden”

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Star Wars is on the money, at the zoo, and more…

Chewbacca and Han Solo are looking to make a few more credits.These credits will do fine: The Pacific island nation of Niue will be issuing a series of Star Wars coins, starting in November. Ten $1 coins and eight $2 coins are being issued in this first part of their Star Wars series, which will continue with additional designs to be released in 2012, to coincide with the 3-D movie release, for a total of 40 coins. While they are legal tender on Niue (Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse) and made by the New Zealand Mint, the coins probably won’t see much circulation on their island home as they will be minted in small quantities for sale on the collector’s market – no more than 50,000 of the $1 coins will be minted, while the $2 coins will be limited to only 7,500.

The $1 silver-plated coins sport the likenesses of ten classic trilogy characters: Yoda, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, Han Solo, Obi-wan Kenobi, R2-D2, Chewbacca, and Emperor Palpatine. Each of these, shipped in a holder, will cost about $20 US.

You got an ATM in that torso Lite-Brite?The $2 coins will come in special four-packs with display cases – the dark side set of four coins (Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Stormtrooper, and Death Star) comes in a case shaped like Darth Vader’s mask, complete with breathing sound effects. The Rebel Alliance set comes in a Millennium Falcon case with hyperspace sounds and includes a Luke Skywalker & Princess Leia Organa coin, Han Solo & Chewbacca, Yoda & Obi-wan Kenobi, and C-3PO & R2-D2. Don’t expect to just pay 2 Niue dollars for these, as each of these coins is a whopping one ounce of silver!

Don’t feed the rancor! The Los Angeles Zoo will be having a Star Wars Day on August 27, including character visits, a sneak peek at the Blu-ray special features, and lots of comparisons between real world animals and the creatures and aliens of a galaxy far, far away. Just don’t pull a Jar Jar and accidentally let the animals loose!

Revelations decoded? Last week saw the release of two Star Wars comics, and launch of comics reviews on Big Shiny Robot by a familiar face. Check out GONK’s review of Invasion: Revelations #2 andThe Old Republic: The Lost Suns #3.

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Aaron Allston releases new ebook: An Occurrence at Bifrost Bridge

An Occurrence at Bifrost BridgeAaron Allston, author of many Star Wars novels including the upcoming Wraith Squadron novel, X-Wing: Mercy Kill, has announced the ebook release of a new short story, An Occurrence at Bifrost Bridge. Set in the 1940s, this fantasy story journeys into the realms of Norse mythology, with a title reminiscent of a classic Ambrose Bierce tale.

Available in several formats, the story is available for purchase at Allston’s ArcherRat Publishing store or get the Kindle edition on Amazon. Physical copies may be available for purchase from the author at Dragon*Con. Also now available in multiple electronic formats is Allston’s first ebook, Dead But Hostile, a trio of horror shorts.

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Gencon: Fantasy Flight previews Star Wars games

After announcing last week that Fantasy Flight Games had obtained the licensing rights for Star Wars-themed RPG, card and miniatures games, it seemed pretty natural for them to be demoing their upcoming titles at Gencon this past weekend. Beasts Of War interviewed Fantasy Flight Games on the two upcoming titles demoed the gaming convention: X-Wing, the miniatures game, and Star Wars: The Card Game. io9 enjoyed their chance to try out a demo version of the starfighter combat minis.

Buzz on Board Game Geek for the card game seems to be positive, especially from the fans of FFG’s other cooperative Living Card Games. But a few CCG gaming friends tried it out and weren’t as positive – was it a poor demo experience (not being told that it was cooperative and not competitive)? Several players remarked on the game having some bad artwork. Hopefully the look and feel will get more polished as they finish it up for its 2012 release. But as a co-op game with all players being the Rebels against the Empire, players seeking to play on the Dark Side of the Force will be left unhappy.

TheHopelessGamer has some pictures of both Star Wars: The Card Game, and X-Wing.

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On TV: Warehouse 13, Leverage renewed, new Thrones characters, and more

Fresh off the heels of killing, renewing, and really killing Eureka, SyFy has renewed its most watched series, Warehouse 13 for a fourth season in 2012. Entertainment Weekly discusses Syfy’s image post-Eureka, and announced a fifth season of Leverage on TNT. Also not axed yet: Syfy had to quash rumors that its new superhuman show, Alphas, had been canned.

Can’t wait for the next season of Game of Thrones? Check out these three new character castings on Blastr. Or check out this tribute video: (Warning: NSFW!)

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Darth Vader, Captain America, and Indiana Jones team up for today’s double dose of art awesomeness

Here’s a one-two punch of some awesome art for the week:

Ever wondered what would happen when the First Avenger comes across a Dark Lord of the Sith? Dave Dorman has, and created this mash-up of Darth Vader and Captain America for Wizard World Chicago 2011. Who’s inside that armor – is it Anakin or Red Skull? Next time, get a shield made of cortosis, Cap!

Meanwhile, Matt Busch has produced an exquisite map showcasing the travels and artifacts of Indiana Jones, pulling from the films and other Indy sources (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, comics, video games, novels, and theme park rides). Proceeds from this piece go to American Disabled Veterans. Now to drop hints that this would make a great gift for me.