Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
More happy news from Katie’s introduction to fandom. (This is the little girl who was deluged with love after her mom wrote about her being teased for liking Star Wars.) Her mom reports that she has not only gotten some awesome stuff from fans, but she has learned lessons from folks who have written in and is now helping others.
Rock on, Katie! Here’s hoping we all live up to your example.
Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, has died at the age of 87.
ESB is considered by many to be the finest entry in the Star Wars franchise. And he’s probably most appreciated for arguing it out with Harrison Ford to put together the famous “I love you” “I know” exchange.
Those of us lucky enough to have heard him speak at Celebration know what an interesting and multi-faceted man he was. He will be missed.
UPDATE: George remembers Kersh.
You’ve probably already heard the collective cry of anguish from worshippers of The Whedon, but let’s make sure you’re caught up. Yes. Hollywood is planning a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Okay. Stop laughing.
Okay. Don’t stop laughing. Joss has responded in his typical Whedeonesque fashion in an e-mail to E! Online:
This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.
Personally, I hope he goes for that reboot of Batman entitled: The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto.
Katie, the young Star Wars fan who was bullied for liking Star Wars, has been getting a lot of love in a short time.
In addition to several pieces by several prominent female geeks, GeekingOutAbout.com reports that the stars of The Clone Wars have offered up some sweet gifts and opportunities for her. (The numbers have already changed drastically from when this article was written.)
Katie has also received many offers of toys and other collectibles. But the family is requesting that you donate those, instead, to a charity. I know the 501st is about to kick in to the Toys for Tots season. It might be a sweet way to honor one small voice who has inspired so many.
Brian Jacob Smith, who plays Matthew Scott on Stargate Universe, has had it with Stargate fans who hate the latest show, yet persist in hanging around to annoy everyone else with how much they hate it.
He took to TwitLonger to let one fan, in particular, know just how he felt. But, hey, it applies.
Please don’t lurk in the shadows and wait for an opportunity to turn our enthusiasm against us. It’s such a rotten thing to do, and I’m struggling to understand why you think it’s perfectly fine. If you need a good example of why this fanbase is so divided and full of animosity, just refer to your comment.
So far, I’m not seeing a specific groundswell of topics about this over in the wild west of the Gateworld forum, but I’m sure this will strike a note. It’s been a long-standing problem in fandom and I, for one, am glad to see Brian stand up to it.
It’s the time of year when all the Star Wars ‘holiday books’ are released; leaving fans drooling and wondering which one they should put on their list. One that seems to have gotten lost in the promotional blitz is Star Wars Art: Visions.
Inspired by an idea George Lucas discussed with J. W. Rinzler, this book is a magnificent collection of art that should please everyone’s tastes.
Each artist was commissioned by Lucas to create their vision of Star Wars. What they come up with is a wondrous variety of art in styles from Renaissance to Pop and spanning many different aspects of the saga. Each piece is given its own page or pages on high quality paper. And this works well, as you’ll want to study many of them in detail.
I had reactions from laughter to sadness. And they’re each one interesting in their own style. At the end of the book are explanations of the work from many of the artists that add to the fascination of the book. It’s well worth the investment.
My only negative is that the binding doesn’t seem quite up to the task of holding the high quality paper. Only time will tell on that. But this is definitely a worthy coffee table book that you’ll review time and again.
Do you want to make people smile? Get The Jedi Path (Vault Edition) and tell them to push the button.
I brought this to my local Star Wars club meeting, yesterday, and people actually squealed with delight when the vault opened. And when they calmed down enough to do it again and listen to the sound effects? Delighted claps that made them look like five-year-olds on their birthdays.
Going beyond the coolness of the vault, the book itself is fantastic! It’s designed as an orientation manual/text book for younglings at the Jedi Temple that has been passed from master to apprentice in a line descending from Yoda to, belatedly, Luke. (And, yes, they explain how this happens.)
As with many textbooks, it’s filled with notes scribbled in the margins. And I think this is my favorite part. It represents a conversation through the ages. And Dan Wallace really captures each owner’s voice in these notes. Of particular amusement, however, are Darth Sidious’ notes after he captured the book in the Order 66 aftermath.
There are also tons of keepsakes inserted by its various owners that are hilarious. My only complaint would be a coin that keeps falling out of the book and rolling across the room; a particular source of amusement for my dogs. I suspect that will make it difficult to keep this collectible intact in the future.
As to the book itself? It’s a brilliant compilation of thirty-three years of Star Wars lore in a spackle job at a level not seen since Michael Stackpole’s I, Jedi untangled the Bantam Era. Contradictions are explained. Disparate details from several different authors are melded into a coherent theory. And it’s all in the style of textbook; along with some stunning illustrations.
I’m no Santa Maul, but I would definitely add this one to your holiday/birthday wish list.
Fresh off the Emmy broadcast, the Gemini Award nominations, recognizing achievement in Canadian English-language television, have been released. And, unlike in the US, they tend to appreciate good genre television.
Stargate Universe did pretty well for itself:
Other genre nods:
In case you missed it, there was this small little movie that came out last year called Avatar. (Not to be confused with Avatar: The Last Airbender.) It really struggled; only pulling in three Academy Awards. (So sad.)
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, director and creator James Cameron is talking about its impending 3D re-release; including more Pandoric atmosphere and a missing tear-jerker moment.
Apparently, he is hoping this re-release will test out whether or not the Avatar brand can develop into a Star Wars– or Star Trek-type franchise.
Perhaps, being an old fart Star Wars fan, I find this difficult to believe. But stranger things have happened. (As in back in 1977.) And even an attempt at doing more with the Avatar franchise will make at least the Avatarians (Pandorians? Avatar fans?) happy, for now. So more power to him.
Artist Martin Firrell has begun developing a series of art videos about heroism and has changed his focus from real-life soldiers to sci-fi heroes. It’s a mix of artistic video and interview.
Some very interesting comments from Joe Flanigan, Kate Mulgrew and Nathan Fillion.
I’m not sure what the female fan’s reaction will be to Joe Flanigan’s opinion on what attracts women to the hero (second video in). He raises an interesting point, though. And Kate Mulgrew has some interesting comments about the difference between the male and female Starship captains. Worth checking out.