Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
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.
Today, StarWars.com has broken the news that Steve Sansweet will be leaving Lucasfilm in April 2011. We’ve always been great fans of Steve, so I feel pretty safe in saying that all of Club Jade might be shedding a tear or two in tribute come spring.
He’s not stepping away from Star Wars entirely: “I intend to remain actively engaged with Star Wars and fandom,” he says. We’ll be sad to see him go, but I’ve no doubt that Steve will flourish.
I doubt this was the kind of revelation that Lucasfilm was hoping would make waves in the wake of the new Making of book, but it’s been tough to miss Carrie Fisher’s disclosure down under that she did cocaine on the Hoth set of The Empire Strikes Back. “I didn’t even like coke that much,” she says. “It was just a case of getting on whatever train I needed to take to get high.” She goes on to talk about John Belushi and (of course) her show ‘Wishful Drinking,’ which she’ll be performing in several Australian cities through November.
UPDATE: Fisher blogs about the cocaine incident with her characteristic zing:
So, a long time ago, in a nostril far far away, I ventured outside the perimeters of the appropriate by inhaling a substance that would render me less than professional by abusing the privilege of playing the powerful space princess that I had been given.
And yes, she goes on to say, “I suggest you stay away from ingesting this anxious making powder.”
Wait, what’s that? Lucasfilm is building a new facility in Singapore that resembles a chromed Jawa sandcrawler. Pretty interesting, particularly given that the company seems to prefer a more vintage look when it comes to architecture (or maybe that only applies in California.)
The Maker… blogs? George Lucas has come down from on high to blog for The Huffington Post on the importance of education. Note: He probably wrote it on a yellow pad and had one of his many employees type it up, so don’t start holding your breath for his tweets.
Spreading the word. Ashley Eckstein talks Her Universe in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers.
Carrie Fisher’s father, a popular singer of the 50’s who is perhaps best known for leaving Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor, died yesterday after complications from hip surgery. Carrie tweeted:
My Puff Daddy passed away Wednesday night due to complications following his hip surgery. He was an extraordinary talent and a true mensch.
He was loved & will be missed by his 4 children as well as his 6 grandchildren. He was an extraordinary talent and a true mensch.
Our condolences go out to Carrie and her family.
This Harrison Ford interview – recorded in 1977 for a Dallas-Fort Worth news channel – offers a look at the actor before his Star Wars curmudgeon era. (via)
Amazing impressions from The Clone Wars ‘Behind the Microphone’ panel.
James and I were able to grab a quick interview on with Ashley Eckstein at the con! It would be hard not to be impressed by the strides that the company has made in so short a time. They had a great product that was literally all over the con, from all the t-shirts that were near-ubiquitous on female attendees to the limited edition Empire Strikes Back necklace, even down to the (reusable!) shopping bags. As I said in the video, it’s something we’ve been wanting for years, and I won’t lie: I got a little choked up. I can’t wait to see what’s coming: Thank you so much, Ashley!
Ashley Eckstein is getting some ink for Her Universe in the most unlikely of places: ESPN! I don’t doubt being married to an MLB player helps widen the field of interest, but let’s not forget we’re the only fandom with a noteworthy gender disparity. (Sports-loving ladies can see the Alyssa Milano line that Ashley mentions as an inspiration at Fandalia.)
Not the lawsuit you’re looking for… Lucasfilm has backed down from their legal threat against Wicked Lasers, which makes a (you have to admit) very lightsaber-looking laser. But elsewhere in the world, the march continues…
Horrors of the audition tapes. Sylvester Stallone auditioned for Han Solo? Sounds like he didn’t get far enough for tapes, but that’s probably a good thing.
Presented without commentary. Are Jedi Knights Libertarian or Socialist?
George Lucas is among the billionaires making a public pledge to give away at least half their wealth to charity. In a letter posted on The Giving Pledge website, Lucas writes:
My pledge is to the process; as long as I have the resources at my disposal, I will seek to raise the bar for future generations of students of all ages.
I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective future – and the first step begins with the social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt – as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so.
The “Giving Pledge,” spearheaded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, is intended to set an example of the importance of philanthropy.
A familiar face joins HBO’s Game of Thrones. Julian Glover, who you’ll remember as General Veers from Empire Strikes Back and Walter Donovan from his face-melting turn in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, has joined the cast of HBO’s adaption as Grand Maester Pycelle. He replaces Roy Dotrice, who had to step out for health reasons.
Torn from the headlines. NPR gives some love to #Wookieeleaks, the hashtag that took Twitter by storm last week.
Airbender successor series won’t be ongoing. UGO snatched some time with co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko at SDCC to bend a few new details on the upcoming Legend of Korra. Chief among them: It’s mini-series. But that does mean that DiMartino and Konietzko are writing each episode. This has done very little to temper my excitement. Maybe because I keep running into stuff like this.
Your moment of zen. Kate Beaton has produced the best Wolverine comic ever.