Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Costume designer John Mollo, who won an Oscar for A New Hope, has died at age 86. He also worked on The Empire Strikes Back, Alien, and co-won a second Oscar for Gandhi.
For a closer look at his work on the original trilogy, check out the book Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy. There’s an interview with Mollo by author Brandon Alinger on StarWars.com.
Continue reading “ANH, ESB costume designer John Mollo dies”
Ron Howard’s first really big reveal! For the purposes of our old-ass EU fan blog, anyway.
Tag and Bink are in the Han Solo movie. They’re played by Jon Kasdan (left,) who confirms it, and assistant director Toby Hefferman.)
The pair originate in the 2001 Tag & Bink Are Dead comics which are, technically, part of Legends. (Though even there the comics were considered “Infinities,” which today makes them doubly non-canon.) How much makes it to screen (and canon..?) Well, probably not much. But that’s fitting.
Technicalities aside, the original Tag and Bink comics (by Star Wars Tales MVP Kevin Rubio) are among the highlights of Dark Horse’s run with the license. They’re totally worth a read, require nothing at all in knowledge of the vast Expanded Universe, and are really, really funny. I don’t think there’s been any physical reprints since the comics license changeover to Marvel, but the collection is available on Comixology.
Honestly, this is exactly the kind of EU appearance I expect in this film: Brief and irreverent.
More recent stuff from Howard under the cut. Continue reading “Tag and Bink are coming to an untitled Han Solo movie near you”
New dialogue has been heard in both a TV spot (which also features a handful of new shots, most notably Finn during his battle with Phasma) and via some… talking candy? Per usual, these lines may not pan out in the film so don’t get too attached (remember “immune to the light?”)
Continue reading “The Last Jedi: New dialogue, peanut covers, are porgs rodents?”
Three Star Wars actors won big at the Emmys tonight. The upcoming Han Solo film’s Donald Glover took home two statues for Atlanta – lead actor in a comedy and directing in a comedy. Rogue One’s Riz Ahmed won as lead in a limited series for The Night of. And The Last Jedi’s Laura Dern took supporting actress in a limited series for Big Little Lies.
The night’s biggest genre winner was The Handmaid’s Tale. The dystopia won Best Drama Series and writing, along with lead and supporting wins for Elizabeth Moss and Ann Dowd. Anthology series Black Mirror also took two trophies for the episode “San Junipero.”
Billie Lourd talks to American Horror Story co-star Sarah Paulson about growing up with Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.
Mark Hamill had a San Diego street named after him Sunday. Castleton Drive, where he lived briefly in middle and high school, now has a second name: Mark Hamill Dr. Brian Sims also attended and has generously shared some of his pics with a few fan sites. See some below, and even more at BrianSims.com
Continue reading “Mark Hamill receives San Diego street name honor”
Star Wars fans have several categories to watch at the Primetime Emmys this year. The two big ones for the franchise are Rebels with a nomination for Outstanding Children’s Program, and The Star Wars Show for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series.
But when it comes to numbers, there are Star Wars folks all over the map. The late Carrie Fisher is up for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Amazon’s Catastrophe. The Bright Lights documentary that focused on Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, also got two nominations.
Donald Glover’s Atlanta got a total of six nods, including Outstanding Comedy Series and a Lead Actor, Directing and Writing nods for Glover himself. Fellow Solo castmember Michael Kenneth Williams is up for his supporting role in The Night of.
Ewan McGregor goes up against Riz Ahmed for Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Fargo and The Night of, respectively. They got each got a second nod for Narrator (McGregor in Wild Scotland) and Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Ahmed in Girls).
Other Star Wars actors with nominations include Laura Dern (Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for Big Little Lies) and Ben Mendelsohn (Guest Actor in a Drama Series, for Bloodline).
Profiles in History has annouced a personal property auction of items owned by the late Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Among Fisher’s portion is the life-sized Princess Leia statue featured in the Bright Lights documentry.
Portions of the proceeds will go to the Thalians and The Jedi Foundation. Their joint estate in Hollywood is also being sold.
While the 40 years of Star Wars panel was light on news, it was fairly heavy on the feels. The much-vaunted surprises turned out to be George Lucas (as predicted,) Harrison Ford (who I don’t think anyone expected) and Billie Lourd, who took part in a truly epic tribute to Carrie Fisher.
I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house after the tribute video (above,) and it was only enhanced by the reveal of John Williams and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra playing Princess Leia’s theme. They followed up with the Main Theme and the Imperial March, just in time to allow us to regain our composure.
The video does contain a look at Fisher on-set in The Last Jedi, but in the scheme of things that feels secondary. And while the panel did mainly focus on the first 6 films, it’s really only appropriate that it ended the way it did. Tomorrow, we’ll look ahead.
Carrie Fisher may appear in Episode IX after all. Todd Fisher tells the New York Daily News that he and Carrie’s daughter Billie Lourd have given Lucasfilm permission to use “recent footage” of her for the trilogy’s finale:
“Both of us were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t,” said Fisher, as he attended the opening night gala of the TCM Film Festival in Los Angeles, celebrating “In the Heat of the Night.”
“She’s as much a part of it as anything and I think her presence now is even more powerful than it was, like Obi Wan — when the saber cuts him down he becomes more powerful. I feel like that’s what’s happened with Carrie. I think the legacy should continue.”
Fisher had finished filming for The Last Jedi prior to her death in December. Lucasfilm said they had “no plans to digitally recreate” Fisher as Leia in January. In March, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that her death hadn’t changed Leia’s role in Episode VIII.
Episode IX, to be directed by Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow, is due out in 2019.