Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Can’t say I’m particularly broken up about the departure of Karen Traviss from Star Wars, as I wasn’t planning to read any of her forthcoming novels anyway. However, I’ve been following the threads on the fan boards and in-between the mourning/celebration some interesting points have been raised: How far is The Clone Wars going in railroading over existing canon, if it’s driven away an author who infamously loved to retcon? Continue reading “On Jossing, canon, and The Clone Wars“
Geekdad Matt Blum has proof that George Lucas is an evil genius. It makes as much sense as anything else these days:
My kids are pretty smart — I don’t like to brag, it’s just the truth. …So why, then, are they so drawn to a character that causes near-universal revulsion in those past puberty? Yes, exactly: Because George Lucas cleverly designed Jar Jar Binks so that kids would love him but adults would hate him. Why would he do that? Because it’s part of an evil scheme to take over the world, of course.
Of course! It’s so obvious!
I got all excited about this Wall Street Journal article that mentions the live-action series until I realized it’s basically just a longer take this article from June. But it does have some new George Lucas quotes and one of their nifty little head shot sketches.
George tops Forbes Hollywood list. George Lucas is the top earner on the business mag’s brand new list of Hollywood’s highest-paid men. (Wait, men? I guess Oprah isn’t ‘Hollywood.’) Coming up second is Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford shows up at #11.
Number games Because Harry Potter could soon beat Star Wars as the best-grossing movie franchise in the U.S. And yeah, while it didn’t beat Transformers 2’s opening weekend, Half-Blood Prince hasn’t done too shabby. (Would J.K. Rowling count as ‘Hollywood,’ Forbes?)
Flashback. Geoff Boucher digs up an old photo from the 70’s.
Other franchies… Warwick Davis talks a bit about a sequel to Willow with MTV. (We also learn that I am not the only person who hated the sequel books!)
As previously discussed and dissected for hints, this year’s Star Wars Spectacular panel at Comic-Con was going to be hosted by G4’s “Attack of the Show” crew: Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, and Blair Butler, and the panel will be broadcast live on G4 on Friday, July 24. The panel will include a live read of a new “The Clone Wars” script by the voice talent.
The announcement on starwars.com came with the opportunity for fans to submit videos to G4 to be shown during the presentation, either telling fan stories, or asking questions about The Clone Wars to the show’s creators, like Dave Filoni.
Word from someone working for G4 is that George Lucas may be answering some of the fans’ questions submitted by video – via pre-recorded video of his own.
So get those questions in, submitted through the G4 site. Key things to note for submitting videos: < 90 seconds long, < 150 MB, and use a white background!
On the basis of it being mentioned in Heilemann’s widely-linked Maker of Films post, Michael Rubin is making his book Droidmaker available for free in PDF.
This is likely a limited-time thing, so nab them quickly… Or you can go buy the book, since as I recall it’s pretty hefty – too much so to read the whole thing on a screen. Plus, that’s just the right thing to do… Now I gotta wonder where my copy is. (Probably went into a JadeCon teacup auction, come to think of it…)
UPDATE: Rubin has posted a Droidmaker FAQ.
Michael Heilemann has unearthed an hour-long 1971 interview with George Lucas.
With George being accused of being a building copycat, The Architects’ Journal goes on a Star Wars jag, naming their ten most important buildings* in the saga.
* With one that maybe isn’t quite a building.
The Chicago Tribune finally has something on George, while NECN.com has video of George accepting the Siskel Award.
The Forcecast’s Jimmy Mac was on hand for last night’s Gene Siskel Film Center event honoring The Maker in Chicago. He returns with photos and an interview with Lucas.
There doesn’t seem to be much from the press on the event yet, but Francis Ford Coppola has good words about George at MTV, and Red Tails actor Tristan Wilds talks him up over at IGN.