Tag: john scalzi

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In the news: George Lucas takes in some fashion

Random… George Lucas at Fashion Week? Yes, indeed: Lucas was spotted at the Rodarte show on Tuesday with girlfriend Mellody Hobson. According to one report, Lucas is “obsessed” with the work of the women behind the label, sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy. (Maybe George is thinking about costumes for one of his art films?)

Also at the show was Natalie Portman, who was wearing Rodarte when she got her Oscar for Black Swan last year – they designed the movie’s costumes.

Sith strategists? Forbes’ Alex Knapp looks at five leadership mistakes of the Galactic Empire.

It’s an industry. In his latest Film Critic column, John Scalzi looks at why Star Wars just won’t go away.

Haters gonna hate. Has-been mouth-frother Glenn Beck went on a rant about Star Wars this week. In addition to hating on The Phantom Menace (so last week) he also hated on… Red Tails? Really? For what it’s worth, Rick McCallum is thrilled.

Listen. Geeky band The Board of Education has a cute song about Star Wars called ‘Why Is Dad So Mad?’

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Other worlds: On the awesomeness of Katniss Everdeen

The Hunger Games. Meghan Lewit has praise for Katniss Everdeen in The Atlantic, calling her “the most important female character in recent pop culture history.” I can’t really disagree there.

Meanwhile, it’s being reported that Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) is the front-runner for the part of Katniss in the upcoming movie adaption. She’s 20 and blonde, but at least she can act, I guess. Hollywood, sigh.

Stephen King. A new installment in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, The Wind Through the Keyhole, will be published next year. It looks to be a gap-filler, not a continuation. Meanwhile, in November, he time-travels to the Kennedy assignation.

The Kingkiller Chronicle. If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the genre as a whole, you probably know that Patrick Rothfuss is one of the hottest things in fantasy. His second book, The Wise Man’s Fear, just came out. I can’t even begin to catch up with the overwhelming hype and I wasn’t all that impressed with his first anyway, but there’s a nice interview with him on Amazon’s Omnivoracious.

YA mafia. The latest controversy sweeping YA is massive, but it prompted John Scalzi to snark, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Also noteworthy: Cleolinda on how reviews are not for authors.

Sunday reader. Mari Ness finished up her look back at the Narnia books on Tor.com a few weeks back. (She also did a massive series on the Oz books if you’re all Lewised out.)

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Other worlds: Tor.com readers name their top SF/F novels of the decade

Tor.com has wrapped up their reader’s poll, naming the top ten science fiction and fantasy novels of the decade:

  1. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
  2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
  3. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
  4. Blindsight by Peter Watts
  5. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
  6. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
  7. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  8. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
  9. Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
  10. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

I’ve read half of them: I could see American Gods, Kushiel’s Dart, and A Storm of Swords among my own top reads, but I was distinctly underwhelmed by The Name of the Wind and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. (I’ve been putting off Old Man’s War – it’s in the pile!) What are your thoughts?

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Other worlds: Ladies lead Nebula nominations

Awards. The Nebula nominations are out, and up for best novel is one of my favorite reads of 2010, N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Also up are M.K. Hobson’s The Native Star, Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey, Jack McDevitt’s Echo, Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death and Connie Willis’ two-in one punch of Blackout and All Clear.

The Hunger Games. A pair of LJers consider the geography of Panem – quite impressively. (Because who hasn’t wondered what District their state would end up in?)

Sookie Stackhouse. Author Charlaine Harris told Hero Complex that her next two books will wrap up the popular supernatural mystery series. And she’s writing a video game?

Upcoming. io9 lists the books they’re looking forward to for spring.

Optioned. The screen rights for John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War have been acquired by Paramount. Naturally, Scalzi has a few things to say on the matter.

Excerpt. Preview one of the year’s most anticipated fantasies, Patrick Rothfuss’ The Wise Man’s Fear.

Review. Andrew Liptak on Mike Stackpole’s latest, At The Queen’s Command.

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TGIF: Have a fun weekend!

Photo by rmkooi @ Flickr

For the Americans, have a safe and happy Fourth, and remember, if you must blow stuff up, at least be safe about it: We don’t want to give any stray Jedi a headache. For our international friends, a stormtrooper with a bubble wand, which is legal, festive, and appropriate for all outdoor occasions. (Photo by rmkooi at Flickr.)

In the spirit of the season, Scalzi has rated Sci Fi movies by their explosions. Both Star Wars and Return of the Jedi make the cut.