Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
The latest ForceCast celebrated Star Wars Reads Day with a big slate of interviews.
The Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee interview starts at 0:46. They discuss what they’re reading, their first Star Wars reads, how they started at Lucasfilm, the evolution of their jobs and killing Yaddle.
Continue reading “Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee talk ‘Story Group’ on the ForceCast”
A moment of levity struck the internet earlier today, when in a speech on the otherwise deadly-serious (and completely off-topic here) subject of sequestration, President Barack Obama used the term “Jedi mind meld” – crossing the streams of Star Wars and Star Trek and igniting the internet in geek ‘rage.’
Of course, as anyone who made the slog through the New Jedi Order novels will tell you, there actually is a Jedi mind meld. Bloomberg went to the master, Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo:
And though Hidalgo — chuckling throughout the entire interview — suspects it was probably a mixup of of Star Wars and Star Trek, he can’t be 100 percent sure. While there’s no evidence the president of the United States reads or has read Star Wars books, or is conversant in extended Star Wars lore, Hidalgo said, “he may have tipped off deeper knowledge than anyone may have suspected.”
Hey, you’d laugh, too. At this, if nothing else:
You’d be surprised how many Star Wars manuscripts I’ve seen mentioning photon torpedos and warp drives.
— Leland Chee (@HolocronKeeper) March 1, 2013
As for the White House, they wasted little time marrying the two Star franchises with their message. If only the political forces were so compatible.
Last week, we reported that the first two seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars was headed into syndication. Today, Holocron keeper Leland Chee tweeted that the syndicated version will be aired in chronological order:
First two episodes to air are “Cat and Mouse” (S216)and “Hidden Enemy”(S116).Mull that over for a little bit.#tcwsyndication
— Leland Chee (@HolocronKeeper) September 4, 2012
At least on the Holocron’s local TV station. A check of the my local TV listings also show my local station starting with the same two episodes, both of which happen just before the events of The Clone Wars film. Check your local listings, most likely for the weekend of September 15 and 16.
Will this be a soft way to introduce the proper timeline for the first two seasons (which did skip around a bit as the show was getting its bearings)? But since a good chunk of the first half of season three was also forming prequels and sequel to existing episodes, it seems that the syndication airing timeline is only a piece of the puzzle to a final chronological order.
Random House Audio continued their convention tour, bringing some of their audio book production team to Star Wars Celebration VI as well as having a show floor presence. I caught the Star Wars University: Audio Books panel with staff from Random House Audio, producer Aaron Blank, narrator Marc Thompson (check out my interview with Marc), and director Kevin Thomsen. Crashing the panel was Leland Chee, keeper of the Holocron. Key points from the panel: Continue reading “Celebration VI: Audio books panel highlights”
Today was fairly busy, starting off with the Del Rey panel. It was also the first official reveal of Detours, which I chose not to attend in order to write up Del Rey. This one goes a little beyond just the stuff I was able to attend, if only because of the sheer overlapping amount of big things going on. (Yes: Still exhausting!)
Oh, and apparently The Clone Wars is moving to a Saturday morning debut? Alrighty then. Bryan Young went to the S5 premiere tonight and has posted a review and recap.
Some quick thoughts on Del Rey, Detours, cupcakes, the Essential Reader’s Companion, Mark Hamill and more below the cut.
Continue reading “Dunc’s recap of Friday at Celebration VI: Detours, cupcakes, Mark Hamill and more”
Celebration VI Lots of schedule-posting has been going around. Leland Chee has his at the StarWars.com blog, while the official CVI site has the Barnes & Noble booth signing schedule. Troy Denning, Drew Karpyshyn, Jason Fry, and John Jackson Miller have their schedules up as well.
The blogside. Miller wrote a nice post on Star Wars things you probably don’t remember for the TOS blog, including a version of Heir to the Empire that came with an overwrap. Meanwhile, Pete Morrison goes into Encyclopedia Brown mode to deduct what Jason Fry is working on now.
Interview. Linda Hansen-Raj talks to Del Rey’s Shelly Shapiro at the Fangirl blog.
Reviews. A couple more looks at Mercy Kill from Brian at Tosche Station and Kirkus. And James reviews the Bruce Lee vs Darth Maul smackdown of The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters digest.
Star Wars Books held a chat with Leland Chee, Lucasfilm’s ‘Keeper of the Holocron,’ about canon and continuty and all that stuff. It went… Well, it went about as you’d expect. Skip the newbies and avoid the facepalming with our recap, below the cut.
Continue reading “Recap: Facebook chat with Lucasfilm’s Leland Chee”
Crucible The upcoming post-Fate of the Jedi is on everyone’s mind. Roqoo Depot’s Skuldren takes a look at Scoundrel’s Luck, the 1990 WEG gaming adventure that author Troy Denning hinted holds a clue to the book’s villain. Meanwhile, Nanci at Tosche Station – not exactly Denning’s chief cheerleader – implores burned fans to give Crucible a chance.
I myself remain rather ambivalent on the book, but I can pretty much guarantee I’ll read it. Or try to, anyway, which is more than I can say for the other SDCC announcements.
The blogside, pro edition. Over at the Star Wars Blog, Leland Chee explains the Holocron, while Jonathan Rinzler introduces himself and writes about interviewing George Lucas. And this morning, Pablo Hidalgo gives us a tour of the new Insider
Nonfiction. The new book by super-collectors Gus Lopez and Duncan Jenkins, Gus and Duncan’s Guide to Star Wars Prototypes, will be available in August.
Interviews. John Jackson Miller chats with the Wisconsin State Journal about Star Wars and his new book.
Chat. There’ll be a Twitter chat with Tom Taylor on Thursday.
Charity. EUCantina is selling t-shirts for their A Force for Childhood Literacy program.
James, that scoundrel, sent in four videos from the panel yesterday, as well as new photos (starting here.) At this panel, they announced two new books and talked about several new comics, including Brian Woods’ Star Wars. Part 1, above, is the introductions and Dark Horse announcements
Then, Del Rey…
Their announcements…
And the longest bit, the question and answer session:
Spotlight. Essential Guide to Warfare co-author Paul Urquhart takes a look at ‘the best star-pilots in the galaxy’. But what we’re really talking about here is the art by Frank-Joseph “Mazzic” Frelier, which includes what I think is out first look at Syal Antilles.
In other Warfare-related matters, there have been three more installments of endnotes since we last checked in: 9, 10 and 11.
Awards. John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant is a Scribe Award nominee for Best Original Novel in the Speculative Fiction category. The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers are also naming Expanded Universe alumni Kevin J. Anderson as the year’s Grandmaster. Other familiar names among the nominees include Mike Stackpole (for his Conan the Barbarian adaption) and A.C. Crispin for her Pirates of the Caribbean novel.
Interviews. Lots of them! In the world of podcasts, we have Aaron Allston over at Tosche Station Radio and Mike Stackpole at Star Wars Book Report. If you can stomach the ForceCast, they had Leland Chee on, plus there’s a new Jedi Journals. If it’s text you prefer, Tom Taylor talks Darth Maul at CBR.
Teases. A bounty hunter short story by a new-to-Star Wars author will be gracing the pages of Insider #136. Karen Miller’s Myri Antilles story will be in the next issue, #135.
Now hiring… NJOE, EUCantina and Knights Archive are looking for some dedicated fans to join their respective sites. (Rather limited) internet fame! Glamour! No money! But possibly drinks at CVI!