According to TFN, Gus and Duncan’s Comprehensive Guide to Star Wars Collectibles is now shipping. Galactic Binder has an interview with Lopez, while the official site has a few pieces (Action figure stands, Smarties, Imperial Troop Transporter) from him and Jenkins.
The ghosts of Star Wars Christmas past
StarWars.com takes another trip into the Lucasfilm Archives to check out what fans would be getting (or least, asking for) way back in 1978.
And while collectors today may have a hard time getting their hands on those late-70’s gems, they can at least console themselves with Gus and Duncan’s Comprehensive Guide to Star Wars Collectibles, which can be pre-ordered from Paizo now.
Another drawing book in the pipeline
Artist Grant Gould announced on his blog yesterday evening that he’ll be working on Draw The Clone Wars Characters with Lucasfilm’s Bonnie Burton.
Review: Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking
Okay. So a certain online bookseller apparently has the street date for Carrie Fisher‘s Wishful Drinking a wee bit early. But I don’t care, as it has allowed me to get it and read it.
If you like snark, then this book is for you!
The interesting part about this book, compared to her other books, is that it is very blatantly autobiographical, as opposed to the psuedo-biographical nature of her fiction work. And she just gets right down to it: her family dysfunction, her brain’s dysfunction, the more interesting events in her life.
A bit disappointing to this Star Wars geek is the general lack of actual Star Wars stories. She mentions getting the role and the oddness of being a collectible, but basically stays away from stories about the production or other behind-the-scenes tidbits. But, then again, the way she describes her state of being at the time and episodes since then, one might have to forgive her. She might not actually remember it!
In spite of that, this is a really intriguing look at mental illness and life in Hollywood. And it’s nice to have some things cleared up that have been a bit obscured by tabloids and internet gossip.
And, when you get right down to it, it’s hilarious. Her sarcastic wit and style of writing makes you feel like you’re right there having a conversation with her. So the conversation rambles a bit. And you come out understanding someone just a little better.
The pictures are enlightening and the captions even better (Check out the tabloid headlines. Brilliant!) I laughed at least once a page.
Of note, this might not be the best book for those under high school age. There is profanity. There are some serious situations she has dealt with. Parents might not be so thrilled with younger minds (and maybe not even high schoolers) reading it.
But if you do not fall into this age group, I’d highly recommend it.
Wishful Drinking is only a week away
Carrie Fisher’s memoir is due in bookstores next Tuesday, and the early copies are making their way into the hands of the media. There’s a hefty three-part except – Star Wars is the middle selection – in the Daily Mail. A shorter and less safe-for-work bit was highlighted by Jezebel last week.
Fisher will even be making at least one bookstore appearance – look for her at New York’s Lincoln Triangle Barnes and Noble on December 10th.
Someone who’s not writing for live-action Star Wars
Russell T. Davies, who revived Doctor Who for the BBC, turned down George’s offer to talk about the Star Wars live-action series, according to SFX’s review of his new book, The Writer’s Tale. Given that every female Who fan I know is not that fond of the guy I’m not shedding any tears… (via)
Carrie Fisher memoir coming in December
Amazon now has a cover and a title for a new Carrie Fisher memoir, Wishful Drinking (based on her one-woman show of the same name, one assumes) and it gives a release date of December 2. The listing on Simon & Schuster’s site lacks the cover, but does give the same release date. See the full cover (from Amazon) under the cut. Continue reading “Carrie Fisher memoir coming in December”
Chronicle Books looks back at LucasArts
Hey gamers, here’s one for your holiday lists: Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, coming from Chronicle Books in November. The book is written by Rob Smith and will have a forward from George Lucas. I know you’d probably rather have an update of the X-Wing games, but such is life.
In the news: Wednesday morning reading list
The New York Post got wind of the “Deadwood meets The Sopranos” rumor, and they also report that Lucas met with cable channel executives, including HBO, last year… Though that could easily have been for The Clone Wars.
On that note, Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross ponders Star Wars cartoons.
- Space: Ion thrusters propel real spacecraft.
- Fans: Georgia collector Pete Eckroat profiled by the Rome News-Tribune.
- Books: Matthew Wilhelm Kapell, an anthropologist and historian from my neck of the woods, explores the Star Wars phenomenon in his book Finding the Force of the Star Wars Franchise: Fans, Merchandise, and Critics. He’s doing a signing in Modesto today.
Star Wars on Trial
SF Signal points to a blog entry by Lou Anders about his essay for the book Star Wars on Trial. The book includes contributions from Matt Stover, Karen Traviss, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Keith R. A. DeCandido for the defense, and the site even has a forum that I expect to show up on Fandom Wank the minute our nuttier fandomates discover it.