Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
Going to be attending Dragon*Con this year? If you’re a Star Wars fan, you may be happy to hear that Billy Dee Williams will be in attendance again.
Attention Star Wars fans…Billy Dee Williams joins us again for Dragon*Con 2013. Welcome back!ow.ly/i/1t6ko
— DragonCon(@DragonCon) February 4, 2013
Bring along your copy of Scoundrels to pose with him for photo opportunities.
Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Emily talked about why J.J. Abrams will be good for Star Wars. Meanwhile, Bria continued on with the Waru Express with two post-Endor books.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci has kept herself busy by reading through I’ve Got Your Number and starting Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Brian FINALLY finished reading Scoundrels and found the time to read through the latest issues ofAvengers Assemble, Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye. Bria, meanwhile, has been reading all of the Mageworlds novels and working on costuming for Katsucon. Somehow she’s also found time to do work for her geek fashion blog White Hot Room. Emily has also joined the Mageworlds circle and read through the first three books. She also found the time to read Batgirl #16.
Fandom appeared to explode and this week’s Deak’s Dirt attempts to make sense of it. Her Universe released a new set of quote tees just in time for Valentine’s Day. Book of the Sith by Dan Wallace is getting the trade paperback treatment on May 4th.The surprise Star Wars novel? Darth Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber. Over on the film side, the 3D treatments for the remaining Prequel Trilogy have been indefinitely postponed. The big news, however, is that Episode VII finally has a director. Lucasfilm announced late last week that Star Trek andSuper 8 director J.J. Abrams will be taking the lead for the first installment of the Sequel Trilogy. The hosts, Bria, and Emily break down their thoughts on Abrams and what this means for Star Wars.
Camie’s Concerns this week is a roundtable discussion looking at Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels. Did the somewhat radical departure from typical Expanded Universe conventions and tropes work? Listen in to see what everyone thought of Zahn’s latest addition to the world of Star Wars literature.
Finally, the hosts wrap up the show with their Ask Us Anything segment.
Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Xbox Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.
Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.
The Daily Blam has word that Dan Wallace’s Book of Sith will be releasing as a trade paperback on Star Wars Day, May 4th (still a silly day to celebrate Star Wars because ugh bad puns). If you haven’t had a chance to read this yet, here’s your chance!
No immediate word yet on pricing for the paperback version.
(Via)
What are you up to tonight at 5PM Pacific? Nothing? Great! You should join us in the Livestream chat for an all-new episode of Tosche Station Radio.
Joining the usual hosting duo today are staff writers Bria and Emily as part of a Scoundrels roundtable discussion. We’ll also be discussing the Prequel Trilogy 3D postponement as wel as the J.J. Abrams news and what it could mean for Episode VII and Star Wars as a whole.
As always, we would love to take your questions! If you have questions specific to the topics we’ll be discussing, send them our way and we’ll work them into our roundtable. Any other questions relating to Star Wars or geek culture you can also submit and we’ll answer them at the end of the show.
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As someone who was looking for a neat Valentine’s Day gift, I’m glad to see that Her Universe has a new set of Valentine’s Day themed quote shirts for the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who fandoms.
The Star Wars shirt’s quote can be seen on the left and features a bevy of lovely in-universe references.
The new shirts are available in the store right now so head on over to Her Universe to pick one up for the geek in your life.
The new guard and old guard.
When Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, long-time film industry veteran Kathleen Kennedy was given the reigns of the company and one of the most valuable intellectual properties in Hollywood. Today, The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Kennedy to talk about how she got J.J. Abrams to sign on, how she met her husband, and her relationship with some of the biggest names in the film business.
On getting J.J. Abrams to work on a different Star franchise:
Abrams agreed to meet with Kennedy on Dec. 14 at his Bad Robot offices in Santa Monica. Famously plain-spoken, she summarizes her pitch like this: “Please do Star Wars.” And she had cards to play. Not only was Oscar winnerMichael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3) writing the script, but Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return of the Jedi, was on board to consult. Abrams “was flipping out when he found out that Michael and Larry were on the movie already,” says Kennedy.
Abrams tells THR, “I learned firsthand how incredible and persuasive she is.” Some — but not all — of his reservations were dispelled. “The thing about any pre-existing franchise — I’d sort of done that,” he says. “But when I met with Kathy, it was suddenly very tantalizing.”
For more, read THR’s full profile of Kathleen Kennedy.
The Waru Express is moving once more! Did you miss my weekly descent into madness? I return to my journey through the Star Wars universe with the two books that take place right after the Battle of Endor. The Empire defeated just because the Death Star blew up again and some people tore down some statues? Hardly!
The Truce at Bakura
It may not make my Top Ten list but I definitely enjoy reading Truce at Bakura every time I pick it up. It’s a fun read that could work quite well as a starting point for a new reader to the Expanded Universe. Even though the Rebels and the Empire have a very tentative truce against a common enemy, it still has a very Star Wars feel to it. It feels like the logical next part of our heroes’ adventures. The more I think about it, the more I like that Kathy Tyers chose to write an immediate sequel but had them facing a different enemy while simultaneously having to keep an eye on the Empire.
I also really enjoy getting to see Leia handle the startling revelations that she and Luke are twins and that she too is the child of Darth Vader. Obviously news of that magnitude isn’t going to be accepted calmly and without question. Can anyone really blame her for having less than warm and fuzzy feelings for the man who tortured her? On a similar note, I like that Kathy Tyers also shows us that Luke did have some medical issues from being electrocuted with Force Lighting a lot. Actions and their consequences are the best, folks.
Also, if you don’t love Eppie Belden when you read this book then you’re probably reading this book wrong. There is undoubtedly some trope pertaining to sassy old ladies who put up with nobody’s crap and kick some butt along the way. Whatever that trope is, I adore it and also adore Eppie who really is having none of that rotten Imperial Governor’s $#@!. I also like the character of Gaeriel Captison. In a way, she’s what Leia might have been like if Alderaan had been a more remote planet with leaders who didn’t stand up to the Empire. Gaeriel gets to go through a nice character arc in the books and then she and Luke decide to break each others’ hearts and not try out being together because they have too many responsibilities. It’s kinda sweet in a way.
At the end of the day, this is another book that I’d recommend you check out if you skipped it in the past and it’s also one that I recommend if you’re looking to ease your way into the Expanded Universe.
Lucasfilm announced today that they will be postponing this fall’s releases of Episode II and Episode III in 3D. In the press release, they stated that the change was due to a focus all of their time and efforts on Episode VII. New release dates for the 3D-ified films will be announced at some point in the future.
Now that the official confirmation has come down from on high, Bria and I have made an executive decision: Brian and Nanci are never allowed to go on vacation again. We are simply not equipped to deal with breaking news.
That said, this analysis probably would have been my responsibility anyway. Being one of the resident Trekkies on staff, I’m in the position to pick apart how J.J. Abrams performs when given an existing sci-fi franchise, and personally, I feel rather optimistic about this turn of events.
After a day of speculation, we finally have official confirmation that J.J. Abrams will be directing Star Wars: Episode VII.
From the official press release:
After a bevy of emails and phone calls, the formalities have been wrapped up, and at long last everyone can exhale and properly share the word with an excited Internet. Yes, J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams will be directing and Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay.
“It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie,” said Kennedy. “J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”
George Lucas went on to say “I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller.” He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn’t be in better hands.”
“To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor,” J.J. Abrams said. “I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”
J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.”