Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
Legacy: Prisoner of the Floating World continued today with the release of Issue #2. Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman have delivered yet another enjoyable issue that follows the adventures of the newest Solo descendent.
This review contains mild spoilers for the issue.
Last week we had Jedi News‘ Mark Newbold on the podcast. The result was perhaps the most fun episode of Tosche Station Radio we’ve ever recorded. Suffice to say, we’re fans of Mark (and you bet we’re looking for chances to get him back on the show).
After recording with us, Mark got to talk to a (hugely) bigger audience and sat down with BBC Breakfast to discuss the news that Lucasfilm will be producing a yearly Star Wars film starting in 2015 with Episode VII. Definitely give the above video a watch, Mark’s a tremendous personality and really knows his stuff.
After that, listen to him on the podcast linked above! /shamelessplug
A glimpse into the life of the most scrutinized screenwriter in cinematic history. Good luck, Michael Arndt. You’re gonna need it.
Over at Variety yesterday, senior writer Marc Graser took a look at Disney CEO Bob Iger’s handling of the massive layoffs that have hit the company over the last few weeks. Among the details was one particular throwaway line of note:
Many expect theme park and resorts chief Thomas Staggs to land the CEO role, although there are rumblings that Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy also may now be in the running.
Bob Iger is set to retire in about two years at what could be the peak of Disney in the 21st century. The studio is set to unveil a new Pirates of the Caribbean film, the Finding Nemo sequel, as well as two Marvel films in Ant Man and one of 2015’s most anticipated blockbusters The Avengers 2. Whoever steps in may be inheriting an extremely high bar to clear, and perhaps that’s the reason Variety is speculating that Kennedy is in the running.
Kathleen Kennedy is a highly by the film community and George Lucas in particular. That’s something that recently jaded and cynical Star Wars fans can take heart in. If Kennedy takes over at Disney, it means that Lucasfilm’s parent company would be overseen by someone the Maker sought out.
If you’re hoping for Kennedy to slip up and reveal some Earth-shattering new details about Episode VII, the spinoff films, and the Sequel Trilogy, don’t get your hopes up. She did, however, confirm that J.J. Abrams currently is only signed up to direct Episode VII.
Really though, Jimmy Kimmel deserves all the credit in the universe for making notorious bad interview Harrison Ford an entertaining late night guest.
The Yuuzhan Vong just keep on coming. Really, they must have an endless supply or something. The good news is that things are starting to get slightly better for the New Republic. The really good news is that I got to read more Allston and Stover books! (I have my priorities straight. Honestly.) The really really REALLY good news is that I have not only passed the halfway mark in the New Jedi Order but that I have now read more than 100 books on this crazy little venture of mine. Huzzah! With all of that said, onward!
Dark Journey
GET IN LOSER, WE’RE GOING BACK TO HAPES.
I really like this book. I honestly do and it’s not just because we get to go back to Hapes. For starters, this is clearly a Jaina Solo book and I love when we get to see her take a leading role. Even though she goes to some less than ideal mental states in the book, she emerges that much stronger.
The title gives away that Jaina has a brush with the dark side and I honestly don’t blame her. She thinks that both of her brothers are dead and the war’s taken its most drastic downward turn yet. I’d be pretty ready to dabble in the dark side too at this point. I like how Elaine Cunningham uses Kyp Durron in the book first as someone who’s willing to help her use whatever means necessary to strike back at the Vong and then as someone who helps pull her back from that edge.
Although it is Jaina’s book, Tenel Ka gets to go through some neat character development too. Taking up her mother’s crown is easily one of the two most significant events we’ve gotten to witness this far. Even though she is the heir, it’s not exactly the role that I ever thought she’d fill. I just wish that we’d gotten a chance to watch her learn how to deal with being the Queen Mother in those first few years.
I’m also a huge fan of Jag Fel finally returning to the picture (along with the Baron Fel cameo) but more on that in the next two books.
What I especially love is how Cunningham introduces the Trickster plan. It’s a clever idea from Jaina and there’s something rather delightful about her raising an eyebrow at the Vong and going “Yeah, I’m basically Yun-Harla. What are you going to do about it?”
On top of that, this book is incredibly quotable. From “Is every third human in this galaxy named Solo?” to “In his opinion, there were far too many dark haired, green eyed men in Jaina Solo’s orbit.”, I’m consistently amused.
The one problem I have with the book is the pacing. It’s not that it’s terribly done but she doesn’t even arrive at Hapes until over a third of the way through. Of course, that can partially be blamed on how Star by Star ended because this book basically had to pick up immediately afterwards. Actually, the other problem I have with the book is that poor Teneniel Djo gets used as a plot device and is a far cry from the strong willed woman we met back on Dathomir.
Aside from that though? I love the book and I’ll just link this classic gif to illustrate my response to those who give me a hard time about it.
You get a Star Wars film! And you get a Star Wars film! And you…well, you get the point.
Today at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Disney and Lucasfilm announced that a new Star Wars film will be released each summer starting in 2015.
Episode VII will come first, followed by a standalone film in 2016. This alternating “episode-standalone” schedule will continue until, presumably, Episode IX is released (it felt really really really weird to type Episode IX as an actual thing that will happen, by the way). Bob Iger confirmed upcoming standalone films back in February, but this is the first we’ve heard of this aggressive release schedule. No note of how many standalone films will be produced, or if they will continue after the Sequel Trilogy ends.
We’re recording a new episode of Tosche Station tonight, so be sure to look out for a new episode with all of our thinky thoughts.
I would watch the living daylights out of this Episode VII proposal.
By all indications, there’s been another round of layoffs at Lucasfilm. This time it also affects the Lucasfilm Licensing division.
Hatchet day at #Lucasfilm and #LucasLicensing. Bad news: I got laid off. Good news: I got laid off!Look out, world, here I come!
— Stacy Arnold-Strider (@batsnaps) April 16, 2013
These layoffs are reportedly impacting individuals within licensing, marketing, and publishing. The first two make a certain amount of sense since Disney has huge licensing and marketing arms, but publishing would be a bit more out of left field as they do not have much in the way of in-house options on that front. Possibly the layoffs within that arm are confined to children and reference materials, which Disney can probably replicate. Adult fiction would be tougher.
UPDATE: Publishing not impacted
Sounds like the initial report was wrong on the publishing front. LFL’s Jen Heddle got in contact with Club Jade to clear things up:
@clubjade No publishing layoffs.
— Jennifer Heddle (@jenheddle) April 17, 2013
This makes quite a bit more sense. If Disney can do anything internally, it’s licensing products and marketing everything under their umbrella. Publishing is still something that they in theory have the framework to do entirely internally, but isn’t what I would call a strong suit. For now (and I suspect for a long, long while), the setup remains the same for Star Wars literature.
