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Star Wars Fun Fact
Surprising and little known Star Wars tidbits, usually related to today’s Force Feature.Happy birthday to Marie Severin, whose long body of work earned her entry into the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame! Her colors grace the very first issue of Star Wars, released by Marvel Comics way back in ’77. I remember exactly where and how awesome it was when I saw it for the first time – at the 7-Eleven down the block from my home, and it was a treasured part of my comics collection for many, many years.
Life on “Tweet”-ooine
A featured dispatch from the Star Wars Twitterverse!*All my @starwars #GPSart bike rides! #R2D2 #AtAt #Pez #SpaceBattle @StarWarsArtShow @Yodasnews @UnseenStarWars pic.twitter.com/FySBiwEeVu
— WallyGPX (@WallyGPX) August 20, 2014
Star Wars Swag Bag
So many fun, quirky, and awesome ways to bring Star Wars into your daily life!Star Wars Mens Crew Socks (2-pack) – click the pic for more info!
Trivia Time!
Test your knowledge of the Star Wars universe!Yesterday’s answer: Red Tails, if we’re lucky
Today’s question: Star Wars: Episode VII will not be the first time J.J. Abrams and Harrison Ford have worked together. What was the first time?
Force Feature: J.J. Abrams, the Man and the Mystery
Exploring the many worlds of Star Wars, in the imagination and in real life!Moving on from George Lucas, who was the subject of our podcast yesterday, to the new keeper of the flame, J.J. Abrams. There’s not a person in Hollywood who has a more charmed life than Abrams, and I have to say, if there’s one person on this earth whose life I’d like to swap with for any period of time, it’s his.
You probably know his resume at least as well as I do. Felicity, Alias, and Lost, all fantastic TV shows (though I only know Felicity by reputation). Directed a dark and gritty Mission: Impossible III, produced the fourth and currently producing the fifth. Directed two fun new Star Trek movies and producing a third.
And now, you could say, he’s reached the pinnacle of his career by being entrusted with the most beloved science-fiction franchise of all time. Or science fantasy, depending on how you look at it. Actually, all the Wikipedia entries for the Star Wars movies refer to them as “American epic space opera films.” So congratulations, you’re a fan of the opera and you never knew it!
When you go deeper into J.J.’s resume, though, things get fascinating. His first film writing credit? Taking Care of Business in 1990, starring Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin. I never saw it, but I know exactly what kind of movie that must have been with those two guys in it. There’s another movie that’ll be the subject of our trivia question today that was a pretty sweet one as I recall it. He also co-wrote…wait for it…Armageddon, that awesome or awesomely bad asteroid movie that was also the box office champ for 1998.
Then, of course, there’s Super 8, which is E.T. and The Goonies for a new generation, and I sincerely hope it finds its own cult audience in another 10 years.
It’s not all perfect, but all of it together leads me to say that, well, there are probably a few directors out there who could be trusted with the next Star Wars trilogy, but J.J. would be at the top of my list. And the credits I’ve listed here aren’t even the most confidence-building evidence I can cite!
Back in March 2007, J.J. Abrams gave a TED Talk, and if you haven’t heard of TED Talks, then go to TED.com and have your mind blown. Anyway, he gave a talk called “The Mystery Box,” where he examined how he approaches story. “What are stories but mystery boxes?” he says, and for him, mystery boxes represent infinite possibility and the power of the imagination.
Now, here’s the craziest part. Seven years ago this happened, and this is an excerpt from his TED Talk, and the fact is, I’d read you the whole thing if we had the time, but listen to this:
In terms of the content of it, you look at stories, you think, well, what are stories but mystery boxes? There’s a fundamental question — in TV, the first act is called the teaser. It’s literally the teaser. It’s the big question. So you’re drawn into it. Then of course, there’s another question. And it goes on and on. Look at Star Wars. You got the droids; they meet the mysterious woman. Who’s that? We don’t know. Mystery box! You know? Then you meet Luke Skywalker. He gets the Droid, you see the holographic image. You learn, oh, it’s a message. She wants to find Obi Wan Kenobi. He’s her only hope. But who the heck’s Obi Wan Kenobi? Mystery box! So then you go and he meets Ben Kenobi. Ben Kenobi is Obi Wan Kenobi. Holy expletive! You know — so it keeps us — (Laughter) — have you guys not seen that? (Laughter) It’s huge!
Check out that TED Talk, and if you ever had any doubts about him taking the Star Wars helm, they’ll definitely be erased.