A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

What was known about Padme, Luke and Leia’s mother, prior to the release of the prequel trilogy? Before the run-up to  Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace’s  release in May of 1999? Certainly not much. And what little we  did  know was either wrong or was learned from tidbits in action figure packages in late 1998, when Hasbro added a  Flashback  line of  Star Wars  figures from the Classic Trilogy but with Lucasfilm-supplied nuggets of information about major characters from the upcoming film. For instance, a  Power of the Force  figure of Princess Leia Organa with  Flashback  packaging was my first inkling that Luke and Leia’s mother was Queen Amidala of Naboo and that Leia was not just royalty by adoption, but she was also royalty - of sorts - by heredity. Hasbro’s writer did not divulge the fact that on Naboo “royalty” was elected and wasn’t necessarily  hereditary,  but Lucasfilm kept a lot of pesky details about such things close to the vest. But  before  1998, we

One of the most annoying trends that I've noticed while perusing social media sites such as Facebook and Quora, particularly the latter, is that franchise fans want to be spoon-fed every detail of a character arc instead of using their imaginations, as we dinosaurs from the prehistoric days before the Internet did when we watched a film. I don't know if it's because they don't understand the limitations of the medium, or if it's because the "I want every detail explained to me" crowd wants to find "plot holes" and inconsistencies.  Yesterday, for instance, I saw this question on Quora: Why does Leia not mention her family and friends, as well as her home, have been destroyed in the films? I wasn't going to write an answer, but I found myself so annoyed by the question that I ended up spending a good hour or so coming up with a rebuttal. Here is what I said: Why should Leia be constantly talking about the destruction of Alderaan a

Concept art from The Empire Strikes Back by Ralph McQuarrie. © 1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) No. Going strictly by what we see in  Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,  it is obvious that Yoda is  not  referring to Rey from  Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Yoda’s last words to Luke before crossing over to the other side of the Force are: “There is…another…Sky…walk…er.” In the  very next scene,  which is what writers sometimes call an “exposition dump,” we find out who  the other  is: LUKE I can't kill my own father. BEN Then the Emperor has already won. You were our only hope. LUKE Yoda spoke of another. BEN The other he spoke of is your twin sister. LUKE But I have no sister. BEN Hmm. To protect you both from the Emperor, you were hidden from your father when you were born. The Emperor knew, as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is the reason why your sister remains safely anon

When Yoda says 'there is another Skywalker' in Return of the Jedi, is he referring to Rey from the Force Awakens? No. Going strictly by what we see in  Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,  it is obvious that Yoda is  not  referring to Rey from  Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Yoda’s last words to Luke before crossing over to the other side of the Force are: “There is…another…Sky…walk…er.” In the  very next scene,  which is what writers sometimes call an “exposition dump,” we find out who  the other  is: LUKE I can't kill my own father. BEN Then the Emperor has already won. You were our only hope. LUKE Yoda spoke of another. BEN The other he spoke of is your twin sister. LUKE But I have no sister. BEN Hmm. To protect you both from the Emperor, you were hidden from your father when you were born. The Emperor knew, as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is the reason

Cover Art by: Drew Struzan. (C) 1996 Penguin Random House Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Steve Perry's Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire , first published in 1996, is the centerpiece of a Lucasfilm multi-media marketing campaign that could be summed up with the tag line "Everything but the movie."   Not only was Perry assigned to write the novel, but Kenner (now Hasbro) rolled out a line of action figures, Dark Horse Comics published a multi-issue series, Nintendo released a console-based game for its Nintendo 64 system, and Joel McNeeley ( The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ) composed an original score. In short, all that was missing was a feature film. And what a film (animated, of course) Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire would have been!   Although the novel is part of the Expanded Universe/Legends series that started with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, it's the first of the 1990s-era novels to explore the six-month or so time span betw

Cover art by John Van Fleet. (C) 2007 Del Rey/Lucas Books/Random House and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Pros:  Good writing, fine characterizations, and another masterful tale set in the Star Wars galaxy Cons:  None Although Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn has written over 90 short stories, novellas, short story collections and novels since 1978, he is best known for reinvigorating the Star Wars literary universe with his best-selling Thrawn Trilogy ( Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command ). Set five years after the events depicted in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi , this three-book cycle’s mix of interstellar conflict, political intrigue and a plausible extrapolation of the characters and situations created by George Lucas in the Classic Trilogy reignited fan interest in the Star Wars saga. In addition, the popularity of Zahn’s novels helped pave the way for other authors to add their own tales set “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far a

"The walls are moving!" Photo Credit: www.toyark.com  (C) 2002 Hasbro Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Luke, Han, and Chewie infiltrate the Death Star to free Princess Leia. While making their escape, they dive down a garbage chute and become trapped in a trash compactor with a hungry dianoga. Then the walls begin to close in on them, and our heroes are caught in a tight squeeze! - Manufacturer's blurb, Death Star Trash Compactor 1 & 2 In December of 2002, Hasbro Inc. released Death Star Trash Compactor 1 & 2, two separate multi-figure sets that, when put together, form a single diorama that recreates the iconic sequence in Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope that pits Han Solo, Chewbacca the Wookiee, Luke Skywalker, and the recently rescued Princess Leia Organa against the double threat of a hungry dianoga and the converging walls of the Death Star's trash compactor.  Originally introduced as a Walmart exclusive in Hasbro's December 200

(C) 1981 National Public Radio (NPR) and Lucasfilm, Ltd. Tomorrow, May 25, 2017, marks the 40th anniversary of the theatrical release of George Lucas's Star Wars (aka Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope ). Although very few people, including its then 33-year-old writer-director, imagined it, the space-fantasy film set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away was not only a box office hit; it also launched a multi-media franchise that includes eight live action films (with more on the way), two animated series for television, a library's worth of tie-in books, comic book adaptations and graphic novels....even a "mashup" tribute called William Shakespeare's Star Wars  series.  Brian Daley (1947-1996)  One of the most interesting adaptations of the original  Star Wars film was Brian Daley's 13-part radio drama, which was produced for National Public Radio by KUSC-FM Los Angeles with the cooperation of Lucasfilm, Ltd. Known in sci-fi circles for his b