A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Note: This review discusses the  Genndy Tartakovsky-directed 2003-2005 microseries, not the George Lucas-produced Star Wars: The Clone Wars series that aired on Cartoon Network between 2008 and 2014. As a Star Wars fan of the '77 Generation, I remember vividly the yin-yang effect of the seemingly endless wait between Episodes when it became apparent that George Lucas' unexpectedly successful space-fantasy film was part of a larger storyline that was destined to span nine “saga” films. On the one hand, my friends and I looked forward to the release of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi with a mix of enthusiasm and impatience, with thoughts such as Man! Three years till the next one? That's like freakin' forever! often crossing our minds. On the other hand, the waiting period also became a time of much speculation about the characters, possible story developments, and both the characters' origins and possible future fates. A...

Cover art by Steven D. Anderson. (C) 2005 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd.  One of the more challenging aspects Star Wars fans face when they read any of the “expanded universe” novels set in the Prequel Era is dealing with the fact that the characters from the films have their destinies set in stone. Most of them, especially those that have followed George Lucas’ space-fantasy saga since the first Episode premiered in 1977, are keenly aware that the Galactic Republic depicted in the Prequel years is being transformed into the Galactic Empire, that the once-unassuming and politically unassailable Palpatine of Naboo is the mysterious Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious, and that the brash and headstrong Anakin Skywalker will turn his back on his fellow Jedi Knights and every good thing he stands for and become the infamous Darth Vader. These broad strokes on this huge celluloid and literary canvas have, of course, been visible for over 40 years, but there are still plenty of l...

Jacket design by David Stevenson. (C) 2005 Del Rey/Ballantine Books and Lucasfilm Ltd.  Pros:  Vivid descriptions, crisp writing, good characterizations Cons:  None A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights…. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. -- Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker, Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope There is still good in him. -- Padme Amidala to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith According to the Star Wars timeline, there’s a gap of either 18 or 19 years between the cataclysmic fall of the Republic and the now-legendary Battle of Yavin that ended with the destruction of the Empire’s first Death Star. That gives Lucasfilm Ltd and many Star Wars authors a lot of creative wiggle room to bridge the two film trilogies with Expanded Universe novels and a television series set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hop...

Cover art by Nicolas Delort. (C) 2018 Quirk Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Zounds! Fans of the William Shakespeare's Star Wars series, rejoice. The eighth book in the series of Shakespearian plays set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" will hit bookstores in our galaxy this summer.  Long-time Shakespeare buff (and life-long Star Wars fan) Ian Doescher has taken writer-director Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi and re-imagined it as a four-act play written in the Elizabethan era by none other than the Bard of Avon himself.  Quirk Books of Philadelphia will release the resulting book, Jedi the Last: Star Wars, Part the Eighth on July 10, 2018 in hardcover, e-book, and audio editions. The Star Wars saga continues, with adventure and surprises galore! In the aftermath of Han Solo's death and the return of Luke Skywalker, what secrets will be revealed, what mysteries will deepen, and who will join the struggle to bring peace and ...

(C) 2009 Warner Home Video In 2009, Warner Home Video released The Battle of Iwo Jima Collection, a box set comprised of director Clint Eastwood’s Iwo Jima Duology – Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Co-produced by Eastwood’s production company Malpaso and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, these two movies examine one of World War II’s fiercest battles through the experiences of the American and Japanese troops that fought it. Legendary filmmaker Clint Eastwood cuts open the heart of war and reveals the souls of men on both sides in a landmark dual film project hailed as his masterpiece. Shot back to back to be viewed in sequence, Flags of Our Fathers is a riveting chronicle of U.S. heroes on the front lines and in the headlines at home, while Letters from Iwo Jima reveals the untold stories of the ill-equipped but fierce Japanese fighters who rallied against awesome American forces in a brutal 40-day campaign. Together, they create a triumphant, stirrin...

One of the saddest truths that Americans in the 21st Century face every day is that racism, that ever-present stain on the national soul, has never gone away. In fact, over the past decade, there has been an uptick in hate crimes, racist "jokes" and propaganda claims, and a growing boldness among Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists marked by public rallies, dissemination of "politically incorrect" spiels on YouTube and elsewhere, and "jokes" that are not at all funny. Take the case of Florida high school student Noah Crowley, who thought it would be hilarious to send a "promposal" to his girlfriend, Isabella Vinalli on the social media outlet Snapchat. In an article that appears in the Tampa Bay free newspaper tbt*, reporter Devin Rodriguez writes: Noah Crowley, 18, sent out the "promposal" on Sunday over Snapchat. It shows a picture of him holding a sign that states: "If I was black I’d be picking cotto...

Cover art by Drew Struzan. (C) 2015 Del Rey/Random House and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) On January 5, 2016, Penguin Random House's science fiction/fantasy imprint Del Rey published the hardcover edition of Alan Dean Foster's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the novelization of the film written by Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, and J.J. Abrams, directed by Abrams, and based on characters and situations.  Though Lucasfilm's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, allowed Del Rey to release the e-book edition on December 18, 2015, the same day of the film's theatrical release, it asked the publisher to delay the publication of the hardcover for a few weeks. Disney feared that if it followed the long-standing tradition of releasing the novelization of a Star Wars film before the theatrical premiere, fans would leak the film's plot - especially the "big reveals" that Abrams strove to keep secret - all over the Internet.  However, Disney-owned Lucasfilm p...