A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

© 2002 Del Rey Books (Ballantine) and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Which of the Star Wars books tell the stories of the movies? It depends on what you mean by “the stories of the movies,” and in what context. If you mean the stories, characters, situations, and settings of the films themselves, then you’re probably asking about: Dust jacket of the 1977 hardcover. Art by John Berkey. © 1977 20th Century Fox Film Corp.  Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker,  credited to George Lucas but actually written by Alan Dean Foster. (Del Rey Books, 1976) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,  by Donald F. Glut. Story by George Lucas. Based on the screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. (Del Rey Books, 1980) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,  by James Kahn. Story by George Lucas. Based on the screenplay by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. (Del Rey Books, 1983) Original 1980 paperback edition of The Empire Strikes Back novelization. Cover art by Roger Kastel.  © 1

On Quora, member Michael Justin asks: Will  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker  flop like  Solo: A Star Wars Story? My response: Considering that most of the audience for the Skywalker Saga films is larger than the core of naysaying “Never Disney  Star Wars ” fan-group, I would say…”No.” Solo: A Star Wars Story  failed to perform well at the box office, not because of the success of a boycott led by  The Last Jedi- basher clique or because it was a lousy  Star Wars  film, but rather by its behind-the-scenes drama, a lackadaisical marketing campaign, spectacularly  bad  scheduling, and perhaps even a mild case of franchise weariness. Of all those factors, the most serious was Lucasfilm’s hiring and subsequent firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as directors of a  Star Wars  films. Reportedly, the creators of  The LEGO Movie  wanted to give  Solo  an  Ocean’s 11  comedy-caper vibe - much to the dismay of screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan - and refused to give Lucasfi

Map of Pacific Ocean territories and their respective owners. Credit: World of Warships  On Quora, Matthew Lewis asks I understand the U.S. "Island Hopping" strategy during WW2 in the Pacific, but why did Japan choose the strategy of occupying all those islands in the first place? My reply:  After the First World War - indeed, as early as the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 - the Japanese military, particularly the Imperial Japanese Navy, began to look at the United States as their great trans-Pacific rival. This, of course, was to be expected once Russia and China, Japan’s close-to-home enemies, became (in Tokyo’s eyes) weak and toothless paper tigers mired in revolution and civil war. During the first three decades of the 20th Century, the same Japan that had been content to be an isolated feudal island kingdom developed an unhealthy appetite to become just as imperialistic as the European powers that controlled vast expanses of Asia and Oceania. Se

On Quora, Daniel Brown asks: Is  Star Wars: The Clone Wars  canon? Unlike its 2003–2005 2D animated precursor,  Star Wars: Clone Wars,  the 2008–2013 3D computer animated series  Star Wars: The Clone Wars  is included in the overall canon. Lucasfilm Ltd., the parent of Lucasfilm Animation, has stated since 2014 that the series created and executive produced by George Lucas is a key element of the  Star Wars  canon, which currently looks like this: Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones Star Wars: The Clone Wars Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Solo: A Star Wars Story Star Wars Rebels Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Star Wars: The Mandalorian Star Wars: Resistance Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise

In Quora, Bryce Howell asks: Why has George Lucas made so many changes to the original trilogy? My answer: Because as the filmmaker who conceived, created, and - in the case of  The Empire Strikes Back  and  Return of the Jedi -  financed the  Star Wars  films, George Lucas was entitled to make changes. It is a matter of historical record that  Star Wars,  aka  Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope  underwent a series of alterations even before 1981, which was the year that Lucasfilm convinced 20th Century Fox to reissue the film with its  Episode IV  subtitle. Before that, Lucasfilm had had to fix the audio mix, make sure that all the prints (both the 35 mm and the 70 mm) matched, missing lines of dialogue restored, and other minor adjustments that were needed at the time. Followers of  Star Wars  history, as well as viewers who listen to Lucas’s audio commentary tracks on the DVDs and Blu-ray home media releases, also know that Lucas always thought that the special effe

On Quora, Trump supporter David Smith asks: If the Mueller report has been submitted and there is nothing about Trump, why are the investigations continuing? I reply:  Oh, sweet summer child. Such an assumption clearly indicates that you’ve not read any of the Mueller Report, which even in its redacted version shows a disturbing picture of not just Russian interference with the 2016 Presidential election with a specific goal in mind, i.e., to help Donald Trump win said election, but also of links between members of the Trump Campaign and representatives of organizations and oligarchs with ties to the Russian government. Here’s an excerpt of some of its conclusions: That fall, two federal agencies jointly announced that the Russian government "directed recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including US political organizations," and, [t]hese thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process." After the elect

On Quora, I keep on seeing questions such as this one: Does George Lucas still own the Star Wars franchise after it was taken over by Disney? My answer: © 1977 20th Century Fox Film Corp.  No. When George Lucas sold his company, Lucasfilm Limited, to the Walt Disney Company in 2012, he sold  all  of the rights to intellectual properties Lucasfilm owned, including: The  Star Wars  franchise and brand, which includes the five  Star Wars  films produced by Lucasfilm before 2012. 20th Century Fox owns the distribution rights for those until 2020, at which time the rights will be transferred to Disney. Fox, however, still owns the rights to  Star Wars,  aka  Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope,  in perpetuity   because the studio financed the making of the film in addition to releasing it. The four  Indiana Jones  movies and the  Young Indiana Jones  TV series ,  which Paramount Pictures released but were financed by George Lucas. © 1981 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) S