A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Why would a war with Iran be a terrible idea? Few veterans cherish a romantic remembrance of war. War is awful. When nations seek to settle their differences by force of arms a million tragedies ensue. Nothing, not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves, can glorify war. War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality. ~ John McCain, 1999 Why do I think that a war with Iran is a terrible idea? Other than the fact that Iran, aka the Islamic Republic of Iran, has not directly attacked the United States of America or its military forces in the Persian Gulf, a war with the second-largest country in the Middle East is a terrible idea because it will be extremely destructive, expensive (both in economic and human terms), and may have unwanted consequences for the U.S. and the world in general. Many Americans who say the opposite, i.e. that a war with Iran is not only a good idea but  nec

In the classic Hildenbrandt Bros. Star Wars poster, Luke's lightsaber is yellow. © 20th Century Fox Film Corp.  In Quora, Sam Lee asks: I f Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber was green, how did it turn blue in Star Wars: The Force Awakens? My reply: It seems, my friend, that you need a little refresher course in  Star Wars  History 101. Recall, please, that Luke Skywalker used two lightsabers as a young Jedi-to-be in the Original  Star Wars  Trilogy ( Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back,  and  Return of the Jedi. The first lightsaber Luke possessed was originally his father Anakin’s; it was retrieved from the ashy ground of Mustafar by Obi-Wan Kenobi after his fateful first duel with the newly minted “Darth Vader,” the Sith identity Skywalker  pere  adopted when he was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. Obi-Wan kept his former Padawan’s “laser sword” hidden away for 19 years during his exile on Tatooine, waiting till Fate - or the Force - reunited “Ben” Kenobi with Luk

On Quora, member Alex Meed asks: Why didn't John Williams compose the scores for the Star Wars spin-off films? My answer:  There are several reasons why Maestro John Williams didn’t compose the scores for  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  and  Solo: A Star Wars Story. First, Williams is, even at age 87, the five-time Academy Award-winning composer is still a sought-after guest conductor for at least two orchestras (he is the Boston Pops Orchestra’s Laureate Conductor, 25 years after stepping down as its principal conductor and music director). Health issues have forced Maestro Williams to reduce his travel schedule; this is why he has recorded the Sequel Trilogy scores with a Los Angeles-based studio orchestra instead of crossing the Atlantic and performing the music for the  Star Wars  films with the London Symphony at the Abbey Road recording studio. Second, Williams is still an active composer with a busy schedule that limits his availability for a franchise whic

The current edition of Heir to the Empire, which was originally published in 1991 by Bantam Spectra. Cover art by Tom Jung. © 1991, 2014 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  On Quora, Matt Swanson asks: Why do you think Lucasfilm decided not to adapt Timothy Zahn's Trilogy into movies? My response: There are  several  reasons why Lucasfilm never had any intention of adapting  Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising,  and  The Last Command  from novels to movies. The main reason, and the only one that truly matters, is that George Lucas clearly did not want to do so. In the late 1980s, which is when Lucasfilm Licensing was given his go-ahead to revive the moribund  Star Wars  franchise after being in a post- Return of the Jedi  coma, the creator of the saga was emerging from his post-divorce funk and thinking about making the long-awaited Prequel Trilogy. From  his  perspective, allowing Lucasfilm Licensing to hire a diverse group of writers that would create a series of interconnec

© 2019 Henry Holt and Company On Tuesday, May 14, Henry Holt and Company of New York published Rick Atkinson's The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, the first volume in the author's The Revolution Trilogy. Using the same vivid, elegaic style he used so well in his previous works on American military history, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Liberation Trilogy now turns his attention and storytelling skills to cover the Revolutionary War. In The British Are Coming, Atkinson tells the story of the first 21 months of the Revolution from the perspectives of the rebellious colonists and their British opponents. Starting with a nuanced look at the genesis of the traumatic break between Great Britain - a new globe-straddling empire upon which it was said that the sun never set - and 13 of its North American colonies, this new book treads on the familiar narrative of how London's well-intentioned attempts to pay the bills for

Dan Perri's classic logo for Star Wars. ™ Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) If there's one current trend that I hate on social media is the myth that "Disney" makes editorial decisions re Star Wars and Indiana Jones.    What exactly did Disney add and remove from the Star Wars universe/story? What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. -  The Captain,  Cool Hand Luke One of the most persistent myths about  Star Wars,  the franchise, and especially the business end of how the films and other media products are made is that The Walt Disney Company “adds and removes” elements of the  Star Wars  story. Not a day passes in which I don’t see any mention on social media - usually derisive and hateful - about how “Disney” did this, that, or the other thing to  Star Wars. Lucasfilm, which was founded in 1971 by George Lucas, did not magically disappear in 2012 after The Walt Disney Company acquired it. The company still exists.

Rick Atkinson's latest, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777: Volume One of the Revolution Trilogy © 2019 Henry Holt We at A Certain Point of View are always trying to offer you, Gentle Reader, a wide variety of content for your entertainment as well as, we hope, your enlightenment. As of late, we've been posting a potpourri of different types of posts, ranging from light, entertainment-focused questions that we see every day on Quora all the way to serious commentary about life in Donald Trump's America. We strive hard to keep things fun and lively, although in today's highly polarized political and social environment (which some pundits have come to call a State of Constant Outrage) this is often easier said than done. As you know, this blog's core mission is to offer reviews of books, movies, TV shows, music, and collectibles, and although each month you do get to see some of those, lately we've been delvi