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Trish – Working hard to get Fire and Ice finished and to the editor so she can meet her second deadline extension; pandemics are hard!
Jeremy – Negotiating literary contracts and trying to make decisions for seven years down the road!
This month in Pop-Culture History
Very Special Star Wars addition! May the Fourth Be With You!
- Denis Lawson who played Wedge Antilles in A New Hope is Ewan McGregor’s real-life uncle. McGregor has vivid memories of going to see A New Hope to cheer on his uncle.
- In the story development for Return of the Jedi, Lucas toyed with the idea of Luke taking off Vader’s helmet and then declaring “Now I am Vader” and turning to the dark side (providing further proof that George should never be allowed to make final story decisions about the franchise.)
- The sets on Phantom Menace where Liam Neeson appeared had to be rebuilt to accommodate his 6’4” stature, costing an additional $150,000 in production costs
- Laura Dern who played Admiral Amilyn Holdo, couldn’t stop saying “Pew!” when she fired her blaster. In spite of some handy editing and camera angles, you can still see her saying it in the final cut.
- The kiss that Luke places on Leia’s forehead in The Last Jedi was unscripted, but Hammill felt that since this was it, the last time he’d see his sister, it was a fitting good-bye. (And now I’m crying!)
Geek Outs!
Trish-Clone Wars Series finale. NO SPOILERS, but I will say that it’s some of the best storytelling (if not THE BEST Star Wars storytelling) I’ve ever seen.
Jeremy- Knee deep in the horrific. The Endless and The Platform are two horror movies worth checking out on Netflix. The Endless involves brothers returning to a cult and has a bit of Lovecraftian horror and the Platform is essentially the vertical version of the Cube. Not amazing, but worth adding to your quarantine watchlist.
Deep Dive-
Trish’s Book- Trail of Lightning
It wasn’t my thing (I’m a bit biased against dystopian novels), but it was a solid book with good characters and if you like weird dystopia, this is the book for you! It features a monster hunter, authentic indigenous voices in America, and a whole lot of magic. There is a bit of weird that happens between the main character and her mentor that makes the plot a bit unsettling, but overall, it’s compelling enough to consider reading the second book in the series.
4 Out of 5 Stars
Jeremy’s Book- The Walking Dead: Days Gone By
There was a lot to like in this series by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. I’ll admit, I watched the show before reading the comic so there is a bit of bias in that regard. The first issue is compelling. Rick wakes up from a coma in a world gone mad and filled with zombies. The angles and techniques used to create a sense of isolation start with a bang in this six-issue arc. However, the moment Rick finds his wife and son amidst a group of campers outside of Atlanta, it starts to fall apart. The storyline feels rushed and there isn’t’ enough time to develop the love triangle behind Rick, Shane and Lori. There are too many interwoven stories that cloud the primary story. This is where the show, with two seasons to see this arc to fruition was better able to create a tense atmosphere with intrigue. But despite its shortcomings, there is enough intrigue to warrant a read and even continue (hopefully the bumpy road at the start is due to publisher jitters.)
3.5 Out of 5 Stars
Next month Book Club
Soon I Will be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Wonder Woman: Odyssey (#600 – #614)
