It is really hard to believe that the man is 74 years old. And funny to think that the picture I posted up there was when he was already sort of "old" in his 50s, and that was probably at least 20 years ago. It would be really nice if we could go back in time, wouldn't it? Sadly we can't. We'll have to settle instead for what looks like one more Indiana Jones movie from him and no more Han Solo. Did I mention I'm still upset about that? Oh, and Blade Runner, which looks like it will be featuring him sporting a giant beard and long hair like an old homeless man, or perhaps a more aged version of Tom Hanks' character in Cast Away. Apparently he is vacationing in Europe before he goes and does his part of shooting that sequel, which he probably won't actually be in that much of anyway.
Sorry things have been quiet around here, summer is not exactly my favorite time to blog. And to be honest, I am not even reading or keeping up with Episode VIII stuff I've seen out there, because I don't really care what happens going forward. I'm no avoiding spoilers, they've just basically figured out a way to make it impossible to do anything going forward I might kind of care about. Well, I mean I guess there is some potential in there somewhere, but I'm sure they won't go that route.
Here is another nice picture though:
Happy birthday to the one and only. Time does its worst to us all in the end, but I have to say he's an inspiration and still mighty fine-looking at 74. Here's to many more birthday candles on his birthday cake!
ReplyDeleteAnd take heart, Zyra, the mess that Abrams and Kasdan created has led to an amazingly good outpouring of fanfiction choosing to ignore the Disney Drek. I know it can't make up for the sads of seeing our childhood hero and heroine on-screen in such a dismal place in their lives, but I like to think of the outpouring of really good fanfic as our own personal Rebellion.
Kels (Kelleher over at fanfic.net)
Kels,
DeleteNot only fanfic, but good canon stuff in the books.
My only wish at this point to have it mentioned in the next movie that they were married.
Other than that, whatever.
I decided a few months ago I'm not spending any more money on Disney's version of Star Wars - not only because of Han/Leia (although that is a big issue) but also because of the general worldview problem they had about heroes and their ultimate failure in TFA - unless and until they fix the nihilistic views that are so unlike Lucas' worldview in the OT. And yes, that means at the very least clarifying on film that Han and Leia had a long and happy marriage until Darth Whiney, whose childhood was not messed up by his parents and who was an adult totally in control of his own destiny, shattered his parents by his turn.
DeleteDisney is not going to miss my money, but I'm tired of giving big corporations my support when I feel like they're trying to influence my world and my outlook (and, more damningly, children's outlook on the world) in a way I consider negative.
So maybe I'll read Bloodline if I can get it from the library, but right now...I'm just fanfic. And a lot of it is brilliant.
Kels,
DeleteI hear you, and honestly, I agree with you.
I won't be seeing VIII, unless I can see it for free.
I think what is most distressing too is that Rey is not a blood relative of any of the OT heroes. How disappointing. So basically, the only offspring of H/L is Kylo and poor Luke has no legacy to speak of.
DeleteCompletely agree Leia/Han fan. (have we seen you here before? If not, welcome!) It makes no sense that it appears Kylo Ren is the end of the line for Skywalkers. And that is all we have to show from Han and Leia's relationship, so basically the entire galaxy would've been better off if they'd never met.
DeleteHope Harrison had a great birthday! And here's to many more to come. He will always be the hottest guy ever when he was in his 30s and 40s, and he still looks great in his 70s....when he doesn't have that hairy beast growing on his face. Shave it off, Harrison!
ReplyDeleteI totally totally agree on the fact that JJ decided not to tell the audience that Han and Leia were ever married. I HATE that so much. Hard core fans know they got married. But the wider audience probably came away from TFA thinking they briefly hooked up, Leia got pregnant, and then Han buggered off. All we needed was a single line of dialogue, or even just one word, Han referring to Leia as his wife or Leia to Han as her husband. But Jar Jar Abrams couldn't even be bothered to give us that.
Some readers here might be interested in Carrie Fisher's appearance this weekend at the Star Wars Celebration in London. StarWars.com is live streaming some of the events and will make them available on the Star Wars YouTube channel after the convention is over. The promo video I think said she will be appearing on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteCarrie at Celebration: http://variety.com/2016/film/news/star-wars-carrie-fisher-princess-leia-episode-viii-london-1201815994/
ReplyDeleteOk, rant about this Disney bs:
DeleteFirst, "Han's funeral..." doesn't sound at all like an Ep VIII spoiler if Carrie Fisher was answering a question she misheard as what happens BETWEEN films. That's stupid, Variety.
Second, Carrie Fisher saying Han and Leia having a "volatile" relationship is fine for her to think, but again, not very well supported by text or, perhaps I should say, Disney's text has been so inconsistent that in two years they've made a bigger mess of character behavior and motivations in under a year than the EU made in over twenty. Good going, Disney, Lucasfilm, and story group.
Third, really, some jackass in the audience asked if Leia had a new lover in 8? Screw you, Disney for ruining the Big Three so badly WITH ONLY ONE FILM that people can even ask that question. Obviously it's a dumb question but it's dumber that there is even any crack of logic to allow someone to even ask it.
I meant it when I said it in 2013, I mean it when I say it now: this trilogy should have started with Han and Leia, and, Luke and Mrs. Luke, waving goodbye to their children as the kids go off on a new adventure. That should have been the last we ever saw of the Big Three.
Oh well, with the state of the world right now, I give it 50-50 odds that humanity has annihilated itself before this movie ever comes out anyway. There's always a silver lining.../sarc
Sorry, should have deleted "in two years" - I realized while writing that we aren't even one year into new canon and it's already a dumpster fire of inconsistency.
DeleteI do at least like how Carrie Fisher noted that having your child be Hitler would mess with your relationship. But again, that is a different thing than having a volatile relationship. That is having your lives destroyed by the actions of your kid.
Sigh. There's zero dramaturgy going on here.
Whatevs. They still haven't made a dollar out of me since I saw TFA, and it's staying that way. Especially with that stupid Non Solo announcement today.
Sorry. This all makes me furious and ranty.
DeleteI'm old enough to remember who crappy things were in the 1970s. 1977 - 1983 Star Wars was counterculture and became both a huge hit and an ongoing cultural touchstone hit at least in part because it presented such an optimistic, idealistic and heroic look at life in a decade that was just filled with rotten. Interestingly the 1980s were a much more optimistic decade. I'm not saying Star Wars caused that -- at all -- but it was a canary in the coal mine to a cultural shift.
Here we are in another decade that's filled with rotten, and instead of presenting something equally optimistic, bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed for people to believe in, Disney has chosen to jump right into the cultural muck and swim around in it.
I can't tell you how much I hate that.
Kels,
DeleteI enjoy your posts, and I agree with them.
Yeah, I was there in the 70's, too.
Don't take anything Carrie Fisher says seriously, though. She constantly jokes around.
I know, I don't really take what she says seriously, because she just jokes, but I hate that the jokes now seem to support JJ Abrams headcanon (which seems not to be supported by real canon Bloodline given all of your reviews), since JJ Abrams headcanon has received way more attention than anything else and is probably the worst worldview of all the competing canon and headcanon out there.
DeleteThat said, my heart breaks for Carrie Fisher given that she said, seriously, that she "wept" during her first viewing of The Force Awakens because she was so insecure when she saw herself on screen now. She has been treated so badly by fanboys (and actual paid critics and journalists), that I wish she'd just say "eff it" and walk away. I swear, our society is so messed. What has this lady ever done except give innumerable people all sorts of happiness with her work? Everyone who comments on her looks should have to post a picture of themselves next to it so we can critique their appearance.
Kels,
DeleteMaybe that's what's in Carrie's canon in order to play the character convincingly. The books contradict this. It doesn't matter.
I know, but the number of people who read the books is vastly smaller than the the number of people who see the films and read short internet blurbs, so that gets more of a foothold. That said, it kind of all doesn't matter at this point, doesn't it? :)
DeleteHonestly, though, reading The Guardian article today, the thing that got me the most was that she's was reduced to weeping over her appearance on screen when she saw TFA. That one makes my heart hurt in a way that nothing Disney could do with the characters can. No one should be made to feel that way about the simple fact of being older. There's been such meanness towards all of the Big Three about their ages that it is just, well, like I said - makes my heart hurt. Especially for Carrie, as we women tend to feel that hurt more, while men just go honey badger and don't give a _____."
DeleteI agree. Men need to evolve.
DeleteSorry I've been MIA. I so agree, Kels. Everything out there now is so dark and ominous. It is really rare now that we get a film that gives us that sense of optimism and hope that the OT gave us. In a way it is kind of interesting how those stories wound up being told. I know that wasn't always the intention, but we got the optimistic trilogy first, the one where the good guys won. And THEN they went back and told the tragic story, the one we knew already was going to end badly, so maybe we were more accepting of it because we already knew those particular characters were doomed, but new ones later on would emerge triumphant.
DeleteIt's just too much to then tell us those triumphant heroes are going to suffer similar if not worse fate. Really, what is the point? Why do I care whether or not Rey wins a few battles when all of the characters eventually will suffer tragic fates? And there is a difference between giving these characters some tough times to get through and really just making their lives utterly tragic. Han and Leia and probably Luke now are really nothing but tragic.
Carrie is correct that having Hitler for a child would screw up a relationship. It's still just infuriating to me that Kylo Ren is all we get for the Skywalker legacy. Really almost more tragic than anything else. I really wish George sold the company under the provision that they HAD to use his story outline, because he never would've let that happen.
I'm so tired of all the movies now being so dark. when discussing young adult books for my niece to read this summer I came to a startling realization that basically all the popular books these days are about dystopian futures where everything is pretty awful. Doesn't that paint a wonderful picture?
Not Star Wars related, but related to what we were discussing above, Zyra. I just learned of this:
Deletehttp://www.hypable.com/jk-rowling-ron-hermione-relationship-regret-interview/
What the heck is going on with the world? Seriously, people. We need fairy tales where there are happily ever afters. It's long been a part of the human animal
to need to believe that things will be ok in the end. Why do people creating stories meant for the child in all of us actively want to bring us down?
IT MAKES NO SENSE.
Yeah, I had read that before and I agree. Just... why? I mean, I'm not saying that every couple from every movie needs to wind up happily ever after. I was not devastated when Pete Venkman and Dana Barret were no longer together in Ghostbusters 2. If for some reason there were a Dirty Dancing sequel I think we can all agree that there is no way in hell that Baby and Johnny would've lasted much beyond that summer fling. But why does it seem like every single couple now has to have a tragic fate? Why does nobody wind up together? Why make everything awful? And I'm kind of tired of all the "It's more realistic" stuff, because while obviously lots of couples in the real world don't work out, lots actually DO. I'm really kind of tired of all the entertainment these days being so dark. Dark can be interesting and good in its own way, but it seems like that is our only option these days.
DeleteWell even though JK Rowling said that she kept Ron and Hermione together for her sequel as well as Harry and Ginny.
DeleteI feel like if the creator was involved they wouldn't have broken Han and Leia up. Lucas always said Han and Leia ended up together. JJ didn't care about crapping all over them because to him Han is just a cool Captain Kirk-like hotshot pilot instead of the character he evolved into in ROTJ.