Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Rest in Peace Carrie Fisher 1956 - 2016




Carrie has left us. In a year so full of celebrity death, this one seems to hurt far more than the rest, and I've been trying to figure out why that is. Largely I'm sure it is because for many of us she, as Princess Leia, has been a part of our lives from as far back as we even have memories. I can recall seeing Return of the Jedi in the movie theater and the moment she took that mask off to reveal herself to Han Solo after she had freed him from the carbonite, and thinking, "Cool, Leia saved him!" Movies and books are full of princesses but nobody else defined a princess quite the way Carrie did.

It's not just that she was Leia, though. In her openness with her struggles with mental illness and addiction, as a woman in Hollywood (or in life in general), what it was like to grow up as the child of two giant celebrities, she became our friend. She never hid from personal questions, she never pretended that she was not someone who had to deal with a lot of struggles in life. She made a lot of us feel much better in knowing, "Hey, she's like the rest of us. And it's ok to fall down sometimes and struggle, and we can still come back and be strong and funny and smart." Someone recently said to me she is like the most unlikely "everywoman." And I think that's true. How does a woman who is born into Hollywood royalty relate so much to the rest of us normal people? Yet she does. You feel as though you could walk up to her and have a normal conversation and she would actually care to hear what you had to say. I can't say I feel that way about any other celebrities.

She never took herself seriously. As she said, "If my life wasn't funny it would just be true and that' is unacceptable." I think we could all learn a lot from those words. I've read all of her books, and when you think about even a fraction of the things she has been through you can hardly imagine dealing with it, and yet she always picked herself up and kept on going. Her wit was practically beyond human capability, and her humor will be sorely missed. For anyone who has only seen her as Leia I would highly encourage you to read anything she has written, as she is one of the funniest people I've ever come across. She brought us into her life, she made it okay for people to admit they were suffering from mental illness. She gave us all permission to laugh at our problems and say, "You can't beat me, because tomorrow I'm going to wake up and just start making jokes about you."

Days before her death she was posting to Twitter articles about how she was too old to play the CGI version of her own likeness, and again pointed out how women are not allowed to age. I'm glad that only a month ago we got a few more talk show visits from her so we could see her crack just a few more jokes before she had to leave us. She was so like Princess Leia, and I can understand why she would be proud that that was her biggest legacy. I'm not sure how any of us are going to be able to get through Episode VIII. Even though I can't think of a more fitting final role.

My regret is that I never got a chance to meet her. Not that I was expecting us to hang out and go to dinner or something, but even fifteen seconds for a photo op would've been nice. I was fortunate enough to have seen her perform Wishful Drinking twice, and it was equally hilarious both times. 

This one really, really hurts. It's losing a little piece of our childhoods, but also the adult who could always trust her to make a wonderfully witty comment to put things in perspective. It hurts even more because she was taken from us far too soon. At only sixty she had a lot more years left of making us laugh. We'll get back to that eventually, with all she has left us with, but first we'll have to get past her making us cry.

Rest in peace, Carrie Fisher. Princess Leia. The world will be a little worse off without your wit and humor to remind us that nothing can get to us if we remember to laugh at it.

217 comments:

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  2. A lovely tribute, Zyra, and it expresses so well what I'm sure we are all feeling right now. Thank you so much for this.

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  3. I have never cried over a celebrity death. Ever. But boy, those tears are flowing now. I'm absolutely heartbroken. It's hard to find the words, right now. I'm a total mess.

    Love you, Carrie. God bless xxx

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  4. I'm in shock and so saddened. Everything you said, Zyra. We needed her freshness longer.

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  5. This makes me so sad; I'm shaking so badly right now! I don't know what to say but that a very large part of my childhood just died. I agree with all you said, Zyra. Carrie didn't hide whobshe was, what she struggled with the and, lately, I've come to really admire and understand that.
    I shouldn't be this sad, but I am. Star Wars has always been a huge part of my life since I started on fanfiction and Leia/Carrie have both been my role models. It's like Carrie said; the two are the same and now both are dead.
    Bless you, Carrie, and thank you for everything you've given us.

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    1. You should absolutely feel fine about being this ad. This is someone who was important for you. There are people who can be major influences on you, on your thinking, on your way of life whom you have never met. It's perfectly ok to be extremely sad.

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  6. I've been hiding my face for two hours, just a tiny bit embarrassed at how hard I cried when I heard the news (though my family are very supportive). I didn't know her; she was a celebrity! Why am I bawling my eyes out?

    Well, because of all the reasons you've mentioned Zyra. Though I didn't know her, she meant something to me. Though she didn't know me, she helped me through some seriously hard times. I loved her. I am so sad she's gone. :(

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    1. I think we all have shed a few tears over this one, and there's nothing to be ashamed about in that. She was a part of all of our childhoods and we had the blessing of watching her take on so many things with an indomitable spirit over the years that she loomed even larger. It's natural and right that we should mourn.

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  7. http://www.starwars.com/news/carrie-fisher-our-princess-passes-away

    Glad they did say something at last.

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  8. This f'ing year officially sucks. Sorry for the language. But it wasn't bad enough and now this?? I think I'm shock too much to process or cry yet. Man, this blows...I will miss her.

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  9. RIP, Carrie Fisher. Your best-known character taught a whole generation of little girls like me that it was possible to be a smart, tough, leader AND to find room to love and be loved by someone who saw you as an equal.* And then YOU taught us that you were so much more than that character in your writing and the way you approached the world and mental illness with openness and humor.

    You always said you were an agnostic who hoped she was wrong. May all your hopes have come true this morning.

    *And I'll forever be disgusted about the unforgivable things JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan and Disney/Lucasfilm did to this important message and to the little girls who saw EpVII and were exposed to the horrible worldview that they pitched regarding the outcome of this combination for women.

    (Sorry for doing this, everybody - Thought I should delete, edit, and repost as Iger and Kennedy have issued a joint statement. I'm fine with Iger waiting until now, but some of the other silences over the last 4 days really still stick in my craw.)

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    1. Right there with you, Kels - and frankly, the statements from them, after all they did to that character (and they still called her Princess BTW even after they took her title away in the movie).

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    2. Yeah, the statements from Abrams and Kennedy were, in my opinion, way too little, way too late. I didn't see a statement from either right after the news hit on Friday - Ford, Hamill, Lucas, Billy Dee, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Daisy Ridley, and half of Hollywood found it important enough to find a moment in their holiday to wish her well. Nothing from the powers that be that I saw. I get it, Hollywood is closed down, but guess what - publicists know they may have to do something when an unexpected situation crops up.

      If I'm wrong, apologies and I'll delete, but I saw nothing from any of Lucasfilm, Kennedy, or Abrams until today and that feels so wrong. She wasn't just a cog in their new Disney/Lucasfilm machine. She was part of what made Star Wars what it is long before anyone even thought there would be even be a machine.

      Again, sorry if I missed a "our thoughts are with her" post from any or all of them before their remembrances today, but it just seems disgraceful if not.

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    3. I know this is probably too raw and in the whole grand scheme of things doesn't mean anything but not only what they did to Leia but for them to call her "Princess Leia" when they took her title away and when they robbed not only the audience but those three actors the chance to work together one more time...

      It's sad, earlier this month, someone posted pics of them at ComicCon and captioned it "probably the last time we'll see them all together." They didn't know how right they were.

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  10. Okay. NOW I'm crying.
    http://www.eonline.com/news/818217/harrison-ford-and-george-lucas-comment-on-carrie-fisher-s-death

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  11. http://comicbook.com/starwars/2016/12/27/star-wars-cast-and-disney-react-to-carrie-fishers-death/

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  12. I am crying, crying, crying, and I can't stop... I feel a little weirded out by my strong feelings, since, like the rest of you, I didn't know her. But she absolutely touched my life, first as Princess Leia, then as Carrie Fisher. Now I can't see through my tears to type anymore. RIP Carrie.

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    1. You're not alone. My facebook feed is full of friends posting about this. Friends that I never would've thought cared at all about this. She touched very many people.

      I cried over Han Solo's fictional death, I'm sure as hell going to cry over Carrie Fisher's actual death. This is awful.

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    2. Don't be weirded out. Someone can touch your life in an important way without you knowing them. It's what artists are supposed to do, and it says wonderful things about her as person and an artist that so many are so broken by this.

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  13. For my American friends here, tonight on ABC 20/20 is doing a special on Carrie and George Michael. I'm sure 24 hours ago it was only going to be for George.

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    1. It's insane, people's reactions. I know no one else here is is on this site, but I've never seen people on Wattpad so frenzied over any of this year's deaths. It's crazy! All the tribute stories are almost too much! Despite the fact that I wrote one myself. Writing feels good right now, but I don't know what else to say that I haven't already.

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    2. Zyra, what time is the special?

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    3. The 2020 didn't have much, but GMA is going to have her last interview with them in the morning.

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    4. The show was originally just going to be about George Michael, but then this happened.

      We are definitely being robbed of watching her doing fantastically funny interviews. So basically I'm not going to care in the slightest about the publicity before episode 8 because without Harrison or Carrie, just no thanks. And that is no offense to the new cast, they're all fine, but I'm just not that interested in hearing them talk. Carrie and Harrison are both so smart and witty, I wanted to watch everything.

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    5. No doubt. I'm going to miss her interviews and wit. Never knew what she might say. I'd rather listen to them as well. Not that don't like new cast, but not overly concerned.

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    6. I didn't see most of the run up to TFA because I was so blase about the fandom then. Then after, I couldn't watch it because of what that movie did.

      And now? It'll hurt too much. I mean, I just read something where she was joking that she was waiting for Harrison to die before publishing the Princess Diarist and when he didn't...

      That picture of her flipping off George, with Mark and Harrison on either arm...

      The publicity before 8 is going to be so sad...because it's going to be Mark by himself. I'm sure he thought he and Carrie would be out there together, having a fun time, snarking on everything.

      If they don't rope Harrison into the 40th anniversary stuff - if there is anything - he's going to be by himself for that too.

      She was too young and vibrant to be gone.

      It's just too damn depressing. Like everyone else, I was hoping we'd get some last minute "Han isn't dead" in 8. But now? What's the point? The scoundrel and the knight without the princess? Or the knight alone?

      And the worst thing is - they'll just ignore that for some spectacle. Or for Rey's grief or whatever. Everyone's all "oh, Lucasfilm will do right by her." If George was there, yeah. I have no faith otherwise.

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    7. What possible evidence over the last three years would make anyone think that Lucasfilm will do right by her now? There are already articles out there with rumors of CGIing her in Ep IX because apparently this is some big problem for Ep IX (can't work up any empathy for Lucasfilm here; they should rewrite IX, redo the Ep VIII ending to say farewell to this character, and then ponder how they ruined the Big Three with the sequel trilogy anyway).

      If she turns up in CGI form for more than just a moment as a force ghost, we riot. (kidding not kidding, because I think the road Rogue One has led us down is horrible for actors)

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    8. I agree with all that. I'm sure they'll find some awful CGI way to get her into IX because someone said they were already starting this year? I'm not sure about that.

      I have zero empathy for whatever they have to do for 8 and 9. I agree they should redo the end of 8 so that it's a farewell for Leia and then...I don't even want to think.

      I read that thread with someone saying General Leia was the best and on and on and - no, just no. I can't...

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    9. I've seen too many people our there (largely fanboys and a few fanboy-oriented sci-fi/film websites) putting the movie before the person who died. It's not like people are going to lose interest Star Wars if they have to delay a year to rewrite due to this sad event. Everyone would understand if they said they had to delay IX for a year or two, and anyone who wouldn't understand is not worth having in a fandom (or in the human race for that matter).

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    10. Whatever happens in future movies with or without her is pretty much the least of my concerns when it comes to this. I mean I'm interested to see how much they are going to have to change, if anything (she could've already been planned on dying in this one anyway) but do I care really? No, because they already very successfully made me stop caring about it.

      One thing I had thought of was that if their plan was a Ben is redeemed arc, who is he being redeemed for now? I think this is really going to screw up their plans, and to that I say, GOOD! You deserve it!

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    11. Zyra, yes. Absolutely. I agree with all of the above, esp the Ben stuff. And Kels, yes, if they have to delay - whatever fans are angry about that? Can get the hell out of the fandom.

      I feel bad for the crew who knew her and the other actors for the new ones, mainly Peter and Anthony, but especially Mark (and Harrison and George).

      The rest of them, not so much.

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  14. I am at work right now as someone who is on the other side of the globe, I am like 6 hours late on this news. When I opened Google News and Reddit... headlines and tons and tons of article were all about Carrie Fisher's passing. Reddit's r/OldSchool is all over Carrie. I just had to have moment to tear up all over and compose myself. Somehow, I've known this was about to happen last Christmas Eve when I was teeny weeny bit of agonozing it, from the moment I heard of the gravity of the cardiac arrest episode. I've lost my dearly beloved godmother the same way last November 2015. But in spite of that, I and everyone still hoped for the impossible best. Alas.

    To think I was binge watching her vintage interviews yesterday! A lot of new vintage interviews of her have been uploaded recently on youtube, and on the ride to work this morning I just have her memories from the said videos in my prayers and good thoughts. I had no idea that was all done 'in memoriam' and for me to remember her at her best.

    I am going to link up those new charming vintage interviews later after all of this has passed (probably Zyra will have a Share your tributes and memories of Carrie Fisher post later on) but for now I think me and everyone else need to have a moment to mourn. I belong to newer generation of Star Wars fans and haven't been a fan of Carrie for that long enough like some of you guys but this one is so painful. It's like losing that faraway aunt or that wacky nice lady living next door to you or all those people we have a dear fond memory of as a child. She's a piece of our childhood and youth and innocence.

    For some reason I want to refrain from referencing anything Star Wars related as she transcends it and she had been so much more than Star Wars but a line from the film have never been more apt and consoling. And Carrie being Carrie, she herself has said, "Princess Leia will be on my tombstone."

    That's Carrie Fisher for you. Always charming to the last.

    From Yoda:

    “Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is.”

    "Soon will I rest, yes, forever sleep. Earned it I have. Twilight is upon me, soon night must fall."

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    1. To reference something Leia said a few times in the EU, she will always be princess in her galaxy and ours. No one can take that away.

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  15. I've been a Star Wars fan since the OT days, although I was a Han fan first, the Skywalker twins are right there with him. I honestly didn't know this would hit this hard, but it is like part of your childhood went away. For me, Star Wars are really the first characters I ever wrote fanfic for - they're my myth.

    I'm sure her family is just gutted because who would have ever thought?

    It's just been awful, all afternoon reading everything on social media, and then Mark just posted something on FBook that will break your heart. I'm sure that next year for the 40th anniversary, he was expecting Carrie to be there with him and Harrison... who wouldn't think they'd all be together, laughing over their little space movie? For them, this was the 40th of them shooting and now...

    The only glimmer is seeing everyone everywhere remembering her so positively.

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  16. Thanks for posting the 20/20 info. I didn't know. I'll watch it tonight.

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  17. Not that we needed any more reasons to be upset about this, but she was planning another one-woman show to follow up Wishful Drinking

    http://ew.com/theater/2016/12/27/carrie-fisher-wishful-drinking-sequel/?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter

    I'm a mess, you guys.

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  18. Yesterday evening when I got home from work my Mom told me the very sad news about Carrie.

    I feel so sad. Deep down I think I expected it to happen given the very serious circumstances but I really wanted to trust in some miracle.

    Please fellow fans let me share with you why she meant a lot to me.

    To me she was not just a lovable witty person and the perfect Princess Leia but she gave me a very strong push to lean.

    I remember when I first saw ANH in 1979 in Budapest on the other side of the Iron Curtain. The character of the princess became my favourite when I saw TESB.
    Here in my country we know almost nothing related to the film. No or very few information about the actors, no action figures and such things.
    Years and years past and I kept collecting articles, photos and any information I could about Carrie.

    When Carrie published her first book I really wanted to read it. You have to know that at that time in Hungary purchasing foreign language books was a bit complicated. The book arrived I opened it and immediately discovered that my language skills from the school are still not enough to read it.
    That day I decided to learn English to be able to read that book without dictionary and grammar books.

    I am eternally grateful to Carrie who gave me the motivation and persistence in learning English. This knowledge allowed me to step in a larger world.

    My thoughts are with her family

    RIP dear Carrie Fisher

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    1. Another one brought to tears by your story here.

      Can I make a suggestion? Your story is profound and moving, and it's the kind of thing any family would want to hear about a recently deceased member, about how that person impacted the life of someone half a world away (and behind the Iron Curtain at the time).

      So maybe screengrab your post and send it as an image to Joely Fisher, Tricia Lee Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds on twitter? No way to tell if they will ever see it, but it's worth a shot as it's the kind of thing that has meaning beyond just condolences.

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    2. I'll second Kels' suggestion. In a sea of sorrow like they're in right now, a story like that one could be a beacon.

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    3. What an inspiring story. It brought tears to my eyes, and I had to read it aloud to my sons, young men whose eyes are being opened to who this amazing woman really was and what she meant to so many. Thank you for sharing with us.

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    4. Yes, I completely agree, this should be shared.

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    5. Ah, you guys keep bringing me to tears. Justine, so cool you shared that with your sons!

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    6. I thought it was important for them to see beyond 'the Princess'. When she first took ill, I had a minor fit. I'm sure they thought that mom was just weirding out again, going all fangirl...but over the last few days, what she has come to represent to me and so many others has become crystal clear. She helped a generation of girls, their mother included, to realize what a strong woman could accomplish, with conviction, drive, and an unflagging spirit. And I don't just mean the character she portrayed. Carrie, the woman, was all that and more and I will always thank her for it.

      Her loss is just so devastating.

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  19. What an inspiration she was to you! Thanks for sharing your story; it brought me to tears.

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  20. I've decided that, in light of Carrie and how we all knew her, I can't sit here and cry the WHOLE time. I found this and completely lost it while watching.
    http://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/27/14072842/carrie-fisher-death-interview-gma

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    1. I watched that yesterday. I watched it last year when it was first on and it stuck with me all this time and I never forgot how incredibly sharply funny she was in it. She usually was, but this one was highlight reel, for sure. I think my favorite moment, and partly because she is just so quick with it, is when the interviewer says, "So Princess Leia..." and Carrie immediately interjects with, "Yes?" as a callback to earlier when she was talking about how people shout that to her on the street and she is never sure what the appropriate response is. The downside to that interview is that it was clearly edited, and who knows what wonderful lines we didn't get to see?

      To appease fans I want every take of every scene she was ever in from Star Wars to be released so we can see it. All of it. I don't care.

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    2. That deleted scene from TFA that I've seen on Twitter over the last two days is pretty much better than any scene actually in the film.

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    3. So somebody just told me when I made a snarky comment about Abrams ripping off New Hope that Carrie contributed to the script? Anyone heard that?

      I'd snark back at the person who said that because of that I should stop criticizing it 100% but whatever.

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    4. Yes to that scene. That scene was the most "Leia" I saw her act and it didn't even make it to the movie. Which reminds me another gripe I had, that Rogue One for some reason was LONGER than TFA. TFA had to get so much information in and they skipped a lot. Rogue One really didn't have to be that long, and yet it was. And then we see things like that which were cut.

      No idea on her helping with the script. But script vs. STORY are different. The dialog was generally not a big issue, except for the fact that Han and Leia's dialog was largely exposition or cliche. I really wouldn't blame Carrie for having much to do with the fact that they just rehashed ANH, even if she did help with the script at all.

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    5. Yeah, that was my thought as well (and you can't reduce it down to 140 characters so I just chose to let it go). She may have punched up dialogue (but I don't know where and since it's random internet dude, I don't believe it. I've read enough random dudes saying things about Ford's participation...) but she didn't sit down and consciously rip off ANH. I'm so tired of people saying "oh he had to." If Lucas had made TFA, people would have rioted.

      Yes, that scene explains things and is a great scene for her. It might have given us a CLUE what was going on politically but God forbid we cut one second of the Rathtars or Maz's stupid bar or that trench run that made no sense. God forbid we get any characterization for Leia beyond hopelessly thinking her son is salvagable.

      I know there's lots of fic on AO3 but I've seen several with redeemed Ben in the tags and no way am I reading it. I can't tell you the art I've seen go by my dash...

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    6. It's not even just the politics side of it (which is definitely more interesting) but she just exudes the Leia "spark" there that was so absent from the rest of the movie. None of which was Carrie's fault, it was just that so much of her scenes were just exposition or her being worn down by life and without much left to hope for. I really want to know what their plan was now though. I'm sure it was going to suck, but I'm curious.

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    7. I went wandering by the Jedi Council forums and found people saying CGI Force Ghost to redeem Ben (ugh), recast, rewrite.

      Honestly, I don't care either. The story was already destroyed in TFA, no amount of retconning is going to help at this point.

      The terrible thought I have is what if they really did bring back Ford as Han. I hope for Mark's sake they did, so he won't be alone in 9, but....

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    8. I would guess that the person on twitter was confusing the prequels (for which she did work on the scripts, although from the dialogue, I assume Lucas went back to his original) with Ep VII, as I haven't heard anything about her doing script doctor work, and Kasdan and Abrams have basically admitted they wrote the script in a month.

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    9. Thanks, that's what I remembered too. And it didn't stop the fanboys from hating on the prequels...

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    10. You know, they also cut the scene with Han arguing with the stormtroopers and explaining how he knows Finn is an ex trooper. It's like they deliberately got rid of any scenes that might make a new fan care more about them. I know the Han with the troopers scene was all over Tumblr and most every note was "why wasn't this in the film?"

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    11. Where is that scene? I don't even know what you're talking about.

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    12. Han, Chewie, Maz, and Finn run into First Order troopers in the underground passages at Maz's and they order them to hand over their weapons in the name of Supreme Leader Snoke:

      https://youtu.be/qB3G2hkn278

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  21. What a lovely story from her former assistant. Lots of former assistants can't say that about their bosses. Her life was too short and too difficult, but she certainly grabbed life by the b@lls and LIVED while she was here. A good lesson for everybody.

    http://toofab.com/2016/12/28/carrie-fishers-former-assistant-shares-heartfelt-tribute-of-the-late-star-wars-actress/

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    1. She just sounds like she was such a joy to spend time with, and it makes me sadder and sadder the more of these stories I read that I will never get to meet her. When would I have met her? I have no idea, but now I for sure can't. And it sucks.

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  22. Can those of you whose brains are functioning go forth and write fluffy fanfic? Thanks.

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    1. JustineGraham and I are currently at work on a chapter of "Domestic Bliss" in which Han gives Leia a bath... complete with erotic foot massage (apparently! that's where it's going right now anyway...)! Then he washes her hair.

      That's not so much "fluffy" as "smutty", I know, but it's us and that's how we roll. ;)

      We took a tiny little bit of flack for bad timing for posting a story over the weekend called "Fun and Games" with a chapter entitled "It's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!". In hindsight, we probably should've gone with another title. If something like that bothers you, steer clear. Otherwise, the story itself may just fit the fluffy bill (for the five minutes it would take to read it, anyway)!

      Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12286751/1/Fun-and-Games

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  23. Planning on posting a rewrite of a scene I wrote for my sequel to my TFA fix it that brings them all together again...I'll let you know when it goes up, if anyone is interested.

    If anyone's writing stories or have seen good ones, please post!

    I've seen some incredible art, and some very sad art. If you want links, I'll post...

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    1. Ooh! I'd like links please.

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    2. Luke, Han & Leia:
      http://shannonarts.tumblr.com/post/155044323883

      The really sad thing is I've seen similar work with Luke & Leia after Han...

      Leia and Snape (Carrie & Alan Rickman):
      http://jokerharley2345.tumblr.com/post/155050975806/2016-has-been-rough-on-all-of-us

      All three again:
      https://twitter.com/lordmesa/status/813982046829719552

      Han & Leia:
      http://tyrinecarver.tumblr.com/post/155041698300/hey-han-wait-up-by-tyrinecarver-im-ready-for

      Leia with Anakin & Padme
      http://skeletonpjs.tumblr.com/post/155051827176/goodnight-princess



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  24. I wanna make a tribute video for her. Song and clip suggestions would be much appreciated.

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    1. Joan Jett does a version of the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme, "Love is All Around." It came up in shuffle last night and I think it's a perfect rendition of a perfect song:

      https://youtu.be/e4tkLy9AaD4

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    2. Leave a Light On by Duran Duran. It's on their All You Need is Now album. Can't help it, total Duranie.

      https://youtu.be/FcBAysgxZfI


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    3. Good one, Amara. "Do You Believe in Shame" from back in the day as well. I bet a lot of us here are total Duranies, given the age many of us are. (I have been hoping for the past few days that Simon Le Bon stays off boats until 2017...)

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    4. >> "I bet a lot of us here are total Duranies, given the age many of us are."

      You rang?

      Mrs. Roger Taylor (a.k.a. Froggie) reporting in.

      Oh god! Did I say that out loud!?

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    5. Sweet! I'm not the only one. :) I got to see them in concert twice this year. Yeah, twice. But they were amazing. And ran into same lady at both concerts. She was heading for more after that. Their most recent album Paper Gods is decent. It grew on me. But All You Need is Now is top to bottom awesome. Paper Gods is probably more topical.

      Omg, Kels, he better!! Yikes. Bad enough as it is.

      Delete
    6. True confession time: I was only a Duran Duran fan for the first few years (albeit a fairly rabid, hysterical one). I didn't much like "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" at all, though I really tried to, and then I just drifted off, beguiled by mixtapes sent to me from my many penpals around the world. I got into stuff like Joy Division and The Smiths and whatnot, and left DD and most pop music behind. Many years later, though, I decided to repurchase the first two albums and give 'em a listen, and they really are as awesome as I remember. I'll never get tired of "Planet Earth", "Friends of Mine", "Careless Memories", etc., anyway! :D

      Delete
    7. "...And ran into same lady at both concerts. She was heading for more after that."

      Probably was me...

      No, kidding, I only saw them in NYC at Barclay's this year. All You Need is Now was a great album, Paper Gods has its moments. Gotta agree with you now on "Ragged Tiger" - never really listen to it much, the whole album is just pitched sharp to my ears. (Erin, you should give AYNIN a listen)

      Delete
    8. Lol! That would be funny if it was you. AYNIN is definitely worth a listen. I got my teenager hooked on them.

      Delete
  25. Yesterday, I wrote a one-shot Leia death. Currently trying to figure out what to write next . . .

    ReplyDelete
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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. I didn't put my reply in the wrong spot, did I?

      Delete
  26. Don't know how many here have read it already, but there's this one-shot that I've always loved since I found it. It's called On Alderaan and it's based on a quote from the EU. Leia passes on to the afterlife and finds herself surrounded by lost loved ones on Alderaan. Reading it now is such a different experience, but it adds another layer to it. I still love it, but it just feels so weird!

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is truly a random grab of some of the shorter fics on my list of favourites. Not necessarily all fluff, but I tend to go for feel-good fics, not tragedies:

    The Incident:
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12017280/1/

    Night Musings:
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10145558/1/

    Hindsight:
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10311396/1/

    Han Solo and the Princess:
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4519592/1/

    All the Lights Are Changing:
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6132785/1/

    Second Star to the Right and Straight on Til Morning
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11946156/1/Second-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-til-morning

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  28. So many new stories being posted on ff.net are TFA timeline! Ugh, no, Ben Solo does not exist. Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Man, I know. I have toyed with the idea of trying to curate a list of "TFA-free" Han/Leia stories somewhere. I can't stand even reading the summaries of stories that work within Mickey Mouse canon. I need a safe place! And/or some suggestions!

      Delete
    2. HannahRachel05 is somewhat new. She just updated 'May I Have This Dance' with a tribute chapter after yesterday, but I'm not sure if she has it on ff.net yet.

      Delete
    3. I'd love a TFA free zone for all the ship tags - I'd help contribute to it...

      Delete
  29. What I keep thinking about today was she was 19 (!) inANH. And she was the youngest of the OT, the only girl.

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    1. She was ridiculously young when you think about it. I still don't see a 19-year-old there. Not that she looked old, she just seemed so mature. And I can't for the life of me think of any other human woman ever who could've pulled that off when only a teenager. When I see behind-the-scenes photos of her she just seems younger, maybe largely because she's smiling, or maybe just because the demeanor she took on when she was Leia made her seem so much older than her actual years, I don't know. She just definitely doesn't seem like a kid to me.

      Delete
  30. Missing her funny tweets this morning. we will never have another one. and I feel so sad for Debbie. They loved each other through thick and thin.

    ReplyDelete
  31. After I heard that she passed away, I remembered this quote from the Princess diarist and I never taught that she would die a month later.... "So while there’s still time for Carrison to grow old together, that gateway is steadily closing. If we’re going to get back together we’re going to have to do it soon. And getting back together with someone you were never truly with is, to say the least, complicated. But absolutely worth the effort. Or not. I’ll probably regret writing this, but if you have the impulse to yell at me, please don’t. Periodically, I feel guilty enough on my own. My hopes aren’t high, and neither, as it happens, am I.

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    1. So bittersweet. I though of that and also the bit where she poked fun at her hair (the "buns of navarrone," or the like) in ANH. She mentioned how that hair had followed her all her life and would likely follow her after death bc she couldn't imagaine an obit of her without a picture of her with that hair. :_(

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    2. Also didn't expect to be reading said obit a month later... :_(

      Delete
  32. Not sure how credible these reports are, but it looks like Debbie Reynolds collapsed while making funeral arrangements for Carrie over at Todd's house. They are reporting a suspected stroke: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/28/debbie-reynolds-carrie-fishers-mother-hospitalized/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TMZ is fairly trashy, but they don't usually issue false reports, I don't think. Very sad if true, but honestly, this would not surprise me in the slightest if Debbie does not last much longer without Carrie. She had suffered from a pretty major health scare only a few months ago and Carrie was there for her then. She canceled several appearances and I think she was in the hospital for a while. I don't imagine she can handle this level of heartbreak in her condition. But I hope for the family that they don't have to go through the cruel torture of losing both of them at once.

      Delete
    2. This is gallows humor, but I remember very well Carrie talking in Wishful Drinking about how no one was paying attention to her when she was born because Eddie was on the floor in a faint and the woman giving birth was Debbie Reynolds. If her mother grabs some of her spotlight AGAIN, I'm sure Carrie will have some words for her at the pearly gates.

      That said, it is all too sad and I'm with Zyra. Carrie was the caregiver here, and I can't imagine this all bodes well for Debbie.
      This HBO doc on them that airs in March, I think, is going to sell a lot of Kleenex.

      Delete
    3. It's all over the news now. It's definitely happening. Poor Billie. And Todd.

      Delete
    4. Oh, this is getting even sadder. Poor Billie, and Todd too.

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    5. Todd has simply said that his mother "is not ok." Not looking good, considering all updates for Carrie were neutral at worst, and we know how that turned out.

      Delete
    6. And now Debbie is gone too.

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    7. Unbelievable...I cannot imagine this family's pain. It's so, so tragic :(

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    8. So sad... My heart just goes out to them.

      Delete
    9. Oh my God Debbie. WTH. Oh my. My heart goes out to Billie and Todd. May both Carrie and Debbie rest in peace.

      @Kels, With tears brimming in my eyes I could just imagine how Carrie would turn all of this into one brilliant joke. On how her mother stole the spotlight in her birth and death. Of course. What a way to go. I could just Carrie and Debbie doing the double act in heaven now. It was with an honor to have known and been a fan of both women.

      Delete
    10. @Ripley, you just made me smile. :_)

      Delete
  33. The Hollywood Walk of Fame tribute to Carrie is very sweet. But can someone tell me how in the hell she didn't have her own star already? The damn Twilight kids have a star. You think those movies will endure like this? TRUMP has a star! Ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  34. The star selection thing is kind of strange. The star has to be nominated (not by themselves) but they have to agree to be nominated. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce picks the people to be honored from the nominations, usually 1 person a month. The sidewalk star has to be paid for, but not personally by the honored star. Their fan club, studio, network or record label pays. The dedication ceremony is usually tied in with the honored star having a new movie, record, TV show coming out.
    Donnie Yen of Rogue One is the most recent honoree. Presumably Disney paid for it.
    She doesn't have footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater either. I just looked up and saw that Donnie Yen got that recently too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, they're both kind of grossly marketing-related instead of talent-related when you get right down to it.

      Delete
    2. Mark doesn't have a star either (in fact he brought this up in a tweet when Trump's star got vandalized). I think Harrison got one sometime in the 90s maybe? None of them have footprints, I don't think although Vader and the droids do? I think George may have a star.

      To be fair to Yen, he's apparently big in the international market, so...but the Twilight kids have a star?

      Delete
  35. TMZ just reported that Debbie Reynolds has died and says the source is her son Todd.

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    Replies
    1. 2016 has been crazy. I lost 2 family members. A family friend who I had seen at a funeral passed away. Another friend's husband passed away. Other friends' family members passed away. 2016, please end now.

      Delete
    2. iluvkoalas, you're so right. I have several friends who lost parents, I lost an uncle, and an acquaintance who was only in her 40s. This has just been unbelievable.

      Delete
    3. I lost a good friend to cancer back in February. Still think about her. This year just needs to be done. Bloody sucks.

      Delete
  36. Oh my God Debbie is gone too? Are you freaking kidding me?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's like the worst dream ever, except you can't wake up from it.

      Delete
    2. I mean I'm not yet done mourning and crying and getting over with Carrie yet and now this? Fudge. This has got to be a sick joke.

      On a slightly less darker note, Someone over Twitter quipped "Any Postcards From the Edge fan has to darkly appreciate the thunder stealing." Oh my God, words haven't been truer. Today life played a cruel horrible joke, and Carrie and Debbie's death the punchline.

      Delete
  37. Apparently Debbie actually told Todd this morning that she missed Carrie, and wanted to be with her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, he said she had the stroke 15 minutes later. Apparently those were her last words to him (at least per some of the outlets reporting).

      Todd has a wife and grown children. Hopefully they will carry him through. Billie...Bryan Lourd is going to need to be the greatest dad ever for the next year. My thoughts are with him as well.

      Delete
  38. For some reason I can't currently reply directly to cv's comment about the Hollywood stars. Harrison got his in 2003. Which to me should be kind of the precedent, be super famous for at least 25 years and then maybe you get one. Harrison DOES have his feet and handprints though, too. That he did I think in the early 90s.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Okay, didn't know about the feet/handprints.

      He didn't get a star until 2003?

      And Carrie and Mark don't have stars? That's messed up (tm Ice T)

      Delete
  39. I should've probably put this in my original post. I think one of the many reasons this has hit me so hard is that there are really very few people I consider to be idols. VERY few. And maybe it was just because of how open she was about everything, but she made me care about her well being as a person. I mean sure, I want everyone to be happy, and I don't like hearing about even total strangers having sad times, but she just seems so much more human and so much more accessible. Like, it hurt me when I would hear Carrie was hurting. That sounds stalker-level ridiculous, but it's true. And I really pay nearly zero attention to the personal lives of almost any other celebrities. I didn't care that Brad and Angelina broke up. I don't know, it's all very strange.

    Also, it's I think fairly unique to idolize a person so much for their wit and humor. I mean I think on some level (minus the whole planet blowing up thing and Vader being your father) a lot of us wanted to be Leia. And in a lot of other ways we want to be as sharply witty as Carrie was, or to be able to write even sort of as well as she does.

    ReplyDelete
  40. No! I totally agree. The Princess Diarist was the first book of hers that I've read and I couldn't believe what a wonderful writer she was.I was joking with one of my friends, I fangirled over her writing for a week.
    Since her death, I've come to realize how much she really inspired me. I want to be a better writer. I want people to enjoy my works and recommend them an leave all these wonderful reviews. Carrie's writing inspired me to work even harder in hopes that I could make words as beautiful as she did.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Go read more of her books! If nothing else, read Wishful Drinking. Please, do. I just last year read Delusions of Grandma and Surrender the Pink. Admittedly the stories didn't suck me in, but some of the lines were just amazing. Like you can't imagine how someone's brain actually came up with them.

      Delete
  41. I'm totally with you, Zyra. I've never felt so affected by any celebrity. I only fairly recently became a Carrie Fisher fangirl, and just started reading her books in the past year. I love love love her writing! She's so relatable (even though she writes a lot about Hollywood and rehab, etc., with which I have no experience). And her books (for me, anyway) are full of laugh-out-loud moments!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, she is so, so relatable, even though she really shouldn't be. I grew up with a totally normal childhood, with two good, normal parents. Never tried a drug, never had mental health issues beyond a fairly mild bout of depression that was largely situational. I certainly haven't gone through all the public heartache or marrying a gay man or any of the other very large number of struggles she's had. But she is still just so relatable on a human, emotional level that is undeniable.

      Delete
  42. Starting to get cranky that Pres. Obama hasn't managed a statement for Carrie & Debbie yet. Trudeau had one out within hours for Carrie (of course, he's a SW Nerd) and it seems to me that the US president should have acknowledged two huge figures in US entertainment by now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's a SW fan too - he recommended New Hope as one of his top ten SF movies.

      20/20 is going to have a special edition Friday night at 10 Eastern on ABC for Carrie & Debbie.

      Delete
    2. Didn't know that (but if he didn't rate Empire Strikes Back higher than A New Hope, he needs to reconsider:)

      Just to be clear, I"m not cranky at him, I'm cranky at his press secretary staff. We got a statement on Prince the day he died. I get that the Pres is in Hawaii, but c'mon, this should have been a no-brainer that could be cranked out quickly.

      Delete
  43. I just watched Wishful Drinking. And then had a good cry. Man I'm such a mess now. I get so upset wondering why we're losing all the good people. Seriously, wtf? I don't understand why her. I get it was her time, but man it sucks.

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    Replies
    1. Yep, and I won't name names but I've recently seen some other "stars" go into the hospital, and of course they survived.

      Delete
    2. *using stars loosely, if we're thinking of same person. :)

      Delete
    3. Very, VERY loosely. Like names that are in your brain except you have no idea why they are in your brain, or why anyone follows them or pays attention to them or why their health is newsworthy.

      Delete
  44. I assume people have seen the tributes - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lightsaber-tributes-carrie-fisher_us_58647843e4b0eb5864882dfc? Thought that was really sweet.

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  45. *sobs* http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/movies/your-photos-as-princess-leia-a-rebel-and-role-model.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0&referer=http://m.facebook.com

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  46. Man, this is still really hard, you guys. I wasn't this upset when my grandmother died, even though we were super close. Although she was in her 90s and had been suffering from dementia for years so by the time she passed away she had mostly already been "gone" for a while. It just sucks so much worse when someone dies when they still had years and years of good things ahead of them.

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  47. Just FYI - HBO has moved the premiere of the "Bright Lights" documentary about Carrie and her mom up to January 7, 8pm. Everything I have heard about this documentary is that it's terrific - I had a chance to see it at NYFF and didn't, and now I'm kicking myself. Watching it in January will be rough, but I'm glad they are putting it out there now as by March (which I believe was original schedule) people will have moved on, and this is one to watch, from all I've heard.

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  48. I just went back to watch Oprah from when Carrie and Debbie were on together. One of the clips they have from Debbie talking ot the camera shows her saying that she felt like she had to protect Carrie and she wondered who was going to protect her when she was gone.
    Can't. Control. The tears!

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    Replies
    1. I watched that whole interview yesterday and lost it when they sang "Happy Days Are Here Again" at the end.

      Delete
  49. I coulda met her two different times in the past few months. But I didn't, because I was going to see her at Star Wars Celebration :(

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    Replies
    1. Sorry you missed out :( I saw her in person at her 2 show performances I saw, and was lucky enough at one of them that it was a Sunday matinee and afterward she came out to a small group of us and answered questions the audience had written down. Of course I felt so put upon that I panicked and couldn't think of a question, and this was 8 years ago and I don't remember a damn thing she said and sadly did not write it down anywhere. I am sure I laughed though.

      Celebration is not going to feel very celebratory this year. I feel bad for Mark that he's the last one left really.

      Delete
    2. I wonder if they'll somehow bribe Harrison to come to Celebration. I was already upset that only Mark was on badges - no Carrie. I feel so sorry for Mark - he was probably looking forward to touring with Carrie in the fall for the movie, now this.

      She's going to be the cover of EW next week (I hope it's not as General Leia) - Mark's apparently got a long interview:

      http://ew.com/movies/2016/12/30/mark-hamill-carrie-fisher-debbie-reynolds/

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    3. This has been a devastating loss for us all. I'm just gutted by the news. She had so much left to live for.

      Delete
    4. It is truly awful. I don't want to believe it's true. If I can't get it out of my mind (or stop wishing like crazy that it was all just a bad dream), I cannot imagine the agony her daughter is going through right now. I hope she has a lot of strong support around her.

      This forum has been a huge support to me this past year and I am grateful to Zyra for keeping it going, even when things look pretty bleak for Han/Leia fans. It's good to know there are like-minded people out there who don't mind listening to me rant and wail, and who are here now to share in the mourning of a woman who was a hero to us all. Rest in peace, Carrie. <3

      Delete
  50. Hey. Just wanted to thank you guys for being here. I hope everybody is taking the time, to take care of themselves. That's one of the things Carrie would want us to remember.

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    Replies
    1. Ditto. As this week went from bad to worse, my husband (who's empathetic but doesn't really get my reaction) jokingly asked if I had some sort of support group to turn to. "Yes! The HLFFW blog!" I responded earnestly. Even though I'm fairly new here, it's been so helpful to feel like I'm not the only one so saddened by Carrie's death. (((Hugs))) to everyone!

      Delete
    2. Agreed. Nice to have a place to come where people get it. Thanks everyone. And let's hope next year will be way more awesome!

      Delete
    3. Hey, long time no see. You're welcome, I'm glad we can give everyone a place to come together. Although just peeking around Twitter there are a LOT of people who are absolutely reeling over this one. It's probably not fair for me to compare because all these other celebrity deaths I honestly didn't pay that much attention to, but she has left a serious impact on so many of us for so many reasons. I don't think there is anyone else out there who is so iconic in some role but also let us into their lives so much, and had so much amazing commentary on everything. I will miss so many things about her, but one of my favorite things was her interviews because she was so often fantastic there. I'm sad they will not get a chance to interview her about episode 8 and have her comment on stuff about Leia. Although to be fair she really didn't get to comment much on what Leia actually did in the movie because of all the hush surrounding everything. She only got to comment on her hair.

      Delete
  51. Man, I just accidentally scrolled too far down the page and suddenly am reminded that not so long ago we were talking about Rogue One and sexy Han and Leia fic without a care in the world. Ugh.

    I just saw my 10-year-old nephew for the first time since Christmas and asked him if he had seen Rogue One yet and he has and he loved it. And then he just says to me, "Did you hear about Princess Leia and her mom?" Even the kid gets it.

    I also saw that Disney will be collecting $41 million on an insurance policy they had taken out in case she died before completing the trilogy. Damn, I really want to know what we had in store if she had still been with us. Although I really would've preferred if she was just still with us.

    ReplyDelete
  52. That's weird, though, about the insurance policy. Creepy...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Standard procedure though. I don't know if you remember or not but people were talking about how expensive Harrison was to insure for TFA (or any of his movies, really) because when he has a little bit of free time he likes to go fly little planes around, which is very high risk and therefore very costly to insure. It's a normal concern that you might lose a lot of money if one of your actors dies before filming can be completed. It's just rarely necessary to collect on it. I'm sure there is a policy on Mark as well, and probably Daisy and John and Oscar, too, just for a lot less money.

      Delete
  53. I'm probably not the only one who has read like a hundred articles about Carrie over the last week. Yesterday I read a couple that needed updating because they were after Carrie died but still talking about Debbie in present tense. That is still just unreal.

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  54. I've been really surprised by the outpouring of people everywhere - the lightsaber gatherings (even one here in Jacksonville!) and there was a Leia parade in New Orleans! I mean, I think of us in our little fandom...but it's huge. It's hard to remember how damn huge it is!

    I don't want to think about Mark or Harrison...

    This was a fascinating piece from the Denver Post on that picture we've probably all seen, with them in the break room with vending machines - read the piece on the original piece, then read the original piece. I'm using my post for the link - I also have a link to a interesting interview with the three of them back from 1977....

    https://culturevulture73.tumblr.com/post/155163950392/harryandcarrison-it-was-the-normalcy-of-these


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    Replies
    1. It really is incredible. She touched so many people in so many ways.

      I saw that article the other day and found it so interesting because honestly, I'd seen that picture plenty of times before but for some reason always assumed it was them at a small convention waiting to sign autographs or something. I was clearly wrong about that.

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  55. It is very hard to think back to how happy we all were with the news of a new SW trilogy and how horribly wrong it has all gone. With my mom and now with Carrie gone, I keenly feel the loss of youth.

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  56. This poor kid. I can't even imagine. I do know what it's like to lose a parent unexpectedly and too young but not a parent and a grandparent all at once. And I think she was just really, really close with her mom.

    https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/billie-lourd-thanks-fans-prayers-183010208.html

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  57. Here is the trailer for Bright Lights, to air on Saturday. I will be in a hotel that night, and very much hope it is one of those hotels with HBO but if not I'll have to wait until I get back. Really pretty crazy the timing of this.

    http://ew.com/tv/2017/01/04/carrie-fisher-debbie-reynolds-bright-lights-trailer/?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter

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    Replies
    1. Awww, no, I'm crying again!

      Delete
    2. Oh, my heart. I can't stand knowing Carrie is gone. My stomach clenches every time I think about it. I don't want it to be true.

      But if must be true, how beautiful that her mother loved her so much, and that they were so close at the end. Todd said Debbie didn't die of a broken heart, per se. There were no histrionics or wild declarations. She just "didn't want Carrie to be alone", so she simply...went to be with her. What an astounding act of love. It blows my mind.

      Throughout all of this, though, I kept thinking of Carrie's love life (what I know of it) and it saddened me a little that she never found lasting romantic love. I probably shouldn't be listening to Paul Simon's songs about her right now, or reading any more about her affair with Harrison, which seems to have marked her rather more profoundly than it did him. I just want to give her a big hug. It comforts me to know that she DID have love in her life, though -- so much of it, all around her -- and that she felt it and appreciated it before she died. I like to think she'd learned to really love and accept herself, too, before the end.

      Delete
    3. Oh! Yes, Erin! The other day, in the midst of my deep grieving, I made a tribute wallpaper for my computer and I found the most beautiful quote from her to go with it.
      "I haven't ever changed who I am. I've just gotten more accepting of it. Being happy isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you have." -Carrie Fisher

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    4. Erin, I've thought about that a lot as well. For her, because of course we know so much about it and she was so open with her struggles and because of the timing of the book, and questions a lot of us had about it, it feels incredibly unresolved. But then also for myself, because unfortunately at least as of now, I can very much relate (minus the marriage to a world famous singer and the brief affair with young, hot Harrison Ford, sadly) so it kind of hits you doubly.

      But you are right that for her she was obviously so, so loved. I've read and seen so many lovely tributes over the last week. Plus the outpouring of love from fans all over the internet. That is a lot of love for one person who most of us never even met.

      Delete
    5. I just bought HBO for the month so that I can cry through this whole documentary. It's going to be a rough watch, especially as some of the reviews say that a manic episode that Carrie goes into due to stress of Debbie perhaps being too ill to accept the SAG Lifetime Award? Golden Globe Lifetime Achievement? is shown in the film(who knows if this is accurate or if it is a few outlets overplaying it). That's going to be hart to take.

      Delete
    6. Debbie Reynolds did not go to the ceremony to accept her honorary Academy Award given I think in December 2014. They do the honorary awards now at a separate ceremony in December, not the big televised show in Feburary. Billie Lourd accepted and spoke on her behalf.

      Delete
    7. It was a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. And she did go and accept and they were both on stage:

      http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/watch-debbie-reynolds-carrie-fisher-share-stage-at-2015-sag-awards-959740

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    8. That's so funny! I didn't know what interview you guys were talking about, but I was looking up Debbie Reynolds (I'm also organizing a brief tribute to some of the celebrities we've lost for my school's paper) and that came up as a suggestion for me on YouTube. I thought Debbie's comment about any 'weird hairdo' was pretty hilarious.
      Oh, dear? I watched too many interviews with Todd, Joely, and Tricia today.

      Delete
    9. Are they new interviews with them or old interviews with them? I saw Todd's interview on 20/20 and Joely and Tricia on GMA. And, as expected, Carrie totally lied about that "Oh, I JUST found those diaries and didn't even remember them...." thing. Maybe I shouldn't be made aware if there are new interviews with them.

      Delete
    10. No, those are it. Todd's was so wonderful, explaining Debbie and Carrie's relationship. And the sisters! I don't know which is which, but when the one started crying, I was in tears!

      Delete
    11. Oh, good. I have way overdone youtube lately and don't need another reason to go searching for new things! Joely did more talking, the one with the longer hair. I only know her more because she was on Ellen's sitcom back in the 90s which I watched. There is actually a fun episode that Carrie guest starred on where she plays herself and they are shooting a movie and using Ellen's bookstore and Ellen is playing an extra and keeps ruining the scene. That's also probably on youtube.

      Delete
  58. I think I've watched almost every single Carrie Fisher interview ever over the last few days. I really need to be stopped. And I'm sure I didn't cover all of them because I can actually remember ones that I haven't found. I really need to be more productive in life.

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  59. Zyra, you are not alone. I've been devouring all the Carrie interviews I can find over the past week. I've had thoughts like, "Ok, now I need to pay attention to my *real* life." Do you have a favorite interview? From the archives, I like the one where the British guy and his cameraman show up at her gate, begging her assistant to let them in.

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    1. That one I actually haven't watched recently, because I'd watched it a few times before. A favorite? It's so hard to choose. Especially because they are all melting in my brain into one thing. There was one from I think the late 80s on Letterman when she was being exceptionally clever, and not saying a lot of those lines that are funny but you've heard her say a dozen times in different places. There was another good one from the late 80s with some woman I can't remember, but she was British, and went to interview Carrie at her house and this was also the late 80s and it was a good interview. It was the origin of the gif set I had seen around where Carrie talks about making Harrison laugh and the virgin birth of his teeth. And at the end of it the poor interviewer tells a terrible story of how Eddie Fisher was with a group of his friends when this woman was like, 8 years old and she was not an attractive little kid, really bad teeth that had obviously long since been fixed. But her own parents wanted to introduce her and her father went on and on about how gorgeous she was and she was hiding but they made her come out and they all laughed at her. It was quite a terrible story!

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  60. Thought you'd all appreciate this like to art about Carrie's passing...

    (and on a purely Han/Leia note, looks like none of the artists got the idea that Han/Leia were broken up)

    http://mymodernmet.com/rip-carrie-fisher/

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    1. I love the one of Carrie and Gary!

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    2. Very nice art, thanks for sharing. I finally hadn't cried yet today (still every day since) and now it finally happened.

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  61. I've decided "Happy Days Are Here Again" is officially Carrie's song. It keeps playing in my head. It's maybe going to make me cry from now on.

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  62. Did anybody bring this up? I was hardly online yesterday and not sure I missed anything. I'm surprised they are already telling us these things, that Leia is going to reunite with Luke and have a confrontation with Kylo. So Leia is actually going to be given something to do, and then we're going to lose her. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/carrie-fisher-episode-viii-how-star-wars-will-handle-leias-future-960849

    I think it's going to take me until after Episode 9 comes out and they do whatever they're going to do for me to get over all of this.

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  63. I read it - "brain trust" makes me laugh, frankly. If they really were one, they wouldn't have allowed all the garbage that happened in TFA...

    I'm sure that was a strategic leak, so they can gauge what people online are saying - I have seen more CGI! Recast! She has to redeem Kylo! shit than I ever wanted to see in my life. Like all she's important for is redeeming that edge lord.

    They were always going to meet in January - Kennedy said that they were going to meet to decide what to do after Rogue One's opening.

    I'm glad at least Leia gets to reunite with Luke. If I couldn't have all three of them together...which I will NEVER get over, especially now...at least Leia sees Luke again.

    I'm betting right now, they're figuring out how much they'd have to pay Ford to come back and secondarily, how to do it from a plot standpoint. If they hadn't already figured it out.

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    1. Honest question though: Does anyone even WANT to see Han without Leia? I don't. I didn't really want to see Leia without Han either, but I think she could move on without him better than the other way around. I mean, would that at all be satisfying to have Han live out his final days without Leia? If he was already going to come back, maybe. But to bring him back now to like, "replace" the fact that Leia would be missing, I don't think so. I am thinking CGI Leia. Which is really a shame, I've read that her role was going to be bigger in 9 than 8.

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    2. No, I do not want to see Han without Leia.

      I don't want to see Leia rendered in CGI, either.

      BUT if they were to bring back Han at the end of 8 (even via a post-credits scene or something tiny like that, which shows or indicates that he's alive), I'd be down with a bit of CGI showing Leia dispatching the new kids to go fetch him...and a bit of CGI showing Han, Leia and Luke together again at the very end (just a brief group shot, from a distance, like the end of RotJ). All loved-up and happy.

      I would BAWL MY EYES OUT and it certainly wouldn't be the same knowing Carrie wasn't really there for that, but I would like to see it anyway.

      Here's hoping the so-called "brain trust" (*rolls eyes*) is lurking on your blog Zyra. :D

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    3. I wanted to see the three of them together.

      I really don't want to see Luke and Leia without Han or Luke and Han without Leia. It's going to be awful. Absolutely awful. I didn't want to see the Skywalker Twins without their pirate and now?

      But I really don't want to see Luke alone. He's lost his school. He's lost his best friend. He's lost his sister. He's lost the two people he would come back for...unless we find out Rey is his daughter which I don't want either. One of my Tumblr cohorts wrote the saddest story of Luke alone and...

      The whole situation makes me crazy...

      And Mark Hamill is going to be by himself promoting 8 - and for the 40th? I don't want that either - even if Harrison is a grumpy pain, I can't imagine that Mark isn't going to be seeing ghosts at every corner.

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    4. Eh, what's to stop them just rendering Han Solo in CGI, if Harrison won't return? (Assuming they'd even consider that plot twist, which I sincerely doubt they will do). Do actors these days have to put stuff like that in their contract (e.g. "no CGI of my face/figure while I'm still alive")? Hm!

      If all they do is CGI Leia in to Ep9 to "redeem" that wretched brat, I'm NOT GOING TO SEE IT. And that's an absolutely astonishing statement for me to make -- not going to see a Star Wars movie?? But I mean it. I will consume all spoilers beforehand and if that's the road they take, I'm out. I don't want to barf all over the cinema seats, you know.

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    5. They need permission to CGI someone in there, either from them or from their family if they are no longer with us. Otherwise everyone could put Harrison Ford in their movies.

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  64. Erin I want your end to 8. Even if it's not "reality" that Mark, Harrison and Carrie actually shared a screen again, if Luke, Leia and Han got a happy ending again? I could handle it.

    And yes, if all they have her do is come back CGI to redeem Darth Emo...I already wasn't sure I was going to see 9 (I won't see 8 without every spoiler known), but no way I would go to see that.

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    1. Alright, here's my opinion on the whole thing. I don't think there's any way to go about episode IX that will be completely favorable to all of us. I'm torn between being completely against any CGI whatsoever and wanting to see what "big plans" they apparently have for Leia. I honestly don't know what solution I prefer. I just think it's an awful situation all around. What more can be said? We're probably going to be unhappy no matter what. It just depends how.

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    2. SO with you on only seeing 8 knowing as much as humanly possible going in. I am not going to be duped and disappointed again.

      I mean, the situation we would all prefer is clearly impossible at this point. I actually do believe that they would prefer to use CGI Leia than to just eliminate her entirely, if she was going to be in episode 9 at all. And obviously it is all a crappy situation, but I think that is actually something we would all opt for if given the choice between that or killing her off when they hadn't actually intended to kill her off. I think, anyway. As dumb as the whole arc is anyway, I think really the only way it even sort of works (though still not really) is if Leia is still around. I'm going to throw up if I find out that Rey was meant to be hers and we were going to find that out in 9 in some great moment. Or even if Leia was just going to like, offer to be like a mother to her or something. This is all the worst.

      And cried already today over it because I read that Meryl Streep sang Happy Days Are Here Again with Billie (...and just teared up again writing that) at Carrie's memorial service at their house yesterday.

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    3. I read that George Lucas was there, but saw no mention of Mark, Harrison or any other SW co-stars. That makes me sad, that they didn't (or couldn't) attend her funeral. I guess the additional publicity would've been unwelcome for the family? As if the publicity could get any more intense... heh.

      But I think there would've been a slightly salacious element to it if Harrison had attended, so soon after Carrie's revelations about their affair. Or maybe he just didn't want to go.

      Not sure why Mark wouldn't be there, though.

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    4. I think the point of the thing yesterday was for it to be as intimate as possible, with only her very close friends. Like, people who she would've had over if she had a party. I don't know if we can say that Harrison or Mark chose not to attend, they were probably not invited. The more public thing is today, so if they aren't there, then yeah, we can start to be like, WTF, dude?

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    1. Man1 If I were getting a bracelet in her honor, I'd need, like, a three-inch thick band to fit all of my favorite quote.

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    2. The quote I'd pick would be some version of: "Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What's important is the action..."

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