Guest Review of 2016 Han Solo Graphic Novel by OtterAndTerrier

Guest Review: 2016 Han Solo Graphic Novel

Because I refuse to give up hope, I was very excited last year when I learned Han would have his own comic volume/graphic novel, like Leia had. First of all, because he deserves it, and second because of the potential Han/Leia interaction that might be included in it. Okay, maybe that was the main reason. I hope the rest of you are interested in this, because overall I really liked… well, everything. The art and the story, but mostly, how they treated Han individually and his relationship with Leia pre-ESB. Below is why.

*SPOILER ALERT* This review contains spoilers, written and graphic. If you wish to take a chance and find everything out by yourself, skip it. But if you want to have something to base your decision on, I think the comic will still be enjoyable when/if you decide to read it.

***

The story is set not long after ANH. Han has “taken a step back” from the Rebellion: he and Chewie are on their own looking for smuggling jobs so he can pay off Jabba. From this I infer that he ended up not taking the rebels’ money for rescuing Leia. It’s also implied that he didn’t just take off, but actually told the rebels where he was going and why, and there was the understanding that he would come back afterwards:

Han: I told you I needed time to take care of what I owe Jabba.

Leia: We've given you enough time. If you couldn't earn what you needed by now, then you're not as good a smuggler as you say you are.

I’ve jumped forward here, but this was to say that the comic doesn’t imply that Han was done with the Rebellion. The story, in fact, starts with Han nursing a drink in a sort of bar, scouting for a good run. The problem is, he’s rejected plenty of jobs so far because something doesn’t feel right. Even for the job he’s being offered right now, he has an excuse; the alien offering it says Han is “getting picky”, “lost his nerve” and is “getting cold feet”. Han knows he’s being unreasonable and that he should start taking these jobs before they start going low on fuel and credits, but he can’t pin down what is it that feels wrong, and why.

While he’s in the middle of these reflections, he notices someone he remembers seeing on the last planet he was at, which he says isn’t a good thing, so he runs---and is intercepted by a blaster on his head. Both the man pointing at him and humanoid he recognized say they have been following him and that they have business to discuss. They lead Han somewhere Chewie is already at, but it seems like Chewie knows these guys. In response to Han’s questions, a holovid of Leia plays, saying she needs his help.

They tell him they need the Falcon, but not Han, to what Han obviously doesn’t react too well. And I get that: it’s not a racing car; it’s his home and his source of income. Why would he let some people he doesn’t know take it from him? These two rebels confront him saying that, unlike him, they are loyal to the Rebellion and nothing else. Han defends himself by saying he could have left during the battle of Yavin, but he came back, so to him that’s loyalty. In the end, because he isn’t taking any job after all, he agrees to go back to the rebel fleet to hear Leia himself. The “thought boxes” through this comic are priceless: they show as much character exploration as you can see in good fanfiction, so that’s obviously something I loved. As we see him getting there and meeting Leia, we get this:

I only joined the Rebellion to make a quick buck. After I'd paid off my mark I kept thinking Chewie and I would get in the Falcon and keep going. But I didn't. Maybe I'm as dumb as she says I look. Or maybe something's changed.

We have some expected arguing here, with good reason:

They meet with the Head of Security and Intelligence for the Rebellion who doesn’t shy away from insulting Han despite never having met him. He refers to Han as if he’s causing trouble for not just giving up his ship for this classified mission he, a non-declared rebel, is being left out of. How unreasonable! Leia vouches for him saying that they don’t have time, that they need the ship, and that she knows Han can do it. She’s not very flattering to him, but I think it fits the timeline. They finally tell him about the mission: there’s a network of spies in Imperial systems that have very important information, but they are being murdered and only three are left, so they need to pick them up before it’s too late. Here’s the trick, though: they need to use a ship and pilot who aren’t officially part of the Rebellion because there’s a mole, and they need a good cover as to why this ship is in those systems (this is sort of confusing--if they need someone “external”, why were they insisting they only needed the ship, not Han? Who else was going to fly it?) The cover is flying the Dragon Void Run, a galaxy-wide famous, dangerous race: they would rendezvous with the spies in the three planets the race passes by while pretending to be competing.

Now, the part that really annoyed me:

Ouch! The next page shows us this dialogue:

Leia: You're not welcome here, you foulmouthed freen fleecer! Get off this ship! And don't ever come back!

Han: Gladly.

Leia cradles her hand and looks regretfully as Han turns to leave. See, it was a ruse, and she clearly didn’t enjoy it, but I still think a slap would have been more appropriate, if not just a shouting match. I also don’t think Han would have gone for a kiss right off the bat during this time period, but maybe that’s just me.

Han flies off to the starting point of this race. There’s a sort of welcoming party and Han and Chewie stroll around while Han scoffs at all these pretentious pilots who think they’re the best but don’t look like they even touch their ships. A couple of these pretentious pilots figure out he’s a smuggler and laugh at him, saying he doesn’t have a chance, but a venerable old racer alien (Loo Re Anno) says that maybe he has heart and the loyalty of his crew, so that might be enough. Han tells Chewie he’s not nervous or afraid, and he doesn’t intend to just do the job he’s there to do, but show those pilots what he’s made of.

The Dragon Void Run’s first obstacle is literally designed to destroy as many ships as possible. The race’s commentator makes sure to say that Han has no chances of even surviving this, when it’s taken out some of the best pilots of the galaxy. Meanwhile, as Han and Chewie are looking for a way to beat the first obstacle, more thought boxes:

The way I look at life has always been simple. You can fight... you can run... or you can die. Dying ain't an option. Which means I've gotten real good at fighting and running. Seems like that's all I ever do.

I loved that because it’s part of the problem that was bothering Han in the beginning. He’s starting to question the way things have always been for him.

Never thought much about it. Until recently. When I started turning down good jobs. Just because of a bad feeling in my gut. But I didn't turn this down. It pays nothing. Probably will get me killed. And I've never felt more alive.

(is he talking about the race or the Rebellion?) Of course, Han figures out how to survive and passes the first obstacle, which earns him some cred with the commentator. They reach the first planet for refueling (and getting out the first rebel spy), but first, Han confronts a Pantoran who shot at his ship during the race. Loo Re Anno says Han can file a complaint to disqualify him, but Han says it’s not worth his time, but that the Pantoran better not shoot at him again. Loo Re Anno sees this as a positive attitude, because Han cares more about the race than getting revenge. Loo Re Anno has a lot of bright spheres surrounding her, and one of them follows Han, who is as amused by this as by the leg-hugging Ewok in RotJ. Suddenly, Imperials show up and put Han and all the pilots under arrest.

Meanwhile, Chewie collects the first spy. He attracts some attention for being Han’s copilot, and there’s some praise heard about Han. When a bounty hunter tries to attack Chewie to get to the rebel spy, everybody on the bar they’re at attack her, thinking she was sent by some fancy pilot who couldn’t stand to see a smuggler doing well in the race, which I thought was very funny.

Everyone is also outraged at the Imps, demanding they let go of the pilots. Han tells Loo Re Anno to keep those floating orbs away from him, but she says they’re not spying on him, they just seem to like Han. Han gets into some trouble after the Pantoran he was arguing with earlier gets punched, and Han in return kicks the Imp who did it---again, a good thing that highlights just how loyal and noble Han can be despite what everyone (and himself) thinks.

An officer tells Han they don’t mean to spill blood on camera, and indeed, the intervention is being broadcasted, and Leia is watching:

The Imperials’ excuse is that it’s a disruptive event, but Han knows that the mole had to be suspicious about Han’s involvement in the race and tipped them off. Han intervenes again when the Imps threaten to shoot at the floating balls of light, because they’re living things of some kind. More thoughts:

I didn't say yes to Leia because I thought it would be safe. I'll get out of this--or I won't. Same as always. But something's not right with me. For once, I'm worried about something besides myself.

The race… hosts? Founders? Whatever they are, make the Imps see that it wouldn’t be convenient for them to piss off the sponsors, who happen to own all the refueling stations in the area, so the pilots are released. Han gets back to the Falcon, where Chewie and Spy #1 are, and they resume the race. One of the balls of light is still with him. The informant says the mole has to be one of the other spies, because none of them knows the identity of the others, and they’re being killed because one of them has the masterlist with all the information the rebels need. So basically, one of the three people Han has to pick will be the killer.

They’re about to enter the second obstacle course and Han has the chance to not go through it, because even if he’ll be disqualified for it, he’ll still be allowed to stop at the refueling planets… but he’s not going to do that. He flies for 12 hours through a debris field at a specific speed. Right when the engines start to lose power, the Pantoran gives the Falcon a lift in thanks for what he did earlier.

They stop at the second planet for refueling and Han leaves Chewie doing repairs while he sets off to find Spy #2. There are some cameras following him, and his little orb-friend destroys them (this story could be called “Han Solo and Friends”). Turns out Spy #2 is an old enemy of… Chewie. Some time ago, Chewie killed a baby Rathtar that was going to eat Han, that Han had been trying to steal, that Spy #2 needed to pay off some debts. Anyway, Han offers to be shot instead of Chewie. During these panels, we get some more Han thoughts:

I've spent most of my life in space. The only things I've ever understood are the stars. On a good, fast ship... anything is possible. Any choice, any opportunity. All I ever wanted was freedom. I ain't noble. Definitely not a hero. I got one priority, and only one. Me.

Riiiight, Han! But Loo Re Anno and some of the Twi’lek pilots who had laughed about Han intervene before anyone gets shot---turns out the ball of light went to fetch them when it saw Han in danger. Han tells everyone to back off, and once again defends one of the pilots even though they had been mean to him before. Loo Re Anno and Han talk about the Dragon Void Run. Han says winning it is “proof that you’re the best. No one can take that from you” and that if you win, you’ll be paid for the rest of your life. It’s a big deal. Loo Re Anno says it’s more than a race and talks about her people and Han asks her why is she telling him all this:

To which she says:

Are you not sticking your neck out, pilot Solo? Why are you here, if not to become something more?

I found this exchange very poetic and beautiful, and then Han says he’s sorry that she’s the last of her people. Han goes back to the ship, where things have calmed down, but he’s also sorry because that killed Rathtar made Spy #2 lose everything she had. Spy #2 also tells him that there’s been a change of plans and they need to wait for Spy #3 in that planet instead of the next, so that means Han can’t resume the race and he’ll be disqualified. That’s a bummer, but he’s doing it. Spy #1 doesn’t trust #2, though, and says they need to leave. The decision is made for him when Spy #3 and a bodyguard board, chased by Stormtroopers, so they have no choice but to take off. When Han doesn’t trust the new guests, one of them tells him they were sent by “Your Worshipfulness”. Now they’re being chased by TIEs, and there’s also the problem that there’s a killer aboard the Falcon, but they don’t know who it is. Han shows a lot of perceptiveness here by guessing there’s more to that bodyguard than it seems.

And now all the informants were picked up, he can leave the race and go back to the rebel fleet. Again, that’s not something Han wants to do, not just for the race, though, but because he wants to figure out who the mole is first. When he drops out of hyperspace for the third leg of the race, there’s a whole Imperial fleet waiting for them… and one of the spies is dead.

The Empire wants to board the ships. Han shoots at them. Loo Re Anno pulls a trick that makes some space monsters attack the Imperial ships and leave all the racers alone, so they’re now coming up to the last trial, which is a void they need to cross. One of the rebels is angry because now that they’re there, they can’t jump to hyperspace and they’ll be stranded unless they win first place, so the Empire will be able to get to them. Han ignores her, because he’s busy figuring out who the spy-killer was. I will leave this as a mystery, but I really like this panel:

I love that it makes a very explicit point that Han wasn’t throwing a fit about not wanting to let people borrow his ship, that it’s not just a ship, but something that matters to him. Think “homeless guy living in his car”. Of course it matters.

So, he was right about the killer, guy injects himself with a drug that knocks him out, and we have a Chewie and Han exchange. To something Chewie says, Han replies with, “Huh. You would like helping the Rebellion. You’re way more noble than me, pal. I’m just a nobody smuggler.” (cut to Han looking thoughtful/doubtful/challenging at his glowing orb friend) “And I like it… that… way…”

Once again, Han is shown as someone who---despite his apparent arrogance and self-confidence---sees himself as a guy with simple needs who’s just trying to get by. He’s no altruist, he’s not noble, but he’s not looking for fame and glory for himself, either. He knows he’s good at what he does (he has to be, because his life and livelihood depend on it), but he doesn’t see himself as something special. Staying with the Rebellion means entanglements and caring for other people, taking responsibility for people he might lose, so he can’t afford it. And so he tells himself that he has nothing to offer and no interest in it.

Han has another chat with Loo Re Anno as they fly. He asks what she’s planning on doing after the race, because she’s the last of her species and it’s said that this is her last race. The important bit of this conversation is that the alien tells Han she’s tired of being alone, that a long time ago she rejected all offers of friendship and community because she thought she was better off alone, and that when she realized her mistake, it was too late. That seems to resonate with Han, obviously.

They’re approaching the finish line and the Empire is on their tails. The power levels of the Falcon are low, so they need to reach it before they start being shot at. The finish line is a gate artifact that creates a wormhole that transports whoever crosses it first to the starting line. If they don’t, they’ll be stranded until someone (the Empire) gives them a lift. Han is beating all the pilots but tied with Loo Re Anno, until the Empire shoots at her ship. Han is ahead now and will win---but he knows that means Loo Re Anno will never “go home”, so he turns back and starts shooting Imperials, to the joy of all the rebels counting on getting the hell away from there. Loo Re Anno crosses the finish line. The rebels tell Han they need to kill themselves now because they can’t let the Empire get the information out of them. The mysterious gate, however, wasn’t just a portal to the starting line but to a different dimension where Loo Re Anno’s people had retired to, and after she crossed it, the portal opened to let these people come back one last time so they could shoot the Imps off the racers’ backs and let them all cross the finish line, in thanks for what Han had done for her. Because Loo Re Anno doesn’t reappear and all the other ships are allowed to cross the gate, they all technically win the race.

Han doesn’t stick around to find out: with a “Let’s go home”, he and Chewie leave to rejoin the rebels.

And we get back to… I think this is Yavin? It looks like Yavin, but nothing definite, so I’m going to say it’s not Yavin because it makes no sense they’re still there. But that’s not important, because it’s my favourite part of the comic and why I love it. Leia greets the remaining informants (the masterlist holder is revealed) while Han passes by and they share a look. Over the panels, some thought boxes:

You create walls. You manufacture rules. You live a small life, while lying to yourself that you're as open and free as the stars. You tell yourself the reason is survival. Good reason, right? But sometimes survival is about telling yourself lies... until you can't lie anymore. And then you have to make a choice about who you really are... Lies are easier, that's for sure.

Leia follows him outside and tells him he could have ruined everything and sacrificed people’s lives because of the race. He tells her not to thank him so much, but he’s not defensive, he’s just sort of calmly resigned. Leia goes on, telling him that he was reckless… but that he also won against all odds, and that she knew she could trust him to do the right thing. Han tells her not to get used to it because he’s not going to be around forever, and then we get the most beautiful closing scene in a comic, ever*:

*an impartial statement, as I haven’t read that many comics

In conclusion: The plot of this story was a little fantastical, because even if Han and the Millennium Falcon still haven’t been identified by the Empire as related to the rebels, a race is too much of a high-profile cover, but it was still entertaining. The artwork is one of the best, really close to the actors. The winning part is the character analysis that is done through the story, giving us a glimpse into Han’s thoughts while showing us his actions that belie them. I think this is true to his OT character arc and it makes for a good bridge between ANH and ESB in showing why Han ultimately decided to stick with the rebels. As Disney canon has him become a racer post-RotJ, this story also serves to give us some reason behind that: he already got a taste of it, people have seen him, he probably has sponsors lined up. I really like the idea of racer Han, and I’ve expounded on it here. Regarding Han and Leia, while I’m not a fan of the punch, I think their arguing and clashing is in character, true both to this time period and to the story. So are their final, rewarding panels, when they’re softer and we see the start of them getting closer. I give it four stars because of the punch, but it’s one of my favourite comics and I really recommend it.

Evolution from Total Scoundrel to One Woman Man: A Guest Post From Han Solo

We are pleased to once again welcome Han Solo to the blog!

It's been a while since I've been around here, but apparently there's been even more discussion about my sex life. I thought we had basically cleared it all up when I showed up here before, or when Leia decided to share some of my finer qualities, but I guess you guys need some other things to talk about.

Me and Leia have been together for 25 years now (don't let anyone tell you any different) and yeah, things have changed and evolved over the years for sure. I'm not a kid anymore, but as our now mostly grown up kids will tell you, we are pretty much still just as into each other as we've ever been. I do have to say, I wouldn't want things any other way.

We all know I was, well, experienced by the time I met Leia. I mean, I think any guy in my situation, flying all over the galaxy and spending time in some of the seedier places around, is gonna find himself in bed with some women here and there. Maybe not as many as you might think, but definitely more than a few. I was never big on one night stands, though there were a handful of those. But I also wasn't that big on keeping anyone around for that long, and I don't think too many of them were into that either. It was fun, but I never met anyone I would've been devastated if I never got to see them again.

I guess you were wondering about the actual sex. At this point, my memory is a little fuzzy on a lot of it, and I pretty much never sit around reminiscing about it. I haven't touched another woman besides Leia for a long, long time (don't feel too sorry for me, I touch her a lot!) and I am pretty sure she prefers not to hear about any of it, but I'll see what I can come up with.

I guess I started like any teenager, with only one goal and really no plans beyond that or really much caring about learning any special tricks. I was a little selfish maybe, but usually neither one of us really knew what we were doing or what we might be missing out on. I remember a fair amount of fumbling and apologizing and nothing taking all that long and certainly nothing spectacular. I don't think I was insecure or anything but I definitely wasn't all that confident.

Eventually I started occasionally running into women who weren't afraid to tell me what they liked and I learned some new tricks, and my confidence grew. And yeah, it starts to be more fun when you know the ladies are having a good time. It's nice to have that kind of reputation. Of course I had my fun too, and mostly that was all it was: fun. And just so simple, nothing else to worry about because nobody was all that invested, it was just something to do. At the time I was more than happy with just that. I mean, who wants to complicate things or be worried about whether or not anyone's feelings are getting hurt?

Then I met Leia. And suddenly there was a lot more to worry about. I never felt that way about anyone before. It didn't take long before I couldn't imagine my life without her, and that definitely scared me, but it made me even more determined to get her to let her walls down. Sure, sex was part of that, but I wanted so much more than that from her. I never really knew what intimacy was before her.

So, yeah, I gave up all the "fun" stuff once I was with her. It didn't scare me though, because I got so much more. I mean, to start, we were making up for a couple of years of built up sexual tension. I couldn't keep my hands off her, and if memory serves, she couldn't keep hers off me either. I mean, before, it was fun, and I liked making the women feel good, but with Leia, it was so much more than just wanting to make her feel good. I never really wanted to connect or bond with someone the way I did with her. Looking in her eyes, the way she looked at me, wondering what she was thinking and just being so in love with her, I can't put it into words. It also doesn't hurt that for me she's the most beautiful woman I've ever known.

I obviously knew what I was doing more than she did, but she was a quick learner. I got to learn the things she liked the most, and the things she liked slightly less (I'm not sure we found anything she outright didn't like, mostly she has favorites and not-as-favorites, depending on her mood) and she figured out some ways to drive me absolutely crazy that even I had never experienced before. Maybe it's just because it's her, the love of my life, and that makes everything better, but sometimes I can't believe how good she can make me feel, and not just physically. She wants me for me, all of me, and not just because of what I can do for her in the bedroom.

She tells me she can actually feel how much I love her. Everyone knows I don't like the idea of anyone getting inside my head, not even my wife, but sometimes she can sort of project how she feels about me and I can get a real sense of it, and I'm not all that sentimental, but I can't even describe what it's like to actually be able to feel how much she loves me. If this is what it's like to be with the same woman for the rest of my life, I think I'll take it.

Sure, things have changed some over the years. We're definitely not as frantic about it as we were in the beginning. Except maybe sometimes, if it's been a while. I'm definitely a lot less concerned about whether or not I'll lose her because I'm pretty sure by now she has decided to keep me, and I'm not letting her go, that's for sure. It's more than just the physical side of things, and of course that part is always good. I had no idea how good it could be to have someone hold me like that or say "I love you" over and over again. I mean yeah, sex is gonna feel pretty good no matter what, but it's on another level with someone I know so completely, and who I know loves me so much, and I'm still completely and totally in love with. She's also the mother of my children, and it's just incredible to be with someone who has given me so much. I just like being with her in general, no matter what we're doing.

Didn't I just say up there that I wasn't really a sentimental guy? I'm blabbering on with all this mushy stuff, huh? Anyway, like I said, it's been 25 years and I'm definitely not tired of her yet. She still seems just as happy with me, too, although maybe you should ask her opinion on that. Yeah, it's not always epic and fireworks, but just getting some time to be close with her is all I really need.

A 'Shipper's' Review of the 'Making Of' Ebooks: Guest Post by Lady Peter

Here's a special treat.  A guest review of the Ebook versions of the 'Making of' books that were just recently released.  Thanks so much to Lady Peter for the submission, and another reminder that we welcome contributions such as this one!

                                                                           -Z

 

Thank you, Zyra, for letting me do my favorite thing: obsessing about Star Wars and my OTP, on the H/L Writers Blog.

Well, friends, I've spent the last 72 hours purchasing and reading the expanded ebook editions of the JW Rinzler "Making Of" books. I asked Zyra if I could hop up here and share my impressions with you all, since I know that not all of you are crazy enough to buy all of these editions. "Impressions" are all these are, and highly biased ones at that. 

The Making of Star Wars

For some reason I don't have much to say about the "making of" aspect of this volume. And that's strange because this is the book that is based the most on unseen material. Rest assured it's a good story, though, with plenty to learn.

There are a couple of extra features in here to warm the fangirl's heart. First, and most outrageous, is an audio clip of George Lucas being interviewed by Charles Lippincott, the Lucasfilm Vice President of marketing and merchandising. He's asked why he cast Harrison Ford, gives the non-answer of "because he was best for the role," and when pressed says, and I quote directly, "because he was handsome and dashing and sullen...and had an undercurrent of sensual hostility." Seriously: that's what he says. Lippincott then makes a noise like "WooOOOOoooo!" Whatever wackjob theories I've ever had about Ford's role in Lucas' imaginative life are now proven incontrovertibly. (Their personal relationship is also a source of fascination to me, but I'm trying to keep it classy here.)

For an even cheaper thrill that provides zero insight into the creators of the film, you could look to a daily of the cantina scene in which Han shoots Greedo. This is a single fixed camera at Han's seated eye level, more or less, so when Greedo pushes him back toward the alcove, Ford steps into the frame ass first. It basically looks just like this:  

It's not particularly enticing, just good for a giggle. 

In addition to those, there isn't much in the Star Wars book that I found really fascinating. From the ebook extras, the footage from Tunisia is pretty amazing, and there's some film from the Death Star escape that's fun. What I found missing from this book was anything really interesting about Carrie Fisher. It was just pretty sparse in the areas where I have most interest.

But if you're a conspiracy theorist like me, you might also find this kind of interesting: a passage about principal shooting discusses the friendships growing among the actors. It mentions the growing bond between Hamill and Ford, and Fisher and Hamill. And does not, as one might expect, add anything else. I found that an intriguing omission, and I've been busy crafting new and different conspiracy theories to explain it. In the interest of keeping it classy, as I mentioned, I will say no more. But I'm biting my tongue. :-) 

(Keeping it classy, right. Is that why you have a hand-drawn storyboard of a butt  up there, LP?)

The Making of the Empire Strikes Back

The Making of Empire book is the only one I have in both hard copy and ebook. If you don't own a copy in either format, I highly recommend it. The transcript from the day of shooting the carbon freeze scene alone is worth it. This transcript is taken from the same tape quoted in the "Once Upon a Galaxy" book by Alan Arnold. But this version (as you'd expect from something published 30 years after the fact) is much more candid. I was fascinated by the details about the differences in approach between Lucas and Kirshner, including the story of how Gary Kurtz came to leave Lucasfilm. I'm a strong Empire partisan, and I'm of the school of thought that it never could have been made as it was with Lucas any closer than an ocean away.

So, strictly from the fangirl perspective, what is there in the Making of ESB book to cause major squeeing? Aside from the on-set transcript, not much. When I heard about the added content for the ebooks, I was hoping to to perhaps see some behind-the-scenes footage from that day, since it seems like that does exist. But no luck. There are, however, some nice clips that really illuminate the process of shooting the film. For instance, there's an interview with Carrie Fisher explaining the secondary importance of the actual dialog being delivered during shooting, as well as footage of her and John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin!!) being prepped for the evacuation briefing scene, which was apparently particularly difficult for Fisher to film. 

But, as noted before, there's nothing in here truly squee-worthy for the 'shipper. 

The Making of Return of the Jedi

Now the Jedi book is probably the one that I found the most interesting. I readily admit that Jedi is my least favorite of the OT, and since I'm far from the only one who feels this way, there's a lot in the book to explain what went on to make it the film that it is. For instance, we have Harrison Ford, who apparently didn't see a script until arriving in the UK, lamenting that Lucas et al care more about Luke than Han as a character(!!). We learn that it was Lucas' idea to put Carrie Fisher in a dancing girl costume, perhaps in reaction to complaints that previous films hadn't been "sexy" enough. (Please. Just ask any heterosexual woman which of the three films is sexiest, Lucas. I dare you.) The Ewoks, love 'em or hate 'em, are also all on Lucas' head. Not just their existence, but the specific character design. He also himself (as second unit director) filmed a lot of the footage that some consider most egregious, including the baby ewok shots. So basically, Lucas made the film for man-children like himself.

There is some great content in here for any fan of Carrie Fisher. I don't care if she was allegedly trashed half the time during filming, her commentary about the whole thing is spot on. Especially when she points out that the second she's put in the slave girl outfit, she's silenced. Think about it - she doesn't utter more than 6 words through that entire sequence. She goes from intrepid rescuer to mute sex slave. Fisher is quoted as saying that it was during the shooting of these scenes that she decided to become a writer.

As for the ebook extras, there's some fun stuff. There's an interesting daily from the Rebel briefing room scene where some blocking is worked out with the big three. There are several other dailies that are neat to see. From a fangirl's perspective, though, nothing beats a photo which may actually also appear in the hard copy of the book. It's a shot of Ford reclining sans shirt on the sands of Yuma, Ariz., looking much like a scruffy (link: https://www.google.com/search?q=odalisque&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=VCpvUv3TIsW24APhqoCIDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672) odalisque. There's definitely some sort of fic prompt in there, friends, I guarantee.

Star Wars Celebration VI Report by Amara Z

Thank you to Amara Z for this report on her experience at Celebration VI last August!

 I've been meaning to write up something on Celebration for a while. Hard to believe it's been several months now. I think it took me a while to recover from Celebration and then Darth Real Life kind of got in the way. But I wanted to give everyone an idea of what Celebration is like, the panels I went to, and some really cool things that happened.

There are two main components to Celebration: the expo floor and panels. The expo floor is exactly like you think it is. It's a huge room filled with vendors and various sorts of things. There were a ton of vendors there: Dark Horse comics, Del Ray/Barnes and Noble, Disney and the Jedi Academy, Her Universe (which has very cool and comfortable SW clothes for women). Even some lesser known ones like a candy company. Totally scored a huge free Vader lollipop there. There were a lot of old toy vendors there and t-shirt shops. There were so many toys, it almost hurt my head to look through them all. I did score a really cool statue of Leia dressed as Boussch though. She's very cool and curvy. They had Lego displays, cars done up SW style. A group in Belgium made a bunch of movie scenes. Got some great pics of my daughter and I in front of Jabba on his throne and me in the hold of the Falcon. Yeah, I was loving that part. :) There was also a tattoo pavilion and an art show. The art show was just spectacular. The art was so beautiful. Unfortunately also very expensive. I did get a copy of His Vision Returns and got to meet Chris Trevas. Was pretty stoked about that. There was an exhibit from Rancho Obi-Wan of memorabilia, but the line was always too long for me to get in. They even had laser tag. My daughter loved it and I let her play a few rounds. I totally sucked at it and only played once.

There were also things outside the main room. Along the concourses they had a big model AT-AT and an inflatable Death Star. The 501st cosplay group had their own room dedicated to villains. That was cool. They had a guy as the Emperor on his throne and a lot of costume models. Even a scene where you could pretend to be trapped in the trash compactor.

 

 

 

There was an R2 builders room and got to see a bunch of different variations of R2, including one that a baby could ride in. Very cute. That room had a Han in carbonite. Had to get my pic with it. :)

 

And it seemed like Celebration was very family friendly. There were a lot of things for the kids to enjoy, like the laser tag. There was a huge pile of Legos kids could play with and build things. They had a family room where you could drop off your kids for a while. And they had special viewings and events just for kids and their parents. Thought that was cool.


In the back of the main room was the autograph and photo op area. This section got really busy at times and there would sometimes be overflow lines. But the staff was really nice and you could usually count on them to give you a good time to come back later. I got Mark's autograph for my daughter. And sprung for a photo with Carrie and her autograph for myself. We waited for an hour to meet Mark on Friday, but by Sunday he had no line at all. So it might be a better idea to wait for the end of the weekend to try to get an autograph. Waited a little less than that for Carrie's autograph The autograph lines were a little different. It was up to each actor how much they interacted with guests. Ian McDermid's line hardly moved and I heard he was spending time talking to people. Mark did talk to my daughter for a moment. Carrie was only there for two days and really swamped the whole time. So they were kind of blowing us through there and she really didn't say anything at all. A bit of a bummer, but still glad I did it and very cool to have met her.

Half the fun was walking around and seeing how everyone dressed up. Or even just sitting and watching everyone walk by. I did see some very funny things and odd things. Some Han and Leias running around, even a Bespin Leia and awards ceremony Leia. Was very cool and got a lot of good pics. One Han let me hold his blaster. :) I loved that. And I mean his blaster not his "blaster."

 

The panels were basically talks or shows on a variety of things. They had authors giving talks, previews of Episode II in 3D, Seth Green announcing his new Star Wars project, interviews with Mark and with Carrie. The one downside to panels is that sometimes, if not most of the time, you had to line up early for the panel. For the Timothy Zahn panel, I showed up 30 minutes early and it was full 10 minutes before it started. There was even a line to enter the expo in the morning. I figured in the morning I was going to wait in line or wait in the hotel room, so I might as well wait with everyone else. But not really my preference to have to wait too long for a panel. Probably unrealistic of me, but it was hard to know what to expect ahead of time. On the upside, I found that waiting in lines wasn't all that bad and met some really interesting people. And a couple of the mornings, Anthony Daniels walked around the lines to get in, taking pics with people.

 

 Here are the panels I made it to:

Timothy Zahn talked about how to judge if the science and technology in your story works and to think about how it impacts the society within your story. I was hoping more for a discussion about how to come up with the ideas, but it was still pretty good.

Caught 15 minutes of Troy Denning's talk. He spoke about how there are different levels of climaxes in a story, how they relate to raising questions in a reader, and building them up over time. There is something called the hero’s journey that struck me as kind of similar.

Saw the preview of Episode II in 3D. It was pretty interesting to hear about the process to convert it to 3D. They use artifacts and other items from the movie to fill in missing details to make it 3D. 3D requires an image from the left and the right and sometimes the original shot will have gaps in it. It makes me wonder how easy it will be to convert the OT into 3D. How much extra footage and other items did they really keep? Episode II did look pretty cool though and the chase scene through Coruscant was pretty neat.

Star Wars in 60 Minutes was a parody where they act out each of the six movies in ten minutes each and use household items as props. It went over by a little bit, but was so hysterical. They made Luke super whiney and Padme into a bored sounding Valley girl. It was hilarious and I would recommend seeing it.

I went to see an interview with Sam Witwer. I know him from the American version of the show Being Human. But he has also voiced Starkiller in The Force Unleashed and currently voicing the resurrected Darth Maul in the Clone Wars show. He seemed pretty cool and a huge Star Wars fan. I was mostly curious to see if he was just as hot as he is on screen. Ooooohhhh, yeah. He is smoking hot. If there was a new guy to drool over, he is it. Another married lady behind me at the panel agreed. :)

The big panel I went to was Carrie’s interview. I definitely wanted to go and since it’s Carrie I will have to dedicate some space to it. :) This was definitely a case of needing to get there early. My Saturday afternoon ended up a bit of a mess. There were things I wanted to do that day – see Carrie’s show and get her autograph and it for the photo-op. But Carrie was only signing autographs for two days and that day she took a long lunch (supposedly with George) and was way behind. By mid-afternoon, her photo op time had been pushed back to just before her show started and her autograph line had a huge overflow. I could postpone the autograph and photo op for Sunday. So I ended up grabbing some food and waited in line for two hours for Carrie’s show. Not what I really felt like doing for two hours, but lucky I went when I did because it filled to capacity a half hour after I got in line.

The show was so worth the wait. It really was. James Arnold Taylor opened the show with a one hour, one man show. He is the voice of Obi-Wan in the Clone Wars and he is quite funny. In the second half of the show, James interviewed Carrie for an hour. She was just awesome and I thought she looked cute. She tried to bring her dog Gary on stage with her, but he was too scared.  They talked about all sorts of things. She made fun of the holiday special, saying she wished it was so bad that it’s good and sang along with a clip. They showed a clip of her on Saturday Night Live singing about being a teenage girl from outer space. She had a great story about filming Empire. One night she went home to the house she was renting and the owner, one of the Monty Python guys, was home and having a party with the Rolling Stones. Of course Carrie couldn’t tell the Stones to leave because she had an early call in the morning. So they ended up partying all night and they didn’t show up to the call the next morning hung over because they were still drunk! They filmed the scene where they land on Bespin that morning and that’s why they look so happy in that scene because they are all still drunk. It was funny. She talked about being a writer, that she likes to have written, but not to write and she did it because she wanted to get all the crap out of her head. Someone asked if anyone slipped her the tongue in the movies and we knew the person meant Mark or Harrison. Her answer was Jabba slipped her the tongue. :) Not sure poor James knew what to do at times because he seems kind of straight laced and Carrie most definitely is not. But at the end of the show, James wanted to set up a fake photo op for everyone and asked her if there was something she always wanted to do. So she said she wanted to spank him and got him over her knee. Lol! I totally missed a picture of it though.

One of things I wasn’t aware of going into Celebration is that even though the expo floor closes at 7 and there aren’t many, if any, panels after that time, they still have events going on. They had a screening of Robot Chicken most nights. Every night they were showing two of the movies on a big screen. So after Carrie’s show, there was more to do. There was a mixer that night which I did check out. It was more like music from an ok wedding reception and I only stayed for a little bit. But Empire and Jedi were playing that night and I caught the carbonite scene and the opening of Jedi on the big screen. It was very cool. Where else do people wave lightsabers during the opening scroll and clap when a major character comes on screen? It was a lot of fun.

By then though it was getting a little late and I was tired from being on the go all day and decided to head back to my hotel. In order to get to my room, I had to pass through a small lobby in the hotel with a bar to the side. As I was walking through that night I looked over at this long table of people having a drink. This guy gets up from the table to walk past me and I watch him and thought "Holy smokes; that's Seth Green!" I quickly turned around, stepped up quietly and said, “Excuse me Seth, could I get a picture?” OMG, he was so nice. He asked my name and think he asked if was having a good time at Celebration. I told him I remembered him from Buffy as Oz and that we love Robot Chicken. He thought it was kind of funny I let my 11 year old watch it. :) I got a picture and he shook my hand and said to check out Star Wars Detours. I hate to say, but it was one of the trip highlights for me. Such a nerd, but I've never just bumped into someone like that and not anyone cool like that. Needless to say it was a little hard for me to sleep that night. Was just too excited about all the cool stuff that had happened and about more to do on Sunday.

I did end up getting my photo op and autograph with Carrie. The photo op was really interesting because basically you went into a booth with her, posed, and then stepped out. There was very little interaction with her. But it's all good. I got my autograph and the pic was really, really cute.

One of the other fun things I got to do was meet up with Seams and her family. We had such a great time with them and they are all so very sweet. It was a treat to meet up with one of our fellow writers. We went to a private cupcake party together and Seams and I spent some time walking around the expo floor together.

That's basically the story. It was definitely a good trip. And Orlando can be fun. Mostly had nice weather too. Of course I wonder now if most of the Celebrations will be there now that Disney bought Lucasfilm. ;) I would probably go again. It was awesome to see everyone dressed up and basically get to be a geek about Star Wars. It might depend on where they are having it and how easy it is for me to get there. I might do some things differently next time too. They have special Jedi Knight and Jedi Master badges that you pay extra for, but they give you special almost total access to the panels. I'd probably try to score one of those next time so wouldn’t have to wait too long for panels, but there's a limited number, they aren’t cheap, and apparently they sell out quickly. Not sure I’d do the autograph thing again since I already have done it. But I’d consider doing the photo-op again. I might also do some things that are more laid back on Saturday. It was very packed that and hard to get through some areas of the expo floor. Since there were a lot of people and costumes, t was nice to sit down and just people watch for a while.

And by the way, was this a sign of things to come? ;)