It’s been 35 years since the publication of the Star Wars novel “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” in early 1978, a book that kicked off what’s become known as the “expanded universe” for the famous franchise and fed a growing fan base of hungry “Star Wars” addicts. And it all began fairly quietly, almost by accident.

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By the time the end credits rolled on the first screenings of “Star Wars” in May 1977 viewers were hungry for more. Unbeknownst to them, creator George Lucas had a loose plan in place for expanding his universe, which included more films, a TV series, comic books and prose novels — but it all hinged on the success of the first movie. Boldly going where no young entrepreneur had gone before, Lucas commissioned a sequel novel from ghost-writer of the ”Star Wars” novelization, Alan Dean Foster. The idea behind “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” was to craft a story that, if adapted into a movie, could re-use existing props and costumes — basically a lower-budget “quickie” if the first film had done only middling business at the box office. The rest, as they say, is the birth and death of galaxies.

Sporting a gorgeous cover painting by Ralph McQuarrie, “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” was one of the first new adventures of the “Star Wars” characters outside the film, along with the January 1978 issue of the Star Wars comic book. The novel follows Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia through a series of tight squeezes on a jungle planet and into the clutches of Darth Vader himself. That’s right: Luke and Vader dueled first in the book, long before their showdown in 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back.” To spice things up even further, one of the tight squeezes involved Luke’s overly-romantic feelings for Leia, an awkward situation corrected in the 1995-96 comic adaptation of the novel.

It’s difficult today to imagine a time when we weren’t inundated by “Star Wars” product and the length and depth of the Expanded Universe. ”Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” gave fans something to chew on during the long three-year wait between the first two “Star Wars” movies; today it exists as a fascinating look at what might have been had George Lucas’s galactic gamble come up snake eyes.

Tags: Comics, Expanded Universe, George Lucas, Jim Beard, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 at 8:56 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Comics, Pop Culture, Star.
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As the world knows by now, filmmaker JJ Abrams has been named as the director of the upcoming seventh “Star Wars” film being made by Disney studios. Our resident pop culture point/counter-point duo debates the merits of the move.

Jeff McGinnis: So now JJ Abrams gets to play with all the toys. The former “Alias” and “Lost” creator, who rebooted “Star Trek” to widespread critical and audience acclaim a few years ago, has now been handed the keys to perhaps the most important sci-fi franchise of all: “Star Wars.” For fans still stinging after the little-lauded prequel trilogy, this news has seemed too good to be true, a few jokes about lens flares aside.

But I have to be honest — I’m not thrilled. It’s not that I don’t have faith in Abrams as a creator and talent, because I do. But I’m not convinced he knows how to play with other creators’ universes without rebuilding them in his own image. And with the most popular and beloved pop culture franchise ever created at his command, will we get a true continuation of this universe, or will we see Abrams rewrite the rules? And if he does, how will people react?

Jim Beard: Abrams was hired because he’s Abrams, obviously, but you have to wonder if they wanted “the name” or the vision – or maybe it’s both. I agree with you that superimposing his own brand over Star Wars’ may be a questionable thing to do, because, ultimately, when that happens you get something else entirely. The next question would be, “is it something we’d want to see?” I think we can all agree that you can never recapture the maverick magic of 1977 and George Lucas’ almost-accidental capturing of a vibe and verve that thrilled just about everyone on the planet, but I’m not sure anybody really has an idea of what we hope to get out of this as fans. Abrams can deliver quality, sure, but can he submerge enough of himself, enough of what makes his films “his,” that we can see the Star Wars through the lens flare?

JEFF: Based on the available evidence, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that Abrams’ influence will be pretty evident. The thing that struck me most about his “Star Trek” reboot was how it was a very entertaining and well-made non-”Star Trek” movie. Oh, it had the basic premise and the characters — in name, anyway — but the soul of the enterprise (pun totally intended) was missing.

What made Gene Roddenberry’s original show so compelling were the very distinct characters he crafted and how, like the very best sci-fi stories, “Star Trek” used its fanciful setting to tell stories relevant to modern life. There was so much more going on than simply telling an exciting story. I found these factors absent in Abrams’ reboot, which made it plain quickly that the director would be tearing down the universe Roddenberry created and rebuilding it in his own image. Will he do the same to “Star Wars,” and if so, how will fans react?

JIM: The soul of the enterprise – that’s a phrase that really strikes me here, because much of Star Wars’ charm – and success – in the beginning was George Lucas building something from the ground up. He put together a “garage band” factory of creative types who all wanted to do something different – much the same way that Walt Disney built his first animation studio. The result was magic, the kind that can’t be repeated. Then, lightning struck twice with a sequel that defied convention: it was as good as if not better than the original. Abrams has a hard row to hoe. He has a megalithic studio/owner to please, more than one generation of fans and the critics. I hate to be so negative, but he’s almost doomed from the get-go. Lucas was out to, basically, please himself, and the hell with outside expectations. JJ’s arena is dynamically different.

JEFF: An excellent point. But then again, George Lucas himself operated with relatively complete autonomy while making the prequel trilogy, and we saw how the public reacted to that. “Star Wars” is such a beloved franchise that it may be impossible to please everyone. So maybe the best option for Disney and everyone involved was to find a creative head who could take it his own way. I can’t see Abrams signing up without some promise of creative freedom. Maybe — just maybe — he’s enough of a fan that he can keep his own ego in check and make something that fans can embrace. I hope he does.

JIM: He may want and expect freedom, but he’s working for Disney and Disney walks a fairly narrow path of parameters for their product.

I sincerely hope, like you, that this new film, this new era of Star Wars, is something we can look upon and compliment it not only for its faithfulness to its source material, but also as something that seems fresh. I know that might sound like I’m at odds with my feelings about Abrams, but the whole deal could crumble like a house of ill-placed cards. I won’t cheer if it fails, please note; I want more Star Wars as much as the next fan. Maybe, just maybe, it’s a New Hope we have on our hands.

Tags: Film, George Lucas, Jeff McGinnis, Jim Beard, JJ Abrams, Pop Goes the Culture, Star Trek, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2013 at 10:01 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Film, Pop Goes the Culture.
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or its entire 36-year history, “Star Wars” has been too big a concept for films alone. George Lucas’ lifelong interest in comic books led to the pop culture juggernaut’s simultaneous introduction to the world as a movie and a comic. Now, unconfirmed reports place Star Wars comics back at their original home, Marvel Comics.

Lucas approached Marvel before the release of his 1977 blockbuster to secure its efforts on a “Star Wars” comic book. After much wrangling, the company produced the first issue of the new series shortly before the film’s release. Marvel thought it was taking quite a chance on the book — and the film — but editor Roy Thomas stayed the course after the initial six-issue adaptation of the movie and the license remained with the famous “House of Ideas” for nine years and 107 issues. In 1986, after “Return of the Jedi,” the company let the license go when fans’ interest had fallen off significantly and sales  had slipped into a shallow slump.

Seven years later, another company took a chance on the property, even without a new film to support it.

In 1993, the fledgling Dark Horse Comics turned its new miniseries, Star Wars: Dark Empire, into a successful run that continues to this day.

Dark Horse has produced dozens of Star Wars comic book titles and just recently released its newest, which takes place during the fertile period of time between Episodes IV and V.

Now, with the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, it appears as if the now-coveted “Star Wars” comic book license may head back to another Disney holding — its first home, Marvel Comics.

The story of “Star Wars” is one of death and rebirth, legacy and legend, and redemption and hope. As fans await the first new film since 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith,” they may also now look toward a potential new hope for “Star Wars” comics and the continuation of a unique legacy at Marvel Comics.

Tags: Comic books, Dark Horse, George Lucas, Jim Beard, Marvel Comics, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 at 1:27 pm and is filed under Comics, Star.
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‘Star Wars’ writer says Disney will respect franchise

By Jim Beard

In the wake of The Walt Disney Co.’s announcement of its purchase of Lucasfilm for a smidge over $4 billion, it’s not just “Star Wars” fans who are putting their trust in the Force — it’s also those creators who make their living shaping that galaxy far, far away. Freelance writer Jeremy Barlow, author of several “Star Wars” projects at Dark Horse Comics as well as “Mass Effect” tie-ins, exhibited “complete shock” when he first heard the news, but swiftly realized the deal’s potential and profitability.

“I did not see it coming, but it makes sense, really,” he insists. “Overall, it’s a good thing for the franchise — Disney will respect the brand and inject some new life into it. As a fan, I’m excited to see what they do with it.”

Barlow’s a pragmatic fellow, able to look at the Disney purchase in a cold light as well as by the flickering embers that burn in the heart of all devotees to George Lucas’ little 35-year-old rebellion. “This is Disney’s game to lose,” he said. “There’s a segment of ‘Star Wars’ fans that put ‘Star Wars’ expanded universe timelines and continuity ahead of story, and those guys might have a rough road ahead, but I’d hope that some good films will ease that pain. Because, really, what are we talking about here? The — OK, very slight — possibility of Brad Bird or Andrew Stanton or Matthew Vaughn writing and directing a ‘Star Wars’ movie? I’ll be first in line.”

Is Barlow concerned that a portion of his bread and butter — ‘Star Wars’ comics — may make the jump to light speed and leave Dark Horse?

“That’s the other shoe still to drop, isn’t it?” he said. “Dark Horse has put so much care and thought into the ‘Star Wars’ comics that I can’t see anyone else doing that job at the same level. So I hope they keep the license. What’s right and what’s profitable seldom cross in the corporate world, though, and Disney does already own their own comics publisher. We can only wait and see.”

Fans: Stop vilifying Lucas

By Jeff McGinnis

There is probably no franchise in pop culture more celebrated than “Star Wars.” And, in a perverse twist of fate, there are few figures in pop culture who are more reviled than the series’ creator, George Lucas.

Ever since 1999, when the first of the three prequels was released and widely derided as an unworthy successor, fans of the franchise have taken up arms against Lucas and found fault in most everything he has done. The man who created and guided the “Star Wars” series, overseeing its maturation into a pop culture juggernaut that changed movies forever, was suddenly a schmuck.

Lucas was now clearly a horrible filmmaker, fans everywhere would write endlessly on message boards, social media outlets, blogs and more. He was a lousy writer, as evidenced by the terrible dialogue and plotting of the new trilogy. He was a man who obviously held nothing but contempt for his fans, given how he refused to offer the original versions of the films they held so dear for sale.

Illustration by Don Lee

What has always bothered me about the level and passion of the vitriol directed at Lucas is how overblown the anger is, considering that if the guy hadn’t created the series in the first place, there would be nothing to get so passionately angry about. Lucas is obviously not the awful director and writer he is being painted as, given the quality of the first “Star Wars” movie — the one that launched the fanbase’s passion in the first place — not to mention his work on “THX 1138” and “American Graffiti.”

Granted, if you loved the original movies and have hated everything he has done since — Lucas did not direct another movie after “Star Wars” until Episode I — you can still dismiss his work under the scientifically proven “What have you done for me lately?” train of thought. And anyone can express dissatisfaction and disgust over an artist’s work, of course. Look who’s talking — I make a kinda-sorta living doing the same.

But the anger I see goes far beyond just saying that you don’t like a movie. It ranges into the most ridiculously hyperbolic hatred I can think of, with fans jokingly (I hope) ranting incessantly about how they plan on making Lucas pay for his transgressions against the franchise that they care about, grew up with, one that has made a big contribution to their lives since childhood.

I grew up with “Star Wars,” too. A big part of me loves the franchise as fervently as the most passionate fanboy. But I also try and keep perspective.

Yes, it is silly that Lucas continues to tinker with the original trilogy and maintains the position that they should not be released except in the new forms he deems worthy. But then again, that was his right when the movie was first released, too, before anyone else had even seen it. As the author of the work, I believe he has the right to make alterations if he wishes. I also believe that for film history, he should continue to preserve and release the original versions.

Were the films of the prequel trilogy equal in quality to the original films? Of course not. But they were also not bad films, either. Yes, I said it. I have always felt that Episode I and III were fundamentally good movies with amazing special effects, imaginative visuals and genuinely entertaining storytelling. They also had no chance of standing up to the first trilogy. Lucas could have made the space opera equivalent of “Citizen Kane” in 1999, and the shadow of Episodes IV-VI were impossible to overcome.

Now, as we sit in the aftermath of one of the biggest deals in pop culture history, wherein Disney has announced plans to buy Lucasfilm and the rights to “Star Wars,” you’d think fans would be rejoicing that the man himself would no longer have any connection to the franchise they insist he ruined. But in actuality, this is being seen as one last act of contempt — clearly, selling these beloved characters to the most saccharin of Hollywood studios is his final middle finger.

But it also means the franchise now has steady leadership and a future outside of Lucas’ guidance. It means that maybe those original films will now be readily available. It means that new films will be made. As has been pointed out on Twitter, Disney purchased Marvel in 2009 to similar fan hand-wringing, and the end result has been a stronger brand which hasn’t been compromised — and gave us terrific “Iron Man” and “Avengers” films, too.

And Lucas? He’s already announced his plans to donate the lion’s share of the $4 billion he’ll make from the sale toward education. And, just maybe, he can garner a respite from the overheated hatred of fans who love his work but hate its creator. So, on behalf of myself, I would like to say, thank you, George. No matter what others say, you have contributed far more good than bad to the world, and changed the pop culture landscape forever. And for that, you deserve far more respect than you seem to garner.

Oh, and “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” was a good movie, too.

Tags: Disney, George Lucas, Jeff McGinnis, Jim Beard, Pop Goes the Culture, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2012 at 5:04 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Film, Pop Goes the Culture.
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As a property, “Star Wars” doesn’t always translate well into other media beyond its filmic foundation. A new comic book miniseries from Dark Horse Comics, “Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison,” manages to not only deliver the look and the feel of the famous films, thanks to beautiful art by Agustin Alessio, but also an aspect that’s not often discussed among its many fans: political and historical commentary. Seems the beloved Order of the Jedi Knights kept a few dirty little secrets from the public, namely a secret prison into which many “enemy combatants” have disappeared.

The series, currently on its third of five issues, tells the tale of young Lt. Laurita Thom, a member of the very first graduating class of Imperial cadets after the events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.” On Coruscant for his graduation ceremonies, he winds up in the middle of a terrorist attack bent on killing the Emperor and seizing the nascent Galactic Empire in a bloody coup. Unfortunately for Thom, the terrorists turn out to be his fellow graduates. Helping Darth Vader quell the insurgents, the lieutenant accompanies the Dark Lord of the Sith and a wounded Emperor to a secret prison that a younger Anakin Skywalker remembers from the days of the Clone Wars — a clear counterpart to the real world’s Guantanamo Bay.

The series’ fascinating narrative hovers precariously within its many shades of grey. Ostensibly, the protagonists of the piece are the original trilogy’s antagonists, Vader and a clutch of Imperial officers, and writer Haden Blackman cleverly places the reader in the prickly “what would you do in the same situation?” position with Thom as he begins to question the very fabric of his service to the Empire. Add to that the questionable Jedi practice of having their Clone Wars adversaries “disappear” after being captured – as well as eavesdropping and recording — and you have a “Star Wars” spinoff that not only builds off the films’ universe but also provokes strong opinions with its plot points.

It’s no real secret that George Lucas endowed his second Star Wars trilogy with a healthy does of liberal commentary on what he saw as an assault on democracy in the new millennium — one wonders if he might not champion Blackman and Dark Horse’s not-so-thinly-veiled commentary on the last Republican administration’s standards and practices during wartime in this thought-provoking series.

Tags: "Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison", "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith", Agustin Alessio, Comics Rack, Dark Horse Comics, George Lucas, Guantanamo Bay, Haden Blackman, Jedi Knights, Jim Beard, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Comics, Comics Rack, Star.
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• NOTE: Win tickets to this show by watching our Facebook page

A long time ago (about 30 years) in a galaxy far, far away (Hawaii), a young Canadian boy named Charles Ross was taken to a theater by his father to see “Star Wars” for the first time. Actually, he saw two movies that day — they were showing a double feature of the original film and “The Empire Strikes Back.”

“But he didn’t tell me that it wasn’t the end of the story. I was convinced that the sort of lame tone left over at the end of ‘Empire Strikes Back’ was the way the story actually ended. And I was like, ‘What a bummer of a story!’ I was really angry at George Lucas for doing that,” Ross said in an interview with Toledo Free Press Star.

His dad did eventually tell him that another movie was still on the way, and thus a lifelong fandom of “Star Wars” began in earnest — one which has manifested itself in the show that Ross performs, “One Man Star Wars Trilogy.” He will be at the Croswell Opera House in Adrian, Mich., on April 21.

Charles Ross

“It’s basically me onstage — with no costumes, sets, props or real talent —me, onstage, retelling the original, bad hair, 1970s-1980s ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, basically using my own body and my own impressions,” Ross said.

“It’s really a tongue-in-cheek homage to ‘Star Wars.’ It’s probably as close to watching an 8-year-old kid pretending to be all the characters in ‘Star Wars,’ except that I’m trapped in a 37-year-old body.”

Ross’ familiarity with the films — or at least the first one — extends back to his childhood growing up on a farm in western Canada, far from the range of conventional television signals. If he wanted to watch TV as a kid, he had to watch a videotape.

“So, I had the first ‘Star Wars’ film recorded off of television from before we moved up there, we had ‘The Blue Lagoon’ with Brooke Shields, if you ever saw that film — and be happy I don’t do the ‘One Man Blue Lagoon’ — and the other film was actually the miniseries ‘Shogun,’ which had Richard Chamberlain in it. It was something like an eight- or nine-part miniseries, and it was missing the last 20 minutes of the final episode. And I never had any idea how it ended! Once more, I just thought it was a bummer of an ending.”

As a result, whenever Ross wanted to watch TV, he watched “Star Wars” — over and over again. Four-hundred times before he was 10, by his count. And as an adult, his familiarity and love for the film led to the idea to perform it onstage himself.

“It was sort of a slow process. I ended up trying to do the first film — it ended up being about 25 minutes, sort of like a comedy sketch, just to see if people would get it. And I was surprised at how much people got out of the 25-minute thing.”

The positive response led to Ross developing the full show with director TJ Dawes as a full, one-hour, one-man show — 20 minutes per film in the trilogy.

“It was perfect; I started to tour this on the fringe theater festivals,” Ross said. “I was able to tour it around America and around Canada, and basically tap into all the fandom of ‘Star Wars.’”

That’s when LucasFilm first heard of the show.

“They were completely intrigued, because I wasn’t using any artwork from ‘Star Wars,’ I wasn’t selling ice cream bars with my face on it — it was just simply one guy, three films, on a stage, and celebrating the love of all things ‘Star Wars.’ So they were totally up the alley of letting me keep doing it.”

Ross performs with the full permission of LucasFilm and said he is genuinely thrilled to get the chance to share his love of “Star Wars” with audiences.

“The weird thing is, I never set out for this to be the case. It’s odd to think that I kind of arrived at that place, having never actually set out to arrive at that place. It was something where it was kind of a lucky mistake, or a bit of a fluke.”

Tags: Adrian, Brooke Shields, Charles Ross, Croswell Opera House, George Lucas, Jeff McGinnis, One Man Star Wars Trilogy, Pop Goes the Culture, Richard Chamberlain, Shogun, Star Wars, The Blue Lagoon, The Empire Strikes Back

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 9:21 am and is filed under Star, Theater.
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As Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” actress Carrie Fisher inspired galaxy-shaking visions in millions of young men. As an author, Fisher inspired a generation of young women with her insightful prose about love and life. As a wife (and ex-wife) she inspired lyrics in some of Paul Simon’s most affecting songs. As a drug addict with bipolar disorder, Fisher inspired legions of fellow sufferers with her direct, raw testimony.

The many sides of Carrie Fisher, 56, coalesce in her one-woman stage show, “Wishful Drinking,” playing through April 22 at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton, Ohio. During the show, she gleefully takes the audience through her Hollywood childhood with parents Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, her explosive “Star Wars” fame, its toll on her relationships and her struggles with drug use and mental illness (“I’m a Pez dispenser and I’m in the textbook of Abnormal Psychology,” she enthuses).

During an April 12 interview on the stage set for “Wishful Drinking,” which replicates her Los Angeles home, Fisher was as direct and open as her onstage persona.

Toledo Free Press: Ricky Gervais was on CBS this morning and he made a comment that humor is an evolutionary tool to help us deal with ‘stuff.’ That really resonated after seeing your show last night.

Carrie Fisher: It’s the best alchemy you can do, to take something that’s really not funny and make it funny. That takes time and it takes a certain slant.

TFP: Watching the show last night, I couldn’t decide if what you were doing was courageous or self-loathing or a mix of the two.

CF: No self loathing.

TFP: It’s some raw, brutal stuff that you are putting out there for people to digest.

CF: Like what ?

Carrie Fisher, photographed April 12 by David Panian

TFP: Like the electric shock therapy experiences, talking about the drug use, the suicidal feelings, the parental issues; those are things that people usually do on couches with the doors closed. You’ve put it out there and it has to be punishing to relive night after night.

CF: I have processed a lot of it. I’m not really ashamed of it. Most of it though, me being in a mental hospital, me being in a rehab, that was out there so I just put my version of it out there.

TFP: With the electric convulsive therapy (ECT) effect on your memory, is your mom still making the scrapbooks and the photo albums to help your memory?

CF: Actually it is only short-term memory that goes. Long term I am really good at it, unfortunately. Or, I am as good at it as someone my age would be. You don’t know how much of your memory has been affected by age or drug use. It’s like I say, E-C-T, L-S-D or A-G-E. Those are your three choices.

TFP: I wanted to ask you about a couple of your movies, the first one being “When Harry Met Sally.” What a tight movie that is with the back-and-forth dialogue. You worked with Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan and Rob Reiner all at the top of their games. Were there a lot of rehearsals to master the script?

CF: Well, like you said, it was people at the top of their game, people who know what they are doing and they have done a lot of it. The dialogue it was really well written and anything that is well written, you are not going to have a problem with it. If you get a certain type of actor and they are well-cast they are going to be able to embellish on it a little bit if that is allowed.

The one scene that was very difficult was the four-way scene we did on the phone. We did that in real time. They were all gathered in sets on the other side of the stage and Bruno [Kirby] and I were on one side. They shot it 50-some times and after the 50th time Bruno said, “I want another one.” And I said. “You will be doing that one on your own.”

TFP: As a writer, how critical are you when someone sends you a script to read? Can you just read it and enjoy it or are you wanting to move commas around and make revisions?

CF: I can both read it and enjoy it and want to move commas around. If you see something that is kind of derivative, you know. Sometimes it can make you kind of sorry that they didn’t do anything braver but I also know as a writer how difficult that is, so it’s nice to be in the comfort zone of what is expected.

TFP: “The Blues Brothers.” Working with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd had to be wild.

CF: Everybody was high. Especially John. I was 21 years old and I wasn’t really off and running with the drugs yet but that was a fertile environment for that kind of behavior.

TFP: Was it clear then that John had a problem or was it just part of the party at the time?

CF: It was clear he had a problem and he involved me. He said, “You and I are alike.” John was like, if it was there, he wanted it. If you could eat it, f**k it, snort it or shoot it John wanted it. That’s not really a good motto. That’s going to end up badly.

TFP: Did his comparing himself to you resonate with you at the time of his death?

CF: No it didn’t resonate with me, it scared the s**t out of me. I knew he wasn’t wrong. I actually spent a night with John and it was horrible. He started drinking sake and he was knocking things over and by the end of the night, he disappears and there was someone that he ended up doing coke with. I have always stayed so pissed at that person. He came back to me and he said, “I did coke.” And I said, “John, we can leave right now.” He just looked at me for a minute and said, “No.”

TFP: Your next movie is “It’s Christmas, Carol!” That’s your first holiday project since the “Star Wars Holiday Special.”

CF: If you go back and look at that it’s not so bad that it’s funny, it’s so bad that it’s boring.

TFP: Did you and Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford have an obligation to George Lucas to do the special?

CF: We would have signed on to do anything with him. But it did seem bad at the time.

TFP: The other thing that came out about that time was the Ringo Starr TV special where he had a look-alike and you were the love interest confused by the two Ringos.

CF: I have no recollection of that.

TFP: It wasn’t great, either.

CF: It sounds awful.

TFP: It is an interesting part of the show when you talk about the songs Paul Simon wrote about you. Are you Charlie the Archangel from the song “Crazy Love Vol. II” on “Graceland,” with the lyrics, “Fat Charlie the Archangel files for divorce?”

CF: No, that’s Lorne Michaels. I was from the title song, “She’s come back to tell me she’s gone/As if I didn’t know that, as if I didn’t know my own bed/As if I’d never noticed the way she brushed her hair from her forehead.” I feel privileged to be in one of his songs and certainly if the choice was, “Would you read one of my books or listen to one of his songs?” I would listen to him.

TFP: Did you do that a lot, brush your hair from your forehead?”

CF: (Brushing her hair from her forehead) Yes, just like that. I still do it if it’s down.

TFP: You have two iconic images in pop culture, the doughnut-braid hair and the metal bikini. What would the trifecta be? What would be the one additional thing that you would like to put in the Smithsonian to fill out the shelf?

CF: Probably the image [from the “Wishful Drinking” book cover] with me looking down, the stoned Princess Leia.

TFP: Are you looking forward to seeing yourself on the big screen in 3-D when the original trilogy comes out in 3-D?

CF: I am looking forward to doing that. Hyperspace should look cool in 3-D.

TFP: If I were to go to your house would I find “Star Wars” everywhere?

CF: Yes, you have to look but you would find it. It’s not obvious, except for one thing. On my birthday, George Lucas sent me a painting of me as Princess Leia in a metal bikini. I am sure it’s regifting. Someone gave him that and he was wondering, “Why is that in my house?” so I have it in my backroom now. And I am confused as to what I should ultimately do with it.

TFP: You mentioned that George Lucas came to see your show. Did you hold back on the jokes about him?

CF: Oh, no, I was worse. I’ve been making fun of that man forever. He invites it; he doesn’t talk a lot.

TFP: Your Democratic politics come through pretty strong in the show. Are you a big Obama supporter?

CF: I love Obama.

TFP: Have you taken any heat for getting into the politics? That is a different arena from the personal stuff, when you talk about Dick Cheney.

CF: I can’t imagine that Cheney is popular. Who donated that heart? He didn’t know where it was going to.

TFP: What is your next writing project?

CF: I am trying to adapt an earlier book of mine but I want to try to write something that has absolutely nothing to do with me. Fiction, I hope.

TFP: Thank you for your time.

CF: Thanks for coming and wondering if I have self-loathing.

TFP: That’s a fair question.

CF: Is it? I’ve never been asked that.

TFP: As I said, the things you choose to relive publicly seem to be as punishing as they are therapeutic.

CF: If I had self-loathing I wouldn’t talk about it. I make fun of it but it’s not self-loathing. It’s self-acceptance run wild.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Email him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Victoria Theatre Association offers a special discount for fans of Carrie Fisher in Toledo.  For 35% off any performance of WISHFUL DRINKING STARRING CARRIE FISHER. Go to www.ticketcenterstage.com and use coupon code BUNS at checkout.

Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, via phone 888-228-3630 or 937-228-3630, and online at www.ticketcenterstage.com. Ticket Center Stage is the only outlet authorized to sell tickets for events at the Schuster Center and Victoria Theatre.

Tags: Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby, Carrie Fisher, Dan Akroy, George Lucas, John Belushi, Lighting The Fuse, Meg Ryan, Michael S. Miller, Rob Reiner, Star Wars, Victoria Theatre

This entry was posted on Friday, April 13th, 2012 at 9:28 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Film, Lighting The Fuse, Opinion, Uncategorized.
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Yeah, George Lucas is messing around with “Star Wars.” Again. And fans are going ballistic. Again.

It had been widely speculated that the famous filmmaker would once more be tinkering with his most famous work in advance of the Sept. 16 release of all six films on Blu-ray. This was confirmed with the release of details on changes to several of the films, beyond the “Special Edition” alterations made when last the films saw release.

Yoda, portrayed by a puppet in “Phantom Menace,” will now be replaced by a CGI-generated character in the film. (He remains as-is in the original trilogy.) Little tweaks have been made to effects here and there in several of the movies. The cry Obi-Wan Kenobi makes to scare off Sand People in “Episode IV: A New Hope” has been altered, for reasons no one can guess at.

And, most galling to many “Star Wars” fans, Darth Vader will now scream “Nooooo!” as he hoists the Emperor to his demise in “Return of the Jedi.” This seems to be a callback to the single most maligned moment in perhaps the whole of the prequel trilogy, when a freshly resurrected Vader cries a pathetic “Nooooo!” upon learning of his wife Padme’s demise.

Fans are up in arms as never before at these changes. Once more, people are calling for Lucas’ head, decrying him and everything he stands for. Any positives he may have contributed to the world up to now (like, say, creating the whole “Star Wars” enterprise for everyone to obsess over) are rendered null and void, because “Vader can’t scream ‘Nooooo!’ darn it!”

Is it Lucas’ right to change the movies? Yes and no. Yes, as a director, he has every right to alter a film in any way he sees fit. So he can have at the original “Star Wars” and the whole prequel trilogy, as far as I’m concerned. But, no matter how involved in the production he was, I’d argue that he has no right to mess with either “The Empire Strikes Back” or “Return of the Jedi,” because they were not his films. Especially now that neither of those films’ makers, Irvin Kershner or Richard Marquand, are still with us.

But even if you want to consider Lucas the auteur of the entire enterprise, whether it is fair of him to alter the movies is still open for debate. It’s not as if directors haven’t been changing their classics for years. “Special Editions” are released with alarming regularity these days. The great Ridley Scott has messed around with “Blade Runner” almost as much as Lucas has with his sci-fi epic. Steven Spielberg re-edited and changed “E.T.,” adding new effects and subtracting guns. Neither of these directors, however, has been the brunt of anywhere near the flack Lucas takes. Why?

For one thing, Lucas is the only one who insists upon his latest cuts being the only version of the films available. Pretty much anyone else who releases a new edition of a classic includes the original film, so fans can choose. Lucas has made it clear his new versions are to be considered the true version. For years, the original cuts were never released on DVD at all.

A 2006 edition of the films finally corrected this, apparently without Lucas’ blessing — though the versions released were bare-bones transfers that didn’t look nearly as good as they could have.

That’s what galls fans most — the idea that Lucas is dictating to them what their favorite movies should look like. Of course, he dictated what they would look like before they were ever released, too. But once they have been sent to the public for consumption, they stop really being the artist’s work alone.

I acknowledge all the amazing work Lucas has done. I don’t hate him, as many claim to. Lucas has contributed far, far more artistic good to the world than bad. And if he wants to tinker with his work, that is his right. But it is also my right, as a consumer, to choose not to buy it. If fans are genuinely that upset, maybe it’ll show in lackluster sales of the new release.

Email Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

Tags: Blu-ray, Darth Vader, George Lucas, Jeff McGinnis, Pop Goes the Culture, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 at 6:23 pm and is filed under Pop Goes the Culture, Star.
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It’s not very often that people are given an opportunity to thank their pop culture idols. I’ve captured that lightning in a bottle twice.

While living in Washington, D.C., I reported on a Smithsonian Institution tribute to George Lucas, the creator of the innovative and checkbook-draining “Star Wars” movies. I did not have much time with Lucas, but I passed him in a lobby and was able to talk with him just long enough to thank him for the kick-start his films gave my young imagination. My creative horizons expanded with the energy and vision he captured.

Lucas was demure and appreciative; he has undoubtedly been cornered like that thousands of times by thousands of fans, but he still played along and expressed gratitude.

In 2004, while serving as news editor of the Daily Telegram in Adrian, I conducted a telephone interview with rock singer Bob Seger. Quotes from that interview, reprinted with kind permission from the Daily Telegram, allowed me to settle another longstanding debt.

As a teenager, my interest in women far exceeded my experience, knowledge and communication skills with them. As I entered what should have been the prime of my learning curve, I lacked the confidence to establish a comfort zone with the female classmates who caught my eye, selectively defined as “every single one of them.”

I played football for four years, but even at my most lean and active, I possessed a body fairly described as candy-coated, and while my face has never frightened small children, it hasn’t landed any modeling offers, either. The resulting confidence deficit kept me from asking women for dates, attention or anything more interactive than sharing air in the same ZIP code.

Then, one Friday evening just past my 16th birthday, riding in a car tuned to WIOT 104.7 FM in Toledo, I heard a glorious noise that changed everything.

It started with a clunky crash of percussion that laid the foundation for an organ and driving guitar. The singer attacked the song with an energy and conviction that demanded my attention, so I reached over and turned up the radio, rattling the car’s overworked and inadequate speakers.

“Yeah, I’m gonna tell my tale come on, come on, give a listen,” he sang. It sounded like Bob Seger, but I had never heard the Seger of “Night Moves” and “Against the Wind” sing anything as primal and raw as this.

“I was just 13 when I had to leave home/Knew I couldn’t stick around, I had to roam,” the voice confessed, and I was hypnotized by the roughness of the sound pouring out of the strained-to-their-limits speakers.

I was primed, paying full attention, for the next words I heard:

“Ain’t good looking, but you know I ain’t shy/Ain’t afraid to look you girl, right in the eye.”

The rest of the song blurred by — and didn’t matter. The clouds had parted, the world faded away, and those words gathered speed in my head, clinging to brain cells and etching themselves onto my DNA.

“Ain’t good looking, but you know I ain’t shy/Ain’t afraid to look you girl, right in the eye.”

There it was. The answer. In a 1969 rock song.

And what a song, what a record! “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” stands beside Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” as rock’s greatest musical celebrations of slinky, melting, single-minded, joyous, testosterone-driven young lust. It is the essence of the original salacious meaning of the phrase “rock ‘n’ roll.”

I think I howled with capering glee at being given the keys to the carnal kingdom, even if the howl never left my throat.

A decade later, grizzled actor Jack Palance would sum up the philosophy in an after-shave commercial: “Confidence,” he half-purred, half-growled, “is sexy.”

But it was Seger who inspired me to adopt a damn-the-torpedoes approach to dating and mating, and during my subsequent collegian conquer-and-divide days, I brandished Seger’s words like a flaming sword.

After finishing my 2004 interview with Seger and thanking him for his time, I drew upon that confidence to tell him I wanted to specifically thank him for something, and I related a Reader’s Digest version of my tale.

His delighted laughter confirmed he understood, and he offered a hearty, “You’re welcome!”

Seger was still laughing as we hung up the phone.

And that, my friends, is rock ’n’ roll.

Postscript: While writing this article, I discovered that the official lyrics are “Ain’t afraid to look it girl, hear me out,” not “Ain’t afraid to look you girl, right in the eye.”

Doesn’t matter. I’m sticking to my version, and my memories.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Email him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Bob Seger, Daily Telegram, George Lucas, Lighting The Fuse, Michael S. Miller, Star Wars

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2011 at 3:31 pm and is filed under Lighting The Fuse, Opinion.
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C-3PO onscreen with lights and lasers during "Star Wars In Concert."

Sci-fi novelist Philip K. Dick once asked if androids dream of electric sheep. Since Anthony Daniels has performed as the “Star Wars” droid C-3PO for more than 30 years, it is fair to wonder: Does the actor ever dream as C-3PO?

“I have never dreamed as Threepio,” the British actor, 63, said during a Nov. 24 phone interview from Ottawa. “But since the concert tour started, I have woken up with ‘Star Wars’ music in my head.”

Toledoans will experience the full force of “Star Wars” music on Dec. 1, when “Star Wars in Concert” plays at the Lucas County Arena.

“Maybe for that one night, they should call it the ‘George Lucas Arena,’” said Daniels, who added that while he is familiar with Toledo, Spain, this will be his first visit to Toledo, Ohio.

The slender, soft-spoken actor appeared in all six “Star Wars” films, recorded radio plays of the movies, visits with fans at “Star Wars” conventions and has provided the voice for three different animated series. He has appeared in costume at the Academy Awards, filmed episodes of “The Muppet Show” and “Sesame Street” and seen his character on cereal boxes, carved in soap and in scores of plastic incarnations. But he says this current “rock star” tour may be the highlight of his C-3PO career.

Invigorating response

The concert features a symphony orchestra and choir playing composer John Williams’ film scores, as edited scenes from the moves are shown on a three-story-high screen. Daniels narrates the production.

“Star Wars in Concert” travels with an exhibit of costumes and props, original copies of Williams’ handwritten score and videos from the Skywalker Ranch vaults.

Anthony Daniels narrates "Star Wars in Concert."

Daniels said audience reaction has been “invigorating and amazing. I’ve been having a wonderful, joyous time.”

Daniels said the concert is a celebration of “Star Wars,” music and family.

“Across the nation, across the world, people just go on loving ‘Star Wars,’” he said. “Don’t ask me why. Even George doesn’t quite understand why. We were together at the opening for ‘Dreamgirls’ in New York the other night, and he was saying how thrilled he was that this tour is working out so well. This is a new way of celebrating his films. It brings families together for a unique experience.”

The actor said he knows the concert will be many people’s introduction to live classical music, and he hopes the experience will excite them about the arts. He said as part of the show, images of musicians as they perform are shown on the big screen.

Daniels said Williams’ “Star Wars” score may have been commissioned for movies, but it should be considered “classical music.”

“Beethoven got paid to write music. Mozart got paid to write music. Artists have always needed to be paid by somebody. In this case, it was George Lucas who could pay John Williams, who spent years of his life writing this score,” he said. “I can say this music is classical, because I am there each night, studying this music. It’s not just Darth Vader’s march, but the tremendous orchestration, various soloists and sections talking to each other, answering each other, overwhelming each other, subtly playing underneath, weaving the bedrock that you hear under the main tier. There is an absolutely lyrical violin solo in the Princess Leia theme. It is a thrill; I hear it every night and discover new things. This is a serious concert, but you won’t know it because it says ‘Star Wars’ in front of it.”

Although Daniels has to act in character each night, the rigid synchronization of the concert’s effects limits his ability to improvise.

“I am working with a live audience, and just a little bit, I can nuance my delivery to their reactions. But a lot of my words key in effects and video playbacks, so it’s an incredibly rehearsed performance,” he said.

“Plus, there is a live television mix showing me and the orchestra, so my eyes are like 60 feet wide on the screen. For an actor who played behind a gold mask for all these years, America is certainly getting a face full of … my face.”

Daniels said Williams has been working on a harp concerto and has not yet seen the concert, but contributed new segues to the music for this show.

Christmas in the stars

This is not the first time “Star Wars” has brought Daniels into the music scene. In 1980, he recorded “Christmas in the Stars,” a holiday album which featured C-3PO singing new and traditional carols. Daniels worked on the album with a young Jon Bon Jovi and Maury Yeston, who later won Tony awards for the scores of “Nine” and “Titanic.”

“I remember that well,” Daniels said. “I was rehearsing a play in London, so I would take the

9 a.m. Concorde to New York, record all day, got up the next day, caught the 3 p.m. Concorde back to London. It was a weird experience, recording ‘What Can You Get a Wookie for Christmas When He Already Owns a Comb?’”

Daniels said an earlier musical experience involved working with live orchestras.

“I conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, as C-3PO, in full costume, at the Albert Hall, and later the Boston Symphony,” Daniels said. “They were truly the greatest nights of my life. And I have seen John Williams in action at Abbey Road, so I’ve been around this music for a long time.”

In the context of his entire “Star Wars” career, Daniels said the concert tour ranks near the top.

“I adored ‘The Muppet Show’ and ‘Sesame Street’ experiences, but in the last few years … well, I was reticent about what I was doing with my life and art,” he said. “But I had an experience a few years ago with a huge number of fans in front of me, and I realized, they get something from this, a collective joy and thrill from ‘Star Wars,’ something I’ve never felt a part of; because I am in them, I never got to experience them as a filmgoer. The scales fell from my eyes, and I realized there is an enormous love and joy for ‘Star Wars,’ people who love the depth and intricacy of it. If I am a little part of that, I get a little part of that enthusiasm, and that is a really good feeling. This is the biggest thing I have done since that epiphany, so ‘Star Wars in Concert’ is the pinnacle of this experience.”

The Force is with him

Daniels has more C-3PO on the horizon, as he is working a new version of “Star Tours” at Walt Disney World, providing a voice for the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” TV series and is in discussions about taking “Star Wars in Concert” to other cities and countries. More than 30 years after “Star Wars” debuted, Daniels exhibits no resentment or second-guessing about his career path under the gold mask.

“I’ve lived long enough to get over that,” he laughed. “Playing C-3PO, wearing that suit, is not the experience. Creating him, being him, is. This concert tour is a wonderful leap. I am narrating, acting, living it live.

“I admit that at times, C-3PO just bursts out of me. Like from ‘The Exorcist,’ or ‘Alien,’ he just bursts out of my chest. I am very fond of him; I believe he has qualities that are very attractive, very amusing. He can be irritating, but he is fully rounded. I like people being fond of him; he is a very good friend of mine, and therefore anyone who is a friend of his is a friend of mine. I am very proud to be him.”

Daniels said the concert experience has brought one puzzling realization: “John Williams has written themes for so many of the characters, but he never has written a theme for Threepio,” he said. “The next time I see him, I am going to tell him, ‘I have a bone to pick with you’ and ask him, ‘Why not?’”

Tags: Anthony Daniels, C-3PO, George Lucas, Star Wars in Concert

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 3:23 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Featured.
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