Kathleen Kennedy Embracing Episode VII Spoilers?

ScreenSlam had an interesting red carpet interview with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.

The topic turns to filming Episode VII and the inevitable spoilers especially for outside location shoots.

"Its almost impossible not to have things end up on the Internet, so my feeling is you need to embrace that, especially with the fans around something like Star Wars. You need to recognize they are important to the process. Acknowledge that there are going to be things you are going to want to make sure they get to know. I think that's something we are going to monitor and pay attention to."

SOURCE: Ain't it cool news

J.J. Abrams Interview With Playboy Magazine

In a wide ranging interview for Playboy Magazine, Star Wars Episode VII Director J.J. Abrams reveals his thoughts on the two "Star" franchises and why Star Wars fans should all send his wife flowers.

Excerpt:

PLAYBOY: Star Wars and Star Trek are church and state in Hollywood. Can you really be loyal to both? Star Trek fans cried out on Twitter that you were cheating on them. 

ABRAMS: I mean, I get it. The worlds are vastly different. Honestly, that was why I passed on Star Wars to begin with. I couldn’t imagine doing both. But when I said that my loyalty was to Star Trek I was literally working on finishing this cut. I couldn’t even entertain another thought. It was like being on the most beautiful beach in the world and someone saying, “There’s this amazing mountain over here. Come take a look.” I couldn’t balance the two, so I passed on Star Wars. 

PLAYBOY: What happened between saying no and saying yes?

ABRAMS: It was a wild time. I was near the light at the end of the tunnel with my work on Star Trek. I felt I needed a bit of a breather, actually. But then Kathleen Kennedy [the new Lucasfilm head who oversees Star Wars] called again. I’ve known her for years. We had a great conversation, and the idea of working with her on this suddenly went from being theoretical and easy to deny to being a real, tangible, thrilling possibility. In the end it was my wife, Katie, who said if it was something that really interested me, I had to consider it.

Editor's Note: Kids please don't follow the link, let your parents print out the interview for you. 

SOURCE: Playboy.com (NSFW)

STAR WARS: EMPIRE AND REBELLION: RAZOR'S EDGE by Martha Wells Cover Art

First revealed by io9, the cover art for Martha Wells' new novel in the Empire and Rebellion (fmr. working title "Rebels") series has been revealed.

The cover looks pretty sweet.  I am a bit surprised that it looks like they did some slight Photoshop adjustment to an existing head shot from Empire.  A little too cut and paste for my taste, but alas everyone is a critic.

Many female fans and some male fans may also be thrilled to see that Leia didn't end up borrowing Mara's catsuit for the cover.  Instead we get the more practical cargo pants, a black sleeveless top (a little less practical) and what looks like a utility belt/suspender combo.  Of course there is the giant blaster rifle which is why you always want to be on your best behavior around Leia, she don't play around.

It is interesting to note that in the novel side of the expanded universe there has been very little done in and around the 2 ABY time period where this novel will be set.  The two closest novels timeline wise are Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine (~1 ABY) and Splinter of the Minds Eye (~2 ABY). With the events of The Empire Strikes back occuring at 3 ABY there is a little bit of time for the authors to play with if all three Han, Luke and Leia novels are set during the time in between Episodes IV and V.  This time period is particularly compelling for character reasons as you have a young Luke Skywalker still unsure of his abilities and seeking his way as a Jedi and a Rebel.  It must have been even more complicated for Luke once the legend of his deeds in destroying the Death Star got around and he becomes a Rebel celebrity and the expectations from his higher ups that he can simply repeat that performance.  We also get to see the romantic tension build between Han and Leia which we see erupt in Empire.

Along with the big three I hope we see a nice mix of new and existing back ground characters from politicians to generals that will be a treat to EU fans young and old with this series.


Razor's Edge: Star Wars (Empire and Rebellion) is due out October 15, 2013 in Hardcover, audiobook and ebook formats from Del Rey/Random House.


SOURCES: io9 and Star Wars Books

Funny or Die's "Writing Star Wars w/Michael Arndt

Perhaps the pressure of writing Star Wars: Episode VII is starting to make screenwriter Michael Arndt crack up.

Writing Star Wars w/ Michael Arndt - watch more funny videos

SOURCE: Funny or Die

Star Wars: A New Hope Speedrun: Doodley Awesomeness

This is just to much fun not to share.  Star Wars: A New Hope told in animation in one minute.

SOURCE: io9