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StarWars.com: “6 Real World Influences Behind Star Wars Wildlife”
What sets Star Wars apart from most science fiction films—which are more inclined to choose style over substance—are the thoroughly-researched parallels it draws to our reality, from mythology and religion to science and world history. Anyone, for instance, can relate the autocratic conformity of World War II’s Axis powers to the Galactic Empire, or Luke Skywalker’s path to Jedi Knighthood epitomizing the ancient tale of the hero’s journey. These elements bring a fantastic richness that simultaneously manages to keep itself grounded in familiarity, but it does tend to overshadow a more living, breathing part of our world that, oftentimes, we take for granted: the animal kingdom.
StarWars.com: “6 Obscure Behind-the-Scenes Facts from the Prequel Trilogy”
One need not search far on the Internet to notice that whenever the subject of behind-the-scenes Star Wars facts springs up, the prequel trilogy almost always tends to fall by the wayside, dismissed over misconceptions that its use of CGI doesn’t leave much in the way of fascinating production tidbits. While true that visual effects development shifted from practical to computer generated during The Phantom Menace onward, it still required a team of creative visionaries sketching out, sculpting, and building the people, creatures, and ships to be brought to life on the computer—something that no piece of technology, no matter how advanced, can ever do alone. And like Episodes IV through VI before it, the prequel trilogy has its own set of strangely insightful secrets sure to add to your near-encyclopedic knowledge of Star Wars trivia!
StarWars.com: “The 5 Most Grueling Star Wars Visual Effects”
Creative wisdom says that unless you’re willing to invest the necessary amount of enthusiasm and labor into your project, then you might as well walk away and never look back. The original Star Wars trilogy remains a testament to this adage as it continues to ignite the imagination of aspiring filmmakers—and it’s obvious why: creator George Lucas and all hands involved pushed themselves beyond their physical and mental thresholds to blur the line between fantasy and reality.
StarWars.com: “Actors Who Almost Appeared in Star Wars”
The original Star Wars trilogy was one of the few franchises to pull a film industry hat-trick: it became an overnight institution of pop culture, each installment was a box office-shattering success, and—perhaps the most unbelievable feat of all—it starred what can be hailed as the perfect ensemble of actors. And it’s by no means a happy accident that each scene is alive with authentic chemistry; director George Lucas is well known to have been very selective when handpicking the cast that would bring Star Wars to life, devoting nearly half a year to assessing hopefuls that numbered in the thousands.
StarWars.com: “6 Bizarre Behind-the-Scenes Star Wars Facts”
Sometimes more fun than watching the Star Wars films themselves—of course there’s nothing better than the movies, we’re just trying to set the mood here—is discovering a fascinating anecdote or informative morsel about the series’ production, enriching our experience even further. But the best obscure factoids are the weird ones, the kind that tend to get edited out of Blu-ray special features and saved for books or sporadically seed the Internet.
StarWars.com: “7 Unused Star Wars Concepts That Would’ve Changed Everything”
It was on a winter’s day in January 1973 when George Lucas, months before experiencing the euphoric success of American Graffiti, sat over a typewriter and punched out the first of many drafts for Star Wars, beginning three years of meticulous refinement and, presumably, the voracious consumption of Pepto-Bism[o]l. This laborious pattern of overhauling plots and design revisions continued throughout the entire series’ production, leaving in its wake enough what-ifs and what-could’ve-beens to keep fans awake at night (besides the usual Star Wars-related thoughts that deprive us of sleep anyway).
PopMatters: “A Walk Down Memory Lane: G.I. Joe #3” | COMICS REVIEW
When longtime G.I. Joe writer and esteemed industry veteran Chuck Dixon dropped the reins of the IDW series’ third volume, now penning its sister series G.I. Joe: Special Missions, it was difficult not to feel a sense of fan anxiety over who would pick up the torch of his five-year legacy. In some respects this trepidation was natural when considering—in addition to Dixon’s tenure alone—the accomplishments he made over the span of G.I. Joe’s 48 issues: ushering an iconic ‘80s intellectual property into the 21st century and building a multifaceted mythos. Would another writer very shortly be taking a proverbial wrecking ball to the grandiose structure Dixon had built?
PopMatters: “Sad Dad Versus the Modern Prometheus: Batman and Red Robin #19” | COMICS REVIEW
The ripples spinning out from the devastating loss of Damian Wayne in Batman Incorporated #8 may no longer be felt within the pages of Detective, Batgirl and other titles grouped beneath the shadow of the Bat Family umbrella of books. Yet, Batman is just now coming to terms with the untimely death of his son in Batman and Red Robin #19. This daunting psychological load becomes central to the story of just how far a bereft parent would go to fill the void left by their late child... When you're Batman, you'll attempt [to] fill that void in the most outlandish and controversial manner possible.
PopMatters: “Of Crazy Coots and Headgear for Thing Suits: FF #5” | COMICS REVIEW
When measured against a majority of the Marvel NOW! titles featuring prominent and heavy-hitting characters including the likes of Wolverine, Spider-Man and the Avengers, the humble comic series known as FF appears, superficially at least, to be batting more than a thousand. An ersatz Fantastic Four consisting of an assemblage of obscure heroes called to fill the daunting shoes of the iconic team proper, Ant-Man’s crew of unlikely heroes certainly had planted its roots in shaky ground, tasked with winning the hearts of the series’ dubious public and the real world readership that’s become more discerning due to the aftershocks of our past financial crisis.