Always In Motion The Future Is…

I still feel like I’m catching up since I got home last week.  There have been quite a few odds and ends popping up around the ‘net.  Today I’ll stick to the Star Wars items I found noteworthy.

  • Variety reports that “Blu-ray sales for ‘Star Wars’ tops $84 million,” making it the number one preorder and catalogue title for Blu-ray.  
  • The guide for tonight’s Clone Wars episode, titled “Prisoners”, is available at StarWars.com.  We’ll be chatting about it live in the Cantina starting at 8:00 p.m., for anyone who wants to join us.   
  • On its Star Wars page, Suvudu asks where a new reader should begin in the Expanded Universe. Unsurprisingly, Heir to the Empire is winning by a landslide.  
  • As noted on Facebook, “Last Friday was moving day in the Del Rey Star Wars headquarters,” relocating their offices within the same building. The books were restored to operational capacity swiftly; hopefully the rest of the unpacking went smoothly, too.
  • Mini-excerpt #6 was posted for Paul Kemp’s upcoming Star Wars novel Riptide, on sale October 25th.
  • New Del Rey Star Wars editor Frank Parisi showed his enthusiasm for last week’s Clone Wars episodes by posting on the Star Wars Facebook page. 

TCW S4 opener was a blast. How cool was it seeing a young, slightly brasher Ackbar shred? Favorite scene: The aqua droids getting dispatched. Beautifully composed, visually, while the music was haunting and made my arm hairs stand on end (excellent score on the whole in this episode). As always the sound design rocks–the underwater lightsaber fx were boffo (though I still think it odd that they work under water), and the animation’s getting progressively better. All that and the Hyrdoid Medusas for the win. Bravo! (FP)

  • Star Wars Insider is offering a free digital edition. It’s an older issue, but if you haven’t read the magazine it’s a good chance to see what it has to offer. (via Official Star Wars Blog)
  • Lucasfilm has joined forces with Stand Up to Cancer to offer rare and unique items at auction for fans.  Today is your last day to bid on a one-of-a-kind Star Wars Passat or dinner with George Lucas, Chris Columbus, Francis Ford Coppola, Philip Kaufman, and John Lasseter. (The question remains – would the winner actually eat, or just drool in dumbfounded awe?)  Stand Up For Cancer Star Wars shirts will be available through the end of the year.
  • The programming schedule is up for Geek Girl Con, and there will be at least one panel that discusses the Star Wars and the EU.  If you’re a reader of the blog, look for me in my It’s Chic 2BA Geek shirt, and say hi.  

Boobies and Blasters: The Women of Star Wars

Panelists delve into the Star Wars canon to examine the portrayal of female characters. Are they more than princesses and dancing girls? How are the villainesses of the Star Wars Expanded Universe changing the perception of women for a new generation of fans?

Panelists: Mercedes Santaella-Lam (moderator), Misty Buxton, Deunan Berkeley, Sarah Silverman, Amy Sjoberg

  • Finally, the programming schedule for New York Comic Con has been posted. There are two notable items about the Star Wars schedule. First, at SDCC the Dark Horse panel was remarkably underwhelming, and Randy Stradley said back then that they would be making their big Star Wars announcement at NYCC, yet there is no dedicated Dark Horse Star Wars panel. Second, the Del Rey Star Wars Books panel reveals a noticeable difference from previous con panels this year.  

Del Rey Star Wars Books Panel
Date: Sunday, October 16
2:45 pm – 3:45 pm
Location: 1A24

Speakers: Drew Karpyshyn, Erich Schoeneweiss, Frank Parisi, Jason Fry

Description: Join Del Rey editors Frank Parisi and Erich Schoeneweiss as they discuss upcoming Star Wars books from Del Rey and answer your questions. Special guests: Drew Karpyshyn, author of the Star Wars: Darth Bane novels and the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan, and Jason Fry, co-author of Star Wars: The Essential Atlas and author of the upcoming Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare. Limited prizes to be awarded, while supplies last.

The obvious question is – with the current roster of upcoming fictional books, does Star Wars books need two fiction editors, or have the reins at Del Rey actually been passed along?

Fangirl

Fangirl

Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and the intersection of women within Star Wars fandom. She is co-author of Ultimate Star Wars and Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia from DK Publishing, a featured writer for Star Wars Insider magazine with numerous articles on the Hero's Journey. Her FANgirl opinions can be heard on the podcasts Hyperspace Theories and Fangirls Going Rogue. Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.