Star Wars - The Future, Clouded It Is...

I was alerted to an article this morning from i09's Beth Elderkin, confirming the news that the first film in the new Star Wars trilogy - after December's "Episode 9: The Rise Of Skywalker" - will be helmed by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff & B.D. Weiss.

screen grab from i09 article by Beth Elderkin (credit i09).

Quoting directly from Disney CEO Bob Iger, who was speaking at a MoffetNathanson Media & Communications summit this week, 

"We did a deal with David Benioff & B.D. Weiss, who are famous for Game of Thrones, and the next movie we release will be theirs," Iger said. "And we're not saying anything more about that." 

Side note - it remains amusing to me that Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy remains pretty much invisible from any Star Wars related announcements - although that is not unsurprising these days.

A few things stand out to me in the reading of Elderkin's article.

I've watched the on-line backlash to the current/final season of Game Of Thrones. Criticisms around the overall tone of the final season, narrative choices and the disjointed nature of the characterizations have abounded, with much of that criticism being directed at Benioff & Weiss.

Walt Disney CEO - Bob Iger.

Iger's quote states that the next film in the Star Wars saga will be Benioff & Weiss' - but that's it. He apparently refused to elaborate on the trilogy, which has a planned release schedule every two years, from 2022. Elderkin's article seems to suggest that Iger has only committed to this pair for the first film in the new trilogy. Does that mean that we can expect Benioff & Weiss to helm/write the first film only, with others taking over for the 2nd and 3rd films? Or will they write the trilogy and hand directing duties over to others? 

("Always in motion, is the future..." Yoda).

Elderkin is, perhaps, being a little coy but I do find merit in her suggestion. I wonder if Iger is watching things unfold really closely, assessing the reaction to the Game Of Thrones final season and preparing contingencies for the Star Wars franchise, as production on the new trilogy ramps up. There feels, to me, a lot of ongoing uncertainty in the Star Wars cinematic IP - particularly in the wake of Rian Johnson's disastrous "The Last Jedi" (2017).  

There are positives to take from this announcement though. 

I am heartened by previous statements from Bob Iger that there will be a three year hiatus between Episode 9 and the new cinematic trilogy - which will be a separate narrative from the Skywalker saga. That will give the writers time to properly flesh out the 3 film cycle - a'la *George Lucas* - and they can avoid the terrible narrative mess of the sequel trilogy. 

We need to remember that Benioff & Weiss are showrunners for Game Of Thrones, tasked with wrangling the source material from George R.R. Martin into a cohesive whole for the medium of television. They can't be expected to take full responsibility for the outcome of the presentation nor the response to it.

Freed from the shackles of that property, and the shackles of the Star Wars/Skywalker legacy, Benioff & Weiss have the potential to put together a compelling trilogy, with a strong, *planned* narrative arc and fresh, new, archetypal characters that reflect the best of Lucas' mythology and the Campbellian influences Lucas drew on to create it. 

What Lucasfilm has to focus on lies outside of the cinematic/filmed universe. I am still hopeful for a clean out at the top of Lucasfilm from CEO Kathleen Kennedy, through to the Story Group and those in the customer engagement space, who have behaved appallingly towards a large body of fans since around 2016. 

Kathleen Kennedy has been an abject failure as CEO, mishandling the hiring and firing of directors of Solo: A Star Wars Story and original Episode 9 helmer, Colin Trevorrow. The resulting financial mismanagement of the Star Wars brand is clear - as illustrated by the critical and financial failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

(Empress Palpa...I mean Kathleen Kennedy. image credit WhatCulture.com)

Kennedy has presided over a dysfunctional culture at Lucasfilm - most notably in the Lucasfilm Story Group. Storytelling by committee is a terrible form of storytelling for a cinematic IP. That there was no plan for the narrative arc of the sequel trilogy, disunity between certain creators and identities at Lucasfilm and the tacit endorsement of terrible fan engagement from company representatives like like Pablo Hidalgo, (now fired) Kiri Hart, (now fired) Chuck Wendig, (soon to be fired?) Rian Johnson, Matt Martin and others within Lucasfilm have done as much damage to the Star Wars brand as Kennedy's faulty decision making. The lack of discipline and respect by these individuals towards fans and a lack of any form of social media policy that would reign in the behavior of these individuals on-line is perplexing. 

As a writer myself, I have been routinely exposed to fans and critics alike over the years and the one thing I've learned from that is engagement is a one way street. You can only have positive engagement - even when you'd love to stab critics and trolls eyes out.

Star Wars remains a entertainment brand on life support. I remain unconvinced that Episode 9 will be a success at the box office, though I do still hope that J.J. Abrams has been able to do something with film that will erase much of the damage from "The Last Jedi". It remains to be seen how David Benioff & B.D. Weiss will transition from a property like Game of Thrones, which has earned a reputation for blood drenched violence, gore, murder, graphic rape and sex to the family friendly Star Wars franchise.

Regular readers of my blog will know how passionate I have been about Star Wars since I saw "A New Hope" as a four year old with my Dad back in 1977. Hell - Star Wars was the reason I became a writer and pursued my dream of publication. So I don't say these things lightly.

As for the future of Star Wars, beyond Episode 9 - I'll watch and see from the peripheries, how things develop. Star Wars has been in an enjoyment free fall since "The Last Jedi" and it appears the culture at Lucasfilm shows no signs of abating. I remain terminally ambivalent about the future of the cinematic universe.

DFA.

The Twenty Ninth Year - A Schwannoma Diary.

Where to begin with this...

So...I've had to digest a lot of news in a short space of time this past week, so my thoughts are a jumble. I'm probably going to struggle to express myself coherently here. But, bare with me. Okay?

There's a background to this story that I'll relate to you in a potted form. It's a story that began back in 1989 when I was 14 years old. 

I was a reasonably active kid. Good at swimming, average at football. Decent at cricket - though nothing to write home about. I was always a little clumsy, uncoordinated. I had a terrible drop punt and I used to trip and fall over myself a bit. It was embarrassing sure, but I didn't get too worried about it. My Star Wars game was always better than my Australian Rules game. One morning in late May, during a junior football match, I suddenly collapsed and was rendered unable to walk. After a flurry of medical examinations and a series of scans, I was diagnosed with a tumour in my spinal cord - a schwannoma. It was growing out of the spinal cord itself, it's parastic tissue intimately emeshed with the cord. It was to turn my teenaged life upside down for the next two years. 

I had two operations back then to remove the tumour and clean up some scarring that caused some issues afterwards. I had to re-learn how to walk. I had to manage a few functional issues involving my bladder and bowels and I somehow had to navigate the psychological comprehension of a traumatic experience that upended my adolescence.

I was told at the time that this tumour was a fluke - a once off. Owing to its slow growing nature, there was zero likelihood of this thing ever returning in my lifetime. Aside from a few functional issues, I should be able to lead a normal life.

Twenty Nine Years later...

I've documented my recent *exploits* here with my throat - how a dysfunctional branch of nerves in my neck caused havoc with my ability to swallow, speak and breath effectively. Having largely conquered that episode, I was referred to a Neurologist to investigate the underlying aetiology of this nerve dysfunction 

I was concerned there was an inflammatory causative factor for the whole throat thing. Some additional symptoms I'd been experiencing - including visual deterioration in my left eye, a sudden inability to taste or smell, some incontinence and *other* dysfunction - led my neurologist to want to rule out that very inflammatory pathology. We discussed Multiple Sclerosis, even Parkinson's Disease.

I agreed to undergo a battery of tests in order to build a case against these. A series of blood tests, urine, a lumbar puncture, neurological exam, an MRI. I underwent these tests, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, because I didn't want it weighing on me any longer. This had been two years out of my life, in which - you know - I would've rathered been focusing on something else. 

I'm at a stage in my life where there's not a lot that shocks me anymore. As an Intensive Care Nurse, I've seen a fair bit - maladies, trauma, disease, the expected and the unexpected. 

I received a phone call from my GP last week, requesting that I make and appointment to see her. I sat down with her after a long night duty shift on Wednesday morning.

The MRI scan found a tumour, located in my lower spinal cord - very close to where the original schwannoma had been found in 1989. 

A tumour - that was never supposed to recurr.

I was shocked, stunned, numb.

Remember? This was never supposed to happen. 

Things have moved fairly quickly. I have met with a Neurosurgeon, and we have discussed my options, which I might say, are pretty straightforward. I will have to undergo surgery to remove the tumour. Plans are afoot in that direction and I'll be undergoing a second series of scans later this week to *map* out the exact geography and extent of the lesion. It is growing out of the spinal cord itself, so the surgical team need to know - to the millimetre - how emeshed this mass is.

At the moment, I'm approaching all this with a clinician's mind as much as I am a patient's. It's a confusing state. I've expressed little outward emotion about the diagnosis so far. Rather, I've been digesting the reports and the MRI films. I've mulled over the technical aspects of the prospective surgery. I've weighed up the chances of this thing being a malignancy. By erecting a veneer of distance between the diagnosis, I can keep my emotions in check.

This is not to say that I am completely divorced from them. This recurrence has implications beyond the mere presence of the tumour - implications that I can't bring myself to process just yet. There is, deep down, a maelstrom of emotions.

There is fear. There is disbelief. There is anger.

My mind teeters on the edge of this chaos so I'm doing everything I can to focus on the process dispassionately.

This may seem strange, but I'm more worried about more fundamental things - like, how I'm going to get through the next little while - I mean, it's bloody Christmas. I have to pay the bills, support my family, give my kids a Christmas to treasure - this Christmas is certainly going to be interesting. 

I want to get back on my feet as soon as I can. I can't stay idle. It'll drive me nuts. I can't allow this thing to upend my life again. 

The stakes are too high.

Is this a diary? I think this is a diary. Let's call it a diary.

I can't breathe now. I need to stop writing. I'll talk a little more soon.

DFA.

Ambitious, Maddening, Confusing, Genius - Reappraising The Last Jedi.

So - you know a film has gotten under your skin when, after seeing it that first time, you can't stop thinking about it.

This is no less true for me with Star Wars The Last Jedi. It hasn't left my mind since I saw it on Saturday. I posted my initial thoughts about the film, at a time when I'd had such a visceral reaction to it. I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I knew that, in terms of Star Wars, it was unlike any Star Wars story I'd seen before - both on screen and in literature. You have to remember that, for die hard fans of the franchise, there has been a forty year catalog of Expanded Universe stories for us to digest. I initially called The Last Jedi ambitious, maddening and confusing.

Since Saturday, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has percolated in me. It has boiled and bubbled around in my gut. It has lead me through such a spectrum of emotions, I still can't even process them.

It was inevitable that I was going to see it again.

The bulk of this post was written in the first few hours after I left the cinema, having had that second viewing.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi was an infinitely better viewing experience the second time around. Free from the hype of expectation, I was able to settle in and appraise the story on its own terms. I'd already credited writer/director Rian Johnson's approach to some aspects of the film narrative in my previous post, but I'd found them difficult to take in. 

Kylo Ren's arc remains brilliant. It is probably the most compelling story arc of a dark side character in Star Wars history. He comes to us from The Force Awakens as a quintessentially character, having struck down his own father and accepted the Dark Side of the Force over the Light. All of that is turned on its head in The Last Jedi. Adam Driver's Ren - or Ben Solo - walks a tight rope, balancing over a chasm of the Force. One has to wonder whether there are moments where even he is not sure of his true destiny. 

The subsequent trajectory Ren takes, through his interaction with Rey through the Force, is an exercise in minimalist genius. It is ballet. I had problems with this new characteristic of the Force but I now question why I should have at all. The Force is as much a character in the Star Wars universe than any other character. It can evolve and change just as human, animal or alien. 

I think Kylo Ren's die was cast from the moment he shatters his mask in the elevator at the beginning of the film - following his confrontation with Snoke. Ren is on a search for ultimate power, ultimate control, in much the same way that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were. Ren sees Rey as a threat to that control. Thus he must control her too. The way Kylo Ren manipulates Rey and, by extension, us throughout the story is nothing short of exquisite. 

I still can't quite accept the murder of Snoke, so early in the piece. Part of that shock has been influenced by my buying into the fan speculation surrounding who Snoke may or may not be and part of it is my belief that Snoke is a compelling enough character that he should have remained in the saga until the third film. In light of the brilliance of Kylo Ren's trajectory I'm not as angered by it as I was after my first viewing.

Luke Skywalkers's arc is even more brilliant on second viewing. I knew there was something special in this narrative but I was able to take it in more thoroughly. It is superb. I experienced moments of real emotion throughout both viewings of the film. Mark Hamill's acting is superb. Johnson's writing, his flipping of the script in terms of who Luke Skywalker is, is superb.

Writer Joseph Campbell defined the hero's journey in his 1949 book "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" and it served as a template for popular story telling throughout the 20th century, influencing none other than George Lucas himself. Lucas resolved his particular Hero's Journey with Luke Skywalker at the end of Return of The Jedi and gave the character a happily ever after. Rian Johnson opens the window beyond that happily ever after and reveals the hero in a completely new light. Middle aged, scarred by the subsequent years, guilt ridden by subsequent failure and closed off from everything that defined his heroism. 

I still have problems with Luke Skywalker "dialing" into Crait through the Force at the emotion charged climax of the film. Again, this is coloured by my own perceptions of what the Force should be. But again, it is not for me to define what the Force is. The thing is, Skywalker was there. He was there when the, Resistance and Leia and Rey and the Galaxy needed him most. He'd opened himself back up to the Force. He accepted his failure with Kylo Ren and he accepted that the Jedi will not end. He became the hero he always was. It was perfect.

Rey. Dear sweet Rey. I said in my previous blog post that her arc reminded me of (Ryan Gosling) K's arc in Blade Runner 2049, in that - even when he realizes that he is not the missing child of Deckard and Rachel, that he is no-one, he still decides to do the right thing - *because it is the right thing to do*. Well, I am definitely more accepting of the truth of Rey. That she is no-one - and yet she chooses to do the right thing. She chooses the right path. She does so because she is inherently good and she is just as open to receiving and interacting with the Force as anyone. The Force is an energy field that moves through all living things - all living things. I like that a lot.

I think I can accept that Rey's parentage matters less now than it did. And maybe it never mattered. Again, fan speculation and a subtle manipulation by Lucasfilm - in that they deliberately conflated her parentage to wind us all up - contributed to so much of my initial shock at this reveal. Rey is now presented to us as a character who exists completely on her own terms, unburdened by a family legacy a'la a Skywalker or a Kenobi or even a Palpatine 

There remains problematic aspects to this film. Canto Bight still feels out of place and I don't think it should have been in the story. In fact, at times it doesn't feel like it exists in the same film. I think it contributed to Last Jedi's unacceptably long runtime and Rian could have gone with a more condensed thread that would have kept the action on the Raddus - ie. there's a compromised Droid on the ship that the Mega Star Destroyer is communicating with and thus able to track the ship the light speed. Our heroes have to find it. I dunno - it's just an idea.

Admiral Holdo seemed to make more sense to me but I'm not quite there with her yet. I think that, in the story arc dealing with Canto Bight and the Resistance Cruiser, her arc got confused. I'm still trying to work that whole thread out in my head.

I never had a problem with Leia surviving that first attack on her ship. In the 30 years since Return of the Jedi, I've come to accept and appreciate that Leia can wield the Force. She may not do so in the same way that Luke or Rey can but her pedigree cannot be denied. Again, it illustrates a new interpretation on the Force and who is able to use it. Princess Leia has to be in 9. She has to be! They didn't conclude Leia's story in any way like I thought they would, and to just not have her in there for the final film - if just to resolve her character with a fitting death - It would be wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!

So - second time around - I'm emotionally exhausted. In a much better way than I was after my first viewing of the film. 

Rian Johnson has sold me. The Last Jedi is the most ambitious Star Wars storytelling - ever. It remains maddening and confusing but that is actually the genius of it. The Last Jedi is not a story for lazy consumers of story telling. I made that mistake in my initial reaction to it. It is a story to unpack and consider in different ways. Rian Johnson has challenged my perceptions of what a Star Wars narrative should be. 

I'm grateful for that. 

DFA.

P.S. - For a comprehensive, engaging and entertaining reaction to The Last Jedi, listen to the latest episode of the Richie & Ollie Show. Available where ever good podcasts are down-loadable (Click Image). 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Ambitious. Confusing. Maddening.

So, regular readers to this blog and those who know me well, know that my love of Star Wars runs deep - 40 years deep - ever since my Dad took me to see the original Star Wars back in 1977.

I went to see The Last Jedi yesterday with my family, replicating that first excursion to Star Wars all those years ago. For my 8 year old daughter, it was a special occasion as it was our first cinematic experience of Star Wars together.

It was always going to be special. 

I came away from The Last Jedi not really knowing what to think. To absorb something set in a fictional universe you've loved for 40 years is always a challenge, simply because you're emotionally invested in it. You have skin in this game. 

So, 24 hours later, what do I think about this film?

It's complicated.

I'm still trying to process exactly what I saw in The Last Jedi. Undoubtedly, it was the most complex Star Wars film of the saga to date but, I think they were too ambitious in some aspects of the film.

So here goes...

The Last Jedi was half an hour too long. It made several attempts at comedy, some of which was good, some was not so good and some ran dangerously close to breaching that fourth wall. It was cringe worthy. Characters - both new and established - did things in this film that seemed out of place for Star Wars and, at times, it jarred badly. That wasn't something I expected.

If I'm to compare The Last Jedi - the middle act of a three act play - with it's spiritual predecessor, the Empire Strikes Back, this film should have adhered to two or three key story threads and ran with them to a cliffhanger. The Last Jedi went with around six or seven and of those, none were satisfyingly resolved or parked for the third act. They were confusing and and they detracted from the strengths of the film.

And much of the story didn't need to be there. For example, the Canto Bight sequences. For all its Bond-esque bombast and chintz, this thread was brutally unsatisfying and it didn't need to be there.

See the thing is - they had a perfect plot device that would have explained the First Order being able to track the Resistance through hyperspace. They had a black BB unit on the bridge of the Raddus, *next to BB8* early in the film! 

That Droid *could* have been the node the First Order were using to track the Resistance ship through hyperspace!

Writer/Director Rian Johnson could have dropped clues to the presence of this droid throughout out the film and dispensed with Canto Bight altogether. In the process they would've saved potentially 20 minutes of run time and kept the story more contained. 

Finn and Rose could still have had their character moments in searching for the node and it would have been a lot more satisfying. 

The whole DJ subplot - that crafty code breaker played (poorly) by Benicio Del Toro - where he eventually sold Finn and Rose out on the deck of Snoke's Super Dooper Star Destroyer - it was a messy way to get where they needed to go.

The supporting players in this film - some of them established, some newcomers - fell surprisingly flat, despite their acting chops. Kelly Marie Tran's Rose Tico was a pleasant enough but she ended up being a nothing character who felt tacked on and too obvious at times. She was there to be a love interest for John Boyega's Finn but that trajectory was way too clunky and cringe worthy at the supposedly emotion charged climax.

I did like aspects of John Boyega's Finn's arc - ie. his finding courage within himself and not running away from the fight was good and satisfying. Especially at that moment during the Crait battle. But I felt it was less than it could have been - and yet I don't know how it could have been more.

Laura Dern's Admiral Holdo was another new addition who fell flat. Her presence in the film was way too convoluted to be convincing and it became painful to watch. And I read the Journey to the Last Jedi novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan which was a good primer for the relationship between Holdo and Leia. Their relationship here and the supposedly clandestine final solution they'd cooked up off screen was flat and confusing.

Chewbacca was relegated to a second string character and I thought they treated him badly. I wanted to see moments of Chewie dealing with his grief at losing Han Solo - his best friend - and perhaps coming full circle and committing a life debt to Rey. I wanted to see more gravitas in the reunion between Chewie and Luke. There was none of that. Chewie was almost non existent, forced to interact with the worst Star Wars creations since Jar Jar Binks  - the Porgs. 

Captain Phasma...

This character has become the most useless excuse for a Star Wars antagonist ever. I don't ever want to see her in Star Wars ever again. And yet, here's the thing - I actually feel for actress Gwendoline Christie and, even the character of Phasma.

I've seen Christie's work, most notably with Game Of Thrones, and I know she is capable of so much more than what they gave her across The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. I kept spotting places where they could've dropped Phasma into scenes but they didn't - and the character suffered that.most egregious of fates - she became irrelevant.

Now, is she dead? No. I don't think so. I think they'll bring her back because they revealed her eye in that last scene and her fall reeked of "Oh, you know we're gonna bring her back".

Now - Rey's parentage.

My wife Emily, who regards herself herself as a casual Star Wars viewer observed this in our post viewing dissection. Emily loved the The Force Awakens. She loved Rey and she was really invested in finding out who Rey's parents were. 

Lucasfilm teased us with Rey's parentage -  both in the run up to the film and within the film itself. They teased us with that whole Dark Side sink hole sequence on Ach-To - the one Rey fell into, then encountered the multiple versions of herself. 

They teased us right up to the point of threatening a reveal of her parents - only to reveal herself. It was a shallow imitation of the whole Luke confronting himself in the tree on Dagobah from The Empire Strikes Back! No! No, no, no! 

Then, to have Kylo Ren deliver that limp wristed revelation about her parentage, later, on Snoke's Star Destroyer? 

Seriously???

Lucasfilm have had two years to offer something of significance with Rey, that would truly elevate her and they allow Rian Johnson to go with something so weak???

Rian Johnson has essentially written Rey off as a nobody - a worthy nobody - but a nobody nonetheless. Despite this revelation, Rey chooses the path of the Light. It is an admirable choice on her part and it defines her character as inherently good. This actually reminded me of a similar thread from Denis Villeneuve's outstanding Blade Runner 2049. 

In that film, the protagonist K discovers that he is not the secret child of Deckard and Rachel. He is, essentially, a nobody - a no-one of significance. Yet he, chooses to do the right thing in reuniting Deckard with his long lost child - because it is the right thing to do. Star Wars does not have the luxury of doing that. No one who is Force sensitive should be an insignificant player on the Star Wars chessboard. The lore that George Lucas established throughout the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy, with respect to Force sensitive individuals does not allow for that. 

I actually suspect that the reveal of Rey's parentage by Ben?Kylo was a misdirection. If that is the case, it was a monumentally clumsy one.

Now, there were strengths in The Last Jedi - narrative arcs that ran close to being brilliant - until they weren't.

Kylo Ren's arc was among the strongest in the film. Ben Solo/Kylo Ren is pretty much irretrievable by the end of the film and his killing of Snoke illustrates just how dark he has become. Supreme Leader Snoke is partly responsible for who Solo/Ren is. So is Luke Skywalker. I found this was a compelling exploration of the Balance of The Force and how precarious that balance is.

And Ben/Kylo's twisted psyche totally feeds into the legacy of Anakin/Darth in that he craves power so that he can control events and shape the galaxy. He will do anything to achieve ultimate power to protect himself. He will manipulate Rey, destroy Snoke, confront his shame ridden Uncle.

Mark Hamill was brilliant - flawed brilliance - but brilliance none-the-less. His performance is potentially Oscar worthy. Hamill brought moments of real emotion to his role and I felt those. Any actor who can cry on screen is a genius!

I can fully accept Luke Skywalker's act in wanting to put down Ben Solo in the flash back scenes in the film. His fear of Ben's darkness and what it could mean for the galaxy was a brilliant exploration of the character and added much to the lore of Luke Skywalker. 

To apply a real world analogy to this - I consider my own experience. Sitting here, in my 40's as I am, I can buy into that sense of middle aged doubt Luke Skywalker experiences. I have doubts about the world around me, the people in it, the consequences for the future. While not wanting to actually kill anyone per-se, I felt empathy with Luke wrestling with his existence as portrayed in the film.  

What I could not accept was that Luke Skywalker remained on Ach-To safe from the events of the Crait climax. This was the Jedi equivalent of phoning it in.

Initially, I couldn't even determine whether his entrance into the Resistance hide out was  physical or not. But when that fact was revealed, it was a disappointment. 

Luke Skywalker should have made that final decision to protect the Spark *in person* - to reunite with Leia just one last time and confront Kylo/Ben on the salt flats of Crait. The resulting duel between Uncle and Nephew fell flat. It had no emotional punch - because Luke wasn't actually there. It was disrespectful to the character and his legacy.

That Luke Skywalker died alone, away from the fight, was another example of Lucasfilm copping out with an attempt at gravitas that was an utter failure. Luke Skywalker should not have died on Ach-To. He shouldn't have died in this film. 

And nor should have Snoke.

Here's where I have to talk about Snoke. 

Fuck Snoke!! 

Supreme Leader Snoke is the most egregious mishandling of a character in Star Wars - ever. Again, for Lucasfilm to manipulate us, for two years, with tantalizing ideas about the origins of Snoke -  only to *not* give us any idea of who Snoke is. Then to kill him off like that?

We have no context with which to remain invested in Snoke. Who was he? How was it that he was able to wield absolute chaos over the Skywalker family? We got none of that. The Last Jedi should have explored that. Instead, he became a throw away character - disposable and irrelevant.

I now couldn't give a shit who Snoke is in the wider arc of this story. I don't need to know his history. I don't care! Again, we have another character who should have been someone of significance in the Star Wars universe. Lucasfilm baulked! As though it was too hard. 

As the middle act of a three act play, The Last Jedi should have followed the trajectory of The Empire Strikes Back. It should have deepened the characters established in The Force Awakens and their relationships with one another. It should not have dispensed with characters so easily as it did. And it should have ended in a cliff hanger - unresolved, with us fearing for the future of our beloved heroes. It misfired on most of these, if not all of them.

Look, I did not hate The Last Jedi. The more time I spend thinking about it, the more I like what they tried to do with the story, particularly Like Skywalker and Kylo Ren's respective arcs, the nature of the Force and the precarious balance it constantly challenges those in the universe with. 

But, I have a lot of difficulty with what Rian Johnson did give us. The Snoke arc. The Canto Bight and the DJ sequence. Rey's arc and parentage. These showed a surprising level of incompetence and cowardice in the story telling and I think Johnson has damaged the trajectory of the sequel saga. It remains to be seen whether J.J. Abrams - who is returning to direct the final film in this current trilogy - can pull something together out of this spaghetti bolognaise.

The Last Jedi - Ambitious. Confusing. Maddening. 

DFA.

(disclaimer - all images are copyright of Lucasfilm/Disney).

Social Media Outing - The Weinstein Factor & The Risk Of Getting It Wrong.

I've been wrestling with something recently that has seen me run afoul of a few people. 

It has to do with the issue of publicly outing individuals - via social media - who have (allegedly) sexually harrassed or committed acts of sexual violence. 

I initially opened with an abrupt tweet, in which I made an observation the comparison between being made to feel uncomfortable and the ongoing practice of female genital mutilation in some parts of the world - particularly parts of the world where women have no access to social media and no access to justice.

This was inconsiderate and rude on my part.

With the now proven allegations of multiple instances of sexual violence committed by Harvey Weinstein and others, there has been a daily procession of men being outed via social media for their behaviour. In some cases multiple women have publicly accused the same individual of sexual harrassment/violence. Such instances are undoubtedly worthy of investigation and I believe that law enforcement agencies should be rallied to investigate those instances to the fullest extent. 

But here's the thing. 

With the daily procession of new accusations appearing on social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook - some quite serious accusations - I am growing increasingly concerned and I question the wisdom of using such platforms to "out" perpertators of sexual harrasment/violence.

Publicly accusing individuals of sexual harrasment/violence removes the long held legal maxim of innocent until proven guilty. If so many of these instances are being publicly declared, it creates a web of enquiry any investigative process couldn't possibly hope to explore and prove.

A common argument I've seen made is that law enforcement agencies and legal institutions repeatedly fail to act in investigating cases of sexual harrasment/violence. But how can they hope to act when allegations are publicly expressed and commented on, on social media jeopardizing any chance of an effective investigation? 

Another argument I've seen is that reporting services and support for victims are inadequate or non existent. 

This is simply not true. 

A search for reporting and counselling services across major cities world wide throws up numerous and well resourced organizations who are especially equipped to help individuals - men and women - who have experienced sexual harrasment/violence. They have established links with law enforcement agencies and health organizations who can continue with support and guidance. 

The risk with social media is that it cannot be vetted. Accusations posted on social media cannot hope to be tested throughly, nor can support for victims hope to be anything close to adequate.

And what if an accuser gets it wrong? What if the agenda of an accuser is less than honorable? What if the accused is triggered by such allegations and decides to act - violently?

I posed these questions in an extensive Twitter exchange with several people yesterday, as the result of my questioning the wisdom of publicly outing someone accused of committing acts of sexual harrassment/violence. 

I was attacked, ridiculed and received both death and rape threats. All because I dared to question the calling out of someone's behaviour publicly. 

Social media has given people all over the world a platform to express themselves in all kinds of ways. This is both good and bad.  

I believe the trend of publicly outing individuals is dangerous and it *will* lead to an instance of someone - who is completely innocent - having their life destroyed as a result. 

What do you think? Am I wrong?

Being Badly Motivated - A Look At The Bad Motivators Star Wars Podcast

The best Star Wars conversations, in my mind, are the ones that recall the best bits of your childhood. You know those ones - where you would gather round with your bestest friends, who were as equally in love with the saga as you, and you would wonder, speculate and imagine where George Lucas would take the story next. 

In the early 80's, that was my experience. Riding my BMX around the back hills of Yallourn North with my friends, playing cricket in the park, talking Star Wars whenever the opportunity arose. In those heady days, particularly during the years between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, there was never more enthusiasm for the franchise. There was a wide eyed wonderment, an innocence - and there were none of the complications modern day Star Wars fandom seems to attract with ferocity.

In the 80's, I was the kid in back (image credit 21 Laps Entertainment.)

I thought those innocent conversations were a thing of the past and I've often lamented it. With the advent of podcasting, a whole world of conversation is now available at ones fingertips - literally! And while this is welcome, for me, it's been a quest of mine to find a show that harkens back to those days in the early 80's when Star Wars was king.

The Bad Motivators podcast is, perhaps, one of the best examples of Star Wars commentary that captures the essence of my childhood wonderment around Star Wars. The brain child of Eric Strothers, Luke Cruser and Dallas Woods, The Bad Motivators broadcasts weekly and covers the latest news from the Star Wars franchise, discusses the hot topics which has captured the attention of fans and explores the wider themes from the franchise that have so inspired millions around the world.

The Bad Motivators album art  - (image credit TBM)

The genius of the show - which takes its name from a scene in A New Hope where Luke Skywalker informs Uncle Owen their initial droid purchase from the Jawas has a bad motivator - lies in the infectious enthusiasm of the hosts, who approach Star Wars in a way which recalls that childhood wonderment I spoke of earlier. I've noted a tendency for Star Wars themed podcasts to approach the franchise with a cynicism, a need to knock aspects of the franchise they don't like. These shows also make the mistake of making the show about themselves and they assume a sort of ownership over Star Wars that leaves little room for inclusiveness, a variety of viewpoints and a respect for the franchise. 

"This R2 unit has a bad motivator. Look!" - (image credit Lucasfilm Ltd.)

The Bad Motivators approach their fandom with reverence for the saga, a positivity that is refreshing and an enthusiasm for their audience. They invite you in, make you feel welcome and you leave with a smile on your face.

The Bad Motivators & friend - (image credit Dallas Woods).

I often wonder what it would've been like to have lived back in the 80's and had access to the kind of podcasting The Bad Motivators produce. I think it would have made the experience just as cool. In this day, and age though, The Bad Motivators shines a positive light in the dense world of Star Wars fandom. 

Tweet with The Bad Motivators here.

Subscribe to The Bad Motivators on iTunes here. 

Subscribe to The Bad Motivators RSS feed here. 

Shop at The Bad Motivators store here. 

DFA.   

When The End Is Just The Beginning - Journey To Walhalla Entry 1.

It never ceases to feel special to me, whenever I type the words "The End" on a writing project. 

For my latest work in progress, a romantic fiction novel that carries the working title "Walhalla", I reached that milestone yesterday - and I almost couldn't believe it.

I've spent just short of a year working on this one, if you include the time that I spent *not* working on it because of some health challenges, and it was because of those health challenges that this milestone feels all the more sweeter. 

When I lost my voice after I had surgery on my throat and vocal cords, I mistakenly believed that I would actually throw myself into the project during my enforced convalescence at home. In truth, I lost all motivation for writing. My writer's voice had become just as silent as my physical one and there were times when I thought I would abandon "Walhalla" completely. I grew to hate writing and I grew to hate myself because I hated writing. 

What pulled me out of the hole I found myself in?

She... (image credit Lucasfilm Ltd.)

Carrie Fisher's death in December of last year had an impact on me. Apart from the fact that she was my most favorite "bad-ass princess" throughout the now 40 years of Star Wars, Fisher was widely regarded as a brilliant writer and script doctor - able to weave complex narrative tapestries and turn the most parlous of screenplays into something special. And she did all this while waging a none to secret battle with mental illness. In the ensuing obituaries and reflections on her life, I guess I received something akin to a kick in the pants from her. 

Somehow, I clawed my way out of the hole and I recommitted to this story. I realized that I actually loved it. For this is a story that I think will likely be my most personal one.

"Walhalla" is set in a little mountain town in Victoria, Australia - a place I have known and loved my entire life. Steeped in history and the site of one of the biggest gold rushes in 19th century Australia, Walhalla has refused to die - even though it was thought many times that it would. Somehow it has endured and is undergoing something of a renaissance, thanks to a renewed interest in its history and the opportunities afforded to it by tourism. 

For me, Walhalla serves as the setting for what I hope will be an engaging love story between a Doctor who has returned to his home town after the failure of his marriage and a Baker whose tragic past has instilled her with a steely determination to succeed with her nascent business. Walhalla - the story, like the town - is filled with a cast of quirky characters, all of whom are derived from people who have been a fixture in my life and I hope their presence will leap off the page as I develop the story further.

Because, even though I have typed the words "The End" on this first draft - it is really just beginning. 

Editing is a process that I love. It is challenging, frustrating and rewarding all at the same time. Once I have completed my first pass over the manuscript, I'll have a team of people to whom I will pass a second draft onto to get their insights, advice, criticisms and recommendations. I will incorporate all of those into a third draft - and then I'll be at a stage where I hope to submit it to my publisher.

I hope you might like to join me on this journey. I'll keep you updated - not too frequently - about my progress and I'd like to share a little bit of ephemera about the actual town Walhalla and how it has influenced me over all these years. 

DFA.

The Dying Wish - A Journey With Star Wars.

Star Wars is more than just an entertainment franchise - that much is clear. It's more than a popular cultural phenomenon that has stood the test of time. Because of its longevity, Star Wars has come to mean many different things to many different people. 

Here's what it means to me...

In 1999, during the run up to the release of Episode 1, I was a junior Nurse at a private hospital in Adelaide. 

In late April of that year, I encountered a patient - a young man named David - who was terminally ill. He'd been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer just a few months before and he'd been given only weeks to live. 

It was a rainy Friday night when I first met him. He lay in his bed, grossly swollen with fluid, completely bald and barely able to lift his head from the pillow. He was surrounded by Star Wars toys and, of course, my face lit up at all of the cool things he had. Alot of it was the mid 90's Hasbro merch - a couple of light up light sabers, a big arsed Millennium Falcon, some 12 inch figs and of course, those beefed up 3 & 3/4 figs that got most of us back into collecting after that long hiatus. 

Suffice to say, we hit it off right away and I was encouraged by the fact that he too, had found something of a kindred spirit in me. His smile said it all. 

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I made sure that I was able to look after David when I was on duty and I'd bring in items from my own vintage collection for him to check out and play around with. We'd talk the films and the then EU books and of course, we'd toss theories back and forth about the possible story that Episode 1 would present. At one time, during his admission, there was a slight glimmer of hope that the medical and nursing team might be able to get David well enough that he could attend the premiere of the film in June, but it became clear that his condition was deteriorating quickly. He wouldn't get his wish.

Then I discovered something in the course of our conversations that created an opportunity to do the next best thing. 

David had never seen the Holiday Special.

He'd heard about it but assumed that it was an urban myth - the kind you'd hear about in those early days of the internet when message boards were still a big thing and the web hadn't​ quite saturated our consciousness. 

I had (and still have) a bootleg copy of the Holiday Special that I'd tracked down on one of the early iterations of eBay. When I told David this, the excitement in his dying eyes was as bright as the twin suns and so, I duly arranged for a special night where we would screen the Special on his TV, in his hospital room. 

I came in on a Saturday night - my night off. His family had gotten in on the fun and we had a spread of snacks in his room, all his Star Wars kit on display and David dressed in his Star Wars jimmy-jams. 

And we screened the Holiday Special. It was still the most wonderfully terrible piece of Star Wars even committed to celluloid (or DVD as it were), but it didn't matter. For David, for his family and the nurses and doctors who came in and out over the course of that evening, it was the best thing we had ever seen. So much laughter and gritting of teeth the worst bits. Cheers and tears at little Lumpy and fist pumps at Han and Chewie outrunning the Imperials on their way to Kashyyyk. 

For David, it was the most wonderful thing ever. Star Wars that he had never seen. 

I went to the midnight screening of Episode 1, having stood in line for hours with hundreds of other excited fans at Marion's GU Megaplex. Just as we were about to go in, I got a message from one of my colleagues at the hospital. David had died, literally half an hour before midnight. 

I went to David's funeral a few days later. He was buried in his Star Wars jimmy-jams, his coffin was draped in a Star Wars beach towel and his green and red light sabers were crossed over the centre. 


His Mum told me afterwards that they would never forget that last Saturday night. Screening the Holiday Special for him had given both he and them one last occasion of joy together.

That's what Star Wars means to me. Because of it, I was able to connect with someone during their darkest hour and share in something they could find joy in before their end. 

Star Wars brings people together. It creates memories that last forever.

DFA.