| The Weekly ForceCast | |
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Date recorded |
June 19, 2011 |
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Date released |
July 22, 2011 |
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Duration |
2:22:24 |
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Link |
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App exclusive? |
No |
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Previous episode |
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Next episode |
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Guests[]
- Guest host: Paul Bateman
Topics[]
- Jason and Jimmy follow up on the story of Miss USA Alyssa Campanella professing her love of Star Wars.
- Jason plays clips from The Pageant Guy's interview with Campanella, where she talks about enjoying Star Wars, starting from Episode VI, and her dad working with George Lucas.
- Jason and Jimmy then explain that they took the questions that Access Hollywood posed to Campanella and posed them to their wives. Jimmy first plays the recording of Jason quizzing his wife; Deborah Swank gets three questions right, one on a second try, and at the end, Jason is heard telling her, "I still love you." (She replies, "That's great.") Jimmy says that the recording of him quizzing his wife Wendy will be broadcast on next week's show.
- New guests have been added to the lineup for Fan Days IV, including Billy Dee Williams. Jason mentions that fans who see Williams at other upcoming conventions should have an audio recorder handy to catch any quote-worthy moments for The ForceCast. Jimmy then asks why there isn't a Billy Dee Williams reality show yet. Jason comments, "If we get enough fans just following him around ... we'll just create our own show ... get enough cameras on the guy!"
- In addition to Williams, TCW Tarkin voice actor Stephen Stanton has been confirmed for Fan Days IV. Plus, the convention website now mentions Jason and Jimmy's live ForceCast shows. Paul Bateman says that he and his wife Athena plan to attend the show as well. When Jason asks Paul if he is attending to sign autographs for his brief role in Episode III, Paul says no. The group then discusses Paul's "blink and you miss it" appearance as Mon Calamari Senator Meena Tills in the last film.
- Based on a request from a Facebook fan, Jimmy Mac conducted an Investigative Report about the origin of the word "Wookiee." After Jason plays the segment's trademark stinger, Jimmy proceeds to explain how the word came to be used in Star Wars. In George Lucas' debut film, THX-1138, there is constant radio chatter in the background. During one scene, Robert Duvall (who plays the title character) steals a hot rod car in an attempt to escape the film's key city. While fleeing, he mumbles, "I think I ran over something...I think I ran over a Wookiee back there on the expressway." Jason plays the clip of this moment from the film. Jimmy then says that this was not an example of Lucas thinking ahead to his Star Wars creations. Instead, Lucas came up with words like "Wookiee" and "Chewbacca" for use in THX-1138's offhand, throwaway dialog. He reportedly got the word "Wookiee" from a DJ who was brought in to create the film's so-called "wild lines."
- Billy Dee Quote of the Week
- This week's quote comes from Robot Chicken: Star Wars III, where Williams once again voiced his most famous character. The episode was released with four different commentary tracks, and on one of them, Williams "steals the show," as Jimmy puts it, "with his views and comments." While Jimmy didn't get a chance to listen to the commentary track, listener Eric Boggs sent in a clip of a funny Williams moment. In the clip, Williams describes his hatred of Jar Jar Binks -- with fellow commentary participant Ahmed Best sitting right next to him. Upon learning that Best played Jar Jar, Williams told him, "No, I like Jar Jar. I like you better, though."
- Headline News
- A new 30-minute animated Lego special, Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, will premiere on Friday, July 22nd at 7pm on Cartoon Network. Jason, Jimmy, and Paul discuss what this series means for the future of the franchise. Jason comments that, like the Genndy Clone Wars series, "Maybe this is a bit of a test for how folks might react to something like this Detours." Jimmy agrees that this animated special represents Lucas and company testing the waters, and adds that he will be sitting down to watch this special with his kids. The program, he says, "sounds like a great Friday night with the family; have a pizza and let's watch Star Wars Legos." Jimmy then reads a summary of the program; it involves a Jedi youngling stowing aboard Yoda's ship when the Jedi Master answers a summons for aid.
- Starting on July 20th, iOS users will get a sneak peek at the bonus features of the Star Wars Blu-Ray set through an app called Star Wars Blu-ray: Early Access. The app, which is free, will give fans a look at concept art galleries, a rotatable Death Star model, and much more from the compendium of extras included on the Blu-Ray set. There will also be special Star Wars Blu-Ray set previews at this week's San Diego Comic-Con. Jason then switches gears to review the recently-revealed individual disc art for the set. Jason then reads a reviewer's analysis of the Blu-Ray quality of the Prequel Trilogy (based on an exclusive early screening of the new box set), and discussion shifts to the timing and decision-making behind Star Wars home video releases in general. "[George] is definitely a believer that physical media is really on its last legs," Jason says. Paul disagrees, saying that, while instant downloads are becoming popular, that experience is "just not the same" as having a physical copy. Jason says that instant streaming "has been pushed by the public, not pushed on the public," unlike past physical formats.
- Captain America director and TESB/ROTJ storyboard artist Joe Johnston recently stated that he would like to direct a new Star Wars movie centered on Boba Fett. Jason said that he'd never thought of the character-centric approach before, and Jimmy wonders who else could have their own movie. (He jokingly suggests Hammerhead and Yarael Poof.) "If any of these [character-centric movies] have a remote chance of happening," Jason says, "It's Boba Fett."
- Jason and Jimmy talk to artist Tom Hodges about his upcoming art projects, including what he'll be doing at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend.
- Lucasfilm recently put a stop to a large-scale Star Wars screening in New York. The company threatened legal action upon hearing of the event, saying that there was currently a moratorium of public screenings of the saga. The organizer, a bar owner who has seen the Star Wars movies about 150 times, said that he'd been looking forward to seeing all six films in order with a large crowd in his bar. "It wasn't as if we were making any money off of it," he said. Jason then reads from the description of the event, which has a decidedly commercial spin to it, with mentions of drink prices, raffles, and other event highlights. After Jimmy hears the event description, he says that the Lucasfilm shutdown was not about a big corporation stepping on innocent fans. Rather, he says, it was about Lucasfilm protecting its copyright in the face of a blatant attempt to commercially capitalize on the Star Wars brand. Jason says that he once asked Steve Sansweet about how Lucasfilm handles these screenings. "[Quality of presentation] is one thing that they're concerned about," he says. "It's one thing to invite 5, 10 of your buddies over to watch a movie ... it's another thing to invite 200 patrons ... these are customers ... you lure them in [by] dangling something that doesn't belong to you in front of them."
- George Lucas is teaming up with scholars who are writing a book about the historical context of the Star Wars saga. Two professors recently asked their peers to submit essays about the parallels between real-world history and the story of Star Wars. Accepted essays will become part of the professors' book, which will involve collaboration with Lucas and his company. "Being able to work closely with Mr. Lucas on this and other books will give fans an inside look at the real science, history and political science that informed ‘Star Wars’," said a spokesperson for the book's publisher. Jason and Jimmy discuss the fact that Lucas has always been a student of history, and both are happy that Lucas' official involvement with the project will give it a credibility and insight.
- Charlie Jane Anders from io9 has conducted an extensive investigation into the history behind the changing disco song from Return of the Jedi. While the Special Edition features Sy Snootles and her band singing "Jedi Rocks," the original theatrical release featured a tune called "Lapti Nek." Jason describes Anders' story, which explains the background and reasons for the change from the original song to the Special Edition version. The io9 piece quotes a source, Crawdaddy Magazine, which has published two stories online about "Lapti Nek." According to the magazine, John Williams himself composed the song, and Lucasfilm sound engineer Annie Arbogast performed the lead vocals (as Sy Snootles). However, when it came time to finalize the track, a professional singer named Michele Gruska was brought in to redo the entire song. Jason continues to read from the magazine story, which explains the full history of "Lapti Nek" and features audio from all the different versions.
Significant quotes[]
- Quotes go here.
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