The Bearded Trio

Much of Star Wars is based on the trilogy format, whether it is films or publishing. In the case of "real world" Star Wars, the format still applies, and applies most effectively. Kim DM Simmons was a toy photographer for Kenner throughout a much-beloved era, the original trilogy era. A couple months ago, he published his third book detailing some of his terrific work for the Star Wars Kenner line, this one aptly named Volume 3: 1983-85, which covers the Return of the Jedi toy line as well as Power of the Force (POTF) and the short-lived Droids and Ewoks lines. Like his first two volumes, which covered Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back, Volume 3 features well-known and never-before-seen examples of his photography during the last years of the original Kenner Star Wars toy line. The book was part of a Kickstarter program, which I happily supported. Myself and around 300 others supported the publishing of this book, and we were gifted with another wonderful bundle of nostal

Christmas Gift Idea - Tauntaun Fridge Magnet. Christmas gift ideas?  I know it's only October but starting early gives everyone time to prepare and have a little less stress in their life.  So, here's our first gift idea for fans of The Bearded Trio.  It could be from Star Wars, Indiana Jones or any movie related to The Bearded Trio.  We may even include a soundtrack or two and that may not even be a John Williams score because I know you are all lovers of movie scores in general.  Also, we're only going to include gifts that are available to all and we are going to keep it realistic.  So don't expect us recommending a Star Wars-themed holiday for $6000.  These will likely be stocking-fillers and not break the bank.  Lastly, these are genuinely recommended by us and not us trying to get freebies or had the product for free.  If we did, we will let you know and then we will only recommend it if we think it's any good. Anyway, to kick things off we have a gift idea fr

The year 2022 from a Star Wars standpoint will be one of the busiest in the history of the franchise. That year gets off to an unofficial start a couple days early when Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett lands on Disney Plus on Wednesday, December 29. The official site posted the release date and a brief synopsis here .  From TOS release: The Book of Boba Fett, a thrilling Star Wars adventure, finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate. The Book of Boba Fett stars Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen . Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson are the executive producers. Karen Gilchrist and Carrie Beck serve as co-executive producers, with John Bartnicki producing and John Hampian as co-producer. The Book of Boba Fett leads a deluge of forthcoming Star Wars conte

Once in a while, Star Wars publishing comes out with a completely unique reference book, and in the case of Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection by Daniel Wallace, it is an absolute joy to consume. Wallace has penned Star Wars reference books for many years, going back to the early years of the franchise's publishing revival in the 1990s. This stands out to me as one of his unique achievements, but more on the writing style in a bit. One of the signature items in Star Wars is the lightsaber, an inspired invention by George Lucas going back to the earliest drafts of his screenplays for A New Hope. The lightsaber gets the gold star treatment here in this book, which serves as a close examination on the form and function of the weapon completely unique to this franchise. The first thing that stands out about the book is its design. It was printed in an extreme rectangular shape format, which fits perfectly with the lightsaber layout. Without even opening up the book, the reader is clu

Alan Jones Gives Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade A Right Whipping! We all love Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade .  It was a much loved addition to the Indiana Jones franchise back in 1989 and has aged well over the decades. But not all, it seems enjoyed the movie.  Critic of the time, Alan Jones had something of a no holds barred reputation when it came to reviewing TV shows and movies and the third Indy movie was equally not spared.   The short review from Starburst volume 11, number 11 July 1989 was ruthless and ultimately Alan gave the movie a straight down the middle five out of ten stating that he liked the movie but not as much as the others.  He called The Last Crusade "an inferior clone of the original" and said "The Last Crusade now travels such a well-worn path.  The over extended desert tank battle is one example of how exhilarating familiarity slides into contempt by Spielberg never knowing when to stop milking the formula despite inventing it." Ouc

Planes and Ford Spell Trouble On The Set Of Raiders of the Lost Ark The Flying Wing scene is a memorable one in Raiders of the Lost Ark as we get to witness an exciting few minutes of action including a fight scene with Indy and a muscly German mechanic, Indy almost losing his head from a propeller all coupled with big explosions and fast-paced action.  But for Steven Spielberg the Flying Wing scene was a bit of struggle.  The prop itself didn't always perform properly and Steven had to figure out how to piece together 120 shots for the fight sequence and of course the blazingly hot temperatures on set. But it was these hot temperatures that saved Harrison Ford from having a major disaster and a potential life-changing injury.  The wheel of the Flying Wing actually ran over Ford's leg at one point as the actor lay on the ground for a fight sequence.  Ford recalls "I go down and start to roll away - and my foot slips, right under the rolling plane's tire.  Everybody was