The Bearded Trio

These are hard times for Lucasfilm. That isn’t news. I thought about what to write for a time like this. Does Lucasfilm need new leadership? Maybe, but that’s what literally everyone is saying right now. There isn’t much I can contribute on that front. The writers’/actors’ strike has thrown studios into chaos. Future release dates are best ignored, whether you’re a fan of television or feature films. There doesn’t appear to be an end in sight for the strike. Add to that recent comments by Disney CEO Bob Iger, who said the studio intends to pull back from producing Marvel and Star Wars content. It’s worth noting those comments came all of five months after he said the complete opposite . Star Wars: Ahsoka premiers on Disney+ in less than a month. So I thought it might be a good time to review my 10 most favorite Star Wars things that have happened within the Disney era. This was a surprisingly easy list to make, even in an environment where making “top 10 most hated” lists are far mor...

Lucasfilm released some big news at noon EDT Friday regarding our favorite archaeologist. LFL announced the official release date for Indiana Jones 5 as July 29, 2022. The film's original release date had been July 10, 2020, but COVID-19 scuttled those plans, as it has so many other projects around the world.  John Williams, the only film composer the Indiana Jones film franchise has ever had, will return to score the final movie in the series. I wasn't taking his involvement for granted, and I had it in my head that perhaps Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) would be the last time we'd see The Maestro command the baton for a motion picture film.  Given that James Mangold is set to direct the film and not Steven Spielberg, I wasn't ruling out Indy 5 having a different composer. Thankfully, Williams will be back. What is super cool for a numbers nerd like me is this will mark the eighth different decade Williams will have handled the score for a film. EIGHT DIFFER...

A Q & A With Jeff Commings, Host of the Podcast John Williams, A Musical Journey Happy Holidays everyone, Brad here. At some point in our lives, we have all been dazzled, calmed, thrilled and moved by the music of John Williams, perhaps the finest film score writer/conductor who has ever lived. If you're like me, you grew up with his themes for Yoda, Superman, Indiana Jones and many other iconic characters on your record/CD/tape/mp3 players on a fairly constant basis. However, I never studied music in any kind of formal way. But I wanted to learn more about the construction and meaning of those themes that have been such a soundtrack of my life. Thus, my discovery of Jeff Commings' podcast The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey . A couple years ago, Jeff set out to build a podcast on analyzing, one by one, every musical score Williams has written dating back to the start of his career in 1959. It was an ambitious project, but one that comes to a conclusion tomorrow (Dec...

Brad’s April Escape - Part 17 April 27 - Return of the Jedi Each weekday this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Next up is the conclusion of the beloved original Star Wars Trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983). Return of the Jedi - An Introduction Yes, I skipped over Empire Strikes Back . Don't worry, I have a three-part mega-post coming on that film to coincide with its 40th anniversary from May 20-22. Until then, I suppose we have to settle for this gem of a film, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), wonderfully directed by Richard Marquand. I've been looking forward to analyzing this film for a long time, though I hardly know where to begin. Watching ...

Brad’s April Escape - Episode 6 April 9 - Jurassic Park Throughout this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Next up is a film that to me, attained "classic" status instantly upon first viewing,  Jurassic Park (1993) Jurassic Park - An Introduction I saw this movie on opening night in the U.S., Friday, June 11, 1993, with my then-11 year-old sister. I knew it was a Spielberg film, so I was excited to settle into the theater to take this in. But my expectations were that of a "kiddie film." I expected the tone and actions of the characters would be that of a film aimed at 8-year-olds. Nothing wrong with that by the way, but that was my mindset as I arrived at...

Big fan of The Bearded Trio, Douglas Meacham was one of the lucky ones that attended The Hollywood Bowl last Saturday to witness a legend perform in person.  Yes, John Williams was performing and conducted the LA Philharmonic Orchestra along with David Newman where some classics were expertly played.  Douglas recorded some of the event and kindly sent the videos for us to enjoy. Superman Star Wars Harry Potter Close Encounters of the Third Kind Dracula Also in attendance was another huge fan, Ron Hall (like the t-shirt Ron) who also sent us some videos and these wonderful photos from the event.  Thanks Ron. Like having a golden ticket That's a cool tee. Preparing for greatness All smiles before the big event Finally we were sent this awesome photo from composer J.R. Speake via Twitter .  As you can see he was lucky enough to meet the master himself, John Williams.  Wow!  Amazing photo. I finally met the m...