The Bearded Trio

"...And this is Lando Calrissian and this is Boba Fett...And look, they can even have wars."  - Elliott showing his Star Wars figures to E.T. My second recommendation for a piece of John Williams music to wind down to, I have chosen "E.T. and Me" from the original release of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, track number three. This serene piece has the relaxing harp as the primary focus for the first part and has a dream-like, almost mystical feel to the piece that portrays love and trust between friends.  At 2'04, the harp is accompanied by the full orchestra to change the tone and bring home the feeling of friendship and a sibling love theme.  I have an affection for this piece of music from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.  The scene shows Elliott showing his new friend his toys such as his Star Wars figures and placing a toy shark in a fish bowl to show the basics of the food chain, "fish eat the fish food, the shark eats the fish and nobody eats the shark....

Welcome To Animaniacs! They may have been away since 1998 but the love for Animaniacs hasn't dwindled.  Thanks to Hulu, we are getting an all new series and in this first-look trailer we get to see an animated Steven Spielberg introducing Yakko, Wakko and Dot.   The whole teaser trailer is a parody of Jurassic Park with lines such as "Alan, this species of cartoon has been extinct since 1998. I mean, these haven’t been seen on TV since the golden era of animation!" and Steven Spielberg proudly announcing "Welcome to Animaniacs" Steven Spielberg is the executive producer for the new series and Animaniacs is set to premiere with 13 episodes in the first season on Hulu on November 20. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch – 7” Scale Action Figure – Ultimate Greta Ahh, Gremlins 2!  The Joe Dante directed, Steven Spielberg executive produced 1990 over-the-top sequel to Gremlins has, over the years become a bit of a classic thanks to the repeats on TV.  Seeing Zach Galligan take on those pesky green trouble-makers once more and seeing the doctor from Star Trek Voyager, Robert Picardo fall for a Gremlin, Greta is bound to bring a smile to your face.  And it's this Gremlin which has received the Neca treatment.  This 6" figure comes with all the looks, interchangeable hands and plenty of accessories.  Just don't stare too long or you could fall under her spell too.   Here's the full press release: Any fans of the Gremlins movies knows the rules: keep them out of sunlight, don’t get them wet, and never feed them after midnight. Break them, and your fuzzy, friendly little Mogwai will turn into a scaly, savage Gremlin. After years of waiting, the highl...

Get Ready, Ready Player Two A rough synopsis has been released for Ernest Cline's Ready Player Two, the sequel to Ready Player One that had a Steven Spielberg movie treatment back in late 2018 and made just under 600 million dollars at the box-office. At a virtual Comic-Con event held on the 9th of October, Wil Wheaton (who was the voice of the audiobook for Ready Player One) was emailed the synopsis by Ernest Cline to which he then revealed on the video-stream. "Days after OASIS founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS more wondrous – and addictive – than even Wade dreamed possible. "With it comes a new riddle and a new quest, a last Easter egg from Haliday, hinting at a mysterious prize, and an unexpected, impossibly powerful, new and dangerous rival awaits, one who...

In a year filled with delays and cancellations of all things we enjoy, the arrival of season 2 of The Mandalorian on Disney Plus couldn't be more welcome. Via a recently released fact sheet , the following are the dates for this season's eight chapters. Chapter 1 - Friday, October 30 Chapter 2 - Friday, November 6 Chapter 3 - Friday, November 13 Chapter 4 - Friday, November 20 Chapter 5 - Friday, November 27 Chapter 6 - Friday, December 4 Chapter 7 - Friday, December 11 Chapter 8 - Friday, December 18 Reports state that filming for the second season of the hit show wrapped in early March, just before COVID-19 took hold and forced shut down of television and film productions worldwide.  The Mandalorian has been a smash hit for Disney Plus, the streaming service that launched on November 12, 2019, with that show's debut headlining the service. It follows the adventures of Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter who has taken in his charge The Child, a creature of the same spe...

  The Art of NASA: The Illustrations That Sold The Missions Anyone interested in the filmmaking process is likely aware of the use of concept art created to bring a director’s ideas to life. The concept artist’s aim is to help the filmmakers explain their film through a visual language. This not only helps those working on the film understand what they’ll be involved in and/or what’s expected of them, it also helps sell the film to studios. Making a film is a huge endeavor requiring financial backing, and concept art helps the money people understand what the director has in mind. What many might not know is the same idea of creating concept art to sell a project has also been employed by NASA since its inception. It isn’t enough to have missions in mind and goals to achieve. Getting to space demands the support of politicians and people with the financial means to help those missions and goals become reality. It also requires the imagination and enthusiasm of the public to get tho...

I am a fan of scary scores.  -- Steven Spielberg A few days ago I started a new feature on The Bearded Trio where I recommend pieces of music from the great John Williams which will help you to unwind, to relax and to feel warm and happy.  I said "if there is one thing you can rely on with John Williams is how you can easily find a piece of his music that will invigorate and uplift you."  But John Williams, as we know is a master of his musical talents and can equally create a piece of music, a soundtrack that will fill you with a feeling of darkness and foreboding.  War of the Worlds is one example. What is unusual for a John Williams score is the lack of a recognisable thematic piece but instead we have a soundtrack that relies on the power of the instruments to evoke feelings of dread and in some places almost a chaotic rhythm.  It is one of John Williams lesser known soundtracks and often overlooked.  Thankfully, Intrada are releasing a two disc versio...

Winding Down With Williams - Fawkes The Phoenix If there is one thing you can rely on with John Williams is how you can easily find a piece of his music that will invigorate and uplift you.  Of course with the current world situation and most of us either still in lockdown or about to enter a second restriction, this is something we really need right now.   My first choice to help you wind down with Williams is one of my favourite pieces from the composer as it evokes feelings of magic and wonder.  It is Fawkes the Phoenix from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.      Fawkes the Phoenix in the world of Harry Potter is the pet and defender of Professor Dumbledore and a graceful, magical creature that was instrumental in defeating Salazar Slytherin's basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.  John Williams captures that gracefulness and magic of the creature in the theme and it is one of my go to pieces for making me feel calm and relaxed. In the H...

Remember the scene in Spielberg's Jurassic Park where the kids are hiding from fierce Velociraptors in the kitchen?  Well imagine the scene with cats instead.  Not so fierce?  Well watch the video below and you may change your mind.  It's just as scary! Got to love the Internet.

The Soundtrack of My Life by Colby Mead I had the privilege of growing up in the 1980’s. That meant a childhood filled with Saturday morning cartoons, action figures of all shapes and sizes, video games (the ones in the arcade as well as the ones at home) and movies. A lot of movies. My earliest movie memories were Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial and Return of the Jedi. Not a bad start. I guess one can say that I was partially raised by the Bearded Trio. While the stories, iconography and characters from these films have stayed with me until today, nothing affected me more than the music that came with them. And for that I have one person to thank:  John Williams This one human being is responsible for the majority of the soundtrack of my life and an innumerable amount of inspiration for millions around the world. His generations defining work that is Star Wars puts him in a category by himself. Just think about it, he alone ...

Hasbro's Latest Star Wars Range Hasbro are excited about their latest Star Wars range and they couldn't wait to share the products with us.  We have a whole bunch of photos for you, actually we have 166 photos so we thought we would put them together in one handy video.  You can watch the video at the end of this post.  Let us know which product you like the most. STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES AHSOKA TANO FORCE FX ELITE LIGHTSABER (HASBRO/Ages 14 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $224.99/Available: Spring 2021) Combining advanced LEDs and entertainment-inspired Lightsaber sound effects, the STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES FX ELITE LIGHTSABERS are the most realistic Force FX Lightsaber yet. The real metal hilt features design and deco based on AHSOKA TANO’S iconic Lightsaber featured in the STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS animated series. Select between blue, green, or yellow-green blade colors with the first-ever STAR WARS: The Black Series Force FX Elite Lightsaber three-color-...

Here's the original 1976 teaser trailer for the first Star Wars movie. The makers of the trailer (Fox) obviously had no idea what they had on their hands and what the story was about. Check it out below. Apparently it was a billion years in the making... Watch the original Star Wars teaser trailer from 1976, featuring the world's first look at Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Darth Vader, and other classic characters and locales from a galaxy far, far away.

Indiana Jones: Connecting Generations by Tom Gross A few weeks back, I sat down to introduce Raiders of the Lost Ark to a new generation of my family: my thirteen-year-old daughter.  While I have seen the film probably a couple dozen times in my lifetime, I haven't watched it myself in probably ten years.  So, I was excited for another viewing after quite some time, and I was excited to see the film with my daughter who was experiencing it for the first time. I had forgotten how wonderful this movie is with the cinematography, the music, the story, and of course the acting.  But, what really made this movie for me during this viewing was one moment.  The moment is in the scene where Marion is taken while she is hiding in a basket.  Indiana is running through the street trying to follow her screaming voice.  A great moment when Indiana runs into the market and sees all the same baskets, but that wasn't the moment. It is the set-up for the moment.  I rea...

Saw on social media that Penny McCarthy passed away recently. People may not remember her, or know her by name, but Star Wars fans will always remember the character she played. For those of you who don’t know who she was, she played the Devaronian male Kardue’sai’Malloc, also known as Labria, in Episode IV (one of the cantina aliens). She was also the restraining bolt Jawa, and a hand double for actress Carrie Fisher (the hand you see inserting the disc into R2-D2 at the beginning of the film was her hand.) She is also listed on IMDB as being an assistant auditor for the film. Per IMDB, other films she worked on included: “Bright Lights, Big City” as an assistant to the director. A production coordinator on “Pefect”, & “Mike’s Murder”, Auditor on “Let’s Spend the Night Together”, assistant auditor on “Absence of Malice”, assistant producer on “The China Cyndrome”, location auditor on “Borderline”, and received special acknowledgement for “Psycho Cop”. I had the opportunity to mee...

This is the third part of impressions from my trip to Disney World at the end of August/early September. This part is probably the most widely relevant, talking about what it was like to explore Disney during this awful pandemic. I must stress first of all, that I have been back from Disney for more than two weeks and am perfectly healthy. Dealing with the spread of the virus in the state of Florida, which from a state government standpoint has done a poor job at mitigating it, was a huge concern of mine. So my wife and I took an abundance of precautions, like packing more hand sanitizer than we needed, wearing masks all the time, etc. It has been a source of relief that we both got home fully healthy. Now, a distinction should be made between the state of Florida and Disney property. They very much are two different jurisdictions. From when Disney shut down on March 31 until its reopen on July, it put its best minds to work on how to reopen, but safely. Test passed. With flying colors...