The People vs. George Lucas director Alexandre Philippe joins us to talk about the film and the love/hate relationship between Star Wars fans and its creator. Dave and John discuss their opinions of all six films and the expanded universe.
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Introduction
0:00 Introduction by Tor.com
0:37 Dave and John introduce the show
Interview: Alexandre Philippe
02:46 Interview begins
02:58 Alexandre ranks the films for us
04:19 The origin of The People vs. George Lucas, and fan contributions to the cause
07:15 Some of the recognizable names in the film and Alexandre’s experience collecting the opinions of professional sci fi writers
09:22 Star Wars fandom around the world
10:36 The angriest and strangest interviews
12:03 Handling death threats from Star Wars fans
13:43 Kids and French scholars: people who prefer the prequels over the originals
15:37 The relationship between fans and their merchandise
20:07 What went wrong in the prequels?
22:10 Will Lucas ever do anything other than Star Wars?
26:19 The Star Wars expanded universe
27:00 Alexandre weighs in on rebooting Star Wars
28:17 Where can we see the documentary?
29:29 Past and upcoming projects from Alexandre Philippe, including Earthlings, a documentary about the Klingon language phenomenon
30:39 End of interview
Dave and John crush Podtern’s innocent love for Star Wars under the jackboot of heartless criticism, demonstrating their utter soullessness and total lack of perspective.
Dave and John have a spirited and balanced discussion regarding the films. [Note: Podtern has been placed on administrative leave.]
30:57 Dave and John talk about their early Star Wars experiences
34:49 The infallibility of Star Wars when we’re kids
42:05 John and Dave rank the films
46:10 Dave posits that Phantom Menace acts as a vaccine
47:32 The stuff that works, and why
50:37 Regarding Ewoks
54:02 “Wait, they have a werewolf, too?” Watching the original films with someone who hasn’t seen them before
59:41 About David Brin’s Star Wars On Trial, and Dave and John answer some of the charges
01:02:20 The guys take apart the science in the films
01:04:21 Jeanne Cavelos brings a damning charge that may apply to science fiction movies in general
01:05:35 Does Star Wars portray any admirable ethical beliefs?
01:08:57 Plot holes and logical gaps
01:11:32 John weighs in on the expanded universe, including the novels by Timothy Zahn and Kevin J. Anderson, and the Dark Horse Comics series
01:15:48 Regarding the video games
01:19:43 John and Dave geek out properly on the sheer awesomeness of lightsabers
01:25:18 Show wrap-up
Next week: Corey Olsen, host of the podcast The Tolkien Professor
Thanks for listening!
John Joseph Adams (www.johnjosephadams.com) is an anthologist, a writer, and a geek. He is the editor of the anthologies By Blood We Live, Federations, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Living Dead (a World Fantasy Award finalist), Seeds of Change, and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. He is currently assembling several other anthologies, including Brave New Worlds, The Living Dead 2, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, and The Way of the Wizard. He worked for more than eight years as an editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and is currently the fiction editor of Lightspeed Magazine, which launches in June 2010.
David Barr Kirtley (www.davidbarrkirtley.com) is a writer living in New York who has been called “one of the newest and freshest voices in sf.” His short fiction appears in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales, and in anthologies such as The Living Dead, New Voices in Science Fiction, and Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition.
Show notes compiled by podtern Christie Yant. Friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
