LUCASFILM // JULY 27, 2018

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX CAST ANNOUNCED

RETURNING AND NEW CAST MEMBERS WILL JOIN TOGETHER FOR THE FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE SKYWALKER SAGA.

Star Wars: Episode IX will begin filming at London’s Pinewood Studios on August 1, 2018. J.J. Abrams returns to direct the final installment of the Skywalker saga. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio.

Returning cast members include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast of Episode IX are Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell, who will be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.

The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” says Abrams. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”

Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Episode IX.

Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan, and executive produced by Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin. The crew includes Dan Mindel (Director of Photography), Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins (Co-Production Designers), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Neal Scanlan (Creature and Droid FX), Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube (Editors), Roger Guyett (VFX Supervisor), Tommy Gormley (1st AD), and Victoria Mahoney (2nd Unit Director).

Release is scheduled for December 2019.

Thank you Lucasfilm LTD and Star Wars.com

Press Announcement Courtesy of Lucafilm LTD and Star Wars.com

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Bomber Command and Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Rose Tico: Resistance Fighter Combined Book Review

Publisher Fun Studios International, the folks that brought out the young adult hardcover Star Wars: Forces Of Destiny - Tales Of Hope & Courage. Have released two beautiful hardcover companion young adult books, which are also suitable for fans of all ages entitled Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Bomber Command while the companion book is entitled Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Rose Tico: Resistance Fighter. Both are written by Jason Fry. Bomber Command is a journal of Paige Tico, Pilot and Technician for Cobalt Squadron. The book covers Paige’s journey going back to her youth with her sister Rose to her role as a bomber at the Battle of D’qar. The book is beautifully illustrated with detailed sketches that look as though they were literally created by the character herself and eight large gatefolds containing bomber schematics, a look at the Y-Wing Starfighter, Confederacy Hyena BomberImperial Tie Bomber as well as the Resistance Bomber type seen in the films. There also some cool manual covers written in the Star Wars galactic language with short English translations that help this journal to appear more authentic as something that really existed along time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Also included is a galactic map fold out of what is now considered First Order Space and even a recruitment brochure excerpt. The text appears as though it was all handwritten and translated into English.

Rose Tico: Resistance Fighter follow Rose’s feelings of living in her Sister’s shadow, while still committing herself as a dedicated member of the Resistance. Detailing the ways in which finds life-saving solutions to protect those she serves leading up her collaboration with Finn, which solidifies her vision and hope for the future. Both books are very similar though Rose’s seems more personalized kind of like a diary and her penmanship seems neater than her older Sister’s. sketched and diagrams reminiscent of the other book are also featured here. 

Both Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Bomber Command and Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Rose Tico: Resistance Fighter are available now at retailers on and offline for the suggested retail price of $11.99 in the U.S. and $1599 in Canada courtesy of Publisher Fun Studios International. Buy them both. They make a great set and May The Force Be With You Always.

(C) Copyright 2018 By Mark A. Rivera.

All Rights Reserved.

JACK RYAN COLLECTION- new 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo collection arrives August 21st

 

OWN EVERY ACTION-PACKED JACK RYAN FILM IN 

ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME

 

New 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray^™ Combo Collection Arrives August 21, 2018,

Just in Time for the New “Jack Ryan” Series

 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Author Tom Clancy’s renowned CIA analyst returns this August when the new series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” debuts on Amazon.  In anticipation, fans can catch up on all of the celebrated character’s cinematic exploits when a new 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Collection arrives on August 21, 2018 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.

Featuring five 4K Ultra HD Discs, five Blu-ray Discs^™, and Digital copies of each film, the JACK RYAN COLLECTION includes The Hunt For Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Clear and Present Danger (1994), The Sum of All Fears (2002), and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014).

In The Hunt For Red October, the USSR's best captain (Sean Connery) heads for the U.S. in a technologically advanced submarine. While the American government thinks it’s an attack, a lone CIA analyst (Alec Baldwin) insists the captain is planning to defect.  Both the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Discs include commentary by director John McTiernan and the Blu-ray additionally includes a 29-minute behind-the-scenes look at the film.

Patriot Games finds CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) thwarting an IRA assassination only to make himself and his family targets of a renegade faction.  The Blu-ray includes a 25-minute exploration of the film.

Harrison Ford returns in Clear and Present Danger as Jack Ryan, who becomes embroiled in an illegal war fought by the U.S. government against a Colombian drug cartel.  The Blu-ray includes a 29-minute behind-the-scenes feature.

Ben Affleck takes on the role of Jack Ryan in The Sum of All Fears.  In this thrilling chapter, Ryan must stop a terrorist plan to provoke a war between the U.S. and Russia.  Both the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Discs include commentary by director Phil Alden Robinson and cinematographer John Lindley, as well as a second commentary by the director and novelist Tom Clancy.  The Blu-ray additionally includes a two-part making-of feature and a five-part exploration of the visual effects.

The origin story of Jack Ryan is explored in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, with Chris Pine taking on the lead role.  As a young covert CIA analyst, Ryan uncovers a Russian terrorist plot to crash the U.S. economy.  The 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Discs include commentary by director/actor Kenneth Branagh and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.  The Blu-ray also includes multiple featurettes exploring the Jack Ryan character and his enemies, as well as deleted and extended scenes.

With four times the resolution and more than double the number of colors available with full HD, the 4K Ultra HD disc offers the highest quality picture for your home entertainment system.  The 10-disc JACK RYAN COLLECTION will be available at Amazon and Best Buy.  The films will also be available on 4K Ultra HD Digital through select online retailers.

My Fake News Experiment.

I wanted to test something after seeing a video online where a media analyst named Mark Dice did a man on the street interview telling people the word gullible was being removed from American dictionaries to save paper and make room for new words since "gullible" was not in use anymore in contemporary society. 

What struck me about this bit Mr. Dice did was how the people he chose were very introspective and against the removal of the word gullible from the dictionary rather than being passive about it. Mr. Dice would smirk between takes, but this video was a throwback to an earlier time when he recorded it and maybe it seemed funny to those who watched it then, but for me I was not convinced whether or not these people were truly gullible.

So I wondered what would happen if I made up two pieces of fake news on my own and endeavored make it as believable as possible based on variants on real things that have been on the news for years. 

My goal was not to make people feel stupid or hurt and I certainly did not want to start something that could have bad consequences for anyone, including myself, which is why I decided to reveal it now and not allow my fake news stories to get a mind of their own.

For my friends in the UK and Australia, I posted this:

Due to the global refugee and migrant crisis, the UN is meeting to pass a proposal for large urban areas to bag their feces in state provided biodegradable zip lock bags and deposit them in brown scented contractor reciprocals to be collected by special sanitation teams and used for landfills so they can accommodate more immigrants globally. The process was perfected in China and is being implemented in the European Union.

For Americans I tried this:

Congress is passing a bill to cut down on noise pollution by taxing everyone based on how many words they speak using algorithms provided by social media so they can accurately measure the noise pollution one creates and tax people based on the quality of words used.

I am still seeing how many British or Australians fell for my fake news, but in America, I got a few.

As I noted above, I am kind of afraid to actually try this with many people because I fear the consequences it could cause, but it has been an interesting sociological experiment given our divided and sensitive times. So for those of you who read my Facebook posts or direct messages that believed what I wrote was true, relax it was fake. 

Based on what I have learned I would say people are passionate, introspective and skeptical, but not gullible. This is not to lay shade on Dice's man on the street interviews. What he does take courage and I give him credit for that. However if you tie a fake story as close to the truth as possible so people can extrapolate on it, they might believe it or even get triggered. The last thing we need is that so for those of you who believed me, I apologize. This was a one time experiment and anyone can be fooled into believing something that is fabricated is real and it happens a lot and I am vulnerable to it too. It does show that when it comes to larger issues and even things that appear small and insignificant, they all deserve to be scrutinized before you take it as real no matter the source you get it from. Thank you all for being good sports and stay vigilant.

(C) Copyright 2018 By Mark A. Rivera

All Rights Reserved.

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An Off The Cuff Review Of Terminator 2: Limited Edition Life Size En

Rest In Peace Lou Pepe

I made it to Lou's final NJ based Immortalized In Stone dressed in my goofy Sharknado mask because I wanted to make him laugh and I succeeded. I only wish things were different and I attended his final episode to tell him how much I appreciated him. R.I.P. Lou.