My Favorite Links of the Week

Enjoy some of my favorite Star Wars posts from around the web this week!

• Profiling the New Boss -The Hollywood Reporter has a FANTASTIC article on Kathleen Kennedy, with details on her career and her pitch to J.J. Abrams.

“Kennedy, Abrams and the writers met secretly for about three hours Dec. 19, and “J.J. was just on the ceiling when I walked out the door,” she recalls. But still, she says, Abrams had “very genuine concerns” about his obligations elsewhere and the impact on his wife and three kids, given the likelihood that the film would not be shot in Los Angeles. And then there was the unique nature of the franchise. “If there was any pause on J.J.’s part, it was the same pause everybody has — including myself — stepping into this,” she says. “Which is, it’s daunting.’”

I’ve said before that the three people most responsible for the success of the original Star Wars trilogy were George Lucas, John Williams, and Ralph Mcquarrie. I think this new era of Star Wars will be led by a new Big Three, featuring Abrams and Kennedy – the third spot should be reserved until Episode VII has been released.

• Is Hitchcock Influencing Next Arc of The Clone Wars? - Pete at Lightsaber Rattling takes a look at the titles for the final four episodes of the season, and finds they are unmistakably tributes to Alfred Hitchcock films. The descriptions for the episodes even seem to match different storylines from the Hitchock movies. 
• A Trekkie Perspective - Not a big Star Trek fan? Didn’t see J.J. Abrams’  2009 Trek film? Never fear! Tosche Station gives us a Star Trek fan view of the Abrams news.
• The Clone Wars Q&A - Big Shiny Robot has a transcript of the first part of the Q&A session from the USO Clone Wars screenings, while Club Jade has the second. As a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I found Dave Filoni’s remarks on working for that show and his transition to The Clone Wars particularly interesting.

“I was like, “Nothing is going to get me out of here – I love Nickelodeon.” We were joking one day at lunch, “What would it take to get you off the show?” “If George Lucas called and offered me a job, I’d go do that.” and we were all “Ha.. that’s so funny. He doesn’t even know you’re alive, haha.” and then they called the next week, and I thought it was a joke and I almost hung up on him, and I don’t know where I’d be now. But luckily, I took that call.”

Another neat note? Dave and George sat down and finalized the future of Ahsoka before Lucas retired. So that’s settled. Q&A sessions with Filoni always produce the most information about the show, so if you’re a fan, I’d highly encourage you to read these transcripts.

• And Finally - Knights Archive has posted the preview for Saturday’s new episode of The Clone Wars. I love the humor in the elevator scene. And remember, this is the final episode of the Darth Maul arc. It’s kind of a big deal.