New STAR WARS Dream Team Cast Confirmed By Lucas

The culture Vulture at New York Magazine reports today that the storied "dream team" return of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) are officially set to return in the new Disney STAR WARS sequel scheduled to shoot this year.        

There had been many conflicting rumors of deals and negotiations for months along with hints by the actors themselves. But it wasn't until series creator George Lucas let slip in an interview that they were lined up for the new film that it was somewhat officially confirmed. It makes sense in a way that this had been a done deal a while ago, otherwise why would Disney risk rebooting the series without it's key players on board?  That would have been messy and simply bad movie business to boot.

Anyway, I'm excited to see that they will all be back. I only wonder what has happened to their fictional selves in the intervening 30 plus years since Episode VII. Will there be allusions to Fisher's real life dramas with addiction? Will there be in-jokes about Ford becoming a blockbuster star in his own right?  I do hope that there will be some humor this time out, something that was sorely lacking in the prequels which seemed so disconnected from the fun-loving nature of the first STAR WARS that I loved as a kid esepcially for that reason.  That and all the cool gadgets and spaceships.

Anna Wintour In The News; Potential Ambassador, Interview Terror

My neighbor Anna Wintour is in the news this week in a big way; there is a report in the Washington Post that she is being considered for an ambassardorship to either the UK or France. Wintour has been a vigorous supporter of the President and ardent fundraiser as well, throwing fancy dinners next door to my apt that once even had the President on the guest list.

Also, there's a great story in New York magazine about how Anna inspires fashion terror in the hearts of those who are called in for a job interview at VOGUE. The magazine has compiled a list of 13 anonymous women (and 1 man!) who had varying degrees of panic re; the question of what to wear when going in to see the great  Wizard of Conde Nast. The stories are great and it's interesting to note that those who wore vintage clothes (read "not this season") were not hired!

From LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE to STAR WARS, The Writer For Episode VII

When Disney made the surprise announcement last week that they were acquiring Lucasfilm, the bigger news was that they were planning on reviving the STAR WARS franchise with a sequel to the original trilogy. Episode VII would pick up decades later with an aged Luke Skywalker, as well as elder Han Solo and cougar Princess Leia.  While the actors who played these iconic roles have yet to sign on to the project, the studio does has a screenwriter; Michael Arndt.

New York Magazine's Vulture column reports that Arndt (who wrote indie darling LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) has been working on a lengthy treatment of the film for months. Apparently, he got the nod earlier this year due to his extensive knowledge of the STAR WARS universe and his detailed lectures on the film series at screenwriting conferences around the country. I think he's a great choice for the franchise for one reason--he clearly has a sense of humor.  Besides the incredible effects and the action, the truly great thing about the first STAR WARS was the real sense of fun the film had, a quality lacking in the dour, self-serious prequels. Hopefully that will return in the new version, which should arrive in theaters in 2015.

God Bless America....Now If You Can Just Spell It

The Republican campaign for the nomination may be over with Romney hitting the magic number of delegates last week. But the campaign's endless silly season continues with this latest gaffe; a misspelling of the word "AMERICA" on Mitt Romney's iPhone app.  This appeared last week as "AMERCIA" and was quickly corrected.  Yet since then, there have been two other spelling errors on the campaign's website--"sneak-peak" and "2012 Offical Gear".  

There was a funny item on New York magazines' website today speculating whether the mistakes were intentional, as a way of generating press due to increased attention from Internet grammar nerds. LoL. A novel strategy, sure, but one that certainly has worked!  But, as it turns out, the problem for the Romney campaign is real.  They have actually posted an online ad for a copy writer/editor. 

Trending: Mad Men Inspires More Drinking At Work

There's an interesting piece over at NPR.org today that caught my eye about an apparent increase of on-the-job drinking.  They tie the story in the popularity of MAD MEN.  The real reason, however, is not to ape Don Draper and Co. but to keep employees who are working ridiculously long hours somewhat happy by including a bar on the premises. It's the same reason some hi-tech companies have elaborate cafeterias or ping pong tables or basketball courts (see Pixar); its' all to keep their employees from leaving.

Overall, the NPR piece states that there is a new and much more relaxed attitude toward drinking at work in recent years. Additionally, they do make the argument that drinking leads to creative breakthroughs, which is something that has been seen on MAD MEN. The NPR piece also discusses an academic study that apparently showed an increase in creativity and problem solving for people who were drinking.  Conversely, there is also the problem of executives peeing themselves from drinking too much at the office (see Freddie).

Below is a fun/scary montage of all the boozing on the 60s show, courtesy of New York Magazine's VULTURE site. Cheers!

The Encyclopedia of 9/11

We're about a week and a half out from the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the media coverage has begun.  Tonight, NatGeo is airing a doc on President Bush's recollections of the day.  Also this week, New York magazine came out with a cover story called "The Encyclopedia of 9/11".

It's an A-Z list of 100 plus words and phrases connected to the coordinated Al Queda attacks on NY and DC and what they wrought.  Though hardly as comprehensive as it sounds, the list is impressive and does bring back some memories of things forgotten (Green, Mark..mayoral candidate) and updates on where things stand today (Memorial, 9/11...opening next week).

However, I would like to point out that in the W's they missed my play "WTC View".  But they missed Neil LaBute's plays too (he's written 3 with 9/11 themes) so at least I'm in good company.