Force Material: A Star Wars Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Last Jedi Blu-Ray Reaction Apr 01, 2018

Show notes

The Last Jedi has finally come home, and we're discussing all the special features in this week's episode of the Force Material podcast!

We open this week's show with a look at the latest Star Wars news, including a Solo status update and some 'fake news' being peddled by Vulture.

Then it's onto our look at the long-awaited home release of The Last Jedi, starting with the epic documentary, The Director and the Jedi!

We offer up our commentary on Rian Johnson's commentary, and we break down which of the deleted scenes should actually have been deleted.

Along the way, we talk about which actors really got a raw deal feel in The Last Jedi (it's not Mark Hamill); Baz points out a whole new plot hole for fanboys to kvetch about; and I share my insane theory for making the Canto Bight sequence more popular by... making it longer?

All this and loads more, on this week's episode of the Force Material podcast!

Gangster No. 1 Mar 25, 2018

Show notes

Discover the origins of Paul Bettany's mysterious Solo: A Star Wars Story character in this week's episode of the Force Material podcast!

This week, we're going back to the year 2000 to watch the bloody and violent British crime drama Gangster No. 1, and break down how its influence might be felt in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story.

We pull together everything we know so far about Dryden Vos, Paul Bettany's character in Solo, and how he was inspired by Bettany's breakout role in Gangster No. 1.

Gangster No. 1 is one of five films named as an influence on Solo by screenwriters Lawrence and Jon Kasdan. Last week, we looked at Unforgiven, and we'll be talking about the other three films — Heat, Treasure Island and The Big Lebowski — in the lead-up to Solo's release!

Unforgiven Mar 18, 2018

Show notes

Solo: A Star Wars Story is set to take inspiration from one of the greatest films of all-time — Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.

Screenwriters Lawrence and Jon Kasdan say Eastwood's 1992 revisionist Western is one of five films that served as a major influence on their Solo script.

Over the next five weeks, we'll be breaking down these five films, starting with this stone-cold classic — the high point of Eastwood's career, and perhaps of the entire Western genre.

We discuss what sets Unforgiven apart from Eastwood's previous films; why Gene Hackman's Little Bill is one of the all-time great movie villains; and, of course, how we think Unforgiven's influence will actually be felt in Solo!

Star Wars Rebels Finale Reaction Mar 11, 2018

Show notes

Four years after Rebels first ushered in the Disney era of Star Wars, it's time to say goodbye to the Ghost crew.

On this week's spoiler-heavy show, we break down the epic Star Wars Rebels finale, and all the lingering questions it left us with.

We look back at the highs and lows of the show over the last four years — from lightsaber helicopters to space whales, and everything in between.

Of course, we also weigh in on the Star Wars news of the week, including that major Jon Favreau announcement!

We'll be back next week for the start of our Solo film camp series, kicking off with Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven!

More American Graffiti Mar 04, 2018

Show notes

This week, we're looking back at George Lucas' first (and least successful) sequel, More American Graffiti!

Today, the Star Wars franchise is an unstoppable juggernaut, setting new box office records and creating new fans with virtually every new entry in the series.

But times weren't always so good for Lucasfilm.

George Lucas' first attempt at a sequel, 1979's More American Graffiti, was a major disappointment — the critics savaged it, and in the words of Lucas himself, "it made 10 cents".

On this week's show, we take a look at what went wrong with More American Graffiti, and how its failure affected George Lucas' approach to the Star Wars sequels and left him fearing for the future of his company.

We also discuss how an American Graffiti sequel could have succeeded — in the hands of another young writer-director.

We'll be back next week with our Rebels recap extravaganza!

American Graffiti Feb 25, 2018

Show notes

Where were you in '62? This week on the Force Material podcast, we're celebrating the film that first brought together Ron Howard and Lucasfilm!

When George Lucas was challenged by his mentor Francis Ford Coppola and wife Marcia Lucas to make something more warm and commercial after the failure of THX-1138, he delivered in spades with American Graffiti — his most human, and perhaps most atypical, film.

On this week's episode, we discuss George Lucas' fast and furious teenage years; Ron Howard's initiation into the Lucasfilm family; the unsung heroes who helped make American Graffiti great; and the connections between American Graffiti and Lucas' even bigger hit, Star Wars.

We also explain how a film released in 1973 and set in 1962 sparked a full-blown 1950s revival, and why American Graffiti isn't just a 'nostalgia' film!

We'll be back next week with More American Graffiti!

The Han Solo Adventures Feb 19, 2018

Show notes

Our Daley Double wraps up with a fond look back at some of the greatest Star Wars novels ever written, The Han Solo Adventures!

It's been 22 years this month since legendary author Brian Daley passed away. Last week, on the anniversary of his death, we paid tribute to his classic Star Wars audio dramas, and this week, we're remembering his beloved trilogy of Han Solo novels.

When Brian Daley pitched a trilogy of Han Solo and Chewbacca novels to Del Rey Books in the 1970s, he was just casually looking to make some fast cash. How very Han Solo of him.

But once Brian started out on this journey, the galaxy opened up to him. Not allowed to use The Force, Vader, the Empire, TIE fighters, the Rebellion, or any established characters save Han and Chewie, he used his ingenuity instead in a trilogy of books that saw Han and Chewie face gunslingers, slavers, corrupt bureaucrats and murderous droids in a colourful backwater of space.

Join us this week as we explore how these books helped shape Han Solo’s character in the early days of the Expanded Universe, and helped shape the childhoods of many a Star Wars fan.

We also discuss the lost art of the movie novelisation; the single worst line in Raiders of the Lost Ark; the surprising ways in which Woody Allen, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope inspired Han Solo; and loads more!

This week's episode refers frequently to an interview Brian Daley gave Alex Newborn at Star Wars Collector in 1995, which can be read in full here.

Star Wars on the Radio Feb 11, 2018

Show notes

In a week where the internet is aflame with debate about whether Alden Ehrenreich could possibly play Han Solo, let’s take a moment and remember that he’s not the first ‘other guy’ to muscle in on the role made famous by Harrison Ford.

Way back in the 1980s, actor Perry King stepped into Ford’s knee-high boots in a cracking and successful series of radio dramas based on the film series. And he was amazing!

Join us as we explore the surprising history of the project, which started life as a whim of a college theatre director looking for a scandal. We’ll tell you how they scored the rights for the princely sum of $1, how US President Ronald Reagan derailed the project, and more crazy tales from the origin story of NPR’s Star Wars audio dramas!

We also tried to track down the mysterious identity of the other other guy who played Han Solo in a half-hour spinoff audio drama called Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell – the cast list of which has been lost for decades. We made contact with a key figure in the making of that LP – listen in to find out what he had to share.

But perhaps most of all, this podcast is about the late Star Wars scribe Brian Daley – the writer of all these audio dramas, and perhaps the man who knew Han Solo best in the early days as author of the novels Han Solo at Star’s End, Han Solo’s Revenge and Han Solo and the Lost Legacy.

Brian died of pancreatic cancer 22 years ago this week, never getting to hear the last words he wrote committed to tape by his audio drama cast.

This episode of Force Material is dedicated to his memory.

Solo Trailer Reaction Feb 05, 2018

Show notes

Hey, don't everybody thank us at once... but the first Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer has arrived, and we've got your emergency reaction pod right here!

By now, you've probably watched the trailer more than once — and why wouldn't you? Just look at those chase scenes! The Corellian Graffiti hot rod landspeeders! The (probable) Kessel Run! Pimpin' Childish Landino! Double-sided Snowpiercer! So much cool stuff!

So join us as we nervously wait for the trailer to drop while talking about the 30 second teaser, watch the full trailer live, and then segue into wild speculation about the chequered past of everyone's favourite smuggler.

Was the Solo trailer all you were hoping for? Let us know at forcematerial@gmail.com!

Hamilton Jan 29, 2018

Show notes

This week, we're explaining how Broadway smash Hamilton left its mark on the Star Wars universe. Godspeed, revolutionaries!
Since its debut on Broadway in 2015, smash hit musical Hamilton — based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton — has been one of the few cultural events that could stand toe-to-toe with the return of Star Wars.

On this week's show, we discuss how Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda came to be involved with The Force Awakens!

Naturally, we're also talking Shaggy, Toto, Figrin D'an, Max Rebo, Rick Rubin, NSYNC, Joseph Campbell, Ben Solo fan theories, intergalactic linguistics and much, much more!

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