(Actress Carrie Fisher & Director Irvin Kershner)

words: Bonnie Burton

This week marks the sad passing of Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner. The beloved director not only inspired his former student filmmaker George Lucas, but also other future directors, actors, screenwriters and more, not to mention the millions of fans worldwide who still proudly comment that The Empire Strikes Back remains their favorite in the Star Wars film saga.

We asked some of our favorite celebrity fans what Kershner meant to them, as well as gathered the best celebs tweets that celebrated this one-of-a-kind director.

“He brought motion and maturity to the most grown up chapter of the Star Wars saga. His decisions are inextricably woven into its success.” – Simon Pegg, actor/author

“One of my earliest film memories is of The Empire Strikes back. Still one of my favorite movies. A truly sad day.” — Milo Ventimiglia, actor/director

“I heard just recently about Irvin Kersher’s passing. It’s hard to put into words how much the work he did on Empire meant to me. It’s not only my favorite film in the Star Wars universe hands down, but it’s one of my most favorite films of all time. The introductory shots of planet Hoth alone resonate so clearly in my mind, regardless of how long it’s been since I’ve seen TESB. In fact, there are so many iconic visuals in that movie it’s mind blowing. This was probably the darkest film of the original trilogy. It had crazy twists and finished with one of the best cliffhangers of any film I’ve ever seen. I know I will always remember and appreciate Kershner for making a film that shaped who I am today.” – Joe Trohman, Fallout Boy guitarist

“Since his passing I’ve been thinking what was the most masterful part of Empire Strikes Back? And it comes back to Yoda. He was funny then disturbing and scary and then wise. And it was a puppet. Irvin made less with more. He focused on the characters and less on the fact they were in space. Lawrence Kasdan and Frank Oz gave us Yoda but it was Kershner that made it so real, so frightening, so important. And again, it was just a puppet.” – mc chris, rapper

“Kersh was one of the lucky ones — he found his passion and followed it. He absolutely loved movies. He was an amazing mentor to my father, a great friend to our family, and an inspiration to fans all over the galaxy. I have absolute faith that his legacy will live on for centuries. He’ll be greatly missed.” – Katie Lucas, The Clone Wars writer

“Farewell to Irvin Kershner – a true cinema legend. With The Empire Strikes Back, Kersh took an absolute phenomenon and somehow made it even better, creating perhaps, the greatest film of all time. An incredible feat indeed… and one that we still feel the impact of today! His contributions to the Star Wars Saga will never be forgotten. May he be one with the Force!” – Kyle Newman, director of Fanboys

“Han shot FIRST, but Irvin shot BEST.” – Jane Wiedlin, The Go-Go’s guitarist/vocalist

“Firstly, most of us can only hope to live to the ripe age of 87. Irvin outlived most people in years. However, out living people is nothing compared to directing not only one of the greatest movies of all time, but in my opinion, the BEST Star Wars movie EVER made. Having experienced acting and being married to an actor, I know it is up to a director to coax emotions out of the cast. He did this splendidly, as we can all see (some of us over, and over and over!). Thank you Mr. Kershner, for helping deliver one of the greatest movies of all time for many generations to enjoy. gone, but never forgotten!” – Adrianne Curry, supermodel & reality TV star

“I had the honor of meeting Mr. Irvin Kershner at a few events we both attended. I was saddened to hear about his passing. Mr. Kershner helped bring to the screen one of the most beloved films of all times, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He will be missed, but through his work he will continue to entertain many generations to come. My thoughts are with his family at this time.” – Daniel Logan, Star Wars & The Clone Wars actor

“Empire Strikes Back is the first movie I ever saw in a theater. Nothing has quite lived up to the experience since. Irvin Kershner was a cinematic master and a huge reason why I do what I do for a living.” – Amy Berg, TV Writer/Exec Producer for Eureka

“Getting the ‘I love you / I know’ exchange out of those actors is one of the finest moments in the history of film direction, and Empire is still the most important movie in my life. Today I am going to make some tea, wrap myself up in a blanket, and revisit Robocop 2.” – MC Frontalot, rapper

“Empire Strikes Back was when I first got really excited about Star Wars. Took what was already great and made it a masterpiece….A great director, sadly missed.” – Jonathan Ross, UK TV show host

“Irvin Kershner’s contribution to Star Wars cannot be measured. If the second film in the saga had failed, we might never have seen the future of the galaxy that has become an integral part of our ongoing pop culture dialog. Kersh added humanity to characters we loved and helped us all believe a puppet could move a starship. His talents will long be missed.” – Chris Gore, G4TV Film Expert & Nerdlebrity

“By far, my favorite movie in the entire Star Wars pantheon is Empire and one of the main reasons was the direction of Irvin Kershner. His vision beautifully captured the darkness of the story he was telling and some of the greatest scenes of all-time were created under his watch-the Hoth battle, Yoda and Luke training in Dagobah, Bespin.
My biggest complaint about Irvin was that he didn’t direct one of the new trilogy movies as well.
Rest in peace Commander.” – Chris Jericho, wrestler/actor

“It takes guts of steel to enter another man’s empire and demand improvement — Irvin Kreshner had those guts. He expanded George Lucas’s ground-breaking vision, navigated the rough waters of audience expectation, complicated production and financial strife and propelled a narrative that had already become the face of popular culture into a new order of artistic magnitude. Also, he loved ‘the puppet,’ and that makes him a hero in my book.” – Javier Grillo-Marxuach, writer/producer of The Middleman and Lost

“I’ll never forget and always be thankful to him for exploding my young mind for my first epic battle scene. The battle of Hoth will stay with me always.” – Ben Templesmith, comic book artist/writer

“My favorite thing about Empire are the performances. The actors inhabit that extraordinary story with a relatable subtlety that borders on naturalism. I attribute this to Kersh’s deft and confident directing on the set and imagine he must’ve held sway in the cutting room. Kersh + Kasdan+ Lucas = best Star Wars ever. ” – Jesse Alexander, TV writer/producer

(more…)

words: Bonnie Burton

Actors from the hit British sci-fi Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood pose with lightsabers and puppets from Avenue Q.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Star Wars cross paths with the Torchwood crew. Actor James Marsters popped up on the show quoting Princess Leia as a hologram as you can see here.

Of course, with the next season of Torchwood coming to the States, we’d love to see the Scooby gang catch aliens at Skywalker Ranch. Capt Jack already has his Jedi pose down pat! HINT HINT.

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SOURCE: io9.com

words: Bonnie Burton

Recently, columnist and mom Carrie Goldman wrote an essay in Chicago Now about bullying in schools and why parents should start teaching their children as soon as 1st grade how to deal with being bullied. She spoke from the heart, not just because it’s an issue all parents must grapple with, but because her own young daughter Katie was being bullied FOR LIKING STAR WARS!?!

Here’s the excerpt from her article Anti-Bullying Starts in First Grade:

She wailed, “The first grade boys are teasing me at lunch because I have a Star Wars water bottle. They say it’s only for boys. Every day they make fun of me for drinking out of it. I want them to stop, so I’ll just bring a pink water bottle.”

I hugged her hard and felt my heart sink. Such a tender young age, and already she is embarrassed about the water bottle that brought her so much excitement and joy a few months ago.

Is this how it starts? Do kids find someone who does something differently and start to beat it out of her, first with words and sneers? Must my daughter conform to be accepted?

As any Star Wars fan worth his or her weight in midichlorians can tell you, there is no one single “type” of Star Wars fan. Star Wars fans are both genders, all ages, all races and all nationalities.

And not only are there millions of women who love Star Wars, there famous, talented women who love Star Wars like pop star Lady Gaga, country/pop singer Taylor Swift, actress Megan Fox, actress/producer Drew Barrymore, actress/producer/writer Tina Fey, actress Michelle Ryan, comedian/actress Margaret Cho, award-winning actress Helen Mirren, MTV’s own Liz Lee, 90210 actress AnnaLynne McCord, supermodel & reality TV star Adrianne Curry, actress & gamer goddess Felicia Day, Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go’s, singer Tanya Donelly, Jenny Conlee from The Decemberists, MSNBC news host Rachel Maddow, not to mention all the cool gamer gals in Team Unicorn! And that’s just to name only a few!

Let’s not forget our awesome female actresses in our films & The Clone Wars animated TV series who also love the franchise such as Ahsoka Tano actress Ashley Eckstein (who loved Star Wars so much she started her own sci-fi themed fashion line Her Universe), Aurra Sing actress Jaime King, Padmé Amidala actress Catherine Taber, Barriss Offee actress Meredith Salenger, Asajj Ventress actress Nika Futterman, Shaak Ti actress Tasia Valenza, Duchess Satine actress Anna Graves… just to name a few.

My point is, ladies love Star Wars too, and we should all support their right to geek out just like the guys. Little girls need to know they have every right to pick up a lightsaber as the rest of us.

Star Wars itself is full of strong, independent female characters who wouldn’t have taken any guff from 1st grade boys who clearly don’t know their Star Wars characters.

It’s these female characters like Ahsoka Tano, Princess Leia, Senator Amidala, Aurra Sing, Asajj Ventress, Mon Mothma, Aayla Secura, Barriss Offee, Luminara Unduli, Mara Jade, Darth Talon, Sy Snootles, Zam Wesell, Jocasta Nu, Ackmena, Jaina Solo — and many MANY more — who little girls (and us big girls) can learn a lot from when it comes to being ourselves and fighting for what we believe in.

Kids can be cruel. They’re just trying to figure who they are and the friends they want to hang with. They want to be themselves, but they don’t want to be made fun of for being different. Sometimes standing up for what you love isn’t as easy as it looks when you have a gang of little girls snickering at you or a bunch of boys calling you names for liking something they think is just for them.

I should know. Not only was I bullied all through school for loving Star Wars, Doctor Who and anything else with an awesome robot in it; I decided to write a book about it for other girls who have to deal with bullying called Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change.

But here’s how WE as Star Wars fans can help RIGHT NOW:

• Support your kids/nieces/nephews when they say they love Star Wars and The Clone Wars — even if it’s a character you don’t happen to like — *cough*Jar Jar*cough*

• Pay attention to younglings when they look depressed. They might be suffering from bullying at school and could use a Yoda-like ear to talk to.
• Make sure your younglings understand that Star Wars is for guys AND gals.
• Finally, show your support of young Katie who was bullied for having a Star Wars water bottle at school by leaving comments here on the article that started it all and here on this blog entry calling for more geek girl support. Katie’s mom is reading all these supportive comments to her, and I bet she’d love to hear your Jedi-like words of wisdom.

• If you’re on Twitter, show your support of Katie liking Star Wars with the hashtag #MayTheForceBeWithKatie

UPDATE: So many people are leaving supportive comments so they made a second page to leave comments here.

May the Force be with guys AND girls…. always.