Episode VIII is filming in Dubrovnik, a Star Wars podcasting institution comes to an end, and unsurprisingly, kids love Star Wars.
By Mike Audette // A few weeks ago Episode VIII started initial filming in London. The film has also been filming in the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. The city is set on the Adriatic Sea and is a well know tourist destination in Eastern Europe and has been used as a filming location on Game of Thrones. When Star Wars filming happens, or just modern film-making in general, pictures, leaks, and videos are bound to surface. If you are like me and spoiler-averse, this is a difficult time in the fandom process. The great thing about being in the Star Wars fandom is that there is such a wide variety of people and the things they enjoy in it. In this brand new age of Star Wars I managed to stay spoiler free for The Force Awakens and I’m extremely glad I did. I understand the draw of wanting to scoop up every morsel of rumors and the rise of spoiler fan-sites such as MakingStarWars.Net, who do great work and have become a huge beacon in fandom. Whether you are a spoiler-hound or like me and avoid any unofficial news that comes up, there’s still a place for you here!
In an extremely strange and sudden series of events, The Force Cast has officially turned off the mics. Earlier this month the hosts of the show, Erik Blythe, Megan Crouse, Saf Banner, and Paul Hermann, announced that they were leaving the show. This specific group had built a following of listeners who enjoyed the discussions and points of view from the cast. Following the departure of this group of hosts, the show was taken over by a new show runner to take it in a new direction. As the new iteration of the show debuted, some listeners started to question the on-air diversity and range of voice in the cast. The fervor built in the following days, which garnered a response from the new hosts of The Force Cast that offended a number of people. Apparently, this series of events was final nail in the coffin, and after a decade, it was announced that the show was retired over the weekend.
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This weekend was the 2016 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, and they proved to be more fruitful for Star Wars than the Oscars. The Force Awakens won for Favorite Movie while many other Star Wars stars and releases were nominated. John Boyega and Daisy Ridley were nominated for Favorite Movie Actor and Favorite Movie Actress respectively. Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need To Know was nominated for Favorite Book, while Disney Infinity 3.0 featuring Star Wars was nominated for Favorite Video game. While it may not mean much critically it does show the impact the return of the franchise has on the newest generation of fans joining our community. I will do everything I can to make sure it’s an open and inviting community for all!