Lit Literature member interviews

16. What changes, if any, would you make to the post-ROTJ EU?

Ohhhhhh.....

First, Dark Empire would be deemed a total victory instead of a disaster.

Pellaeon vs Ackbar would exist by now, plus the publishing of the Re-Enlistment of Baron Fel.
(Annotated editions of DFR and TLC would also be done.)

Legacy and KOTOR would not have been axed in their prime! DN-LOTF-FOTJ-C get death starred.

NJO would have been an epic battle of the Jedi and Republic against the Vong, who would have still got to Coruscant, but would have had to work a lot harder, as the Vong realise too late their mistake that a galaxy blasted by civil war isn't as weak as they assumed. Shamed Ones could still have been freed but only by killing all the warriors, which the Jedi and NR are reluctant to do, but since the Vong outlook is no surrender ever, there is no other option. Orbital bombardment would have been used more frequently against enemy assets too. In a couple of cases the Republic would have no option but to Base Delta Zero a Vong world - the point being that war forces such choices. In order to protect NR citizens, the Vong must be fought and killed and those of them that can be saved, can't be while the war rages. The driving idea behind this would be to look at what has been done in other popular franchises and then top it - so B5, DSN advance things so far and SW picks up the gauntlet they've thrown down. Oh and the books would be larger - if it's going to be epic, then it needs epic books!

Following the NJO, we would have various stories detailing what happened afterwards, which shows how the galaxy recovers.

Far more use of anthologies of short stories to expand the universe.

Agent of the Empire and Rebellion would have continued instead of getting axed too..

OK, so some of these don't belong to that specific era but so what?

17. If you could live on any planet in the GFFA, what would that be?

A deceptively tough question. Hoth's a snowball, Tattooine's a dump, so too is Coruscant. Alderaan? No, I need one that's intact.

For the Renaissance-style architecture, I'd be inclined to Naboo.

 

18. What would you do if you won the lottery?

Well, first I'd have to buy a ticket!

If it got lucky? Well, I might be more wealthy than I can imagine but I can imagine quite a bit. Truth is, I really don;'t know and what-if speculation has certain perils attached as, on at least two grounds, I ought to be dead by now! Plus the way things are I'm more focused on the present moment and enjoying, as far as I can, what I have in the here and now.

19. What person involved in SW would you want to meet most, dead or alive, and why? (ie actor, writer, director, artist, etc.)

First, the departed:

In terms of the films, I think it'd have to be Ralph McQuarrie - his contribution was immense and his artistic skills quite incredible. In terms of the EU it would have been excellent to meet Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin, have heard so much about both of them over the last 20 years.

Second, the living:

I think it'd be, due to the sense of personality I get from their board activity, John Ostrander and JJM. More so the former, as I sent him a very small contribution for that surgery he had - it'd be cool to see who it helped. Plus, over the last 10 years, more so than any comics writer, Ostrander's made SW worth reading better than anyone. JJM runs him very, very close though in my opinion.

 

What is your favorite color?

Blue

Favorite animal?

Cat

Favorite food?

Chocolate (Bacon's a close second)

Favorite sport?

Very few

Least favorite sport?

Most sports

 

What is your favorite word?

Too many to pick just one

Favorite music genre?

Soundtracks

Least favorite smell?

Turd

Favorite Python?

Eric Idle

Least favorite school subject?

French

 

What is your favorite season?

Spring

Favorite mode of transportation?

Train - preferably working

Least favorite TV show genre?

Reality TV / soaps

Favorite place to read?

At home, in a comfy chair

Least favorite noise?

Anything high-pitched of a certain frequency range

 

Ok, both of those are not going to be short and probably won't be tonight!

 

Tut, tut - your Emperor is most displeased, Citizen Jello, kindly report for corrective measures immediately.

 

Special Relationship for the win!

--Adm. Nick

 

Soundtrack is not a genre

 

Perhaps not in the most pedantic sense, but as a whole? Yeah, I'd say it is, see here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2013/sound-of-cinema.html

 

Technically, "soundtrack" is in the same category as "classic rock" or "christian rock" or : a format, not a genre proper (the latter is based entirely on sound/composition). I've personally always found it interesting that some of the most common labels aren't actual genres.

But I'm just giving you a hard time, I know what you mean. Whenever you're done with the main questions, I'd love to know some of your favorite soundtracks.

 

Incidentally, where's the line then? Because quite a few soundtrack composers would argue there's no shortage of composition involved!

 

Deciding where that line is is practically a field in of itself, one in which very few people are interested in (I've always found genre designations interesting, but I know most find them tedious and unnecessary). Essentially, it all comes down to soundtracks being composed for a film/game/TV show, yet still being drawn from pre-existing genres; James Bond soundtracks, for instance, tend to be classical with heavy jazz leanings, where on the other side of the scale, the soundtrack for Breaking Bad (the non-licensed songs, that is) tend to veer on the side of minimalistic noise. In other words, a soundtrack composer is drawing from a toolbox that is already there, rather than inventing a new toolbox entirely. That's not to say that you don't get some tremendously creative soundtrack artists; on the contrary, you frequently see innovation from them, as they have to meet very specific demands (matching the mood of whatever they're soundtracking) that other artists don't.

All that said, despite my comment that I'm really not sure why I made (sleep deprivation I guess, have to stay awake at all costs for the next several hours and this is as good a way as any) I don't have a problem with soundtrack as a designation, because as Todd mentions, "instrumental" or "classical" just really doesn't get the idea across adequately. Same thing for people saying they're fans of classic rock. Doesn't matter if it's not entirely accurate, it's helpful. I've met some people who are much more stingy about that kind of stuff, and they tend to be incredibly annoying.

 

You may think that, I couldn't possibly comment.