Cheech and Chong join the army! That was the original idea for the film Stripes by director Ivan Reitman, that came to him while getting ready for the premiere of the classic Bill Murray-starrer Meatballs in 1979. The 1960s and ’70s were filled with unrest over civil rights issues, political scandals like Watergate, and the United States heading into the worst recession since WWII. Reitman’s idea was the perfect fish-out-of-water story, combining two forces that were seemingly at odds at the time: the military and the counter-culture. But the film would have larger ramifications than the filmmakers intended.
Harrison Ford’s performance as Han Solo has been held up as a prototype for the suave, apathetic, player… and yet, his on-screen persona is quite the opposite.
There a million reasons that people fight about Star Wars on the internet and I’m here to give you one more.
Han Solo is not a “cool guy who gets all the girls”.
What do I mean by this? Well, it seems that the archetype of Han Solo has inspired many “player” type characters in film and television including Mal from Firefly, Chris Pine in Star Trek, and Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as many others listed here.
Now, Han Solo does share some characteristics with these leading men (even if, technically, Solo wasn’t the leading…
Medium has been around a while, and recently, a few competitors have popped up, including Vocal+, a platform that wants to find the next great fiction writers.
Over the course of the past year, I’ve gone from a full-time 9–5 job in an office, to re-establishing my writing career from home. And so are many other people!
If you’re relatively new to Medium, then you know it can be tough to establish yourself and find the audience without the help of a publication. It sometimes feels like in order to succeed on any platform, you have to be involved with it early on. This isn’t necessarily true, but it doesn’t get harder and harder to establish yourself and your brand as a platform grows.
The far, far away galaxy has had great female characters over the years, but losing this character (not necessarily the actor), Cara Dune, stings.
Last week, Disney/Lucasfilm confirmed that they were no longer working with Gina Carano. The announcement came following a social media post comparing today’s conservative voters with Jews being murdered before and during the Holocaust.
The announcement made it clear that the decision was made before that particular post by Carano, who has been using social media to post a plethora of misinformation about masks and the election results.
For a full breakdown of what happened, I highly recommend this article by The Hollywood Reporter. The TLDR is that there were conversations about a bigger role for Cara Dune, and therefore…
For all the rave reviews and accolades, there’s a lot of controversy happening around the central relationship in “Bridgerton”, but the problem may actually be in the eye of the beholder.
It has never been easy for a show or film to be all things to all people. They’re not meant to be. Films and television series are stories with a unique purpose driving them, and right now, the public conversation around what is politically correct, consensual, inclusive, etc. is bumping up against the stories creators are trying to tell.
This is actually a great thing! It forces storytellers to really consider if they’re telling a narrative to their best capability. …
Two years after wishing the world would stop spinning, it did.
In 2009, filled with energy and youthful naïveté following my college graduation, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my dream of becoming a professional screenwriter.
My name is Emily (I go by Emily J. Or “EmilyJwrites” online) and I was one of a million young adults trekking to the sunshine state hoping to make it in the entertainment industry in the midst of the worst economic downfall in the United States since the Great Depression.
But when you’re 22 and you’re overflowing with momentum, what else are you going to do?
But the jobs weren’t there. And when I…
The controversial couple, established in a controversial storyline in one of the MCU’s most criticized installments, deserves another shot on the big screen.
When the Joss Whedon-directed Avengers: Age of Ultron debuted it was met with a great deal of criticism for many reasons. Like Tony’s creation of Ultron and basically his entire motivational arc. How the twins, who were highly anticipated, were used in the film. Forcing the set up through Thor of the fight over the Infinity Stones. And, perhaps most vocally from fans, the pairing of Black Widow and the Hulk as romantic love interests.
Whedon wrote the film as well as directed and, after his contract ended, he was very vocal about the conflicts he had with the studio…
Every installment appears to have the same issue, writing from a place of fear of expanding this universe, by showing anything other than wartime.
Since Disney took over Lucasfilm and the Star Wars properties in 2012 the reaction to new installments have varied GREATLY to say the least. The sequel trilogy, in particular, has been met with a whopping of online vitriol.
When The Force Awakens premiered, a lot of people complained that the film played it “too safe” as they created a new (and arguably eco-friendly/sustainable) Death Star.
Then with The Last Jedi, many fans were furious that they…
Everyone has rooted for Tony and Pepper or Steve and Peggy, but which is the best “ships” now that those stories are done?
Let’s say this upfront: If you haven’t watched Avengers: Endgame, or you don’t know what happens in the film and don’t want it ruined for you, DON’T READ THIS ARTICLE. Now, let’s get into it…
Right out of the gate for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts were quick fan-favorites in Iron-Man. Their banter added a level of heart and humor to the film that would ultimately ground the hero enough that he was more likable and gave him a driving force for a multi-film character arc.
There was just one problem with this couple: Pepper.
Gwyneth…
HBO Max has greenlit a revival of Sex and the City, a show that became a cultural phenomenon in the late ’90s and early ’00s. The announcement came with an inevitable caveat: Kim Cattrall would not return. Unfortunately for the series, this leaves a gaping hole in the story and a whole lot of white feminism to try and explain away.
Making revivals and reboots can be a great way for streamers to get some attention when they’re launching. …
Emily J.
Writer and Artist with almost ten years of experience in entertainment writing and development. I nerd out over screenwriting at www.emilyjwrites.com.
