February 26, 2025 • 34 mins
ICYMI: Hour Two of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – A look at a big change coming to the city of Riverside with the unveiling of plans for a massive sports complex, a big role for Space Force in the development of the United States “Iron Dome” missile defense initiative AND rumors of a big change coming to Lucasfilm with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy hinting she may retire by years end - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's mister mo Kelly. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Could you imagine going to see Olympic events in River Tucky.
It is possible, not probable, but possible. There's a two
hundred million dollar proposal which would transform, you know, the
Riverside Golf Club. It's been abandoned since like maybe two
(00:27):
thousand and nine. They would transform the Riverside Golf Club
and Riverside into like an adventure center. They're talking about
one hundred and twenty six acre sports complex and it
would feature kayaking, surfing, climbing areas and more. And we
know that the Olympics are coming to LA in twenty
(00:49):
twenty eight and Riverside. If they can get this project
off the ground, and they're saying it would be privately funded.
People would not have to pay out of their taxes,
would not be paying for it in the sense of
public funds. If they could get it done by twenty
twenty seven, June twenty twenty seven, that's the cutoff, then
(01:10):
it would be eligible to host events in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Here's some of the story five point thirty. I share
Calvin and I'm Micah Olman.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
If approved, the general old golf course in Riverside will
transform into the Riverside Adventure Center, featuring kayaking, surfing, climbing areas,
zip lines, and more. The complex would also have stores, restaurants,
and apartments across the street.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
Ka Tail's Shelby Nelson joins us live in Riverside with
more Shelby.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Hey, Sharon, Michael.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Yeah, it sounds really exciting. But keep in mind is
these are the really early stages of this proposed project,
and if all goes to plan, the developer is hoping
that this newly proposed location could host some of the
competitions for the twenty twenty eight Olympics.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Two years a little more than two there's time to
do it. I don't know if it can be organized
and created in that two and a half years, but
it's a very small window. But I actually would like
to see that just for the city and area of
Riverside in an empire, because it needs it, and it
would be a great draw for people to come out there,
(02:20):
bring their families, have all sorts of fun. It would
be a quasi amusement park, but I don't know if
you've ever been kayaking.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I have. It's great fun.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I don't know how much of an audience there would
be for it for the many months of the year,
but it's something that I think there would be an
audience for on some level. I mean, there are also
plans for biking trails, picnic areas, new grocery store and housing.
It's something that could really revitalize the area more than anything.
And I always care about Riverside, calling it River Tucky,
(02:53):
and I say that very fondly because it's nactually a
very nice area as well as San Bernardino in the
Inland Empire. There's just not a lot to do out there.
When I went out there, I was hanging out with
friends at UC Riverside or cal State Sand Bernardino, but
there's not a lot as far as tourism goes. This
(03:14):
would go a very long way to change that. And
I'm just not one of those outdoorsy type people. I
doubt Mark is. I know Tawala is not. I don't
think Stefan is, but he's not here tonight. That doesn't
appeal to me per se, But this is California. There's
got to be, you know, something something like that that
(03:36):
would be appealing for most Californians.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Kayaking is a good workout, believe it or not.
Speaker 6 (03:41):
When did you do that? How about a lifetime ago?
I mean, you don't think I got skin like this
by being outside all the time, don't you?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Come on.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I've done some light kayaking with friends up in a
place called Clear Lake in kind of central California, and
I it's some sculling and some rowing, just for fun
with friends at Georgetown because Georgetown has a huge rowing team,
you know, one of the best in the country, or
at least when I was there, So you had the
(04:11):
chance hang out with friends and they were teaching me
how to do it. I was very bad at it,
very very bad at it. But I understand it's a
great workout. I mean, you have a great appreciation for
those types of water competitions and water sports, especially if
you've never done it.
Speaker 6 (04:28):
Yeah, I mean it's not fun enough to continue doing
it into your adult life.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Hell, I don't even like sitting on a rowing machine now. No. No,
Did you ever watch House of Cards?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Absolutely, and how a principal portion of the show was
built around Frank under would and he would sit at
his rowing machine and he'd work out his issues on
a rowing machine.
Speaker 6 (04:50):
It seems like every show that's said in DC shows
some variation, some permutation of rowing, like Jack Ryan, all
of it.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
It's big as far as the culture in DC.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
That's my point. That's exactly my point. There is a
big rowing community in Washington, d C. In the way
that you think of LA and maybe the Venice basketball courts. Well,
rowing is a thing that people just do in DC
because you have the Potomac and you have the opportunity
to actually go rowing.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Now the hell with that.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
Just get on a stationary bike and watch a movie
on your iPad like the rest of us.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Well, that's what I do, except the iPad part. I
would never have an iPad in my hand. That blasphemy.
I don't do too complicated tech for you. No, I
just don't like Apple products. I'm on the good, beautiful things.
I give Apple credit for the quality of the hardware,
the build of their devices.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
You prefer inferior products, is what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
No, I just like American products. I love America, and
Apple build most of your stuff in China.
Speaker 6 (05:55):
Okay, Well, they put those nets up to stop people
from killing themselves. I mean that's due diligence. I don't
have to feel guilty about Apple stuff, do I. No, No,
I'm just a Google guy.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Like in other words, I My phones have been Google
Android since the beginning. I have a Google Pixel eight.
I'm probably going to upgrade to the Pixel ten. Everything
I do on my computer is within the matrix of Google.
Speaker 6 (06:23):
Now, you and Marsha, who I am right now christening
the nice tech lady, the two of you have a
weird uh Android.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Cult thing going on. I've never understood that. I'll explain it.
It's very, very simple, very simple.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Android is for those who appreciate customization. We can make
our phones and our email and that whole ecosystem specific
to us. There are more customization options with Android phones
as opposed to Apple, just from our home screen to
(06:58):
the icon. It's just a it's a much more personalized experience.
Speaker 6 (07:04):
It's like you're speaking Farsi to me, because when I
have my iPhone in my hand, there's nothing I can
think of that I would want to customize because it
does everything that all the stuff in a Star Trek
episode would do combined.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
It's not due.
Speaker 6 (07:18):
It's about the presentation, it's about how it looks superficial.
Then that's where you're focused.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Maybe it could be the types of notification alerts, and
you can customize it how your phone will buzz or
beat for a certain text message, or I can do.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
That when when you text me, I could program it
to go it's mo you can't.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I'm saying, but there are more options when it comes
to Android.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You asked a serious question.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I'm trying to give you a serious answer, and I'm
trying to make it as simple as possible so you'll
understand it.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
That's a nice try, but I'm actually gonna do that,
and I'm going to insist you call Marcia the nice
tech lady.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Now she is the nice tech lady. But my point
is going back to the story. I've done some kayaking,
I've done some rowing, but that was specific to Washington,
d C. And if you spend any time out there, yeah,
rolling is a typical thing, and people would have rowing
machines because you'd see people rowing on the Potomac and
(08:16):
it's a beautiful thing to do, and I missed the
opportunity to do it. I would never do it now,
but I'm saying was when I was in my you know,
late teens and early twenties, the opporunity percent of itself.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
So I got my ass out of a potomac.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
Do that too much, you get huge lats and your
jackets won't fit anymore. Yeah, but that was thirty five
years ago. I think it's okay now you think.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Look what I do is as far as the physical activities,
I'm doing my hot keto. I'll do thirty to forty
push ups every morning before I get in the shower,
do my stretches.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
But I'm not trying to build bulk.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I'm trying to stay as lean as possible I should say,
less fat as possible, and you know, retain basic muscle mass.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
I'm not trying to lift weights like that. Those times
are over. Well if you say so, oh, I'm sure.
I want you to be comfortable. I don't want you
to injure yourself or or you don't have one of
those medical alert things. So I don't want you to
fall down until I've fallen and I can't get up
and have nobody respond.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Don't tell me I'm not the don't tell me I'm
the only one who will go to sleep and wake
up with a sprain ankle?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
What does never happened to you? I don't know what
you're talking about. Oh, you're lying. You go to sleep
and you wake up with a sprained ankle.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
You've never got out of bed in the morning, and
all of a sudden you realize, like, wait a minute,
I twisted my back or I sprained my ankle, and
you have no idea why, and I don't sleep walk,
so we can remove that.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
No, no, this is all new to me.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
I mean, of all the things that are going to
happen while you're asleep, that's not a thing I would
have guessed.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Robin, you're too young. You'll learn about this as you
get older. Twallow went somewhere, but I know it's happened.
He get him in there.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
We need we get you ass in here. I know
that I'm not.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
The only one that that happens too, where you go
to sleep and you're like, wait, how did I just
locate my elbow or something in the middle of the
night doing nothing. I know I cannot be the only
one that happens to tell me I'm not lying.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
We need to get you to help.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
You need it fast, well, You've never gone to sleep
like woken up with a sprain, ankle or something.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
You have no idea how it happened. Yes, of course
that happens. That's all I'm saying. Are you too like
mister Glass in the shamela An movies? Oh come on?
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Oh look seriously, Mark, Okay, don't. I don't know what's
going on in your genetic pool. But I have literally
woken up and found my knee out of sorts, and
I have no idea what happened.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
I literally do.
Speaker 6 (10:39):
I woke up one one, I got out of the bed,
put my feet on the ground and stood up and
damn near collapsed because I thought my ankle was sprayed.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
For God's sake.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
He he's lying now. He doesn't want to admit his age.
He doesn't want to let on that he's in the
same age bracket as we are I am. So it
wants to claim like, oh my gosh, these things don't
happen to me because I'm my runner and I'm only
thirty two.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
So you haven't just stretched and almost literally put your
entire back out.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
No, take some vitamins you're pants, or I'll stand up them.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I don't know because you don't wear pants in the studio.
You already told us that. Oh that's right. Look at
the timef I AM six forty, we're live everywhere on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
And Space Force is back in the news as Space
Force is going to play quote unquote a central role
in the Iron Dome US Missile Defense Initiative. In fact,
this integrated planning Team, the IPT, will have wide ranging
expertise that will be critical in laying out the missile
(11:54):
shield architecture to defend the US homeland from missile threats.
And that's according to the Space Forces Chief of Space Operations,
General Chance Saltzman, quote, we are leading forward establishing this
technical IPT to start thinking about it from an overarching perspective.
(12:15):
The Iron Dome for America Executive Order was signed by
President Donald Trump on January twenty seventh, and its specifically
direct Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to submit a comprehensive
plan detailing the architecture, requirements, and implementation strategy for a
missile defense system and the Missile Defense Agency, which oversees
(12:35):
the nation's existing missile defense shield, has taken lead in
organizing meetings with the defense industry. YadA yah, yeada, blah
blah blah. And this seems to me, correct me if
I'm wrong. This seems to me the next logical evolution
of what was the Star Wars Strategic Defense Initiative whatever
they called it during the Reagan administration many decades ago.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Yes, but now we have an actual dedicated arm of
our US military dedicated to defending us not just in
the upper atmosphere, but in the upper upper atmosphere.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I saw this photo which is floating around social media
of the X thirty seven, the super secret Dronet unmanned
craft which they use to do all our spy work
out and outer space, and it took a picture of
Earth and they released that to the press. And I'm
quite sure now we have a fully fleshed out space presence,
(13:38):
unmanned at least, including our satellites which are doing all
sorts of things up there. And this is the next
logical progression. We have all these satellites, in other words,
billions and billions of dollars worth of communication and military
hardware which can be vulnerable or can be weaponized in
whatever degree, and it serves out our interests that not
(14:00):
only is protected, we also know what everyone else is doing.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
It's not just satellites up there, that's for sure. Well.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
The notion of a military division protecting us not just
here in the land, the sea, and the air, but
in space is important because we need to have like
you said, there are unmanned vehicles up there. We need
some type of protection, some type of deterrent from enemy
(14:32):
satellites by noun from attacking our existing satellite network up there.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
We have to have some protections against that.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Trump's executive order says the US needs a multi layer
defense against advanced missile threats, including ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles.
The administration argues that an advanced missile shield would deter
adversaries like Russia and China. Well, how can I just
thought we just were on the side of Russia as
(15:01):
of yesterday, How can they be considered an adversary? But
you know, the administration argues that in an advanced missile
shield would deter adversaries like Russia and China from leveraging
their missile capabilities for corrosion I don't think President Trump
needs to be coerced. He is fully on board with Russia. Yeah,
fully on board. Maybe this is being built to help Russia.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (15:27):
Look, I just love the idea that space force is
we need it futilized more and more and more, that
it is actually becoming something to our chagrin, because in
the beginning we laughed bodily at space force, and then
it's turned into like, oh, oh, wait a minute, oh.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
We say.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It is serious and we need it. And Robin is
way too young to remember this. But back in the
nineteen eighties, there was this huge debate about whether we
should pursue militarization in space, that we should have some
sort of military presence or what was thought to be
like this Star Wars defense initiative, where we would be
(16:07):
able to shoot down other countries' missiles. Of course we
can do that now, but the conversation started in a
public sense in the nineteen eighties, and I know Mark
remembers that debate.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
Well, I'm not sure many people remember how widely mocked
Reagan's Star Wars thing was. And also, yes, about the
best thing you could say about it is that it
helped accelerate Russia spending itself into ruin the former Soviet
Union rather well.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
That is true too, and yeah that helped also bring
down the Soviet Union, absolutely.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
But it wasn't because you know, we had a realistic
shot at some futuristic space star Wars thing actually happening.
It was just it was a spending race and Russia,
the Soviet Union, bankrupt itself.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
And that was an adjunct, if you will, of the
nuclear arms race at the time, where Russia had more
missiles nuclear.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
ICBMs than we did. I think they still do now.
They still got plenty, but you know.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
They could they couldn't even feed the people in I
would say the early nineties.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
There's still a shocking percentage of the Russian population that
doesn't have indoor plumbing and toilets and stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
But the god missiles though, the god missiles.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
I mean, you may see footage of Tucker losing his
mind at a grocery store there, but bear in mind
that that's not representative of the entirety of the country.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
But we're now old enough to see the i'll say,
the growth and evolution of the vision of the late
Ronald Reagan. It's now here Are you sure.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
I'm sure, Okay, I'm positive. It's real.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
The whole strategic the fits initiative has been realized thanks
to our President Donald Trump.
Speaker 6 (17:51):
I just hope they have cool outfits. We talked about
that and we saw the uniforms. They're not quite cool yet.
I mean, I want a cool jacket if they're going
to go through with this thing. Oh, you weren't here
what we brought Space Force on the show. Yeah, we
did a whole hour with them.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Did they bring hats? Now? Like a hat? Those a
very very serious conversation.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
It was about their expansion and infrastructure, what they're building
here in southern California.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
It was very very impresive.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
It's like three miles from while I live on Crenshaw
and yet no hats.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
That's very disappointed.
Speaker 6 (18:22):
We'll have them back of the show. We'll get hats
just for you. That's tattoos and I want the whole
nine yards.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
It's later with mo Kelly kfi AM six forty Live Everywhere,
the iHeartRadio app from Star Wars Defense Initiative to Star
Wars will give you the latest about where that whole
intellectual property is going. Now that Kathleen Kennedy is expected
to retire by the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty and.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
I love Star Wars through and through, Love it through
and through.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
It takes me back to nineteen seventy seven when my
father took me and my grandfather, my mother's father to
see Star Wars. I think it was maybe the second
week he was out. He was in Century City, had
a waiting line, was packed out theater, and I'll never
forget the experience. I absolutely loved it. Fell in love
(19:17):
with Star Wars right then. And this was at a
time there weren't a lot of sequels. You had maybe
The Godfather, and I can't think of anything else which
had a sequel in the nineteen seventies that was not expected,
that was not.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Normal at all.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And then as Star Wars progressed, you had the Empire
strikes Back in nineteen eighty, Return of the Jedi in
nineteen eighty three, and then the rest, they say is history.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
But much later on in that history, George.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Lucas sold his Star Wars World Universe of intellectual property
and rights to Disney, and there was a question there
was concern. There was a worry whether selling Star Wars
would change change it into something else, changing into something
(20:08):
which was much more disneyfied and less Star Wars. Star Wars,
for all the jokes that people would make about it,
was still a somewhat serious movie. You had one of
the best villains of all time, Darth Vader, who choked
people to death.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
He was a serious villain. If you know anything about.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
The Star Wars storyline, it's basically based on the Nazis.
You had the Stormtroopers, and it was a mark. How
would you characterize it? I thought it was like a
treatise on imperialism.
Speaker 6 (20:41):
I just always thought of it as like the Cadillac
treatment of all the old sci fi movie serials that
George Lucas grew up with, like Flash Gordon and Bush Rogers.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
True, but there still wasn't a serious underpinning as far
as what it was based on and the message he
was trying to convey. There was a definite message in it, Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
Yeah, sure, and I think it became more pronounced as
the series went on, and then you realize that, like
you have moments where you realize, oh, are we the Empire?
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Yes, yes, and you think that you're on the side
of right yeah, and maybe you're not. The more you
investigate the origins of Star Wars and the real message,
who was exactly the empire and who was the resistance.
I say all that to say, given all that subtext,
(21:34):
when it was sold to Disney, there was concerned about
what it would become, and Kathleen Kennedy, who was the
longtime president of Lucasfilm and one of the original people
around George Lucas, did not share the same vision for
Star Wars, and after it was sold, Kathleen Kennedy stayed
on as president and she's been much maligned and criticized
(21:56):
as far as her vision, which seems to be more
about Disney then the original feeling of Star Wars, and
I think that's part of the reason why we got
some mediocre Star Wars movies and some very mediocre TV
series with the exception of a few. It has now
been reported that Kathleen Kennedy is going to retire at
(22:17):
the end of this year, and it says to Star
Wars fans like me and Twala, I don't know about Mark,
but a different day is coming and maybe better movies
are coming because I had sworn off Star Wars movies
for good because of you.
Speaker 6 (22:32):
Would just go see it no matter what, just because
it's Star Wars and then hate watch it.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
I did up until the Last Jedi. I was so
done with Star Wars. With the Last Jedi, I didn't
even see The Rise.
Speaker 6 (22:45):
Of Skywalker in like the first three weeks it was
in theaters.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
I had no desire to see it.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
I'm not crazy about those and I said for a
long time that Star Wars really got along on nothing
but goodwill after two good movies Star Wars in nineteen
seventy seven and Empire in nineteen eighty, and there was
nothing good for decades after that.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I disagree. For as bad as.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Jar Jar Binks was in The Phantom Menace, we still
got Darth Maul. The only problem with Darth Maul is
they killed him.
Speaker 6 (23:17):
He was a cool character, and there were cool elements
to some of those movies. I like The Buddy Cop
Jedis that story with Django Fett. That was a good story.
It did pay off in the end, but that was
still Lucas's involvement. He was still heavily involved, and he
was still trying to flesh out a story that he
(23:38):
began long long ago under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy.
Is when we saw it take a decided turn into
the realm of Solo and the ray led prequels that
were just.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Well, that goes back to the whole disnification of it all.
George Lucas was made making stories for, I would say,
more the nerd culture, and Kathleen Kennedy wanted to have
teen girls and younger Disney fans, fans of the Disney
universe to buy into Star Wars, and I don't think
(24:17):
it worked. I think that Star Wars was always intented
is much more of a vehicle for kids, and the
marketing of all their toys bears that out. And it
was never meant to It was always meant to be
kind of juvenile fantasy and never serious hard sci fi.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
But maybe, okay, let's say that's true.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
But by the time it gets to Disney, it is
what it is, and it had taken on a life
and understanding of its own, which is different from the
toys and the paraphernalia and all the marketing and merchandising
that maybe we grew up on. But it was more
about a level of seriousness of entertainment, not the silliness
that it's become now.
Speaker 6 (24:55):
Because the toys became collectors items for adults. The the
series of the franchise, it grew and maintained its relevance
because of things like the graphic novels and comic books
and Victo games, which are a lot darker, but the
video games, which were very dark and told a much
(25:15):
more serious and mature story because they had to appeal
to young men.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
That's what kept the interest in Star Wars.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
And so when they said, hey, let's go at this again,
you know we got Fortunately, we got stories like Rogue one,
which for me is one of my favorite stories because
it told the story of the war, which is why
I like and or because it tells the story of
the war in Star Wars. But Kathleen Kennedy in her
(25:43):
Zille and her quest to destroy the Skywalker legacy and
turn it into some you know, mass marketing machine. Look,
I will give Kathleen Kennedy two props. I will give
her two props and two props only. And that is
the decision to put Dave Filoni and John Favreau in
(26:04):
charge of future projects outside of that dinged.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
On the Witch is dead.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Ye, yes, and no, because she was the one who
put Ryan Johnson in charge and was going to give
him his own trilogy.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Yeah, no, no, no.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
Now, remember she put Ryan Johnson in charge prior, prior
she gave him the trilogy, prior to saying, oh, oh,
they don't they don't like this slow speed chase in
outer space with Vice Admiral Evening Gown. They didn't like that.
Oh no, oh Ryan, this may not be a thing
for you. Hey, hey, john who John Star Wars fan?
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (26:40):
And and can you get Dave over an animation? Can
you get him to come over to live action? What
you've got a series for the Mandalorian? What you've got
an Ahsoka series? You're what You're giving us the most
badass Luke Skywalker in the history of the entire franchise.
Thank you, Thank you, gentlemen for what you've done for us.
You are my obi WS. Was Kathleen Kennedy also responsible
(27:03):
for bringing JJ Abrams on board because I think he
did as much damage to Star Wars as he did
to Star Trail.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Well, here's the problem, and this week, before we go
to break, we'll pick it up on the other side.
Here's where Kathleen Kennedy I think made it worse than was.
JJ Abrams had a trilogy in mind, but when you
start changing directors, JJ wanted to tell a story that
began with the Force Awakens and was going to have
a more fleshed out story in between, which we might
(27:31):
have learned more about the Knights of Wren and what
actually happened to Luke Skywalker. Ryan Johnson comes in with
the Last Jedi and say you have to kill the
Pass and just disregarded everything which had happened in the
previous movie. And then JJ Abrams comes back for the
third one and tries to tell a story which is
completely incomplete, and it's completely disjointed and jumbled and nonsensical,
(27:54):
and I blame Kathleen Kennedy for that.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
There's no way they could have finished that Siti well.
Speaker 6 (27:58):
And JJ Abrams was brought on board by Kathy Kiddy
even in the earliest parts of his career, like she said,
when I get on, I'm putting you on because he
was like a understudy when she was just a producer
and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
We'll have more and just a moment later with Mokelly
kf I six forty five everywhere in the arc Heart
Radio app Lame Kelly six Live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
And we were talking about the impending retirement of Kathleen
Kennedy and this is important thing.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Well, I'm not a Star Wars fan.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Well, the Star Wars universe and the movies and the
television shows on Disney Plus we talk about the importance
of Disney to movie theaters, to the overall entertainment landscape.
I promise you if Disney went away, the entertainment business
as we know it would crater. The movie theaters that
you know and love in your neighborhood would disappear and
(28:56):
go out of business. Regardless of your personal politics, Disney
is keeping thousands and thousands of people employed from a
general labor force perspective, and it's also helping with our
gross domestic product and our larger economy.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
So regardless of what you think about Disney.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
The success or failure of Disney has a direct impact
on you. And I don't want people to lose sight
of that. But sometimes we think, well, I you know,
go woke, go broke. Well, you don't want Disney going broke,
not that they're going to, but you're actually rooting against
yourself each time that you say that, because you don't
like the content that they may be putting out. And
(29:40):
you know, sometimes there are consequences when you get what
you ask for, it's not what you want. But anyhow,
there are some things that Disney is doing well. There
are some series that they've been producing on Disney Plus
which I think are fine in the sense of really
quality additions to the Star Wars universe verse. One of
them was and Or, and I had to slowly warm
(30:04):
up to it. I thought it was a little slow
in its first season and then it picked up. If
you don't know the story of and Or, it's basically
telling the story the inner workings of how the Death Star,
the original Death Star was built. And the second sceneson
trailer recently dropped, where the war you.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Want to fight? Who do you want to win?
Speaker 6 (30:38):
Last dream that the world turn around?
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Alloaves have come to me, Drills Stars now a swell
part of.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
This, more music than anything, and montages of pictures. I
wish you could have more dialogue in it, but.
Speaker 6 (31:09):
You get to see how the Death Star was built
from the inside out and that's something the story we
never got to see. We just got to see a
fully completed death Star in episode four, and we knew
the story of the stealing of the plans. We saw
how they were stolen in Rogue one.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
But now they're.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
Taking you just a step before that, where how the
bureaucracy and the evolution of the empire led to the
creation of this weapon of mass destruction That exactly hits
it on the head. The bureaucracy, the politics, the political
intrigue behind the scenes, where you have different politicians carrying
(31:51):
favor with different factions, whether they be pro empire or
pro underground rebellion, and how all all of these inner
workings is what shaped the galaxy. And it gives you
another another look at what you would consider the sides
of right and wrong, when really this is almost Republicans
(32:17):
and Democrats. That is, it is very very heavy in
its political leanings, in who is who and the story
they're trying to tell about not necessarily one party, but
party specific overreach and party over zealousness about controlling the
narrative writ large.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
This is ultimately what happens, you know, And that's the
funny thing. Funny aha, and funny haha.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Where people complain I don't want politics in my Disney content.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
If you know Star Wars, it's nothing but politics.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Sorry to you know, to you know, disabuse you of
the notion that there are no politics in Star Wars.
It was built on politics. And this is talking about
we go back and watch the Phantom Menace. It is
almost exactly what's happening right now in America.
Speaker 6 (33:05):
And at the time we all mocked the whole trade
war thing and all the Galactic Congress stuff as a
bunch of nonsense. We didn't like it, but it really
applies now it actually does. And you have the invasion
of Naboo. I'm getting ready to go deep.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
You have the invasion of Naboo, and then you have
the Trade Viceroyce who said, what do you mean what invasion?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
What are you talking about? There was no invasion.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
We need to have an investigation into it, and how
the bureaucracy and if you're talking about Naboo is Ukraine
at this point, and the Galactic Senate is basically of
Russia and they want to deny the invasion of There's
so many historical parallels to this world right now.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
If you watch Star Wars.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
If you don't like to have politics and Star Wars mix,
you've never been paying attention at all at all. As
a matter of fact, I think I have that clip
around here somewhere. Real quick, I can play that What
U is today? The twenty fifth? Yeah, I think it
was twenty fourth or so. I have to come back
and find it. Maybe I'll find it after.
Speaker 6 (34:05):
The break, but definitely, Kathleen Kennedy retiring helps Star Wars,
and it will help it moving forward.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And and Or season two comes out in April. Correct, Yes,
cannot wait. Love and or Love and Or KF I
Am six forty were live everywhere in the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
App, stimulating talk for independent thought.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
KF I'm KOST HD two, Los Angeles, Orange County, live
everywhere on the Young Art Radio app
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's mister mo Kelly. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Could you imagine going to see Olympic events in River Tucky.
It is possible, not probable, but possible. There's a two
hundred million dollar proposal which would transform, you know, the
Riverside Golf Club. It's been abandoned since like maybe two
(00:27):
thousand and nine. They would transform the Riverside Golf Club
and Riverside into like an adventure center. They're talking about
one hundred and twenty six acre sports complex and it
would feature kayaking, surfing, climbing areas and more. And we
know that the Olympics are coming to LA in twenty
(00:49):
twenty eight and Riverside. If they can get this project
off the ground, and they're saying it would be privately funded.
People would not have to pay out of their taxes,
would not be paying for it in the sense of
public funds. If they could get it done by twenty
twenty seven, June twenty twenty seven, that's the cutoff, then
(01:10):
it would be eligible to host events in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Here's some of the story five point thirty. I share
Calvin and I'm Micah Olman.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
If approved, the general old golf course in Riverside will
transform into the Riverside Adventure Center, featuring kayaking, surfing, climbing areas,
zip lines, and more. The complex would also have stores, restaurants,
and apartments across the street.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
Ka Tail's Shelby Nelson joins us live in Riverside with
more Shelby.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Hey, Sharon, Michael.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Yeah, it sounds really exciting. But keep in mind is
these are the really early stages of this proposed project,
and if all goes to plan, the developer is hoping
that this newly proposed location could host some of the
competitions for the twenty twenty eight Olympics.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Two years a little more than two there's time to
do it. I don't know if it can be organized
and created in that two and a half years, but
it's a very small window. But I actually would like
to see that just for the city and area of
Riverside in an empire, because it needs it, and it
would be a great draw for people to come out there,
(02:20):
bring their families, have all sorts of fun. It would
be a quasi amusement park, but I don't know if
you've ever been kayaking.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I have. It's great fun.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I don't know how much of an audience there would
be for it for the many months of the year,
but it's something that I think there would be an
audience for on some level. I mean, there are also
plans for biking trails, picnic areas, new grocery store and housing.
It's something that could really revitalize the area more than anything.
And I always care about Riverside, calling it River Tucky,
(02:53):
and I say that very fondly because it's nactually a
very nice area as well as San Bernardino in the
Inland Empire. There's just not a lot to do out there.
When I went out there, I was hanging out with
friends at UC Riverside or cal State Sand Bernardino, but
there's not a lot as far as tourism goes. This
(03:14):
would go a very long way to change that. And
I'm just not one of those outdoorsy type people. I
doubt Mark is. I know Tawala is not. I don't
think Stefan is, but he's not here tonight. That doesn't
appeal to me per se, But this is California. There's
got to be, you know, something something like that that
(03:36):
would be appealing for most Californians.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Kayaking is a good workout, believe it or not.
Speaker 6 (03:41):
When did you do that? How about a lifetime ago?
I mean, you don't think I got skin like this
by being outside all the time, don't you?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Come on.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I've done some light kayaking with friends up in a
place called Clear Lake in kind of central California, and
I it's some sculling and some rowing, just for fun
with friends at Georgetown because Georgetown has a huge rowing team,
you know, one of the best in the country, or
at least when I was there, So you had the
(04:11):
chance hang out with friends and they were teaching me
how to do it. I was very bad at it,
very very bad at it. But I understand it's a
great workout. I mean, you have a great appreciation for
those types of water competitions and water sports, especially if
you've never done it.
Speaker 6 (04:28):
Yeah, I mean it's not fun enough to continue doing
it into your adult life.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Hell, I don't even like sitting on a rowing machine now. No. No,
Did you ever watch House of Cards?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Absolutely, and how a principal portion of the show was
built around Frank under would and he would sit at
his rowing machine and he'd work out his issues on
a rowing machine.
Speaker 6 (04:50):
It seems like every show that's said in DC shows
some variation, some permutation of rowing, like Jack Ryan, all
of it.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
It's big as far as the culture in DC.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
That's my point. That's exactly my point. There is a
big rowing community in Washington, d C. In the way
that you think of LA and maybe the Venice basketball courts. Well,
rowing is a thing that people just do in DC
because you have the Potomac and you have the opportunity
to actually go rowing.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Now the hell with that.
Speaker 6 (05:19):
Just get on a stationary bike and watch a movie
on your iPad like the rest of us.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Well, that's what I do, except the iPad part. I
would never have an iPad in my hand. That blasphemy.
I don't do too complicated tech for you. No, I
just don't like Apple products. I'm on the good, beautiful things.
I give Apple credit for the quality of the hardware,
the build of their devices.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
You prefer inferior products, is what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
No, I just like American products. I love America, and
Apple build most of your stuff in China.
Speaker 6 (05:55):
Okay, Well, they put those nets up to stop people
from killing themselves. I mean that's due diligence. I don't
have to feel guilty about Apple stuff, do I. No, No,
I'm just a Google guy.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Like in other words, I My phones have been Google
Android since the beginning. I have a Google Pixel eight.
I'm probably going to upgrade to the Pixel ten. Everything
I do on my computer is within the matrix of Google.
Speaker 6 (06:23):
Now, you and Marsha, who I am right now christening
the nice tech lady, the two of you have a
weird uh Android.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Cult thing going on. I've never understood that. I'll explain it.
It's very, very simple, very simple.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Android is for those who appreciate customization. We can make
our phones and our email and that whole ecosystem specific
to us. There are more customization options with Android phones
as opposed to Apple, just from our home screen to
(06:58):
the icon. It's just a it's a much more personalized experience.
Speaker 6 (07:04):
It's like you're speaking Farsi to me, because when I
have my iPhone in my hand, there's nothing I can
think of that I would want to customize because it
does everything that all the stuff in a Star Trek
episode would do combined.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
It's not due.
Speaker 6 (07:18):
It's about the presentation, it's about how it looks superficial.
Then that's where you're focused.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Maybe it could be the types of notification alerts, and
you can customize it how your phone will buzz or
beat for a certain text message, or I can do.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
That when when you text me, I could program it
to go it's mo you can't.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I'm saying, but there are more options when it comes
to Android.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
You asked a serious question.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I'm trying to give you a serious answer, and I'm
trying to make it as simple as possible so you'll
understand it.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
That's a nice try, but I'm actually gonna do that,
and I'm going to insist you call Marcia the nice
tech lady.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Now she is the nice tech lady. But my point
is going back to the story. I've done some kayaking,
I've done some rowing, but that was specific to Washington,
d C. And if you spend any time out there, yeah,
rolling is a typical thing, and people would have rowing
machines because you'd see people rowing on the Potomac and
(08:16):
it's a beautiful thing to do, and I missed the
opportunity to do it. I would never do it now,
but I'm saying was when I was in my you know,
late teens and early twenties, the opporunity percent of itself.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
So I got my ass out of a potomac.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
Do that too much, you get huge lats and your
jackets won't fit anymore. Yeah, but that was thirty five
years ago. I think it's okay now you think.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Look what I do is as far as the physical activities,
I'm doing my hot keto. I'll do thirty to forty
push ups every morning before I get in the shower,
do my stretches.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
But I'm not trying to build bulk.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I'm trying to stay as lean as possible I should say,
less fat as possible, and you know, retain basic muscle mass.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
I'm not trying to lift weights like that. Those times
are over. Well if you say so, oh, I'm sure.
I want you to be comfortable. I don't want you
to injure yourself or or you don't have one of
those medical alert things. So I don't want you to
fall down until I've fallen and I can't get up
and have nobody respond.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Don't tell me I'm not the don't tell me I'm
the only one who will go to sleep and wake
up with a sprain ankle?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
What does never happened to you? I don't know what
you're talking about. Oh, you're lying. You go to sleep
and you wake up with a sprained ankle.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
You've never got out of bed in the morning, and
all of a sudden you realize, like, wait a minute,
I twisted my back or I sprained my ankle, and
you have no idea why, and I don't sleep walk,
so we can remove that.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
No, no, this is all new to me.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
I mean, of all the things that are going to
happen while you're asleep, that's not a thing I would
have guessed.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Robin, you're too young. You'll learn about this as you
get older. Twallow went somewhere, but I know it's happened.
He get him in there.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
We need we get you ass in here. I know
that I'm not.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
The only one that that happens too, where you go
to sleep and you're like, wait, how did I just
locate my elbow or something in the middle of the
night doing nothing. I know I cannot be the only
one that happens to tell me I'm not lying.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
We need to get you to help.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
You need it fast, well, You've never gone to sleep
like woken up with a sprain, ankle or something.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
You have no idea how it happened. Yes, of course
that happens. That's all I'm saying. Are you too like
mister Glass in the shamela An movies? Oh come on?
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Oh look seriously, Mark, Okay, don't. I don't know what's
going on in your genetic pool. But I have literally
woken up and found my knee out of sorts, and
I have no idea what happened.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
I literally do.
Speaker 6 (10:39):
I woke up one one, I got out of the bed,
put my feet on the ground and stood up and
damn near collapsed because I thought my ankle was sprayed.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
For God's sake.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
He he's lying now. He doesn't want to admit his age.
He doesn't want to let on that he's in the
same age bracket as we are I am. So it
wants to claim like, oh my gosh, these things don't
happen to me because I'm my runner and I'm only
thirty two.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
So you haven't just stretched and almost literally put your
entire back out.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
No, take some vitamins you're pants, or I'll stand up them.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I don't know because you don't wear pants in the studio.
You already told us that. Oh that's right. Look at
the timef I AM six forty, we're live everywhere on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
And Space Force is back in the news as Space
Force is going to play quote unquote a central role
in the Iron Dome US Missile Defense Initiative. In fact,
this integrated planning Team, the IPT, will have wide ranging
expertise that will be critical in laying out the missile
(11:54):
shield architecture to defend the US homeland from missile threats.
And that's according to the Space Forces Chief of Space Operations,
General Chance Saltzman, quote, we are leading forward establishing this
technical IPT to start thinking about it from an overarching perspective.
(12:15):
The Iron Dome for America Executive Order was signed by
President Donald Trump on January twenty seventh, and its specifically
direct Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to submit a comprehensive
plan detailing the architecture, requirements, and implementation strategy for a
missile defense system and the Missile Defense Agency, which oversees
(12:35):
the nation's existing missile defense shield, has taken lead in
organizing meetings with the defense industry. YadA yah, yeada, blah
blah blah. And this seems to me, correct me if
I'm wrong. This seems to me the next logical evolution
of what was the Star Wars Strategic Defense Initiative whatever
they called it during the Reagan administration many decades ago.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Yes, but now we have an actual dedicated arm of
our US military dedicated to defending us not just in
the upper atmosphere, but in the upper upper atmosphere.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I saw this photo which is floating around social media
of the X thirty seven, the super secret Dronet unmanned
craft which they use to do all our spy work
out and outer space, and it took a picture of
Earth and they released that to the press. And I'm
quite sure now we have a fully fleshed out space presence,
(13:38):
unmanned at least, including our satellites which are doing all
sorts of things up there. And this is the next
logical progression. We have all these satellites, in other words,
billions and billions of dollars worth of communication and military
hardware which can be vulnerable or can be weaponized in
whatever degree, and it serves out our interests that not
(14:00):
only is protected, we also know what everyone else is doing.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
It's not just satellites up there, that's for sure. Well.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
The notion of a military division protecting us not just
here in the land, the sea, and the air, but
in space is important because we need to have like
you said, there are unmanned vehicles up there. We need
some type of protection, some type of deterrent from enemy
(14:32):
satellites by noun from attacking our existing satellite network up there.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
We have to have some protections against that.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Trump's executive order says the US needs a multi layer
defense against advanced missile threats, including ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles.
The administration argues that an advanced missile shield would deter
adversaries like Russia and China. Well, how can I just
thought we just were on the side of Russia as
(15:01):
of yesterday, How can they be considered an adversary? But
you know, the administration argues that in an advanced missile
shield would deter adversaries like Russia and China from leveraging
their missile capabilities for corrosion I don't think President Trump
needs to be coerced. He is fully on board with Russia. Yeah,
fully on board. Maybe this is being built to help Russia.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (15:27):
Look, I just love the idea that space force is
we need it futilized more and more and more, that
it is actually becoming something to our chagrin, because in
the beginning we laughed bodily at space force, and then
it's turned into like, oh, oh, wait a minute, oh.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
We say.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It is serious and we need it. And Robin is
way too young to remember this. But back in the
nineteen eighties, there was this huge debate about whether we
should pursue militarization in space, that we should have some
sort of military presence or what was thought to be
like this Star Wars defense initiative, where we would be
(16:07):
able to shoot down other countries' missiles. Of course we
can do that now, but the conversation started in a
public sense in the nineteen eighties, and I know Mark
remembers that debate.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
Well, I'm not sure many people remember how widely mocked
Reagan's Star Wars thing was. And also, yes, about the
best thing you could say about it is that it
helped accelerate Russia spending itself into ruin the former Soviet
Union rather well.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
That is true too, and yeah that helped also bring
down the Soviet Union, absolutely.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
But it wasn't because you know, we had a realistic
shot at some futuristic space star Wars thing actually happening.
It was just it was a spending race and Russia,
the Soviet Union, bankrupt itself.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
And that was an adjunct, if you will, of the
nuclear arms race at the time, where Russia had more
missiles nuclear.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
ICBMs than we did. I think they still do now.
They still got plenty, but you know.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
They could they couldn't even feed the people in I
would say the early nineties.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
There's still a shocking percentage of the Russian population that
doesn't have indoor plumbing and toilets and stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
But the god missiles though, the god missiles.
Speaker 6 (17:20):
I mean, you may see footage of Tucker losing his
mind at a grocery store there, but bear in mind
that that's not representative of the entirety of the country.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
But we're now old enough to see the i'll say,
the growth and evolution of the vision of the late
Ronald Reagan. It's now here Are you sure.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
I'm sure, Okay, I'm positive. It's real.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
The whole strategic the fits initiative has been realized thanks
to our President Donald Trump.
Speaker 6 (17:51):
I just hope they have cool outfits. We talked about
that and we saw the uniforms. They're not quite cool yet.
I mean, I want a cool jacket if they're going
to go through with this thing. Oh, you weren't here
what we brought Space Force on the show. Yeah, we
did a whole hour with them.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Did they bring hats? Now? Like a hat? Those a
very very serious conversation.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
It was about their expansion and infrastructure, what they're building
here in southern California.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
It was very very impresive.
Speaker 6 (18:17):
It's like three miles from while I live on Crenshaw
and yet no hats.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
That's very disappointed.
Speaker 6 (18:22):
We'll have them back of the show. We'll get hats
just for you. That's tattoos and I want the whole
nine yards.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
It's later with mo Kelly kfi AM six forty Live Everywhere,
the iHeartRadio app from Star Wars Defense Initiative to Star
Wars will give you the latest about where that whole
intellectual property is going. Now that Kathleen Kennedy is expected
to retire by the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty and.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
I love Star Wars through and through, Love it through
and through.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
It takes me back to nineteen seventy seven when my
father took me and my grandfather, my mother's father to
see Star Wars. I think it was maybe the second
week he was out. He was in Century City, had
a waiting line, was packed out theater, and I'll never
forget the experience. I absolutely loved it. Fell in love
(19:17):
with Star Wars right then. And this was at a
time there weren't a lot of sequels. You had maybe
The Godfather, and I can't think of anything else which
had a sequel in the nineteen seventies that was not expected,
that was not.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Normal at all.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And then as Star Wars progressed, you had the Empire
strikes Back in nineteen eighty, Return of the Jedi in
nineteen eighty three, and then the rest, they say is history.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
But much later on in that history, George.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Lucas sold his Star Wars World Universe of intellectual property
and rights to Disney, and there was a question there
was concern. There was a worry whether selling Star Wars
would change change it into something else, changing into something
(20:08):
which was much more disneyfied and less Star Wars. Star Wars,
for all the jokes that people would make about it,
was still a somewhat serious movie. You had one of
the best villains of all time, Darth Vader, who choked
people to death.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
He was a serious villain. If you know anything about.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
The Star Wars storyline, it's basically based on the Nazis.
You had the Stormtroopers, and it was a mark. How
would you characterize it? I thought it was like a
treatise on imperialism.
Speaker 6 (20:41):
I just always thought of it as like the Cadillac
treatment of all the old sci fi movie serials that
George Lucas grew up with, like Flash Gordon and Bush Rogers.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
True, but there still wasn't a serious underpinning as far
as what it was based on and the message he
was trying to convey. There was a definite message in it, Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
Yeah, sure, and I think it became more pronounced as
the series went on, and then you realize that, like
you have moments where you realize, oh, are we the Empire?
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Yes, yes, and you think that you're on the side
of right yeah, and maybe you're not. The more you
investigate the origins of Star Wars and the real message,
who was exactly the empire and who was the resistance.
I say all that to say, given all that subtext,
(21:34):
when it was sold to Disney, there was concerned about
what it would become, and Kathleen Kennedy, who was the
longtime president of Lucasfilm and one of the original people
around George Lucas, did not share the same vision for
Star Wars, and after it was sold, Kathleen Kennedy stayed
on as president and she's been much maligned and criticized
(21:56):
as far as her vision, which seems to be more
about Disney then the original feeling of Star Wars, and
I think that's part of the reason why we got
some mediocre Star Wars movies and some very mediocre TV
series with the exception of a few. It has now
been reported that Kathleen Kennedy is going to retire at
(22:17):
the end of this year, and it says to Star
Wars fans like me and Twala, I don't know about Mark,
but a different day is coming and maybe better movies
are coming because I had sworn off Star Wars movies
for good because of you.
Speaker 6 (22:32):
Would just go see it no matter what, just because
it's Star Wars and then hate watch it.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
I did up until the Last Jedi. I was so
done with Star Wars. With the Last Jedi, I didn't
even see The Rise.
Speaker 6 (22:45):
Of Skywalker in like the first three weeks it was
in theaters.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
I had no desire to see it.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
I'm not crazy about those and I said for a
long time that Star Wars really got along on nothing
but goodwill after two good movies Star Wars in nineteen
seventy seven and Empire in nineteen eighty, and there was
nothing good for decades after that.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I disagree. For as bad as.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Jar Jar Binks was in The Phantom Menace, we still
got Darth Maul. The only problem with Darth Maul is
they killed him.
Speaker 6 (23:17):
He was a cool character, and there were cool elements
to some of those movies. I like The Buddy Cop
Jedis that story with Django Fett. That was a good story.
It did pay off in the end, but that was
still Lucas's involvement. He was still heavily involved, and he
was still trying to flesh out a story that he
(23:38):
began long long ago under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy.
Is when we saw it take a decided turn into
the realm of Solo and the ray led prequels that
were just.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Well, that goes back to the whole disnification of it all.
George Lucas was made making stories for, I would say,
more the nerd culture, and Kathleen Kennedy wanted to have
teen girls and younger Disney fans, fans of the Disney
universe to buy into Star Wars, and I don't think
(24:17):
it worked. I think that Star Wars was always intented
is much more of a vehicle for kids, and the
marketing of all their toys bears that out. And it
was never meant to It was always meant to be
kind of juvenile fantasy and never serious hard sci fi.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
But maybe, okay, let's say that's true.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
But by the time it gets to Disney, it is
what it is, and it had taken on a life
and understanding of its own, which is different from the
toys and the paraphernalia and all the marketing and merchandising
that maybe we grew up on. But it was more
about a level of seriousness of entertainment, not the silliness
that it's become now.
Speaker 6 (24:55):
Because the toys became collectors items for adults. The the
series of the franchise, it grew and maintained its relevance
because of things like the graphic novels and comic books
and Victo games, which are a lot darker, but the
video games, which were very dark and told a much
(25:15):
more serious and mature story because they had to appeal
to young men.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
That's what kept the interest in Star Wars.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
And so when they said, hey, let's go at this again,
you know we got Fortunately, we got stories like Rogue one,
which for me is one of my favorite stories because
it told the story of the war, which is why
I like and or because it tells the story of
the war in Star Wars. But Kathleen Kennedy in her
(25:43):
Zille and her quest to destroy the Skywalker legacy and
turn it into some you know, mass marketing machine. Look,
I will give Kathleen Kennedy two props. I will give
her two props and two props only. And that is
the decision to put Dave Filoni and John Favreau in
(26:04):
charge of future projects outside of that dinged.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
On the Witch is dead.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Ye, yes, and no, because she was the one who
put Ryan Johnson in charge and was going to give
him his own trilogy.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Yeah, no, no, no.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
Now, remember she put Ryan Johnson in charge prior, prior
she gave him the trilogy, prior to saying, oh, oh,
they don't they don't like this slow speed chase in
outer space with Vice Admiral Evening Gown. They didn't like that.
Oh no, oh Ryan, this may not be a thing
for you. Hey, hey, john who John Star Wars fan?
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (26:40):
And and can you get Dave over an animation? Can
you get him to come over to live action? What
you've got a series for the Mandalorian? What you've got
an Ahsoka series? You're what You're giving us the most
badass Luke Skywalker in the history of the entire franchise.
Thank you, Thank you, gentlemen for what you've done for us.
You are my obi WS. Was Kathleen Kennedy also responsible
(27:03):
for bringing JJ Abrams on board because I think he
did as much damage to Star Wars as he did
to Star Trail.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Well, here's the problem, and this week, before we go
to break, we'll pick it up on the other side.
Here's where Kathleen Kennedy I think made it worse than was.
JJ Abrams had a trilogy in mind, but when you
start changing directors, JJ wanted to tell a story that
began with the Force Awakens and was going to have
a more fleshed out story in between, which we might
(27:31):
have learned more about the Knights of Wren and what
actually happened to Luke Skywalker. Ryan Johnson comes in with
the Last Jedi and say you have to kill the
Pass and just disregarded everything which had happened in the
previous movie. And then JJ Abrams comes back for the
third one and tries to tell a story which is
completely incomplete, and it's completely disjointed and jumbled and nonsensical,
(27:54):
and I blame Kathleen Kennedy for that.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
There's no way they could have finished that Siti well.
Speaker 6 (27:58):
And JJ Abrams was brought on board by Kathy Kiddy
even in the earliest parts of his career, like she said,
when I get on, I'm putting you on because he
was like a understudy when she was just a producer
and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
We'll have more and just a moment later with Mokelly
kf I six forty five everywhere in the arc Heart
Radio app Lame Kelly six Live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
And we were talking about the impending retirement of Kathleen
Kennedy and this is important thing.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Well, I'm not a Star Wars fan.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Well, the Star Wars universe and the movies and the
television shows on Disney Plus we talk about the importance
of Disney to movie theaters, to the overall entertainment landscape.
I promise you if Disney went away, the entertainment business
as we know it would crater. The movie theaters that
you know and love in your neighborhood would disappear and
(28:56):
go out of business. Regardless of your personal politics, Disney
is keeping thousands and thousands of people employed from a
general labor force perspective, and it's also helping with our
gross domestic product and our larger economy.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
So regardless of what you think about Disney.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
The success or failure of Disney has a direct impact
on you. And I don't want people to lose sight
of that. But sometimes we think, well, I you know,
go woke, go broke. Well, you don't want Disney going broke,
not that they're going to, but you're actually rooting against
yourself each time that you say that, because you don't
like the content that they may be putting out. And
(29:40):
you know, sometimes there are consequences when you get what
you ask for, it's not what you want. But anyhow,
there are some things that Disney is doing well. There
are some series that they've been producing on Disney Plus
which I think are fine in the sense of really
quality additions to the Star Wars universe verse. One of
them was and Or, and I had to slowly warm
(30:04):
up to it. I thought it was a little slow
in its first season and then it picked up. If
you don't know the story of and Or, it's basically
telling the story the inner workings of how the Death Star,
the original Death Star was built. And the second sceneson
trailer recently dropped, where the war you.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Want to fight? Who do you want to win?
Speaker 6 (30:38):
Last dream that the world turn around?
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Alloaves have come to me, Drills Stars now a swell
part of.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
This, more music than anything, and montages of pictures. I
wish you could have more dialogue in it, but.
Speaker 6 (31:09):
You get to see how the Death Star was built
from the inside out and that's something the story we
never got to see. We just got to see a
fully completed death Star in episode four, and we knew
the story of the stealing of the plans. We saw
how they were stolen in Rogue one.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
But now they're.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
Taking you just a step before that, where how the
bureaucracy and the evolution of the empire led to the
creation of this weapon of mass destruction That exactly hits
it on the head. The bureaucracy, the politics, the political
intrigue behind the scenes, where you have different politicians carrying
(31:51):
favor with different factions, whether they be pro empire or
pro underground rebellion, and how all all of these inner
workings is what shaped the galaxy. And it gives you
another another look at what you would consider the sides
of right and wrong, when really this is almost Republicans
(32:17):
and Democrats. That is, it is very very heavy in
its political leanings, in who is who and the story
they're trying to tell about not necessarily one party, but
party specific overreach and party over zealousness about controlling the
narrative writ large.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
This is ultimately what happens, you know, And that's the
funny thing. Funny aha, and funny haha.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Where people complain I don't want politics in my Disney content.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
If you know Star Wars, it's nothing but politics.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Sorry to you know, to you know, disabuse you of
the notion that there are no politics in Star Wars.
It was built on politics. And this is talking about
we go back and watch the Phantom Menace. It is
almost exactly what's happening right now in America.
Speaker 6 (33:05):
And at the time we all mocked the whole trade
war thing and all the Galactic Congress stuff as a
bunch of nonsense. We didn't like it, but it really
applies now it actually does. And you have the invasion
of Naboo. I'm getting ready to go deep.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
You have the invasion of Naboo, and then you have
the Trade Viceroyce who said, what do you mean what invasion?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
What are you talking about? There was no invasion.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
We need to have an investigation into it, and how
the bureaucracy and if you're talking about Naboo is Ukraine
at this point, and the Galactic Senate is basically of
Russia and they want to deny the invasion of There's
so many historical parallels to this world right now.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
If you watch Star Wars.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
If you don't like to have politics and Star Wars mix,
you've never been paying attention at all at all. As
a matter of fact, I think I have that clip
around here somewhere. Real quick, I can play that What
U is today? The twenty fifth? Yeah, I think it
was twenty fourth or so. I have to come back
and find it. Maybe I'll find it after.
Speaker 6 (34:05):
The break, but definitely, Kathleen Kennedy retiring helps Star Wars,
and it will help it moving forward.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And and Or season two comes out in April. Correct, Yes,
cannot wait. Love and or Love and Or KF I
Am six forty were live everywhere in the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
App, stimulating talk for independent thought.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
KF I'm KOST HD two, Los Angeles, Orange County, live
everywhere on the Young Art Radio app
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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