Did You Hear That? | Star Wars Weekly News - October 4, 2024 - Around the Galaxy

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome. Did you hear that? Your source for the top
stories from the Star Wars universe. I'm Pete Fletzer, and
along with my co host Nick Milkey, will break down
the biggest headlines of the week and share our thoughts
on everything happening in that galaxy far far away, don't forget.
You can catch us live every Thursday evening on our
weekly show ATG Live over on our YouTube channel at

(00:23):
YouTube dot com slash at.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
The SSW Network.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Join the conversation here from special guests and get the
latest news as it happens. And now this week's This week,
there was a trailer that dropped for a new documentary.
We lost a legendary producer, there's a new lego set,
and Star Wars Rebels is celebrating its tenth birthday, so
let's get to it. The trailer for the highly anticipated

(00:50):
documentary called Music by John Williams dropped a little bit
earlier this week, just one month ahead of its release.
The film will have a limit theatrical run in late October,
followed by its Disney Plus premiere on November First. Produced
by Lucasfilm, Ambultin Documentaries and Imagine Entertainment, three Powerhouses. Directed

(01:12):
by Lorent Bosereau, the documentary explores the prolific life of
legendary composer John Williams, whose work has earned him fifty
four Oscar nominations and five wins. Not a great batting average,
but I'll tell you what, five Oscars, fifty four nominations,
you know, I think it's at a point where they
just like they nominated, and they're like, he's got enough.

(01:33):
Music with John Williams will feature interviews with filmmakers and
artists impacted by his iconic scores, including his work in
major franchises like Star Wars. The documentary highlights his contribution
to film and concert music, as well as his influence
on popular culture. The film will officially open at the
Fifest on October twenty third, with tickets available to the

(01:54):
public starting later this month. Nick, we have sort of
a joke about how much we love John Williams here,
But did you did you check out the trailer?

Speaker 2 (02:06):
I teared up when I saw the trailer.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
I you know, there's a little bit of you know,
the few moments in our life nowadays when online buzz
happens and you see something like, oh, I need to
check that out and it's not just like garbage on fire.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
I had woken up and I did.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
I don't really think I even knew this was coming,
Like this is a complete surprise to me. And I
saw the chatter online. Oh there's a John Williams documentary.
And again I've said too many times how much of
a sucker I am for behind the scenes and documentaries
and all that kind of stuff. Ye and I watched
that trailer and I just teared up. And it was
not for any one specific thing other than you know,

(02:44):
people said it in the in the thing, it may
be Mince Bilberg. These are the soundtrack of my life,
all the things that I've watched, all the things that
I've loved, things that my kids love. Home Alone is
a tradition at our house. That's John Williams Jurassic Park. Like,
there's so many things, saving private like it's covered such
a wide range of his work has covered this a

(03:05):
wide range of my life that it just made me happy.
And to see, you know, his son was on there
and one of those clips. And for the people that
don't know this, his son is what's He's the lead
singer of like a rock band that we all know
and is he really Yeah, he is. But it's one
of those things, Yeah, it's it makes me happy. It's

(03:27):
a you know, a calendar mark doowndate for when is
this going to show up? When do I get to
watch it? I'm actually hopeful that it will be at
a theater around where I live. I'm not sure that
that will be the case. But he's the maestro. And
I will say one of the key moments in my
life of being fans of things.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
He was the lead singer of Toto.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
That's it, Toto, Yes, John Williamson, the lead singer of Toto.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yes, that's it.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yeah boom, Yes, John Williamson, the lead singer of Toto.
But yeah, being a celebration in Anaheim, you know, a
couple three years ago and being in that room when
he came out on the stage and they had a
birthday celebration for him. Yeah, And it was one thing
that John Williams was there and Harrison Ford was there,

(04:16):
and they you know, he started out he played the
theme for Kenobe, but then he was like, oh, yeah,
we have to play this other thing, and they play
the freaking Raiders March and Harrison Ford comes out and
my whole life just you know, compared all will crystallized
into this one moment of holy crap. I just I
love John Williams. That's no secret. And our running joke

(04:37):
is a lot of because I toasted him every third
week in our toast.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
So again to ask, we have to take let's take
Star Wars and Indiana Jones off the table real quick.
What is your favorite John Williams soundtrack other than our
two favorite franchises.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
It's a top well and I don't know if I
can go full soundtrack, but I can go songs. It's
a t between the Jurassic Park theme and the et theme. Yeah,
the bicycle theme and then that Jurassic Park theme is bananas,
Like every time that huge crescendo of that moment saving
Private Ryan is probably his best, you know, other than

(05:15):
Star Wars and Indie overall soundtrack, just because there's so
much you know, weight and gravitas to what that film is. Yeah,
and that's what I can't wait to see in the
documentary is how he's able to intuitively as a musician,
find that strand that ties it together.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Like that's literally what he does. You know.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
There have been as some of the newer movies came out,
they've released soundtrack only versions, like you can watch the
soundtrack only version of Last Jedi on Disney Plus, and
it's phenomenal. If you flip that the other way and
watch the movie without the music, it's not that great.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
It's not the same for sure. For sure. Yeah, okay, great,
well cool, Let's hit another story because there's been more
news this week. Earlier this week, it was announced that
Robert Watts, the producer of the original Star Wars trilogy,
had passed away at the age of eighty six. Watts

(06:17):
was an essential figure behind the scenes of some of
the most iconic films in history. He worked as the
production supervisor on Star Wars in nineteen seventy six and
seventy seven, before serving as the associate producer on The
Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Raiders of
the Lost Arc. Watts later took on the role of
producer for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and

(06:38):
The Last Crusade Jedi news credits and this was interesting
that Watts The credit Watts for suggesting that his half
brother Jeremy Bullock audition for the role of Boba Fett
in The Empire Strikes Back. Watts was also praised by
longtime friend and production designer Robert Christian, who noted that
Watts was instrumental in helping George Lucas and the team

(06:58):
bring Star Wars to life. Watt remained active in the
industry and attended the London premiere of The Indiana Jones
and The Dial of Destiny last year. His influence on
film history and his warm relationships with colleagues will always
be remembered.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Nick.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
I think this is one of those situations, and one
of those, you know. I found out about his passing
through our friend David Whiteley, who posted about him, because
he was an active part of the story that Britain made,
The Galaxy that Britain made, which was a fantastic documentary
which is nearly impossible to find because it's BBC only

(07:34):
and I can't find it on YouTube, but I have
seen it just because I, you know, friend David. But
it's one of those situations where Star Wars two things.
And this is gonna sound a little bit morbid, but
Star Wars is going to be fifty years old. The
people who were behind the scenes who brought our favorite

(07:57):
original Trilogy to Life are starting to pass and the
good news bad news right, and I to put a
positive spin on it is we are now hearing stories
about people who we may not have heard of, who
without we would not have gotten these films we absolutely love.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
It's incredible and that article and what you talked about
highlighted it. But I just want to run through this
very quick. I want to run through the things he
worked on as a production either producer or production manager.
Two thousand and one, A Space Honyssey, Star Wars, A
New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Art,
Return of the Jedi, Temple of Doom, who Framed Rober Grapp,

(08:36):
Roger Rabbit, Last Crusade, American Tale, fivel goes West in
the movie Alive, which if you remember, is about the
soccer team that crashes in the Andes Yep, which was
a huge movie in nineteen ninety three. This is a
guy that hits home runs, and this is a guy
that has been connected involved with so many things. And
he's the one that shows up in every documentary you watch,

(09:00):
if it's you know, Empire to what's the original kind
of ot documentary?

Speaker 2 (09:07):
But the Empire of dreams. Yeah, Empire of Dreams.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
Like he's in there. He's wearing that purple striped shirt.
I can see him right now, yep. And he's that guy.
That is just He's a cornerstone. He's a rock of
what so many of these things that we love are
built on. It's also funny that at some point in college,
when I started really paying attention more to the documentaries
and I watched this, I will be perfectly honest, I

(09:30):
had a small moment where Robert Watts and Charlie Watts,
the drummer from the Rolling Stones, somehow got wires crossed
in my head that I was like, wait, is he
also like I had a moment where I didn't quite
sort them out. But Robert Waits was amazing and had
so much impact on so many things that again we're
here talking about right now.

Speaker 1 (09:51):
And I think that speaks to the legacy of Star
Wars and Indie and all the things he was a
part of, and all of those movies that we grew
up with. You know, we all want to leave a
mark on this world, and you realize that these guys
have done it, and we have to be and we
have to be thankful for what we got from them.

Speaker 3 (10:10):
So yeah, another toast in the middle of the show
to Robert Watts, Well we have even more news, nick.

Speaker 1 (10:20):
Lego Aha, my favorite thing to waste money on. Lego
has announced the release of the Star Wars Ultimate Collectors
Series Java's Sale Barge Set. Java's a Sale Barge Set
easy for me to say. Launching on October third, twenty
twenty four, that's yesterday, the highly detailed set has three thousand,
nine hundred and forty two pieces, and it brings Jaba's

(10:44):
notorious barge from Return of the Jedi to life. The
set includes intricate features like fold down sides, a removable
top deck, and a fully detailed interior complete with javas thrown,
a prison cell, kitchen, and armory. In addition to the design,
the set comes with eleven minifigures, including iconic characters like

(11:05):
Job of the Hut, Princess Leah in her prisoner outfit.
There's been a little bit of controversy about that R
two D two and even Max Rebo, so our friend
Tommy Stella will be extremely happy. As a bonus, Lego
insiders will have early access to the set, which started yesterday.
The general public can get it starting on October sixth.

(11:27):
The set will be five hundred dollars four hundre ninety
nine dollars. In celebration of the release, Lego is also
offering a promotional gift. Buyers will receive a Luke Skywalker
Lightsaber mini set with their purchase while supplies last. Fans
and collectors alike are eager for this long away to
return of job at sale bars following its last appearance
in Lego form eleven years ago in twenty thirteen. Nick,

(11:48):
I know you were not as much a Lego guy
as I am, but what are your thoughts on sets
like this one?

Speaker 3 (11:57):
It's very cool and when I saw that it was
a now the first thing I thought was this is
gonna be a problem compete like it makes me happy
that people who and I get it, like you and
I have talked about before, and you've done some of
your Lego building streams. It is one of those things
that it's just cool and it's you know, relaxing. And

(12:18):
I've got some friends and this Lego across the board,
and just to go off the topic for a half
a second, you know, I've got friends who are professionals
and they buy like the Lego Bondsi tree and they
buy the Lego Terry Cherry blossom tree and they're like,
it was so calming and peaceful for me to sit
in my office and build this and then put it
on the shelf in my office.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
And Lego gives you that. So when you get that
as a Star Wars version, that's phenomenal. And when you get.

Speaker 3 (12:43):
Things because if you didn't crowdsource the Hasbro Pulse, you know,
job as sale barge, this might be your next step.
It is very much one of those things that I
look forward to enjoying in your collection.

Speaker 1 (12:58):
But it's cool, no question about it. Yeah, it's one
of the you know, it's funny. There's been a couple
of the UCS sets I have really I've really started
to enjoy because I find them to be I find
Lego in general to be very kind of relaxing, kind
of therapeutic to do. Uh hey ag And this one

(13:18):
the size of this so I have as you can
see behind me here, I did the Lego Interceptor earlier
this year. I have the Lego UCS X Wing. Those
were nineteen hundred pieces. This one is thirty nine.

Speaker 3 (13:31):
Incredible, So how many I was how many was the
RT Do you remember the UCS R two?

Speaker 2 (13:41):
That's the one I don't.

Speaker 3 (13:42):
I don't have much in the way of Lego, but
that's the one that I keep holding out one day
that I need because I love R two so much.

Speaker 2 (13:49):
Yeah, you know, I can, but I have that one.

Speaker 3 (13:51):
I remember it being a complicated build that was twenty
three hundred pieces.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
Yeah, so, you know, and the UCS piece are really
cool because there's a.

Speaker 2 (14:03):
Lot of detail.

Speaker 1 (14:03):
And the cool thing that Lego has been doing lately
is putting little Easter eggs in there and little things
to find and so yeah, so I was excited to
see this and also a little disappointed because holy cow,
five hundred bucks. So very spendy, very spandy, very spandy.
So all right, we have one last news story tonight

(14:24):
and Nick. Star Wars Rebels is ten years old today,
actually yesterday, marked the tenth anniversary of Star Wars Rebels,
the animated series that first aired in twenty fourteen, captivating
fans with its unique storytelling and expansion of the Star
Wars universe. Set between Revenge of the Sith and a

(14:44):
New Hope, Rebels followed a group of freedom fighters aboard
the Ghosts as they rise against the Galactic Empire created
by Dave Filoni. The series introduced new beloved characters such
as a Jedi in training, Ezra Bridger, exiled Jedi Canaan Jerris,
and fan favorite Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren. Also brought back
familiar faces like Ahsokatano, Darth Vader, Grand Admiral Thron, Captain Rex,

(15:05):
whose returns to Star Wars canon thrilled many longtime fans.
Rebels received critical acclaim for its character development, deep exploration
of the force, and emotional story arcs that resonated with
viewers of all ages. It also set the stage for
future Star Wars content, with many characters and storylines continuing
in the Mandalorian, Ahsoka and other live action Star Wars
as fans celebrate the legacy of Rebels, its impact on

(15:27):
the Star Wars galaxy is undeniable, and it has been
a key chapter in bringing new Star Wars fans to
the saga. Nick, you and I talk about this all
the time. Rebels is not just a fan favorite, it's
one of our favorites. The thing that I always recall
about Rebels is I remember seeing this was before Disney Plus.

(15:52):
I remember seeing the first images and I was like,
oh man, it's just some goofy kid with a with
a had a slingshot, a laser slingshot. And my thoughts,
honestly were this, this is not going to be for me.
And by the time the second episode ended, I was
we were you know, Star Wars changed and the thing

(16:14):
that I remember and I'd love your thoughts on this
watching those first two episodes, and like I don't do
big series rewatches, I haven't watched it from beginning to end.
I've watched you know, arcs and segments, but the thing
that I have watched multiple multiple times are those first
two episodes because it feels like a Star Wars movie.
The pacing, the action, the humor, it was all captured

(16:36):
in this brand new series.

Speaker 3 (16:38):
M h. I am famously on record for saying and
the only thing that comes close to this if it
was an ATG live drinking game, other than talking about
west Wing, there it is that one's for you. Other
than talking about west Wing is Star Wars Rebels wasn't
for me. I wasn't the target demo. I since the

(17:00):
age group. I came to it late, like it had
already been on. It was on Disney x D I
think it was. I was, yeah, it was, And I
wasn't the stage of my life where like, oh, I'm
gonna watch a Star Wars cartoon as it were. But
when I found it and I watched it, I was transformed.

Speaker 2 (17:22):
It changed. It didn't change my life, that's let's not
get crazy.

Speaker 3 (17:26):
But it was so good and I was hooked so
quickly that it is literally and remains to this day,
along with the Last Jedi, my favorite Disney Star Wars
thing that has happened.

Speaker 2 (17:40):
I love that show. I think I talk about it
a lot.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
I rewatch it pretty regularly as a collector, talking about Lego,
talking about you know, the helmets.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
I've got a couple of them behind me.

Speaker 3 (17:52):
People have lightsaber hilts, and the people that have them
all across their wall and all the different things, like
that's fantastic.

Speaker 2 (17:59):
I said. From the time it happened in the show,
there was only one light saber hilt that I wanted
to have, and it was Caanan Jaris. It was this
one right here, and the amount of time it took
for them to put it out through Disney to be
at Galaxy Z ed. Shout out to Brian and Holly
Frye who were able to source it for me send
it to me. I love Star Wars Rebels.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
I love that it's been around for ten years, it
still gets the left and we still get to see
I mean, we've seen stuff about how you know that
little tease of Zeb that we got with our friend
Carson Teva in Mandalorian.

Speaker 2 (18:32):
Zeb's going to show back up in the Mandalorian and
Grogu movie, is what we've heard. Yep.

Speaker 3 (18:36):
It's such a great show. And honestly, and I think
you were the first one that kind of said this
in a way that I hadn't thought about.

Speaker 2 (18:43):
It's such a great lore.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
Story and it's one of the cornerstones of Dave Filoni
doing something that the title isn't really what it's about.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
You know, it is rebels.

Speaker 3 (18:53):
They are being rebellious, but there is such a great
Jedi story in there with Canaan. To go back and
read New Dawn and Harad the very Fast Cannon Star
Wars book, Yep, like tile those bits together, it's just great.
It I there's going to be a podcast of the
Wheels at some point where I date Dive just on Rebels.
But I love it and I'm so glad that that's

(19:15):
one of our news stories this week to celebrate ten
years of that show.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
Yeah, it's and you're right, you know, you know, I
say all the time that Empire Strikes Back is the
most important Star Wars movie because with that mPire strikes Back,
you don't get the expansion of the lore, right, you
don't get you get your first look at some of
the details that became bigger stories that became the prequels,
that became.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
All this other stuff.

Speaker 1 (19:40):
I think Rebels in some cases is very similar to
that in that it set up so many other types
of characters. And the fact that Ahsoka was built on
the back of Rebels tells you how important it was.
The fact that it's the first real sort of animated
to live action show, yes, all all kind of know that.

(20:01):
So if you watched Rebels, you know that Ahsoka is
the final season or the you know, the final chapter
the season.

Speaker 3 (20:09):
Well, and I want to pull up this comment from
KG she said, I feel that I don't typically like
animation nowhere near as much as live action, and that's key.
And we've talked about, you know, with bad Batch the
last season of Clone Wars, Like the beauty of animation
really is cool.

Speaker 2 (20:23):
They've done so much with it.

Speaker 3 (20:25):
The thing that I love so much and keten On
also early on in Rebels is and you can see
the Prince over my shoulder right here. Yeah, a lot
of Rebels was built directly on Ralph mcquarie concept art.
You get those tall, long lean stormtroopers, you get those
designs in those buildings. You get like the pencil lines
with the colored shading behind it. Like it was another

(20:48):
It was different than what the Clone War series had been,
and it brought just another visual you know, aspect to
something that again we just love.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
Which, by the way, a lot of people forget Clone
Wars launched sixteen years ago. Yesterday it was exactly what
was it, six to two thousand and eight. It came
out on October third as well.

Speaker 2 (21:10):
So lots of good anniversary.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
Thanks for tuning in too, did you hear that? Remember
you can join us live every Thursday evening on YouTube
at YouTube dot com slash at THESSW network for all
of the latest Star Wars news and conversations with special guests.
This podcast stream is also home to a Round the Galaxy,
the weekly Star Wars interview show where we talked to
the people behind the Star Wars fandom. Don't forget to

(21:34):
connect with us on socials. Find us on TikTok, Instagram,
and Twitter at THESSW network, and on Facebook at Facebook
dot com slash VSSW network. You can also support the
show on Patreon at patreon dot com, slash the SSW Network,
or leave us a voicemail at five oh four three
two one one five oh one. That's five oh four

(21:56):
three two one fifteen oh one. Don't miss out on
the excitement and we'll see you next time around the galaxy.
This podcast is copyright twenty twenty four Pete and the
Seed Studios, and our music is by the band Apollo's
Ghost

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Did You Hear That? | Star Wars Weekly News - October 4, 2024

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