A Photo Op at The Grove...

A few hours ago, I went to The Grove near Beverly Hills to get a photo op with actress Anna Kendrick...who promoted her new book Scrappy Little Nobody at the Barnes & Noble bookstore tonight. Ms. Kendrick was very nice in person—considering the fact that there were about 400 people (including myself) waiting in line to meet her! And in case you read this whole entry but don't know what she worked on, Anna Kendrick starred alongside George Clooney in the 2009 Best Picture Oscar nominee Up in the Air, rubbed elbows with Elizabeth Banks (so to speak) in the Pitch Perfect series (Pitch Perfect 3 is currently set to hit theaters nationwide on December 22, 2017), and escaped danger while hangin' out with Ben Affleck in last month's action thriller The Accountant. Oh, and she voiced an animated character in this month's Trolls. Hope you had a great day!

Welcome to the Star Wars Universe, Daenerys Targaryen!

Emilia Clarke Joins the Han Solo Stand-Alone Film (News Release)

The Game Of Thrones Star Comes To The Star Wars Galaxy.

Emilia Clarke is heading to a galaxy far, far away — and she’s going to meet Han and Chewie.

StarWars.com is excited to announce that Clarke, known for her stirring portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, will join the upcoming untitled Han Solo Star Wars movie. Clarke’s role will round out a dynamic cast of characters that Han and Chewie will encounter on their adventures.

Clarke joins Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover — previously cast as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, respectively — in the highly-anticipated film, which is set prior to the original Star Wars trilogy.

The untitled Han Solo movie, helmed by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is set for release in 2018.

Source: StarWars.com

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Photos of the Day: Adam Driver Discusses Jim Jarmusch's Newest Film PATERSON...

Just thought I'd share these pics that I took during the Q&A session held by Adam Driver following a screening of his newest film, the Jim Jarmusch-directed comedy Paterson, at the Landmark Theatres in Los Angeles last night. It was a really good movie...a genial flick about a New Jersey bus driver named Paterson (played by Driver) who writes poetry during his spare time while Laura, his overly-ambitious girlfriend/fiancée/wife/the-movie-doesn't-really-say, jots out plans ranging from starting her own cupcake business to buying a guitar and becoming a country music singer (FYI, Laura is played by lovely Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani). The film has a slice-of-life-type storyline—spanning seven days as we see Paterson engage with his fellow citizens (which includes such folks as Method Man) in the city of um, Paterson on a daily basis. Whether it's on his bus route or when he's mingling with fellow bar patrons at the local tavern at night, Paterson's life is more amusing that his job and living situation would attest (and let's not forget Paterson and Laura's lovable bulldog Marvin...played by Nellie, who sadly passed away earlier this year). Very simplistic but feel-good; you need to check out Paterson once it hits theaters nationwide on December 26.



And in case you're wondering, yes, Driver did mention Star Wars during the Q&A. But no, he didn't bring up any details about Kylo Ren and what he's up to at the beginning of next year's Episode VIII. Happy Tuesday!

Images of the Day: Captain Phasma Is Ready for Action...

As mentioned in this earlier entry, Captain Phasma was gonna be the next Star Wars character that I draw after completing this artwork of a Death Trooper from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story less than a week ago. Unlike the Death Trooper, Phasma was a bit easier to illustrate. Look at the Death Trooper's helmet and you see so many complex angles and features on the mouthpiece that were tough to draw—due to the fact that I wanted to make sure details on both sides of the helmet were properly symmetrical. In the case of Phasma, the hardest thing to draw was her blaster; the armor on her suit was very elegant and simple to illustrate and color...despite the fact that I used Crayola markers and there were only two shades (and not fifty, ba-dum-bum) of gray that I had at my disposal for this artwork.

As per tradition, I also posted the work-in-progress images below. In terms of my next drawing? It'll probably be a non-Star Wars character like...Marvel's Ghost Rider (most likely the Nicolas Cage version and not the one seen in this season of ABC TV's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Don't know when I'll begin this illustration, but stay tuned.

Click on the image below to enlarge.

ROGUE ONE Artwork: Beware of the Death Trooper...

Yesterday, I completed this drawing of the Imperial Death Trooper that will make his debut (along with TIE Strikers and the return of the Death Star) in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 42 days from now (41 if you live in the UK...). Seeing as how this soldier wears all-black armor, it was tricky in terms of what color I was going to employ to interpret the dark outfit since I used Crayola markers (which has a limited palette) instead of digitally coloring this artwork via Photoshop and other editing software. Purple? Gray? Blue? Well, the final result speaks for itself.

Below are work-in-progress photos that I took of the drawing before it was complete. Now I'm trying to think of who I'll draw next... K-2SO (the droid voiced by Alan Tudyk in Rogue One)? A non-Star Wars character like Marvel's Ghost Rider (I've been watching the new season of ABC TV's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—which features the antihero who was played by Nicolas Cage on the big screen almost a decade ago)? Or Captain Phasma from The Force Awakens and Star Wars: Episode VIII? I'm currently on a Star Wars binge (my previous artwork was the Seventh Sister from Disney XD's Star Wars Rebels), so I think it'll be Phasma. Happy Thursday!

ROGUE ONE Update: A New Poster And Trailer For The First 'STAR WARS Story' Are Unveiled!

With the theatrical release of the first Star Wars spin-off film a little over two months away, Disney has unveiled another poster and trailer to whet fans' appetite for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story while the wait continues! As the poster above shows, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) will be the main protagonist of Rogue One the same way that Daisy Ridley's Rey will carry on the Jedi legacy with the help of Luke Skywalker in the new Star Wars trilogy. Darth Vader looms as the ominous threat in Gareth Edwards' movie...even though it is Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and his Death Troopers who will be tasked with trying to prevent Jyn and her merry band of Rebels from obtaining the Death Star plans. Anyways, I'm just repeating stuff that you can read about on a dozen other movie new sites. So enjoy the new Rogue One trailer and the screenshots below, and count down to December 16.

Save the Rebellion! Save the dream! Carry on.

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Images of the Day: Bring On the Gunboat!

All I want for Christmas (or my birthday, which is next month), is to see the Assault Gunboat from the classic X-Wing CD-ROM video game make its live-action debut in next year's Star Wars: Episode VIII. Or 2019's Episode IX. It's probably too late to feature them in this December's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so might I suggest the 2018 Han Solo spin-off flick instead? Either way, I want to see this Imperial (or First Order) bad boy wreak havoc on the big screen! Well this, and the Interdictor Cruiser. I believe this warship will be making an appearance in the upcoming season of Disney XD's Star Wars Rebels, but yea, I want to see it graced in 35mm and/or 60mm film at the multiplex as well. Happy Labor Day!

Video of the Day: Beware of Deathstroke!

Earlier today, Ben Affleck tweeted the video clip below showing the villainous Deathstroke making his way down a dark hangar. While he had a prominent appearance on The CW Network's Arrow a few seasons ago (as well as the animated TV series Teen Titans), Deathstroke has yet to appear in a live-action DC movie...till now. The footage below presumably comes from the set of next year's Justice League film, and it's now been reported online that Deathstroke will also be the main villain in Ben Affleck's solo movie The Batman (whose release date is currently unknown). Pretty awesome! It would also be totally cool if Will Smith's Deadshot made an appearance in Affleck's film as well...breaking out of prison after the events in Suicide Squad and perhaps teaming up with Deathstroke to take on the Dark Knight. Of course (SPOILERS AHEAD), Harley Quinn was freed from her cell by the Joker at the end of David Ayer's hit movie...so seeing them and Deathstroke confront Batman would also be interesting. Not bloody likely, but interesting.

https://t.co/0NsNzCtGip

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016

The ROGUE ONE Hype Machine Continues!

Check out these two awesome covers for Empire's Rogue One issue that hits newsstands in the United Kingdom next Thursday. I can't wait to buy this magazine once it arrives here in the U.S. (not till October unfortunately, based on my experience with Empire's The Force Awakens issues last year)...'cause I'll most likely be buying the Rebel version at the nearest Barnes & Noble bookstore. Gotta show support for Jyn Erso and her Death Star-hunting gang!

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT - The Autobots and Decepticons Get New Robotic Looks...

Check out these awesome illustrations depicting the new designs for the Autobots and Decepticons that'll be returning in next year's Transformers: The Last Knight! Megatron will go back to his former name after being called Galvatron in 2014's Age of Extinction, while Barricade apparently survived his wounds from the Battle of Chicago in 2011's Dark of the Moon. And Hot Rod finally makes his live-action debut during Michael Bay's fifth installment in the blockbuster franchise. Though I'm wondering... Is Sqweeks supposed to be the Autobots' version of The Force Awakens' BB-8? Wouldn't be surprised if he is. BB-8 is cool.

Much props to the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog for compiling these pictures.