Happy Birthday, Jules Verne!

Science Fiction/Fantasy writer extraordinaire, Jules Verne was born on this day back in 1828.

He and H.G. Wells were truly the first really big science fiction writers to hit the public with wonderful adventures that began with the question “What if…?”

Irvin Kershner, R.I.P.

Irvin Kershner’s direction of Episode V of the Star Wars Saga: The Empire Strikes Back was a masterwork in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre that will likely never be topped in terms of sheer cultural influence.

He also did a remarkable job with Sean Connery when they remade one of Connery’s earlier James Bond films, Thunderball, in 1983’s Never Say Never Again. It wasn’t a cultural landmark as Empire Strikes Back was, but his use of video games in a pivotal scene between Bond and his Antagonist, is fun.

Star Wars Trilogy in Paper Animation: 'Tatooine' by Jeremy Messersmith

This looks amazing! I’ll bet it was a fun project. I wonder how long pre-production and shooting took for Mr. Messermith?

The song in the audio bed is also a perfectly mellow contrast for the all the darkness that is episodes 4,5,and 6.