Episode 52 “The Jeff Grubb Clubb” or “Finally An Average Jedi”
In today’s episode, Wayne and I interview Jeff Grubb, who most of you will know as one of the newest Star Wars authors with his book Scourge, but Mr. Grubb has been a apart of the Star Wars universe for quite some time as a writer in the RPG quadrant of the Star Wars Universe. He has also written for PC games, novels, comics, and much more. He was a lot of fun to chat with, and we hope you enjoy learning about co-authoring with his wife, the story behind the title of Scourge, what it’s like to write in these various area, his RPG playing days, and much more.
Then, Wayne and I break down Scourge and review the book itself. We talk about the characters, the plot, the Hutts, and all kinds of good stuff from this novel including is plot twist at the end.
Finally, we chase numerous rabbits which take us from my wife embarrasing me at a race to did George Lucas mean what he said and plenty of other shenanigans, so come along and explore the galaxy with us one page at a time!
Thanks for listening, Jesse
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Posted in Authors Interviewed, Jeff Grubb, Podcast, Scourge, Star Wars Book Review (Spoiler), Star Wars Books | 
Tags: Book Review, Interview, Jeff Grubb, Podcast, Scourge
Thanks very much for the birthday wishes, guys. And sorry to hear about A.C. Crispin’s struggle with cancer. I have been a fan of hers since the V books she did starting with the novelization of both mini-series and getting her own V. I remember having and reading at least 11 V novels in my teens. It is now hard to believe how regular those were published and that they kept up a high standard.
As for actors speculating about Star Wars reboots, Vince Vaughn was asked about playing Norman Bates in the Psycho remake and he said, “If Gus (Van Sant) was doing a remake of Star Wars I would do it.” The implication being that SW is more sacred and iconic a risk than Psycho.
But it’s important to say (and I know you guys disagree) that actors who were delighted to do the prequels when they were just a promising idea have soured. Even Hugh Quarshie who played Captain Panaka
in The Phantom Menace elected not to reprise the role.
Ewen MacGreggor has been outspoken about where the SW prequels stand in his body of work.
Samuel L. Jackson has remarked during Attack of the Clones about “hard Star Wars” as opposed to “soft” meaning The Phantom Menace.
Lucas has not become a more mature storyteller, he has merely aged and lost an edge. And that is no disrespect to the work he did years ago.
He was serious when he said The Empire Strikes Back was the “weakest” but it is because most of the prequel “haters” like myself like Empire best and much of what is great about it came from Kershner and the D.P. against his will. The line “I know” was even a bone of contention, but hopefully Lucas won’t someday revert it to the written version. He blamed Gary Kurtz for letting the production go over budget while Lucas was at ILM in the States and the production was in England. If Lucas had objectivity, he would realize that Vader saying, “Bring my shuttle” is much cooler than the busy line that replaces it in the Special Edition and he might even realize that it is unnecessary to replace Boba Fett’s dialogue with the Australian prequel actor because young Fett would have had no further exposure to Jango’s accent and would have been influenced by many other cultures and his voice would not have to be the exact same as the clone source. The Clone troopers themselves all have their own idiosyncrasies.
Lucas knew people hated Anakin saying “Noooo!” in Sith, and his response was to impose it upon the BluRay of Return of the Jedi. The most charitable interpretation I have is that he likes to stir people up as a marketing strategy. I’m not surprised that he has said “Luke never married and Chewbacca never died” in regards to the EU even though Lucasfilm has approved the books. His judgment has been so spotty that I’m not sure of “canon” distinction matters.
On another note, I’m glad to also hear this episode interview touch on Brian Daley’s Han Solo books, which I think take place after Anne Crispin’s books. I actually adapted a screenplay for Han Solo at Star’s End approximately 2004 and have toyed with shooting that. I’ve been told that even my cheapo version with toys would be too expensive.