Late night ‘Star Wars’
Because sometimes, you just gotta.
Tagged: Star Wars
Eating Your Favorite Film in Brooklyn
If you’ve ever craved cupcakes while watching your favorite movie or set out a themed feast for an afternoon with friends, or just happen to be in Brooklyn for today’s Brooklyn Book Festival, you should meet Daniellan Louie. She got her start baking confections for her friends and family and, in 2006, she opened Ivy Bakery. Now she has a menu with over 300 items, which she makes from scratch herself, specializes in custom orders, and has a list of many impressive clients including Marvel Comics, Columbia Pictures, and the Tribeca Film Festival.
I first ran across mention of Ivy Bakery on Twitter when some friends were tweeting about Princess Bride-themed cupcakes. Since then, I have been following the bakery on Twitter for daily updates on what she is baking ( today’s offerings include: “Red Velvet Cake with Vanilla Buttercream shaped like Kingdom of Hearts Key” ). I know that many people in fandom have dietary restrictions, and may be lamenting the lack of cupcakes in their lives, but Ivy Bakery also has many gluten-free, dairy free, vegan, and sugar free items as well as the traditional ones. I recently had a chance to ask Daniellan Louie a few questions about Ivy Bakery, and especially about her awesome movie-themed cupcakes – which she decorates by hand!
What movie-themed cupcakes have you made in the past?
I
just started making the movie-themed cupcakes this summer, but have
made many cakes related to movie/tv characters. The movie cupcake
collection currently consists of The Breakfast Club, Twilight, and The
Princess Bride, the next set coming in the fall will be The Little
Mermaid. I put a pause on the work because it’s been a very slow and
rough summer. I’ve also done characters like Yoda from Star Wars and
would definitely like to do several sets on popular Sci-Fi movies like
Back To The Future, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter.
If you were to make movie themed cupcakes just for yourself, what movie would you choose?
Hmmm,
one of them would be The Princess Bride, but I already made that. For
myself I’d actually be more interested in doing Mario Brothers theme or
classic video games from the past.
If you haven’t yet, would you ever do a Lord of the Rings trilogy triple batch of themed cupcakes?
Definitely,
I haven’t made them yet, but it’s on the to do list, along with Star
Wars, Twilight Series & the Harry Potter Series
Of all the themed items you have made, what was your favorite?
It
would probably be the first Twilight movie. I think the cupcakes came
out very well, I did a double batch with 24 cupcakes since there were
so many characters.
I saw on your site that you had a Pac-Man themed cake. Do you get a lot of 80’s pop-culture nostalgia orders?
I
do, the Pac-Man cake was one of my favorites to make. I’ve also done
Mario Brothers, Sesame Street and a few others that I can’t quite
remember off the top of my head.
Anime and Manga are very big right now. Have you ever made a cake based on one?
I
haven’t yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I have a friend who
actually draws a lot of Anime and I’m always saying how we should get
together and do cupcakes or cake designs. It would be fun to do a
Sailor Moon cupcake set, I’m not sure if that’s cool or in, but I
remember watching that when I was younger.
Your client list
is impressive! I’m sure our readers are most interested in the fact
that you have baked for Marvel. Can you tell us what you made for them?
Ahh,
Marvel, I’ve never done any custom designs for them, it was all just
corporate orders, cupcakes, cookies, brownies for the office. But if I
was ever approached to do something I would love to. My friend who used
to work at Marvel suggested I do a set of Marvel/DC Logos for the
different heros and villians.
Have you ever catered for a Science Fiction convention?
No, I haven’t, but I would love to, it would be a lot of fun I bet.
I love following your Twitter feed of what you are baking throughout
the day! Most bakeries don’t seem to be online. Has your internet
presence made a difference for your business?
Definitely, I like
to keep up to date with what’s going on with pop culture in terms of
technology and the net. If everyone is on Facebook, Ivy Bakery has to
be on Facebook, same with Twitter and all the other networking sites.
Twitter has gotten me a number of new customers and exposure throughout
the country. I have so many people asking about my sweets from other
states and wishing that I was closer to them that I would love to go on
a baking tour and bake for anyone who wanted me to. All I need now is a
sponsor.
If you didn’t have someone getting you freebies at San Diego Comic-Con…
…the nice folks at Random House & Suvudu have set aside a few things for you:
• Mark of the Demon signed by author Diana Rowland
• Child of Fire signed by author Harry Connolly
• Luck in the Shadows signed by author Lynn Flewelling
• Black and White signed by authors Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge
• G.I. Joe vs. Cobra signed by author Pablo Hidalgo
• Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi/Death Troopers Double-sided Promotional Posters signed by authors Aaron Allston, Christie Golden and Troy Denning
• Star Wars-The Essential Atlas signed by authors Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry
• G.I. Joe Above and Beyond signed by author Max Allan Collins
• The Comic-Con Exclusive: Talisman Issue #0 signed by colorist Nei Ruffino
• Mirrored Heavens signed by author David J. Williams
All you have to do is submit your name, email
address, mailing address and which prize you would like to win to info@suvudu.com between 12:00 AM on August 10, 2009 and 12:00 AM on August 21, 2009.
Ostrander Auction: a shirt with dozens of signatures
This just got dropped off to comix4sight‘s booth by Jon at EB30.us: the shirt they got almost everybody to sign at last year’s convention. And signatures keep getting added: here’s John Jackson Miller (the other monthly Star Wars writer) adding his name, and George Perez added Wonder Woman– this to a shirt that already had Warren Ellis, Peter David, Adi Granov, Gail Simone, Whilce Portacio, Jim Valentino, Humberto Ramos, Dan DiDio, Erik Larsen, the list goes on and on. (And yes, you’ll be getting a list along with the shirt and a certificate of authenticity.)
Small(er) picture of the shirt here: (more…)
An Unshaven Rant: Should I worry about the 2009 Chicago Comic-Con?
Hello ComicMix dwellers (and loyal FOMAFers…). I come to you today a bit… deflated. Why you ask? Because I just took a sneaky-peak over at the Chicago Comicon’s exhibitor list and program schedule. Long story (…forthcoming…) short? It’s not looking great on paper. This angers and frustrates me to no end, but I digress. The more I get angry at this, the brighter the silver lining comes creeping in. Confused? Now, I ask unto you my loyal readers, all seven of you, to take this brief journey with me on the anger-train. After we reach the end of the journey, you’ll see why our last stop is in Happyville.
The Backstory
The Chicago Comicon (as long as I’ve known it, mind you) was built on the ‘Wizard World’ platform. (Yes, I know it predates Wizard, but that’s not how I experienced it.) Growing up on comics in the 90’s meant Wizard was my one-stop shop for all the hip and trendy news about comic books… whilst the “internets” was still in it’s primordial-ooze phase. My first con, sadly, was right prior to my senior year in high school. Even back then (and if you ask Glenn, or Mike, or Russ, or really, a lot of people patrolling this site) it wasn’t that long ago, this con was pretty darned cool. I’m a mid-westerner mind you, so trekking to SDCC is NOT in any Chicago-kid’s budget. But it never mattered. SDCC was always at the beginning of the summer, and Chicago’s was at the end. There was enough time for people to calm down, and as Dan DiDio says (said) every year… “Chicago’s con is always about the books. Always about the fans.”
Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image all put up HUGE booths where fans could grab free schwag like buttons, posters, and bookmarks. Samples and previews of forthcoming issues adorned tables behind which our favorite creators were signing piles of their own penned materials. Beside these mammoth booths sat smaller publishers, just as happy to show off their wares. And of course beyond that lay the monstrous sea of dealers, and beyond that still, the indie and mainstream friendly confines of Artist Alley. When time came that one could be sick of this massive room of geekocity, there sat a bevvy of panels where the pros came to sit and talk to their fans nearly face to face on a multitude of topics. Some came for the sneak peaks of the years books to come, some (like me) came for the free hints and tricks to learn in the schooling panels, and some came for screenings of geek-laden cinema. All in all, it was wrapping up Christmas Channukkah, my birthday, and your birthday all in one long weekend.
And every year since, for the next 7 years, I went as a fan. Last year I went for the first time as a “semi-professional (having published a graphic novelette in 2008. Over the course of these last 8 years now, looking onto my 9th, I’ve begun to see my “Rome” begin to crumble. (more…)
Review: ‘[[[Taken]]]’ on DVD
No one knew what to make of Taken
The movie, though, is thoroughly predictable. Liam’s 17-year-old daughter goes to France with a pal and immediately gets kidnapped by a white slavery ring. Former Special Forces (or whatever) Dad flies over and is told he has a mere 96 hours to find her of she vanishes forever. So, we know there will be mayhem, the clock will tick down and he will save her. It’s a modern day Charles Bronson flick. I get that.
The trick is to make the journey an enjoyable one and frankly, it’s so standard that there’s little to be entertained by. Fights, car chases, double-crossing people, been there, seen that.
Neeson is not your first thought as an action star, [[[Star Wars]]] not withstanding. He’s more the everyman and he wrings your sympathy and you cheer to see him in action, regardless of the predictable outcome.
What would have been a lot more interesting would have been to show us two points of views, not just Liam Neeson’s. The most original thing in the film is the moment he tells her she will in fact be kidnapped. From that point, it would have interesting to see parallel tracks – while Liam Neeson sought his daughter throughout Paris; we also see what Maggie Grace as the daughter had to endure. As it stands, she appears to be the only one who was not drugged, not sold right into street prostitution and by happenstance, the sole virgin capping off an auction for international clientele. That makes her a little too precious and frankly, would have given Grace, a capable actress if too old for the role, something to do other than look terrified or cry.
In fact, other than Neeson, no one is given much of anything to do or so say to round out the story and show us the world Neeson thought he left behind.
Cowritten by Luc Besson ([[[The Professional]]]) and Robert Mark Kamen ([[[The Transporter]]] films), the film felt on autopilot from beginning to end. And with 96 hours to accomplish his task, we’re never given a good sense of when Neeson sleeps, eats, or actually rests. Sure, he’s driven, but he can’t be at his peak for that length of time and the story avoids the issue entirely, a common problem with stories like these. Pierre Morel directs with a nice attention to detail and setting, getting a good, smoldering performance from Neeson but everything else looked pretty much like his Transporter.
The movie comes in the release edition and an extended version that amplified the violence here and there but adds nothing to the story and barely three minutes to running time. The extras are perfunctory with Le “Making Of” featuring everyone gushing over how wonderful everyone else was. The Inside Action: Side by Side Comparisons of six sequences is more interesting.
The stars and crew are all capable of so much more; the overall product is a lackluster affair.
Scribe nominees announced; DeCandido gets IAMTW GrandMaster
The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers is pleased to announce this year’s nominees for the 2009 Scribe Awards, which honor excellence in licensed tie-in writing—novels based on TV shows, movies, comics, and games. In addition, Keith R.A. DeCandido, whose Farscape series for BOOM! has just gone to third printings on the first two issues and a second printing on #3, will be awarded the IAMTW Grandmaster Award at the awards ceremony at the San Diego Comic-Con– assuming he can get a hotel room.
The nominees for this year’s awards are:
Best General Fiction Original
Burn Notice: The Fix by Tod Goldberg
Criminal Minds: Finishing School by Max Allan Collins
CSI: Headhunter by Greg Cox
Best General Fiction Adapted
Death Defying Acts by Greg Cox
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull by James Rollins
The Tudors: King Takes Queen by Elizabeth Massie
The Wackness by Dale C. Phillips
X-Files: I Want To Believe by Max Allan Collins
Best Speculative Fiction Original
Ghost Whisperer: Revenge by Doranna Durgin
Ravenloft: The Covenant, Heaven’s Bones by Samantha Henderson
Stargate SG-1: Hydra by Holly Scott & Jamie Duncan
Star Trek: Terok Nor, Day Of The Vipers by James Swallow
Best Speculative Fiction Adapted
Hellboy II: The Golden Army by Bob Greenberger
The Mutant Chronicles by Matt Forbeck
Star Wars – The Clone Wars: Wild Space by Karen Miller
Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans by Greg Cox
Best Young Adult Original
Dr. Who: The Eyeless by Lance Parkin
Primeval: Shadow Of The Jaguar by Steven Savile
Disney Club Penguin: Stowaway! Adventures At Sea by Tracey West
Best Young Adult Adapted
Iron Man: The Junior Novel by Stephen D. Sullivan
The Dark Knight: The Junior Novel by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohen
Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D by Tracey West
Dancing with the Star Wars
A long time ago in a country far, far away…
‘Suicide Squad’ coming to the silver screen
DC Comics’ Suicide Squad is on its way to the most dangerous mission yet– to Hollywood. Warner Bros. has hired screenwriter Justin Marks to adapt the property for the movies. (Does that make the contract he signed a Suicide pact?)
The current version of the Squad was created by ComicMix contributors John Ostrander and editor Robert Greenberger, introduced in the 1986 Legends miniseries, edited by Mike Gold. The revolutionary concept was to mix super villains and fallen heroes, giving them one last shot at redemption by the government by undertaking missions that will most likely kill them. Spinning off from Legends, the series lasted for 66 issues, and spurred a 12-issue maxiseries in 2000 and Ostrander returned for an eight issue mini-series in 2007. The particular characters involved have yet to be determined, but strong candidates include Amanda Waller, Rick Flag, Bronze Tiger (who just appeared in an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and Deadshot.
Marks, who is doing a rewrite of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Disney, also wrote the Green Arrow comic-book movie project Supermax, which could conceivably connect with Suicide Squad as they both take place at Belle Reve prison. John Ostrander is currently writing Star Wars: Legacy for Dark Horse and GrimJack and Munden’s Bar for ComicMix.
I just got off the phone with John Ostrander, who had just heard about the project this morning. He’s looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Me, I’m looking forward to DC reconsidering whether or not to put out those Suicide Squad reprint collections now. Hint hint.
