Excitement High for The Last Jedi

Written by Jon Williams

Next week sees the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in theatres, the saga’s Episode VIII, and the middle installment in the sequel trilogy that began with 2016’s The Force Awakens. Excitement is at a fever pitch for the new movie, and library patrons will be looking for all kinds of materials relating to a galaxy far, far away.

Following on from The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi returns stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac as heroes Rey, Finn, and Poe, as well as Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and the late Carrie Fisher in her final appearance as Leia Organa. The opposition comes in the form of the First Order’s Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). They’re joined in the cast by newcomers Laura Dern, who plays Resistance Admiral Amilyn Holdo, and Benicio del Toro, in the mysterious role of DJ. The Last Jedi is written and directed by Rian Johnson, who has previously made such acclaimed films as Brick and Looper. It’s clear that Lucasfilm thinks the world of Johnson’s effort; they’ve already announced that he’ll be helming a new Star Wars trilogy set in a heretofore unexplored time period and area of the galaxy.

On the day the new movie is released, the score drops as well, featuring the typically outstanding work of Academy Award-winning film music icon John Williams. Fans will have to wait a bit longer for Jason Fry’s novelization, which releases in March. For those who need something sooner than that, Canto Bight, released earlier this week, tells several tales from the opulent, high-stakes casino city to be introduced in The Last Jedi, while Delilah S. Dawson’s Phasma explores the backstory of Gwendoline Christie’s chrome-armored villain.

The third and concluding installment in the current trilogy won’t come until 2019, but that doesn’t mean there’s no more Star Wars on the more immediate horizon. Coming on the heels of last year’s Rogue One, the second standalone film is scheduled for release on May 25, 2018. That movie will be Solo, the origin story of everyone’s favourite smuggler, scoundrel, and nerf-herder, Han Solo. The title character will be played by Alden Ehrenreich, while the multitalented Donald Glover will portray his good buddy Lando Calrissian; such names as Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, and Thandie Newton will round out the cast. That movie is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ron Howard based on a script by Lawrence Kasdan (writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as The Force Awakens) and his son Jon, while the music will be provided by John Powell.

Star Wars is arguably the most popular movie franchise of all time, and patrons will always be looking for the latest and greatest related titles. You can SmartBrowse on our website for all this media and more to lead into The Last Jedi and Solo. And if your library is a hoopla member, patrons can log in anytime to check out movie scores as well as original eBooks and comics for enjoyment at home or on the go.

A New Version of a Classic Mystery

Written by Jon Williams

The new movie Murder on the Orient Express delivered a strong debut last weekend, bringing in more than $28 million at the box office. Directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, the film also features an ensemble cast consisting of Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Penelope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom, Jr., Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Josh Gad. Adapted from the 1934 Agatha Christie novel of the same name, it’s a mystery in which detective Hercule Poirot must deduce the identity of a murderer from among the passengers on a train. The novel is no stranger to adaptation, having been brought to life both on film (1974) and on television (2010).

Christie’s work is incredibly popular in its own right, with the late British author holding the honour as the bestselling novelist of all time. And that’s not just in the English-speaking world; she’s also the most translated, with her works currently available in more than 100 languages. Her career began shortly after World War II when The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first novel, as well as the first to feature the Belgian detective Poirot, was published in 1920. She returned to Poirot with her third novel, Murder on the Links, and a series was born. In all, she wrote 33 Poirot novels, including Murder on the Orient Express, as well as a number of short stories and a play. She also created a number of other recurring detective characters, such as Miss Marple, an elderly protagonist whose first published appearance came in 1927. In all, she published 66 novels; Curtain (1975) and Sleeping Murder (posthumously published in 1976), although written earlier, were the last two published, wrapping up the careers of Poirot and Miss Marple, respectively. The last she wrote was 1973’s Postern of Fate.

With such incredible popularity, it’s no surprise that Christie’s novels, stories, and characters are ripe for adaptation. Murder on the Orient Express is only the latest in a long line that dates back to 1928. Given her penchant for recurring characters, some of the most well-received adaptations have been into television series. From 1984 through 1992, actress Joan Hickson brought Miss Marple to life for the BBC; in an ITV series that spanned from 2004 through 2013, she was portrayed by Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie. ITV also had great success with its Poirot TV series which featured David Suchet in the title role. Other adaptations include Ten Little Indians (from And Then There Were None), Death on the Nile, and The Mirror Crack’d.

She’s known for her mystery writing, but there was a bit of mystery in Christie’s life as well. In 1926, during a difficult time in her first marriage, she disappeared for ten days. When she was found, she claimed to have no memory of the intervening time. This incident was explored in Carole Owen’s 1996 book The Lost Days of Agatha Christie. It was also the subject of the 1978 film Agatha starring Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman, and portrayed in a fantastical light in the Doctor Who episode “The Unicorn and the Wasp.”

This is just a taste of all the incredible Agatha Christie content we have to offer. Visit our website to pre-order the new version of Murder on the Orient Express on DVD and Blu-ray, and while you’re there, browse around to find all this and more to complete your Christie collection and keep your mystery-loving patrons coming back for more.

Cars 3 Expands Pixar’s Legacy

Written by Jon Williams

Cars 3 is out this week on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD. No doubt your young patrons have already cultivated quite a hold list for the latest installment in the adventures of Lightning McQueen. The series began in 2006 with Cars, which introduced Owen Wilson as the voice of the race car who learns about friendship during an unintended pit stop. The movie also featured voice work from Bonnie Hunt and Larry the Cable Guy, not to mention Paul Newman (in his final role), George Carlin, and, of course, John Ratzenberger. Cars 2 followed in 2011, and in 2013 the series spun off into Planes (which got its own sequel, Planes: Fire & Rescue, in 2014).

Cars 3 is just the latest in a long line of high-quality, very popular animated films from Disney-Pixar. Pixar began as a division of Lucasfilm before breaking off into its own company in 1986, with Steve Jobs as chairman. In 1991, the company agreed to produce three feature-length animated movies for Disney. That resulted in the first fully computer-animated film, 1995’s classic Toy Story, and the rest is history. They finished out the 1990s with A Bug’s Life (1998) and Toy Story 2 (1999).

Pixar had a contentious relationship with Disney during the first half of the 2000s, but you wouldn’t know it from the quality of their output. They began the decade in 2001 with Monsters, Inc., starring Billy Crystal and John Goodman. That was followed in 2003 by Finding Nemo, an underwater adventure that is currently Pixar’s highest-grossing non-sequel with over $380 million at the box office in North America, good for #30 of all time. Then in 2004 came The Incredibles, about a family who (some more reluctantly than others) must use their superpowers to save each other and their city.

In 2006, Disney cemented their partnership with Pixar by purchasing the company. The first Cars movie was the first released after the sale, although it was developed and made independently. Going forward together, the two companies finished out the 2000s with Ratatouille (about a rat who learns how to be a chef), WALL-E (about a robot who finds love), and Up (about a man who attaches balloons to his house to go on a wonderful adventure).

Up to that point, Pixar had traditionally not produced sequels, with Toy Story 2 being the lone exception. That changed in 2010 with a third installment, Toy Story 3, and then Cars 2 the year after. They’ve since followed up both Monsters, Inc. (with Monsters University in 2013) and Finding Nemo (with 2016’s Finding Dory, the #9 highest-grossing film of all time with over $486 million). They’ve also continued to make quality original films, with Brave in 2012 and both Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur in 2015.

Pixar makes wonderful, timeless movies that will continue to be popular with young patrons, and that their parents will enjoy just as well. With Cars 3 now available, and with their next movie, Coco, releasing in theatres on November 22, now is a great time to make sure your Pixar collection is complete.

In Memoriam: Tom Petty

Written by Jon Williams

On a day already darkened by sadness, music lovers everywhere were shocked Monday by the news of rocker Tom Petty’s passing. He was 66.

Born in 1950 in Gainesville, Florida, Petty overcame a rough childhood to find fame in the music industry. With early influences including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, and guitar lessons from Don Felder of the Eagles, he first formed a band that eventually became known as Mudcrutch. After that band struggled to find success, some lineup shuffling eventually resulted in the Heartbreakers, the band which Petty was associated with for most of his music career. In 1976, their self-titled debut album hit the charts first in Great Britain, and then spread to the U.S. Containing the classic hits “Breakdown” and “American Girl,” it kicked off a musical legacy that would grow to legendary status over the course of the next 41 years.

The band’s first taste of success soon led to more. You’re Gonna Get It!, released in 1978, was their first album to chart in North America, and 1979’s Damn the Torpedoes (currently unavailable on CD, although patrons can stream it on hoopla) gained multiplatinum status. The ‘80s were a very productive time for the band, spawning albums including Long After Dark (1982) and Southern Accents (1985). Petty’s greatest success came on 1989’s Full Moon Fever, technically a solo album, although members of the Heartbreakers did contribute.

Full Moon Fever also benefitted from the presence of a number of other musical legends: Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and ELO’s Jeff Lynne. The five of them had gotten together in 1988 for a single (“Handle with Care”), and ended up recording an entire album as the Traveling Wilburys. Although Orbison passed away late that year, the remaining members put together a second album, joking titled Volume 3, which was released in 1990. Of course, Petty was no stranger to high-profile collaborations. His duet with Stevie Nicks, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” appeared on her debut solo album, while another duet, “Insider,” was released on his album Hard Promises. He and the Heartbreakers also backed Johnny Cash on the country icon’s 1996 album Unchained.

In 2007, Petty reunited his first band, Mudcrutch, and together they recorded two albums: their eponymous “debut,” released in 2008, and 2, released in 2016, which would be Petty’s final recording. Through it all, though, Petty never stopped working with the Heartbreakers. Their two most recent albums, Mojo and Hypnotic Eye, were released in 2010 and 2014. The band had just finished their 40th anniversary tour, with the final performance coming September 25 at the Hollywood Bowl.

Tom Petty is sadly gone, but his classic rock hits will endure. Make sure you have his music on your shelves for patrons to check out and enjoy again and again. You can SmartBrowse his name on our website to find all the albums listed above and more.

Follett Adds to Kingsbridge Series

Written by Jon Williams

Like so many authors, Ken Follett didn’t originally have his heart set on a career writing fiction. Born in Wales before moving as a child to London, he studied philosophy in college, he started out working in journalism. The tide began to turn a few years later when he moved into a publishing career and began writing fiction of his own. After a number of novels were released under pen names, Follett finally found success under his own name with Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II spy thriller, it won the Edgar Award for Best Novel, and it set Follett on the path of an internationally bestselling author.

He followed that novel up in 1979 with Triple, another spy novel, this time set in the Middle East of the late 1960s. Indeed, Follett would become known primarily as a purveyor of fast-paced spy novels full of action and intrigue. Novels in this vein include 1985’s Lie Down with Lions, 1991’s Night Over Water, and 2001’s Jackdaws. And although it’s actually a true story, 1983’s On Wings of Eagles fits into much the same mold, as it explores a daring rescue mission to liberate two men being held in an Iranian prison. It was adapted into a miniseries in 1986.

However, this type of action thriller is not all that Follett writes. Although many of his novels were based around various points of 20th century history, in 1989 he planted his feet more firmly in the realm of historical fiction with The Pillars of the Earth, which explores the building of a cathedral in a fictional English village in the Middle Ages. It became his bestselling work to that point. After a long layoff, Follett finally followed up The Pillars of the Earth in 2007: World Without End revisits Kingsbridge Cathedral more than 150 years later, during the time of the Black Death, through the eyes of the descendants of characters from the original novel. And now, at long last, there is a third installment in the series. A Column of Fire, which came out last week, brings the cathedral and its surroundings into the Elizabethan era.

With that novel just coming out, hold lists may be long, for the initial installments as well as the latest release. However, you can direct impatient patrons to check out another series of historical novels from Follett. This trilogy began with Fall of Giants in 2010, following a number of characters through such events as the Russian Revolution and World War I. Follett wrote the novels in this series much more quickly than the Kingsbridge novels; the second, Winter of the World, was released just two years later, in 2012 and deals primarily with World War II. The third, Edge of Eternity, came out in 2014, and carries the families through the Cold War, from the 1960s through the 1980s.

Whatever he’s writing—whether it’s spy thrillers, historical fiction, or even non-fiction—Ken Follett’s work is always popular with patrons. Make sure you have his latest hit novel on your shelves for them to enjoy, and SmartBrowse his name on our website to find all we have to offer.

In Memoriam: Tobe Hooper

Written by Jon Williams

Acclaimed horror director Tobe Hooper passed away last weekend at the age of 74. He was considered an incredibly influential filmmaker—a quick Internet search will return a number of articles praising his work—and looking over his body of work, it’s easy to see why.

Growing up in Texas with parents who owned a theatre, Hooper came by his love of movies naturally. He took that love with him to film school at the University of Texas in Austin, and he jumped into his career with his first film in 1969, at the age of 26. Eggshells, a low-budget horror/sci-fi movie, barely made a ripple as it came into the world. The same could not be said for his next feature. In 1974, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre terrified audiences and revivified a flagging horror genre. Filmmakers including Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro, William Friedkin, and Ridley Scott have cited this seminal film as an influence in their work. He followed it up with a sequel in 1986, and the original was remade in 2003, with Hooper serving as co-producer.

Then, in 1982, came Poltergeist. Written by Steven Spielberg, who was unable to direct while he worked on E.T., the film was instead directed by Hooper. It was a critical and commercial success, and is still considered a classic 35 years later. Despite some confusion over Hooper’s role in the film, he pressed on, following it up with a pair of horror/sci-fi mashups: Lifeforce in 1985, and Invaders from Mars (a remake of a 1953 movie) in 1986. In 1995 he directed The Mangler, based on a short story by Stephen King and starring horror icon Robert Englund. His final film was 2003’s Djinn, about an apartment that is haunted by demons.

However, the silver screen was only part of Tobe Hooper’s career; he also did quite a bit of work for the small screen. That began in 1979 with his first Stephen King collaboration: the miniseries adaptation of the vampire novel Salem’s Lot. Over the years he would contribute to a number of anthology shows like Amazing Stories, Body Bags, Tales from the Crypt, and Masters of Horror. He also directed individual for a number of other shows, such as The Equalizer, Dark Skies, and Taken.

Tobe Hooper loomed large in the world of horror filmmaking, and his absence will be sorely felt. With Halloween right around the corner, now is a perfect time to stock your shelves with his classic films and lesser-known gems. You can SmartBrowse his name on our website to find all the titles listed above and more.

Princess Diana, 20 Years Later

Written by Jon Williams

Lady Diana Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, into a prominent family of the British nobility, and she came to the attention of the world when she married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, shortly after her 20th birthday. Their wedding drew a television audience of 750 million people worldwide. Initially shy, Diana would grow into her role in the spotlight over the course of their 15-year marriage, making a number of international visits both with the prince and on her own.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s marriage could best be described as “tumultuous,” and the couple divorced in July of 1996. Diana retained her title of Princess of Wales, and rededicated herself to a number of charities, including AIDS research and landmine elimination, using her status to highlight causes that were near and dear to her. Her signature style during her time in the spotlight also made her a fashion icon. She was a beloved figure worldwide who transformed the way so many people viewed the royal family.

Princess Diana was killed in a car accident on August 31, 1997, sending shockwaves around the world. Her funeral procession drew an estimated 2.5 billion viewers globally. Elton John, a close friend of the princess, performed a version of his hit song “Candle in the Wind” with the lyrics revised to honour Diana’s life. While that song is one of the highest-selling singles of all time (with proceeds benefitting Diana’s charities), it has never been included on any of his albums or compilations, and Sir Elton has stated that he would only perform it again live if asked to do so by her sons, Princes William and Harry.

Next week will mark the twentieth anniversary of Princess Diana’s untimely passing. With so many still fascinated by her life and enduring legacy, you’ll want to have plenty of material on your shelves for them to check out. SmartBrowse Princess Diana on our website for a collection of materials put together by our media experts in commemoration of this melancholy milestone.