Tricia Barr – Fangirls Going Rogue

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Women are underrepresented in Hollywood not only in art departments for film and television productions, but across the board in creative positions. Impact24 PR sponsored a panel highlighting prominent women from a range of disciplines, including costumes, composing music, sound design, production design, and directing animation.

The panel began with question asking each women to describe the path that brought them to their career in the industry. For some, the passion began in childhood: Paula Fairfield was inspired by watching awards shows on television and Anna Hollingsworth by seeing Jurassic Park, while Melissa Bruning knew she wanted to design costumes when she was eight years old and Anna Drubich was musically inclined from a young age. For others, the route was more indirect: Mona May was a fashion designer who ended up in entertainment after doing work for film-student friends in New York City, Judy Ree was a geology major before seeing a Fellini film changed her life, and Megan Kasperlik left her life in Michigan behind to start on the ground floor as a production assistant on Sex and the City. Fairfield noted that women have worked so hard to attain success in Hollywood, and she never thought she would see a panel of all women speaking to a full panel room at Comic-Con. Ree also has noticed change in the industry, from very few people of color twenty years ago to more diversity, awareness, and openness today, although it still has a long way to go.

When asked what draws them to the projects they choose to work on, two themes emerged: the story and the people involved. Everything in a project, from costumes to other forms of design, flows from the story; without a compelling story, the rest is less rewarding, too. Similarly, all Hollywood productions are team efforts, and avoiding bad experiences with colleagues is just as important as working with people you respect or admire.

Photo provided by Impact24 PR. Several of the panelists spoke directly to the challenges faced by working mothers in Hollywood. Hollingsworth emphasized the importance of time management. Bruning insists on a 9-to-5 schedule to ensure time with her young children, and then can put in additional time at home at night after they have gone to bed. She also commented that businesses need to respect the outside-of-work time of people who don’t have kids, too, but reminded the audience that the company will never set limits for you. Mona May has observed things changing for mothers in the industry as more women have become directors in charge of productions and the presence of more women on projects enables them to support each other.

In answering questions posed to individual panelists rather than the group, another consistent theme emerged: creative success is hard work. Kasperlik did extensive research in real-world fire department gear around the world in developing the costumes for Fahrenheit 451. Drubich delved deep into the source material, with which she was not previously familiar, before writing any music for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Ree explained how the production design for Better Call Saul, a prequel to the acclaimed Breaking Bad, involved a complicated process of designing backward to ensure consistency and continuity. In addition, she consulted with an engineer to ensure that the in-progress construction of a building in Saul accurately portrayed how the partially built structure would look. Fairfield’s sound design for Game of Thrones required coming up with sounds for things that don’t exist in the real world without sounding synthetic, while also thinking ahead to keep in mind the needs of future seasons of the series to prevent designing herself into a corner early on to her detriment later.

Although the seven panelists offer quite impressive resumes, having so many panelists on stage resulted in more breadth than depth to the discussion once the allotted time was shared among all of them. While the desire to showcase these talented women is understandable, the overall value of the panel discussion itself likely would have been higher with lengthier contributions from fewer participants.

Hollywood Game Changers: A Conversation with the Creative Women Behind Popular Films and TV Projects

Meet the talented women changing the status quo in film and television projects like Game of Thrones, Better Call Saul, The OA Part II, Watchmen, Space Jam 2, Clueless, Santa Clarita Diet, Unikitty!, Enchanted, BoJack Horseman, Black Monday, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Fahrenheit 451, War for the Planet of the Apes, Rampage, and more! Get insight from famed composers, costume, production, and sound designers on how they use their craft to champion for women empowerment, diversity, and inclusion in entertainment. These fearless women are revolutionizing Hollywood and they’re here to stay. Part 1 of 2 from Impact24’s “Behind-the-Camera Superblock” panel series. Panelists include Paula Fairfield (Game of Thrones), Judy Rhee (Better Call Saul), Mona May (Clueless, Enchanted, Santa Clarita Diet), Meghan Kasperlik (The OA Part II, Watchmen), Melissa Bruning (Space Jam 2, War for the Planet of the Apes), Anna Drubich (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark), Anna Hollingsworth (Unikitty!, BoJack Horseman), and more panelists to be announced. Moderated by Chandra Feltus (partner and director at Neer Motion) and Fiorella Occhipinti (cinematographer). Introduction by Impact24 PR’s Andrea Resnick.

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In 2019, the heads of the art departments in Hollywood film and television productions are still predominantly male. At San Diego Comic-Con, the Art Directors Guild sponsored a panel featuring five women who have created incredible designs for some of the biggest and most successful projects in recent years. While acknowledging the long way that remains to go to reach parity in the industry, the panelists shared inspiring experiences, advice, and wisdom with a panel room filled to capacity with attendees.

The panelists began by noting that a wide variety of paths can lead to a career in an art department. Erin Riegel, for example, went to film school and worked as a production assistant before settling in the art department; Ellen Lampl has been a graphic designer her entire career, from art school to advertising to film. On the other hand, Andrea Onorato studied architecture at Cornell and Aashrita Kamath went to graduate school in sociology before they pivoted their paths. Hannah Beachler has thrived as a single mom who has never left New Orleans, and emphasized using the resources you have to build your own career.

Next, the panelists described the nature of their respective jobs within the overall art department structure. One prominent theme was that their jobs often are as much about project management as artistic talent. As art directors, Riegel and Kamath must manage a wide variety of tasks, including design, construction, lighting, coordination with visual effects, communication among various stakeholders, and solving problems that arise before they ever get the attention of the people above them. As a set designer, Onorato’s work can range from concept art and three-dimensional models to construction drawings and visual-effects extensions of physical sets, all of which requires coordination with other artists and other departments. Though Lampl’s job as a graphic designer involves less on the management side, her work nevertheless touches all aspects of the production because visual designs are a fundamental feature of the world-building in every film or television project. And as a production designer, Beachler oversees everything: illustrators and artists, construction of sets, the paint shop, costumes, and more. On a $200 million movie like Black Panther, much of her day is spent in meetings to coordinate the work of a large staff, to whom she had to delegate significant responsibilities; on a $1.5 million movie like Moonlight, she personally would have to go shopping at stores or drive a truck of gear or supplies, because her entire department consisted of only three other people.

The panel concluded with advice for women who are entering the Hollywood art departments still dominated by men. Reigel emphasized to not be afraid, and also not to sell yourself short. Onorato remarked that the fact that women are underestimated can be a strength, because the quality of the work will speak for itself. Kamath noted the value of a positive attitude, and that women who work hard will be empowered. Lampl offered a reminder that everyone needs a support network. Beachler cautioned that you don’t have to be liked to succeed in Hollywood, and that it’s more important to be yourself. She also shared the advice that “no” can be just as powerful as “yes” in building a career, because both play a role in determining which projects will be associated with your work.

These five women are great examples of what Hollywood art departments can achieve when they open their doors to the previously untapped talent in the world. Hopefully their work will inspire more inclusion in the field in the future.

Women of the Hollywood Art Department

Hear from a panel of talented women from the Art Directors Guild whose careers span a variety of design roles within the film and TV industries. They will discuss their professional journeys in the industry, how they envision the Art Department of the future, and the unique challenges they face as visual storytellers, creating distinct and wondrous worlds for today’s most popular films and TV shows. Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler (Black Panther, Moonlight), art director Aashrita Kamath (Avatar 2 and 3, Kong: Skull Island), graphic designer Ellen Lampl (Bumblebee, Jurassic World), specialist set designer Andrea Onorato (Avatar 2 and 3, Westworld), art director Erin Riegel (Birds of Prey, Captain Marvel), and moderator Kate Weddle (set designer).

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There was a time, not so long ago, when Her Universe was the only major geek fashion brand producing high-quality fashion for Star Wars fans. More companies became interested in a Star Wars fashion license once the tie-ins to The Force Awakens began to roll out. Most importantly, though, the fact that fans proved that they would purchase Star Wars fashion, and do so consistently and in large numbers, has made Star Wars a property worth selling fashion for. At San Diego Comic-Con, four fashion companies presented a panel titled “Behind the Design: Star Wars Fashion Collaborations,” showcasing their upcoming Star Wars products and discussing the collaborative approval process with Lucasfilm in creating and finalizing the designs.

Stance focuses on socks, with imagery from a wide range of licenses. For previous Star Wars designs, they revisited the iconic concept art by Ralph McQuarrie for the Original Trilogy. Licensing director B.J. Jameson and art designer Andrew Reyes announced that next line will feature famous Star Wars vehicles. Instead of traditional illustrations, though, the vehicles are displayed in the form of their blueprints. Stance confirmed that all nine saga movies will be included in the holiday line at the end of the year.

TOMS shoes has done several capsules of Star Wars shoes previously. The line released shortly before SDCC included an Ewok design for kids – but fortunately for me, the largest kids size fits me. I wore my Ewok shoes for an entire day of the convention, and they were very comfortable. TOMS designer Nathan Photovath revealed the next Star Wars capsule will feature “lifestyle” shoes, with subtle designs hinting at inspiration from Darth Vader, Leia, Luke, and Yoda for the kids shoes. See a detailed look at the Leia shoe from the future capsule on FANgirl Blog.

Allison Cimino, founder and designer for RockLove Jewelry, described her new Star Wars line as the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. She discussed the design process for the Ahsoka Tano ring, which was already selling fast by Friday, the first full day of the convention. A series of five pendants highlights planets from the Original Trilogy, with a location or image from the planet on one side and a character associated with the planet on the other, such as Cloud City and Boba Fett for Bespin or the Lars Homestead and a Jawa for Tatooine. Cimino also shared her delight at getting to include moveable parts in two of the necklaces, the legs of the Gonk droid and AT-AT walker.

Heroes & Villains apparel was represented by creative director Doug Johnson, who personally designed their newest line. The winning theme from last year’s fan poll was “Jedi vs. Sith,” and Johnson made sure the designs lived up to the idea. He conducted extensive research in Star Wars books and art before deciding on the defining images of the line. The Sith design features Darth Maul’s face looming over a Sith holocron, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of The Phantom Menace. For the Jedi design, Johnson was inspired by the lore of Jedi assembling their lightsabers only with the Force, without physically touching the components. Against the backdrop of the Jedi emblem, the design shows a disassembled lightsaber, including kyber crystal, ready to be built.

Although the four companies produced very different kinds of Star Wars fashion products, the panel showcased their commitment to delivering their best work for Star Wars fans. Based on what we saw at Comic-Con, they’ve delivered.

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In years past, a panel about upcoming Star Wars products from Hasbro invariably would heavily feature the most famous Star Wars toy of all time: the 3.75-inch action figures and associated vehicles and playsets. It was very conspicuous at 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con, then, when that product line was virtually invisible during Hasbro’s Star Wars presentation. New products for the line are still coming, of course, as discussed at other conventions such as Toy Fair and Star Wars Celebration. But at Comic-Con, Hasbro’s panel was noticeably aimed at more expensive products for higher-end collectors, rather than children and their toys.

In fact, the only children’s toy given substantial mention on the panel is the new line of tie-in figures for the Galaxy of Adventures animated shorts. Like the previous Toy Box line, these figures are slightly larger, at five inches tall. They also include numerous points of articulation to provide maximum possible opportunities for kids to pose the figures. Hasbro’s designers shared slides showing how the action figure sculpts were created to closely match the appearance of the iconic characters in the Galaxy of Adventures animated shorts.

The rest of the panel was clearly aimed at adult collectors. The six-inch Black Series figures have impressive sculpts and accessories, and the upcoming figures are no exception. The panel revealed a second addition to the new premium eight-inch HyperReal line, in which the figures are as movie-accurate as possible, down to details such as hiding the joints and seams so that the posed character is far less visibly a plastic action figure. Following the first figure, Darth Vader, the second will be Luke Skywalker in his Bespin fatigues, suitable for recreating the famous duel from The Empire Strikes Back.

The showcase reveal of the panel was the full-scale replica of Boba Fett’s helmet, coming later this year. Rather than the toy roleplay helmets of the past, this Black Series product is fully movie accurate. The Hasbro team not only scanned the original prop at the Lucasfilm archives to ensure every measurement is precise, but also matched every single color on the helmet, including the scuffing and scratching as well as the primary hues. The panelists remarked that this Fett helmet has more colors than any Star Wars product Hasbro has ever done before.

The panelists also shared a number of slides showing the production process behind the massive diorama constructed for the Hasbro booth on the SDCC convention floor. Featuring Jabba’s Palace, the diorama included numerous characters in their six-inch Black Series form, as well as a custom-built Rancor in the correct scale. In addition, the diorama was designed to be updated each day, with the action advancing further in the story of Return of the Jedi as the convention progressed. While the diorama is not something fans could purchase, and most could not hope to attempt to replicate themselves, the effort put into the display for a five-day convention certainly indicates the level of fandom passion and dedication on the Hasbro Star Wars team.

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SDCC 2019: 8 Things We Learned from the Star Wars Hasbro Panel

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The San Diego Comic-Con exhibit hall floor is a gigantic space, spanning Halls A through G of the convention center facility. (For context, the notorious Hall H, which hosts the biggest panels and presentations of the convention, has the capacity to provide seating for 6,500 people at one time.) A multitude of smaller booths line the many aisles, from artists’ alley and comic book shops to memorabilia vendors and small publishers. Major corporations make their mark with larger footprints, including Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, DC and Warner Brothers, Lego, Mattel, Sideshow, Netflix, and more. This year Lucasfilm’s Star Wars booth was literally front and center in the exhibit hall, and it lived up to that placement.

The centerpiece of the Star Wars pavilion was a display of movie costumes from the troopers of the Imperial and First Order military. Spanning the entire width of the pavilion, the display included the Scout Trooper, traditional Stormtrooper, and TIE Pilot from the Original Trilogy; the Deathtrooper and Shoretrooper from Rogue One; and Captain Phasma, TIE Pilot, and Stormtrooper from the First Order. In the middle stood the newly revealed Sith Trooper from Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, a gleaming red in stark contrast to the other armor. At intermittent intervals during the day, two costumed Sith Troopers would appear on the floor in front of the display, interacting with attendees and posing for pictures. A large video screen was built above the costume display, running on a loop a short video about the history of Star Wars troopers with commentary on the designs from J.J. Abrams, Doug Chiang, and Dave Filoni, as well as Captain Phasma’s Gwendoline Christie.

Behind the massive display, the pavilion housed smaller booths for many of the Star Wars licensees displaying and selling their products at the convention. One corner of the pavilion highlighted Topps, including both digital and physical trading cards, while another featured Hallmark and its ornaments and related Star Wars products. An extended space along the back of the booth was devoted to Star Wars books, including the adult novels from Del Rey as well as the young adult and children’s books from Disney Press. Wristbands for the convention exclusive edition of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Treason went quickly each morning; the exclusive edition cover of E.K. Johnston’s Queen’s Shadow also was available at SDCC. In addition to a separate booth for non-Star Wars products, Her Universe had a space within the Lucasfilm pavilion to sell its Star Wars line and the Ahsoka Tano ring from RockLove. Other vendors included Stance, TOMS, and Heroes & Villains with their new products discussed at the Fashion Collaborations panel on Friday. Spanish company Lladró displayed one of its incredible Queen Amidala porcelain figurines, a limited edition of 1000 priced at nearly $4,000 and available for preorder shortly after the convention ended.

Although Star Wars had a smaller presence at SDCC than in years past, with no major panels for the feature films, Disney+ series, or animation, the Lucasfilm pavilion demonstrated that Star Wars remains a prominent brand in pop culture. And the lines at the vendors in the pavilion showed that fan interest remains strong, at least among the segment of the fandom attending a major convention like Comic-Con.

For a closer look at everything in the Lucasfilm Pavillion check out Skywalking Through Neverland’s video below.

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Kicking off the Star Wars publishing panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Creative Director for Lucasfilm Publishing Michael Siglain aptly described the panelists as an “all-star lineup” of Star Wars creatives. The talent ranged from authors of prose for all ages, comics scribes, and artists. With a dozen panelists on stage, their comments during the panel were wide-ranging if brief.

Siglain began with a straightforward yet challenging question: What does Star Wars mean to you. Answer varied from family, friendship, and magical to humor, adventure, and relatable. One advantage of assembling a diverse group of creators is that they each bring their own values and experiences to their Star Wars work – which in turn helps produce Star Wars publishing content that offers something for everyone.

Siglain’s second question provided even more opportunity for insight – and fun – in the answers the panelists gave. He asked, who is your favorite character to write (or draw, for the artists)?

Lou Anders (Pirate’s Price): Hondo. “I sat at my desk saying everything out loud and giggling.”
Katie Cook (Creatures Big & Small): Chewbacca. “He can look really dour, he can look really sweet. He can look really happy, he can look like he’s about to tear your arms off.”
Zoraida Córdova (A Crash of Fate): Jules, from her forthcoming book. “He’s an underdog and a dreamer and a farmboy. We all love those guys, right?”
Delilah Dawson (Black Spire): Cardinal and Vi from Phasma and Black Spire. “But the kid in me loves writing Jar Jar” for the IDW comics.
K. Johnston (Queen’s Shadow): “I thought for sure Sabé would be the character I would enjoy writing the most, but it turns out the character I like writing the most is Palpatine.”
George Mann (Myths & Fables): Luke, “as seen through the lens of folklore.”
Rebecca Roanhorse (Resistance Reborn): “As a fan, I love Return of the Jedi … But as a writer, I really enjoyed getting to know Poe. I feel like I know him really well now.”
Brian Rood (The Skywalker Saga): “My all-time favorite character is probably Han Solo. … Artistically, I love to illustrate Boba Fett. So you’ve got the yin and the yang there. Boba Fett an oddball color combination but yet it looks wicked cool.”
Timothy Zahn (Thrawn: Treason): From the classic characters, Han. “In second place would probably be young Obi-Wan. He was a lot of fun and I’d like to write more of him.”
Charles Soule (Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith): “Palpatine always appeals to me. I’m an attorney by training.”
Cavan Scott (Dooku: Jedi Lost): “Recently I’ve loved writing Ventress, because she says what you’re thinking.”
Kevin Shinick (Force Collector): Having written previously for Robot Chicken Star Wars specials, “you enjoy writing characters that you didn’t spend a lot of time with, like Gary the Stormtrooper [or] Ponda Baba.”

Next, Siglain reviewed the upcoming slate of books and had each pertinent creator shared a tidbit about. These include the tie-ins for Galaxy’s Edge, upcoming children’s books, Marvel’s “Age of Resistance” comic series, and the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker books and comics.

New announcements during the panel were limited, as expected. Siglain revealed a print edition of the Dooku: Jedi Lost audiobook will be published in October, as will a Return to Vader’s Castle comic series from IDW again timed for Halloween. The publishing panel then shared word of two more four-issue comics mini-series in the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker program. One had been officially revealed earlier in the day at a Marvel Comics panel: Allegiance written by Ethan Sacks, coming in October and which will lead into the story of the film. The other, The Rise of Kylo Ren written by Charles Soule, will come out in December and explores the backstory of Kylo Ren, including his schism with Luke Skywalker. Soule joked that the unofficial subtitle of the series is “From Ben to Ren.” Although Siglain, Soule, and Scott made several jokes about the announced-but-secretive Project Luminous, the SDCC panel gave no further updates on the clandestine operation.

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In an era when Hollywood is routinely rebooting or reviving classic properties, the new Nancy Drew television series paired with The CW network appears to be a natural fit. At San Diego Comic-Con, the show offered up the world premiere of its pilot episode followed by a panel with three executive producers and the five core young cast members. After seeing the episode and hearing from the panelists, I’m excited to see what Nancy Drew has to offer for a full season this fall.

The pilot episode effectively carries out its most important purposes: getting the audience invested in Nancy as the central character, finding compelling ways to introduce the ensemble cast around her, and introducing the murder-mystery investigation that drives the overarching serial story. As is typical for an origin-story episode, the pilot puts Nancy in the role of a reluctant heroine who has set aside her passion for solving mysteries – but gets back into her old skills pretty quickly once circumstances force her hand. Each of the characters around her are complex and layered, and all of them (including Nancy) are keeping secrets. Though in the pilot they are naturally a long way from becoming a Buffy-style Scooby Gang, the seeds of teamwork and friendship are sown for the audience. So too are the seeds of all manner of shenanigans that are likely to arise amid the deceptions and investigations during Nancy Drew’s first season.

Importantly, the Nancy Drew panel featured three women as executive producers. Stephanie Savage has been a producer and writer on shows including The O.C., Gossip Girl, and Runaways, working on them with Josh Schwartz, who is credited on IMDB as the creator of this Nancy Drew series. Noga Landau previously worked as a writer and story editor for The Magicians, and shared her love for Nancy Drew going all the way back to Scholastic book fairs in school as a child. Melinda Hsu-Taylor has been a producer and writer on Lost, Falling Skies, and The Vampire Diaries, among other series. She spoke about her personal experience of isolation as a person of color growing up in Maine, and how she connected with The Lord of the Rings because it showed that people with different backgrounds and experiences could work together to succeed. It was important to Hsu-Taylor to send the same message with Nancy Drew, both within the stories shown onscreen as well as with ensuring diverse hiring for the cast, writing staff, and behind the camera talent.

The panel discussion emphasized that Nancy Drew is built heavily upon the existing canon of the books, while also reimagining the series as a contemporary story for The CW. Nancy still solves mysteries, her mother is still dead, and she has a contentious relationship with her father (played by Freddie Prinze, Jr., in the pilot screened at Comic-Con, but by Scott Wolf when the series airs in the fall). The producers noted that some of the best Nancy Drew novels involved a supernatural element, which the series includes in the form of a ghost story that haunts the small town even before the inciting-incident murder. Familiar characters are reimagined, too: George is played by Asian-American actress Leah Lewis, and Ned Nickerson (going by “Nick” rather than “Ned”) is played by Tunji Kasim, a Scottish actor of Nigerian heritage. Kasim praised the show as “bold and timely” for how elements of the books are “inverted and reinvented” in Nancy Drew. Each of the actors on the panel spoke about their commitment to honoring the legacy of the character from the books while also bringing their own perspective and approach to the role for the television series.

In another nod to contemporary storytelling, as the series progresses Nancy will rely more on a team of allies than solving mysteries by herself. The producers noted that each character has an arc over the season, and the characters will have to work hard to form their friendships from the mostly distant relationships first shown in the pilot episode. While remaining centered on Nancy, the show also will take advantage of the opportunity to include lots of intersections among different components of the ensemble cast during the season. Although the pilot reveals a number of secrets and deceptions to the audience but not to Nancy, the producers noted that she will soon catch up in what she knows. Nancy Drew does not intend to rely on dramatic tension to keep viewers invested, but instead will focus on the relatability and humanity of the characters – and their flaws, such as Nancy’s tendency to have blind spots, positively or negatively, toward those she cares about.

If the pilot is any indication of the values and storytelling in Nancy Drew, and the camaraderie among the cast is representative of their performances in the show, then I have high expectations for the series this fall. Based on Comic-Con, Nancy Drew appears to favor creativity and timeliness over nostalgia, and it will be interesting to watch how that balance unfolds further over the course of the season.

Nancy Drew Exclusive Screening and Panel

Nancy Drew is a brilliant teenaged detective whose sense of self has come from solving mysteries in her hometown of Horseshoe Bay, Maine—until her mother’s untimely death derails Nancy’s college plans. Devastated by her mother’s passing, Nancy swears off crime solving, but when a socialite is murdered, Nancy finds herself embroiled in a ghostly murder investigation. A supernatural presence begins to haunt Nancy’s investigation, and she discovers that the current crime has an astonishing connection to the unsolved murder of a local girl. Whether the ghost is here to help or hinder Nancy remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: Nancy’s going to have to unravel the clues from both the living and the dead to solve the crimes. Join series stars Kennedy McMann, Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, Alex Saxon, and Tunji Kasim, along with executive producers Noga Landau, Melinda Hsu-Taylor, and Stephanie Savage for an exclusive sneak peek of the first episode followed by a panel discussion. Moderated by Damian Holbrook of TV Guide Magazine. Nancy Drew will air Wednesdays this fall on The CW.

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been a record-smashing box office success, a reinvigoration of the movie side of franchise for longtime fans, a launching point for new fans of all ages – and the origin story of a fan-favorite new character in Star Wars, Rey. The film’s plot structure and protagonist’s character arc also provide an excellent touchstone for examining one of the iconic features in discussions of storytelling: the Hero’s Journey.

In this special edition of Hyperspace Theories, Tricia Barr, B.J. Priester, and Kay use the prominent Hero’s Journey frameworks by academic Joseph Campbell and screenwriting consultant Christopher Vogler to analyze the elements of Rey’s progression from Jakku scavenger to Jedi apprentice over the course of The Force Awakens. Along the way they compare Rey’s story to other well-known examples of the Hero’s Journey, including Luke Skywalker, Katniss Everdeen, and Dorothy Gale. This episode will appeal to fans of Star Wars intrigued by the deep storytelling themes in The Force Awakens, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Hero’s Journey in modern storytelling.

For more on this topic, be sure not to miss B.J.’s post at FANgirl Blog, Rey’s Heroic Journey in The Force Awakens.

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Tricia Barr – Fangirls Going Rogue: Recent Episodes

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