star wars

Of all the celebrity deaths in 2016, Carrie Fisher’s might hurt the worst. At 60 years old, she was still a young woman; she should have had many great performances, books, and scripts ahead of her. And with her recent work in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it seemed like she was finally getting her due as an actor, after years spent in the spotlight as an author and activist.

It’s undeniable that Carrie Fisher was a rare talent — and she’d have to be, to charm the notoriously picky George Lucas with her Star Wars audition. In a recently resurfaced video, originally posted on YouTube in 2006, Fisher sits down to read a scene opposite Harrison Ford (whom Lucas initially didn’t want to cast, but he was so good in the screen tests that Ford became his Han Solo).

Today we mourn the loss of Carrie Fisher: Iconic actor, talented author, brilliant script doctor and, most of all, an incomparable force to be reckoned with. There are so many great adjectives you could use to describe Fisher: Uncompromising, unapologetic, fierce, witty, relatable, real, honest. She took all of those qualities and put them to work in her books — from memoirs to novels, Fisher had a knack for telling poignant and painful stories with wit and wisdom. Writing a worthy obituary for one of the best and boldest women on this planet or any other is surely an impossible task…so it’s a good thing that the perfect obit basically already exists, and unsurprisingly, Fisher came up with it herself.

Terrible news to confirm today, as a beloved icon and Star Wars star’s condition has taken a turn for the worse. Carrie Fisher, actress behind both Princess and General Leia, has passed away at age 60. The revered actress and comedic presence had earlier suffered a heart attack en-route from London to Los Angeles.

In what may turn out to be one more giant hardship for 2016, troubling reports are coming in that Star Wars legend and all-around icon Carrie Fisher may be in critical condition. Fisher reportedly suffered a “massive” heart-attack aboard an airplane, and has been rushed to the hospital.

Over the past couple of years, policemen have fallen pretty far out of favor with the American people. The U.S. police force is in dire need of a little PR management, something that shows their sense of humor and gives a more human, relatable slant to the boys in blue.

Whatever holiday you celebrate in December, it comes with a lot of pressure. If you get that special someone the wrong gift, watch out. Things can get pretty ugly. That’s particularly true for pop-culture fans. They know what they want, and they probably have most of it already. Perhaps you know someone like this. Perhaps you are someone like this. (Perhaps I am someone like this.)

Politics is a total mess these days, but here’s some news out of Washington that veeryone can enjoy. President Obama is the guest editor of the new Wired Magazine, and as part of his work for the publication, he shared his favorite science-fiction movies and television shows. The POTUS even went to the trouble of provide helpful links to where you can watch each of the shows or films online. What a guy.

Fresh from its premiere this morning on Good Morning America, here it is: The new Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer. Gareth Edwards directs this direct prequel to the original Star Wars about a plucky band of rebels charged with finding the weakness in the Galactic Empire’s new weapon, the Death Star.

Sad news today for fans of the Star Wars films and Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits: Kenny Baker, the man who brought droid R2-D2 to life, has passed away at the age of 81. According to The Guardian, Baker’s passing comes after a long battle with an unspecified illness.

For a movie whose ending has been known for decades, there’s an awful lot of mystery around Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Although May 4 has become Star Wars Day (Observed) just because of the cutesy “May the 4th be with you” thing, the real anniversary of Star Wars’ unveiling, the day we should celebrate, is May 25. Which just so happens to be today.