podcast

Amy Ratcliffe is the author of the recent The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, as well as a huge inspiration to me.

During our conversation, we go through her career … from her The Clone Wars blog to, after years of hard work, officially writing for Star Wars, including Women of the Galaxy, A Jedi Mind, and Elee & Me.

We also delve into the creation of her “Art of” book, and the steps required to turn it into a piece of Star Wars history, working with Imagineering, Lucasfilm, and Disney Parks to bring it to life.

She is truly a blueprint for creativity in fandom. Thank you to Abrams Books for coordinating and making this interview possible!

• Purchase The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: https://amzn.to/2S3UQIb
• Subscribe to her newsletter: https://amyratcliffe.substack.com/

We’ll have a special bonus episode this weekend, the first ever published Star Wars interview with Salacious Crumb creator, Mike McCormick. So start refreshing your feeds for that!

Today I’m talking to one of the biggest inspirations for this show: Mick Garris.

Yes, you may know Mick as one of the most influential genre writers and directors of all time, or you may know him from his incredible podcast, Post Mortem with Mick Garris … but you may not know that his first job in film was as the receptionist at “The Star Wars Company” in 1977, where he answered phone calls and operated R2-D2 for the Chinese Theatre, the Oscars and, yes, even The Holiday Special.

This is such a special interview and it is a real honor to get to talk to a real Master of Horror.

If I didn’t say it enough, and you like horror and filmmaking even in the slightest … definitely check out Post Mortem with Mick Garris, on the Dread Podcast Network, as well as his vintage interviews on Mick’s personal website: mickgarrisinterviews.com

Upcoming interviews include: James Clyne, Michael McCormick (his first Star Wars interview ever!), Amy Ratciffe and Terrence Masson.

Today I’m talking to one of my new favorite people, Tom Spina, founder of Tom Spina Designs and Regal Robot. We talk all about his early inspirations, his experiences with the internet and growing a community, his restoring of original props at the Lucasfilm Archives … and what is coming up for Regal Robot (including a brand new, exclusive announcement)

The Dejarik chess sets are now on sale from Regal Robot, and, frankly, are jaw-dropping: https://regalrobot.com/

But, seriously, take some time, check out all of the incredible things they have in stock, and follow them on social media! He’s such an inspiration to me and it was so great getting to catch up and nerd out.

Welcome to a very special, very short May the Fourth bonus episode of Talking Bay 94: my conversation with prolific voice actor, Jim Cummings.

Mr. Cummings is the voice of characters like Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, the Tasmanian Devil, and of course … HONDO OHNAKA.

Thank you, as always, to Zach McGinnis at Galactic Productions for setting this up: http://www.galacticproductionsevents.com/

Prolific Star Wars author, Alexander Freed has done so much, recently completing his Alphabet Squadron trilogy of novels.

I really loved this conversation, tracing his journey from Bioware’s The Old Republic to Dark Horse Comics to Star Wars Insider Short Stories to then, of course, full-length Star Wars novels.

And, whether it is his Rogue One novelization or his most recent book, Victory’s Price, an Alexander Freed Star Wars story is always one to be celebrated.

If this episode does not convince you to check out the Alphabet Squadron trilogy, I really don’t know what else would.

Thank you as well to Lauren and the PR team at Del Rey for helping set all of this up.

Head to AlexanderFreed.com for more updates on what is coming up.

Stunt woman, martial artist and actor, Lauren Mary Kim has helped bring to life such beloved characters like Ahsoka Tano (The Clone Wars, Season 7) and The Armorer (The Mandalorian, Season 1).

Whether motion capture with Ray Park for The Siege of Mandalore or being on set with Jon Favreau  in The Volume for The Mandalorian, Lauren’s hard work and incredible talent has made her an integral part of some of the most iconic and badass moments in Star Wars.

Make sure you’re following her on Instagram, @LaurenMaryKim, to keep up with all of the incredible things she is doing.

Next week is my really fascinating conversation with author Alexander Freed, so you still have a few days to finish up Alphabet Squadron: Victory’s Price.

Ray Hassett played Lt. Tigran Jamiro on Echo Base, in The Empire Strikes Back. Of course, he is best known for his iconic barb to Han Solo: “Your Tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker!”

Truly one of the more unique interviews we’ve had on this show, we delve into his early improvisational work, pairing with John Ratzenberger, becoming a fire eater on the streets of London, acting in James Bond and Superman, as well as the work that he does now tying all of his skills together.

As mentioned, you can visit RayHassett.com for more information on his current work.

Thank you also to Derek Maki and Coolwaters Productions, friends of the show, who made this interview possible. To meet Mr. Hassett at an upcoming show, or purchase any autograph right now: https://coolwatersprods.com/

Today is our 100th episode of Talking Bay 94, and I’m talking to the legendary Tony McVey: model maker, sculptor and character designer, who has worked on three generations of Star Wars.

The designer of Salacious Crumb and sculptor of Sy Snootles, the Rancor and Gamorrean Guards for Return of the Jedi, Mr. McVey returned to bring Jar Jar, Geonosians, and Yoda to three dimensions for the prequels, and then once more to The Mandalorian, to help design already-iconic creatures like The Child and Kuiil.

I can think of no better person to be our 100th interview.

For a more in-depth look at his process and creations, definitely go to his Facebook page, which is jam packed with incredible models and sculptures: https://www.facebook.com/tony.mcvey.777

And so yeah, that is our 100th episode. I cannot believe that we’ve gotten to this point and to this milestone.

I want to take this time to thank so many people: our guests, who have been so generous and gracious, our partners, who have helped make a lot of these interviews possible, and, of course, all of you, our fans, for supporting the show, listening every week, telling friends, reviewing us on Apple, and buying the merch.

I, Brandon, want to especially thank Jason, the producer of this show, who tirelessly works behind the scenes with recordings and video call set ups and all the incredible graphics you see every week. He was the first person I texted with this idea, way back in 2017, and I am so grateful that he’s been on this journey with me ever since.

It has meant much to hear from you all and to be welcomed into the Star Wars community with such open arms, over the past 3 years. And really, I just can’t wait to see what happens next.

Dave Carson is an extremely talented man of many different roles thorughout the Star Wars saga: whether working as a storyboard artist, a Creature Shop sculptor, or visual effects supervisor, his work left a lasting mark on so many of the movies we love.

From his start on The Empire Strikes Back to bringing the Gamorrean Guards to life in Return of the Jedi, he also has some incredible stories from his work on Star Tours and the Special Editions.

Of course, we also dive in to his monumental non-Star Wars work, including Young Sherlock Holmes (the stained glass man), Willow (and his idea for the morphing technology) and Jurassic Park. Incredible.

In this lead up to Episode #100 (which is crazy to even say) I would really appreciate some new reviews on Apple. If you can leave a 5-star review of the show right here on your favorite podcast app, or on Podchaser: podchaser.com/TalkingBay94

Don Bies came on this podcast way back on Episode #5 (!). If you haven’t listened to our previous conversation, definitely give it a download first, to hear all about his incredible career … because this episode is me asking all the questions I wish I had asked him 3 years ago.

Japanese Panasonic commercials (and adventures with Peter Mayhew + previous guest Niki Botelho)… the 1988 Marin County Fair … the Special Editions … and so, so much more.

I think I broke my mic (sorry) from laughing so hard.

It truly means the world that Mr. Bies came back on the show, and that he took a chance on this podcast 3 years ago … and, of course, his stories are just the best, if you can’t tell by my reactions.

Keep the Gaslight Burning is now streaming on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Gaslight-Burning-Markie-Post/dp/B07K1FQ9C5

For donations and Information about The Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation: https://grantimaharafoundation.org/

Next week, Episode #99 (!), is with ILM legend David Carson, who was mentioned several times in this episode. It’s a great one … he designed the Gamorrean Guards!