Star Wars

James Clyne is a design supervisor and visual effects art director at Industrial Light & Magic, who has worked on the Sequel Trilogy and Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as other incredible movies.

Highlights of his incredible career include working with Steven Spielberg on Minority Report, collaborating with James Cameron on Avatar and Alita: Battle of Angel, and of course designing for JJ Abrams on his first two Star Trek films, and then the sequel trilogy.

Whether it is the TIE Silencer, Lando’s Millennium Falcon, or the final battle of The Rise of Skywalker, we really delve into so much of his process and inspirations.

Michael McCormick was one of the original puppeteers and sculptors of Salacious Crumb, Sy Snootles and Ephant Mon, who then left Return of the Jedi’s Creature Shop early into production, because of injuries.

This is a short, live, interesting interview, and I believe it’s his first Star Wars-related one ever. We touch on many subjects, some fun and some not-so-fun, but I hope you get a better understanding of Mr. McCormick from this, as well as of his life and his incredible talent.

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

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.