“Oh my God! Look! It’s Han Solo. Frozen in carbonite!” I think it was 20 years ago. Maybe more. I honestly can’t remember the exact year, but the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium at the Marin Civic Center was hosting a massive exhibition of props, models, sketches, costumes and scenery pieces from the archives of Lucasfilm and…

At a small Middle School in Sonoma, California, the Force is with two faculty members who count themselves as lifelong ‘Star Wars’ fans. The Principal, William Deeths, has so many ‘Star Wars’ action figures on his walls at the school, kids actually want to be sent to the Prinicpal’s office, and English instructor Bridget Paul…

November 8, 2015 — In its first week online as a free streaming video, the short film ‘NEW,’ by Santa Rosa filmmaker John Harden, has been watched by over one-thousand people. “We’re having a great first week online,” Harden recently posted. That’s an understatement. In a social media landscape where videos are often posted to a…

Listen. Can you feel it? There is a disturbance in the Force. Even before last year’s record-setting release of the first trailer for J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ there have been whispered rumors surging through the fan-iverse, wondering about the direction the new film (to be released on December 18) will be taking the beloved…

HIDING OUT WITH INGRID BERGMAN MVFF Exhibit is not easy to find—but it’s well worth the effort October 10, 2015 — Just out of shouting distance of the crowds, right around the corner from the thrumming hub of cinematic energy that is the Rafael Film Center (in downtown San Rafael), there is a free exhibit…

MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES 38th YEAR Opening night features parties, parties, parties—and even some films October 9, 2015 — Opening night of the Mill Valley Film Festival is always fun, with pre-festival receptions flowing with intoxicating beverages, press-conferences and screenings infused with cinematic star-power, and after-parties so jam-packed with revelers that its sometimes hard…