Saying Goodbye in 2016

Written by Jon Williams

It was a cruel and heartbreaking year in the entertainment industry, with the passing of so many larger-than-life figures, so many of them in unexpected fashion. And unfortunately, 2016 ended much the same way it began. Our first blog post of the year reflected on the passing of David Bowie, and it was followed up a week later with one memorializing Alan Rickman and Glenn Frey. It got no easier from there; some of the notable names we lost in 2016 include Abe Vigoda, Harper Lee, Garry Shandling, Patty Duke, Merle Haggard, Doris Roberts, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Anton Yelchin, Elie Wiesel, Garry Marshall, Juan Gabriel, Gene Wilder, Arnold Palmer, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Florence Henderson, Alan Thicke, and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Seeing those names all listed together, it’s a pretty stark list of so many talented people. And sadly, even the holiday season offered no respite. On December 24 we lost Richard Adams, author of the classic Watership Down (which George R.R. Martin called “one of the three great fantasy novels of the twentieth century”) as well as several other well-received novels. Then, the next day, came the passing of pop superstar George Michael, a groundbreaking figure in popular culture who won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year for his debut solo album, 1987’s Faith.

On Monday of this week, Carrie Fisher passed away. Fisher, of course, will forever be most associated with her role playing Princess Leia in Star Wars Episodes IV-VI, and then later in The Force Awakens, but there was much more to her than just that one role, iconic as it may be. In addition to her acting career, she was also an acclaimed writer, responsible for the semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge, as well as the screenplay for the film starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine. Her one-woman show Wishful Drinking was turned into a successful book, and her most recent memoir, The Princess Diarist, was released earlier this year. What many fans don’t know is that she put her writing talent to good use during her Hollywood career, serving as an uncredited “script doctor” to punch up dialogue for such films as the Star Wars prequels, Hook, Sister Act, Scream 3, and The Wedding Singer, among others.

What makes the story even sadder is that Fisher’s mother, Debbie Reynolds, passed away just one day later. An actress, singer, and dancer, Reynolds earned a Golden Globe nomination at the age of 18 for Most Promising Newcomer, and her breakout came when she starred opposite Gene Kelly in 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain. She followed that up with roles in films like The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Bundle of Joy, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. More recent performances included a recurring role on Will & Grace and as Liberace’s mother in Behind the Candelabra. She even did some voice acting, starting with Charlotte’s Web in 1973 and continuing through The Penguins of Madagascar. The relationship between Reynolds and Fisher is explored in the documentary Bright Lights, which will air on HBO next month.

As we get set to watch the ball drop on 2016 this weekend, we can only hope that the coming year will be a kinder one. In the meantime, libraries can help keep the memories of all these wonderful performers alive by sharing with patrons the incredible work they left behind.

Hot This Week: December 26

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! The remake of the 1959 classic Ben-Hur tops the movie list for the week. Multiplatinum-selling rapper J. Cole lands his new release atop the music chart. The ever-popular All the Light We Cannot See makes a return appearance on the week's fiction list, while some minor position shuffling is all the action we see this week in non-fiction.

DVD

1. Ben-Hur
2. Bad Moms
3. Pete's Dragon
4. Mechanic: Resurrection
5. Finding Dory
6. Don't Breathe
7. Sausage Party
8. Nine Lives
9. Central Intelligence
10. The BFG

CD

1. J. Cole, 4 Your Eyez Only
2. Pentatonix, A Pentatonix Christmas
3. The Weeknd, Starboy
4. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
5. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
6. Post Malone, Stoney
7. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording
8. Moana Soundtrack
9. Michael Buble, Christmas
10. Relling Stones, Blue & Lonesome

Fiction

1. The Whistler, John Grisham
2. Cross the Line, James Patterson
3. Two by Two, Nicholas Sparks
4. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
5. Tom Clancy: True Faith and Allegiance, Mark Greaney
6. No Man's Land, David Baldacci
7. Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult
8. Night School, Lee Child
9. Turbo Twenty-Three, Janet Evanovich
10. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr

Non-Fiction

1. Killing the Rising Sun, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis
3. The Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
4. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
5. Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
6. Settle for More, Megyn Kelly
7. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
8. All the Gallant Men, Donald Stratton and Ken Gire
9. Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham
10. Shaken, Tim Tebow and A.J. Gregory

The Force Is Strong with Rogue One

Written by Jon Williams

Last week, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story rolled into theaters, thrilling fans eagerly anticipating the franchise’s first standalone movie. It has dominated the box office since then, earning more than $350 million worldwide with another big weekend coming up. While the movie won’t be available on DVD and Blu-ray for a while, fans can relive the excitement with the novelization (also available for younger listeners). With such popularity, patrons are sure to be interested in exploring not just the story surrounding the movie, but other movies from the new cast as well.

The first place to start is with James Luceno’s novel Catalyst, which ties directly into Rogue One. It tells the story of brilliant scientist Galen Erso and how he is pulled into the Death Star project by Director Orson Krennic. In 2014, Luceno also wrote the novel Tarkin, detailing the early career of another character who figures prominently in Rogue One, as well as the original Star Wars movie, 1977’s Episode IV: A New Hope.

One “new” character introduced in Rogue One is Saw Gerrera, the leader of a Rebel extremist group. “New” is in quotation marks, of course, because the character isn’t actually new at all. He first appeared four years ago in the fifth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the animated series that bridged the gap between Episodes II and III, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. At that time, he was a young militant being trained by the likes of Anakin Skywalker; his older, more experienced self will soon be joining this season of Star Wars: Rebels, voiced by acclaimed actor Forest Whitaker, who portrays him in Rogue One.

Gerrera’s function in the movie is to bring together the band of rebels who will attempt to steal the Death Star plans. He can serve this function because he was once a mentor to young Jyn Erso, daughter of the aforementioned Galen Erso, who helped design the Death Star’s weapons system. Jyn is played by Felicity Jones, who won an Academy Award for her performance in 2014’s The Theory of Everything and has also appeared in such films as Inferno and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Bringing Jyn into the Rebellion and leading the mission to help her find her father is Captain Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna. Acting from a young age, Luna is an acting staple to Mexican audiences. He was in the acclaimed film Y Tu Mama Tambien as well as the sci-fi film Elysium, among others. Andor in the film is accompanied by a droid sidekick, K-2SO, played in a motion-capture performance by Alan Tudyk. This was not his first robot portrayal, as he also played Sonny in I, Robot. A prolific comic actor, Tudyk starred as one of the title pair in Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, and also as Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball.

Throwing in on the mission as well are the one-two punch of Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus. Îmwe is a blind devotee of the Force who nonetheless is a valuable fighter. He’s played by Donnie Yen, a martial arts master who has starred in such films as Hero and the Ip Man trilogy. Malbus is his gun-toting companion who serves as his protector on the rare occasions when he needs one. Jiang Wen is an acclaimed Chinese actor and filmmaker; Rogue One is his first film produced primarily for an English-speaking audience.

The last member of the team, getting them from place to place, is the defected Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook, played by Riz Ahmed. Ahmed was seen most recently in the hit HBO series The Night Of, and he also starred opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler. He also features as a rapper (under the name Riz MC) on the Hamilton Mixtape. Needless to say, the past couple of weeks have been phenomenal for his career.

Opposing the Rebels in their efforts is Imperial officer Orson Krennic, overseer of the Death Star construction project. He’s played by Ben Mendelsohn, an Australian actor who has won an Emmy Award for his performance in Netflix’s Bloodline. He also appeared in The Dark Knight Rises, and will star as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the upcoming Robin Hood. And of course, a Star Wars movie dealing with the Rebellion against the Empire will be haunted by the specter of Darth Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith does appear briefly in Rogue One, with his familiar forbidding voice being provided once again by James Earl Jones.

Fans who loved Rogue One will have all this to explore, and there’s always plenty to enjoy from the ever-expanding galaxy far, far away. SmartBrowse Star Wars on our website to find all the movies and TV series, not to mention soundtracks and audiobooks. In addition, patrons can head over to hoopla digital for a collection of eBooks and comics that they can enjoy right away on their smartphones or tablets.

Hot This Week: December 19

The live-action update of the beloved animated classic Pete's Dragon is this week's lone hot movie newcomer. Five new CDs make the music chart, led by the mixtape of various artists' takes on songs from the ever-popular Hamilton musical. Mark Greaney's latest addition to Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series makes the list in fiction, while a new book by Michael Lewis comes in at #2 in non-fiction.

DVD

1. Bad Moms
2. Mechanic: Resurrection
3. Finding Dory
4. Pete's Dragon
5. Sausage Party
6. Nine Lives
7. Independence Day: Resurgence
8. Hell or High Water
9. Central Intelligence
10. The Legend of Tarzan

CD

1. The Hamilton Mixtape
2. The Weeknd, Starboy
3. Pentatonix, A Pentatonix Christmas
4. Relling Stones, Blue & Lonesome
5. Childish Gambino, Awaken, My Love
6. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
7. Moana Soundtrack
8. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
9. Grace VanderWaal, Perfectly Imperfect
10. Kane Brown, Kane Brown

Fiction

1. The Whistler, John Grisham
2. Cross the Line, James Patterson
3. Tom Clancy: True Faith and Allegiance, Mark Greaney
4. Two by Two, Nicholas Sparks
5. No Man's Land, David Baldacci
6. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
7. Night School, Lee Child
8. Turbo Twenty-Three, Janet Evanovich
9. Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult
10. The Wrong Side of Goodbye, Michael Connelly

Non-Fiction

1. Killing the Rising Sun, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis
3. The Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
4. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
5. Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
6. Settle for More, Megyn Kelly
7. Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham
8. All the Gallant Men, Donald Stratton and Ken gire
9. Shaken, Tim Tebow and A.J. Gregory
10. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter

Hot This Week: December 12

A couple of children's movies, Nine Lives and The Wild Life, are the only new entries on this week's list. The Weeknd's new album tops the music chart, while a couple of Christmas favorites jump back in as well. Anne Rice lands her new novel about the vampire Lestat on the fiction list, while a memoir from Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham is the top newcomer in non-fiction.

DVD

1. Bad Moms
2. Mechanic: Resurrection
3. Finding Dory
4. Nine Lives
5. Independence Day: Resurgence
6. Hell or High Water
7. Sausage Party
8. The Legend of Tarzan
9. Lights Out
10. The Wild Life

CD

1. The Weeknd, Starboy
2. Pentatonix, A Pentatonix Christmas
3. Metallica, Hardwired...To Self-Destruct
4. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
5. Moana Soundtrack
6. Trolls Soundtrack
7. Pentatonix, That's Christmas to Me
8. Michael Buble, Christmas
9. Miranda Lambert, The Weight of These Wings
10. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording

Fiction

1. The Whistler, John Grisham
2. Cross the Line, James Patterson
3. Two by Two, Nicholas Sparks
4. Turbo Twenty-Three, Janet Evanovich
5. No Man's Land, David Baldacci
6. Night School, Lee Child
7. Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis, Anne Rice
8. The Wrong Side of Goodbye, Michael Connelly
9. Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult
10. The Whole Town's Talking, Fannie Flagg

Non-Fiction

1. Killing the Rising Sun, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. The Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
3. Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham
4. Settle for More, Megyn Kelly
5. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
6. Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
7. Shaken, Tim Tebow and A.J. Gregory
8. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
9. Our Revolution, Bernie Sanders
10. Thank You for Being Late, Thomas L. Friedman

Hot This Week: December 5

The first movie listing of December greets four new titles, including the top two on the list. It's the same number in music, where an incredible roster of heavy hitters debut with new albums. The one new fiction title this week is a solo effort, a new Alex Cross novel, from perennial bestseller James Patterson, while two new non-fiction audiobooks include an oral history of the satirical Daily Show.

DVD

1. Bad Moms
2. Mechanic: Resurrection
3. Finding Dory
4. Independence Day: Resurgence
5. The Legend of Tarzan
6. Hell or High Water
7. Lights Out
8. Central Intelligence
9. Sausage Party
10. Ice Age: Collision Course

CD

1. Metallica, Hardwired...To Self-Destruct
2. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
3. Miranda Lambert, The Weight of These Wings
4. Pentatonix, A Pentatonix Christmas
5. A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It from Here...Thank You 4 Your Service
6. Trolls Soundtrack
7. Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood, Christmas Together
8. Rae Sremmurd, Sremmlife 2
9. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording
10. Drake, Views

Fiction

1. Cross the Line, James Patterson
2. The Whistler, John Grisham
3. Turbo Twenty-Three, Janet Evanovich
4. Two by Two, Nicholas Sparks
5. No Man's Land, David Baldacci
6. Night School, Lee Child
7. Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult
8. The Wrong Side of Goodbye, Michael Connelly
9. Odessa Sea, Clive and Dirk Cussler
10. The Chemist, Stephenie Meyer

Non-Fiction

1. Killing the Rising Sun, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
2. Settle for More, Megyn Kelly
3. The Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
4. Our Revolution, Bernie Sanders
5. Thank You for Being Late, Thomas L. Friedman
6. Scrappy Little Nobody, Anna Kendrick
7. Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
8. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
9. Born a Crime, Trevor Noah
10. The Daily Show (The Book), Jon Stewart and Chris Smith