The Clone Wars
By PGA NMC member Jeff Gomez
“You fought in the Clone Wars?”
“Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight, same as your father.”
I had just graduated from the melodramatic (if occasionally juvenile) Planet of the Apes cycle, and it would be a few months before I started down that fateful road with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey. Star Wars was unfolding before my shining eyes, and when Obi-Wan answered Luke’s question, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up: I wanted to tell stories like this one.
Obi-Wan is alluding to the events of another time, filled with knights and clones and the great wars and betrayals between them. Though the lines are never brought up again in the original Star Wars, they fire our imagination by adding depth and poignancy to the drama at hand. For nearly a quarter century after that moment, a generation of young people wanted to be told that story – when even visionary George Lucas had only the slightest inkling of how it went himself. J.R.R. Tolkien would call such exchanges “distant mountains,” details added to stories that created a sense of intrigue and history. They are the lightning bolts with which creators make universes come to life.Jeff shares a healthy respect for the power of mythology with Tolkien and Lucas. In future posts, we’ll explore how a well defined mythology is the cornerstone of any successful trans-media effort.
Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production