The Starlog Project: Starlog #104, March 1986: Re-Warring

Star Wars is on the cover of Starlog for the third time in six issues, and there hasn't even been a Star Wars film for several years. Call it savvy marketing, call it a lack of enthusiasm among the editors for any of the new movies out in early 1986, or call it a lack of originality. But it probably worked and moved copies at the newsstand. Wookies attract.

Starlog #104
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

Overdosing on the tales of filmdom's special makeup effects artists had long been a signature approach of sister magazine Fangoria. Maybe it was because there weren't a lot of new horror films in those days; maybe it was because (as was intimated from time to time in the magazine) many higher-up creators such as directors and writers objected to being interviewed by a magazine called Fangoria. Whatever the reason, it served another good purpose, taking the magazine's readers behind the scenes of how a film is made and how Hollywood really works. Though they would always remain part of the magazine's mix of articles, Fango eased up on the makeup stories as the film world served up more new terror treats and as the magazine grew.

So, two things: This issue of Starlog features several stories branded on the cover under "Makeup FX torture tales." And Starlog editor David McDonnell would, very soon, be taking over the editing chores of Fangoria (while continuing his Starlog magazine duties, plus licensed film magazines) after Fango editors Bob Martin and David Everitt both exited stage left.

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O'Quinn suggests people take Basic Thinking 101; letters in the Communications section include a reader disturbed by the sexual content of recent SF films (The Goonies, in particular), reaction to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, a story about a less-than-awesome encounter with George Lucas, and more; the Medialog section includes Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier's report on the unveiling of Gene Roddenberry's star on Hollywood Boulevard, Edward Gross on Spider-Man: The Movie, and David McDonnell's media roundup, including news on the flick Solarbabies; and Videolog includes David Hutchison's roundup of new video releases, plus Carr D'Angelo on D.A.R.Y.L.

Edward Gross interviews writer/producer Joseph Stefano on The Outer Limits, old and new (including a sidebar featuring Stefano's original story theme guidelines for the series' writers); Lee Goldberg previews The Ray Bradbury Theater; Booklog features Edward Gross' chat with British James Bond author John Gardner, Geraldine Freedman's check-in with author Joan Vinge, and Chris Henderson's roundup of new books; Lee Goldberg talks with actors Jimmy Hunt and Hunter Carson about their roles in Invaders From Mars; Adam Pirani visits the location set of Highlander; Ian Spelling interviews actor James Remar (The Clan of the Cave Bear); Will Murray interviews actor Joel Grey (Remo: The Adventure Begins, Cabaret); Adam Pirani interviews Peter Mayhew, Star Wars' Chewbacca; William Rabkin interviews Louis Gossett, the alien in Enemy Mine; in a roundup of short articles on makeup effects professionals, Will Murray profiles Carl Fullerton, William Rabkin profiles Stephan Du Puis, Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier profile Michael Westmore, and Richard Meyers and Phil Nutman profile Stuart Freeborn; David Hutchison previews F/X; William Rabkin reveals the unseen footage from Enemy Mine; Edward Gross interviews V creator/producer Kenneth Johnson, who dissects the TV series; Anthony Timpone interviews actor Stephen Collins (Tales of the Gold Monkey, Star Trek – The Motion Picture); the Future Life pages include David Hutchison's three short articles on comets; the Other Voices guest columnist is author William F. Wu; the Fan Network pages include Anthony Timpone answering reader questions (such as, "Is there going to be a conclusion to Lost in Space?"), plus short items on a young man who really wants to be Robin (of Batman) and Merana Cadorette's hand-sculpted Star Wars figurines; and editor David McDonnell's Liner Notes column explains how the staff chose the cover of Starlog #102 (the Enemy Mine cover), making a nice behind-the-scenes look at how magazines are produced (and why).

"My feeling was that Warner Bros. was worried I wouldn't do V as quick, cheap and dirty as they wanted it done, and they were right, so I left. ... They were astonished because I also had, at the time, a 12-hour blind series commitment with NBC through Warner Bros. which was going to bite the dust if I left. That's about a half-million dollars, and they said nobody walks away from that. I said, 'Oh yeah, read my lips, guys.' Then, they brought in more writers and totally bastardized the six-hour script we had written."

–Kenneth Johnson, producer, interviewed by Edward Gross: "Kenneth Johnson: V: What Could Have Been"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #71, June 1983: The Year of the Jedi Continues

The cover date of this issue is June, but because magazines traditionally use a cover date one month ahead of the actual date the issue is on sale (the magazine seems fresher, see), this June issue of Starlog was actually on sale in May, when Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi debuted. Ewoks and all, the movie would be another smash hit for George Lucas and his team. It would also help Starlog feed its audience and circulation.

A number of changes this issue, each of which would have big effects on the magazine's future. First, the cover price is hiked 45 cents. That no doubt helped deal with rising costs, but it also helped the magazine get some fuel as the economy pulled out of the deep early 1980s recession. Second, W.R. Mohalley takes over as the new art director. Mohalley joins Starlog from the now-defunct Warren magazine house (Famous Monsters of Filmland, Creepy, et.al.), and he remains, well, forever -- he's still at Fangoria., the only surviving Starlog publication. Third (though less momentous), Lenny Kaye takes over Bob Martin's duties writing the Space Age Games column.

Starlog #71
74 pages (including covers and unnumbered inside front cover fold-out)
Cover price: $2.95

While describing an issue published two years before #71, I noted in this compendium that we had seen the last 74-page issue for a while, and soon after that, the publishers drastically reduced the amount of color in the magazine. Well, aided by an improving economy and a sharp increase in the cover price, Starlog #71 begins a slow but steady rise; in this year and for a number of years following, we'll see the magazine add pages, color, and features. It's an almost unmitigated rise from here on in, until the magazine hits major turbulence in 2001. But we've got a while before we get there. For now, enjoy this issue, with four extra pages of color, and another two added color pages in the fold-out inside front cover (which is where the two-page posters now go).

The rundown: The editors are probably annoyed at themselves for calling their poster series "Starlog Science Fiction Classics," because it looks weird when they feature the brand-new film Return of the Jedi, as they do this issue. Can't really be a classic if it hasn't even been delivered to most theaters yet. Nonetheless, it's a cool poster (and arguably would have made a better cover photo than the one they used). In his From the Bridge column, publisher Kerry O'Quinn shares a letter from a fan who gets inspiration from science fiction; Communications letters include a correction from William F. Nolan, reader reaction to the double-Bond coverage, an angry letter writer goes after L.Q. Jones and Harlan Ellison, and more; short news items in Log Entries include an update on the third Star Trek movie (to be directed by Leonard Nimoy), three Scandinavian countries bar children from seeing E.T., Strange Invaders producer Walter Coblenz continues his chat from issue #67, and more; and Martha Bonds profiles actor Judson Scott in a two-page Spotlight column.

Steve Swires interviews Jack Schwartzman, producer of the Bond remake Never Say Never Again; Lee Goldberg interviews actor Michael Billington (UFO); James Duward profiles the busy movie prop makers at Modern Props, Inc.; Lenny Kaye kicks off his Space Age Games era with a defense of video game players; Lee Goldberg interviews Dan O'Bannon, who discusses his displeasure with Hollywood's treatment of his work (and, proving that the Starlog editors can identify a great pullquote when they see one, this O'Bannon morsel is highlighted in the article: "It was a perversion to my mother that someone should make money off science fiction and movies. I think she sees me as the equivalent of a successful hitman."); Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier preview NBC's V; Robert Greenberger interviews Carrie Fisher about the latest -- and her final -- Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi; Lee Goldberg interviews Jedi producer Richard Marquand; in his Soaring column, David Gerrold discusses the choices that make people heroes;  Chris Henderson previews Ray Bradbury's Dinosaur Tales, published by Byron Preiss Visual Publications (the company to which Starlog editor Howard Zimmerman would move in a couple years); Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier talk with director Jack Clayton about his film adaptation of Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes; Richard Holliss visits the set of the James Bond film Octopussy; Ed Naha's L.A. Offbeat column recounts his talk with Roger Corman; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword column reviews Isaac Asimov's Foundation's Edge and Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two (he liked them both, though Asimov's moreso).

"I'm so excited about all the aspects of production and I feel so good about the help and input I'm getting from the people surrounding me. ... We have a very general image of this motion picture -- just a general curve on the canvas on which we're going to paint. ... And I feel totally creative, excited and alive."

--Leonard Nimoy, director, Log Entries: "Leonard Nimoy Takes Command of Star Trek III"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.