10 years ago Todd and I got married in his sisterâs living room. Saying yes was, hands down, the easiest decision Iâve ever made. Now, a decade in, I can say with certainty that itâs the best one, too.
As a lifelong Oscars freak, what an honor to open a screening of The Phantom Menace at the @academymuseum with Jar Jar Binks himself, the great @bestahmed . Thanks to all who came out and celebrated May the Fourth with us.
ŠAcademy Museum Foundation
Photo by: Scott Brinegar
Tomorrow my book comes out in paperback, so here I am, fulfilling my contractual obligation to tell you about it while showing off its bendy capabilities.
This can feel like a funny (read: deeply insensitive) time to try and sell you something. So much in our world is sad and bad and unraveling and, to be crystal clear: no, reading my book will not save the world. Run from anyone who tells you otherwise.
Still, this book has remained oddly (and sadly) relevant in the two years since it first came out. So many of you have written to me about your own relationships that have fractured after a digital disagreement or social media spat. More and more, weâre torching each other online as we, understandably, try and figure out the best way to take steps toward peaceâall while wrestling with our different definitions of what âpeaceâ even means.
This book does not have solutions for our big macro sociopolitical problems. Sorry. It does, however, highlight the spots of hope that can be found when we explore our micro conflicts with each other.
If thatâs what youâre looking for AND you like books that bend, then wow wow wow do I have some great news for you.
If not, all good. Keep scrolling, king.
Love you either way.
Hands down the best part of writing a book is hearing from readers who found it at a time they needed it most. These kind messages offset the strange ache Iâve felt in the year and a half (!) since the book came out when, in the silence of low moments, Iâve wondered if maybe this was all just one big creative exercise that I took a bit too far. A few weeks ago I got one such message from a reader who connected with the book. This time, though, the reader happened to be the host of a nationally syndicated talk show. Thanks for having me @drewbarrymore and thanks to every single person at @thedrewbarrymoreshow for making me feel right at home. Oh, and Todd loves his new hat.
đ¸: @ashbeann
Here we are. The final episode of The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks is out today. When I set out to make this project, I knew that Ahmed Best needed to be part of it. How could I tell the story of Jar Jar Binks without talking to the guy who played him?
From our very first meeting to our final interview, Iâve gotten to know this amazing man more and more. A man who, bursting with talent and burning with charisma, was given his big break as a kidâonly to see that opportunity transform into something totally different.
Itâs one of lifeâs great injustices that the people who endure the biggest hardships end up becoming experts in those hardships. Ahmed was one of the very first people to endure an internet shame campaign. Somehow, thankfully, he survived it. I am thrilled to report that today his talent and charisma are not only intact, theyâre enhanced. But at what cost?
The story of Jar Jar Binks is the story of Ahmed Best. Itâs the story of a fictional character that was maligned, and the human being who paid the price. But this isnât some rare novelty story from long ago. It was a canary in the coal mine, a warning of what was to come.
I hope Ahmedâs contributions to film, especially motion capture, are written into the record of cinema history. I hope we can recognize that there are other Jar Jars today, figures who itâs acceptable to make fun of, people on whom we can score internet points. I hope his story helps prevent future Jar Jars, future Ahmeds, from reaching the same point he did. I hope I hope I hope.
What an honor it was to be entrusted with his story, and what a ride it was to revisit it with him. Thank you, Ahmed. This wouldnât have been possible without you.
đ¸: @perklax
Episode 5 of The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks is out now. Ahmed Best walks me through how he rebuilt his life in the years following the anti-Jar Jar backlash, and I speak with a guy named Adam who made one of the very first Jar Jar hate pages. Donât worry, Adam has some very different views today. Love this episode. Hope you enjoy.
đ¸: @perklax
Episode 4 of The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks is out today. Candidly, this was the trickiest one to make. In addition to the character getting backlash from disgruntled fans for being âannoyingâ and âruining Star Warsâ there was a completely different angle of criticism, too. Some read the character as a racial stereotype. As Ahmed describes, this was the hardest part of the backlash, which made digging into this element of the story all the more precarious. I didnât want to hurt my guestâwhom Iâve come to really care about in the process of making this podcastâyet at the same time, it would have been an egregious omission to not discuss this part of the story at all. Luckily, the brilliant @aha88 contextualizes this criticism for us, while still honoring the human being who paid the biggest price.
Episode 3 of The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks is out now. In it, we dig in and find out how such a modern hate campaign against took off pre-social media. The brilliant @ethanzuckerman gives us a tour of the 1999 internet, and the great Rob Coleman of @ilmvfx takes us behind the scenes of The Phantom Menaceâshowing us the trials and tribulations of animating Jar Jar Binks.
