Houston Howard

Author, transmedia architect, speaker, creator, and dad - I've got more titles than a Game of Thrones character, but with less beheading and more dad jokes.

[Houston Howard @Houston_Howard]

Do you want to grow your story into an IP that can thrive across multiple platforms, decades and genres? You want your story to become a #SuperStory? My latest book can be your guide. Check it out! #transmedia https://t.co/jRDtjoZCba

[IGN @IGN]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is finally getting the video game adaptation. #IGNSummerOfGaming

Watch the trailer here:

[ScreenRant @screenrant]

Mad Cave Studios and Papercutz, in collaboration with #Lucasfilm Publishing, are set to expand the story of Din Djarin and Grogu in their upcoming #StarWars: The Mandalorian and Grogu — Danger in the Dark, described as “the first-ever original comic one-shot starring The Mandalorian duo Din Djarin and Grogu." ⭐️

Read More: https://t.co/UHCtCDmrNf

[Rusty @LieutenantRusty]

Star Wars.

Not Episode 4. Not A New Hope.

And yes: Han shoots first.

Here's the 50th Anniversary Re-release Trailer.

THIS is the Star Wars product I've been waiting to spend my money on.

[All The Right Movies @ATRightMovies]

STAR WARS was released 49 years ago today. Hollywood’s biggest movie phenomenon, and the film that launched the career of star Harrison Ford, the behind the scenes story is as spectacular as blowing up the Death Star…

1/37

[Houston Howard @Houston_Howard]

👇🏻

[The Mind Scourge @TheMindScourge]

I saw it with my kids yesterday. The theater was mostly full and the audience really enjoyed it. There was a lot of laughter.

The movie really improved over the show in important ways. Perhaps obvious given the extra time and budget resources, but worth pointing out. The limitations of the Volume are much less in evidence and there’s a lot of emphasis on puppetry as opposed to CGI: Grogu/baby Yoda is almost all practical, as is the fan favorite monkey-like Frik, and so on. You can see it on the screen. It looks good

Now, Empire Strikes Back this is not. The story is not compelling and particularly memorable. It revolves around a bounty and Mando’s conscience, and is quite predictable. But there’s a definite charm to Grogu and again, as I said earlier, the audience loved it, especially the kids

Star Wars deserves better critics. Having seen the movie, the online discourse about the latest installment seems absurdly parochial and disconnected from the actual project.

Like I posted about the other day, negativity about movies is now a full time identity for an entire cohort of people online. It’s equal opportunity and insatiable for content, going from title to title to feed before moving on, herd-like and bovine, to the next victim

It’s an absurd, self-perpetuating, and entirely solipsistic alternate reality that no one should engage with

[HIDEO_KOJIMA @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN]

I watched “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu”in IMAX. Back in 2019, I had only seen the opening of The “Mandalorian” while examining the LED-shot “virtual production” technology, but this time I had no problem diving in. Action, car chases, close-quarters combat, sword fights, gun battles, death matches, aerial combat, giant monsters, giant mechs. A complete “everything versus everything” showcase. CGI, puppets, special makeup, animatronics, stop motion. Even the behind-the-scenes craftsmanship feels like it has everything packed in. X-Wings, AT-ATs, AT-RTs, speeders, stormtroopers, droids. Nearly every element from across the entire history of the Star Wars saga is in as well. An entertainment spectacle made with craftsmanlike skill by Jon Favreau.

[Star Wars Holocron @sw_holocron]

#TheMandalorianandGrogu features 100+ Easter Eggs & Hidden Details, including references to:

• Clone Wars
• Legends
• 1313
• Rogue One
• Andor
• Jedi: Fallen Order
• Star Wars books
• Prequels
+ more!

Check out 100+ Easter Eggs & Hidden Details: https://t.co/XBEGQ6gzzX

[ⓧ @CyclpsWsRght]

I’ve been ruminating on #TheMandalorianAndGrogu for almost two days now. I watched it with a group of five friends, and I was literally the only one who had seen all three seasons of #TheMandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

Grogu is a star. All they really knew going in was Baby Yoda, and by the end, every single one of them loved him. Mando himself felt like the badass bounty hunter from the first season again, and the IMAX theater was packed with kids, women rocking budget Leia cosplay, and some people wearing Mandalorian masks.

I liked the film. It was pretty good, and honestly, exactly what I expected: a fun Mandalorian and Grogu romp. What surprised me was how much my friends, people who hadn’t even watched the full series, absolutely LOVED it. I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were having even more fun than I was.

And I think that’s the point.

This isn’t a traditional Star Wars film. I love the deep dive analysis from people like @jowrotethis and @MalloryRubin on House of R, but this movie wasn’t made with them, or even people like me, primarily in mind. I genuinely think @swankmotron’s kid might’ve cracked the code:

This isn’t a Star Wars movie for jaded Star Wars fans. It’s not for people endlessly caught up in debates over what Star Wars is, was, or should be.

It is a Star Wars film. But more than anything, it’s an accessible, all ages father and son adventure. It’s not obsessed with lore discourse, fandom wars, or let alone box office arguments. It simply exists as a fun little romp. And maybe, just maybe…

This is the way.

I see mutuals angry at this film, and while I understand some of the criticism, getting mad at it almost feels like getting mad at a puppy. Whatever the Star Wars fandom, or fandom culture in general, has become, I don’t think that’s the way forward.

So here’s to the next generation.

[Jaynit @jaynitx]

Rick Rubin reveals the three completely different creative processes used by Eminem, Jay-Z, and Anthony Kiedis

"Eminem will always be writing in a book, always writing all the time. I asked him, are all these rhymes used? He's like no, 99% of what I write I'll never use, just to stay engaged in the process of writing"

"Jay-Z doesn't write anything down. He listens to the beat, hums, then goes on the mic 20 minutes later and just says a whole complicated verse. No paper, no writing, nothing"

"Anthony Kiedis sings along with an idea of a melody but he doesn't yet have words, just nonsense words automatically real time, then listens back and says this phrase sounds good. It's like a puzzle"

[Wes Huff @WesleyLHuff]

Justification gets you out of Egypt, but sanctification gets Egypt out of you.

[Jeremy Wayne Tate @JeremyTate41]

The world's tallest church is about to get its crown.

On June 10, 2026, exactly 100 years after Antoni Gaudí's death, the Sagrada Família will inaugurate the four-armed cross atop the Tower of Jesus Christ.

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

These were all released within 57 days of each other in 1991

[OldTimeHardball @OleTimeHardball]

A player could get a Hit in all 162 games…for 26 straight seasons…and he’d still be 44 Hits shy of Pete Rose

[Mark Lazerus @MarkLazerus]

Star Wars, correctly ranked:

[Tolkien World @TolkienWorldG]

The Cave Troll in The Fellowship of the Ring wasn’t treated like a generic monster, a deliberate choice by Peter Jackson and Wētā.

Jackson wanted Middle-earth’s creatures to feel like real animals, not villains evil for the sake of it.

When the troll bursts in, it’s frantic, not controlled. It swings wildly, reacts to pain, and gets frustrated when attacked. When it stabs Frodo, there’s no moment of triumph.

In its final moments, as it’s overwhelmed, the aggression drops. It reads less like rage and more like confusion and distress. When it goes down, there’s a split second where it looks confused, hurt, almost childlike.

It’s a small detail, but it makes you somewhat pity the cave troll.

[Cincinnati Reds @Reds]

20th win before the month of May, the most in franchise history‼️

#ATOBTTR

[Chad Dotson @dotsonc]

The 1990 Reds World Series video.

I watched this over and over and over on VHS. And now I'm giving it to you, my friends.

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

First look at ‘ESCAPE FROM VADER’, a co-op horror game made by Beyond Creative for Fortnite.

The game follows 4 players as they complete quests while attempting to escape & survive Darth Vader.

Releasing on May 1.

[Camus @newstart_2024]

This MRI study on young kids just exposed something terrifying:

They scanned the brains of 60 children aged 3–5 — including 5-year-old Rose — and found interactive screen time is causing measurable loss of white matter in their developing brains. Even just 2 hours a day is linked to impaired neural connectivity, language, and literacy development.

Professor Mike Nagel (neuroscientist and father) said his first reaction was simply: “Wow… I was not anticipating seeing anything like that.”

We’re physically changing children’s brains before they even start school — and the damage is visible on scans.

This one actually unsettled me. I’ve always suspected too much screen time was bad, but seeing real white matter loss in toddlers hits different.

Parents of little ones — has this kind of research changed how much screen time you allow?

[Chad Dotson @dotsonc]

1990, you say?