Category Archives: CAST ME

SWAG77 Ain’t No Influencers. Right?

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https://patreon.com/SWAG77/

This post is about our Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and various blogs:

WE HAVE A LOT… 

We have several social media accounts because seven years ago, social media platforms lacked today’s functionality.

How many accounts? We are at 500 now. We do not use all of them. At any given moment, we are working on 50 accounts.

We have to pay extra for the functionalities that we need for the blogs because we are not coders. Functionalities such as commerce, videos, audio, and cloud services have a cost, and we use more.

We have many Facebook character pages and Twitter accounts. Each lead character has a Facebook page and Twitter. The main characters we use daily have blogs at WordPress and Tumblr.

We had a directory, but because few people used it, that Facebook page has lapsed.

Characters have packages consisting of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr because we, SWAG77, have found the best development of stories, plots, drabbles, metas, headcanons, and fan-fictions are best with these packages. Also, these packages develop a character design that gains social media metrics and insights into what works best with this character’s portrayal and performance in public.

For Example:

For Grand Admiral Thrawn, we created a Facebook page, Twitter account, Tumblr blog, WordPress blog, and a Patreon tier.

SWAG77 uses the Facebook page to broadcast our story ideas, character background, and canon/non-canon concepts SWAG77 wishes to relay to the public. This account links to our Twitter account with short messages through a social media management platform.

The Twitter account reaches out to an audience that craves rapid and concise messages. The pacing of Tweets excites users. SWAG77 roleplays and performs on Twitter. To gain expand understanding, we write blogs to explain SWAG77’s stories and canon/non-canon positions. We include our videos and podcasts to open up the audiovisual concepts SWAG77 wishes to show to the public. Some content is too proprietary or too mature to display publicly on our open blogs. We created Patreon.

Patreon is for active patrons to directly influence our proprietary content, hypothesis, underlying themes, and controversial subject matter. In our performances and parody rewrites of current news events, SWAG77 encounters harsh and severe misconceptions. Often, we interact with fans who refuse to read or write Star Wars. Thus, any discussion hurts our business. While we are willing to educate fans, we have found that minimal engagement is best. Should fans want more, they can join our Patreon.

We find that fans invest emotionally in entertainment content. Some fans cannot separate between fact or fiction and live their reality vicariously. There is psychological contagion on social media that spreads rapidly where the artificial intelligence engines are incapable of discerning. SWAG77 has endured attacks on our social media accounts because we discuss and tagline promotes our controversial subject matter that can enrage some fans. We suffer the brunt of this disinformation and toxic fandom in entertainment. SWAG77 has little recourse but blocks/bans radical fans who refuse to “stay on target” with our content and messaging.

SWAG77 created Patreon to open our stories to diverse points of view. We would instead show our completed work on all our Facebook, Twitter, and Blog accounts. But put our proprietary content behind a paywall for serious fan engagement with Star Wars fandom. We as a business feel safer with like-minded fans who support SWAG77 primary mission.

What does that do for our Thrawn?

It tightens the fan-fiction stories that SWAG77 wants to present publicly. The more we engage, the better our content creation. We want to show Disney Lucasfilm Star Wars the best that fandom has to offer. We know that the Disney Corporation prefers fan camaraderie rather than conflict.

Grand Admiral Thrawn is a villain that author Timothy Zahn wrote novels in 1991 in the Legend’s canon. Recently, Lucasfilm reintroduced Thrawn into Disney canon with new canon literature and Star Wars Rebels TV show. In SWAG77’s opinion, Thrawn is not a villain yet in the Disney novel canon. In the Star Wars Rebels TV show, he does some questionable actions, but nothing as extensive as in the Legend’s canon books. SWAG77 reads all the books from Legend’s canon and Disney’s canon. We encourage fans to READ — and READ BOOKS, particularly Star Wars literature. Both canons write about Thrawn. There are conflicts in both canons, but we can write about them in the blogs so that fans can choose their story path and then create their own stories with a good foundation that SWAG77 provides to our Patreon members.

From Star Wars fans’ suggestions, SWAG77 adds the ideas to best portray and perform Grand Admiral Thrawn during our scripted roleplays. We will give accolades to those who helped SWAG77 develop the character and story arc.

These activities are what the Star Wars Actors Guild 77 (SWAG77) has done for thirteen years.

AUDITIONS: @SWAG_77 social media entertainment & performance #StarWars #TFA

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We are looking for the following roles to be roleplayed performed under SWAG 77:

  • Han Solo
  • Finn
  • Poe Daemeron
  • General Hux
  • Captain Phasma
  • Supreme Leader Snoke
  • Leia Organa
  • Luke Skywalker

We follow a different set of guidelines than other groups. We abide by the terms of Disney Lucasfilm in how we portray their characters.

Members are expected to rehearse often and maintain all social media channels. This activity takes time to develop. We expect you to read the literature.

We need to see your work, why you want the role besides your love of Star Wars. You have to agree with the main goals of Star Wars Wars Actors Guild 77, Star Wars, Lucasfilm and Disney.

Contact us

“IT GIRL” @SabineWren77 #StarWarsRebels Has @SWAG_77

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IT’S GIRL
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SABINE WREN appreciation podcast! How she’s awesome. What makes her unique. Everything awesome about her.

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SWAG 77 Star Wars Rebels Fan Fiction Starter Challenge!

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SWAG 77 is the Star Wars Actors Guild 77. We tell stories on social media. We write a lot of fan created fiction and we challenge Star Wars fans to write a “starter” piece for us that shows off your Star Wars fandom.

1000 words by July 17, 2013. Submit your starter on our blog (under submit).

Relevant story timelines are between the last season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.

Answer the following question:

What happens to Ahsoka Tano after she leaves the Jedi Order?

These are our specification. The story with the most reblogs that is easy and enjoyable to read wins! 

Just for summer fun!

A Cosplayer’s Art – Give Credit, Where Credit Is Due… by Ashley M. Kalfas

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The life of a cosplayer can be the most amazing experience ever! But it’s not as easy as it looks. As an avid cosplayer, I know how much time – sometimes several months; energy and most of all money it takes to create these costumes. Whether they’re closet cosplays – ones you create from cloths you already have; made by hand fully, or even a mix of the two. Either way, how they’re made still takes a lot of time, effort, creativity, patience, perseverance, long nights, and spare change.

Combination of Star Wars Characters Cosplayed. Handmade Costumes.

Combination of Star Wars Characters Cosplayed. Handmade Costumes.

Now as cosplayers we all think our cosplays are pretty good and want everyone to see it took time to create them. Whether the character is your favorite anime hero or your favorite Sci-Fi villain, each costume holds a special place within you. So when you see your photo plastered all over Facebook or your win in a costume contest it’s a really great feeling! You know that all the hard work paid off and is appreciated by fans.

Some of us create Facebook pages or profiles for our cosplays or just the characters, or post the photos on Photobucket, DeviantArt, or various other photo sharing and social media sites. Sadly, that’s where there are problems…

Ashley M. Kalfas as "Rogue" with Lance Henriksen

Ashley M. Kalfas as “Rogue” with Lance Henriksen

Now I’m sure everyone at one point has seen a photo, and thought “wow that is amazing and works so well for such and such” or even to share with their own friends. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with that, that’s actually part of why we as cosplayers and artists post our work so that people can be inspired. However we also deserve to have credit.

Most of us don’t mind you sharing our photos, but taking credit for them as your own is wrong.  Or not even crediting the cosplayer or artist is wrong. Yes, sometimes we find photos where information is lacking or who originally posted our material. But once your find out, it’s polite to give us credit.

Another major problem besides not asking for permission is cosplayers are often building and maintaining their professional reputations. These are based on their artistry and images. When people steal our photos and post them on fake impostor accounts, it is our reputations that are at stake. Our name, our photos, our reputations, and our BRANDS get destroyed because someone is too lazy to do a search. Since social media spreads fast, then our reputations can be ruined faster.

However cosplay not just about the possible ruined reputations and feeling cheated out of getting recognition. It’s the principal of it! Cosplayers and artists are like your  favorite band or movie, except we do not get a huge salary. Each expression of our creativity took a lot of time, care, preparation, lack of sleep, and a millions of other things.  Unlike big record labels and production companies that want you to pay to use their material (and sometimes people do pay), all we request is some respect – give credit where credit is due. Don’t forget to ask for our permission to use our material.

As a Twi'lek bounty hunter

As a Twi’lek bounty hunter

So before setting up a page on social media, don’t take a cosplayer’s photos and name.  Stop and think of the repercussions. How would it make you feel if someone you didn’t know did that to you?

I could continue, but I hope what I have said has helped bring to light what seems to be a growing issue in the cosplay and social media community.

Ashley M. Kalfas is an avid cosplayer for several major comic conventions and a member of The Dark Empire costuming organization. She is an actress who just completed a role in the upcoming major motion picture, The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.

OFFICIAL: JJ Abrams is to direct Star Wars Episode VII

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SWAG 77 has just learned that Lucasfilm announced on its StarWars.com website that JJ Abrams will direct Star Wars Episode VII.

George Lucas states of Abrams, “He is a great director and storyteller”

Director of the television series Lost, the movies Star Trek and Star Trek: Into The Darkness,  he will bring great vision to the Star Wars phenomenon.

Congratulations and any social media entertainment, consider SWAG 77 ~ the Star Wars Actors Guild 77

JJ Abrams

JJ Abrams

 

Wedge Antilles is from where? CONTROVERSY #StarWars & Low hanging fruit!

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Today, Sunday, November 25, 2012 the official Star Wars Facebook Page posted this image of the beloved character, “Wedge Antilles” played by the actor, Denis Lawson, who is also the Uncle to Ewan MacGregor who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars Prequels. It says that Wedge Antilles is a childhood friend of Luke Skywalker on the planet, Tatooine.

Thinking it was a mistake, many fans, included a few SWAG 77  members admonished the Star Wars Facebook Page for posting incorrect information, for many a hardcore fan KNOWS that “Wedge Antilles” is from the planet Corellia…

But SWAG 77 benefits from good relations with intelligent Star Wars fan group communities, such as Wookieepedia that showed us this: Star Wars 78: Hoth Stuff! is the seventy-eighth issue in the Marvel Star Wars series of comics.

It is not so much of learning a lesson on content or inaccurate information, it is more about what will be in Star Wars Episode VII… And there is much speculation. However, what made us fans think that Disney would not choose low hanging fruit for Star Wars Episode VII, given the fact the do own Marvel Comics?

Did the Official Facebook Fan Page of Star Wars announce what the story will be drawn from? Interesting because they have “de-age” all the original actors: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford.

Disney does have the resources… Nice one. Well played.

Ashley Kalfas is READY

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Miss Ashley is the first professional actress to join SWAG 77. She has quite a few credits to her name:

 

 

She is:

  • Dedicated

  • Energetic

  • Committed

She has been an actress for 9 years and have worked in Theater  Film/TV, and Voice Overs. Also quite a bit of experience behind the camera with crew. As well as Star Wars Costumer (light side and Dark side).

Her Facebook pages are:

Actress

Cosplay