Tag Archives: reviews

That’s Me on The George Lucas Talk Show

Posted on January 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

File this under Things I Thought I’d Posted Already About and Then Found Out I Didn’t: Over the past few years, I’ve made a number of appearances on the improv talk show The George Lucas Talk Show, brought to you by the brilliant and hilarious team of Connor Ratliff, Griffin Newman, and Patrick Cotnoir. If you’ve somehow managed to miss seeing it come across your social media feed, the show features Ratliff convincingly playing “filmmaker George Lucas” interviewing very real celebrities, while Newman chimes in as a dead-on Watto and producer Cotnoir provides all other necessary support. It’s been going on since 2014, and the celebrity guest list just gets better and better with each passing episode.

Sometimes, however–and this is all part of the fun–he has on fans and other types of non-celebrities . . . like me. Ratliff told me that he uses my 2016 biography of George Lucas as part of his “show Bible” and from time to time, while in character, he’ll mention “my biographer Brian Jay Jones,” which makes me both incredibly happy and weirdly giddy at the same time. And so, I’ve been delighted to jump into the fray the several times I’ve been asked, as the show is an absolute blast and I hope they keep doing it forever.

That’s all preface to telling you that in 2024, a team of documentarians released a really terrific film about the show, and Connor, called I’m George Lucas: The Connor Ratliff Story. At the moment, it’s available for download and streaming–but I’d really encourage you to invest in the 2-disc Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber which gives you not only the documentary, but tons and tons of extra features. Among those bonus features is more audio commentary tracks than you’ve ever seen anywhere else–Patrick Cotnoir actually wanted to set an official Guinness Book of World’s Records record for most commentary tracks, and I’m pretty sure he did so, since there are fifty-seven audio commentaries on this thing.

One of them is even by me. When Patrick asked me last year if I wanted to participate, my answer was, of course, um, yes, and I had a great time doing it. It’s the first and probably only time I will ever get to do a movie audio commentary–and as someone who has watched a lot of films with commentary, I didn’t want to disappoint. So I tried to tell stories about the real George Lucas that were relevant to what was being talked about on screen–including similarities between Connor’s story and Lucas’s own–as well as giving my impressions of having been on The George Lucas Talk Show.

And here’s one of the first things I talked about when it comes to being on the show: Connor Ratliff is absolutely committed to the bit. If you’re waiting for him to break character or even to wink knowingly at the audience, it’s not going to happen. He’s terrifyingly good; when he started giving me hell about writing in my biography about Lucas’s alleged lack of . . . um, enthusiasm in the bedroom, I stammered apologetically like I was being interrogated by the real George Lucas.

I also quickly learned to leave the funny to the professionals. I tried for a bit to be clever but quickly found I was in over my head. These guys are good at this stuff. They’ve got the funny under control; my job was to be the straight man.

Anyway, all this and more can be found in my commentary track–but there are plenty of others to choose from, too, including tracks from actual comedians like Chris Gethard, Bill Corbett, and Lane Moore. And for Muppet fans, you’ll also find a track by Craig Shemin and Stephanie D’Abruzzo.

I’m really proud to have been part of this in even a small way, and I’m delighted for the team at TGLTS, who keep right on regularly bringing you the funny. Check out the documentary, catch it live in New York if you can, or spend some time on the show’s YouTube Channel. You’re gonna love it.

The Reviews Are In

Posted on July 9, 2019 | Comments Off

As of today, Becoming Dr. Seuss has been out for exactly eight weeks — and I couldn’t be happier with its reception. The reviews have been good — some of the best I’ve ever received, in fact — feedback from readers has been kind, and I’ve had the opportunity to talk about the life and work of Dr. Seuss on television, radio, and countless podcasts.

Here’s but a few:

First, here’s my appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. I taped this as a live remote from the WRC-TV studios in Washington, DC — the very same studios a University of Maryland student named Jim Henson would drive to every weeknight in the late 1950s to perform Sam and Friends before the cameras.

The Green Room at WRC-TV (NBC) in Washington, DC.

I was taken from the Green Room to a darkened studio where an earpiece was put in my right ear and I was asked to look into a camera, directly above a point where someone had helpfully stuck a Post-It note with an arrow drawn on it. I could hear the show live in my ear — and while there was a monitor on the floor to my left, I couldn’t watch unless I wanted to be seen on-camera looking down at the monitor. So I could hear the show without actually seeing anyone, which was a bit disorienting. But it was a good segment, with questions from everyone on the panel.

In radio, here are interviews I did with WMAL in Washington, DC, WNYC in New York, KPBS in San Diego, KSCJ in Iowa, KJZZ in Phoenix, and WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, as well as extended interviews with the Innovation Hub and with Connecticut Public Radio, where I talked about Dr. Seuss’s New England roots.

In print, the book has been reviewed at NPR, in the Christian Science Monitor, the A.V. Club, the New York Post, and — a thrill for me — The New Yorker.

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Triple Crown

Posted on May 12, 2019 | 1 comment

There are three major newspapers in which we tellers of tales and spinners of yarns–whether those yarns or tales are fiction or non-fiction–love to see our work reviewed: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. What makes these three the trifecta? Mostly its because they each have large circulations that extend well-beyond their home markets–they end up in front of lots of readers, reading the papers in hotels and airports or on iPhones and laptops. They’re also papers with different audiences and different, often distinctive, points of view.

I’m thrilled, then, that Becoming Dr. Seuss has run the Triple Crown–and seems to have emerged out the other side in good shape. If you’re so inclined, you can click here to read the review in The Wall Street Journal (under the headline, “‘Becoming Dr. Seuss’: Who Killed Dick and Jane?”, which I think Dr. Seuss would have loved). Because WSJ is behind a subscription paywall–and therefore you may not be able to read the entire thing–here’s a quick peek:

“A fluid and enjoyable new biography . . . Brian Jay Jones takes a long appraising view of the life, career and creative evolution of Theodor Seuss Geisel . . . In this lively chronicle, Mr. Jones tackles the controversial elements of the Seussian oeuvre in a forthright way, setting them in the context of both the times and his subject’s own life.”

Next, here’s the review from the Washington Post, “a look at the prankster workaholic behind the iconic characters.”

And here in the New York Times is what might be one of my favorite reviews of anything I’ve written ever, “‘The Cat in the Hat’ and the Man Who Made That,” written by the brilliant author and essayist Adam Gopnick.

Finally, I want to thank all of you, who have been so enthusiastic about Becoming Dr. Seuss. I appreciate all of you.

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PW Says BDS is A-OK

Posted on March 14, 2019 | Comments Off

Reviews for Becoming Dr. Seuss are continuing to roll in; the latest comes from the Old Gray Lady of book reviewers, Publishers Weekly.

I’ve never done particularly well in Publishers Weekly. Not that they’ve torpedoed me necessarily, but the best I usually get is a shruggish “eh.” And that’s why I’m delighted with their review for Becoming Dr. Seuss, which is perhaps the most effusive they’ve ever been about anything I’ve written:

Biographer Jones (George Lucas) delivers a comprehensive and thoughtful look at famed children’s author Theodor Geisel (1904–1991) . . . Jones does not ignore problems in Geisel’s early work, including some racial stereotypes. He also gives full credit to Geisel’s first wife, Helen, as a guiding hand for some of Geisel’s best-loved books. While acknowledging Geisel’s flaws and debts to others, Jones convincingly shows him as a transformative figure in children’s publishing, both as author and cofounder of the Beginner Books imprint. Fans of Dr. Seuss will find much to love in this candid but admiring portrait.

The full review is here. And boy, believe me: I appreciate it.

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A Star-Bellied Kirkus

Posted on March 3, 2019 | 1 comment

One of the first reviews for Becoming Dr. Seuss is in, and it’s from the always-respected and often-feared Kirkus Reviews, the book reviewer with the Seussian-sounding name. And I’m absolutely thrilled they gave Becoming Dr. Seuss one of their highly-coveted starred reviews.

Here’s a bit of that review, which appears in its entirety in the March 15 issue of Kirkus Reviews:

“A rich, anecdotal biography of one of the bestselling authors in publishing history. Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), aka Dr. Seuss, created more than 60 books, classified mostly as readers for children. However, as Jones (George Lucas: A Life, 2016, etc.) points out in this engaging, page-turning work of Seuss scholarship, Geisel was writing and illustrating for children and adults simultaneously . . . Used to being perceived as a funny guy, Geisel evolved into a serious thinker about how to develop books that would encourage children to read while also enjoying the learning process. Jones is particularly masterful in this vein, showing how Geisel and other key collaborators collectively revolutionized reading education, with Dr. Seuss always reserving the final say . . . Though the narrative is strictly chronological, it never bogs down because the character sketches and publishing anecdotes are so well-rendered, and Jones is especially skillful with foreshadowing. Although sometimes exasperating to work with because of his exacting standards, Geisel comes across as a mostly kind, well-intentioned person. Whether readers are familiar with Dr. Seuss books or not, they will find this biography absorbing and fascinating.”

Becoming Dr. Seuss comes your way on May 7. If you’re so inclined, you can pre-order from any of your favorite booksellers. And I thank you.