June 20, 2019
On this episode of J.B.T. Criz Bee talks to Derryl DePriest who was the former Vice President of Global Brand Management at Hasbro and the Star Wars brand team leader who oversaw the development and design of The Vintage Collection toy line. Listen to this episode and learn about Blue Milk LLC and the creative team who's hard at work at creating one of the most amazing, high-quality Star Wars action figure reference guides for collectors. In addition to details about the book and the Kickstarter campaign, Criz Bee talks to Derryl about distribution, why we have a Black Series 6" line, the build-a-droid concept, the damage on the original vintage Millennium Falcon tooling and several other topics. This is another episode not to be missed, give it a listen please, subscribe and support the show by hitting the 5 star in your podcast app. THANK YOU!
June 6, 2019
Listen to Criz Bee talk to fellow collector and Star Wars expert Chris Pirillo about the opening day of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland, CA. Chris met Dave Filoni, Alden Ehrenreich, Thandie Newton and other celebrities as he was experiencing Batuu for the first time. He piloted the Falcon with Disney Imagineer Scott Trowbridge as his Engineer, he visited Dok-Ondar and he helped the Resistance with their fight against the evil First Order. This is another fun-filled episode of JBT not to be missed. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app or set up Alexa to play JBT, hit the 5 star and leave a review to help the podcast please!
May 23, 2019
Fellow Star Wars fan Manoah Crane joins Criz Bee this week to talk about his passion for Episode I and what advantages there are by having a focus in your collection. Manoah shares some emotional childhood stories and explains how The Phantom Menace helped him to get through tough times. In addition to the interview Criz Bee talks about Hasbro's 20 year old CommTech chip line and plays various audio clips which were recorded from the CommTech reader. Give it a listen on your smart phone or smart home device such as Alexa and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcast app.
May 16, 2019
On episode #12 of J.B.T. Kenner toy design legend Jim Swearingen joins Criz Bee for an hour to talk about the origins of Star Wars action figures. Jim Swearingen designed the first eleven (not twelve) Kenner Star Wars figures, he designed the Kenner Death Star playset, the Kenner X-Wing and Tie Fighter vehicles, and he came up with the concept for the trap doors for the Dewback and TaunTauns. He also designed the very first iteration of the Kenner Boba Fett figure! Listen to the episode and learn what it was like working at Kenner in the 70s, and find out why Star Wars figures are 3.75" tall. All of this and more on JBT episode #12!
April 19, 2019
This episode was recorded at the Weber Grill bar in downtown Chicago 2019 during Star Wars Celebration. Listen to Tom Berges and Criz Bee talk about their experience while half-way through Star Wars Celebration. Please listen, subscribe and leave a review!
April 18, 2019
Here is the JediBusiness.com interview with Hasbro team members Patrick Schneider and Sam Smith from Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019 followed by a short interview with Disney representative Devon from the Galaxy's Edge booth. Please listen and subscribe.
April 16, 2019
Here is the live audio captured during Hasbro's Star Wars panel at Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019. The panel featured Hasbro team members Patrick Schneider (senior manager, global brand development & marketing, Star Wars), Sam Smith (product design manager, Star Wars), Vickie Stratford (director product design and development, Star Wars) Sarah Carroll (director global brand strategy & marketing, Star Wars),
Mark Boudreaux (senior principal product designer, Star Wars), and Eric Franer (associate product designer, Star Wars) and Chris Gollaher (director, product development at Lucasfilm).
April 4, 2019
Hi fellow Star Wars action figure collectors and Star Wars fans! April 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of Star Wars Celebrations and in only a few weeks (May 3rd) we'll celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Episode 1 toy line! In order to celebrate this truly iconic moment I dug in the archives and pulled out an interview with Dan Madsen, which a few years later I am still fascinated by. There are not many people who have contributed to Star Wars fandom as much as Dan, his passion for Star Wars and hard work laid the foundation for this generation's Star Wars fandom. His stories about running the Lucasfilm Fan Club in the 80's and 90's, the Star Wars Insider, exclusive fan club Star Wars figures, organizing Star Wars Celebration I in 1999, meeting George Lucas, secret knocks on doors inside Skywalker Ranch, being an extra in Episode I, watching George Lucas cut the Episode I trailer, and the excitement inside Lucasfilm before Episode I was released, all those stories are truly exciting and not to be missed!
March 28, 2019
Join Criz Bee on this week's episode of JBT for some Star Wars action figure talk and learn more about droid builder and droid operator Lee Towersey. Lee has worked on The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Rogue One, SOLO and he just recently finished his work on Star Wars Episode IX. This interview dives into Lee's history with collecting and his love for all things astromech droids. Have fun listening and please subscribe!
March 22, 2019
Join Criz Bee on another news-filled episode of JBT! Brian and Elias Fulton from Customs For The Kid stop by this week to talk about Hasbro's Khetanna. The guys cover it all from the shipping experience, the assembly all the way to populating the barge with Star Wars figures and its surprise features. Listen now and make sure to subscribe!
