The Go-To Guy

Leland Chee, Keeper of the Holocron

By Ray and Val Vallese

Think it's hard to keep track of your Star Wars campaign details? As the Database Content Administrator for Lucas Licensing, Leland Chee's job is to stay on top of all the Star Wars details for games, books, comics, trading cards, toys, websites, and more. Sue Rostoni, Managing Editor at Lucasfilm, calls Leland "indispensable . . . the 'go-to' guy whenever esoteric questions come up."

We interviewed Leland recently about what it's like to be the Keeper of the Holocron.

Wizards of the Coast: How did you get started working at Lucasfilm, and what does your job entail?

Leland Chee: I started at LucasArts as a game tester in February 1997. (I'd gotten up early one day to see the first screening of the Star Wars Special Edition, and when I got home, there was a message on my answering machine saying that I'd gotten the job -- it was a good day.) I spent most of my first year as a tester working on the strategy game Rebellion, which provided me with my first opportunity to demonstrate my knowledge of the Star Wars universe. Eventually, I was chosen to be lead tester on the Behind the Magic CD-ROM. Though I loved testing, I always considered myself a Star Wars fan first and even then hoped that one day I'd be working for Lucas Licensing.

After three years at LucasArts, I learned that the Publishing Department at Lucas Licensing was looking for someone to create a Star Wars continuity database. Two of the main requirements for the job were database skills and extensive knowledge of the Star Wars universe -- two things that I had immersed myself in during my time at LucasArts. Part of my interview process was a phone interview with Wizards' own Bill Slavicsek. As soon as I was hired, I began mustering up what resources were available to me for the database, and I began polling internal personnel about what features they'd like to see in a Star Wars database. Within a month, the database, dubbed "the Holocron," was up and running.

Wizards: In addition to creating the Holocron, you're responsible for checking continuity, which -- as any Star Wars fan knows -- can be a major undertaking. How do you keep track of the details of an entire universe?

Leland: The most difficult part is tracking multiple sources being produced by two different companies at the same time. The books and games are always evolving and changing, so it's imperative that any changes in one source be reflected in any other sources currently in development. There are also ultra-obscure items that some authors tend to reference; finding and verifying their source can be quite a challenge.

Wizards: Let's say that you come across two or more contradictory sources while chasing down a reference. How do you decide which one to accept as "canon"?

Leland: Everything is looked at on a case-by-case basis. Among the factors we consider: In how many sources does this particular fact appear? Which source has the largest audience? Which explanation is the coolest? Have we been told by George Lucas to avoid this topic? If, after weighing all those variables, the answer isn't yet clear, the issue is presented to an internal group that makes the final determination as to which source is "correct."

Wizards: Did you lend your talents to The New Jedi Order novel series?

Leland: I began attending New Jedi Order planning meetings soon after I started working in Licensing, months after the release of the first NJO book, Vector Prime. One of my first priorities was to import the information from the New Jedi Order reference binder (a.k.a. the Writer's Bible) into the Holocron. Once that was completed, the Holocron became the primary reference tool for the series. I would begin entering information into the Holocron as early as the outline stages of the novels and any changes that occurred during production were constantly being incorporated.

Wizards: It sounds as if your job is one that many Star Wars fans would love to have. What would you say is the best part of working at Lucas Licensing?

Leland: I love the creative discussions we have that help shape future storylines for books and comics.

Wizards: Speaking of creative discussions . . . pretend that you're pinned under a toppled stack of Star Wars reference materials with nothing but your cell phone. You call and ask a friend to cover for you at work that day. What would he or she likely do all day while filling your shoes?

Leland: Much of that time would be spent answering e-mail from editors and authors who send in their continuity questions. Also, he or she would approve everything from book and comic outlines to trading card lists, toy packaging, videogame design docs, timelines, and databank entries for the Star Wars website. Much time would be spent scanning artwork for inclusion in the Holocron. My fill-in would use the Holocron to generate reports, like which Jedi are alive during the Clone Wars. And when all that is taken care of, he or she could focus on the task at hand: reading everything published by Licensing to create and update entries in the Holocron and summarize plot points.

Wizards: Your mention of the Clone Wars begs the question: What do you think of the new animated micro-series on Cartoon Network? [At the time of this interview, only Chapters 1 through 4 had aired -- ed.]

Leland: I think Cartoon Network has done a fabulous job of capturing the pure joy of Star Wars. Though I love the nonstop action, it's the little things -- like the tapping sound of Palpatine twiddling his fingers, or the graceful ascent of the clone starfighters -- that have really endeared the series to me.

Wizards: Earlier, you ran through a list of your typical daily duties, and you mentioned websites. While the official Star Wars website undoubtedly keeps you busy all by itself, you play a role in the development of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game website, too. How did you get involved in that area?

Leland: After the departure of one of our editors, I briefly took over approvals for the SWRPG website at the request of then-RPG editor Ben Harper. Soon after, a restructuring within Lucas Licensing saw me move from the Publishing Department to the newly created Development Services Department within Lucas Licensing. Though I no longer handled the day-to-day approvals for the SWRPG website, I continued to deal with all issues of continuity and with entering newly created information into the Holocron.

Wizards: The Star Wars Roleplaying Game website is updated weekly. What kind of work does that entail for Lucasfilm?

Leland: Wizards sends us all the articles for the site, generally about a month in advance. As editors, we check the information for grammar and accuracy. If the articles deal with previously created information, we check it with the Holocron to see if any of the facts were conveyed in other sources and attempt to resolve any discrepancies. A second approval occurs the day the site goes live to ensure that requested changes have been made. We also approve future article ideas when they come up. For the Expanded Universe articles, Licensing usually decides what to feature based on what new book or game is coming out that month. We also provide reference material or imagery when needed.

Wizards: You mentioned that you personally handled the website approvals for a while. Do you have any favorite articles or recurring features? And shifting for a moment from posting to publishing, is there anything you'd especially like to see covered in future Star Wars Roleplaying Game accessories?

Leland: Well, for the website, I have a bias toward the monthly Expanded Universe feature because of my involvement with it, though I've also been enjoying the "Planet Hoppers" series. As for printed products . . . I'd personally love to see a Tales of the Jedi-era sourcebook covering the comics and the Knights of the Old Republic videogame. A book devoted to pirates, bounty hunters, and other scoundrels would be nice, too. My favorite products so far have been The Dark Side Sourcebook and the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook.

Wizards: Do you have a personal collection of cool Star Wars merchandise?

Leland: My collection started when I received my first action figures for my seventh birthday, and from then on, there was no turning back. The Darth Vader action figure collector case, filled with all my old action figures, is the prize of my collection.

Wizards: So, you have a bunch of action figures, you watch the Clone Wars animated micro-series, you long for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game to cover the Tales of the Jedi-era comics . . . clearly, you're a genuine fan. So this brings us neatly to our final interview question. Once, Star Wars was primarily entertainment for you. Now, it's your career. Has this evolution caused you to look differently at that galaxy far, far away?

Leland: I was six when Star Wars first came out, and it was a major factor in my upbringing ever since. I played the organ growing up, and at my first live performance, I played the Star Wars Main Title. I experimented with making stop-motion movies with my father's Super 8 camera using my Ewok action figures. And I'm sure you can probably guess the topic of the term paper I wrote for the Media Criticism class I took in college.

Since Star Wars has become my job, it's been impossible for me to watch the films in the same way again. I'm too busy looking for which background character hasn't been named or trying to figure out how many days if took to fly from Dagobah to Bespin. However, while the actual experience of watching the films has changed for me, my love for Star Wars has not.

Wizards: Thanks for your time, Leland. If anyone out there would like to talk with Leland, he's a frequent poster to the Books, Comics and Television forum on the message boards on starwars.com, under the screen name "Tasty Taste."

Wave goodbye (for now) to the "Hutt! Hutt! Hutt!" feature as it goes out with a slobber with Aruk and Jiliac, two bitter enemies whose ongoing feud will leave them both dead -- and leave Jabba the Hutt the most powerful gangster in the galaxy.