Quote of the month: "Whoo -- you learn something every day! =)" -- Bruce Campbell, upon being informed that he was an 11th Hour Hot Guy of Sci-Fi and Horror

Ranging from the inspired (Sean Patrick Flanery), the questionable (Ethan Hawke) and the downright certifiable (Maculley Culkin), our readers' suggestions for Anakin Skywalker were varied, to say the least. The undeniable write-in champion was Rick Schroeder, the child star turned NYPD Blue hunk who was the topic of 9 gushing emails. Trailing behind were Hawke, Flanery, and Stan Kirsch with 4 each; Josh Hartnett, Jude Law and Ed Norton with 3, and Heath Ledger, Russell Crowe, and Stephen Dorff with 2 apiece. Other potential candidates included the following individuals, listed in order of increasing insanity: Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Goorjian, Edward Furlong, Ethan Embry, Vincent Kartheiser, Breckin Meyer, Devon Sawa, Viggo Mortenson, Christopher J. Lavin, David Boreanaz, Johnny Lee Miller, Matthew McConaughey, Vince Vaughn, Maculley Culkin, Mark-Paul Gosselar, and Adam Sandler.

The most popular candidate, however, proved to be "Myself". "I could do a lot of fancy moves and they could do all my lines digitally. Forget all those wimps in that article!" suggests Adrian Whisnant, one of the 10 guys who wrote in proclaiming themselves as heir to the Skywalker throne. Adrian was kind enough to send us this handy photo of himself (lower right), as did Shannan Rohde (left) who says, "It would be nice if I was a candidate, since I am a black belt in karate and I know iadojutsu and am about ohhhh 5'10"." Meanwhile, Mark Clark wanted us to know that "I'm 25, 6'1", deep-voiced, I love black, and have a very nasty temper when in outer space" while Jim "Jedi Jimmy" Niehls boasts of his "padawan hair". Other hopefuls include Ben Dickow, who says, "To paraphrase Vader: I want that part!" and Kenneth Kemp, who somberly declares, "I know I have the best looks and the mental mindset to be a Jedi warrior."

Some of our more ambitious readers started getting down to business: "What if I know someone who looks the part down to the freckle on his cheek and the martial arts experience?" wonders Seth Elliot. Queries Mike: "I would like to know what the number is to get the casting for Anakin Skywalker. I am 16, and willing to call. What is the phone number for Skywalker Ranch?" Similarly, George Graham asked, "How do I contact George Lucas about the part of the new Anakin Skywalker?" and Ryan, who "might try out for fun" also inquired: "How does one go about this?" Well guys, we haven't the vaguest idea how to help you out -- don't you think we would have successfully stalked Ewan by now if we did? For now, check out what other readers had to say about our sophomore issue:

You like us... you really like us!

Thank God Thank God Thank GOD for you guys!!!! I have been a movie freak all my life, not to mention a sci-fi/fantasy/horror geek. But, as I suppose you know, it is so hard to find girls that are into the same thing. Ain't It Cool is great and all that, but face it, the female point of view is sorely underrepresented. I bookmarked your site and the more issues you guys can put out, the happier I'll be. Keep it up cause I love you guys.
--Alicia Kathleen Thompson

Overall, I really appreciate the attitude of The 11th Hour. As a female artist/new media designer/writer, I'm often involved in, or having to put up with, discussions/forums/exhibitions on Feminism and more often than not, I end up deeply annoyed. Female peers talk about starting Women's websites which undoubtedly will focus on twig-craft-candle-quilting and Why Men Are Bad. My attitude is: I happen to be a woman; I happen to wish to kick ass, and therefore I do. I don't waste time whining about what barriers might have been put in my way or reminding everyone around me about what an especially difficult time I'm having because I am a woman. As Canadian suffragette Nellie McClung said: "Never retreat, never retract, never apologise; just get the thing done and let them howl". You people seem to share the same attitude, and I really respect that. No protracted autopsies in search of guilt and blame, just the facts: the facts being that there are geek chicks out there doing really cool stuff and having a blast doing it. Oh yes, and also that Hot Men Have Their Uses!! ;)
--Art

Ain't We Cool?

Waitaminit... this is a chick mag, isn't it!? Heck, I'll keep reading it anyway. Great job.
--Pablo del Moral

I'm a fanboy who was referred to your site by AICN [Ain't It Cool News], and have to say that your site is far superior. The genre TV show feature was well-presented and thorough. The writing throughout seems consistent and entertaining, and it's great to see a perspective other than "Is Jennifer Love Hewitt in it?" Keep up the good work.
--Paul S. Edwards

Thank you, thank you for writing to Harry at AICN and getting your site posted. It's wonderful to know that I'm not alone in my search for America's two greatest exports: horror movies and hot men. I loved your feature "The Man Who Would Be Vader" and can't wait until your next issue so I can salivate over another set of Hollywood hotties and gorgeous gore from upcoming flicks. All movie-geek women bow down to you and your kind.
--Alison Stouffer

Just read your new issue and my stars, it was great. 11th Hour smokes the hell out of much more established professional magazines. You sure don't just slap together a bunch of net rumors and tired old photos. Please keep it up even if you have to sacrifice every last iota of an outside life, heh heh.
--Grant Rybicki

Don't worry, Grant... we have no outside lives to forfeit. Okay, actually, we sort of do. It mostly involves sitting in a nondescript van outside some hot dude's house with binoculars and a good store of Cheetos and... uh, nevermind.

I saw your site mentioned at Ain't It Cool News, figured love of the genre is far more important than some biological differences and steered my trusty browser your way. Suffice it to say, I was amazed to discover this is only your second issue. The layout is nice and works well, the pages load quickly and the content is top-notch. I particularly liked the Kay Reindl interview, probably because I consider Millennium's second season to be one of the finest things American TV has ever produced. The third season hasn't yet been aired in Finland, but everything I've heard tells me it's going to disappoint after the amazing second. Anyway, here's one guy who will return for the next issue. (Even though the Drool Factor information isn't that useful to me. :))
--Mikko Kauppinen

I just read your site after picking up the link at AICN and, wow. That is to say, damn. Great looking site; slick, hip, happening and smart. Loved the "Dead Show Watching" piece. If you've checked out the rave back section in your AICN article, as you probably have, then it seems that the big issue there is the presence of women fans of sci-fi/horror/genre/things-that-go-bump-in-the-night. The consensus seems to be that appreciation of this stuff is gender-free, that the man to woman ratio in fandom is gradually reaching parity. The beauty of a site like yours is that y'all don't feel the need to take an adversarial stance and scream "We're Here!!" from the mountain tops. Rather you guys bypass the whole (infantile) argument of whether or not women go for genre stuff and move straight on to the meat and 'taters, i.e. what is the women's take on this stuff proving that appreciation of fantasy/sci-fi/horror/you-get-the-idea may be gender free, it is certainly not intelligence free.
--Phil H. Arsenburg

Thanks to everyone who wrote in (especially all those who sent the great praise above; our egos appreciate it); although we can't publish every letter we do read all of them and greatly appreciate your input. Responses to our third issue can be sent to letters@the11thhour.com.