Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Pre-release)

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

DARTH SABER said:
Then there's the fact that Michael Arndt is writing (Toy story 3- Probably the one Toy story installment with the most heart and emotional pull of any of the TS films), and Lawrence Kasdan is on board.....Then we have Kathleen kennedy hand picking Abrams.
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Nothing in the movie business is set in stone. What sounds like a potentially great movie making team could turn into a "Damon Lindelof brought in to re-write Michael Arndt's Star Wars script".
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Jeyl said:
Nothing in the movie business is set in stone. What sounds like a potentially great movie making team could turn into a "Damon Lindelof brought in to re-write Michael Arndt's Star Wars script".
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I can tolerate JJ... but I have developed a severe allergic reaction to Lindelof.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Jeyl said:
Nothing in the movie business is set in stone. What sounds like a potentially great movie making team could turn into a "Damon Lindelof brought in to re-write Michael Arndt's Star Wars script".
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man, you are just itching and praying for somethng to go askew with Abrams involvement in the film, arent you?
Migrated over from the Trek thread and you got your guns ready and loaded.

have you ever tried building propa as a hobby instead?

lol
 
Star Wars Episode VII

There's a bittersweet kind of ache in both Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3. That's a difficult tone to achieve, and I think it will play interestingly in the SW universe. That melancholy is so far in the opposite direction from the hollow, robotic feel of the prequels - it could definitely be a nice reset.

Thanks for the link to that Kennedy article! Very interesting read.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Applicable here too...

5055032357_69d1d1be72.jpg
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

DARTH SABER said:
Im sorry, some people may have issues with Abrams (Mainly due to personal nostalgia factor, and some asinine cosmetic issues like lens flare) but the guy definitely knows how to direct, has that 1970's film making style, and all his films thus far have been successful financially, among the mainstream movie populace, and among critics.

Then there's the fact that Michael Arndt is writing (Toy story 3- Probably the one Toy story installment with the most heart and emotional pull of any of the TS films), and Lawrence Kasdan is on board.....Then we have Kathleen kennedy hand picking Abrams.

Sorry, but everything about the new SW is looking good.
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Not to pee-pee on your parade, but:

1) He definetly does NOT have a '70s style. He shoots and edits like a hyperactive toddler. He loves 'shakey-cam' far too much, almost as much as Bay it seems. ST to me anyways, demonstrates no ability create a geography for any sequence that remains coherrant. Contrarily, a seventies style would, to me, suggest long takes, deliberate pacing, and editing in a way that one could coherrantly follow an action sequence. See also 'GEORGE LUCAS PREQUEL TRILOGY".

2)His films have been commercial successes, not universally critical successes. Utterly. Meaningless. So was Twilight. So was TPM for that matter. Cloverfield? Super8?

3)Arndt? Don't really understand the love for this guy. TS3 was a retread, covering the EXACT same emotional ground that TS2 did, just less interestingly. Yes, he delivers a master class on why SW is a perfect script/perfect ending, but he has yet to demonstrate any ability to put that into practice in any satisfying way.

4)Kasdan...well, from the recent press release it sounds like Kasdan is basically being paid a chunk of cash to attach his name as a 'consultant' - he's not writing. So what does this mean? Well, Kasdan 'consulted' on Marion's character and dialogue during the final script of KotCS. Yeah....

5)KK's choice. Well, she may simply be looking for a name that won't draw shrugs from people, sees a track record of reinvigorating a franchise that's lost its lustre, and it seems like she got turned down by everyone else who was asked. Why is the head of LFL having to ask anyone "Please direct Star Wars."?

Look, I'm not saying there's no way this will be decent, I'm just not getting the confidence some people are espousing in its infalibility...or, "unsinkable-ness" if you will.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Timmythekid said:
2)His films have been commercial successes, not universally critical successes. Utterly. Meaningless. So was Twilight. So was TPM for that matter. Cloverfield? Super8?
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I'm not aware of *any* films that is "universally" a critical success. However, Super 8 holds an 82% positive review score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is pretty good for any film.

And Abrams didn't direct Cloverfield.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Timmythekid said:
Not to pee-pee on your parade, but:

1) He definetly does NOT have a '70s style.
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Super8, nuff said.



2)His films have been commercial successes, not universally critical successes.
Click to expand...

Better check your facts again..And im talking about successful with majority of critics. not nescecerally "universal" success with critics.

Cloverfield? Super8?
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He didnt direct Cloverfield, so that goes out the window.

As for Super 8 - The budget for the film was $50 mill...The movie grossed $259 mill, got high marks from critics (82%), and has high marks on movie polling sites. Sounds like a success to me.
Sorry, the facts just arent on your side.

3)Arndt? Don't really understand the love for this guy. TS3 was a retread, covering the EXACT same emotional ground that TS2 did, just less interestingly. Yes, he delivers a master class on why SW is a perfect script/perfect ending, but he has yet to demonstrate any ability to put that into practice in any satisfying way.
Click to expand...

All you have to know is that T3 was also a financial, critical and mainstream success...It doesnt matter whether you "understand" it.



4)Kasdan...well, from the recent press release it sounds like Kasdan is basically being paid a chunk of cash to attach his name as a 'consultant' - he's not writing. So what does this mean? Well, Kasdan 'consulted' on Marion's character and dialogue during the final script of KotCS. Yeah....
Click to expand...

Kasdan consulted on KOTCS, a story which was written by Lucas and already outlandish and pretty much beyond saving...Not the same scenario.





5)KK's choice. Well, she may simply be looking for a name that won't draw shrugs from people, sees a track record of reinvigorating a franchise that's lost its lustre, and it seems like she got turned down by everyone else who was asked. Why is the head of LFL having to ask anyone "Please direct Star Wars."?
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Or maybe she was looking for a director who could do it justice.

And dont worry, you didnt peepee on my parade...Most of your info was incorrect or simply opinions.
 
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Re: Star Wars Episode VII

One point worth keeping in mind is that....we aren't in the 70s anymore. I would not expect Abrams to direct in the more static, less frenetic style of the 70s. Certainly for action and scifi films now, hardly anyone seems to do that. The trend in recent years has been to put you "in" the action. I'm not sure exactly when this started, but one of the earlier examples that comes to mind is Saving Pvt. Ryan. Since that film (and maybe before it) shaky-cam has = "in the action" to varying degrees. Some films exaggerate this to make the action confusing by design. The Bourne films and Quantum of Solace, for example. But regardless, this is the style of the day, and I wouldn't expect Star Wars VII-IX -- or beyond -- to abandon it completely, or to return to the more sedately edited and paced style of the 70s.

I think the real question is what one's expectations are going in. Will this be better than the prequels? One would hope so. Will it be as good as the originals? Likely not. Or at least, it won't be a continuation of the originals in the style of the originals. It'll likely be an updated take on the originals' style, which -- from what ST09 showed -- Abrams has some capacity to accomplish.

I haven't been massively impressed by anything I've seen from Abrams. I think there's a LOT of hype surrounding the guy, based on the hype that grew from LOST. Perhaps in that sense he's not all that different from Lucas, a guy whose early projects earned him a very hyped up reputation which, in subsequent projects, was not exactly lived up to. But I have been entertained by what I've seen of his, which, admittedly, is one or two episodes of LOST and ST09. Oh, and MI3, but I thought that was kind of run-of-the-mill, actually. Not awful, just kind of "Why bother?"


I do think KK recognizes the draw of Abrams' name, particularly amongst sci-fi fans. She likely also recognizes that his style of filmmaking is popular (if not necessarily critically lauded). So, it seems a bit of a no-brainer to tap him. Plus, I get the sense he really has always wanted a crack at Star Wars.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Solo4114 said:
I do think KK recognizes the draw of Abrams' name, particularly amongst sci-fi fans. She likely also recognizes that his style of filmmaking is popular (if not necessarily critically lauded). So, it seems a bit of a no-brainer to tap him. Plus, I get the sense he really has always wanted a crack at Star Wars.
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This x 1000. Spot on. And although I am not a JJ fanboy sycophant, he is a pretty solid director when it comes to characters, he takes the time to try and develop them and work with the actors. We could have used a lot of that in the prequels. In fact I think that's the biggest failing of the PT. And his professed love for the source material is important. I am pleased with his involvement at this point.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

DARTH SABER said:
Super8, nuff said.





Better check your facts again..And im talking about successful with majority of critics. not nescecerally "universal" success with critics.



He didnt direct Cloverfield, so that goes out the window.

As for Super 8 - The budget for the film was $50 mill...The movie grossed $259 mill, got high marks from critics (82%), and has high marks on movie polling sites. Sounds like a success to me.
Sorry, the facts just arent on your side.



All you have to know is that T3 was also a financial, critical and mainstream success...It doesnt matter whether you "understand" it.





Kasdan consulted on KOTCS, a story which was written by Lucas and already outlandish and pretty much beyond saving...Not the same scenario.







Or maybe she was looking for a director who could do it justice.

And dont worry, you didnt peepee on my parade...Most of your info was incorrect or simply opinions.
Click to expand...


And x2 on this as well. Efforts to somehow detract from what he has done sounds as whining as those that simply heap praise on him because they loved LOST.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

There's not much I can add to this discussion, except to say that I've never been one to see a movie based upon who's directing it. Back in 1977, we all went to see Star Wars...period. Obviously times were different, but this discussion reminds me of a few comic books I saw in the '70s. There were ad pages with things like (making this up for example), Detective comics 312, written by Cary Bates, drawn by Curt Swan, edited by Julius Schwartz. Edited by?! maybe I'm weird...but I can't believe that was a major draw to readers at the time.

My clumsily-phrased point is this: I really don't care who directs this movie. Will I see it? Possibly. But all I expect from it is to be entertaining. The names attached don't mean much to me. Sometimes a 'nobody' can create a classic. A 'somebody' can, equally, create a dud. Anything in-between is equally possible. I'll let it speak for itself.

Hopefully, it'll be this::popcorn
worst-case scenario is this::cry

Time will tell! :confused
 
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