Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Pre-release)

Just going by my gut here.

It's entirely plausible that Disney, at the last minute, got cold feet with the gritty "war film" concept. While folks here, myself included, have been craving this kind of movie (where stormtroopers are a palpable threat without jedi-ex machina or fuzzy muppets to save the day) I don't know if you can say that about the average casual viewer. Even a phenomenal movie might not be well received by unprepared folks who bring their 5yo kids to this SW film expecting warm-fuzzies and laughter.

The whole trick would be to somehow educate the general public in advance that this isn't the SW they've been used to. SW is such a strong brand there's no doubt going to be some folks (many of them film critics) who can't accept a darker side of the franchise.

If I were a Disney exec I would certainly be worried that even a smattering of bad reviews might taint their credibility. Why not add just a dash of familiar levity - so long as it doesn't entirely spoil the original intent and tone of the film - it's a fine balancing act to be sure.

But no matter what we get I have grown to have complete blind faith in Disney that it's going to still be at least good if not great. This isn't the first time we've had serious and plausible red flags about a Disney project. Ant-Man losing Wright at the last minute was the last big scare I recall and I had every reason to think it would be a complete trainwreck ... but what a gem that turned out to be.
 
I think when they begin the marketing push in earnest it's going to be very clear and transparent regarding the content of the film and how it fits in the SW film universe.
 
when you are walking to the b athroom in the theater, and hear the echo of the death star siren on the tiles from the theater running previews next to you and just smile ;o)
 
Look, in just over a month all of this will be discussed in detail at SW Celebrations. The reshoots will have happened, Gareth will be there with Katherine to talk about all of it and hopefully we will probably get some new footage to set our minds at rest. I think the film will be just fine, I love that damn trailer as it is, it takes me back decades in an instant.
 
Ya know what's crazy? Gareth Edwards had a mere two movie directing credits to his name prior to Rogue One - one of those an R-rated sci-fi monster film, the other a (slightly) more gritty - action styled Godzilla flick. He's 46 years old, having been born 2 years prior to the release of the original Star Wars. He calls Lucas, Spielberg and Tarantino his favorite directors.

Star Wars is timeless - even though two of those movies have earned PG-13, I don't think anyone would say they're "hard PG-13." (It's not like the last X-Flick where they throw in an F-Bomb, just because "well, we're gonna get a PG-13, we may as well really earn it.")

If Disney is stepping in to "lighten" the film up a bit, I don't really have much of an issue with it. They're protecting their brand and keeping Star Wars family friendly. There's nothing wrong with that.

The issue might be - what was proposed to them? Did Edwards (and team) pitch the film they delivered (not that it was finished - but, based on advanced exec screening) and received an okay for?

Is Disney getting cold feet? Or Did Edwards go a little more hard PG-13 (or more) than expected?

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The above is based on the idea that Disney did order some dramatic changes to the film. I know there's conflicting reports - at this point, my personal belief based on plenty of continued reports, is that Disney is running a bit scared and has mandated these changes to Rogue One. We might not know what really happened - is it 40% (I'm now hearing even as much as 50%)? is it just a few pick ups? More character interaction?

With 6 months until release, there's still a lot of work to be done on the movie.


*Not that even Lucas had much in the way of credits - or Kershner or Marquand.
 
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Even if they did "make comments" I kinda trust their movie folks. They've made good choices with the Marvel franchise and Star Wars as well.
 
If Gareth is 46 he is two year younger then me and would have been 7 when ANH hit theaters. As opposed to cold feet, I think the script rewrites were coming in too late for Edwards to film some during principal photography which would also increase the amount of additional footage he need to pick up.
 
Is 41 supposed to be "old"?
JJ Abrams is 50.
It's not old - just a frame of reference. Not that there's any real age to be a Star Wars fan - while he probably wasn't old enough to remember Star Wars, he was old enough to be familiar with it since the OT.
 
It's not old - just a frame of reference. Not that there's any real age to be a Star Wars fan - while he probably wasn't old enough to remember Star Wars, he was old enough to be familiar with it since the OT.
I'm the same age.

I first saw star wars at the theatre in 1982. It was a double feature packed with empire. I was six and I remember it like it was yesterday.

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I'm the same age.

I first saw star wars at the theatre in 1982. It was a double feature packed with empire. I was six and I remember it like it was yesterday.

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I was of similar age my first viewing of Star Wars during its original run - I can't say I remember it like yesterday, but I sure remember bits and pieces of the experience. Star Wars consumed my life for years and years after...
 
I was of similar age my first viewing of Star Wars during its original run - I can't say I remember it like yesterday, but I sure remember bits and pieces of the experience. Star Wars consumed my life for years and years after...
I remember that up until that point, I was all about the dukes of hazzard and batman. I never though about space ships.

But the next day I thought of nothing but. My bo and luke figures became han and luke. My fisher price parking garage became a death star play set. Everything was star wars.

So even though I wasn't there in 1977, the impact was no different.

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I'm of the strong belief there fans aren't any better if they were from day #1 or if they saw it for the first time yesterday. (Okay - maybe not quite yesterday, as you need to allow some time for the films to absorb and give you a chance to catch up a little on some of the "extracurricular" bits).

I was pleased as punch when my nephew listed TFA as his favorite movie of all time - although, I may have been a bit more elated had he said Episode IV (as he refers to it). I wonder if he had the opportunity to see it on the big screen instead of on television if it would've been different. (I don't think so, I feel TFA definitely has a much more modern feeling to it - and I'm not talking about fx).
 
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I was of similar age my first viewing of Star Wars during its original run - I can't say I remember it like yesterday, but I sure remember bits and pieces of the experience. Star Wars consumed my life for years and years after...
I'm the same age as JJ Abrams.
 
I wonder if he had the opportunity to see it on the big screen instead of on television if it would've been different. (I don't think so, I feel TFA definitely has a much more modern feeling to it - and I'm not talking about fx).

I counter with the first 19 seconds of this:

[video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=39J2zBB-AyU[/video]
 
It's not old - just a frame of reference. Not that there's any real age to be a Star Wars fan - while he probably wasn't old enough to remember Star Wars, he was old enough to be familiar with it since the OT.

What? I'm 39 and saw all three in the theater (ANH rerelease). In 94 I probably hadn't seen any of the movies for at least 9 years, so I didn't remember everything until I rewatched them. I know I clearly remember seeing ANH for the first time and remembering being blown away by the scene of Vader entering.
 
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