Star Wars 8: The Last Jedi

[Kbiz]

Report surfaced that Ron Howard is a possibility to take over.

Reports confirmed!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...t-1015674?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

 

[col63onel]

Stories are trickling in on what lead to the firing. It seems that Lord and Miller were really trying turn into a full out screwball comedy like the Jump Street movies. I can see why the Lucasfilm people were not okay with that. I expected this movie to be more of a comedy than every other SW movie, but Lucasfilm has their own vision of the franchise.

Of course, it still is puzzling how Lucafilm let it get his far to begin with. If you didn't want a zany comedy, don't hire the Jump Street and Lego Movie directors (movies I really liked, by the way). And even if you thought you were on the same page with Lord and Miller, it should take you less than 6 months to figure out that you really weren't.

Ron Howard begins shooting on July 10th. I am really interested to see how much of the movie he reshoots. Wouldn't surprise me to see them basically reshoot the entire movie, or at least the vast majority. Kasdan, who wrote it, is still heavily involved, so it would still be the same basic story. And if they do reshoot the whole movie, I highly doubt they make the release date of next May. I am going to guess right now it gets pushed back to Christmas.

 

[Kbiz]

Stories are trickling in on what lead to the firing. It seems that Lord and Miller were really trying turn into a full out screwball comedy like the Jump Street movies. I can see why the Lucasfilm people were not okay with that. I expected this movie to be more of a comedy than every other SW movie, but Lucasfilm has their own vision of the franchise.

Of course, it still is puzzling how Lucafilm let it get his far to begin with. If you didn't want a zany comedy, don't hire the Jump Street and Lego Movie directors (movies I really liked, by the way). And even if you thought you were on the same page with Lord and Miller, it should take you less than 6 months to figure out that you really weren't.

Ron Howard begins shooting on July 10th. I am really interested to see how much of the movie he reshoots. Wouldn't surprise me to see them basically reshoot the entire movie, or at least the vast majority. Kasdan, who wrote it, is still heavily involved, so it would still be the same basic story. And if they do reshoot the whole movie, I highly doubt they make the release date of next May. I am going to guess right now it gets pushed back to Christmas.

Here's a pretty good summary via IGN. In addition to creative differences, they weren't seeing eye-to-eye with technical production either:

"Matters had already reached a boiling point" on a day in mid-June when Lord and Miller, on the cockpit set of the Millennium Falcon, didn’t start shooting until 1 p.m. And once they did, they only achieved three different camera setups, whereas Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had expected 12-15 setups according to sources."

"The next day, when the crew was told that Ron Howard would take over as director, sources say they broke into applause."​

Yikes...

 

[col63onel]

@gourimoko will love the title, at least

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx8P_ibtiI4

 

[gourimoko]

@gourimoko will love the title, at least

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx8P_ibtiI4

This is a great find!!

Just finished watching it and, to me, he just doesn't sound convinced...

"Radical," "different?" "Can anyone imagine Luke saying something like that?"

I mean, everyone knows Hamill disliked TFA; so him saying that "it's different than TFA" isn't saying much.. He also seems to suggest the movie might be overly dark? "Still try to bring some laughs?" Man...

I dunno.... I'm fully prepared to get my childhood shit on by this movie come December... If the movie is at least competently done, I'll be happy.

I don't really mind Luke saying that phrase BTW; I could see a rationale behind that...

 

[col63onel]

"Radical," "different?" "Can anyone imagine Luke saying something like that?"

I am of the belief that Luke has come to understand that the old Jedi order is too outdated, and to move forward, they have to embrace a more grey-ish philosophy. So I am guessing at some point in the movie he basically denounces the Jedi order that Yoda and Obi-Wan tried to mold him with. That would fit with a "radical" statement from him, but also serve the story.

He also seems to suggest the movie might be overly dark? "Still try to bring some laughs?" Man...

Well, this one was going to rip off something from Empire. So at the very least it was gonna be a darker movie.

I'm fully prepared to get my childhood shit on by this movie come December

I've never really quite gotten this sentiment. It isn't like the original trilogy won't exist anymore. It isn't like they are going to go back and retcon the hell out of the original trilogy. Even if they change his character....it still isn't going to change what he did in the original trilogy.

And I don't think this is just a SW thing. Hollywood is remaking a lot of old, beloved properties. If the the remake/reboot is crap, who cares? You'll always have the original.

If the movie is at least competently done, I'll be happy.

Maybe we're quibbling on what you mean by "competently" made, but I thought TFA was "competently made". It just was unoriginal and soulless.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I've never really quite gotten this sentiment. It isn't like the original trilogy won't exist anymore.

It also isn't as if the prequels didn't shit on our childhoods enough to desensitize us to it too.

 

[gourimoko]

I've never really quite gotten this sentiment. It isn't like the original trilogy won't exist anymore. It isn't like they are going to go back and retcon the hell out of the original trilogy. Even if they change his character....it still isn't going to change what he did in the original trilogy.

I'm not referring specifically to the original trilogy, but the Star Wars mythos since the 1980s. I've played so many Star Wars games, read so many Star Wars comics and books... ALL of that was shit on when Disney decided to wipe out the EU and then steal from it -- bastardizing the stories and ripping off the collective universe that was a tapestry of so many original works...

Yes, changing Luke would be another example of that. Just like they did with Han Solo.... Him dying the way he did, basically ending up a failure... that's not how I ever envisioned Han Solo's life going after saving the Republic. The Force Awakens not only erased Han's future, but it essentially replaced that with the future of a man who has lost everything... And yes, Jacen Solo; I get it, he's supposed to endure hardship -- but at least there's a story behind it.

And I don't think this is just a SW thing. Hollywood is remaking a lot of old, beloved properties. If the the remake/reboot is crap, who cares? You'll always have the original.

I guess that boils down to an emotional investment in these intellectual properties. I mean, if we were truly totally disinterested in the outcomes of these stories, then would we really be lining up to go see them in theaters? I know I wouldn't.

Maybe we're quibbling on what you mean by "competently" made, but I thought TFA was "competently made". It just was unoriginal and soulless.

I would've agreed after the movie came out. But in retrospect, I actually don't think TFA was "competently made" from the standpoint that the studio made a summer blockbuster that will not stand the test of time. That is to say, it's not in any way memorable compared to the movies it intended to add to...

When I first saw TFA, I think my opinion of it was a lot higher. Having seen the film 4 times now, twice in theaters, and twice at home... And trying my best to give it a chance... I have to say, the movie is terrible; and in such a preventable way that I do indeed question the competency of the director (Abrams) who is known to do this kind of shit with film reboots.

 

[col63onel]

I'm not referring specifically to the original trilogy, but the Star Wars mythos since the 1980s. I've played so many Star Wars games, read so many Star Wars comics and books... ALL of that was shit on when Disney decided to wipe out the EU and then steal from it -- bastardizing the stories and ripping off the collective universe that was a tapestry of so many original works...

Yes, changing Luke would be another example of that. Just like they did with Han Solo.... Him dying the way he did, basically ending up a failure... that's not how I ever envisioned Han Solo's life going after saving the Republic. The Force Awakens not only erased Han's future, but it essentially replaced that with the future of a man who has lost everything... And yes, Jacen Solo; I get it, he's supposed to endure hardship -- but at least there's a story behind it.

I enjoyed the old EU as well (Darth Bane trilogy being my favorite), but it was going to go away regardless. Even had Lucas made his versions of 7,8 and 9, I'd assume there'd be some heavy deviations from the EU. I don't mind Disney cherry picking some of the EU the same way they do for the MCU.

Either the EU was gone or we weren't going to see any more movies. I don't see a 3rd option.

 

[gourimoko]

I enjoyed the old EU as well (Darth Bane trilogy being my favorite), but it was going to go away regardless. Even had Lucas made his versions of 7,8 and 9, I'd assume there'd be some heavy deviations from the EU. I don't mind Disney cherry picking some of the EU the same way they do for the MCU.

Either the EU was gone or we weren't going to see any more movies. I don't see a 3rd option.

I don't think the bolded is true.

1) Lucas was already setting up for the new movies to be made; Disney made an offer no one could refuse... even though I think Lucas ultimately regrets the decision to sell.

2) The prequels came without without wiping out the Expanded Universe.

3) Lucas embraced the EU, always has.

4) I don't mind deviations from the EU, and this isn't really about the EU per se; I'm simply arguing that what Disney is doing is kind of lazy, and it does fuck up one's childhood memories, IMHO.

 

[col63onel]

Lucas was already setting up for the new movies to be made; Disney made an offer no one could refuse... even though I think Lucas ultimately regrets the decision to sell.

What I am saying is that I'd bet Lucas' 7,8 and 9 would've contradicted a lot of the old EU, so the EU would've kinda washed away, anyways. Was he going make episode 7 with Chewie dead, Luke as a widower and Han and Leia with 2 dead kids?

The prequels came without without wiping out the Expanded Universe.

How much EU material was in the prequel era before the prequels came out? The vast majority of EU was post ROTJ, so the prequels really didn't clash with the EU. A lot of EU stuff popped up after the prequels came out, but it had to be careful not to contradict with the prequels.

Lucas embraced the EU, always has.

He's been fine with it, but I don't know that he embraced it.

“I don’t read that stuff. I haven’t read any of the novels. I don’t know anything about that world. That’s a different world than my world. But I do try to keep it consistent. The way I do it now is they have a Star Wars Encyclopedia. So if I come up with a name or something else, I look it up and see if it has already been used. When I said [other people] could make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek, we would have two universes: My universe and then this other one. They try to make their universe as consistent with mine as possible, but obviously they get enthusiastic and want to go off in other directions.” – George Lucas, from an interview in Starlog #337

Sounds like he wasn't going to really worry about the EU when he made his 7, 8 and 9.

 

[gourimoko]

He's been fine with it, but I don't know that he embraced it.

Referring more to the more recent creations like Clone Wars, Rebels, etc:

""For me and my training here at Lucasfilm, working with George, he and I always thought the Expanded Universe was just that. It was an expanded universe. Basically it's stories that are really fun and really exciting, but they're a view on Star Wars, not necessarily canon to him," Filoni explained. He worked extremely closely with George Lucas on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, taking Lucas's ideas and fleshing them out into six seasons (plus unproduced episodes, novels, and comics that expanded it)."

Sounds like he wasn't going to really worry about the EU when he made his 7, 8 and 9.

I'm not so sure about that though; I mean, Lucas explained the different universes thusly:

"It’s a certain story about Anakin Skywalker and once Anakin Skywalker dies, that’s kind of the end of the story. There is no story about Luke Skywalker, I mean apart from the books.

But there’s three worlds: There’s my world that I made up, there’s the licensing world that’s the books, the comics, all that kind of stuff, the games, which is their world, and then there’s the fans’ world, which is also very rich in imagination, but they don’t always mesh. All I’m in charge of is my world. I can’t be in charge of those other people’s world, because I can’t keep up with it."

 

[col63onel]

Referring more to the more recent creations like Clone Wars, Rebels, etc:

""For me and my training here at Lucasfilm, working with George, he and I always thought the Expanded Universe was just that. It was an expanded universe. Basically it's stories that are really fun and really exciting, but they're a view on Star Wars, not necessarily canon to him," Filoni explained. He worked extremely closely with George Lucas on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, taking Lucas's ideas and fleshing them out into six seasons (plus unproduced episodes, novels, and comics that expanded it)."



I'm not so sure about that though; I mean, Lucas explained the different universes thusly:

"It’s a certain story about Anakin Skywalker and once Anakin Skywalker dies, that’s kind of the end of the story. There is no story about Luke Skywalker, I mean apart from the books.

But there’s three worlds: There’s my world that I made up, there’s the licensing world that’s the books, the comics, all that kind of stuff, the games, which is their world, and then there’s the fans’ world, which is also very rich in imagination, but they don’t always mesh. All I’m in charge of is my world. I can’t be in charge of those other people’s world, because I can’t keep up with it."

He was definitely involved in the Clone Wars. I don't think he's done much with Rebels, although I know at one point he wrote a bunch scripts for a TV show that was supposed to take place pre Episode 4, and maybe some of those ideas went into Rebels.

His other quote makes it sound like he just doesn't care that much about the old EU. Even says "I can't keep up with it". I really don't think he was going to reference much, if any of it, for his own sequel trilogy. I know occasionally he would stick his nose in, for example originally Anakin Solo was supposed to fall, but Lucas didn't want him to follow Vader's story, so they changed it to Jacen. And he forbade the further use of Wookie Jedi after Chewie's nephew became one. But it seems like it wasn't something he really got too concerned with.

 

[Triplethreat]

 

[col63onel]

So, Colin Trevorrow out as director of Episode 9.

http://ew.com/movies/2017/09/05/director-colin-trevorrow-leaves-star-wars-episode-ix/

Early speculation is that Rian Johnson will take over. Which hopefully means he nailed Episode 8.

Star Wars and the Cavs have basically had the same offseason.