Star Wars Discussion Thread v. Rogue One

[orcus116]

That bastard.

[Super Dude]

At this point, I'm sorry, but I think you're just being a naysayer. Maybe I'll eat my words come December 2015, but I'm not gonna just shit on it before I've even seen a trailer, let alone the movie itself.

If it's good, it's good.  I didn't think the Avengers would be very good, and I was happy to be wrong about that one.

But I have to strongly advise against having any expectations for this movie whatsoever.  It's setting yourself up for disappointment.

And in a personal sense, I hate that JJ Abrams is successful.  I don't like what it says about America.

That's just it, though; I have no expectations for this Star Wars. You seem to expect it'll be shit. Not saying that can't be a valid opinion, but let's at least see some teaser footage first.

I'm sure you'd all expect any film with Robert Pattinson in it will feature him as a wooden, flat, boring actor, right? I read a review of a movie called The Rover (which I now plan on seeing when it comes to the US) that says he was surprisingly very good in it. Just because JJ doesn't have a strong track record doesn't mean he can't still surprise us when the circumstances are right (i.e. directing a series he actually really likes). And it's not like he's a total hack - as I've established, he can write fairly decent screenplays.

[BlobVanDam]

But this movie needs a director who's willing to fight for a creative vision.  I saw the leaked casting sheets.  All the new roles were ridiculous stock characters.  Female who's headstrong and insecure.  Male who's tough and cocky.  Stuff like that.  Because's JJ's so limited as a storyteller, I'm not even sure he cares about this stuff.

Have you ever seen casting sheets before? That's basically what they look like. They're not supposed to be detailed character bios, they're a very simplified idea of what they're looking for in casting. Given how late they were with the script, they may not have even had a fully fleshed out script yet when they wrote up the casting sheet either.

Believe me, I'm not a JJ Abrams fan either (just check out the Star Trek thread ), but given the tighter leash he's on, and the people involved, I think his directing input will really make this movie. He's a fan of the source material by all accounts, and even though his style felt shoehorned in with Star Trek, it was really the perfect approach for a Star Wars movie in terms of pacing and presentation. I don't expect him to deviate too far to put his mark on it, I think he just wants to make a great Star Wars film.

On top of that, we have a rough outline from George Lucas (which seems to be the perfect amount of input from him), a script written by the guy who helped wrote ESB rather than the usual JJ lackies, and Disney / Lucasfilm overlooking the whole thing.

JJ is just one part of a pretty large puzzle here, and I think he'll fit into that role just right for this movie to be at least pretty good. Every bit of information so far tells me they want to do this right.

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, Reap.  It's not Shyamalan.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

What the hell happend to Shyamalan-ma-ding-dong? The Sixth Sense is awesome. Compared to others I actually can stand The Village. Signs is also pretty good and I pretty much enjoyed The Happening. The rest I leave commentless.

[jammindude]

Most of the rest have their fans.   Unbreakable is really awesome, and I seem to be one of the few who absolutely loved Lady in the Water.

EDIT:   Don't want to get too far off topic, but I always felt like Night's movies are like classic Twilight Zone episodes...even if that doesn't make for a great *film*.   I honestly think that if he did a TZ revival, it would be brilliant.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea come to think of it, Unbreakable is pretty cool.

[Zantera]

I think Sixth Sense and Unbreakable are good/alright, but it seems like he went out of his way with every movie to have a new twist, and for every new movie the story itself was swept aside to focus on the twist, and the twist became dumber and dumber with each movie. In his first few movies, the twist made sense and worked in the movie, but the twists and movies became dumber and dumber, and he pretty much sealed the last nail in his own coffin with After Earth.

I hope he can return and do something good, because personally I love movies with a good twist, but he was lucky enough to start off with his best movie, and everything since has been worse.

[Phoenix87x]

Yea come to think of it, Unbreakable is pretty cool.

Unbreakable is awesome.

And along with what Zantera said,

Right off the bat after 6th sense, he should have just done something completely different and then have a "twist" movie here and there throughout his career. But no, now he will forever be know as the twist guy.

[ReaPsTA]

Yeah, Reap.  It's not Shyamalan.

At least Shyamalan has a good movie.  Mission Impossible III is passable, I guess, but I wouldn't really praise it at all.

[MetalJunkie]

Yeah, Reap.  It's not Shyamalan.

At least Shyamalan has a good movie.  Mission Impossible III is passable, I guess, but I wouldn't really praise it at all.

What? III is my favorite one. Shame on you.

[Kotowboy]

This thread has turned into Shyamalan is a better director than JJ Abrams...

[hefdaddy42]

This thread has turned into Shyamalan is a better director than JJ Abrams...

That is really sad.

[BlobVanDam]

Some photos from the set-
https://www.tmz.com/photos/2014/06/02/star-wars-episode-7-set/images/2014/05/31/sw-7-15-jpg/

Nothing super exciting, but it's nice to see more physical stuff rather than CG.

[Kotowboy]

Now that is a big pig.

[soundgarden]

Some photos from the set-
https://www.tmz.com/photos/2014/06/02/star-wars-episode-7-set/images/2014/05/31/sw-7-15-jpg/

Nothing super exciting, but it's nice to see more physical stuff rather than CG.

Sweet, you can never have too much Tatooine!

[BlobVanDam]

Some photos from the set-
https://www.tmz.com/photos/2014/06/02/star-wars-episode-7-set/images/2014/05/31/sw-7-15-jpg/

Nothing super exciting, but it's nice to see more physical stuff rather than CG.

Sweet, you can never have too much Tatooine!

Is that sarcastic? I only ask because for some reason I've seen nothing but bitching from SW fans about Tatooine being featured so often. Personally, I have no problem with it, and it's such an iconic SW place that it makes sense to include it for familiarity along with the original cast.

[Orbert]

I don't understand people having issues with Tatooine.  To me, it's like the "home planet" of the entire saga.  Luke grew up there, Obi-Wan hung out there.  We find out later that this isn't a coincidence, but whatever.  Shmi is from Tatooine, and Anakin lived his early life there.  It wouldn't make sense to not return to Tatoonie in the new movies.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't understand people having issues with Tatooine.  To me, it's like the "home planet" of the entire saga.  Luke grew up there, Obi-Wan hung out there.  We find out later that this isn't a coincidence, but whatever.  Shmi is from Tatooine, and Anakin lived his early life there.  It wouldn't make sense to not return to Tatoonie in the new movies.

I agree. I've seen people argue that in such a huge universe of planets and ideas to explore, they keep returning to Tatooine, and that it's an insignificant planet that everyone's trying to get away from, and yet they keep showing it.
Maybe it isn't the most significant planet universally speaking, but it's important to these characters' stories, and it's a familiar setting to ground the movies, and quickly establish the Star Wars "vibe" so people are a bit more open to accepting these new movies.

Maybe it's more of a hardcore fan criticism, for people who are into all of the EU books and videogames etc that have used a lot of new ideas, but as a casual fan, I want to see these familiar settings 30 years later post-ROTJ, and I want to see Tatooine bustling with wacky looking aliens going about their business.

[Phoenix87x]

I've always liked the Tatooine setting. Its got the definitive Star Wars feel.

And I'm happy to see its return. And more importantly there's one thing I'm seeing nothing of so far and that's blue screen. Sure there's gonna be GC, but less is more imo and so far so good. 

[BlobVanDam]

I've always liked the Tatooine setting. Its got the definitive Star Wars feel.

And I'm happy to see its return. And more importantly there's one thing I'm seeing nothing of so far and that's blue screen. Sure there's gonna be GC, but less is more imo and so far so good. 

These days blue screen isn't a necessity for keying a live scene, especially if they're adding extra creatures, or doing matte extensions. I'd still expect them to enhance these shots later with plenty of CG in that manner, but they're obviously focusing on doing as much as they can physically to match the style of the original movies, which is a great sign for this movie.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

https://starwars.com/star-wars-episode-vii-adds-academy-award-winner-lupita-nyongo-and-game-of-thrones-gwendoline-christie.html

[Orbert]

Ooh, upping the babe factor.

[Kotowboy]

Do people actually really go and see films because they fancy someone in it ?

[Cool Chris]

Wouldn't have thought it would happen this early, but I just felt the first twinge of excitement for this project after looking at those pictures.

Do people actually really go and see films because they fancy someone in it ?

According to some of the suits in Hollywood, that's the only reason people go to a film. It's always been a star-driven industry, going to back to Bogart, Cagney, Gable...

[Orbert]

I'm sure it doesn't hurt.

[Kotowboy]

But films these days are so expensive. I would never pay up to £15 on a night out at the cinema just because I fancied someone in the film.

[hefdaddy42]

The only reason I want to see The Other Woman is because Kate Upton is in it.

[bosk1]

The only reason I want to see The Other Woman is because Hef wants to see Kate Upton in it.

[Orbert]

I think it's more for people on the fence about it.  They might go see it or not, but hey, there's someone in it that they like and usually they like their work, so that could be enough to go.  Or not.

It's Star Wars.  It seems to me that most people will either go see it or not because it's Star Wars, not because of who's in it.  But as I said, it can't hurt.

[Super Dude]

I have no problem with Tatooine, but it does seem like an awful lot does happen there for being the planet that's theoretically the farthest from that "bright center of the universe."

[BlobVanDam]

Do people actually really go and see films because they fancy someone in it ?

I have never gone and paid to see a movie based on the cast. Celebrities aren't a motivating factor for me. If that was all I'm interested in, I'd just use the Google! If it's on TV, and there's someone hot in it (or just an actor I like), it might persuade me to watch it for a bit longer than otherwise.
Neither of those new girls are hot at all anyway.

[Accelerando]

She can look at me all she wants with those pretty eyes. Damn. Wonderful actress, too.  Great addition to this cast.

EDIT:

My friend just had the brilliant notion that if The Clone Wars series were ever live action, these two new ladies could be your Ashoka Tano and Asajj Ventress

[BlobVanDam]

https://www.tmz.com/2014/06/03/star-wars-episode-7-millennium-falcon-set-photos/

Well, dayam.

[Super Dude]

Wow! They're really going full speed ahead with this practical effects thing.