Star Wars VII Director Rumors Continue
Looks like we can cross J.J. Abrams off the list of rumored Star Wars VII directors. He has officially confirmed he has turned down any involvement. I’m somewhat relieved to hear it. I’m not keen on the last Star Trek film, although that’s mostly a problem with the plot. Maybe Michael Arndt’s Star Wars VII script coupled with Abram’s directing would have worked out well, lens flares and all. I guess Lucas had his scene transitional wipes, so I shouldn’t nitpick.
The one name that is mentioned most often is still Matthew Vaughn, director of Kick Ass. George Lucas’ only directing credit to his name prior to Star Wars was American Grafitti, so Vaughn’s limited resume is hardly a worry. Still, I’ve seen neither X-Men First Class, nor Kick Ass. So who knows..? I guess my main hope is that Michael Arndt’s obvious competence as a story teller will give the film a solid foundation.
It may sound like I’m excited. Actually, the excitement of the original announcement has started to fade for me. Reality’s cold hand has run its finger down my spine. I’ve realized just what a roll of the dice a new movie could be. Leanne and I went to see The Hobbit last Friday, and we’re actually planning on seeing it again later today. I loved the Lord of the Rings movies, and have had an interest in Tolkien’s work since I was a teenager. I enjoyed the movie, and loved parts of it, but to be brutally honest, it felt like a rushed cut. Also, the excess in the action scenes showed through, glaringly. The action scenes, made over-dramatic for 3D, were silly and cartoony. I even rolled my eyes with a little embarrassment at Thorin’s moment toward the very end of the film.
The movie felt fat in places that the Lord of the Rings films didn’t. I had, and still have, a lot of faith in Peter Jackson, and like I said, I enjoyed the whole movie, even the corny bits! It reminds me of the realities of contemporary fantasy film making. Over-indulgent action and 3D rides are challenges that Star Wars VII will likely face. The memory of the Prequels looms once again.
Whoever directs will be faced with the legacy and enormous popularity of Star Wars. The expectation of what fans want in the film could very well lead down the wrong path. So the temptation to give us another theme park ride movie will be high. I haven’t given this a great amount of thought yet, but what if we get more of the Prequels, or worse? What does that mean for Star Wars? I’ve seen franchises like Spider-Man be driven into the ground in comics, and rebooted in film, and guess what? They lost my interest a long time ago. Will I just cling even more tightly to the original trilogy, or will I be pushed away? My guess is the Original Trilogy and it’s surrounding spin offs will become even more cherished.
I just want a great story. That’s all I want. We know the special effects for a new Star Wars film will be good, but that should always be a bonus, not the main attraction for any film worth it’s celluloid… er… digital storage medium.
One final thought, hopefully we’ll be getting a 24 FPS version of Star Wars VII. That frame speed is part of the magic and illusion that is film making. After I went to see The Hobbit and posted about it on Facebook, the conversation immediately shifted to the pros and cons of 24 FPS vs 48 FPS vs 3D. All I wanted to talk about was the film itself. The story and its characters.
We’re shooting to have episode 4 of the Podcast released on Monday 31st, just shy of the New Year. Because of the editing time involved, future episodes will likely be just one per month. The strip remains the priority for the time being.
Looking at the bikini drawing, I guess I’m weird in that Princess Leia just wasn’t my type…
I’ve always had a thing for brunettes. Princess Leia is not my greatest childhood crush, but she’s probably in the top three… or top five. I’d have to think about that.
I’d always much preferred Oola. But I do seem to have a thing for doomed women.
I like brunettes. Indeed, a model named Monika Duricova is my favorite. (Which is funny because the handful of women I was enamored with in real life were practically flat). Carrie Fisher was ok, but didn’t particularly interest me. Unfortunately, a junior high/high school crush ended up in porn flicks. What’s funny is her mom probably was proud of her career choice, but her poor dad would not be happy.
Honest mistake.
I’m sure he’s supposed to be dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym-xHehd4NI
Loved the trooper on the ground. You never see any of the others that seem to care about the man who’s down.
The Hobbit, to me, seemed better presented in 3D 48 FPS. I want to see the 48 FPS without 3D, to accurately judge this new presentation format.
The story, however, felt too chaotic. Not a linear progression at all, the way it wove through timelines and flashbacks and changes in character POV. It was too disjointed for me. Left me wondering how Guillermo del Toro would have told the story.
I was also left wondering when, and how, it would end.
Yet there are gems in this first of three films… based on one book. But I am still shaking my head at the need for another trilogy. Don’t we have enough trilogies already?
Ι’d really suggest going to see Les Miserables. When we got out of that theatre, not one person had dry eyes.
I agree about the Hobbit, to a point. For me, it felt like they were deliberately dragging it out and watering it down so that it’d fit nine hours when the story could have easily been told in 3 or 4. Also, the worst part was that there was no full story. This is to be expected, I guess, when you take a story and break it up into three parts, but most trilogies are 3 separate stories that come together to form one larger narrative. Each LOTR movies has a beginning, middle, and end. They have their own character and plot arcs. Even if you only see one, you can feel satisfied. I could not get that from Hobbit. It was just a very long “beginning” and I felt no satisfaction in storytelling and now I have to wait 12 months to get the next chunk. I think such negative feelings would be diminished if I could watch all 3 back to back… but I guess that’ll have to wait for 2015.
I saw no audience demand for 48 fps or 3D, so I’m not sure why they’re being pushed. Techy directors like new gadgets and gizmos, but in the end, it waters down the movie and makes it more about the technology than the story. Directors who stick with conventional means and focus on the story usually get better reviews and make a better product (looking at you Nolan, Tarantino, etc.).
In the end, what made audiences love Star Wars was the emotional connection to the characters. We developed a connection to them and cared about what happened to them. This was not readily present in the Prequels — any emotional connection fails to develop until maybe the very last second. What I hope most for Ep7 is the creation of character archetypes (pro toe gone ist?) and a universal story that we can understand and relate to. A hero’s quest in which the technology and special effects are a tool, not the end result.
Yeah, I’ll have to wait until I see it again tonight to start any critical analysis. Last week was so crazy busy for us that a lot of the film has now blurred for me. I do remember feeling that Bilbo kind of vanished part way through the movie and that didn’t feel right. I understand that we have three main characters to develop and that it makes some sense for one of the three movies to focus on Thorin. I would have thought that movie would be the last one, where Thorin’s character dips into it’s shadowy depths, balanced with Bilbo’s heroism at the end. It seemed a bit early for all the Thorin stuff, and SPOILER ALERT, odd that Thorin didn’t take care of this movie’s apparent villain. But I agree that the way it was done seems to be unsatisfying. It feels very much like they require us to see all three films, rather than judge this one on its own, in order to get the picture. In that sense, the Lord of the Rings found the story arcs better.
It feels like the Hobbit movies are being divided into thirds, not by storyarc, but by sequences of events. That’s not to say there wasn’t a hint of a storyarc in there, but it is definitely not as clear or eloquent as in LOTR. And yes, LOTR was a trilogy, but it was really six books, and in the case of The Two Towers the sequence of events had to be heavily intermingled to avoid jumping back in time.
As for 48 FPS, I’ve heard too much negativity from people I respect to risk it, even on my second viewing tonight. I will, once again, be watching The Hobbit normally. And yes, I do feel Nolan and Tarantino are sticking with good old 2D for the right reasons. Nolan’s story telling could do with a diet though. Way too complex and protracted. I loved Inception though. 🙂
If I do see The Hobbit a THIRD time (and that will depend on how much I enjoy it again tonight) it will be to see it in 48 FPS (without 3D… if that is even possible).
I don’t get why people dis the 48 fps so much. I honestly thought the picture was much clearer than usual. Just like it was when they switched to digital. I watched it in 3D and 48 fps and I would like to also see it in 2D 48 fps just so I can better compare the two.
But all in all the picture felt very clear to me.
Hi Lora,
Yes, it’s very clear. but also sterile, jerky and Televisiony looking – in my opinion.
John
The Lord of the rings has always been very thin, they could have told the story in ten minutes, instead they had long drawn out battle after tedious battle. How they stretched the Hobbit so thin I don’t know.
LOL. You are insane.
Is this the ending, no, oh this must be the end, no, oh jeez is it ever going to end!?. It was like having watch an RPG really, not my cup of java.
The book had so much happening in it, and you are supposed to get so invested into the characters and their various character journeys, that those many endings are rewarding and satisfying. I had no problem with them because I loved the subject matter the films were based on and thought the films did an excellent job. I would happily buy a 5 hour cut of Return of the King and watch it. Probably not all in one sitting, but then I wouldn’t have to at home.
Maybe the book is better than the movie. I guess this happens when you find the heros annoying, you’re just rooting for the credits. Lol
Star Wars owes so much to Lord of the Rings. During the production of the original Star Wars movie, later dubbed A New Hope, one of the locations to be used for a Jawa village (later skipped due to lack of time) was dubbed the Hobbit village. A sand / mud row of simple houses built into a low cliff face. The Oliphaunts, the huge elephants in the Return of the King are the direct inspiration for the AT-ATs in Empire, Obi-Wan and Gandalf. I don’t quite get why someone who love Star Wars, as I assume you must do, couldn’t find an ounce of interest in LOTR or The Hobbit. It’s fantasy. And fantasy done exceedingly well, which has been in short supply over the last 30 years.
Yep. I was pretty bored for an hour and a half. The scene between Bilbo and Golam – alone – got me interested for the rest of the movie.
Again, really surprised that you found it boring or were never interested in LOTR or the Hobbit in your life, given your love of Star Wars. Yes, it’s classic fantasy, rather than sci-fi, but given that I have a love for both, I kind of guessed most people who liked fantasy would welcome the Hobbit and find the story compelling.
Actually Rod, the LotR films were a big surprise to me. I loved the 1st especially and the 3rd. The 1st was a real adventure as I knew absolutely nothing of the story beforehand.
I never enjoyed fantasy stuff before that.
Star Wars for me was called a ‘space fantasy’ movie, but for me at the time, it was a space/sci-fi one [despite its obvious derivation from mythological sources]. BBC broadcast LotR as a series on Saturday mornings around 1980 [?] but it didn’t hold my attention at all.
Well, that’s great you didn’t like the film, John. I get it. 🙂
I picture that Episode VII will in fact be filmed in 48 fps, being that Star Wars has been known for pushing technical boundaries. Perhaps by then, it will become a standard flare, and people won’t be talking about it as much. Same as how fewer and fewer people are talking about marriage equality anymore.
LOL! Yeah, well, from what I hear 48 fps could just break the quality of the illusion that is movie magic. See Red Letter Media’s review of The Hobbit. http://redlettermedia.com/half-in-the-bag-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey/ NSFW warning.
Seeing as Douglas Trumbull is experimenting with 120 fps, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ep VII utilize his findings, or even his 60fps showscan technique (used in theme parks) that Cameron is allegedly going to use for Avatar 2.
Personally I think just because we can make the image look more ‘realistic’, doesn’t mean we should.
Bye bye, magic.
I’ve heard that as well; that the 48fps exposes just how “fake” the CG is. I’m OK with this for the long run: It’ll push the boundaries further for special effects and up the standards for film makers.
Yeah Neil. Who says films should look exactly like real life?
And… having said that: I don’t see everything clearly as my eyes scan around in real life; there’s blur; things in and out of focus etc.
The camera moves, seen at 48fps eliminate NATURAL motion blur, and look jittery.
John
Yes, it sounds like a bad direction for films. Maybe it’d be more acceptable for urban romance movies? I’d rather not see Star Wars VII go through this.
Jackson’s previous LotR films were visually amazing. Beautiful, and with the most convincing effects I’ve ever seen. This film is a retrograde step as far as I’m concerned. But it didn’t have to be.
I totally agree that there was a lot of gratuitous camera-flying-all-over-the-gaff stuff, that looked like immature film-making to me. Like a kid in a candyshop. I was thinking “How can this be the same director?”
It’s the same director, it’s just made for 3D. Which means theme park ride action scenes like the Thunder Battle and the Goblin Town scenes. That’s the reason I hate 3D in a movie like this. It has no place, IMO.
Check out Stardust, directed by Matthew Vaughn. This movie went a long way towards soothing my fears about him as a SW director. Bonus – my kids loved it too.
Yep – very underrated film.
I’ll get Leanne to add it to our Netflix.
Stardust is a great story by Neil Gaiman with a well adapted screenplay but as movies go it is fairly poor. I watched it with a grimace and although I mostly enjoyed it I had to force myself a bit at times.
Yet to see the Hobbit – but I’m hearing more negative reviews than positive from trusted friends of mine. That said, I’ll be going any way, as I enjoy a spectacle as much as the next nerd, but it will be 24 fps 2D for me. I would love to do a comparison, but being a parent means I have to be canny with my cinema time…
In other news, not only do I love the xmas Leia, but that shadow rendering is divine 😉 Kudos to Leanne.
When it comes to the Hobbit the book is and always will be a children’s story, perhaps that’s something that slips through people’s minds…where as the LotR series is meant for a more adult audience. Any faithful interpretation of the Hobbit has to be a bit over the top and cartoony, not only because it is supposed to be a tale suitable for children but also because it’s a story written by Bilbo whom we all know has a tendency to ‘flourish’.
As for the cuts… the Hobbit trilogy is essentially two movies with the deleted scenes left in, personally I would have preferred 2 films and a director’s cut DVD.
I think I agree with you on the way to split the Hobbit. But what I meant by cartoony was the escape from Goblin Town. I promise you Tolkien never wrote it to be a 3D ride that makes the mine car chase in Temple of Doom look like the blink of an eye.
Hear hear!
I’ve seen The Hobbit twice now. Trust me, Much Better the second time. I watched Fellowship of the Ring Extended a short time after seeing the Hobbit for the first time, and realized the story of the Fellowship movie (how it was told, pace, etc.) was very similar to the Hobbit. And after seeing The Hobbit for a second time, it seemed a lot better. Still upset about Azog, for one, he’s dead, 2, he’s unoriginal, “that one’s mine!” and all that.. but overall, as you said, I really enjoyed the movie. I liked how it was more childish like the book, but not overly. Did you go to the midnight showing? I did and they had a little trivia. But for some reason it wasn’t Hobbit material they were giving away, nooooo, it was a bunch of Marvel calenders… 😛 I was really annoyed by that.. Most all the critics that said they didn’t like the Hobbit were commenting on 3D and/or 48 fps, 2D seems to be fine as far as critic reviews go I believe.. See it in 2D, even if you have to see it a third time. 😀
I think it’s been decided for us. Apparently there is no option to see the movie at 48fps without also seeing it in 3D. So, I won’t be seeing that version. As stated already, I both dislike 3D as a gimmick, and as a guy who already wears glasses.
No, we didn’t see it during the opening week. We saw the Hobbit for the first time on December 21st, at a 5pm screening in Maryland. We’ll be seeing a late screening tonight at 10:30pm. Hope I’m able to stay awake!
It’s The Hobbit! Of course you’ll stay awake! Or someone will keep you awake for you. I mean hey, It’s The Hobbit! I can’t wait for the extended Editions. hmm I wonder if there will be Extended Editions for the upcoming Star Wars movies.. Though I really Like J. J. Abrams, I guess it’s good he’s not a part of it, because pretty much everything he’s in seems to have a confusing and/or bad ending. We can’t let Star Wars have a bad ending…
Stormtroopers can be so insensitive! 😀
X D *snort* Love it. I never noticed this moment in TESB.
Watch for it! Leia blows him away at close range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98qmflLdOpI This vid is similar to what you did. Hilarious! I think I like what you made the stormtrooper say more lol.
LOL! I remember seeing this. The idea for this strip came from Leia shooting the guy in the movie at point blank and then running off. Obviously the trooper was seriously injured, if not dead, but it did stick out to me as surprising the rest of the Stormtrooper didn’t bat an eyelash and kept after Leia.
*mock pompous pretentious voice*
I’m sorry…but George Lucuses directing credits before Star Wars was THX 1138 and American Graffiti…
*shaked head in judgemental disapproval and disgust*
To be honest I don’t even really want to know anything about the new Star Warses uintil I see them. That way I won’t have to deal with that feeling you get when you know you’re about to fall of get hit with something right before it happens.
I thought THX 1138 was a student film. I was counting it, but I was aware of it.
It was originally. Looked pretty much like a chase sequence and and quite silly, but as Kersh said: “He had a vision of his own.” I have to agree.
After that he took a bigger budget stab at it. It has some moments of brilliance that really surprise me. Pity about the CGI shite that he added a few years ago. Unnecessary and totally visually inconsistent.
Originally it was a student film but after he graduated, he remade it as a feature theatre releace. The studio didn’t get it and re-cut it to shit and he distanced himself from it until that special DVD releace of it.
^_^
Love this, just found you on ink outbreak and I am amazed I never head of it before!
Welcome to the insanity, Mia 🙂
It’s about time, Mia! Welcome. I hope you stay with us for a long time. 🙂
I use ink a lot so its pretty easy to be stuck with you 😉 Time to catch up!
I have officially given up on post-1998 Star Wars. I won’t even give it a chance now. I am content to live in my little bubble where continuity still exists.
I might be joining you someday soon, Exxos. Save room for me. 🙂
Sheesh, BMS, I gave you more credit than to parrot back what the unwashed masses have been saying about the Hobbit. I’ll give you a few good reasons why you’re wrong:
1) The pacing of the books is completely different: the Hobbit is very fast-paced compared to LOTR. There is a ton of action to cover in the Hobbit, but Tolkein doesn’t devote quite the number of pages to it as he does in LOTR. If they tried to make it all into one movie, it’d be a 5-hour film and STILL feel rushed.
2) The tone of the books is also completely different. LOTR is Very Serious Business, but the Hobbit is a rollicking adventure story that still has me laughing when I re-read it. There was a lot of action, sure, but otherwise we’d be whining, “they got away from the goblins too easy!” and the like. Have you people forgotten Helm’s Deep?
3) And for those of you whining about how it was too slow, were you never bored during all that Entish nonsense in Two Towers? Those slow bits built character backstories and explained the motivations present in the story. I’ve probably read the Hobbit 12 times and never knew about Gandalf’s fears that Smaug would ally with Sauron.
It was a well-crafted story, and I look forward to the next installments. And if you have any rebuttals for me, I also have a good reasoning for Thorin’s moment as well.
So stick THAT in your pipe and smoke it!
Jesus. I liked the movie, bud. In fact, we saw it again last night and I liked it even more. I was also satisfied this time that the storyarc was about Thorin and Bilbo becoming friends, which as we both know, is important to establish before further character development in the rest of the story. I don’t know why you feel the need to leap down my throat for my initial reaction. Why so defensive? Perhaps you’re thinking other opinions online, harsher opinions, are somehow my own?
Here’s what I posted on my Facebook account this morning after our late night viewing.
“Leanne and I just saw The Hobbit a second time. We both enjoyed it more than the first viewing. I am now really happy with it. I think, with the first viewing, I was reacting to my fore knowledge of the material and the ways the film was differing and the path it was taking. This time around I was able to enjoy those scenes. I was also much happier and more clear about what this film’s theme was about (given they split the story into three movies). It’s clearly about Thorin and Bilbo becoming friends, which will be important for the following films. Wow. Great film for fantasy fans. :-)”
The movie is not perfect, but I really enjoyed it. Apart from the 3D complaints which a lot of people have, which is an entirely justified concern (sequences that swoop and throw things at the audience for far too long (Goblin town and the thunder battle), Azog being generic and shoehorned in, the only real problem I have with the directing / editing choices are to do with the film losing sight of Bilbo around mid-way through. At points Bilbo seems to have disappeared or we don’t get to see him reacting to the new experiences around him, which is important for us to stay connected to him and for it to remain his story. However, having seen the film again last night, I think the only major scene where we could have benefited from a few additional reaction shots from Bilbo is in Rivendell during the dinner feast. We see him marveling briefly over the architecture of Rivendell when they first arrive, but never really see his reaction to the elves themselves. In the trailer we see Bilbo discovering Isildur’s broken sword, so clearly cuts were made that would have been useful had they stayed in, just so we continue to feel like we are discovering this place along with the main character of the story.
Big deal? No. Not at all. I loved the film on the second viewing… enough to even think about seeing it a third time. Not sure if Leanne will go with me again though. She liked it more too, but she’s not as big of a Tolkien geek as myself. Though she does know what Istari are now. I’m proud of her. 🙂
So, thanks for your dose of pipeweed. I will now proceed to smoke it and enjoy it And I invite you to smoke it with me, since you and I should have no argument. Don’t be so defensive. It is a good movie! 🙂
yes, the Two Towers was… a drag.
Not for me. I teared up at the end of that movie. The film was great experience. It’s my least favorite of the three, but I still loved it. The only problem I had with The Two Towers was Howard Shore’s violin theme for Rohan. It really got on my nerves. But I prefer symphonies where the instruments are more balanced and the piece does not revolve around the lead of one single instrument. Symphonies over concertos.
There’s another thing Rod: I felt the score of the hobbit was much weaker than its predecessors.
I agree. I thought in places the music was unwarranted, or the theme was repetitive. But, like I said, my second viewing actually proved to be far more enjoyable, and I love fantasy.
I’ve never been a big fan of the LotR film score. I’m surprised there isn’t a parody of it yet.
Character One: “Damn.”
Character Two: “What?”
Character One: “The dramatic music is playing again. That means someone is about to chase us and we need to run away.”
However, I think Two Towers is the best in the LotR trilogy. That’s the one where the strengths of the individual members of the Fellowship begin to break through and shine. Plus I love watching the Ents frak Saruman’s sh¡+ up.
You have to remember, Howard Shore composed the soundtrack for Silence of the Lambs. He’s come a long way and improved immensely since then. Hard to believe the same person composed both. But I have to disagree with you about the LOTR scores. The only theme that got irritating for me, out of 9 hours plus of music, was the western style Fellowship traveling theme and the Rohan violin theme. The rest of the score is BEAUTIFUL, especially the Elf themes like Rivendell’s “Many Meetings” and Lothlorien. The Great River theme, which is also used to open the movies, is hauntingly beautiful. The soundtracks are among the best I’ve ever heard, and I’m a fan of Basil Pouledouris’ Conan the Barbarian and of course, John Williams. Too bad so many of the people who feel the need to comment about the Hobbit, which I’ve said I enjoyed, choose to comment negatively. Bums me out.
Plus everything is a matter of taste. personally, the rohan violin wa sone of my fav lotr scores!