STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - Blu-Ray Thoughts

[sprocket]

Harrison Ford looks too old for that costume! Sorta like an old lady wearing a miniskirt.

There: am I quick to judge or what?

[AndyDursin]

What's interesting to me, after watching the press event live, is that unlike Marvel, Star Wars seems to be absolutely a strict Disney property. Kathleen Kennedy looks like nothing more than a figurehead and the "Lucasfilm" logo used only for branding, because I get the sense there is nobody making real decisions on this film except Abrams and Bob Iger. That Abrams has nothing to do with the upcoming films seems to reaffirm that point more than ever -- they let him come in, throw out the Arndt/Lucas story line (allegedly), and start fresh, and yet they're giving Rain Johnson carte blanche for future installments. And whereas Disney seems content to let Kevin Fiege and company do their thing with Marvel, even Kennedy kept mentioning "their friends at Disney" answering questions.

Anyway the nerds seem to love it based on talkbacks I've seen...with "tears in their eyes" lol...but this looks visually like Abrams doing to Star Wars what he did to Star Trek. Hopefully it's much better than that but I'm more excited about the Battlefront video game than this film. And I admit, reluctantly, that there's a part of me that wishes Williams wasn't scoring this. That he closed the book when Lucas did so. I realize there's nobody else qualified to score it today but I'm afraid it's going to be as unmemorable as his Crystal Skull outing.

Also interesting in that press conference is how awful Carrie Fishers new botox looked. And the fact that Anthony Daniels seems to be universally disliked by the rest of the cast....could they even give the guy a hug? Plus Peter Mayhew...looks to be in no physical condition to be playing Chewbacca. Wouldn't be surprised at all if that's not even him onscreen, not that we'd ever really know.

As for Ford -- he looks engaged, for the 10 minutes he'll be in it before they kill him off, I'm sure.

[Eric W.]

I am hoping for the best but I continue to have guarded enthusiasm because of numerous points that have already been made by all of us thus far in regards to "The Abrams Effect" and so forth.

[Eric Paddon]

It has reached a point where it can be said that Carrie now looks older than her mother (though I suppose that was said long ago)

[mkaroly]

The opening scene from the tralier there with the Star Destroyer in the sand kind of reminded me of the opening shot of the Enterprise in the Star Trek reboot. I don't know what to think about this movie, to be honest.

[Monterey Jack]

It has reached a point where it can be said that Carrie now looks older than her mother (though I suppose that was said long ago)

Truth be told, Fisher already started looking old by the time The 'Burbs and When Harry Met Sally came along...only six years post-Return Of The Jedi. And she was, what, about thirty at the time?

[Eric Paddon]

She was born in 1956 so the math can be figured from there. Post-Jedi, her only sexy moment was the one scene in the leopard underwear in "Man With One Red Shoe."

[DavidBanner]

Still not getting anything from this trailer to indicate there's anything worth spending time or $$ to see this movie anywhere other than on TV at home a couple of months after it's released. Looks like the typical Abrams approach.

I will say that I'm happy to see that Williams will score it - even in mediocre situations like Jaws 2 and Dracula, he's come up with some good material in the past.

I hadn't heard they were actually killing off the original characters in this movie. I just thought they'd show up at the beginning and end of the movie to pass the baton off to Abrams' new cast. Are they throwing them all in another trash compactor and finishing them off right away?

The other side of this is that I completely did not expect Disney to issue the Star Wars movies as digital downloads rather than another Blu-ray release. This, plus Disney's deliberate move away from 3D Blu-ray in the USA (while still releasing titles in 3D in Europe), would seem to indicate that the fans' desperate hopes for a theatrical cut Blu-ray release of the original trilogy will be, as expected, crushed. Is it possible that Disney does not intend to re-release any of the older movies (including the prequels) on Blu-ray, going instead with this digital release?

[AndyDursin]

Rumor has it Han Solo "disappears" from a certain point in the film, so take that FWIW, of course. Wouldn't surprise me any.

The other side of this is that I completely did not expect Disney to issue the Star Wars movies as digital downloads rather than another Blu-ray release. This, plus Disney's deliberate move away from 3D Blu-ray in the USA (while still releasing titles in 3D in Europe), would seem to indicate that the fans' desperate hopes for a theatrical cut Blu-ray release of the original trilogy will be, as expected, crushed. Is it possible that Disney does not intend to re-release any of the older movies (including the prequels) on Blu-ray, going instead with this digital release?

From what's been reported, Fox has the home video rights for all the pre-existing Star Wars films (save the '77 original, obviously, which they own outright) through 2020, by which point who the hell knows what we'll be watching movies on. Guess that doesn't apply to digital downloads though.

You make an excellent point on Disney pushing downloads and their seeming fading interest in physical media -- Disney has indeed domestically shied away from Blu, as not only 3D titles but several catalog releases remain available only overseas (Splash, Quiz Show, Turner & Hooch, etc.). We'll never see those in the U.S. except, potentially, as "Disney Movie Club" exclusives like Return to Oz, which you have to sign up for to purchase (or find a copy on Ebay once the prices diminish).

Yet, if Fox owns the movies through 2020 and Lucas is no longer calling the shots, who knows what could happen. Maybe they could broker a deal with Disney to do the original versions. Certainly nothing is holding up a straight original version of STAR WARS '77 since Fox owns it, but I'm guessing they don't want to go that route unless they can do them all.

At this rate, I don't know, honestly, yet if there's the potential for studios to make money, why would they not capitalize on it? That's why I think there's still a chance as there's certainly a healthy interest in it. The price on the currently available Blu seldom drops very low (not even on Black Friday is there a heavy discount) so it has to be selling even at the current price point it's basically floated around.

That, and the fact that George can't tell them no -- unless it was contractually specified, I suppose, in the "sale" of Lucasfilm.

EDIT - Here's a 2012 article that directly goes into it. I don't believe much has changed:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/t ... -up-384541

Fox owns distribution rights to the original Star Wars, No. 4 in the series, in perpetuity in all media worldwide. And as for the five subsequent movies, Fox has theatrical, nontheatrical and home video rights worldwide through May 2020.

While the rights on those five films eventually will revert to Disney, that "in perpetuity" pact for the first film appears to be an obstacle to Disney releasing a complete set -- unless a deal can be made.

[DavidBanner]

Disney may have marketing and production control of the new movies, but I don't think they have carte blanche to mess around with the original movies as produced and mostly directed by Lucas. Meaning that any revised release of the originals, such as the new digital downloads, would just be the versions Lucas has approved - namely, the most current SE versions. I've heard rumors of 4K work being done on all 6 movies, but we should keep in mind that Eps II and III only exist in 2K, since Lucas insisted on shooting them using then-current HD cameras that only went to that level of resolution. A 4K uprez of those movies will not reveal any more detail, and the existing Blu-rays of them reveal the limits of the CGI created for them. I have a feeling that a 4K uprez of the SE versions will similarly reveal issues with the CGI done to enhance the original movies.

I've felt for some time that it was possible that the originals might have their theatrical cuts included with single Blu-ray editions, in a similar fashion to how this was done in 2006 - with the Lucas-preferred SE going on a primary disc, and the original cut going on a second disc. For DVD, Lucas played the game of just using the 1993 laserdisc masters so that the fans got their original cuts as a bonus feature, albeit in 2.0 sound and in a little box in the middle of their screen. For Blu, I could see the original cuts each getting a quick 2K scan from an IP, with perhaps a 5.1 version of whatever the last sound mix was that those cuts had in theaters. This wouldn't exactly be pretty - I don't see Lucasfilm spending much time or money on this - there would be scads of VFX issues that the 2K scan would reveal - boxes around the ships, matte painting reveals a la Raiders, etc. But the fans would be able to watch these versions on their HDTVs without having to reduce them. This would be a cheap way for Lucasfilm to once again cash in on the movies, and I had thought this would happen as part of the publicity for the new JJ Abrams attempt. But the digital release indicates to me that Disney may be leaning in another direction entirely. And I don't see Fox spending any more coin on this - they've already made their money from the earlier DVD and Blu-ray releases. So it's possible that we've seen all we will see as far as the original cuts getting a DVD release.

The real question now is whether Disney's Instant Franchise idea is going to hold any water. Abrams' attempt will undoubtedly have a great opening, as there are a lot of fans eagerly awaiting it. But if we're looking at another disaster like his Star Trek stuff, there could be a steep fall-off - and Disney's attempt to make a bunch of movies around the new one with shall we say questionable choices in their staffing could backfire horribly. I believe it's telling that Abrams is getting out as soon as this movie is released. The idea of Star Wars movies under the creative direction of someone like Riann Johnson indicates to me that Disney is less interested in telling good stories than it is in quickly and impersonally shoveling out vehicles for further merchandising.

My expectation is that the Abrams attempt will have a few nice moments here and there, but mostly be what we've been seeing from him since he was ejected from LOST: Flash and slick moves without substance. The Johnson movies will attempt to emulate Abrams' approach, with even less substance. And one can only wonder about the spin-off movies. I'll continue to enjoy the original movies as I have them on disc. Even if the new franchise bombs, we'll always have the originals - in the same way that I tend to ignore the recent Abrams Star Trek attempts, as I have the earlier TV and movie series and can watch those when I wish.

[AndyDursin]

. But the digital release indicates to me that Disney may be leaning in another direction entirely.

The thing to keep in mind here is the digital release is the only revenue outlet for Disney in regards to the old movies at this time. They don't control the DVD, Blu-Ray, theatrical exhibitions of those movies until 2020, so of course they're trying to cash in. The digital release is the only place they can do so until Fox's distribution rights run out, so naturally they're looking to exploit whatever they can. I'm surprised it took them this long to release them. As for the currently available Blu if it's still selling, admittedly there's no reason to do anything else. Yet they exploited the DVD release twice when the time was right...they'll do the same if there's enough of a market for the Blu Ray.

It certainly wouldn't take a lot of effort to release the original versions. You can find 1080p scans of 35mm prints of EMPIRE online (I believe we had a topic about it previously) that look good, warts and all, from private collections, that are compatible with Blu-Ray. If a group of fans can do that, there's no reason someone at Lucasfilm/Disney/whatever can't run into the vault and do a quick scan like you suggested.

Bottom line for me is studios will never, ever shut off a potential revenue stream. if they think there's enough of an audience out there for a Blu release of the original versions then we might see it.

[sprocket]

. Bottom line for me is studios will never, ever shut off a potential revenue stream. if they think there's enough of an audience out there for a Blu release of the original versions then we might see it.

I think that everyone has caught onto the fact that any physical media platform (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and now Blu-ray) is transitory. So no one is going to say, "Let's not release something now because it's going to cut into our future profits."

They'll release it now if they can make a profit on it: In 5 or 10 years the platform will be dead and buried anyway.

[Eric W.]

The opening scene from the tralier there with the Star Destroyer in the sand kind of reminded me of the opening shot of the Enterprise in the Star Trek reboot. I don't know what to think about this movie, to be honest.

More of the same.

[AndyDursin]

I've been reading folks online speculating FORCE AWAKENS is merely a remake of EPISODE IV using Disney's "racially progressive" Politically Correct recasting among its new leads (black male/white female = good guys, younger white male = bad guy).

While I've never really bothered to think about it much, THIS is the kind of thing that would only happen in a "Disney STAR WARS" where they seem to employ bean counters to ensure their corporate racial/sexual identity "checklist" gets promoted in some project or another. I'm just wondering -- does this kind of sexuality have anything to do in STAR WARS much less SESAME STREET? Did anyone care if Lando was gay?

Funny thing is I always figured it was Admiral Ackbar who was in the closet.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest- ... -Wars-book

Hero soldier Sinjir Rath Velus comes out in a new novel, which is part of the smash hit sci-fi franchise with arch-baddie Darth Vader.

The space warrior appears in Star Wars: Aftermath, which bridges the gap between Return of the Jedi and new film The Force Awakens.

Sinjir, an Imperial turncoat who now serves in Luke Skywalker’s Rebellion, is the first major gay role to be part of the Star Wars universe.

Chuck Wendig, author of Star Wars: Aftermath, said: "I don’t think his sexuality needs to be this giant plot point. At the same time, it’s part of who he is.

Especially since you don’t necessarily see it as much – not just in Star Wars but just in science fiction.

"Comics are just starting to figure out that they exist in the world."

Sinjir reveals his sexuality to female bounty hunter Jas Emari, who tries to chat him up.

The book features another gay character, Norra Wexley.

The novel has so far received mixed reviews, with games website IGN giving it 5.9 out of 10.

It describes Sinjir as someone who "rarely gets the chance to shine".

The Force Awakens, the next film in the series, is out in December.

Last week hundreds of fans – many in costume – queued into the night to be among the first to get their hands on toys from the sci-fi saga's new film.

Excitement mounted as the launch gave a tantalising first glance at some of the franchise's brand new characters.

A range of brand new Star Wars gadgets also went on sale which fans have been snapping up.

[Paul MacLean]

I'm just wondering -- does this kind of sexuality have anything to do in STAR WARS much less SESAME STREET?

I guess some people think so...