STAR WARS ROGUE ONE - December 16th

[sprocket]

I don't know; I kinda like that trailer. Lots going on, decent effects, "Star Wars", cute British girl, Forest Whitaker ...

Not that I've seen any of this stuff. Marvel universe? DC universe? Force Awakens? Naw!

[AndyDursin]

I realize that the Page Six writer wants to present Disney as in a complete panic and the reshoots as something to take the entire month of July.

Nobody has refuted their story anywhere I've seen. In fact, Variety, Deadline, the Hollywood Reporter and several other outlets all confirmed it with their own respective sources.

There's Disney spin in a couple of places -- I think the Hitflix piece has a source that says the film is "good but needs to be great" -- but nowhere has anyone cast doubt on the initial story that there is going to be 4 weeks of refilming and the film doesn't need to be (substantially) "enhanced" for one reason or another.

At this point, if the Page Six report wasn't accurate, you'd have at least some (any?) outlets throwing cold water on it. That hasn't happened.

[AndyDursin]

The "lengthy, significant" reshoots -- which a couple of outlets are now reporting will take 6 weeks, never mind four -- have tapped BOURNE writer Tony Gilroy and 2nd unit director Simon Crane to help lighten the tone and punch up the action.

According to this, Gilroy is also going to be directing the new scenes -- so is Edwards basically fired? Sure sounds like it.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-v ... sts-899530

Veteran stunt coordinator and second unit director Simon Crane has been tapped to assist with the lengthy reshoots for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

Rogue One, being directed by Gareth Edwards, will undergo significant additional filming this summer, it was revealed earlier this week. Disney and Lucasfilm are hoping to accomplish several goals with the reshoots, including working on the tone of what has been described by sources as a “war movie.” The lightening of the feel of the film is meant to broaden its appeal.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, and while Disney isn’t expecting similar returns for this movie, the bar has been set high for subsequent franchise installments. In other words, a paltry $400 million isn’t going to cut it for a Star Wars movie, so Disney wants as broadly-appealing a film as possible.

The involvement of Crane, who has crafted the action sequences of movies such as World War Z, and the Tom Cruise sci-fi action movie Edge of Tomorrow, also indicates that Rogue One’s action is being worked on as well.

In addition, THR has confirmed that Tony Gilroy, a screenwriter whose credits range from asteroid blockbuster Armageddon to three Jason Bourne movies and the Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton, is working on the new pages for the script. Gilroy, like Crane, has a relationship with producer Frank Marshall, husband of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

Sources say Gilroy, who also directed a trio of movies including Bourne Legacy, also will be involved in helming the reshoots, which will take place at Pinewood Studios outside London. The length of the reshoots has not been revealed; some sources have pegged the shoot as lasting up to six weeks.

Crane began his career in stunt work on movies such as Aliens, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall and Saving Private Ryan. More recently, he worked on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, World War Z and Edge of Tomorrow. He eventually began doing what most masterful stunt coordinators do, taking over action sequences himself as a second unit director. He did so on 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, while more recent work included World War Z, Maleficent, and this summer’s Jason Bourne.

Rogue One, starring Felicity Jones and Ben Mendelsohn, focuses on the fabled mission hinted at in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, that of a group of rebels stealing the plans to the Death Star. The plans later end up in the hands of Princess Leia, who transfers them to R2-D2.

[DavidBanner]

This information, now coming from an actual industry paper, confirms what the rumor pages had been discussing. Not sure how this kind of reshoot will actually fix this picture any more than the frantic reshoots being done for Suicide Squad. As I said before, this wasn't something I was planning on seeing in the theater in any case. I'll be curious to see how people react to it.

[Paul MacLean]

The plot thickens (or should I say gets radically altered)...

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/star-wars- ... tor-538979


"On top of the potential overhaul in directorial talent, new reports suggest that Rogue One’s reshoots will be substantial – substantial as in 50 percent of the entire movie, according to the Latino-Review.

Of course "Latino-Review" is perhaps not as reliable The Hollywood Reporter...but this suggests Rogue One is an even more troubled production than previouusly supposed.

[AndyDursin]

This movie must have been DOA. And not one of these reports has been refuted yet. Latino Review incredibly does get a lot of scoops many accurately.

[Paul MacLean]

New poster design...




And some behind-the-scenes clips...

[AndyDursin]

That poster looks like fan fiction....or fan Photoshop!

[Paul MacLean]

That poster looks like fan fiction....or fan Photoshop!

Not to mention that the Death Star would have to be the size of Earth (or larger) to loom that large in the sky!

I can't generate any enthusiasm for this movie. It looks like a cross between Black Hawk Down and a cosplay convention.

If this had been made thirty years ago, I'd at least be looking forward the to score (which would have been by by someone like Goldsmith, Kamen, Poledouris, Horner, etc.).

[AndyDursin]

DisneyWars. We all have to get used to it, but we'll be getting further and further away from George Lucas' vision as every one of these "products" comes our way.

[DavidBanner]

I'm now doubting that Lucas is involved at all. He basically sold off his material for a large amount of money and is now realizing he really did sell his creation to the slavers.

I have to wonder why the conventioneers aren't asking Edwards about how he feels about Tony Gilroy essentially reshooting his failed attempt, and about how this movie is apparently being re-edited.

But at the same time, I'd have to wonder why the conventioneers aren't asking the WB execs about why they haven't realized their "Justice League" idea is DOA and they need to really think about stopping the bleeding before it gets any worse.

And the horrifyingly embarrassing wipeout for the attempted reboot of "Ghosbusters" is a big head-scratcher for anyone who understood that they should never have made such a terrible idea into a movie in 2016...

[Edmund Kattak]

[AndyDursin]

New trailer unveiled during the Olympics. Quick thoughts:

-Being honest, I'm not feeling it. What exactly am I supposed to find exciting about this story? Lots of explosions and fighting, but that hook to make material with a preordained ending compelling has yet to be hinted at.
-Tony Gilroy's name officially added to the credits
-Ethnically/multi-nationally progressive cast intact, Evil White Guys confirmed
-Is it OK to say I don't find Felicity Jones attractive?

[Paul MacLean]

This film makes about as much sense as a big-budget Dr. No prequel which tells the story of how Felix Lighter came to Jamaica.

[mkaroly]

I personally don't like the commercial that attempts to draw a parallel between the fight for excellence/gold medal and the Rebellion's fight against the Empire. The latter is just a movie and not real life...lol...and one has absolutely nothing to do with the other! IMO it is a silly ad campaign. I am sick of Disney product.