STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - Blu-Ray Thoughts

[Jedbu]

As long as there is no "lead-lined" Millennium Falcon or Shia LeBoef around, this could work out.

[Paul MacLean]

I like Star Wars just fine, but haven't we had enough? I'm tired of studios regurgitating more of the same formula instead of taking a chance on something new.

[AndyDursin]

The way I look at it: there has never been a cinematic sequel to STAR WARS itself.

Growing up, we went from 1983-1997, and had nothing -- no spin-off series, nothing at all, to satiate those of us who grew up with the series. It's not like Star Trek where it was one spin-off after another that lasted for decades, never mind years. Star Trek fans had the original series, then all of the original cast movies, then TNG, then Deep Space Nine, then Voyager, then Enterprise....you get the drift. And even then, when Lucas did decide to make more STAR WARS, they were prequels to a pre-established storyline we already knew the outcome of!

I definitely understand the notion of doing original properties -- of course I'd rather see that -- but that's not the way modern entertainment, sadly, works. And if you're going to expand on a universe, the STAR WARS universe really has been unfulfilled in terms of telling other stories and "expanding the property" as it were. So long as it's handled well, I'm excited about seeing what Abrams and the other folks outside of Lucas will do. Even though it's been omnipresent in terms of being a part of modern pop entertainment, there still hasn't been an actual continuation of the original '77 series of films over 35 years since its release.

[Paul MacLean]

Growing up, we went from 1983-1997, and had nothing -- no spin-off series, nothing at all, to satiate those of us who grew up with the series. It's not like Star Trek where it was one spin-off after another that lasted for decades, never mind years. Star Trek fans had the original series, then all of the original cast movies, then TNG, then Deep Space Nine, then Voyager, then Enterprise....you get the drift.

With Star Trek though, you've got the "exploration" angle -- a largely uncharted galaxy, which is fertile story ground to keep "boldly going where no man has gone before" (which TNG ran with...though admittedly few of the movies did).

To me, Star Wars was wrapped-up with Return of the Jedi -- the rebellion overthrows the empire, the emperor is dead, Darth Vader redeems himself by dying to save Luke. No expansion on the Star Wars universe could ever be as satisfyingly epic as the fall of the republic and the defeat of the empire by the rebels.

[AndyDursin]

With Star Trek though, you've got the "exploration" angle -- a largely uncharted galaxy, which is fertile story ground to keep "boldly going where no man has gone before"

That's precisely how I look at the possibility of more Star Wars movies. There's a whole galaxy of planets, creatures, characters they can create and/or expand upon.

Of course that's assuming they want to give us something new and not just a rehash. The possibility is there at least to write a fresh storyline that brings viewers to new places and people they haven't seen.

To me, Star Wars was wrapped-up with Return of the Jedi -- the rebellion overthrows the empire, the emperor is dead, Darth Vader redeems himself by dying to save Luke. No expansion on the Star Wars universe could ever be as satisfyingly epic as the fall of the republic and the defeat of the empire by the rebels.

Maybe not but the original trilogy finished 30 years ago. When you look at the direction modern cinema has gone, where they continuously just reboot/rehash/sequelize everything, I don't think you can say Star Wars as a franchise has been close to being maxed out yet (maybe it will be after 3 more movies and a couple of standalone projects if those come to fruition). Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers -- the very things that inspired Lucas -- went on for serial after serial, for years and years. There's no reason you can't write a new series set in the same universe with fresh characters and its own storyline. Maybe it won't compare, but then again, it's been so long since Return of the Jedi that there's no reason not to go for it. (I'd also much rather see a sequel than a REMAKE/reboot where they just retell the original trilogy...yuck!).

Star Wars fans have had to manage with continuations of the original trilogy storyline in Timothy Zahn's terrific books and other well-received (and some less so) projects -- so why not give them more cinematic entertainment instead of just leaving it to comic books, video games and novels? If it's done properly (like Abrams' Star Trek, or Rise of the Planet of the Apes, etc.), I think people will be excited to see what they come up with. If it's just a heartless rehash, it will disappoint.

The other big key to all of this, and maybe it's the most significant point of all: there's also a whole generation of younger viewers who weren't even born when REVENGE OF THE SITH was released -- never mind RETURN OF THE JEDI! Kids ought to be able to experience a big-screen Star Wars movie as well, and almost certainly these films will be made for them, and not just us aging fanboys. People (myself included) often tend to forget that.

[mkaroly]

If it's done properly (like Abrams' Star Trek, or Rise of the Planet of the Apes, etc.), I think people will be excited to see what they come up with. If it's just a heartless rehash, it will disappoint.

That's my big concern. I am admittedly excited to see what product they can come up with without Lucas' involvement. They really have a chance to open things up and breathe new life into the series. My concern is that they will rehash it to be safe (and to cater too much to the fanboy audience), which will ultimately disappoint. I am also concerned that it's Disney...not a big fan of their output.

[AndyDursin]

If it's done properly (like Abrams' Star Trek, or Rise of the Planet of the Apes, etc.), I think people will be excited to see what they come up with. If it's just a heartless rehash, it will disappoint.

That's my big concern. I am admittedly excited to see what product they can come up with without Lucas' involvement. They really have a chance to open things up and breathe new life into the series. My concern is that they will rehash it to be safe (and to cater too much to the fanboy audience), which will ultimately disappoint. I am also concerned that it's Disney...not a big fan of their output.

Disney has been very smart in letting Marvel do their thing -- and it's paid huge dividends. If they let Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams work their talents along with the other people they're bringing onboard (like Kasdan and others), it can work. They certainly have a better track record than Lucas himself has had in a while too.

[Paul MacLean]

Just came across this...

http://www.movieweb.com/news/john-willi ... pisode-vii

One of the many questions still yet to be answered in regards to Star Wars: Episode VII is who will compose the score. While nothing is set in stone yet, John Williams, who crafted the music for the six previous Star Wars movies, revealed at a recent concert that he wants to come back to work on the score for director J.J. Abrams' sci-fi sequel.

"We're about to play Star Wars [audience interrupts with cheers] and each time we play it, I'm reminded of the first time we played it decades ago. Neither I, nor George (Lucas), nor anyone else involved thought this would go far or in a few years there would be a sequel and I'd have to revisit the themes...and years later another trilogy. Now we're hearing of a new set of movies coming in 2015, 2016...so I need to make sure I'm still ready to go in a few years for what I hope would be continued work with George...[more cheers]."


Of course, George Lucas himself won't be too involved in Star Wars: Episode VII after selling Lucasfilm in October for north of $4 billion. Director J.J. Abrams has used composer Michael Giacchino for all of his feature directorial outings. We'll have to wait and see which composer is in fact chosen to work on the music for Star Wars: Episode VII.
Star Wars: Episode VII comes to theaters in 2015.

Sounds a lot like what they were saying about the final Harry Potter movie a few years ago.

[Monterey Jack]

Even though he's in apparent good health, Williams will be almost 85 by the time the next Star Wars movie hits theaters, so I seriously doubt he'll contrbute anything more than a couple of Superman IV-style "themes by John Williams" that will be arranged and conducted by someone else, likely Michael Giacchino.

[AndyDursin]

I'd love to hear it, but I'll be surprised if Williams writes the score as well by the time it rolls around in a couple of years.

Besides, Giacchino's good at being a hack. Writing a ersatz-styled Williams score would be the best thing for the movie -- and he's done it in the past with those Medal of Honor scores, so why stop now? Certainly it won't take much to eclipse the non-factor Desplat was in the Harry Potter films.

[Eric W.]

I'd love to hear it, but I'll be surprised if Williams writes the score as well by the time it rolls around in a couple of years.

Besides, Giacchino's good at being a hack. Writing a ersatz-styled Williams score would be the best thing for the movie -- and he's done it in the past with those Medal of Honor scores, so why stop now? Certainly it won't take much to eclipse the non-factor Desplat was in the Harry Potter films.

If it's MG...and I bet it will be...he NEEDS to do his best Williams Medal of Honor ape job for this.

[Eric W.]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/20/ ... d-han-solo

Recent reports have surfaced that Harrison Ford is indeed set to return for Star Wars: Episode VII and that the film will focus on the Skywalker and Solo children. Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, spoke to Entertainment Tonight recently to clarify his involvement and talk a bit about the possible return of Luke, Leia and Han Solo.

"They're talking to us," he said. "George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we'd be interested. He did say that if we didn't want to do it, they wouldn't cast another actor in our parts – they would write us out. … I can tell you right away that we haven't signed any contracts. We're in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed -- on their end, not mine. They're more busy than I am."

Hamill had previously stated that he and Carrie Fisher had spoken with Lucas about Episode VII and Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm well before the official announcement, so it is unclear how much has progressed since that time.

The actor wouldn't commit to saying that he knew precise details about the script and story for Episode VII, but his speculations are fairly close to the rumors that are now circulating.

"I'm assuming, because I haven't talked to the writers, that these movies would be about our offspring -- like my character would be sort of in the Obi-Wan range [as] an influential character. … When I found out [while making the original trilogy] that ultimate good news/bad news joke – the good news is there's a real attractive, hot girl in the universe; the bad news is she's your sister – I thought, 'Well, I'm going to wind up like Sir Alec [Guinness]. I'm going to be a lonely old hermit living out in some kind of desert igloo with a couple of robots.'"

He did stress that he’d like to see the bulk of the original cast make an appearance in the film rather than just one key player, i.e. Harrison Ford.

"Another thing I'd want to make sure of is - are we going to have the whole gang back? Is Carrie and Harrison and Billy Dee and Tony Daniels, everybody that's around from the original [returning]? I want to make sure that everybody's on board here, rather than just one."

Hamill also said he’d like to see the film revisit the magic of the original both aesthetically in terms of the balance of the practical and CGI effects and in terms of the tone.

"I said to George that I wanted to go back to the way it was, in the sense that ours was much more carefree and lighthearted and humorous – in my opinion, anyway....hope they find the right balance of CGI with practical effects. I love props, I love models, miniatures, matte paintings -- I'm sort of old school. I think if you go too far in the direction of CGI it winds up looking like just a giant a video game, and that's unfortunate. … If they listen to me at all, it'll be, 'Lighten up and go retro with the way it looks.'"

While there is no official word, it starts to feel more and more like Episode VII will indeed be exploring the Skywalker/Solo legacy.

Star Wars: Episode VII opens in theatres in 2015. J.J. Abrams is set to direct from a script by Michael Arndt.

[AndyDursin]

Thanks for the info Eric. Hamill has an awful lot to say in terms of suggesting the tone of the new series, doesn't he? lol. Not that he's wrong -- just, I'm not sure they care what he thinks. More like, just show up and take your cameo check.

[Eric W.]

http://www.palmbeachillustrated.com/ind ... Tatqld9T5O

Carrie Fisher confirmed to return to Star Wars as Princess Leia in Episode VII:

PBI: "Disney is going to continue the Star Wars saga, producing movies set to hit theaters starting in 2015. Can you confirm whether you’ll reprise the role of Princess Leia?"

Carrie: "Yes."

[AndyDursin]

Yikes.

That's scary!