ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

A "safe" director is exactly what the Star Wars franchise needs at the moment. Because if a second PT should happen, the franchise would probably be done for. No, this has to be a success.

 

I don't know if anyone else has been feeling this way, but I had started to wonder lately if JJ Abrams IS the best choice.

DON'T get me wrong-I think he's great, and based on his past experience and the fact that he himself is a SW fan, I agree it makes sense, and definately is a "safe" choice.

BUT



Everything I've been reading so far has painted this picture of him being reluctant to take on directing Episode VII. Every interview, he talks about how he "almost didn't do it," and it was because of some other person that "convinced" him to do it. Now, I don't want to be skeptical suzie or anything, but: if someone is constantly only talking about how he wasn't sure if he was up to it, and every interview makes it out to be like he was "enticed" to do it by some external means, how truly self-motivated can he be to make sure Episode VII turns out great, really?

When you encourage, convince, whatever you call it-someone to do something, unless they believe in what they're doing and find motivation with themselves, it will never be accomplished to its fullest-and in some cases, the person may even give up! That's what happens when motivation comes purely from outside, instead of within! (Exercising and improving health is a great example of this-it applies here, as well.)

Someone that is going to take on such a big and highly anticipated undertaking needs to be ENTHUSIASTIC about what's ahead, and put their heart in it-NOT apprehensive and even skeptical about their ability to do a great job. (I have only seen evidence of the latter so far.)

Can we trust that even though he seems to have a pretty clear lack of motivation, he will be able to get past his apparent apprehension, and start off the ST on the right foot?

I have YET to see an interview to convince me that "yes" is the answer to that question...

If there is an article/interview to the contrary that I missed, please feel free to point me out to it. I would welcome the encouragement!

 

Those are definitely valid points, but I suspect that it may be a case of reading too much into the words he's using in interviews. Whether he's not thinking about how they could be interpreted, or is just trying to appear laid back, I think it may belie the actual understanding he surely has about how important this is. He has to know his career and reputation are going to be strongly affected by this, so I am pretty confident he's taking it very seriously... regardless of how much prodding it may or may not have taken early on to get him to take the job.

 

I do agree that Abrams is an incredibly safe choice *not bad but safe*. If Disney/Lucasfilm decides to go with the "new director for each film" then I can see the hiring of JJ to be like this: They chose him because they know there is a good chance that he can deliver a solid film. Get the franchise on a good start, then you can be more daring and pass episode 8-9 onto lesser known *but equally talented* directors now that the hard part is basicly over. Am I making sense?

 

Abrams also said he wasn't a Trekkie and Star Trek 2009 was a smashing success, revitalizing a basically dead franchise. I think the guy simply wants to make sure he choses the right way before he deeply commits himself to a certain project. Imo that's a very good thing. It's better than the alternative of someone saying "yes" while being unsure.

 

Good point. I have more respect for someone who only says "yes" for the "right" reasons, and after careful consideration.

 

It was a good interview that didn't say too much, but I wasn't really expecting it to... Why on earth, though, did they keep saying that it was a *reboot*? I get so tired of seeing that miscommunication in the media around Episode Seven.

 

Agreed! Stop with the "reboot" description already, please.

 

Right, it doesn't need one, and the dumb media doesn't seem to get that this isn't one. The Episode 7 part should be a clue for them.

 

Yea, anyone who calls Episode VII a reboot doesn't know what a "reboot" is. It's called the Sequel Trilogy for a reason. Anyways, here's some JJ Abrams related news for the day regarding Star Wars.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/j-j-abrams-decided-direct-145700025.html

 

You know what, I hadn't thought of it that way. Good point

 

Or pass the spin-off films, live-action TV series, cartoons, and/or other projects to more "experimental" directors; plenty of room for that down the road (especially with 1 movie per year plus who knows how many other bits). JJ was the absolute best choice because, as you say, he is the best bet for an excellent SW films. Go with a wild card, you have a pretty fair chance of a crap film. This is no time for experimentation, the demand is high to deliver top-notch product.

 

Good points there... I must say I do feel a little better now...

 

It occurred to me that when the media says "reboot", they might think that that just means "breathe new life into". It's more than that, of course, but from that perspective it makes a little more sense.

 

Having recently discovered Fringe I have to say I have more faith in choosing Abrams. With Fringe and even Alias there was a solid parent-child theme that is definitely right up Star Wars alley. If they get anywhere close to the Walter-Peter relationship in Fringe we'll all have a good Ep. 7 experience.

 

And if they cast John Noble in E7, all the better

 

Yes, definitely agree on that.

 

Since this is JJ Abrams, I look forward to the onslaught on painful, hard emotions, crying, pain, nostalgia and angst he almost always brings. I believe there is a Redlettermedia clip where he makes fun of Star Trek 2009s hyperdrive emotions
(22:00 of this video)
. I would be suprised if we aren't hit with a train full of emotions *whether they be good or bad* with the sequel trilogy. I ain't complaining though.

 

Yeah and from what I am hearing about STID, we should get ready for tons of male crying, death, suffering and getting revenge over the deaths of loved ones. Oh god its going to be amazing! I look forward to the angsty fan fic this movie will bring......also I hope JJ does what he did with Star Trek and bring on the sexy new cast *cause sadly you can't sell 60-70 year old Hamill to young women who are used to sexy leads between the ages of 20-35 and are drop dead gorgeous with abs like Cavill (aka the love of my life) and Hemsworth (God of Thunderous abs and hair). Sad truth Nostalgia can only do so much and its highly unlikely you'll attract the stupid preteen-teen girls without at least somebody around their age who they wont feel creepy about crushing on*. I demand eye candy *who are also good actors and fill me with FEEELS!*