ST Horn: Script expected in January

1:40

 

Yes, that wasn't really directed at you.

But some other members on this board act as if everything is just peachy and whoever doesn't agree with this is a fool.

 

I don't think that you are a fool for having an opinion, but I do think that it is foolish to worry about things that we have been given no reason to worry about. Whether they had to start from scratch or not is of little relevance. They have given themselves time to recover and shoot a proper film. We are still 2 years out. That is a lot of time.

 

They have lots of time but another argument can be made asking why it's taking so long. If the story is good why is there such problems? And if the story ISNT good, then thats an even bigger problem.

If the story is good, then it should essentially write itself.

 

I'm surprised it's only 200 mil. That seems to be the lowball figure for most blockbusters nowadays (Star Trek Into Darkness cost 190 million dollars and I would assume Abrams would get more money to work on Star Wars). Of course, there will probably be budget creep, there always is. Saying it tops off at 250 mil.

 

Why is it taking so long? Scripts are written and re-written all the way up to shooting. There are even re-writes on shooting days. That script won't be done till they have all of their scenes in the can. From there, if you want to argue "What if?", I won't partake. Making things up to find a reason to argue or to be concerned is silly at best IMHO.

 

Once the writing credits for the flick hit, we'll know how much of Ardnt's work remains. If his name is still on the screenplay, at least the framework and major characters are there (for example, Zak Penn has a story credit on The Avengers and Whedon tossed his script out. But the major beats, which characters were involved, the progress of the story, so he gets a story by credit with Whedon). If Arndt gets an "AND" on the screenplay underneath "JJ Abrams & Lawerence Kassadan" (the "&" implies the writers work together closely) then a chunk of his script is still in there there.

If Arndt gets busted down to "Story by" credit (probably with George Lucas), then a lot of his work was tossed, but general moments / big framework remains.

If he ain't anywhere on it, then it's a Page 1 rewrite for absolutely everything different.

 

Boo Boo Pants.

I'm not really concerned. The revision seems to have had less to do with content than character focus. So we may be keeping many of the same scenes and plot elements, but now with more Luke instead of Han. That sounds like a good change.

I'm glad JJ had the conviction to move in the direction he wanted. Hopefully it will pay off.

 

That's just an assumption, correct? People just assumed the shift was from Han to Luke right? Or did I miss something? Genuinely asking.

 

Yep. An assumption based on the rumors a month or so back. Might not be true, but if so, it shows that rewrites sometimes aren't just because something is poor work, but that people have creative differences.

 

It would be so wizard if the reason for the script being reworked was to add characters proclaiming things being "wizard".

 

Kitster is the Episode VII villain.

 

So production problems and the director considering leaving the project in summer are suddenly no reason to worry about?

Sorry, but I'm not taking any happy pills.

 

You are basing your worries on a rumor. Those "problems" with the script have obviously been dealt with. The script will be set in a month. You don't need to take happy pills, but I could recommend some "There are no facts that should cause you to worry, so why worry?" pills.

But you can worry over rumors. That is your prerogative.

 

I'm not sure anyone needs to be concerned... afterall it's not our livelihoods and reputations that are at stake. Clearly there have been problems in production... and I don't expect these to abate anytime soon. However, at this stage it's impossible to tell if they will manifest in the actually quality of the film itself - I hope not. Many poor films have been made with unproblematic productions... Saying that, I think there's enough going on to prevent Ep VII being a 'great' Star Wars movie.

 

1. Where has anyone officially said Arndt's script(?) was reworked? Perhaps Arndt was brought in to work on the entire trilogy arc and Abrams/Kasdan are fleshing out Episode VII into shooting form. Maybe? I think the assumption is based on the fact that he was writing something for a year and Abrams/Kasdan got involved in the last six months. Is that right?

2. When the script is turned in we might get the official word on whether Arndt will get story credit or screenplay credit, or both.

 

Well, Dra---, I would suggest reading them for they are some of the best EU that I've read. But I'm also bias. Without spoiling too much they cover the major events of Han Solo's pre-ANH days. Without getting into details the "tweaks" I suggested are minor and pertain to Han's character and some other characters for that matter, in Book 1. But overall they're pretty good and would make a fine basis for a trilogy of movies IMO.

 

So you completely believe them when they say they're shooting in January (probably)? And how do you know that the problems were dealt with? Because they say so?

Every reporter who is not Disney affiliated tells a differrent story.

And by the way:

"Working with Michael was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t be a bigger fan of his or adore him more, He’s a wonderful guy and was incredibly helpful in the process. And working with Lawrence Kasdan, especially on a Star Wars movie, is unbeatable. It became clear that given the time frame and given the process and the way the thing was going that working with Larry, in this way, was going to get us where we need to be and when we needed to be. That doesn’t preclude working with Michael again in the future, at all. I couldn’t say enough good things about him. He’s one of the smartest guys, and one of the best writers around."

This makes clear to me that they were not proceeding as fast as planned and now Disney put pressure on them to finish the damn script. Arndt got the boot because he didn't deliver in time. JJ and Kasdan now have to deliver in short time.

No facts that should cause worry, huh?

dolphin

If Arndt were working on VIII and IX, KK wouldn't have risked the publicity debacle that was telling the public he was fired (in nice words). She could just have said he moved onto VIII and IX, which would actually be good publicity.

So either KK is totes incompetent (unlikely), or he was fired.

 

No, I believe them when they say that the script will be done in January and that they are shooting in Spring as they said. What reasons should I have not to believe them? Are you honestly questioning my stance in taking them for their word?

 

Actually, if I'm not mistaken 190 million for Star Trek was mostly Abrams. I think he was given more, but he likes to try to get the budget down as much as possible.

 

In a strange way I am really grateful to Lucas for lining up the BIG 3 and hiring Arndt to write the script, all the while he was prepping to sell to Disney in complete secrecy. It means that he wanted another SW film out within the next few years. He could have done zero prep and sold it outright and had Disney start from scratch. I understand he probably did this for business reasons, but I'm grateful nonetheless. I think he's kind of excited to be just a fan, too. The wait could be longer. Let's hope it's worth it.

 

Or even proclaiming things to be "lightsaber".

 

Yah, apparently STID budget went up due to shooting in L.A. at Abrams request, even flat out says in this article that "Whereas the first two (Star Trek) were shot in L.A., the next (Star Trek) will be filmed in a more tax-friendly location. "We're making it for what it should have been shot for last time if we had made it outside of L.A., which we would have done except that [director J.J. Abrams] didn't want to," says a studio source. "That was a $20 million issue." (Abrams, busy with Star Wars, is unavailable for the third Trek.)" Also, y'know, Abrams complaining about having to shoot in U.K. but that may keep it at 200 mil this time.

Still betting slight creep up to 250 mil. That will be reported to the press, that is.

 

^ I give J.J. credit for not outsourcing.