main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by Kuestmaster, Jan 24, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    So it's being filmed in London? What's with the obsession with London all of a sudden? Ever since Mass Effect 3, most sci-fi plots revolve around that city. Does this mean a reaper invasion is in our future?

    Oh no, I've gone cross eyed.
     
    BigAl6ft6 likes this.
  2. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    Reword that as "Ever since Star Wars was filmed there in the '70s..." and you will have your answer.
     
    Trebor Sabreon likes this.
  3. EHT

    EHT Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 13, 2007
    Yeah, it's for the interior / special effects shots... soundstages, etc. Not for exterior settings. Although some of those exterior settings shoots may be done in Scotland or Ireland if other not-yet-confirmed rumors turn out to be true.
     
  4. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    maybe Buckingham Palace will double for Leia's new gaff .
     
  5. Darth_Arapsis

    Darth_Arapsis Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    May 21, 2013
    Nobody knows how much control Lucas has.
     
  6. GGrievous

    GGrievous Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2005
    Googling his job, "creative consultant," might give you some clues.
     
  7. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012

    People who think that Abrams is just going to take a draft of Arndt's script (all based exactly on what Lucas' story notes were), salute, and shoot every page as is without even approving the script or working on it are seriously deluding themselves. He's flat out said numerous times that they are all collaborating on the script with other writers. To reiterate: Abrams is not simply Richard Marquand on ROTJ. This is very different.
     
  8. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    The whole "LieMax" tag for Digital IMAX theatres is incredibly irritating. It's not the half-a-baseball-stadium size of true IMAX screens, yeah, but it still looks fantastic and the picture is significantly larger than regular movie theatre screens. I can't see anyone walking into one of those and turning up their nose with a "Phsaw! This is not true IMAX!" and the stomping out angrily. It's a pretty damn immersive alternative anyway. Big and high resolution is still what you're going to get out of it. Also I think it's incredibly difficult to look at a Digital 3D IMAX image when the IMAX stuff pops up and say "Oh! How horrid! My eye cannot see the resolution through this atrocious 3D!" If anything, it still *has* that resolution and it's hard to say that 3D completely destroys everything that's positive about the IMAX format.
     
  9. Darth_Arapsis

    Darth_Arapsis Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    May 21, 2013
    He could be ignored. We don't really know anything unless we can read the contract.
     
  10. Darth Claire

    Darth Claire Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2012
    I kinda wonder why soo many fans are against the idea of anybody other than Lucas having any influence over the story *or basicly anything* about this movie. I doubt its just JJ Abrams cause I bet if it was any other director we would still be having this debate. My guess is its this idea that if it isn't 100% Lucas's idea then its not Star Wars and will suck. IDK.
     
    Darth Chiznuk likes this.
  11. The Hellhammer

    The Hellhammer Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 2012
    If it was 100% Lucas, yet another group would be pissed off.
    You just can't please us fans.
     
  12. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    I love GL and I'll be happy with whatever amount involvement he wishes to have but I'm not upset at all that others will be doing the heavy lifting on this trilogy. I'm incredibly excited that we have the kind of talent as Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams, Michael Arndt, Lawrence Kasdan, etc. to spearhead this new era. I really think they're going to knock it out of the park with this and I think they'll make Lucas proud. :D
     
    Pro Scoundrel likes this.
  13. GGrievous

    GGrievous Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2005
    I doubt he'll be ignored due to Kathleen Kennedy being there and out of respect.
     
  14. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    If I were a betting man I would guess that GL's main contribution (besides his treatments of course) will be in post-production. I'm not saying he'll be overseeing it or have the final say (that obviously won't happen) but I think he will be consulted and will heavily contribute to it.
     
  15. Darth_Arapsis

    Darth_Arapsis Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    May 21, 2013
    I don't think the industry in general respects him as a storyteller and J.J. is also an successful producer so he might take some Katherine's work while she is pursuing other projects.
     
  16. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    I don't know why they bothered releasing all of those information videos about the future of Lucasfilm... few people seem to have actually paid much attention to their content.
     
  17. Darth smaug

    Darth smaug Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jun 11, 2013
  18. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    it's a con , its not Imax . It's just more video .

    I didn't really understand the second half of your post , but it's well understood that 3D decreases the light and by it's nature will make a lo of the picture murky , and it's not just the audience that notice this , experts like Doug Trumbull have said it many times .

    it's all just a con , make things look worse then you can start charging people for slight improvements .

    picture quality at the cinema is now worse than its been since ... ..before the 1930s I'd say .
     
  19. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    which videos ? do you mean the ones where Lucas and Kennedy are talking about stuff ?
     
  20. d_arblay

    d_arblay Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 26, 2005
    Are you kidding? Not respecting him as a director? Misguided but believable. Same goes for not respecting him as a writer. But as a storyteller? Lucas is still massively respected as two things - a pioneer and a storyteller. And JJ Abrams and Michael Arndt will certainly respect him, you can bet your bottom dollar (even more so after they actually work with him, I'd imagine).
    "Creative consultant" is also one of the vaguest and most pointless job titles on a movie. Tom Mankiewicz was officially the "creative consultant" on Superman. What did he actually contribute to the movie? Only the small matter of the screenplay. How much Lucas does on Episode 7 we probably won't really know. However much he wants to, possibly. He might even go and write a complete draft all of his own - not likely given his displeasure with the writing process - but the point is, he could. And those involved in the process would sure as hell pay attention to it. For Episodes 8 and 9 I imagine he'll do relatively little. But Episode 7 really does require a fair bit of his input.

    In the end, while he's not responsible for building or steering this particular ship, I'm pretty sure he's still the one ultimately charting it's course. And that's fundamentally important, if not the most important thing of all.
     
  21. smudger9

    smudger9 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 29, 2007
    I don't get it either. The best Star Wars films to date are ANH and ESB. It's no coincidence that these were the films that had the most "non-Lucas" influence. You could argue that the quality of a Star Wars film is inversely proportional to the extent of Lucas's involvement.
    Now, I'm not a Lucas-hater. He is a pioneer and a genius, and Star Wars is all his creation, however, he also has weaknesses.

    When I look at behind-the-scenes footage of the prequels, it makes me cringe. Lucas had essentially become a dictator, and nobody dared question any of his decisions. If Lucas had sole control of the sequel trilogy, it would end up like the prequel trilogy with sloppy storylines, poor script, lazy directing and an over-reliance on CGI.

    What we have for episode VII is a dream team, with the outline coming from Lucas, a well-assembled team and made-to-measure director. The ST is going to be epic.
     
    fishtailsam likes this.
  22. d_arblay

    d_arblay Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 26, 2005
    Utter nonsense. If anything, his influence over ROTJ was arguably smaller than it was on ESB. As for having less influence on ANH than ROTJ? Please...

    Also untrue. Have you seen (to quote just one example) the bit in "The Beginning" documentary where, during the auditions, he is actively asking for those in attendance (be it John Knoll or Doug Chiang) their opinion on who is best suited to play Anakin. Or during the screening of the rough cut where members of the crew show their dissatisfaction with the final reel of the film, prompting Lucas to admit "I may have gone too far in a few places."

    Or ANH perhaps? This is becoming tiring.

    Of course.

    Y'know a relative of mine was once very fond of saying vaguely racist things, usually with the prefix "Now, I'm not being racist but..."

    In discussing Lucas' qualities as a filmmaker (unless you know him personally, it's the only qualities you can fairly judge) you credit him as being a sloppy storyteller, poor scriptwriter and lazy director, while showing contempt for CGI (the thing he so passionately "pioneered"). Gotta say, sounds as though you really don't admire all that much about him.
     
  23. smudger9

    smudger9 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 29, 2007
    Utter nonsense. Lucas spent so much time supervising Marquand that he was essentially a second director. And as for ANH, yes that is the anomaly in my theory, however, he still had numerous collaborators on the plot and script, and it was also the only Star Wars movie where Lucas had to answer to the studio.

    It's easy to show your dissatisfaction when a project is completed, you've been paid and the failure of the project isn't on your head. Maybe if someone had piped up a bit earlier and said "Hey George, doesn't this movie need a protagonist?"

    Wow, loving the selective reading and random conclusions. Exactly where did I show my contempt for CGI? And I suppose you're going to tell me that that the prequels had exciting, water-tight plots, well written dialogue and excellent direction?
     
  24. Jedi Merkurian

    Jedi Merkurian Future Films Rumor Naysayer star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    May 25, 2000
    Beware Lucas bashing/gushing. The dark side are they. Quick to join you in a post, they are. Once you start down that path, forever will it dominate the thread. Consume you, it will.
     
  25. d_arblay

    d_arblay Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 26, 2005
    Supervising does equate to influencing. He'd never worked with him before, unlike Kershner (his mentor) for whom he had an obvious trust. And even then, there are more ways to influence a movie. Lucas wrote the entire second draft of ESB on his own - a draft which matches the finished movie very closely. As far as I'm aware, he never wrote a draft of ROTJ alone. He had Kasdan all the way. As for the overall plots of both, they were entirely his.

    A studio that nearly, in their infinite wisdom, shut the production down and had no idea what Lucas was making. It's a fantasy to pretend that their influence improved that movie. If anything, it made it poorer. And he had collaborators, but so too did he on each and every Star Wars script - either credited or not.

    A rough cut of the film is by no means finished. They changed a hell of a lot based on the reactions of Lucas and his crew during that screening.

    Red Letter Media subscriber, I presume?

    In your list of criticisms of Lucas' filmmaking abilities you cited "an over-reliance on CGI". You failed to mention whether it was necessary or well executed. Therefore, it's mere use is criticised which highlights a contempt for the medium itself.

    Most of that cannot be proven. It is a matter of subjectivity. Your opinion is that the PT contained none of those things. Fine. You're entitled to that. But it's by no means a verifiable fact. I loved many aspects of the PT, yes. Did I think it was perfect and couldn't be improved? No.
     
    FRAGWAGON likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.