ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

Uh no, George is the author. The author is not obliged to shape his vision to what others see as their understanding of something. Nobody will ever "understand" Star Wars more than George cause he is the author of it. To infer that somehow JJ knows Star Wars better than George based on a few interviews, I appreciate people trying to be positive with EP7 coming up but let's not go overboard.

 

Star Wars was a collaborative effort and not a one-man show.

 

First, some do seem to forget that George had lots of help with the OT and shaping the entire "story" of the universe. He was a huge part of it, but some seem to forget everything his wife, the two ghost-writers for the original, his many friends that helped shape the original. Not to mention Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. There is more to understand of Star Wars then just writing. And honestly the PT just missed the point in some ways to the OT. The thing is George is no longer the author, the reins are no longer in his hands. Even Kasdan said in that interview back in February that there was something different about the PT:

Also:

The point is, we will get some new feel, since there already has been something different done between two trilogies. But it seems Kathy and co want to stay closer to the OT. The thing is even back in the late 70's George wanted Star Wars to be like Bond. And have other people play in his sand box, and create their own stories. He said it was prime for that. Took him a long time to really let others fully do it. To claim that George is the end all be all is just ridiculous. Some authors can create better stories then others. Even if they created the world. Look at Batman/Superman, most the best stories were not told by their creators. And that's just that.

 

Actually the first cut of Star Wars (by George) was supposedly "unwatchable", if I remember correctly.

 

Sometimes when one is so involved they can't look back to see what made it what worked. I'm not saying that George does not get Star Wars. (he did back in the day). To me and many others the PT really showed he either wanted to change what Star Wars was about. I've read thesis projects that some seem to pull more from it then him. And again.....you do know that most of the top stories in universes mainly comics are not written by their creators? George has stated a million times he hates writing, and gave it during the OT to others to let them do what he did not like. And it was other authors that fleshed out the characters even more so, and created more depth to the universe. Again if you think George did everything (well he did with the PT and it suffered for it) it's just crazy, he did not. If you look at the history and how many people helped him create his universe it's insane. Collaborative effort. I think that others that really follow/fans of Star Wars can understand it (like good film makers like JJ) as well or who knows maybe even better.

I choke all the time when I see PT defenders try to act like George was some sort of God and on the 7th day he created everything by himself.

 

Sorta, the first cut of the film(without finished effects) was kinda of a mess. The film came together when Richard Chew, TM Christopher, and Marcia Lucas all started to give their input. Lucas, also, had a big part in the editing of that film.

But, the editing of that film was BIG reason why it turned out the way it did. The original Star Wars is one of the best edited/paced film of all time.

The lack of high quality editing is painfully obvious in The Phantom Menace. The movie has all sorts of pacing problems. I was kinda shocked, because if there was anything Lucas was good at, as a filmmaker, it was editing. Thats why you don't take massive amounts of time off actually directing or cutting films....

 

I don't. Sometimes you can get stuck in old thinking pattern so much that only a fresh pair of eyes can bring some innovation and evolution into a franchise. And I think Abrams is far more innovative than people give him credit for.

 

Well first George did rehash a lot of the OT he just kept saying he was making it "rhyme" to cover up that he did not have a lot of new ideas. But beyond that ya George had a huge part of it, and he knows a lot of the details. But I think we are talking more of the general aspects. I think as an overall film-maker, from the writing/directing stand point more so (even George admits this) that JJ is much stronger and will understand how to bring Star Wars to life. I will admit JJ may not know the details of all the stuff that George probably knows, but to me that's easily fixable and not the most important aspect. To me the more important aspect is bringing back the feeling of adventure into the mix. I love George don't get me wrong, he is one of my personal heroes, but I can admit his blunders and reality as well. But I think JJ knows the most important aspects that a film maker needs to know for it, he's a massive fan and all his work has mirroring of Star Wars in it. Hell ST09 and STID were simply great Star Wars films with Trek skin covered over it. ST09 and STID "felt" more Star Wars to me then the PT did at it's core. But lets not go there I guess. My point is JJ understands how to make a Star Wars film. I find the notion that some thing just understanding the lore is "understanding Star Wars" when to me understanding the truest importance of Star Wars is understanding good story telling and film making.

 

I don't think he is innovative at all. I think he is a pure imitator. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing for something like episode 7.

 

I'd be more impressed with Abrams if he had a serious go at his own space epic. Sure, Trek shows he does zoom and boom relatively well and Super 8 marks him as capable when it comes to pastiche, but beyond that there's little to nothing I see in his work that makes me think he possesses a great mind for narrative and world building. I'll most likely enjoy his take on Star Wars, but I certainly don't expect it to redefine the series or show some cinematic mastery that outclasses Lucas's recent efforts.

 

I don't think it's hard to out class George with the PT. That and George had zero "world" building showmanship prior to Star Wars. JJ is a great director, but you have to remember there are many more that are being allowed as part of the process including Michael Arndt, Larry Kasdan ect. The thing is his narrative is usually not by JJ, he rarely writes the scripts and sadly has worked with very poor screen writers, taking mediocre screenplays and making good films out of them. JJ is a lot like Spielberg not a screenwriter himself, but a damn good director. I think with the staff JJ has with him now they can really create something amazing. Arndt is just such a wonderful story teller. Those two combined is what will make it not just JJ alone.

 

Even though I'm used to the Lucas hating, it still catches me off guard all the time. Even the the "press releases" and "interviews" make it sound like George has gone to pasture to die and let Disney and Abrams make their own "pop culture" version of Star Wars seems a little far fetched to me. Even if you want to say that George is NOT involved, even Iger said that "Disney has acquired 1,000s of places, characters and stories". By proxy Iger/Disney are using the already established "content" created by Lucas, and the team that Lucas lead for over 35+ years up until last year.

This community will always be divided. There are those that want something completely new with the Star Wars name slapped on it. And there are those who want to keep with the "Star Wars Tradition/Feel" (whether it be OT, PT or both).

Being optimistic I hope Disney just follows the existing format and doesn't change it. Excluding the PT and OT debate, those 6 films had roughly the same "feel". They were "Star Wars". IMO that is how it should continue. The other side I find drastic, basically changing everything up to the point to "almost" a reboot. My point is Disney bought Star Wars based off of it's PAST performance. Whether you like it or not, that WAS the George Lucas era. They didn't spend 4 billion on what they think Abrams could do. The bought an EXISTING brand.. That was the street cred that Disney purchased. It's up to them how they gamble on it's future. I say stick with what works.

 

Ya we do very much disagree,. That was the main problem with the PT. It had zero heart, zero emotion, and no soul. It was Star Wars on a superficial level. Anytime he started running out of ideas "PUT LIGHTSABERS IN THERE!" Star Trek had heart and soul but it was not fully trying to be Star Wars. So that's the big problem right there. It is different for other reasons still, that and yes the screen writers are meh. But no worse then PT George for sure. And the "depth" in the PT was so convoluted it took the novelization authors and others to fill in the gaps that even George could not figure out. The Trek films were not meant to have depth. So again I disagree. JJ will bring what a director should, heart, emotion, and a well constructed film. It is more of the work of the screen writer to bring depth. Which Arndt has in spades.

 

I think we have ourselves a great opportunity, with the range of talent in key places, to have a great SW Trilogy, with the benefit of Lucas' involvement and blessing.

 

Of course, I think with bringing in lots of new talent is a great thing. They have a great team with very unique backgrounds. But all have a deep love for Star Wars. I have a feeling the ST will be really really good.

 

It's ideal, if you think about it...thanks to George.

 

The new Star Trek looks gorgeous for the most part. In my opinion (and I know TOS) he was successful with keeping the traditional Star Trek elements but modernizing them, adapting them for today. He didn't just copy them but rather improved on them (especially regarding Vulcan, the Enterprise bridge, or London). He made some missteps here and there (Klingons) but visually the new Trek never felt bland (unlike Kamino or Geonosis).

The pacing is also exorbitant, almost revolutionary high throughout the movies. This is something that is greatly different from Spielberg, though I'd personally prefer a slower pace. I believe Abrams is sometimes too fast for his own good because it makes it easy to miss small subtleties.

 

Exactly. I didn't dislike his Trek, but they were definitely the type of movies I'm fine with watching one time only. This is not the case with the Star Wars films, which I keep revisiting over the years precisely because Lucas's work gives me more to chew on across the board (theme, character, visuals) than I find is the norm for the pulp adventure genre. Perhaps others may be right in touting the importance of the writers and their potential ability to set a new standard for this series. But if Abrams' style is emphasized first and foremost and in the manner that Trek has displayed, then I expect Episode VII to mostly be an exercise in "fastest and most intense" hyper-pacing, mass audience safe sentimentality, and bro attitude.

 

Me too... and I think that Lucas' work up to this point, which made the franchise so desirable to Disney and which has so much promise of yielding more in the years to come, should not be underestimated. Of course he didn't do it alone, but it still wouldn't exist without him.

 

Ya gonna disagree. First stuff to chew on? Characters in the PT? Ya I guess I did have a lot to chew on....mainly why were they so bland and I had no caring for them what so ever. And you think the PT was not made for mass audience safe? Star Wars has always been about mass audiences to think other wise is ludicrous. Lucas was trying to get everyone to watch his film. Padme put on 500 different dresses for girls to get excited, a JC Penny Catalog model Look-a-like (Hayden). A cartoon rabbit for the real young kids. A child that races for the 8-10 year olds to gawk at. Tons of mindless lightsaber toting action with no emotional connection for the younger males. Boring political non-sense for the older crowd. However I will agree that there is nothing wrong with what he did in terms of bringing in the masses (his execution was poor but the idea not poorly founded) Star Wars is about the masses. And I don't get the "bro attitude" in Star Trek lol. Ya right. Trek is the farthest thing from that and was not really pulling in that crowd. What the PT keeps me chewing at in all honesty is the depth of how they are an example of what not to do in film making. But I'm sure we will disagree with that which is okay.

I will agree the PT has more of the Joseph Campbell types of depth and themes when you look at it from a macro level. I do agree there. But the execution was so poor. JJ is not some "bro" director he has done some extremely deep stuff. Lost is a good example of that as well. Star Trek 09/STID were never meant to be super deep, and were written by the guys that wrote Transformers, but the execution was superb. Still made great fun films. Again the mixture of JJ having such a good crew with this pretty much shows that yes, these films will not be mindless entertainment. And I think JJ and crew know that. I will stop with the PT cuz I don't want the mods to get mad, but to just say that JJ is a "bro audience" type of director is just not true at all. None of his work has gone for that.

 

Oh ya, it would not. I am very excited, with so many people involved, you just feel a re-invigoration. Man to be a fly on the wall in JJ's offices right now. I just would love to see some concept art/news.....maybe this weekend.....*crosses fingers*