ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

Haha, maybe we were, but I thought someone mentioned The Goonies before me too.

 

Never thought I'd do this to a mod, but it has to be done...

 

I heard a rumor that JJ Abrams is directing Episode 7?

 

Hmm, Fincher's take sounds interesting, although I'm not too keen on his idea that Star Wars "with creatures" is a bad thing. One thing I like about Abrams is that I don't think he's the type to entirely shun the more goofy aspects of a pulp story like Star Wars.

 

Anyone think that JJ is leaving SW after Ep7 because he hasn't had the freedom he wanted or was used to with true Bad Robot productions?

No lens flares, no flashbacks/time travel, no shaky cams, etc....maybe JJ felt that all the things he does in movies have been stripped from him?

 

I don't think that's true.

 

Yes and no.

Yes he's probably stepping back because this isn't how he would normally make one of his movies and the stress/pressure is likely leading him to step away from personally sitting in the chair this next go round

No because "lens flares, flashbacks/time travel, shaky cams, etc..." isn't what makes JJ Abrams a filmmaker.

The reasons he's stepping back likely have a lot to do with why George himself stepped back after Star Wars. He's under tremendous pressure, he's got a hard deadline, he's in a country he doesn't want to be shooting in, things keep going wrong, the schedule keeps going sideways, and he's got to have this thing in the can and working not just "okay" but WELL enough to justify the time and money Disney spent in purchasing Lucasfilm.

And then he's supposed to hop right back in the chair once he gets the final cut locked, and start this dance all over again for another two years?

Trust me, THAT likely has way more to do with his decision than the possibility that Kathleen Kennedy is making fun of him for lensflares and directing the LOST pilot.

 

He said he almost didn't take the job because he'd planned to take a couple of years off to spend time with his family. And it was rumored that he almost dropped out because Disney insisted they film in London, and his family is in California.

I'm betting he's not doing VIII because he wants to go back to California and be with his wife and kids.

 

I get it guys. But I think a lot of you may be looking back on The Goonies with nostalgia-tinted glasses. That movie has a lot of pretty groan-worthy issues. The kid actors are good though, which is what I thought it had in common with Super 8.

Anyway... back to JJ.

 

So does Star Wars, but we still love it despite the flaws.

 

My OPINION is that The Goonies is a much more flawed movie than SW (obviously) or many of the other examples discussed already. That doesn't mean it isn't a fun movie.

Anyway, let's please get back on topic.

 

I guess we both have our "nostalgia-tinted glasses" then.


Speaking of JJ, he seems to be producing Star Trek 3 and Directing Star Wars 7 at the same time. How does he find the time?

 

Ever look at Abrams producer credits? It's crazy large. For a lot of the TV shows (ala Person of Interest) he is involved with the pilot and maintains an EP credit. For movies, and in the case of the next Trek, he is apparently a bit more hands on. He was even on the phone with Shatner!

Funny aside: Abrams called Shater about something for the next Trek flick (even though Abrams isn't directing the movie) and Shatner, being William Shatner, has immediately started blabbing about it at conventions. William Shatner meets JJ Abrams and Mystery Box shatters. Someone get Shatner into Ep. 7, at least we'll know something!

 

Heh.

Yes, I think it's safe to say JJ Abrams loved the Goonies, and that's definitely one of his inspirations for something like Super 8. And considering a lot of the curiosity regarding Abrams on Star Wars has to do with his ability to play filmmaker Karaoke, looking at his attempt to ape the tone of The Goonies on that movie is pretty interesting.

I think he got close, but he didn't land it. And the problem there is that The Goonies is, itself, a mess when it comes to tone. It's just kind of a mess, period. It's an enjoyable mess that kids love because it shows kids being little brats and saying cusswords and getting away with it while fooling a bunch of adults, and what kid between the ages of 6-12 wouldn't LOVE the idea of being able to say swears and play in the catacombs under their small town all day? But Donner's attempt at doing Spielberg just comes off shrill and mean-spirited more than anything, and Abrams attempt to place that tone in Super 8 is a large part of why Super 8 doesn't work all that well, either.

Essentially, both movies feature a lot of annoying kids screaming at each other to shut up while something (someone) tries to kill them. The Goonies does it better than Super 8 does, but not by much.

Super 8 is actually one of the main concerns I have with Abrams on Star Wars. Super 8 was his love letter to Amblin films of the early 80s, and he put a LOT of time and care into that, and ultimately, he muffed it. So it's a nice reminder that being talented, having a clear vision, and having the will and the ability isn't a guarantee that the end product is going to be what anyone really wanted.

Hopefully Abrams has Super 8 in the back of his mind. And I know for a fact Super 8, in conjunction with Into Darkness, have warned him off from buying so hard into that Mystery Box b.s. It's no coincidence that the two movies he wrapped up SO TIGHT in that mystery box stuff are two movies that ended up feeling hollow to varying degrees when we finally had the lid taken off that box.

 

The first half of Super 8 works a lot better for me. Once the monster is running around killing people it feels like two films are spliced together and not that successfully. I know what you mean about the kids though - there was a lot more to ET than kids with overlapping dialogue. Every now and then I think he hit what he wanted, but on the whole he misses the bullseye. I thought he did a great job on Trek 09 but STID was a complete mess. Fingers crossed he sticks this one, and that's where I'm hoping the story work done by Lucas, Arndt and the script work done by Kasdan helps him get over the finish line this time around.

 

The first half of Super 8 gives me hope, as do the general performances, cast chemistry, energy, fun and sense of stakes in ST 09 and MI3 give me a lot of hope too.

 

My thoughts exactly re. Super 8...

 

Saying JJ is good at characters but bad with action?

 

I think he's good at getting good performances...the characterization itself is up to the writers (i can't speak for his writing ability, per se). I also think he's good at filming action scenes, but again, the writers sometime hamper him on that. Star Trek was written by the same guys that wrote Transformers, afterall.