ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

I think Disney should make a replica of the Council Chambers,
12 seats...
1 for Lucas/His Children Someday (Iger)
1 for Lucasfilm Head (Kennedy)
1 for Disney CEO/Appointed Star Wars Liason (Iger)
3 for Directors (Abrams, Whedon, Snyder or Vaughn)
3 for Writers (Ardnt, Lindeloff, Plus 1 More)
1 for Leland Chee/Palbo Hilago (Continuity)
1 for Star Wars Animated Section
1 for Disney Acountant.

These 12 seats would pilot the direction of Star Wars for generations to come

 

A seat for Leland Chee... it is to laugh.

 

Neat. JJ seems like a great director for Star Wars. Excited.

 

I could have sworn it was Nsync.

 

Pro Scoundrel, I'm replying to you because you seem to have the most "neutral" post. Not to get all "deep" and "emotional" but Star Wars has been a BIG part of my life since the late 70s.. I've liked everything Lucasfilm has put out since (yes, including the PT and TCW). The news of the Disney buyout hit hard, control moving from Lucas (the maker) to Disney, the faceless corporation. I still tried to be optimistic, and was giving it a "chance". I started to worry when rumors of a "Samurai" SW spinoff popped up.

The Abrams news again crushed my optimism. I'm not going to rehash the reasons why I don't think he is the right fit (that was several pages ago). I just don't want to have Star Wars re-done in someone else's vision. Lucas haters aside, he got us to this point, trusting anybody else is hard to do. For some reason I don't get that "warm fuzzy" with Abrams. I get that "gut" feeling, that intuition, that somethings not right with that pick.

I agree, we can always say "I told you so". And even better, come back here and flame the Abrams Fanboys into oblivion just like they do with Lucas now. BUT, in the end we are stuck with a craptasic Star Wars film. No one really wins

 

I would agree that this is a plausible scenario. But we don't know for sure. Certainly Whedon got to basically start from scratch with Zak Penn's Avengers script, and hone the project to the best of his ability. And then you add in that weird factor of Pablo Hidalgo and company somehow giving notes to the script so that it may or many not protect canon?

My point is that we're in this weird, nebulous place where anything is possible. I'm still curious if JJ has been involved in pre-production for a while, or if this is sudden. This movie is supposed to go in production in "the spring." So May at latest. And he's finishing the effects and tweaks on another huge movie, for which he is going to have to do lots of press. While somehow shepherding a giant new era in Star Wars.

The mind reels.

 

The day that story broke that was huge. Well I just hope we are able to get spoilers since JJ is anti spoilers.

 

I am so happy the directing job didn't go to one of those Pixar people. Screw Pixar.

 

I just hope Abrams doesn't get his hands on Downton Abbey next. I can only take so many things being JJfied.

 

Nah, he will be working off of stuff that already has the script and storyboards laid out for him. If Williams retires though, I could see Abrams getting Micheal Giacchio to do the score. But the writing aspect will have already been finished. In fact, it could be a reason why he agreed to it in the first place.

If there is any script doctors, it probably has already been settled in house. Kasdan and whoever that dude is.

 

Whether or not it is good, JJ is a good man. Did you hear about the man who was dying who he let see the new Star Trek? That there is a good man... A real life Fanboys movies right there.

 

I found the idea exiting, considering how Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress greatly influenced Star Wars. The idea of a one off story with rogue Jedi in a "Seven Samurai / Magnificent Seven" type story sounded bad ass.

 

First there's the fear that he'll bring Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof on board to rewrite the script. You may say that if that doesn't happen, Abrams should be fine.

The problem is, Abrams is a journeyman director. He has shown no cinematic flair, no voice of his own. Normally that wouldn't be a problem. Marquand and Kershner were journeyman directors. The difference is, they had Lucas. Heck, Lucas even stepped in to direct the throne room scenes in Jedi. This time around, Lucas has stepped back. He wrote the initial story treatment but he won't be on set to guide Abrams. He may be a phone call away but for the most part, Abrams is on his own.

Let's look at his track record. He's conceived quite a few TV shows without sticking around to see them through. His philosophy on storytelling is the mystery box concept but while he may conceive of the questions, he does so without coming up with answers. People bring up Lost. He didn't run that show. After the pilot it pretty much wasn't his show anymore. He abandoned Alias halfway through. But what about his big screen efforts? Mission: Impossible 3 was basically an extended episode of Alias if Jennifer Garner had shrunk and gotten a sex change. There was nothing cinematic about it. Star Wars, even Clone Wars, is purely cinematic. Abrams is most comfortable in TV and doesn't really have a style when it comes to movies?

But what about Super 8? Well that was his attempt to make a Spielberg movie. Let that sink in for a second. No voice of his own. Quentin Tarantino make homages to old genre films he loves yet they are still distinctly Tarantino films. It's still his voice. Abrams made Super 8 and it was OK. But it was a pale copy of Spielberg. Well, what about Star Trek? Again, he lacked his own voice and tried to make a Star Wars movie. Again, it was OK. But it wasn't quite Star Wars and it was too dumb to ever really be Star Trek (Orci and Kurtzman take much of the "credit" for that).

If you're going to direct a Star Wars movie, you either need Lucas by your side to guide you or you need a strong enough directorial vision of your own to carry the film. It's unlikely that he will have the former and thus far he has shown no evidence of the latter. He basically copies from other directors and films and because of that, his films lack any real soul. The only thing that is truly his that he brings to the table are lens flares, which are overused and annoying. Super 8 ended on a lens flare for Yoda's sake.

You may ask if any of this matters. Even if he has no cinematic flare or real vision of his own, he's competent enough. Sure. I'm sure Star Wars VII will be OK. But if you're going to make a new Star Wars trilogy after being repeatedly told that the story is over, "OK" simply isn't good enough.

 

Giacchio is amazing. He is the next Williams, if and when he retires. He could do a wonderful job, not Williams, but very very close

 

A month ago now, Abrams did an interview in which he said that he turned down an offer to direct EVII, so I highly doubt that he's been involved in pre-production, which seems to have been going on, in one form or another, since June.

 

I'll suspend disbelief for a moment and say that the script is locked. But if JJ is using someone else's storyboards then:
1. Why hire a director, if they're not going to storyboard for themselves?
2. Whose storyboards/pre-viz/designs etc are these? Who approved them?


Again. I just don't see Kathleen Kennedy walking around the room with a stamp choosing between maquettes. And I don't see JJ not doing his own storyboards.

I hope we eventually find out that JJ has been in and out of the Ranch since August or so working on this project. Or if nothing else, that George has been managing the pre-production, and is going to pass the baton to JJ.

 

Well, since at least part of that was a lie...

 

^ How do you figure? Irvin Kirshner initially turned down The Empire Strikes Back but was persuaded to change his mind and accept the job, and, based on everything we know, it looks like the same thing happened with Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy really wanted him to direct the film and wouldn't, ultimately, take no for an answer.