ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

Me too... I'd have sooner just heard him being honest about his wider inspirations though. That's what you really want to hear from one artist to another...

 

Matt Reeves - the Planet of the Apes was pretty great.

 

Very good shout as well. Very good.

 

With this talk about the Episode IX, if JJ does a very good SW film, I would love him to return for IX. If VIII is good as well, an Abrams-directed IX with the script by both Abrams and Johnson could have some huge potential.

 

My gut feeling is that RJ is going to do both, and may even do them back to back.

 

I feel like if JJ came back for IX, it would just make VIII stand out like a sore thumb for being the only one with a different style.

 

I'd prefer Rian Johnson to do both VIII and IX. Either that or have a new person do IX. I do think working on a big film like this gives you major burnout and your second attempt is usually weaker and less focused.

 

I could see Edgar Wright doing the ninth one.

 

People aren't suggesting Cuaron solely because of Gravity. Children of Men is a modern masterpiece, IMO, and he directed the Potter film that's widely regarded as the best (except by some of the more rabid purists). And he has a visual style and a subtlety that's unusually imaginative for a big movie filmmaker. His earlier indie films, such as Y Tu Mama Tambien, were also visually stunning, with well-constructed narratives and great acting.

In short, IMO, he's the best living modern, big budget picture director. I hope he gets Episode IX.

 

I want the final one to be written by Johnson and directed by abrams

 

I prefer exactly the opposite.

 

I'm certainly not a rabid purist, but I very much disliked Cuaron's Potter film. And am slightly irritated by that suggestion.
*whispers* And I haven't seen Gravity.
/tangent

 

I have to admit I wasn't crazy about some of the things he did with what was my favorite potter book, but that not why I want him to do a SW.

I think with his own ideas and visual fidelity similar to gravity, he can make something great and very SW in tone. But my question is, does Cuaron love SW to even do one?

 

JJ has never directed a truly epic film. In this context, I think he is looking to Ford and Lean for inspiration. The fact that he shot a lot of the film in the desert may have also driven him to look to Ford and Lean for pointers.

I also have never noticed any Lean or Ford in JJ's work. Far more Spielberg (which always worried me). But this time, I suspect, may be different.

 

Like I said, all the shots so far have been beautiful. I think it's silly to say he's only inspired by them based on vistas and making such judgements based on teaser trailers. What can be gathered is there's some beauiful vista shots in the teasers, and in that sense the inspiration is justified.

 

An exaggeration on my part. Was just describing a general lopsided split in the HP fan base. Many Potter fans find Prisoners the best. I would say a large majority. It enjoys ESB levels of praise. And the most vocal critics of Prisoners seem to be book purists. But of course that's a generalization. There are indeed exceptions.

In any event, I would definitely suggest Children of Men and Gravity as movies you should check out. Y Tu Mama Tambien tambien, but it's not for everyone.

 

It's not even that. You want a director that understands film; not just anyone that tried their hands at sci-fi.

The man has a sense of imagination and and cinematic style that lends well to a SW stand alone film. He's worked with a franchise before, and works well with actors. That's reason enough for him to do one.

 

Exactly. Many of the fans here seems to like JJ because he has directed a sci-fi film that is well-received, as opposed to someone who understood what film (and not TV series) really is. A good film director isn't merely someone who directs actors well, or someone who knows how to manage a film production, but someone could knows how to make use of the much bigger budget to create a experience within a short space of time.

Lucas understood this well when he was making Star Wars, and it is crucial to find new directors who grasp this concept. To me, directors like JJ and Whedon felt like they are too trapped in having the mindset of being a TV series director, where script and dialogue plays a much bigger role compared to a movie. I think film is a medium where dialogue and script plays a slightly less important role compared to TV series, and understanding this key concept is why movies like 2001 can become such a classic despite having a plot that is difficult to follow. Saying you liked Abrams's previous work doesn't really mean anything if you aren't trying to judge him as a film director.

A good director would know that he or she has a much bigger screen to work with, and knowing how to take advantage of the bigger screen is key to understanding cinema and film. To me, JJ haven't reached a stage where he seems to understand how to take advantage of a bigger screen. It's not merely the case of giving us bigger Starships and bigger explosions.

 

Good thing I think he's good at all the things you keep saying he is bad at.

Super 8 was great! These teasers look great as well.

 

But the point is you aren't explaining to us why you think he is good at the things I think he is bad at. What we are trying to do is try and understand what are the elements that shaped our personal opinions. To me, trying to emulate Star Wars and Spielberg doesn't necessarily make someone the next Spielberg or the next Lucas. What Spielberg and Lucas have done is to create moments where individual scenes can become part of cinematic history with their work.

It's easy to create decent scenes to show off to the audience in teasers, but making those moment last is another altogether. JJ's work haven't really been a part of our recent cinematic history compared to his peers. The fact that people joked about JJ's lens flares speaks volumes about what he has achieved so far as a movie director.

What are the scenes that you can easily named from a JJ Abrams movie, that the wider audience can easily relate to?

I'm always wary about calling movie directors being on par to TV directors, because there are a number of excellent directors who came from the TV industry ( Spielberg for one). Films have the benefit of brining the audience into total darkness, as compared to TV. It just seems that Whedon and JJ are two TV producer/writer that have simply spent too long in the TV industry that they allowed things like smaller budget to affect their directorial abilities.

Sure, they can generally direct the actors well and write decent lines, but they don't seem to be able to bring the audience into the film itself.

 

I've explained it numerous times. I just feel like everyone is repeating their thoughts over and over again. I mean we all know you don't like Abrams. That much is clear. I could go into why I like abrams but everyone knows that as well.z

New developments would be that both teasers look fantastic, and made many many old fans cry like babies. The problem with your argument is you are claiming you can't base opinions on small teasers but to me that's all we can truly base it on. This is about if he can make a great Star Wars movie and judging his Star Trek movies that he only directed isn't gonna tell us that. We need to wait and see. So all we have to truly judge his Star Wars is the teasers of his Star Wars and a lot of people are beyond happy including me In that regard.

Some people aren't happy with what Lucas was doing with the series and to some of those people this movie is the answer to that. Some people love everything Star Wars and then there's people who think abrams is the anti-Lucas.


On and on we go

 

It's gonna be a late night...

 

As for contrasting Whedon and Abrams, a lot of people seem to be judging Whedon based solely on his Marvel work, which I think is a bit myopic. What he's loved for by his fans is a very different portfolio.
But when he's hired specifically to handle a big-budget superhero smash-em-up, boy does he get it right. I think this video is a good take on the elements that Whedon just seems to get, as both a storyteller and a geek, that Abrams never seems to have any kind of real grasp on.
His "Really That Good" features are short films unto themselves, but it's some of my favorite film criticism, and says far more than I ever could in a forum post.

Contrast this with his STID review if you'd like.

 

Joss Whedon is a hipsterized version of Seth McFarlane. He knows what to reference to please fans, but he doesn't know how to put together a good movie.