ST JJ Abrams to direct Episode VII

Well, like I said, I normally don't read this stuff unless it is from the original source - the fact that writer got it wrong is another reason, apart from the laziness.

How do I get the original newsletter?** I wasn't aware that was the source, I thought that guy had an advance copy of the magazine. Best to go to the source, rather than give another website revenue for doing nothing.

I'm asking because I have subscribed, but nothing has arrived in my inbox.

 

did you subscribe?

 

It's okay. I emailed them. That will sort it.

EDIT: Maybe it takes a few hours or I subscribed too late to get that particular one.

 

There is going to be no end of that kind of laziness coming.

I was 27 and found him great and funny and he has only gotten better over time.

Just like Yoda (who for some reason I didn't know why then had Grover's voice)

Relying totally artisitically ? No.

That is more the marketing aspect. That said they could have certainly done more differentiation if they wanted to.

Obviously though they are using it in spades in ways the PT couldn't possibly use it in comparison.It will be using the essential quality of the entire saga though of course the people that don't recognize that this is already true for the 6 episodes so far will not see it that way.

They somehow want to separate Anakin from Vader and pretend to themselves they are not one and the same person.

Was there some movies after ROTS that I missed?

Character driven enjoyable authentic well acted characters abounded in the PT so no problems there at all.

The only question is can JJ possibly match Lucas in any way shape or form as a visual and music director of strong character driven films?

While I liked JJ's 2 Trek they were pedestrian in comparison to any of the prequels. It was basically Kirk and Spock and a bit from Khan and that was about it in terms of really interesting characters. The prequels abounded in them. I mean look at just support characters like Dooku, Jango, Mace, Jar Jar, Shmi, Watto, Grievous and more.

Memorable character after character. Is Captain Phasma just going to be a cool looking suit walking around or is there going to be something there? Is Gleeson going to be anything (whatever he is?) Serkis or anyone else. I hope they aren't like Nero and his nondescript crew.

 

Yes. And they'll get nothing from me. Not after that article.

Slashfilm writer, you have betrayed me ... you will rue the day!!!

 

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/jj-abrams-star-wars-extended-interview

 

It's odd because the interviewer Bruce Handy doesn't seem to realize this "the audience was plunged into this fully imagined world, and it was a little bit of a sink-or-swim thing." is exactly the same thing that happened in each and every Star Wars movie. Obviously after ANH the effect was not quite the same for TESB and ROTJ just like after TPM did it then AOTC and ROTS (which also was tying into the first film) couldn't do the same thing.

Whether or not TFA will be able to do that to the same degree that ANH or TPM did I rather doubt. We are too familar with things now especially in a post ROTJ timeline.

This is a view that to me is totally the opposite in reaction:

For me, it took some of the fun out of Star Wars when all that backstory was filled in in the prequels.

For me it did nothing but add "fun" to Star Wars.

The basic "problem" is explained by JJ:

You didn’t really understand what it meant that there was a Senate or the Dark Times or any of the references, and yet you felt the presence of all these things and you understood because it was all being referenced in a way that allowed you to fill in the blanks, and that’s a very powerful thing.

It is but lead to the troubles for some few people because their story was wrong. They didn't like the real story being told because it took away from their own version. Which is one of the things the ST is going to have to deal with in another way.

Handy is kind of missing the point though. For the new generation of fans the entire 6 movies of the saga so far are going to be the backstory.

 

So that's why he's offing Han! JJ is a huge Mark Hamill fanboy.

 

I think the interviewer (Bruce Handy) is typical really i.e. someone with little insight trying to establish their interpretation as the reality in printed form. I'm glad Abrams put him right re. the "winking at the audience" sentiment. Abrams is spot on in that all the SW films are played with honesty and not 'self aware' in that sense. It doesn't mean one has to believe it... but they are clearly constructed that way. And yes, I think many of us agree that Hamill is underrated in SW.

 

DP

 

Yup, Handy doesn't come across as having done his homework very well.

 

It seems like JJ is putting the main backstory of 7 offscreen (between 6 and 7) and in mysterious flashbacks just to be able to give people the same experience he had when watching 4 and 5 and discovering Vader was Luke's father. I hope they keep the Episode number off this one, because it skips an important chunk of story just to surprise people. Watching 1-7 will feel like something big is missing between 6 and 7. In that sense, it really is for new fans. Just like his Star Trek was.

The reason his MY NAME IS KHAN reveal flopped was because he was simultaneously making it for a new audience, while relying on people knowing who Khan was. Old fans expected it, new fans didn't care. Now, people know the backstory, so they are expecting revelations like Rey is someone's daughter and Kylo is someone's son. They should just be out with it. They will never repeat that 80s Star Wars surprise experience again. One should never rely on mystery or surprise when telling a story. A story should not be built around mystery or surprise. But this is JJ and that is what he does. There can be shocking events going forward, but nobody will be shocked by Han or any other OT characters dying, or by Rey or Kylo being offspring.

 

This is one of my main worries for TFA... in that I believe Abrams has a tendency to forfeit natural/organic story telling by trying to create faux mystery and drama. We have to remember that in ANH, although part of Lucas' world building and mythology was to establish the Clone Wars, the Imperial Senate, the Republic etc., these were treated very much as background. We didn’t actually need to see the Clone Wars or Vader killing the Jedi in context of the film itself. In terms of plot/characterisation, I hope that Abrams doesn’t try and establish too much ‘off screen’ or with the use of ‘flashbacks’. Of course it's a given that things happen prior to TFA to help shape the events, but I think it would be better for the film if it closely followed the model of ANH.

 

Look at ESB. The Rebels found a new base, Han ran into bounty hunters, Luke learnt how to use telekinesis, Vader discovered who blew up the Death Star... and this happened all in between movies. As long as Episode VII picks up thematically where Episode VI left off, it's all good.

 

Yeah, Khan was handled very poorly in STID, which was a mess overall. ST09 I thought was great fun. But Trek was a reboot proper. This is not. This is a continuation of a story. This idea that TFA shouldn't be VII is an odd one to me, as is the idea that there is too much backstory for this to work. I suspect it will all play out very clearly and simply when we see it. I don't have a problem with a little mystery in there either - I'm not sure what has to make it "faux".

The reason Khan doesn't work in STID is not because there is mystery surrounding the character, it's that his reveal means nothing to Kirk. That's poor execution, not an issue inherent with all mystery.

 

Yes, what Abrams is saying he had to remove many references that were not essential for the audience to "fill in the blanks" of the intervening 30 years.

He is probably talking about like this - what if in TESB, there was a piece of dialogue/a flashback before, or after, the wampa attack that showed Luke learning how to use the Force Pull. It wasn't necessary in TESB - Luke is able to to do it somehow, the audience accepted that it wasn't necessary to explain how and why.

Abrams originally had too many details about the missing three decades, because he is a complete nerd and overthought the whole thing . They weren't essential to the story on screen so he cut them down to a sensible level, so that us folks will overthink them.

 

Yes, JJ is talking about not over-stuffing it. So you only get what you need for the movie to exist and function within it's own narrative (while also fitting into the wider fabric, which other than ANH, all the films have done).

 

And also, I think it's important that nothing very major happened in the last 30 years that we wouldn't expect from watching 1-6. From a storytelling point of view, you want 7 to pick up right where 6 left off, with a pretty uneventful 30 years in between. Otherwise, why skip it?

We would expect the Rebellion basically succeeded in their mission. It's throwing quite a curveball to say it ain't so and just not show that happen. A whole new Order 66, the Rebellion being further defeated, and cataclysmic events leading to another Jedi exile with Leia and Ackbar against the ropes again is something that wouldn't normally just be in between episodes.

 

I disagree. I kind of like the fact that things have been shaken up and we're not sure what we're being thrown into. Playing catch up with only the crawl to go off has always been one of the joys of all the films

 

Yes, and another part of the fun will be getting the comics, novels, etc. to fill in that 30 years.

 

But imagine if Episode 2 was called Episode 3 and they skipped the events of Episode 3. That's what it's like. We've never seen a story gap this big before in the saga. Watching 6 to 7 will feel like watching 2 then 4, skipping 3.

The saga never relied on the extra material this much. It was supposed to work as a standalone experience. Hence the Episode numbers. This major gap in the main story would be solved by taking away the episode number completely on TFA, and just treating it as a new series. That's what it really is. It doesn't belong to 1-6.

 

Well, you're not factoring in the logistics and real life passing of time. I coped with ANH not giving me events beforehand. I coped with TPM not giving me events beforehand. I get that this is a slightly different scenario because we don't quite know where we've been or where we going, but so long as they give me the info I need, when I need it, and so long as the characters and story are engaging, I'm more than happy to be pitched back in the deep end. I'm not sure how you judge that it doesn't fit the saga without having seen it?