Discussion Vote: Jon Favreau, Matthew Vaughn or David Fincher.

I don't believe that Fincher is interested, not the Fincher that I've listened in all those commentary tracks for the past 15 years.

But there's a Fincher that I don't know, the one that worked on ROTJ and might have been a SW nerd back then !

 

Yes I agree, Fincher would not feel out of place in the SW saga. He has dreamt of doing another sci-fi movies for years (Rendezvous with Rama, even 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea !)

 

Yeah I think his 20k film is in developmental hell right now. Sad because I'd have love to have seen it.

 

Fincher's style is too low-key, moody, atmospheric, subdued for SW. I'm trying to reconcile my memories of Fight Club, Seven, Benjamin Button and The Social Network with the look and tone and feel of a SW movie. It doesn't work, never mind Alien3's sepia-toned gloom.

 

Well I mean Lucas offered "Return of the Jedi" to David Lynch and David Cronenberg. I'd say Fincher has made lighter fair then they have (Dune excluded lol).

 

I think that a director of Fincher's caliber would adapt his style to SW, going easy on the atmospheric tone.

It's all about evolving as a director and Fincher would likely like that.

 

Sure, he offered it to them, but it doesn't mean they were right for the position. In retrospect we might have got a more interesting Ep. VI if Lynch or Cronenberg had helmed it, but their sensibilities are so far afield from the adventure-fantasy core of SW I'm really rather glad they both declined. Directors, like actors, have unique personalities that often show through in their work regardless of the specific project, and I continue to maintain that neither Lynch nor Cronenberg nor Fincher -- as much as I love all of their work! -- is right for SW.

Okay, in terms of being able to set up cameras and discuss roles with actors and generally interpret the screenplay into a finished film, there is no doubt in my mind that Fincher is eminently capable of directing a SW film. But Fincher is an auteur, and his personal predilections would have to be assiduously curbed in order to fit the film into the established SW style and deliver the piece of mass entertainment that Disney execs and audiences expect. Would Fincher be willing to restrain/constrain himself to those guidelines, to turn from his own man into a yes-man? I am on record as seriously doubting it.

 

I get your argument, and agree with it as a Star Wars fan. As a film fan I am crazy intrigued.

 

I would be fine with either of those three. I'm curious to see what Fincher could possibly do.

 

This is another good point. Favreau pretty much resurrected Robert Downey Jr's acting career with Ironman. Now RDJ is synonymous with Tony Stark and he's gone on to be Sherlock Holmes as well.

Favreau knows talent..

 

Ender_and_Bean Your point is well taken. But keep them up. Maybe do Fincher and Favreau too.

 

The problem is that I had to do all of that from memory and I'm limited to images available online. For example, there was a great sword duel scene I recall from Stardust that's a top down shot of them clashing with clouds floating off to the sides but all I can find online is a blue screen shot of Deniro which doesn't tell the tale.

Equally frustrating is the fact that some of the photos I posted are in different aspect ratios. Still, those took at least 30 minutes to search out and post so I don't think I'll be doing the same for Favreau and Fincher. I never did get around to seeing Aliens vs Cowboys and nothing from Fincher jumps out in my mind at the moment so it would mostly just be Ironman shots anyway. I'm sure there are some solid Tatooine/Afghanistan similarities though.

 

Just thought of another one out of the blue that's not bad.

 

Shane Black deserves a little credit for that with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

 

I used to read Wizard magazine as a teen. It provided comic book values. For almost as long as Patrick Stewart was thought to be the perfect Charles Xavier, I remember Robert Downey Jr being listed as a potential Tony Stark. In fact, looking back at many of their "ideal casting" suggestions from back before the Marvel renaissance... They made some great calls.

And I agree... kiss kiss bang bang really showcased how great he was at being a witty jerk. Tropic Thunder also took him to new heights as a comedic actor as well.

 

I just found a good quote from Matthew Vaughn on how his love of film continues to grow and how Star Wars shaped him as a child. This was from September of this year.
What is it that you love about movies?


when they're good - everything. I love the fact that you escape... Humans have always loved being told stories, whether it's 'Beowulf' to Caucher to now. All i know is that when i saw 'star wars' at seven years old i was just taken to another place. I was seven or eight when i really fell in love with movies, and it was a combination of 'star wars' and 'raiders of the lost ark' where the foundations where built. And every couple of years my love gets stronger, whether it's in the 80's as a teenager watching 'beverly hills cop' and 'scarface' and the 'godfathers'...
Like, in a weird way, i think films for me have always... Every year there's a special, special movie that wins my heart more than any other cultural... i mean, for example, there hasn't been a new band that's blown me away for ages but there have been new movies. I just love the whole experience. i think film is a very powerful way of spending two hours of your life.
- Vaughn

 

I have hoped for Vaughn all along, and exclusively for him since it was announced that it wasn't Bird. I just hope we don't have to wait too much longer.

You mean a lot of credit. And it's my all-time favorite comedy to boot.

 

I see what you guys are saying about Fincher. I understand his gloomy, moody atmosphere doesn't exactly scream SW. However, nothing Irvin Kershner ever did screamed SW either and I've said it many timess I believe TESB to be the very best of all 6 SW films. Fincher would do nothing to manipulate SW into some avant guard version, just make the best movie he can with the script he's given.

All that said, I still think Vaughn gets Ep 7 with first dibs on future installments. I expect we'll see a rarther dark episode and that would be perfect for DF but, sadly, I doubt we'll ever see it.

 

I'm a huge movie buff & have seen hundreds of films; and, David Fincher is quite possibly my favorite film director, period.

Alien 3, Seven, The Game, & Fight Club are not only some of my favorite '90's films, but some of my all time favorite movies, ever.

Also really enjoyed Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac, The Social Network, and the English-language Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

And, I agree that just because Fincher is thought of as a gloomy, atmospheric director, that doesn't mean he wouldn't be able to do a great job with a SW film. I would really like to see his take on one or more of these movies, especially if the film(s) has even some of the same tone/vibe that we have seen in his other work.

And, I definitely think he does fantasy well, i.e. Benjamin Button (a film I didn't think I would like, but really enjoyed once I gave it a chance).

 

It's not that Fincher hasn't done anything like SW. It's that he's never done anything besides dark and gloomy. I genuinely don't know if he can do it. He has too strong a personal aesthetic and auteur style. As I've said, if they were going to do a spin-off film about the underworld of Star Wars, he'd be fantastic. But he's not right for the Skywalker Saga.

 

Vaughn all the way...

 

No. This is pure hyperbole. Neither Benjamin Button nor The Social Network were dark and gloomy. In fact I think he directed those films in order to soften his reputation.