Discussion What do you think of Gary Whitta being hired as screenwriter for the first spin-off?

I can't seem to find a separate thread for the other half of the Spin-off announcement -- the hiring of Gary Whitta as its screenwriter -- so I guess I'll make one myself.

I guess I'll start by expressing my very nuanced view on this topic: I don't like that Gary Whitta has been hired for the spin-off!!!!! He is totally dismissive of the PT, which I'm mostly okay with, but his spin-off is supposed to deal with Boba Fett, who is featured along with his father in the PT. It seems unlikely to me that someone who is so dismissive of the PT can write a screenplay that is faithful to and compatible with ATOC's versions of Boba and Jango, who is basically Boba's older identical twin as well as his father, meaning their personalities would likely be pretty similar.

I also wonder whether Whitta will write a screenplay that can't be appreciated by young kids, as this video of the following link suggest he's not too kid-friendly (and perhaps slightly psychotic), and yes, I know he's trying to be funny, but this seems a little extreme to me.

http://io9.com/why-screenwriter-gary-whittas-rant-proves-hes-perfect-f-1580629569

Finally, I question his talents given that he wrote After Earth, which I think most people who've seen it regard as being a total failure. As a side point, I also wonder why -- if he's so willing to be so snarky about the PT -- he doesn't make any snarky comments about himself and the failure of After Earth. (Actually, it's pretty clear why he wouldn't write snarky comments about himself. I'm just being snarky myself. )

 

There's no confirmation that it is a Boba Fett spinoff. And Boba's personality doesn't really have to be the same as Jango's, as the two lived very different lives.

I have no problem with someone making a Star Wars movie recognizing flaws in the films... as long as they recognize that all six films are flawed, not just the prequels. Whitta does come off a bit strong as a prequel- basher, which I don't like (anyone who knows me knows I am a huge fan of the complete, six part saga-- really, a seventh film isn't even necessary), but hey... maybe something good might come out of it.

 

So these Spin offs are not Episode 7 related, shouldn't these start to go somewhere else now?

 

I honestly dont care what the writer of a spin off thinks about the prequels. I mean if he was writing one of the episodes then that would be a different story.

 

Nothing he's said concerns me too much, though he's a bit over dramatic about it. He takes Star Wars seriously and has high standards for what he wants in a SW movie. Best of luck to him. I do hope it won't be a Boba Fett movie as I'm firmly in the less is more camp with that character.

 

There's about 60+ pages of users (myself included) going around in circles about Whitta's comments in this thread: Gareth Edwards to Direct First Spin-Off!

To summarize, users seem to fall into two buckets: those who don't think a screenwriter's years-old internet forum postings in any way hinder his ability to write a good Star Wars screenplay (I'm in this camp) and those who think his apparent dislike of the PT films and changes to the OT over time (the "**** Lucas and his vandalized Blu-Rays" particularly rattled some) somehow disqualify him from ever working on a Star Wars film.

 

Yep that about sums it up DW

 

Nobody cares about After Earth?

 

I'm a big PT fan, but :

1/ He erased (or tried to erase) his old posts.
2/ Now he is nice to George (https://twitter.com/garywhitta/status/466642742798745600)
3/ He writes a script which must align with the Prequels and The Clone Wars, "immovable objects of Star Wars history" (http://starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page.html)

So this guy has totally submitted himself for the job, and this is good.

Now I wish him good luck and I hope this will be a good movie.

 

Seems like this has already been discussed ad nauseum in the Gareth Edwards thread...but I think his comments show that he's a true Star Wars fan. He takes revisions and alterations of the original material seriously; they bother him, so what? Also, the best writers have strong opinions about art, so his critique of the PT shows he has his own voice, or at least he believes he has one.

The more relevant question is whether or not he's a good screenplay writer. I don't think we know for sure, but the evidence suggests he may not be -- or has had some bad luck.

However, Gareth Edwards is not only a director but writer too, so I think when all is said and done the spin off will look pretty good.

 

My problem with it is that it's as if they just handed Star Wars over to some rude immature f-bomb dropping YouTube commenter. It's completely unprofessional for someone in the industry like him. Can anyone picture JJ Abrams posting comments like these? Or Lawrence Kasdan?

 

Is anyone else wondering if Whitta may have been chosen to help adapt aspects of the Fett video game to the big screen?

Read more here:
http://m.ca.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/star-wars-1313-boba-fett-concept-art-and-story-details

The night setting is perfect for Edwards after Godzilla.

Perhaps Whitta's experience with video games made tem confident he could adapt it to the screen? Perhaps the original story for the game was his initially?

 

Here's my thoughts: there's an undeniable existence of a demographic who loves only the originals. If they want to try to tap that demographic, why not hire a guy who's a part of that demographic? "Star Wars won't be raping any childhoods under MY watch!", he may think to himself. And for some reason I'm okay with that.

 

I'll give Gary Whitta his chance to shine, but I'm not overly optimistic about the choice

 

I'll tell you what I think once I see the movie.

 

I think it's cool. He seems like a huge Star Wars fan, I liked his writing in 'Prey' and 'Book of Eli', and I'm sure he must have made an awesome pitch in order for Disey to hire him.

 

As long as he is excited for his movie, that is enough for me.

 

Oh good lord, this again? Didn't we have this discussion in the other thread? People are allowed to have their own opinions, even the ones that make movies. As long as he does a good job in the end, that's what matters.

 

No, maybe Bob Orci though.

 

I just think maybe they wanted to give it to a fanboy, so they chose Whitta. Hell, I'd rather give it to Kyle Newman or Kevin Smith or anybody else, atleast they'd probably entertain

 

Don't care about what he said in some forum years ago or even what he has worked on. Now that he's hired we can only judge him in hindsight after seeing the movie. If it's a good film with a good script then it will have been a good appointment. Until I see the results I'll keep an open mind.

 

I think there's a lot more to look at with this guy than just his opinions about the PT. I think the following are important issues to consider both pro and con:

• Does Whitta have enough writing experience to take on such a major project as a Star Wars spin-off?
• Do your opinions of The Book of Eli and After Earth increase or decrease your faith in his ability to pull it off?
• Is this guy kid-friendly enough to write a Star Wars spin-off or do the Star Wars spin-offs need to be kid-friendly?
• Whitta has expressed strong opinions about Star Wars over the years. What has he said? And do his views about Star Wars give you any insight about what he might do with a spin-off?
• Whitta is clearly a big-time fan of Star Wars and has had a lot to say about it. Do you think this means his screenplay is more likely to capture the feel of Star Wars or do you think it makes it more likely that his screenplay won't seem new and different enough?

 

Have you ever taken a peek at the collective works of Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand before they made ESB and RotJ respectively? They were nothing grand to brag about either.

And quit moping on about his reaction to the SE's and the PT. EVERY single worthy employer googles prospective employees and checks their social media goings on. You can bet that Kathleen Kennedy and folks vetted this dude and found that he has something that they think that he can contribute. They are not going to be careless about their new $3 billion dollar baby. That doesn't mean that everything will be golden, but it does mean that they will at least put their best effort forward to bring quality.