Discussion Should future Anthology films be event-based or character-based?

I like the way you think, Chiz.

 

I think they should be mockumentaries instead ala Christopher Guest.

 

I've really enjoyed both styles, so I say keep alternating.

 

Agreed. Rogue One and Solo were both great.

 

Depends on execution.

 

You could probably just post that in every thread on this forum periodically, without checking to see what people are talking about, and it would almost certainly be relevant.

 

That depends on execution.

At any rate, my take on this hasn’t had any reason to change lately. Since Solo, I no longer think that the character-focused model has as good a chance of being used going forward as the event-based model like Rogue One (even though I would have preferred a balance).

 

Touché, my friend. Touché!

 

For me Event
Making a movie based on a known character is unnecessary fanservice in my opinion
Let's just see Rogue One is an incredible movie that expands the Star Wars Universe

While Solo was just a forgettable, boring movie that has nothing to do with Han Solo
An Event movie would attract more people than a movie that is only directed to a few fans

 

I loved Solo more than I've loved a Star Wars film in decades, but I definitely feel that event-based films (and books, for that matter) are a better idea. Star Wars works the best, I think, as a large ensemble-type adventure, and yeah, Solo is such a thing itself, but how many people saw the trailer or poster and thought, "Eh, a movie about one guy seems kind of inessential; I might watch it later..." ?

And to digress slightly, I think that the novels would do better to be event-based, themselves. A great many nowadays seem to be following single/double characters, and it just doesn't lend itself as well to the adventure that Star Wars can feature at its best, in my opinion.

 

I love that idea. While Luke was growing up in the exciting world of moisture farming, Leia is already a senator and Rebel operative when we originally meet her. I'd very much like to see some of her various adventures, spend time on Alderaan (!) and get a glimpse of the high-society core worlds before the Death Star.

 

Both R1 and Solo were great films IMO. So if they do continue with the spinoffs, I'd hope they do both character-focused films AND event films.

 

Exactly. Solo was ok but a Fett film would need to tie in to the grand picture rather than it being about Fett.

 

I've since revised my position, and think that both approaches can work (including in the same film). All depends on execution.

 

I don't know. Special effects have grown by leaps and bounds and franchises like Marvel have set the bar high with Avatar coming around the corner. Low, character based films aren't truly the answer for cinema. The character based movies should go to the streaming service. The movies, need to be big event films. Bottom line, star wars is a big event, not small character pieces. Those are best in books, comic books, animation, and tv movie types.

 

Most Marvel special effects are absolute ***** compared to Star Wars, despite there being some ILM crossover.

 

I think they may look towards more event ones since Rouge One was big at the box office & Solo was not ,

 

Story and engaging characters is what makes a movie great.
The rest is eye candy.
(Costume, SFX, cinematography, audio editing).

In other words, you can have a great technically shot movie with great audio, editing, etc. Even actors. But be completely and utterly undone by the Story and lack of good characters.
And the opposite is also true.

Examples abound out there of movies that budget and technical-wise are not your blockbuster-type yet deliver on the story and characters.

So I guess what I'm saying is that both approaches would work as long as the story and characters are engaging. You can always add the eye-candy, or the fan-service. But if the movie is just eye-candy and/or fan-service without a good story or characters it will fall flat.

If you do not know anything about Star Wars, you probably would still enjoy RO (my wife did anyways). But I don't think the same can be said for SOLO.

 

I disagree. Star Wars needs to look cinematic. It needs to transport viewers to the GFFA and thrill and delight them. If not, why tell these stories in that setting? Why not just tell them in, say, Milwaukee?

 

Story-based

 

I really loved Rogue One and SOLO. Both were brilliant Star Wars films and full of the kinds of action, special effects and depth in story that you would expect from a Star Wars film. Mix in the many wonderful and colourful varieties of location, planet and character too and both films for me led to a very awesome viewing experience. But one thing that I did note between the two is that Rogue One had a more typical Star Wars feature in the parallel storyline; whereas SOLO did not.

So with this in mind and with respect to whether future anthology films should be event based or character based, it does make me wonder if the character based storyline (single character movie) could potentially be "less interesting" and not have the same impact as an "event based" movie; particularly for those stories concerning characters viewed as "secondary characters" and particularly among the General Audience - the demographic that is likely to generate the most Box Office return for DISNEY.
With SOLO, the storyline was mostly singular in approach; as we watch young Han progress from a white worm to a smuggler. Apart from Qi'ra (who re-emerges later in Han's life and whose story from white worm to renowned assassin with Crimson Dawn we do not see), all of the other characters that Han encounters as his own story unfolds tend to see their own storylines converge with Han's and ultimately they all share the same journey during the respective stages of the movie. Essentially, Han's story is the main story of the film and with Han meeting two other iconic OT characters in the process and developing the future friendship bonds, does this aspect of SOLO alone "make" the movie? If Chewbacca and Lando were not in SOLO, would its review and how it was received by the audience (and potentially the fans) be significantly less?
I mean this with all due respect to SOLO because I thought it was brilliant, but if we were just watching Han's life unfold as he encounters generic and previously unknown figures of the Star Wars underworld and transcends into a life of smuggling, maybe SOLO may not have been as interesting to watch and not have the same punch it had - regardless of the Box Office return.

On the flip side, take an event-based film like Rogue One. Not only do you have the main storyline of Galen Erso hiding a fatal flaw in the Death Star, letting the Rebellion know (in a very indirect way) of its weakness and the Rebels hatching a plan to steal the plans to the Death Star, but you also have the numerous parallel stories going on with the respective main characters and their relationships with other characters - and this occurs on both sides of the ledger. On the Imperial side, you have Krennic and his desires to move up the ladder of Palpatine's graces. Along the way, he experiences setbacks and road blocks in the forms of Tarkin and Vader. These interactions themselves make for interesting viewing. On the other side of the ledger, you have Jyn Erso and her transition from rebellious petty criminal to a Rebellion hero - and Jyn's journey offers an even greater range of character interaction sub-storylines than Krennic's.

So with an event-based film, IMO, the likelihood for a more interesting film increases because you have so much more going on outside of the main storyline. All of these extra sub-stories between the characters is, IMO, likely to give the film more punch. And potentially it could lead to a better viewing experience by the general audience because they are not having to work out potentially obscure details about a single character (and where it fits into the Star Wars story) that us fans know.

I do have faith though that LFL can make any story work; regardless if its single character or event-based. I just think there is a better chance for greater success with event based.

If LFL were to do character based films, if it were me, I would make it a group of characters with a common theme; ie. STAR WARS UNDERWORLD. Because you have the potential for setting up some sort of war between two or more criminal factions and each of these well-known Bounty Hunters will need to choose their factions to align with. Characters like Han, Chewie and Lando can sort of operate in and around these factions with no strong tie to either. It is here that you have the potential for the dual storylines (a typical STAR WARS approach to storytelling) and the sub-stories between characters that are in addition to the main storyline. This gives the film greater complexity, greater potential for conflict between multiple characters and potentially "more interesting" viewing; not only among the fans, but the General Audience too.

The dual storyline approach is a great storytelling tool because while left wondering what is happening (or is going to happen) over there, as the next part of the story is being told over here, you as an audience are caught up in the action and the story.

 

I generally agree. However, there’s no reason why a character-based anthology film can’t also be event-based.

 

This is true and I can see such an idea working brilliantly too.

Take an anthology film about Kylo Ren for example and particularly "that moment" at the hut with Luke. You have the young Ben Solo (still a Jedi in training at this stage) on missions with Luke and/or with other students from the temple and Ben continues to wrestle with the "demons" and bad thoughts that plague his mind. The "event" happens at the hut and he then becomes Kylo Ren. The anthology film focuses on Ben/Kylo and the thoughts, emotions and instability he constantly feels, but it is still an "event-based" at the same time and this event ultimately has a massive impact on the future of the galaxy.

I know this is probably the easiest example to do given how recently this character has been introduced into the Canon, but I can see this template being used for other characters too.

So yes, I agree that character anthology films can be event-based too.

 

When you have movies like Ready Player One, Meg, Ant Man & Wasp, Incredible 2, Deadpool 2, Jurassic World 2, Rampage, and Venom making a lot of coin in the total box office, its rough. Star Wars has to have a story but it has to be an event that brings people in from all walks of life. Not just focusing on a certain area of fandom or get ready to accept low numbers, which is not bad if you start lowering the money you spend. I do want to say that I did like Solo and there was no reason this movie shouldn't have gone over $500 million worldwide at least, but it didn't and its sad. I'm not worried about Lucasfilm, they will turn it around. I do hope that they decide to revist a sequel to Solo. There going to have to take that risk. There's a lot of good content there and characters that need further exploring.