ST How many times have you seen TLJ?

gross

 

Finally got my 3rd viewing in today. It's still a series of high swinging ups and downs for me. I love some things. I hate a lot of things. I'm at peace with it as someone's interpretation of Star Wars. But it is just that: an interpretation.

 

Well, Star Wars is in Disney’s hands now, so there will always be Lucas Star Wars and Disney Star Wars I suppose. Let’s hope Disney guards the franchise well; for me, they have.

27 was Wednesday night. Long week already, I was probably too tired to be seeing it but it was still fun. I started thinking about how I think Luke is the primary protagonist with the largest character arc. I’m not sure that fans are all aware screenplays only need a single protagonist (and most only have one) to have a full character arc. Anything else isn’t required, structurally. I think Rey’s arc is smaller for me at least, it’s there, but Luke’s is much larger. I started toying with the idea of Rey’s arc actually playing out over three scripts which is so bizarre, but it fits so far (pretending TLJ is Act II and that Act II the character makes progress toward their goal - in this case finding her place in the galaxy - but doesn’t succeed and faces a setback at the end, which is perfect to describe Rey). The reason it’s bizarre is because she is the protagonist of TFA and undergoes a full arc in one sense (heroes journey kinda thing) but in another she’s just at the end of Act I (“new goal” which is to find Luke and figure out her place). Intricate scripting what they do on these films. As I’ve been writing the last few weeks it gives me a new appreciation for things.

 

I got my own third viewing today, and after over a month, it was super exciting all over again. I noticed some smaller things this time, and if anything, there were even more emotional moments.

 

Viewing #6 completed today. First showing at 11:45. A nice crowd.

Loved it. Always and forever.

 

Not gonna lie, when the Blu-ray releases, it will likely end up becoming a mostly daily watch for me for quite a while.

 

Finally got in to see it a 4th time today. (Work got out early on account of Super Bowl Sunday, but who has time for that?)

If this movie keeps growing on me with repeated viewings, it might end up as my favorite from the whole series.

 

Only twice. Which will probably be my answer for a long time.

 

4th and final viewing this evening, in east London

 

At 3 viewings still. Will probably have to wait for the blu ray for my next one.

 

To be honest, before the ST I would not even understand why people wanted to watch the same movie more than once....

My final count is 11 viewings, but now I am also waiting for the Bluray.

 

Yeah I get not wanting to watch the same movie more than once. I was hoping I could beat my previous record of 5 times (TFA) with TLJ. Now it will fall 3rd after Jurassic World (4 times).

 

There is a point where I just stop watching them, buy the Bluray, watch it once and then put the movie in the vault for a few years.

For me this is important to keep the movie fresh, after the initial views.

 

5th time and I only just now on the 5th viewing realized that when Finn, Rose, DJ and the disguised BB8 walk past an elevator that Johnson shows traveling upward that the elevator is actually the one Rey and Kylo Ren are in!

I can’t believe I never pieced that together somehow. The shots are back to back but for some reason I never did. Lol. I guess I was just checking out the rest of the scenery on the wide shot and not realizing that elevator going up is theirs before it cuts to them inside.

I notice new details every time and am generally pretty observant but feel really silly for never thinking that it was the same elavator they walk past and that Rey and Finn and BB8 and Kylo Ren were technically only like 20 feet from each other there for an instant.

Kinda cool.

 

Once. No interest in watching it again any time soon.

 

Saw it for the second time at the weekend, curious to see if it was any better than I remembered. It wasn't.

 

Do you mean, the elevator they use has the damage made by Kylo ?

 

I'm exactly the same way. I'm a hardcore theater viewer and everyone here thinks I'm crazy (hehe) but on home video I guarantee 90% of fans here have seen the last few Star Wars movies more times than I have. I think I've probably seen TFA 4-5 times at home, Rogue One just twice. It seems low but they'll re-enter a more regular viewing total per year I just give them a little bit to cool off, it's like for me I wear the movie out in theaters, so I need to give it a bit of time.

I know for most it's (clearly) not this way, but as I love every Star Wars movie equally, I'll watch them somewhat randomly at home. Some semi-random or completely random thing will initiate it. I start thinking how I love Yoda so much, then I'll be like ok I want to go see him in AOTC. Or Coruscant is my favorite planet, so that may mean I want to see AOTC's speeder chase or ROTS or whatever. Then I'll play Battlefront II and be on Hoth thinking, dang, really want to see ESB again. Or remember that the ANH: SE came out 21 years ago last week and want to see ANH. So my viewings aren't really in order at this point, it's more or less on a whim.

 

I saw it three times it gets better with each view I love it. I look at this film like a fine wine it gets better with age!

 

7th viewing completed on Monday. I hope the Blu Ray gets a late March release cuz I doubt it'll still be in theatres in early March (but it might!). 3D non-AVX show (biggest screen in that theatre). Only seen it once in glorious 2D 1 out of the 7 viewings. My 5th viewing was a (rather drunkenly) D-Box event where the seats move, and I cranked it all the way to the max on that one. That one was interesting!

 

I'm headed to #28. I haven't seen it since last week, was visiting a friend out of town and whatnot. I thought 30 would be for granted, I mean obviously, but I think... I'll hit 30. I don't think it'll be any more, or much more. I just checked and every single theater near me, all 4 of the bigger ones near me, are dropping TLJ from a full screen to just two showings per day effective Friday. I'm leaving town Tuesday for Las Vegas and coming back Friday, so I'll miss a large portion of the week. Figuring I might be able to get in two TLJ viewings besides tonight, my goal is to get to 30 before I leave for Vegas. That way at least I've secured the minimum I want.

But of those four theaters, how many -- if any -- will keep it beyond next week when Black Panther opens? That may be the death blow. I won't go see it in dollar theaters most likely, too blah of an experience. I could maybe see it that way once but that's about it. I'm bummed. Rogue One played as long as TFA, despite a much lower gross, it was playing until the end of March actually just like TFA did. TLJ won't be playing anywhere on March 1 around me, I bet, except some discount theaters. Blah.

 

I love this. When I stay up late to write or work, I always have something playing in the background that I've bought digitally on vudu and I have all the Star Wars films digitally. So I usually put one on to listen to in the background.

Plus I have a child getting into it so a Star Wars movie playing isn't too uncommon.

Besides -- if you don't watch it a lot, how will you be able to quote it???

 

Haha I used to love having a movie on (often SW or something else I knew well) when I was doing my corporate work because usually it didn’t require full brain power anyway so it made the day pass a bit faster. But now that I’ve been writing scripts again I have enough trouble not distracting myself so I just avoid anything that might be an excuse. I hold myself to 4 hours of pure writing / brainstorming / outlining per day no distractions so if I do get distracted I add on the time. I call it owing the work bank. I find I can’t really do more than 4 hours most days anyway because when it’s creative work that’s about the limit of productivity. I’ve written 25 pages in that span though so time isn’t an issue lol.

Viewing 28 was great!

 

Twice at IMAX. Twice at a standard screen. And once over someone's shoulder as they watched it on a phone on the train, with chines subtitles and little mini bios of the characters appearing.

 

I got my 8th showing in over the weekend. I'll probably go for #9 soon if it stays in my local theater.