J.J. Abrams Talks Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Connection with Episode VIII, John Williams, the Cast and More!
Wired magazine sat down with director J.J. Abrams to talk about the challenges of directing a Star Wars movie, what are the connections with Rian Johnson’s Episode VIII, John Williams, the new cast and much more…
Excerpts from Wired:
Wired: How are you feeling? It seems like only yesterday you were announced as the director of Episode VII.
J.J. Abrams: Good! It’s a crazy thing, right? I can’t wait for people to see the movie. We’ve been baking this cake for a long time, and now it’s time to serve it.
Wired: How much of The Force Awakens is geared toward welcoming people back to the Star Wars franchise versus starting something completely new? How do you strike a balance between those two imperatives?
J.J. Abrams: We wanted to tell a story that had its own self-contained beginning, middle, and end but at the same time, like A New Hope, implied a history that preceded it and also hinted at a future to follow. When Star Wars first came out, it was a film that both allowed the audience to understand a new story but also to infer all sorts of exciting things that might be. In that first movie, Luke wasn’t necessarily the son of Vader, he wasn’t necessarily the brother of Leia, but it was all possible. The Force Awakens has this incredible advantage, not just of a passionate fan base but also of a backstory that is familiar to a lot of people. We’ve been able to use what came before in a very organic way, because we didn’t have to reboot anything. We didn’t have to come up with a backstory that would make sense; it’s all there. But these new characters, which Force is very much about, find themselves in new situations—so even if you don’t know anything about Star Wars, you’re right there with them. If you are a fan of Star Wars, what they experience will have added meaning.
Wired: You mapped out the story with Lawrence Kasdan, who cowrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He said recently that his own life experiences—and the span of time not working on Star Wars—readied him to work on this film. Were there moments from your life or your own work from which you drew inspiration?
J.J. Abrams: I tried to not forget the mistakes I’d made, but I also tried to focus on things that I find inspiring about cinema. I asked questions like “How do we make this movie delightful?” That was really the only requirement Larry and I imposed on each other: The movie needed to be delightful. It was not about explaining everything away, not about introducing a certain number of toys for a corporation, not about trying to appease anyone. This has only ever been about what gets us excited.
Wired: One thing I know about you is that you love a mystery. You love to surprise an audience. How have you felt about those teasers—about revealing parts of the movie, necessarily talking about and marketing it, versus allowing the story to unfold on your terms?
J.J. Abrams: I give credit to, and frankly surprisingly so, the incredible people at Disney, especially Alan Horn [chair of Walt Disney Studios] and Bob Iger [Disney CEO]. Bob’s been unbelievably collaborative and supportive of this entire process. When it came to marketing, I was expecting Disney to want to put out an overabundance of material. But they’ve been incredibly reluctant to do that. They want this thing to be an experience for people when they go to see the film. And I’m grateful for that.
There’s a really positive side to keeping quiet. You can protect the audience from spoilers or certain moments that, in a way, obviate the movie experience. But on the other hand, you risk being seen as coy or as a withholding shithead. That’s never my intent. Because Lucasfilm has been so engaged with the fans and so forthcoming about what they’re doing, it would have felt oddly inconsistent to not show anything until just before the movie came out. I actually personally pushed to have a teaser come out a year before, just because it felt like, as a fan of Star Wars, if I could see even the littlest thing I’d be psyched a year out. Why not? So we did.
But I don’t want to destroy too many illusions. We’re walking a tightrope. If you fall on one side it’s no good, because we’re showing too much. If you fall on the other side it’s no good, because we’re not showing anything and we look like arrogant jerks.
Wired: You can see how the universe gets so big so quickly, first toys and games and then Episode VIII and IX, with directors Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow coming aboard. I know VIII is Rian’s movie, but you’ve no doubt created story questions in Episode VII that have to be addressed. Do you know how the answers play out? Or are those moments still unspooling?
J.J. Abrams: The script for VIII is written. I’m sure rewrites are going to be endless, like they always are. But what Larry and I did was set up certain key relationships, certain key questions, conflicts. And we knew where certain things were going. We had meetings with Rian and Ram Bergman, the producer of VIII. They were watching dailies when we were shooting our movie. We wanted them to be part of the process, to make the transition to their film as seamless as possible. I showed Rian an early cut of the movie, because I knew he was doing his rewrite and prepping. And as executive producer of VIII, I need that movie to be really good. Withholding serves no one and certainly not the fans. So we’ve been as transparent as possible.
Rian has asked for a couple of things here and there that he needs for his story. He is an incredibly accomplished filmmaker and an incredibly strong writer. So the story he told took what we were doing and went in the direction that he felt was best but that is very much in line with what we were thinking as well. But you’re right—that will be his movie; he’s going to do it in the way he sees fit. He’s neither asking for nor does he need me to oversee the process.
Wired: So: John Williams!
J.J. Abrams: Oh my God! First of all, forget his talent and his achievement. As a person, he’s the guy you want to know more than anyone. He is the sweetest soul I’ve ever met. He’s like this jazzman who became one of the greatest composers of all time. He literally calls you “baby”! Like, “Hey, baby.” He calls me “J.J. Baby.” I waited all my life to meet someone who would call me that!
He works in pencil. You go to his home and listen to him play notes on the piano, and while you’re listening, you extrapolate what it will be like when you hear the melody with an orchestra. It is unforgettable, a truly miraculous thing to behold. He has every one of his scores leather-bound. I was like, “Do you mind if I …?” He goes, “No, go ahead!” So I pulled out the Jaws score, and sure enough, there it is, in pencil on paper: baaaa-bum, baaaa-bum. You’re like, “Well, that’s what he wrote!” It’s as if you’re hanging out with Mozart, who happened to score your favorite movies.
I know everybody knows this, but when you actually think about what he’s composed, it is as important as any work ever done on any of those movies. When you think about Superman and Raiders and Jaws and Close Encounters—which came out the same year as Star Wars—and then the Harry Potter movies? He is just superhuman. It’s unbelievable that he is as brilliant and yet as modest as he is. It’s just an amazing thing to get to know that guy.
Wired: A lot of this cast wasn’t even born in 1977. How do you relay the legacy of what Star Wars means to people like you and me? Or is that a burden that you try to avoid?
J.J. Abrams: It’s a really strange thing, when you think about being born into a world where it just exists. Despite their having been born horrifically recently, these kids knew about and understood Star Wars in a way we all do; they just were born into it as opposed to it happening during their lifetime. The key in casting them was finding people who were able to do everything. When you think about all that these characters go through, not just in this movie but knowing their work would continue, these individuals needed to be worthy bearers of this burden and opportunity to continue to tell the story. I think about the Harry Potter movies—that’s unbelievable that they cast those films the way they did. And for what, eight movies?! That was a miracle. They needed to be able to do everything, and they all killed it.
We knew we weren’t just casting one movie—we were casting at least three. That, to me, was the biggest challenge. When we met Daisy Ridley, when we found John Boyega, and then Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver came aboard, we got really excited. And yes, Daisy and John could work together, but what happens when Harrison’s in the mix? What will that feel like? If it doesn’t spark, it’s a fucking disaster. Yes, BB-8 is a great character, amazingly puppeteered, but what will happen when he’s suddenly in a scene with C-3P0 or R2-D2? Will it feel bizarre? Will it feel wrong? Somehow it didn’t. When Anthony Daniels told me, “Oh my God, I love BB-8!” I said, “We’re going to be OK.” Because if he’s OK, it’s working.
Wired: C-3P0 approves.
J.J. Abrams: Or seeing the sweetness between Han and Rey or the tension and comedy between Han and Finn. It was really exciting to say, “These scenes are working!” We worked really hard to cast and to write and to put it all together, but you just don’t know until you start shooting. Then all of a sudden, you’re on-set watching it and you know. It’s a little bit like having a party and having friends from your new school meet friends from your old school, and you think, “What’s going to happen?” And all of a sudden they’re getting along famously and this party’s really fun! It was a lot of work, but it ended up being great.
Wired: So what’s next? I know you were thinking up all-new, original ideas when Kathy Kennedy first called you for this job.
J.J. Abrams: My mom used to do this thing where we’d be eating lunch and she’d say, “So what do you want for dinner?” And I’d say, “Mom! We’re eating lunch. We’re literally just starting to eat lunch.” I feel like I just need to finish my lunch. Right now, I just want to get this film into the world.
For the full interview make sure to go to Wired.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
This interview proves the bright future that the Star Wars universe will hold.
I like this JJ Abrams guy. He GETS it. He gets it more than Lucas.
He gets it more than the guy who created all of this? I know people hate Lucas, but come on…
Right, he gets it because he is first, a fan, then still a filmmaker in love with his medium, Lucas became a corporate mogul in the 80’s, hates Hollywood and public life, and, let’s be hones, is not much of a great filmmaker, he was more a visionaire.
I actually agree with him. I personally feel Lucas lost touch with what Star Wars was. I honestly don’t think he gave it as much thought as we the zealous fans did either. I think he was just this creative guy with a vision. He set out with this great collaborative effort and captured lightning in a bottle. A bunch of factors beyond his control came together to make this great trilogy.
Then the prequel idea comes around… he’s been out of practice for decades. Did not obsess over every detail his own universe created. Has literally no limitations and the legacy of being this creative master mind no one wanted to say no to.
The results speak for themselves really. I’m glad he decided to let it go. To let others take up the legacy. For that… I can forgive him most everything. It’s hard making a movie… people fail all the time. Even the masters.
Couldn’t agree more dude.
You have to understand that when he created Star Wars, he didn’t think it was going to be successful. He hadn’t a clue. He didn’t have the trilogy planned out at all, despite what he might try and imply. He made a lot of it up as he went along- the PT is proof of that.
If he actually knew what Star Wars was and why people love it, the PT wouldn’t have turned out the way it did.
It’s an unreasonable request to expect anyone who creates artwork to expect or fully appreciate what other people get out of it, so don’t see my comment as an attack on him as a person or a creator.
Lucas got it a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. But he lost it sometime in the mid 90s.
I think he’s right unfortunately. Watching the prequels it was clear to me that Lucas had lost all sense of what made the originals so great and why they’re so popular.
I have way more faith in Abrams and Kasdan.
“the sweetness between Han and Rey” –
She Han’s daughter. Has to be. Being Luke’s daughter introduces way too much exposition that would be needed. With Han and Leia you already have the context for children being in the picture.
Yeah. I think the new TV spot pretty much confirms this. They made it a point to show Rey’s and Han’s eyes close up when Maz is talking about her eyes.
New speculation: Maz knew Han when he was a young, upstart smuggler. We will see her in the spinoff movie.
That might be a great shout!
Doesn’t have to be… but it certainly seems to fit. I think Han Solo seeing any young kid about to get wrapped up in this mess can feel a sense of protectiveness even if it’s Luke’s child. Like wow kid… you’re in for a hell of a journey. Not all of it good.
That said we all know somebody has to be related to somebody! That’d be the biggest twist at this point. If no one is related! 😛
I have a feeling Rey is going to be Luke’s daughter to be honest. Its a way to make the main character a proper Skywalker but not rehash the whole family member gone to the dark side thing. Although they’ve probably done that in a sense if Kylo Ren turns out to Han and Leia’s lost son. So Rey and Kylo would be cousins which would be a new interesting family dynamic we haven’t seen before.
Maybe. But if solo is going out, I think he leaves behind his legacy to someone with a stronger bond than a niece. Besides everything in the tea leaves right now suggests a connection with solo. She’s got the falcon after all.
Yeah but in all fairness Chewbacca would still be there and if Kylo turns out to be Solo’s son he could be redeemed in a later episode and if he doesn’t die like Vader then he could get the Falcon. At this moment it could go either way I guess but having thought for so long myself that Rey was Solo’s daughter the idea that she might actually be Luke’s is beginning to sound a lot more intriguing to me, I mean someone has to be his offspring despite him being a Jedi right and who else could it be? Also the fact that we have no proof that she even meets him in this episode may mean they’re leaving a reveal for Episode 8. Anyway I’m looking forward to finding out. Wow come to think of it they should’ve like just hired me to write these things!
Holy shit I just realised something, which unfortunately for you probably proves my theory correct. In a New Hope who did the lightsaber come to? Luke. Who was Luke’s father? Now in a Force Awakens (and by this I’m assuming you’ve heard about the lightsaber landing on Jakku and its not a spoiler by saying so) who does the very same lightsaber come to (hint: Not Finn)? And who is Rey’s father? A ha ha ha I think I know what the answer to that question will be.
I think it is more a spiritual bond. Qui-Gon died for his student, as did Obi-Wan, I think it is Han’s turn to lay down his life for his pupil. I think Finn will be the “hotshot” who eventually takes ownership of the falcon once Rey goes on her Jedi training.
If you do your research you could find, even articles on this website, that they are searching for a female lead for episode VIII to presumably play Han’s daughter. Why would they do this is Rey is his daughter? Or if Rey AND Kylo are his children? Rey is Luke’s no doubt about it. Whether or not Han lives we will probably meet his “legacy” in future installments
We’ll see. I really doubt we know the identity of any new cast members for VIII, but I digress. I think Luke went the Jedi monk way and never had children, but I won’t be disappointed either way.
Keep in mind that in several European royal families nowadays, for examplle the Orange-Nassaus in the Netherlands, the Bernadottes in Sweden and the Windsors in Britain, it has become common for children of female reigning queens or crown princesses to keep the historic dynasty name instead of adopting their father’s family name to begin a new dynasty as it used to be the case in the past. . Considering that TFA was written from a 21st century feminist point of view, itt wouldn’t surprise if Leia’s children were considered “proper Skywalkers” as opposed to Solos ot whatever their father’s family name is.
I just don’t see Luke being a father, It would be unnatural for a Jedi master, assuming he wants to stick to the old Jedi code, which we don’t know of course to be the necessarily the case,
Ok but proper Skywalker is just a term I’m using. I’m not sure it even factored in the film-makers thought process during the making of the film. In regards to Luke being a father I think its plausible and it would also give them an excuse to steer away from how the prequels ‘used to do it’ and keep in mind I’m a fan of the prequels. I’m not sure in this new trilogy they will forbid Jedi from marrying or having children. If I’m right about all this anyway it will also raise the interesting question of who Luke’s wife would have been. Would be a great way to introduce another pivotal character even if she’s dead by the point of TFA.
Good call. If Rey does turn out to be Han and Leia’s child I think they will indeed go this route. Particularly since Rey is herself female so if they went by the traditional naming convention then the Skywalker line is dead forever. I think Rey will be called “Rey Skywalker” and her future children will be Skywalkers regardless of parentage. I still think she is luke’s daughter though.
One interesting thing that I would like cleared up is Leia’s name. Is she Leia Solo, Leia Skywalker, or Leia Organa? Despite her being revealed as Luke’s brother we have yet to hear her referred to in this way. We also don’t know if she married Han or even how marriage works in GFFA. She is currently Credited as ‘Leia Organa’ on IMBD, but that means nothing. I am anxious to see which name she chooses and if she is now a Queen.
they call her General Organa in E7
Leia is Luke’s brother?! Wait that means he kissed his own transexual brother! Aw sick! (Dies from vomiting)
Over and over again – we are not in the Old Republic era. There is no Jedi Council. There are no 10 000 Jedi. There are no rules. The last of the Jedi can make his own rules. And as Pomoyema I think as well that new Jedi – new rules
because it totally makes sense that han and leia would abandon their daughter on jakku right?…leia being one of the most powerful government officials in the galaxy…she would just abandon her Royal daughter on a desolate sand planet to be a scavenger.and have nothing…yeah…makes sense to me! :/
“Abandoned”, maybe. Maybe she’s being protected. She does have a ship (one that we know was owned by Solo), and she did say she was waiting for her family. Somebody put here there and one can safely assume it’s somebody we are already acquainted with.
Probably she wasn’t abandoned. She may have got lost on Jakku when she was very young (following a shipwreck for example) and everybody, including Han and Leia, assumed she didn’t survive. There are many possibilities.
Not many – persons like Han or Leia would NEVER EVER left her child abandoned/presumed dead without first remove the Galaxy to find at least the body. I can´t swallow that.
Just as easily be his neice
Not to mention the TV spot uses the term “generation”. In one way, it’s supposed to refer to the viewers, but the term generation originally just meant to produce offspring… that’s where it comes from, a parent-to-child progression. It also quotes Maz talking about seeing someone’s eyes in another before.
That TV spot is just SCREAMING someone being the child of one (or two!) of the big three from the original trilogy.
One of the best interviews I’ve read. So many great questions from one interviewer. Some damn fine answers too.
I’d say its the best one I have read as well!
Agreed. Just hoping, if TFA it’s really good, that Rian and Colin will continue the excellent work, and not sell the Saga to easy ways..
What Irvin and Richard did in the past is not that easy. Specially nowadays i think it’s even harder.
Glad Disney doesn’t want to spoil the whole movie in their marketing!
Does anyone think he might be setting us up for Kylo’s origin not to be revealed in this movie? With his answers about Vader reveal having more impact because of who he was setup in A New Hope. i’m probably reading way to much into it, but that was my first thought when I read his comments.
It makes sense if he is. In the OT, we didn’t know until Episode V that Vader was Luke’s father and Leia was revealed as Luke’s sister only in Episode VI.
Yes.
I Kylo kills Han, there will be no better moment in the entire trilogy to reveal him as his son
I still think Rey is Luke’s daughter. It would explain her being off alone better. And her not knowing anything of the force. This is assuming Luke’s been MIA for a while. I mean, there HAS to be another Skywalker.
I agree and JJ would know that a lot of people would pick up on him saying “there is a sweetness between Han and Rey” and assume he meant they are Father and daughter. I don’t think he would slip up like that. Also, I know it’s not much to go on but in the trailer, I didn’t get the impression that Han was talking to his daughter.
Why does everybody assume JJ is always trying to mslead the fans ? I mean, he himself denied that in the interview.
I don’t think he is trying to mislead us but as somebody else already said the “sweetness” he is referring to could also be uncle and niece.
Or it could be purely because they’re kindred spirits.
Yeah, I definitely agree. I think Rey is a Skywalker.
1.) They have already said this saga is the story of the Skywalkers (sure they could have Skywalker blood and be solos but I get the feeling they mean Skywalkers proper)
2.) In the trailer it dosn’t feel like Han is speaking as one would to a long estranged daughter (just a guess really. Hard to tell from 4 seconds)
3.) In the TV spot Maz Kanata says she has seen Rey’s eyes before in someone else. If (i’m still guessing here) Han helps Rey escape Jakku in the falcon BEFORE they meet Maz then why would Maz say she had seen her eyes in another person when her DAD is standing right there.
4.) It makes more sense that Rey would be stranded if her parents are missing. She could be Han’s daughter and just in hiding be that seems like a weak reason for her to not be fighting WITH them if she was Leia’s kid.
I will not die of shock if Rey is a solo, but I am 80% convinced she is a Skywalker and that Kylo is her cousin.
The dramatic effect of Kylo and Rey being brother and sister is of course much greater than if they are just cousins. If they are written as cousins it will hurt the story IMHO.
I agree it isn’t as strong of a bond, but didn’t we just do the surprise reveal of long lost brother & sister in the preceding movie? I’d love to see a Solo Vs. Skywalker battle, but I will honestly be happy either way.
That was my thoughts as well. I still think it could work as cousins if they were very close as children.
If Leia and Han are estranged it could be because THEIR son, went bad.
I’d convinced myself that Rey and Kylo were brother and sister and children of Han and Leia but now I’m not so sure. You’re right, there has to be a new Skywalker in this surely? Who is it though?
Could have meet Anakin when he was still good. During the clone wars. If she is a Solo she would still have some likeness of her ancestors. There are so many ways one could take this. I’m more enthused about how Maz says “I know your eyes!”. I just can’t wait to hear whatever comes next.
I think there could be two skywalkers. It’s quiet obvious that a skywalker will survive, so if there’s two, we don’t know for sure who it will be.
JJ: “We knew we weren’t just casting one movie—we were casting at least three.”
Does that mean Boyega, Driiver, Ridiley and Isacc most likely are all going to survive Episode VII?
Other interesting revelations:
1) BB8 probably has a scene with C3PO and, surprisingly, R2D2,
2) There’s “sweetness” between Rey and Han (father/daughter sweetness perhaps ?) and “tension” between Han and Finn (why ? Because Finn is/was a stormtrooper perhaps and Han doesn’t trust him ?).
Of course they’re going to survive Awakens. Remember they are the main new characters. Try to think of them as the new Luke, Leia, Han and Vader. This trilogy is their story.
Looking forward to the scene where BB-8 and R2-D2 talk to each other!
Uber cool photo of JJ directing the stormtroopers in the fortress environment.
“Ok but what’s my motivation J.J.?”
I have full trust in JJ, because I love a lot of things he’s wrote, directed and produced. I am worried that Rian will have an even bigger task with the next episode. I think he will need JJ more than even he’s letting on. Kasdan as well. I’m just worried with Rian directing, we’re going to get a huge leak regarding the script and the story won’t be as vague like it is with this film. Even if some of you believe the MSW plot, they have done a hell of a job marketing this thing and keeping us excited but also slightly in the dark.
The high-res knights of Ren picture finally has all their weapons clear, there’s everything from poleaxes to cannons.. love it and the red highlights on it.
The tip of J.J.’s nose looks like a penis. After I saw it the 1st time. I can’t unsee it..
You’ve got issues buddy.
Do I really? It looks so much like a penis that all I can think about id suckin on his nose!!
Its ok. Now just come with me and we’ll let these nice men in the white jackets take you away to a place where you can’t hurt anybody. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/341ac8a7661336bb9d3aaa167ad66e9348e21eb917e28c1db56156f8cc0c4416.gif
Why care
Reminds me of Style’s shirt on Teen Wolf….Whatcha looking at dicknose?
Just please no I’m too old for this type humor. Its not funny anymore.
I am praying that John Williams is able to / wants to come back for episode 8 and 9. I know he isn’t doing the Anthology films (which is actually a fun way to give them their own feel!) but I really just want John’s magic to grace all 9 saga films. Its way too early to call, but it would not shock me at all if John Williams gets Oscar buzz this year, either for this film or lifetime achievement.
I think John would do it as long as he is able to.
Indeed. He’s just amazing, just a J.J. says.
Though, if he doesn’t want to, I’ll without a doubt respect that decision fully. He’s already given us more than we could ever ask for!
I hope so. I hope his family has good lifespans.
Basil Pouledoris would have done an amazing job on the spinoffs…..if he weren’t dead.
Lots of great interviews about to hit..
[Spoiler Caution]
A/ Snoke’s look actually came about from an encounter I had with George Miller a couple of years ago. He said you ‘if you’re going to top the Emperor, mate [his favorite character] you got to go really out there.’ So that led us to exploring a more diabolical character design. I was a huge fan of Weta and what they did for Peter and I hadn’t really worked in motion capture so that was sort of a logical place to go. And so when you decide to push the envelope, your next concern is getting the right actor, and Andy was first and only.
………………..
K/ Well Starkiller Base came out of the question of how do you top the Deathstar, and how do we have it make sense. I mean we’ve seen the Deathstar blown up twice now so it’s obviously not a very good model [laughs.] So we had to ask ourselves what could be more dangerous than a space station with a giant laser. Because It’s one thing to have an isolated threat somewhere out in space, but if you have a weapon built into a planet with millions of inhabitants, it becomes a lot more terrifying.
A/ Actually that was Larry’s idea. When he told me I thought it was so f……. brilliant that I kind of went into depression for a few days trying to come up with things to top it [laughs.] Because it has to be an imminent threat. I just said why don’t we really push the envelope and make it a booby trap scenario by having it connected to the core of the planet. The idea was that if the [Resistance] ever tried to destroy it, they would blow up the entire planet. So that kind of complicates things.
Asked how they managed to pull it off….
A/ Let’s just say Black Squadron is really good at their jobs.
………..
K/ Maz is an oracle-like character. She’s also a collector, which gives her a bit of a materialistic edge. She’s a very minor character, but in a way jumpstarts the entire movie. Yoda was such a lovable character that I didn’t even want to try to replicate that. But there are elements of a spiritual guide in Maz.
Where is that coming from ? Is it legit ?
No, he just pulled it out of his… *backside* (I don’t know if they ban bad words here).
A great imagination though!
Like they would reveal this. !!!Bullshit alert!!!
what’s JJ’s dark glasses all about?
You mean those sunglasses?
sunglasses beneath British skies, yes. Sleepless nights perhaps?
I’m guessing it was sunny that day
Looks overcast. Also in the behind the scenes video he’s wearing shades under thicker overcast sky. I’ve never worn sunglasses in the UK. In California, yes.
They might’ve been using big lights for the scene is one guess another is that being from Ireland where the weather is pretty much the same as in England I can tell you we do wear sunglasses often enough sometimes even in overcast weather. So yeah I don’t know.
They’re sonic
lol
“seeing the sweetness between Han and Rey or the tension and comedy between Han and Finn” well Daddies are always the jealous kind… spotted! 😉
Great interview, he talks the talk,just praying he walks the walk!
Where did the picture at the top of the page come from? The one with JJ and Daisy by the Falcon?
Not sure of the source, but if you mean where was it taken it’s at Greenham Common, the former USAF airbase near Newbury, Berkshire – infamous for being a nuclear launch site during the cold war.
Isn’t it obvious? Rey is the daughter of Chewbacca and Kylo is the clone of Palpatine.
Of course! It’ll be groundbreaking: Bestiality in Star Wars! #dealwithitbitches
this is actually the first interview by J J Abrams regarding VII that I actually enjoyed. no practical effects, no amazing cast and no we got great story to tell, just a simple, very human observations and memories of making this thing. i wonder why no other press materials and interviews couldn’t have been as candind and non pretetious as this one
I get the impression that, as the release of the movie opens, JJ doesn’t feel as strong of a need to be super-diplomatic and nasty-nice, and feels freer to be more candid and honest instead.
“we wanted a movie with a beginning, middle and end.”
yes, thank you JJ! too many franchises now a day rely on the sequels to tell a story rather then having each one further the overall plot while still being their own film. hopefully this get things moving back in the proper direction.
I really enjoy these interviews, this one especially. Thanks for posting.
Hmmm…he talks big talk. But seen this all before. I shall be the judge come December.
And this really is Luke Skywalker or bust. He is NEEDED in this film.Luke is the only dude that can take Kylo.
Relax dude there are other episodes in which Luke can take Kylo’s butt (metaphorically speaking of course).
Just confirms what I been saying for awhile now – This is Star Wars for dummies much as 2009 Star Trek was to non-trekkers.
What mean you?
Exactly what I meant.
In what way is it Star Wars for dummies in the same way star trek was? It looks like a proper continuation of the series.
Chronilogically yes, So did Trek which took place after Nemesis till the time warp thing.
But I meant in how ALL the main characters from the OT have a replacement. Rey = Luke, BB-8 = Artoo, Kylo = Vader, etc. Rebels/Resistance, Empire/First Order.
You did not see this nearly as much in the PT. Even all the vehicles are essentially newer models of the IV-VI save maybe one or two.
Well first of all I think Nemesis takes place after 2009 Star Trek chronologically but anyway thats a moot point because I kindof agree with you that it was Star Trek for dummies. In regards to the sequel trilogy I have to admit its not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Considering the route they’ve gone down it seems original enough despite the rehash of the rebel empire thing and yes I do think if George Lucas was still in charge of this new trilogy we would’ve seen something a lot more different than what we’re getting but as it is it seems to work. And you have to remember in the PT Anakin, Padme & Obi-Wan were in the positions formerly occupied by Luke, Leia and Han and you also had the Republic/The Separatists so its not too much different when you think about it.
Says the comic prequel “Countdown” takes place after Nemesis meaning the film would have to be after that film. They didn’t make a big deal about it onscreen since like I said – Star Trek For Dummies.
The other thing I forgot to mention was how they are using one planet from each OT film….
ANH – Desert
TESB – Snow
ROTJ – Forest
And the whole superweapon plot again as well.
We’ll find out for sure in about a month though but a lot of what’s been confirmed already leans towards that. I hope they go a more original route in the next two what with new directors and hopefully writing team as well.
Confirmation bias is a real thing; learn about it.
Because I imagined the OT cast being pushed to periphrel roles, The PT not being talked about at all outside the new EU, and combining the original drafts of ANH with ROTJ to build this “new” story around.
So unless you have a revisionist intrepretation of that word actually means then nope not at all.
right on, my expectations towards VII are extremely low while I got to admit, I love Rian Johnson, and am really hopeful for his movie. thanks for saying all you said
Thanks! As are mine as well. Long as it’s equal to or better than Revenge Of The Sith then I’d consider it a success but I’m pretty sure VIII will be the one that will be the best of this trilogy when all’s said and done.
The more I read your comments, the more I feel that you already made up your mind about a movie you haven’t even seen yet, and decided you are not going to like it, which – as Dalien pointed out – is a very effective method to… end up disliking the movie (thus confirming your own bias aka a “self-fulfilling prophecy”).
It’s prejudice and, as it’s the case with any kind of prejudice, it has exactly nothing to do with reality.
Had you actually bothered to read any of my comments and not view them through you’re OWN prejudice then you’d have realized all I’m looking for is a film equal to Episode III which is pretty average by Star Wars standards and they’d have to really try in order to make it worse than I-II or the Clone Wars film.
this could be very well turned around and said about you.. you want this movie to be (based on the PT experience) so amazing that you take any crap they release and persuade yourself that its gold, overlooking its actuall quality. now, only time will tell which one of us is right, contrary to what you suggest, i said that my expectations are low, not that i think today: on the 9th of November 2015, that Force Awakens sucks; quite opposite, because I’m so disappointed with all Ive seen so far I want this movie to be good more than anyone, yet I just cannot contain myself: nothing here feels fresh or original to me
for me TFA feels so unoriginal, looking at the materials they released it looks literally like a reboot rather than a sequel. Everything is updated but to the extent it still feels familiar, even the planets are all recycled from OT. No matter how bad the PT as movies was, Lucas and the team did go out to explore and introduce alot of new shit to the SW Universe, even the fckn Gungan underwater village looks 15 times more exciting then the forest, desert and the snowland from TFA. One has to be blind to not see this
Took the words right out of my keyboard. At the very least I’m glad we at least are seeing a foresty snow planet that’s a *little* different from Hoth and Takodana is looking more Jungly which we had in Yavin 4 but only for 5 seconds, no question Jakku is a straight ripoff though with the vaporators. Like they stole a planet from each of the OT films. I’m glad we are getting a tropical planet in Rogue One which is new and I think has more potential at this point due to it having a more indie feel. I’d hate to see this one become another Jurrasic World.
hopefully not. But, I do agree with you on the Trek part. I thought it was ‘Trek’ for dummies. No, I wouldn’t say that…it wasn’t Trek at all (nor was it Star Wars, either). It was total garbage.
But, I do have SOME faith in Larry Kasdan being able to help out the script and whatnot. But, I’ve got a bad feeling that it won’t be as good as it should be (but, still not the disaster the prequels were – that’s pretty much humanly impossible)!
I defer to you on that as I’ve always been more into SW than ST but even I realized something was very off when I saw both of his Trek films in theaters. Much like the PT, I think Abrams Trek has made me appreciate the originals even more purely by how inept his version was.
It’s sad that the Prequels are the benchmark of failure far as the films go when they could and should have been the best. I’m not expecting Empire greatness by any means with this new trilogy but I’ll settle for middle of the road mediocrity anyday over what we got in 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2008.
To me the rumor final duel which has Finn taking on Kylo then Rey taking on Kylo, to me is proof both Rey and Finn will be Jedi. Neither Rey or Finn are beating Kylo. Finn will probably get in a few shots then get his butt kicked and Rey will hold her own maybe pushing Kylo to his limits but he will almost take her out before chewie or poe come and save the day. I mean in the Prequel trilogy Qui Gon and Obi Wan took on Darth Maul, Anakin and Obi Wan took on Dooku twice with Dooku handling them both the first time.
Oh yeah, I mean there’s not ONE vehicle in this film not derived from an existing SW vehicle and we saw what a big deal they made of getting the old gang back together. Obviously everyone commenting/reading this now knows this not about the OT cast but more casual fans who skipped I-III are probably not going to be too happy that theur favorite characters have token cameo roles.