Christopher Nolan Talks Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Christopher Nolan

Only seven years old Christopher Nolan took in a screening of Star Wars. This completely changes his life and nothing was ever the same. Nolan often states that his whole career in making films, is trying to make a film, that gives the audience the experience he had while watching Star Wars. Now in a new interview the Interstellar director praises J.J. Abrams’ “colossal balls” for directing The Force Awakens and why he is afraid of Star Wars…

 

From TheDailyBeast:

Q: You mentioned Star Wars, and J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming out. Were you interested in directing that film? And were you approached?

 

A: I’m pretty excited to see what J.J. is going to do with that. I’m excited to see that he’s shooting on film and actually built the Millennium Falcon. As far as whether or not I would have ever done it, the truth is I think I’d be afraid to touch it! He’s boldly going where he went before in Star Trek, and it takes colossal balls.

 

Nolan

I’m a lot more comfortable trying to do my own thing than carrying the weight and expectation of the entire world—particularly 40-somethings like me who live and die with each new bit of information about Star Wars. But I’m very excited to see what he does.

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

61 thoughts on “Christopher Nolan Talks Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

  • November 11, 2014 at 5:58 pm
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    I respect Nolan’s humility. I hope he’s both impressed with and inspired by The Force Awakens! 😀

  • November 11, 2014 at 6:01 pm
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    I think Christopher Nolan would do a great spinoff movie about Darth Plagueis. I was going to say Darth Sidious but the story of Plagueis involves Sidious so much that it would be two for the price of one. Make it happen Disney!

    • November 11, 2014 at 6:16 pm
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      Any particular reason why Plagueis would be a good fit for Nolan?

      • November 11, 2014 at 7:22 pm
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        Any particular reason why he wouldn’t?

      • November 11, 2014 at 7:51 pm
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        I think he would be a good fit because A) He’s a fantastic director B) He’s a very cerebral filmmaker and the relationship between Sidious and Plagueis is as cerebral as it gets. I think also visually he knows how to walk the line between CGI and practical effects. And he obviously has a reverence for the source material. Just the announcement of Nolan doing a Star Wars film would make the internet explode and trying to foresee what a Nolan Star Wars film would look like would be fun as hell! If the Star Wars: The Force Awakens build up has taught me anything it’s that the journey to the films opening can be just as good (Or potentially better) that the premier itself

        • November 11, 2014 at 8:11 pm
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          Thanks for giving a real answer.

  • November 11, 2014 at 6:21 pm
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    I think Nolan should direct Ep9.

    • November 11, 2014 at 8:23 pm
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      He is a good director but his films are so pretentious. He abuses to explain everything without focusing in one thing. And sometimes, in my opinion, his films lose direction.
      I could see Nolan filming a SW movie if he doesn’t write it.
      But personally i don’t want him in SW universo.
      Sorry for my english 😉

    • November 11, 2014 at 11:21 pm
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      His films generally lack sexuality, he has a boring way of shooting fight scenes and relies on A-listers to put in a good performance.

      He’s the most uninvolved film-maker I have ever seen in action, just look how clueless all of his extras are.

  • November 11, 2014 at 6:26 pm
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    It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine him doing a star wars film from the perspective of the soldiers of whichever side of whatever conflict, really putting the “WARS” in star wars

  • November 11, 2014 at 6:35 pm
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    Nolans ability to make utter darkness and oppression engross the viewer, I believe, makes him the perfect guy for a sixth spin off. I agree about plagueis story. You truely connect with evil in his movies but still grasp the weight of their intention to destroy.

  • November 11, 2014 at 6:49 pm
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    I want him to do a KoTOR movie!

    • November 11, 2014 at 8:21 pm
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      I agreed with that! We need KOTOR movies!

  • November 11, 2014 at 7:33 pm
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    i think we should all forget about Darth Palaguis

    I think disney won’t touch on anything that has already been covered in the old EU

    or at least i hope they won’t be so stupid.

    if they were not going to honour it in the first place then they shouldn’t touch great authors works.

    • November 11, 2014 at 8:23 pm
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      I’m sorry but killing Chewbacca off is not good writing. I would bet the old EU was canned because of decisions like that! Don’t get me wrong I love the EU, but Disney wanted a fresh slate to bring everyone back into a movie. I would bet that JJ rewrote what Michael Arndt had penned because it did not have Chewbacca in it and when JJ brought him back into the movie, the old EU had to be rebooted. is this right or wrong? I can say for sure. however, it would explain a lot about why Disney did what they did.

      • November 11, 2014 at 10:00 pm
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        Yeah i could totally see Arndt creating a bitter Han Solo that keeps hanging on to the loss of his best friend Chewy

        • November 12, 2014 at 2:23 am
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          The Big Question… What would have the fans crying in their seats more: Han mourning over the loss of Chewie or Chewie ‘going ape’ mourning the loss of Han? As tragic as it would be for both to “go out” together, would it have the same emotional impact on audiences as the first two options?

    • November 11, 2014 at 10:30 pm
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      Star Wars: Rebels has already touched on some EU stuff. Inquisitors and the name “Sienar” were both EU concepts that have popped up in the show. Also the Lasat species.

      Just because it’s not canon doesn’t mean it’s not a wealth of material to draw on. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of EU concepts absorbed back into the family. Just don’t expect entire storylines to come back.

  • November 11, 2014 at 7:58 pm
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    Darth Palagueis was mentioned in Ep 3 so he is still fair game in that respect. And it would be neat to see how The dark side mastered immortality.

    • November 11, 2014 at 8:13 pm
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      How can they be defeated if they’ve mastered immortality?

      • November 11, 2014 at 8:41 pm
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        Immortality and Invincibility are two different things. One can be alive forever but have a weakness. For example, Vampires or Superman. Vampires are immortal and live forever, however UV light can kill them. And Superman is invincible, but can be weakened by Kryptonite. The point is, the Sith that have mastered immortality still have a weakness that can be exploited, and have been exploited in many stories. So to have a story told on screen about how Palagueis master the dark side to preserve his life but betrayed by his apprentice while Palagueis slept; would make a good movie!

        • November 11, 2014 at 10:32 pm
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          All right.

          So, to be clear, you’re not talking about Plagueis being a Force ghost that can return to physical form, right?

  • November 11, 2014 at 8:28 pm
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    I hate when in interviews the interviewee makes an off hand compliment saying something like “he’s got colossal balls” then a news outlet singles out that compliment. Like it makes Chris Nolan look really gay, do they realize that.

    • November 11, 2014 at 8:43 pm
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      psh…No!

    • November 11, 2014 at 10:33 pm
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      How does it make him gay?

      It’s not like Nolan said, “I respect JJ’s balls.”
      (“love” was too obvious :P)

      • November 12, 2014 at 4:20 am
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        You know who I wanna see do a Star Wars movie? Ron Howard. If you’ve seen the movie Rush you know what I’m talking about. Ron is good at delivering heart and real human characters in his films. Apollo 13 also had a lot of very natural humor in it’s dialogue slipped in where it didn’t put you off. But he can also handle action and strategic slow-points.
        I think all in all he is a perfect candidate for the Star Wars franchise, or at least a Spin-off. + he was in The Pre-Star-Wars film directed by Lucas.

        • November 12, 2014 at 10:26 am
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          Great idea

        • November 12, 2014 at 7:55 pm
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          I’d love to see Kathryn Bigelow do a sequel, or even a stand alone, but preferably the former.

  • November 11, 2014 at 8:59 pm
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    The reason why JJ, etc kicked out the EU waz because if they had follow the EU, then what would be the surprise ? Everyone would know what would happen then. Thats why they kicked the EU story out. But im sure we will see some of the characters from the EU in the new trilogy at some point, but have different stories and adventures for them. Example… Instead of Mara Jade being with Luke, they could make it where she has a romance with someone else and instead of her being same age as Luke, shes maybe in her 30s or even younger. And of course Chewie doesnt die cause that would suk for many fans. Maybe Admiral Thrawn could be in it, but play as a different role. Who knows. But as successfull the EU was, im sure they will toss a few characters in eventually.

    • November 11, 2014 at 10:43 pm
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      Reasons to get rid of the EU:

      REMOVE terrible stories.
      FREEDOM to create new and better ones.
      ABILITY to surprise audiences.
      LEGENDS still available for inspiration.

      • November 11, 2014 at 11:15 pm
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        Agreed. I laugh at all those stupid fake episode VII teasers that use cutscenes from Jedi Knight II… and don’t get me wrong… great game… but cheesy movie & story. And could we please be done with the sith army scene from the old republic? That game sucked… the trailer was the best part… but whatever we see in VII will blow that shit out of the water. Lets just wait for the real trailer plz.

        • November 12, 2014 at 12:32 am
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          Are you talking about Knights Of The Old Republic Or Star Wars: The Old Republic?

          • November 12, 2014 at 2:22 am
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            I get them confused… the MMO that sucked after level 20.

  • November 11, 2014 at 11:11 pm
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    Interstellar is awesome… but yeah I’m not sure Nolan would be the best fit for SW. His vision might be a little *too* gritty for the universe. But man, I can’t wait to re-watch Interstellar @ 70mm projection this weekend 🙂

    What a great time for films… Interstellar… GOTG… the force awakens… Avatar 2…damn! I’m very fortunate to be an audience member at this time. (I didn’t include the Hobbit because the Hobbit blows in comparison to LOTR… but I am looking forwards to seeing the 5 armies in HFR with Atmos).

  • November 11, 2014 at 11:52 pm
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    Nolan’s just being polite to Abrams. The man’s already proven that he’s got huge balls himself. He was facing HUGE pressure with The Dark Knight Rises following up after that masterpiece that was The Dark Knight.

    I just think he’s smart enough to realize that no SW film will ever be at the OT level in the eyes of many. Apparently, JJ Abrams is not nearly as smart. Though to me that comes across clearly in each man’s films.

    • November 12, 2014 at 2:31 am
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      The Dark Knight Rises sucks… I didn’t like the first one either. I was really surprised when I saw the Dark Knight in the theater… I wasn’t expecting much/ I was dragged in to see it… a week later I was back in the cinema to see it again.

      I thought the first Star Trek was pretty clever. I think there is a possibility that JJ could out do the OT if everything goes right. If Lucas’s outline was as solid as it appeared in the 80’s then I think JJ’s skills might lend themselves well to translate it with the help of Kasdan… along with all the people involved to bring the vision to life. We will see. I think the trailer will be a good indication. I remember having reservations when I saw the Episode 1 trailer. When I saw the first clip of Jar Jar (it was him yelping in that gungan underwater transport) (I was thinking “wtf is that thing?”) Ugh. And those stupid robots. Denial preserved my excitement until opening night.

      • November 12, 2014 at 8:03 pm
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        Exactly! The Dark Knight was exceptional, brilliant, but Rises was poor (it seemed like a 12 year old had written the script). The best things about it was Anne Hathaway and Marion Cotillard. Tom Hardy’s character was ill-thought-out.

    • November 12, 2014 at 3:06 am
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      “I just think he’s smart enough to realize that no SW film will ever be at the OT level in the eyes of many.”

      Don’t be so quick to judgment. Since the OT, we’ve only seen the PT. At least allow VII to be released before reaching this conclusion.

      Many currently have hope that these new films, by and large, will deliver the goods.

      • November 12, 2014 at 4:22 am
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        Exactly! If they are at least as good as Star Treks I think high hopes are justified. I think they will be a lot better than Star Trek though since JJ is more of an SW guy… people were saying that when Star Trek came out. Star Trek franchise wasn’t exactly in the best place for quite some time… JJ made that shit fun… and better.

        • November 12, 2014 at 10:31 am
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          He ruined Star Trek, awful, awful films

          • November 12, 2014 at 5:28 pm
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            Really? Why? I have been a Trekkie for 30 years and I thought the movies were very well done. Great fricking cast of actors and a lot of great visuals and action.

            YES I was dissapointed in the WoK reboot, but the movie itself was still good.

          • November 12, 2014 at 7:29 pm
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            The opening scene JJ first Trek film was among the most emotionally retared scences of all holywood (giving birth while farther on comlink fights in a space battle). The villains (bearded romulans) were pathetic compared to the splendid complex evil master mindes like Gul Dukat, Commander Tomalak or Weyoun. A director who chooses to direct a bunch of mediocre teen actors instead of Patrik Steward is out of his mind. By rebooting Trek he ruined and insulted the work of brilliant script writers. And all with the stupid excuse: “The universe is to complex and Trek needs to be more like Starwars”.

        • November 12, 2014 at 7:38 pm
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          I am a SW as much as a Trek fan. They are different and should have stayed that way. I like variety. You don’t have to like Trek, its not an action space opera. Its about Starships with carpets, diplomacy, classical tragical characters and conversations about moral dilema in the turbot lift. The brilliant thing about startrek is that watching this bald guy talk about morality and Shakespear was engaging and fun.

          It was a more cerebral show, but he turned Trek into yet-another-ironman-like action flick and thereby it lost all its charm.

          I am very sure with Starwars this won’t happen. And I like much of what has leaked sofar, but that does not change my opinion on JJs Trek.

      • November 12, 2014 at 6:58 am
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        Ok, so you hated TDKR. Fine, that’s your opinion, and I respect it. Just for the record, I didn’t like that film, either. But I merely said that Nolan was under huge pressure to deliver a high-quality film, because he’d set the bar very high with TDK. I never said whether he succeeded or not. Obviously, he didn’t.

        That said, let’s not forget that Nolan’s far more than his Batman trilogy. Memento, The Prestige and Inception, all these films are widely regarded as clever and brilliant, and they clearly are.

        As for Abrams, I’ve never cared about Star Trek in any of its incarnations, whatsoever. I just watched his Trek films to see what I could expect from the guy in EP. VII. I had already seen Super 8, Lost, MI3, and while entertaining, Abrams’ films are certainly nothing special or memorable, IMO.

        I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: IDK if Nolan would be right to direct a SW film or no. I just know that Abrams’ film will be widely regarded as a MAJOR disappointment. Simply because, as in ’99, OT fans are expecting perfection (as in perfection in accordance to each fan’s expectations) which is impossible, of course.

        Does this mean that Ep. VII will suck? Not necessarily. It only means that it won’t be as good as many wish for it to be. Abrams’ ceiling is very limited, and I know he’ll prove me right, come Dec. 2015.

      • November 12, 2014 at 7:03 am
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        “Don’t be so quick to judgment. Since the OT, we’ve only seen the PT. At least allow VII to be released before reaching this conclusion.”

        lol! It is precisely because of the PT that I said what I said. Hopes were so impossibly high for that trilogy that there was no way Lucas could make everyone happy.

        “Many currently have hope that these new films, by and large, will deliver the goods.”

        Exactly.

        Just like many had the hope back in ’99 that the PT would deliver the goods. See how that ended, and you’ll have a very clear road map leading straight into the ST.

        Not that I have anything to worry about, though. While I certainly don’t like the PT as much as I did the OT, I went to see those films with an open mind, and so I don’t hate them, I enjoyed them. The same will happen this time around, because I know exactly what to expect out of the ST.

  • November 12, 2014 at 12:59 am
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    Whatever happened to that guy who co-wrote Attack of the Clones?

  • November 12, 2014 at 2:12 am
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    Ugh. I cannot stand Nolan’s films. He takes good actors and makes them put in utterly rigid performances devoid of charm and charisma. A little bit like Lucas, in that regard.

    (Except for the Joker of course)

    • November 12, 2014 at 2:50 am
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      I can see that… I think the problem is that the films are so complex there just isn’t much room for acting. If each scene was super dramatic it would just be overwhelming… it already is emotionally draining to watch some of those films. I think the compromise is the vision of the film… and the contrast between the dramatic scenes requires some toned down scenes. When Batman started beating the shit out of the Joker & screaming “WHERE ARE THEY?” in jail I was thinking like “holy shit I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.”

      Did you see Interstellar? Visually that film was POWERfull. But more than anything I think the difference between him & Lucas is that Nolan is like an old master painter in terms of how he directs his vision… Interstellar looked really, really cool. PT just looked like a turd. I think Lucas did best when He was trying to emulate Kurosawa in ANH… but I’m glad he went with other directors for the sequels.

      I think one important thing to note regarding Lucas’s direction is the awkwardness. The scene when Anakin tells his mom he wants to help Quigon she retorts with “AAAnakin.” But the retort felt very strange, as if there was no effort put into it… especially with the vacant look on his mom’s face. My theory is Lucas probably filmed a rehearsal of that scene and just left it like that. I’ve heard He doesn’t like people… so being in the studio is sort of painful for him, so that’s why he doesn’t do a lot of takes. I don’t think he had the option to do that while filming ANH.

      I remember being in the theater with my girlfriend for “attack of the clones” and she laughed out loud at the love scenes… those were painfully awkward as well. + my friend and I laughed out loud at the Darth Vader “nooooo!” in ROTS… we couldn’t stop making fun of that scene on the ride home. How awful.

      I don’t think it’s that bad in the Dark Knight… lolz. Check out Interstellar on 70mm… it looks really cool.

  • November 12, 2014 at 2:28 am
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    Is it possible that THE FORCE AWAKENS the ANCIENT FEAR?

    • November 12, 2014 at 8:10 pm
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      Or maybe The Ancient Fear Awakens The Force?
      Or maybe I’ll take up that 12 month contract working in Antarctica that starts next month!

  • November 12, 2014 at 6:39 am
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    Star Wars has alway been bright and lighthearted. No, not childish.
    Noland movies are dark, depressing anf deeply psychologically constipaded living in a world of utter despair with everything falling apart. Maybe try a little bit of comedy for once? At least charm

    • November 12, 2014 at 7:54 am
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      There were a few funny moments in Interstellar… the robot was pretty funny.

      • November 12, 2014 at 8:30 am
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        Yeah, the robot it’s funny because it’s absurd, not real funny.
        There are A lot of funny moments in interstellar, and it’s a problem with a movie who likes to take seriously what explains

  • November 12, 2014 at 12:09 pm
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    I repeatedly hear a lot of fans say that JJ is not the right choice, that he has proved nothing so far, that he has a ‘ceiling’ and that he’ll fail to deliver meeting the fans expectations.
    The last statement might be true, since I can’t imagine ANY director pleasing all fans. There will be criticism, wich is a good thing.

    But here’s why I’m quite hopefull TFA will be generaly considered a really good movie, by fans and critics also.
    1. The script: Michael Arndt knows how to write a screenplay. We don’t know what changes JJ and Kasdan made, but they also know what they’re doing.
    2. If there’s ANY movie the right one to direct for JJ, it’s the new Star Wars movie. Because he is a massive fan, because he knows the OT like the back of his hand, because he already gained so much experience. Some people seem to forget that smart people, wich applies to JJ, learn as they move on.

    I think he’ll deliver an instant classic. How hard can it be? It’s Star Wars! If you don’t mess up like Lucas sometimes did, you have an instant classic. Make sure that it has an authentic look (not to much CGI), fleshed-out characters and make sure the old characters evolve and have some new challenges. I’m quite sure all of that will be true. = awesome movie

    • November 12, 2014 at 2:02 pm
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      Agreed!
      Instant classic!

  • November 12, 2014 at 5:53 pm
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    Really? Why? I have been a Trekkie for 30 years and I thought the movies were very well done. Great fricking cast of actors and a lot of great visuals and action.

    YES I was dissapointed in the WoK reboot, but the movie itself was still good.

  • November 12, 2014 at 7:23 pm
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    Sorry but I hope JJ is NOT going where he went with Star Trek, because that he completely ruined by rebooting a perfectly wonderful universe with political complexity and rich history.

  • November 14, 2014 at 5:01 pm
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    He’s afraid because he knows that he’s too cold-hearted to communicate emotion in Star Wars

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