Lawrence Kasdan Talks The Force Awakens Running Time, George Lucas, Lando Calrissian’s Future and More!

Lawrence Kasdan

Vanity Fair posted yet another interesting story, this time an extended conversation with The Force Awakens screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, form their June cover story…

 

 

Excerpts from the interview:

 

 

On George Lucas.

 

Lawrence Kasdan: I think I did have a strong sense of George and George’s journey over those years. We weren’t really involved after Jedi. But before that, we were, very deeply involved. He even helped me get Body Heat made, which was my first movie [as a writer-director, released in 1981]. He was very supportive of that. So we were very close and then we sort of didn’t have much to do with each other for a long time. But my experiences with him had all been very positive and my favorite memories of him were this period of Empire and Jedi, which I came back, after Body Heat, and did for him. He was, again, in a situation where they didn’t have a script and I came in and worked with him and Richard Marquand. So I’m very much infused with the best of George, which was funny and inventive and obviously changed movies forever.

 

Lawrence-Kasdan-Star-Wars

 

 

On The Force Awakens.

 

Lawrence Kasdan: And this new movie, first of all, it’s turning out really great. J.J. directed it so beautifully, and it’s so exhilarating and everything. It’s a big movie. It’s full of wonderful stuff, incident and character stuff and jokes and effects. One of the things that we always refocus on from the get-go was that it not be one of these very long, bloated blockbusters. A lot of very entertaining movies lately are too long. In the last 20 minutes, you think, why isn’t this over? We didn’t want to make a movie like that. I mean, we were really aiming to have it be—when it’s over you’ll say, “I wish there’s more.” Or, “Wait, is it over?” Because how rarely you get that feeling nowadays, and I think we’re headed there. But it means that there will be constant critical looking at it from now to the end, saying, “Do we need this? Do we need that? Is it better if this comes out, even though we love it?” Killing your darlings.

 

 

On Lando Calrissian.

 

Lawrence Kasdan: Right now, there’s no Lando Calrissian in this movie. But Lando I don’t think is finished in any way, shape, or form.

 

 

 

For the full inteview make sure to go to Vanity Fair.

 

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

83 thoughts on “Lawrence Kasdan Talks The Force Awakens Running Time, George Lucas, Lando Calrissian’s Future and More!

  • May 19, 2015 at 11:59 am
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    I hope it runs 2 hours at least and not 90 min.

    • May 19, 2015 at 9:32 pm
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      I HOPE IT RUNS 2HR & 90 MINS! 😉

  • May 19, 2015 at 12:09 pm
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    less than 2 hours would NOT be ok

    • May 19, 2015 at 4:14 pm
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      Agreed. Looking at the running time of each of the movies, we get this:
      Episode IV – 124 minutes
      Episode V – 127 minutes
      Episode VI – 134 minutes
      Episode I – 133 minutes
      Episode II – 142 minutes
      Episode III – 140 minutes

      I hope that it will be at least 130-160 minutes.

      • May 19, 2015 at 7:27 pm
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        I think he’s referring to movies like Interstellar, the Avengers, or Django-all of which run at least 180-90 minutes long.

        • May 19, 2015 at 9:38 pm
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          I’m hoping to god it’s 2 hours 20 min, that seems to be the average length of abrams other films as of late.

      • May 20, 2015 at 1:17 am
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        Attack of the Clones, longest, non-sensical most boring Star Wars film of all time.

      • May 21, 2015 at 3:31 am
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        128 minutes estimated by 30 seconds away would be fine with me.

  • May 19, 2015 at 12:23 pm
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    We need to know more about what is left of the original George Lucas / Ardnt scripts & story-line for this sequel trilogy!

    Why no one is asking this obvious question?!?!?!

    • May 19, 2015 at 12:27 pm
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      We will answer this in a few hours time. 😉

      • May 19, 2015 at 2:20 pm
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        wot. wot does dat mean man

    • May 19, 2015 at 2:14 pm
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      Ive ALWAYS wondered why that question is never addressed or detailed at all.

    • May 19, 2015 at 3:21 pm
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      Reporters are moron and clueless.

  • May 19, 2015 at 12:32 pm
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    This makes me worry even more about Luke’s screen time.

  • May 19, 2015 at 12:53 pm
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    Maybe Kasdan is referring to movies like “Man of Steel” or “The Dark Knight Rises”. A 2-hours-lenght is actually the lenght of every old SW movie, so I think they are going to keep it for Ep.7.

    • May 19, 2015 at 4:06 pm
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      I think he is referring to movies that try to cram another movie into their last 15-20 minutes to pad out the run time.

      (chappie, amazing spider-man 2)

      • May 19, 2015 at 10:41 pm
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        First LOTR film was way too long, seemed to start again at one point. zzzzzz.

  • May 19, 2015 at 1:28 pm
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    Honestly, if the film is great then I would love a really long star Wars film. As a fan of LOTR also i love that they are 200 minutes long. If a Star Wars film was 160 minutes of pure awesome then why not! I suppose its a balance of pace, and star wars is fast paced but i could easily see an empire strikes back like film running for around 160 as stated above. As long as its the same as the original films then I will have no qualm.

    • May 19, 2015 at 1:45 pm
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      thats great, everybody can relax, as long as brent has no qualm we should be ok, everybody pray for no qualms.

      • May 19, 2015 at 2:18 pm
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        Hahah, oh you.

  • May 19, 2015 at 1:48 pm
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    Add another nail to Spoilerman’s coffin, who said Lando was in this movie.

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:49 pm
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      Not defending spoilerman, but notice he said “RIGHT NOW, there’s no Lando Calrissian in this movie.” That could amount to “later, he will be in this movie when we insert his secret cameo.”

      Okay, so it’s a stretch…

    • May 19, 2015 at 7:23 pm
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      I personally don’t think Lando while an important character in the later part of the OT isn’t really that important to the overall story going forward. Plus if you saw BDW on Dancing with the stars last year or two years ago he really isn’t in the best shape and it was actually painful to watch. I don’t think he would be able to run around or doing anything that we as an audience expect out of the character. There is a reason why he is only doing voice work right now.

  • May 19, 2015 at 2:07 pm
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    Nice, they don’t want to stretch it. Very nice move. Kasdan is right, many movies are way too long. Especially those action blockbusters that most of the time have not that much of a story to tell.

    • May 19, 2015 at 3:07 pm
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      Just like ATTACK OF THE CLONES!

      • May 19, 2015 at 4:56 pm
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        Happy Birthday Attack of the Clones!

        On this day thirteen years ago, you became the 2nd worst SW movie! Although, it was a close call for #1, Phantom Menace just edges you out…

        • May 19, 2015 at 6:37 pm
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          Episode II came out May 16th. Thank You.

          – Attack of the Clones

          • May 19, 2015 at 8:21 pm
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            Yikes! U r correct sir!

            Make that, Happy Belated Birthday AOTC!

            Its sometimes hard to remember details from shitty movies

        • May 20, 2015 at 1:02 am
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          Choosing between those two movies is like choosing between the guillotine and an executioner’s ax.

          But I’ll take TPM over AOTC, sadly.

  • May 19, 2015 at 2:11 pm
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    I think he is saying a long winded 2hrs VS a brisk well crafted 2hrs. Both types of movies are two hours but one is over packed with stuff that makes it heavy and makes you exhausted in a bad way like the Avengers ha.

  • May 19, 2015 at 2:12 pm
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    Kasdan may have been close w/Lucas back in the day, but that also could mean he’s a much different writer now, like Lucas. Also like George, Kasdan has had alot of inactivity prior to TFA. He’s returning to SW after not doing shit for the last 10-15 years, sound familiar?
    Not saying Kasdan will churn out the same crap Lucas did late in his career but, there’s no guarantee Kasdan can still produce shit like ESB, Jedi, and even Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then again, maybe that’s where JJ can come in as a co-writer and say, “…look man, that shit is lame, lets try this…” or help in areas where Kasdan could use it.
    I truly hope Kasdan brings his A-game and hasn’t lost it like George did. It would be fantastic if he and JJ nail it and TFA becomes a classic! Not too much longer to wait…

    • May 19, 2015 at 2:31 pm
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      Why did you have to make me worried about Kasdan! Your arguments are sound… I hope he’s still got it. It was a sobering thought though. I’m thinking the whole collaborative process will pull through in the end… I hope.

      • May 19, 2015 at 4:21 pm
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        haha, well, its true! I felt safe at first too but when you look at things, he’s in the same boat Lucas was. So now, you have to be a little cautious. Hopefully JJ will be a security blanket in case Kasdan tries pulling out some shit like, “I don’t like sand”, “You are so beautiful”, “I hate them!”, and “Yippiiee!”

    • May 19, 2015 at 4:45 pm
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      Kasdan was Lucas’ straight-man.
      He brought reality and depth to Lucas’ ideas.
      He’s also a good dialogue writer, the Big Chill was all dialogue and enjoyable

      • May 19, 2015 at 8:29 pm
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        I agree, Big Chill was an excellent dialogue-type movie that centered on relationships. Its also a movie that was releasef in 1983.
        The point is, theres no recent Kasdan work to base an opinion on regarding his current level of writing.

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:54 pm
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      But Lucas was never a strong writer (though a great creator and producer), Kasdan was. Lucas coming back was a self admitted weak writer doing more weak writing without someone like Kasdan to work off of and to polish the writing.
      But I also half blame Kasdan for the shortcomings of the Prequels as Lucas asked him to return and he encouraged Lucas to write them himself. Kasdan could have made them great.

  • May 19, 2015 at 2:30 pm
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    that lenght thing means it is two hours long. he refers to nowaday blockbusters, wich last around 2hrs 20 mins… I mean, look at the LOTR and the hobbit, the dark knight trilogy, the avengers 2, iron man 3

    • May 19, 2015 at 2:36 pm
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      I agreed with this Anonymous dude! A big movie needs longer time to better tell a story instead of a rushed one. I hope its 3hr long movie.

      • May 19, 2015 at 4:10 pm
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        You will have a mínimum of 3 movies.
        Time is not problema.
        2 hours is perfect. Credits not included of course.

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:18 pm
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      The LOTR trilogy *had* to be lengthy. I don’t think they could’ve done a 90 minutes LOTR, at least without butchering it to pieces.

      I’m hoping TFA is 2 hours. Hell, I’d be fine with 4.

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:23 pm
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      LOTR is different, we’re talking about a trilogy that is based off of 16 BOOKS

      The Fellowship of the Ring isn’t a book, it’s a “Part”, containing 4 books within it.
      The Two Towers had two books for Aragorn and Merry and Pippin, immediately followed by two books for Frodo and Sam.

      It’s really an anthology, and quite a massive achievement of plot-pacing and editing to bring it all together into as short a film as they did. If marvel made the Lord of the Rings, you can bet your ass they’d make it into 8 films.

      Now here’s where the Hobbit differs: The Hobbit, contrary to marketing, WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE IN ANY WAY A TWIN TO LOTR.
      It’s a rather short novel about a bunch of bumbling dwarves taking a leisurely road-trip.
      The stakes were actually pretty low, and all the better for that, because the book was about atmosphere and the day-to-day struggles of travelling across a desolate continent, sans all that fate-of-the-world good-bad-good-bad BS. [In my opinion, a stronger book than any one of the LOTR’s 16 books – so it’s only fitting that it came out to be a worse movie, karma’s weird]

      All that considered, my point is it’s odd to compare LOTR to the Dark Knight or Avengers, because LOTR was not made for the same purpose in the same way, it is truly a different beast, and that has little to do with runtime.

      • May 20, 2015 at 7:39 am
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        16 books? LOTR is one novel, comprised of six “books” plus prologue and appendices, published in three volumes because of a post-WWII paper shortage.

  • May 19, 2015 at 2:48 pm
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    I can barely watch the hobbit movies they are so long.. glad it wont be like that

    • May 19, 2015 at 10:26 pm
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      Good for you. I would never EVER believe to anybody who would say to me a year ago that I will refuse to watch Hobbit 3. Even when Hobbit 2 was terrible, I was about to watch 5 Armies in the theathre. I didn´t. I even didn´t download it from the net for free! I just heard some things from the movie and I´ll just ignore it and save some precious time of my life….Better forget this one and hope I´ll live long enough till someone makes a proper Hobbit. Not this P.J.s´flying cirkus…

      • May 20, 2015 at 7:42 am
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        I turned off Hobbit three 10 minutes in and took it back to the redbox. There might have been a good 2hr30 minute movie in that whole trilogy.

  • May 19, 2015 at 3:09 pm
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    “Is it better if this comes out, even though we love it? Killing your Darlings” This does not sound promissing, killing the whole OT cast is a bad idea!
    Stupid move, bringing old characters back to killing them off.
    About the movie length, I prefer a entertaining 2 hours movie. I don’t like a boring movie with a 3 hours runtime.
    2 hours movies like the OT are much better to re-watch them again.

    • May 19, 2015 at 4:43 pm
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      He didn’t say anything about killing off characters. He was talking about cutting scenes that as a writer or director you’re very excited about, but when editing the film you realize they don’t quite work or are not necessary. So they have to be removed, or “killed”.

      • May 19, 2015 at 6:04 pm
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        On the plus side, it could definitely sweeten up the “Deleted Scenes” pot. 😉

    • May 20, 2015 at 1:30 am
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      “Killing your darlings” does not mean killing characters. Sheesh.

      • May 20, 2015 at 8:27 am
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        Not everyone is versed in cinema verite.
        Also realise the diverse audience of viewers.
        There are girls and boys young and old from all sides of the pond.
        Sheeshezgluesus.

        • May 22, 2015 at 9:16 am
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          What does cinema verité has to do with Star Wars?

  • May 19, 2015 at 3:19 pm
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    Movie better be atleast 180 minutes !! did not wait 30 + years to get a 2 hour movie that is cut together way to short so it hurts the overall movie.

    • May 20, 2015 at 1:33 am
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      It’ll be cut to the length which works best. Most often less is more.

  • May 19, 2015 at 3:25 pm
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    Killing your darlings = deciding to not use stuff in the movie even though they love the stuff… decide to cut those ideas to prevent the movie from becoming too bloated and/or too long

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:25 pm
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      Kudos to He Who Invented the DVD’s “Deleted Scenes” Feature.

  • May 19, 2015 at 3:29 pm
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    They don’t want to put too much stuff in the movie for the sake of having it in the movie
    If it is not needed for the story then don’t do it …don’t make another prequel type of sw film with mindless cgi…overuse of lightsaber battles etc.

  • May 19, 2015 at 3:33 pm
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    Fanservice should also be avoided
    Refering to stuff from previous sw films should also be kept to a minimum… don’t overdo anything… just make a good movie
    Entertaining and as original as possible for a episode 7

  • May 19, 2015 at 3:38 pm
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    Two hours is good for star wars. I guess two hours and tweny mins max. I mean, peiople saying “I want a 3 hours film”… just think about it: when will you have enough time to see it? I noticed that I see more frequently two hours-long movies than LOTR movies, only because they’re too long. If Star Wars 7 is just two hours long I’m okay with that, because I can see it several times. Still, a long star wars movie works to me, but It must be either very long, to tell a story that would be as extended as a trilogy. NEvertheless, that’s not how star wars works. It works because it’s composed by trilogies of films.

  • May 19, 2015 at 4:00 pm
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    “It’s full of wonderful stuff, incident and character stuff and jokes and effects.”

    Great more jokes! TESB worked well b/c of Solo and his sarcastic personality…but trying to force a quick laugh from the audience usually doesn’t end well.

    IMO, nothing is more annoying then “We’re here to save the galaxy la la la la la!”
    One shouldnt be cracking a joke during a war scene.

    • May 19, 2015 at 4:25 pm
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      Then, maybe you forgot what a SW movie should be. It’s supposed to be light and entertaining. Characters like C3P0 and R2D2 are a perfect example of the “don’t take it too seriously” thing.

      He never said that the jokes were forced. The new actors seem to have strong personalities. Hope they use it, like they did with Han in the OT. Han’s characters was probably one of the main reason for the whole SW success. It’s just irresistible.

      • May 19, 2015 at 5:27 pm
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        Yeah I can agree w/ this. Hopefully its done right and not too much of it.

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:16 pm
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      You must have never seen any Star Wars movie ever.

      • May 19, 2015 at 5:25 pm
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        I did state “In My Opinion”. Am not a huge fan of mixing in too much humor.

        Cheers, K

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:28 pm
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      I think Kasdan’s thinking in terms of “I’d rather kiss a wookie” sort of banter, as opposed to *fart* “peeeyuuweee!”

  • May 19, 2015 at 4:27 pm
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    I think a well cut 2 hours is perfect. Knowing how to “kill your babies” is the secret for great editing. Just like for songwriting. Being more efficient and dynamic instead of putting everything in a big soup.

    • May 19, 2015 at 5:28 pm
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      Leave out some footage for the “Special Editions!”

      • May 19, 2015 at 6:11 pm
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        That’s a great idea, but it sounds a bit boring.

        Call ’em… “Killing Your Darlings” Edition! xD

  • May 19, 2015 at 5:02 pm
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    Honestly, the length of the film matters not, to me. As long as the quality is epic.

  • May 19, 2015 at 5:33 pm
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    Wow, this is all looking promising!
    Like, KK is doing all the right production things,
    JJ seems to really know what he’s doing, and doing it for the right reasons,
    And now Kasdan’s dealing out profound “this is why we like Star Wars” messages,

    It’s like, Star Wars is my hot ex-girlfriend, and JJ is her wingman, and I’m falling back in love.

    damn, they’re reading my mind, this has got to be a con. I just know it.

    • May 19, 2015 at 6:14 pm
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      I feel like a musical instrument, with Kasdan, Abrams, Kennedy and company hitting all the right notes.

      It’s kinda sexy. ;B

  • May 19, 2015 at 6:20 pm
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    its disney now, there will be Lando TV, Landos Nandos, Lando’Makebelieve, Lando tango drinks, Young Lando, Old Lando tales, On cloud 9 with Lando, Lando/Rango crossover animation blah blah blah for the rest of your life and your kids lives, Give it 9 years and even the hardcore star wars fan will be bored binkless by it all.
    R2d2 running for president, jedi mickey mouse, whats going on, help, get me off this moon. i have no money left

  • May 19, 2015 at 7:17 pm
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    I’m really glad they’re being so selective about what material they leave in. I prefer a terse story in a vividly detailed setting where there’s a lot you don’t catch in the first five viewings. I don’t want to see any exposition at all unless it is absolutely necessary to understand the story.

  • May 19, 2015 at 7:21 pm
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    Kasden is awesome. In interviews he sounds like a total beatnik stoner and I think he carries around a horned ebony staff. I wonder if he met Ferlingetti and all them.

  • May 19, 2015 at 8:07 pm
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    I personally enjoyed the hobbit, oh it was no where near as emotionally charged as LOTR however and I totally agree with Hard Case, as far as the books are concerned, the Hobbit was a far better story. Peoples expectations were way to high after LOTR and in hindsight, perhaps the hobbit should have been made first! where the experience and story could have been more appreciated. I really like Peter Jackson, not because I am a kiwi! (New Zealander) but because his style and passion for film making is remarkable and I don’t believe that any other film maker could have achieved the same heart felt brilliance. As far as movie length goes, a great story and being Star Wars, I so want a long movie, I would be happy with at least a ROTS length. For NOw! Lando is not in TFA, a well kept secret and a cameo appearance would be absolutely mind blowing! I feel that the humour found in the OT was well balanced along side the dark feel of the story. I feel that Lucas so screwed this up in the PT, and was a very poor attempt in trying to hard to appease a new generation, to emphasis on humour through silly characters like Jah jah stinks, was in every word, a very sad let down. I am excited with the idea that JJ has returned to origins and that the balance of humour within the story will be perfectly excellent!

  • May 19, 2015 at 8:35 pm
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    Oh not hard case lol Dude in the Hat I was meaning, cheers!

  • May 19, 2015 at 8:53 pm
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    There should be enough content that TFA is over 2 hours. Beyond two hours, really, as long as it’s a good film it shouldn’t matter how long it is. I’d watch a 4 hour Star Wars film if the content merits it being that long.

  • May 19, 2015 at 8:55 pm
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    I mean, we were really aiming to have it be—when it’s over you’ll say, “I wish there’s more.” Or, “Wait, is it over?” Because how rarely you get that feeling nowadays. They’re making all the right noises with the promotion of the movie.I haven’t gotten that feeling since Toy story 2,and I felt that way with Cap 2 too,but that was different.

  • May 19, 2015 at 9:02 pm
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    Sounding good. I’m really excited to see how they create a Star Wars film adhering to many of the restrictions that come with being a Star Wars film.

    Linear storytelling with no use of flashbacks (I’d be shocked if they used flashbacks, the only slightly off kilter thing we’ve ever seen has been Anakin visions of pad me and Luke and Vader on Degobah).

    I’m also wondering who’ll get the “I have a bad feeling about this” line, I figure it will be a new cast member, probably Boyega.

    From all I’ve seen and heard I have real faith that they’ll bring a film to the table that pleases a lot of fans and generally is a worthy entry to the series. Hopefully it can be even better than that and give us something to rival Empire in the quality stakes.

    I trust in Kennedy, JJ and Kasdan to give us a great Star Wars film. I already trust this cast more than anyone who was in the prequels, it just feels right and it feels fresh.

    • May 25, 2015 at 11:52 am
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      EVERY Star Wars movie has done things a previous SW movie has NOT done. Saying they can’t do flashbacks simply because they haven’t been done in SW before is kinda limiting.

  • May 20, 2015 at 8:14 am
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    Scrolling through the comments, I didn’t catch anyone mention Lando…I’m shocked!
    After all the talk over previous months.
    It maybe interesting if he shows up in the next instalment.
    As in Luke sends someone to find him for a need or task. I’m all for Lando showing up with some Lobotic friends.

  • May 20, 2015 at 10:28 pm
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    TFNer thinks Lando is president of the Republic. Hahaha, he’s been confirmed as being out of the movie and suddenly a pivotal role like leader of the Republic. Right.

  • May 21, 2015 at 3:29 am
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    I think the running time for The Force Awakens will be either 2 hours and 7 minutes and 30 seconds long or 2 hours and 10 minutes long. If they want it to be a great film without making people want to leave, they should find a balance between the OT and PT and that balance should be 2 hours of a movie and almost 10 minutes of credits that would make it great.

  • May 21, 2015 at 10:44 am
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    Remember if it’s too long it will be on less screens. Less screens means less money. As a fan I’d like it to make as much as possible. So there will be records broken and lots more made.

    My guess 2 hours 23 minutes

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