Adam Driver’s Stunt Double Talks The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams and The Cross-Guard Lightsaber!
Adam Driver’s stunt double in The Force Awakens is the 26-year-old Hungarian Toth Gyula. In an interview for a local film site, Toth discussed his experience during the filming and revealed a few small bits about the controversial cross-guard lightsaber…
When you see Kylo Ren performing an action sequence in The Force Awakens, it’s not Adam Driver beneath the mask, but his stunt double Toth Gyula. The young Hungarian worked on movies like Game of Thrones, Hercules, Age of Ultron and much more, but his most memorable role will always be his appearance in TFA.
From Index.hu:
(translated from Hungarian thanks to our reader Levente Gyimesi)
Q: How were you selected for the main evil stunt double?
A: Last April, I was working on The Avengers 2, which was already a huge thing, because as a kid I loved comic books. One day I received a text message, that it would be a stunt casting for the new Star Wars. They were looking for high stuntmen, and could I come to London? At first I thought that this is a joke, and somebody was messing with me.
Then I looked into who owns the phone number and found out that it was a stunt-assistant, with whom I had previously worked together. I went out for a day of casting where I was first viewed by the stunt-coordinator, then the chief make-up artist and eventually the producers themselves, and in the end asked if I was free to film Star Wars 7? Of course, I said yes right away, and I did not mind at all that this meant I was left out of the remaining Avengers 2 action scenes.
Q: Will Star Wars 7 be as spectacular, jumping lightsaber duels, like the new trilogy, which are choreographed martial artist Nick Gillard? Or will they return to the “old man’s” samurai technology as Luke and old Obi Wan fenced?
A: I can tell that it is not by chance that the title is The Force Awakens, the lightsabers will have a major role. More, however, really I cannot say, everybody will see at the cinema.
Q: That’s how strict the precautions are in the Star Wars 7?
A: Even at the one-day casting in the beginning I was taken straight to the studio Pinewood from the airport to the main building. Until then, I could not go anywhere until I wrote under a 20-page statement of confidentiality, one sheet with separate signature. In the studio I could walk only with escort and special magnetic card. On every corner there were security guards, they often stopped and asked for confirmation of my identity and say that I’m really have license for being there. It was necessary anyway, because the were other filming the studio was doing in parallel with TFA, and they did not want anyone there to peek.
Q: But if there is such a rigor, how could a bunch of sketches and story elements be leaked last year?
A: I do not know. Probably the reason may be that the bigger the secrecy, more the people are curious and want to know some little information.I have never seen as stringent measures as in theStar Wars 7 shooting. The precise production plan, to know what we are going to shoot the next week, I never got to know in advance.
The entire story of the film is still a black hole for me for example. I will only put together all the pieces in the cinema on full screen, I still have a lot of white spots. The characters appeared through code names not to be able to identified ahead of time by accident. Of course, there were so vicious fans who flew drones in the studio courtyard to film the outside scenery. There was also a separate alarm code in such cases: released 50 security guards on the set, everyone were put in black hoods and sheets and led them to the tents that the drone can not take pictures of them.
Q: What do you tell about the crossbar red lightsaber that divides the extreme fans?
A: It was strange, especially in the very first days of April, when I had to show that I am capable of what movements. I have only got a wooden practice sword, but it’s also there was this characteristic crossbar.
I was just looking at it: What is THIS? I came for a Star Wars production, not a medieval movie or something. During the filming, however, when i could take the real one, it was damn good. And of course there is also the reason why SO (crossbar), but I can not say anything about it. The agreement I signed says if anything leaked, I get tens of millions of forints penalty. (36 000 USD)
Q: So I can ask you some generalities only? For example, did JJ Abrams really have a minimum green background and what he could, actually built?
A: Yes, the director paid attention to be true in every scene, and not just imagining the environment on the set, but actually be in it. I do not want to exaggerate, but I think 70 percent of the scenery was actually built and could be touched. It has made me much more confortable in the scenes, and for the actors probably also easier to play in than in front of a green background.
J.J. Abrams really feels what the fans didn’t like in the Star Wars prequels. He strove to capture the IV-V-VI. atmosphere. During filming, he worked through the tools of the old trilogy, and only marginally used the technology at present. In Abrams’s film we can see sparkling effects if anyone shoots ray gun fire into something like a long time ago. And it is very good that he really made these sparks on the set.
Q: Have you met personally Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and the old main actors? Was there a common scene with them?
A: Let’s just say that I met each of them a staff party and they were very funny and kind. But young actors are nice too, direct and likeable, for example,Adam Driver came over and hugged me at the end of the last day of shooting. I do not feel that we are filming a huge-expectation-Star-Wars-7 which makes everybody tense. But it was typical of the whole shooting that everyone did his job professionally as in any other film. The result will speak for itself: it was not a coincidence that Kevin Smith wept with joy on the set, because I was there the same day and I saw exactly what he did.
Q: How long have you been shooting in London?
A: June to November, but not in a row. We shot for three weeks, then they gave me a week off, I spent four days out, then two at home, and I went back. I’ve never worked on such productions abroad for a long time, but it was probably a much better way than to shoot at a stretch, because so it was time for the family as well. Fortunately, my partner also works in the film industry, so it was an absolute understanding about the commute. And London is not the end of the world.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
I think I might like the name Toth Gyula as the new baddie better than any other actual Star Wars name announced so far!
I agree!
The original surname in Hungarian is spelled Tóth. The letter ‘ó’ is like a long ‘o’.
The letter ‘h’ at the end of the name is silent. So in Hungarian the name Tóth is not pronounced like the name (of the planet) Hoth.
In English context the right pronunciation of the name is like something similar: Tooot.
It’s more like the way taught is pronounced. Not toooot. In hungarian it would be Tút not tót. 🙂
No, because in English the words foot, tooth, book (etc.) share the same sound. I wanted to show the difference, that’s why I wrote three ‘o’ letters. If you shout in English ‘Noooooooo!’, you don’t use the sound ‘u’ instead of ‘o’. You use a long ‘o’ – I think.
Moreover, there are words in English with ‘oo’ where you do not pronounce ‘u’.
Actually, the words “Foot” and “Book” sound the same, but “tooth” sounds different. The “oo” in “Tooth” sounds like the “Ü” in “Über”.
So from all this info you gave me I think his name in English would be something like
Doola Tooot?
Dula Taught or Doola Taught may be the closest one
If I know correctly the word ‘über’ has German origin. We use this word in the Hungarian language as well but we utter a totally different ‘ü’ sound compared to the English ‘tooth’.
The long version of ‘ü’ is ‘ű’ in our language.
BUT IT IS NOT IMPORTANT AT ALL!
GYULA TOTH IS KYLO REN. THIS IS THE THING THAT MATTERS.
And yes, Dula Taught is very close… or Dula Toooot… 🙂
Lol. Yes sir! It is indeed, quite awesome!
And now let’s analyse the Hungarian male full names ‘Pruzsinszky Szilveszter’ or ‘Rajczy Ferenc Károly’. 😀
Or my name, Attila, which sounds like a female name for a foreigner. (Ahtilla)
Nooooooooooo! 🙂
Well no, Ueber (U with an umlaut) has a lot more “ee” mixed with the “oo” vowel. Tooth is a pure “oo”.
Gyula is the first name while Toth is the surname..
Still TOTALLY awesome. I might just change my own name…
The Hungarian title of Episode I, Baljós Árnyak, was used in a Star Wars novel as a character name some years ago: Baljos Arnyak.
‘Baljós Árnyak’ means Sinister Shadows in English.
Your original name in Hungarian looks this way: Teve Márk.
Hungarian pronunciation of the name Gyula is much more complicated.
‘GY’ is an independent letter in Hungarian and is not pronounced like in the English phrase ‘G.I.Joe’.
The first part of the name ‘Gyu..’ is pronounced similarly to the part of the English word ‘sche(du)le’ in brackets.
The name (G)Yula was used as an alien character name in a Star Wars related French-Hungarian animated sci-fi movie.
Time Masters (Az idő urai) was directed by René Laloux in 1982 using concept art created by MOEBIUS.
End scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EqrTP9l0UM
The name George Lucas in Hungarian looks as follows: Lukács György. (Its pronunciation is a horror for a native English speaker.)
However, the name Lukács György is not a rare one in Hungary. There are a lot of people who share this name here.
Moreover, the name ‘Tóth Gyula’ is much more frequent similarly to the names ‘Kovács Péter’ or ‘Szabó István’.
Other Hungarian names for Star Wars:
Surnames: Nemeth, Horvath, Balogh, Takacs, Nagy, Kis,
Male first names: Andras, Attila, Janos, Lajos, Miklos, Zoltan, Bela, Zsolt, Endre, Balazs, Gabor, Tibor, Csaba, Sandor
Female first names: Zsuzsa, Eszter, Ilona, Erzsebet, Katalin, Ibolya, Marta, Zsofia
If you add “of” in the middle it also becomes a Game of Thrones name! 😀
Toth Gyula
Daisy Ridley
John Boyega
Oscar Isaac
Why bother make up names at this point?
One more item:
You can meet the Mandalorian character Vizsla in The Clone Wars series. The word ‘vizsla’ is a Hungarian name as well. To be more accurate, it is used to describe famous dog species.
We can distinguish Hungarian Vizsla and German Vizsla – and this is not a joke.
+ The Chiss homeplanet “Csilla” is a female hungarian name.
++ in the old cartoon Clone Wars – the one that came before Episode III – the species Nelvaan spoke hungarian.
Eddig én erre rá se mertem kérdezni sehol, mert azt hittem csak én képzelem be, de az Episode III-ban az elején a nagy űrcsatában a keselyűdroidok nem torzított magyar nyelvet használnak?
Természetesen angolul nézem a filmet és ilyeneket értek ki, hogy ‘Gyerünk fiúk!’ meg hasonlók abban a jelenetben, amikor elindulnak és leválnak a nagy cirkáló külsejéről.
I like the fact that the special effects were done real and not CGI.
Ya. Can’t wait to see those flying x-wings for real baby! About time they built one of those.
I know, right? And they finally made REAL sabers!
They are using practical effects!?
Can’t wait to hear the haters wet their diapered in anger because a good 30% will still be shot in front of a green screen.
Agreed. People are lying to themselves in thinking that all the special effects are going to be real, like if there won’t be an ounce of green/blue screen and CGI at all. This guy that was interviewed only saw a few sets during the time that he was needed.
Furthermore, think about the amount of time they took to film the entire movie. It was only a matter of a few months (May-November). Also, think about the time that they took with pre-production and coming up with the script. If this movie is as big and expansive as everyone seems to think, doesn’t one really think that there was a lot of time to build EVERY SETTING and be at EVERY LOCATION in the short time that it took for this movie to be made? A lot of things will be added in post-production and people will be surprised about it (yet, it’ll be hard to tell what is practical and what isn’t due to modern filming technology).
“Agreed. People are lying to themselves in thinking that all the special effects are going to be real, like if there won’t be an ounce of green/blue screen and CGI at all.”
No one thinks this. Keep dreaming.
When the majority of a film is shot in CGI, it suffers tremendously. It’s about the movie not being shot 90% CGI, but a better balance of both practical and CGI effects coherently. You guys are way too literal and picky in other’s comments.
Imposter.
Get lost loser. I am the only Echo7.
Cool story bro.
Thank god there just happened to be a crashed Star Destroyer in Abu Dhabi.
Right. This film will be the best fucking movie ever because of practical FX. It’s not like the script counts for anything…smh.
It’s funny how film fans read up on all these things and geek out about effects and so forth but do not actually understand applicable terminology.
Hahahaha. What a joke. Of course there will be plenty of cgi and it will be seamlessly fantastic.
There will be both CGI and practical.
And of course if CGI tech was about in 1977, they wouldn’t of used it.
The original Trilogy had good graphics, but there WERE limitations and mistakes made,
Like the Rancor Scene, the blue-screen work on that was VERY crudely done.
As well as all the scenes where you see the gang within the Mil. Falcon looking out at space, where space looks Black, and Han solo’s vest looks light grey.
That’s a problem.
BUT I solemnly swear to flip the bird at anyone who thinks Lando swooping down into the Death Star is dumb because it’s “outdated”. I like the real-life sparks made by blasters, I like the space-ships even if the miniture work is a little less than convincing.
Hell, I like Luke on the Tauntaun EVEN THOUGH it’s obviously [very good] stop-motion animation and a fake-looking puppet.
It adds to the charm.
THAT STUFF SHOULD STAY.
My bit against the PT is that this stuff was very much absent. I got nothing against the texturing on CG Yoda, that was masterfully done. BUT I STILL just like Ep V Muppet-Yoda better. Sue me. There’s just something so spontaneous about Frank Oz’s Hand that’s just better than the hand of a [albeit talented] digital animator.
I DO like the Special Editions TECHNICAL changes.
Han’s vest is now reasonably black when seen against Space,
The Star Destroyers are now the same colour,
the rancor looks a little better.
THESE ARE GOOD THINGS.
I think JJ’s got it right,
practical effects when possible, CG for things that aren’t possible, with cutting edge modern technology to bring it all together and make the colors and tones correct.
WHY THE HELL ARE WE COMPLAINING?
AT ALL?
You want to know something? I love ALL the Star Wars movies including Episode 1. I like some more than others, but I love them all.
Why are you making a big deal about loving them all?
I’m not making a big deal. I’m just speaking my mind and not getting caught up in the PT hating crap.
I respect the things that were well done in the PT, the Special Effects were very well done, there was just too much of it in your face.
I guess it goes to show you CAN have too much of a good thing.
As far as the other stuff, I’ve mostly reconciled that the movies are just simply different than the originals,
That said, there’s just TOO MANY things wrong with the PT for me to really enjoy watching it. That’s just my taste though, I’m sure plenty of other people see past these issues and find the PT enjoyable, so I guess I respect that.
My main issue with PT is that it ruined Obiwan and Yoda.
In OT Obiwan was actually a good character, he let people die for the greater good, often enough to border on sociopathic, then there’s the whole “from a certain point of view” thing. BUT EVEN THEN he is a good character and does indeed benefit Luke.
The scene where Obiwan is giving Han advice just before they get Death Starred, and Ben sneaking through to those lever-thingies, THAT’S WHAT BEING A JEDI WAS ALL ABOUT.
He mentors people, helps issues, bypasses barriers, all while barely being noticed, to me this is the epitome of awesome.
If I had a genie and wished that I could be a Jedi, ^^ that’s what I’m thinking of.
If you think about it, Ben isn’t only responsible for hooking Luke up with the force, arguably, he was intentionally hooking Han up with Princess Leia to save Han from his drug-dealer-loser life options.
Jedi’s aren’t fighters. They HEAL situations.
Then I watched Ep III.
Obiwan:
A – leaves the single most dangerous person in the galaxy NOT DEAD.
B – leaves his best friend in a state of torture presumably to die a horrible death anyways, because it makes him sad.
Even by PT emotionless jedi standards, Obiwan is being a dick here.
Leaving Anakin to presumably die in the most painful way is NOT an act of brotherly love.
And a bonus! Obiwan also both figuratively and almost literally hides behind a double-pregnant woman.
Defender of peace indeed.
And for this reason ALONE I hate the PT.
Of all the other reasons, this, and only this, is what pisses me off every time.
I read these yesterday in my motherlanguage and i was shocked i mean what the…man is this gonna be real? 😀 im hungarian thats why im happy to know it 😀
Akkor nem vagyunk egyedül ezen az oldalon sem. 🙂
Nem bizony! 🙂
Szia, Attila vagyok.
Párszor már rákérdeztem itt kommentelőkre, de sosem volt magyar válasz. Honnan írsz? Én az országból, zalából.
Hajdú-Biharból jelen 😀
A fővárosból jelen!
Hali, akkor vagyunk az ország minden szegletéből. Írtam választ, hogy miért használtam három o betűt, most lépnem kell. Este még felnézek.
Pócsmegyer
vicces, aszt hittem egyedul vagyok itt
What a great day to be a Hungarian!
Nice to know there is a reason for the crossguard besides looking cool, which we have already guessed at, but I wonder if it is more than just to block. You would think he could say that much if that was all it was.
I remember seeing a video on youtube that said the saber is actually in automatic laser rifle….which is somehow more stupid than a cross blade lightsaber
I hope he is not doing ALL lightsaber scenes.
That picture in the title is still Driver, right?
I think they got stuntman for some heavy combat scenes or something like that…
That picture w/Driver and the two troopers is a little weird. It almost looks like Driver was pasted on. The two troopers look as if they are clouded a bit with snow or look like they are in the background but Driver looks clear as day.
So if Han does indeed die, will one of the characters scream, “Noooooooo!!!!”?
Hopefully that line and “I have a bad feeling about this” will be left out. Wonder if JJ wants to continue this tradition….
Thats because its a bad photoshop by Vanity Fair.
If you go to their video, you can see the moment when they took the shot of troopers and Driver was nowhere near.
Bad photoshop is bad.
I see. I never saw the video but that certainly makes sense
I saw the short video on VF’s YouTube channel. No Driver with the snowtroopers.
But not when the shot was taken.
And its obviously shopped.
It was also probably shot near a parking lot. Look at the double lamp post in the background.
Driver’s like, “Do I want Wendy’s or just a quick hotdog from the Quickee Mart?” Then he’s photoshopped onto Hoth or where ever they are.
How could you want the line “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” left out of the movie. It’s been in all 6 movies and all other medias for Star Wars. It’s a tradition. I really hope it is.
Superman used to always say, “Up, up, and away!” before flying off but they don’t still use that old line just for tradition purposes.
“J.J. Abrams really feels what the fans didn’t like in the Star Wars prequels.”
Instead of playing God and the Force combined, assuming that he knows what EVERYONE dislikes about the PT, Mr. Abrams should focus on what people dislike about HIS own films.
precisely!
Dude c’mon that’s awesome that JJ is dissing the prequels he knows what’s up, we real fans don wanna relive movies like the prequels again
Uh huh, yeah, sure. You say that like you speak for all Star Wars fans, like you what exactly what a “true Star Wars” is.
Here’s the ultimatum for you buddy: if you’re a PT hater/basher, your Star Wars fandom is questionable and as the fan you claim to be, you can’t be taken seriously. Period.
1) PT haters/bashers are in the minority as there are various numbers out there that indicate otherwise as oppose to what your opinion is (and I’m not just talking about financial figures).
2) Like it or not, the PT brought in more fans into the world of Star Wars. By the 1990’s, Star Wars was a dying brand and the PT revived it so you can thank the PT for bringing in a new generation of fans and extending the brand’s longevity and popularity (as the trend is about to continue with the new ST).
3) Stop spewing your opinion like it’s a fact and stop trying to force your PT hating/bashing views onto others.
P.S. Quit living in the past with your misguided feelings of nostalgia.
You dolt.
The PT brought in more $ than the OT for several reasons. 1st: The ticket prices were higher in ’99-’05. 2nd: There’s more people in the world than during the OT. 3rd: The ST will crush all SW records because see point 1 and 2. There’s more people in the world now than during the PT and ticket prices are higher now than then. Anonymous, think before you bash other people. The PT, in Jar Jar’s words ” Is Bantha Poodoo!” It sucked on so many levels, and JJ knows it. Millennial GL and and a small portion of PT lovers are blind to good filmmaking.
You do know that those figures are adjusted for inflation right? Sooooo try again before you try to come back with a clever quip
Star Wars has never been a ‘dying brand’, in the 90’s or any other time since ’77.
‘Stop spewing your opinion like it’s a fact’,
indeed.
Pt fans live in fantasy world
I have my visors off and feel the J.J. Abrams’ Power of the Force to be strong, hitting his target – the Star Wars movie fan audience. Note: his apprentice accomplishments were Star Trek originals comebacks … impressive MOST IMPRESSIVE … but he is not a Jedi yet!
“Dude c’mon that’s awesome that JJ is dissing the prequels he knows what’s up, we real fans don wanna relive movies like the prequels again”
I wasn’t talking about the PT. My point is that Abrams (or you) feeling like he knows what “we real fans want” doesn’t mean shit.
The important thing is that Abrams should look at his own work to see if/how he can improve on THAT, instead of assuming what other people like/dislike about someone else’s films.
Who says that Abrams doesn’t listen to criticisms of his own work? And there is a general consensus of what people dislike about the prequels. All he’s saying is that Abrams isn’t ignorant to it. Like you obviously would be if you were making the movie. Which is why I am greatful that someone like you isn’t behind the camera.
Uh huh, yeah, sure. You say that like you speak for all Star Wars fans, like you what exactly what a “true Star Wars” is.
Here’s the ultimatum for you buddy: if you’re a PT hater/basher, your Star Wars fandom is questionable and as the fan you claim to be, you can’t be taken seriously. Period.
1) PT haters/bashers are in the minority as there are various numbers out there that indicate otherwise as oppose to what your opinion is (and I’m not just talking about financial figures).
2) Like it or not, the PT brought in more fans into the world of Star Wars. By the 1990’s, Star Wars was a dying brand and the PT revived it so you can thank the PT for bringing in a new generation of fans and extending the brand’s longevity and popularity (as the trend is about to continue with the new ST).
3) Stop spewing your opinion like it’s a fact and stop trying to force your PT hating/bashing views onto others.
P.S. Quit living in the past with your misguided feelings of nostalgia.
You’re ridiculous to be issuing ultimatums about what SW fandom is.
That’s insane.
I concur.
He is just saying that theres a point where you can be too critical and just become a basher poser fan. So many things to like. Lucas followed his vision of SW the way he only knew. It was worthwhile and evolutionary in its own right. He did pave the way for SW Animated stuff (endless possibilities for story lines). What happened is that fans grew up to be critics of GL and SW because they also have a vision of it. .
Have a particular vision…and also the PT was mediocre at best. Probably a bit too ambitious, which he gets credit for, especially because it led to some great Clone Wars storylines and directions.
You are a moron. The Special Editions theatrical releases made Star Wars more popular than ever!
Anonymous 2300pm, God called, he said he doesn’t need a spokesperson. But thanks!
@Darth Vedder:
“Instead of playing God and the Force combined, assuming that he knows what EVERYONE dislikes about the PT, Mr. Abrams should focus on what people dislike about HIS own films.”
I absolutely think Abrams is doing BOTH.
Have you been blinded by lens flares yet? Do you see Orci, Kurtzman or Lindelof anywhere near the script? Do you really think Abrams will give us another “John Harrison isn’t Khan” lie campaign?
No.
Compared to his Trek films AND the Prequels, Abrams is putting his heart and soul into TFA while being much smarter and more careful about it. Thank the Maker! It’ll be a thing of wonder… xD
Uh huh, yeah, sure. You say that like you speak for all Star Wars fans, like you what exactly what a “true Star Wars” is.
Here’s the ultimatum for you buddy: if you’re a PT hater/basher, your Star Wars fandom is questionable and as the fan you claim to be, you can’t be taken seriously. Period.
1) PT haters/bashers are in the minority as there are various numbers out there that indicate otherwise as oppose to what your opinion is (and I’m not just talking about financial figures).
2) Like it or not, the PT brought in more fans into the world of Star Wars. By the 1990’s, Star Wars was a dying brand and the PT revived it so you can thank the PT for bringing in a new generation of fans and extending the brand’s longevity and popularity (as the trend is about to continue with the new ST).
3) Stop spewing your opinion like it’s a fact and stop trying to force your PT hating/bashing views onto others.
P.S. Quit living in the past with your misguided feelings of nostalgia.
Can you stop copypasting this everywhere?
Sorry bro, but I’ve got to shut the haters up and tell it how it is. I wouldn’t be out here destroying people’s comments if they stopped posting BS.
You are the Real BSer! Just like your Annual Salary! Anonymous is on here 24/7 bashing other people’s comments and says he pulls in 150K after taxes. Ha Ha Ha Ha HA Ha! LMAO!
hate to break it to you but youre not shutting anybody up by spamming your copypasta, it just makes you look like an unoriginal PT apologist that cannot handle the facts that they were truly horrible movies in almost every aspect …. You are defending movies that were basically akin to being Ed Wood Jr movies with massive budgets
Wow! You ARE pretty smart to copy and paste your own post a dozen times. I guess the more you see your own words, the more right you’ll believe you are.
And I LIKED the friggin’ prequels. But you, sir, are annoying.
I didn’t quite catch you. Could you repeat that?
@Anonymous June 09, 2015 at 22:54 PM:
I sure hope Abrams is doing both, as you think. Because when it comes to art, beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. And while I admit that the PT is not Lucas’ best work, I still take Lucas at his worst than Abrams at his best. That’s a matter of taste.
1. I don’t care about lens flares. It’s the overall quality of Abrams’ films that I’ve found entertaining, not special. Funny, that’s exactly how I feel about the PT, btw.
2. No, I see Kasdan in charge of the script. And tbh, that’s what gives me hope for TFA, not his co-writer/director.
3. I’ve never been a Trek fan, so I never heard of the Harrison/Khan stunt. Nor do I give a shit about Abrams’ “mystery box”. I only want to see if this arrogant, slightly above avg. filmmaker can put his money where his mouth is. I seriously doubt it, I must say. Here’s hoping he proves me wrong.
Abrams could pour all of his blood into this. That still doesn’t guarantee success. Talent goes into the equation as much as heart & soul. And judging from what I’ve seen (which is plenty, since I’ve taken the trouble of watching Abrams films since I learned he’d be directing the first sequel) the man is quite lacking in this department…again, for my taste.
And finally, I don’t appreciate anyone assuming to know what I like/dislike.
Such a high level of secrecy for the actors/crew – yet MSW have revealed almost every single scene from the movie – can someone tell me how this happened?
Gullible readers? 😉
Have you ever considered MSW is bullsh*t?
the likelihood is he’s about 40-50% right and found out the broad strokes of the movie and was able to build the rest from speculation and rumours, I’m not going to label him as a bullshitter because its just what he’s been told by his source and a lot of it lines up with h trailer, but I do find it hard to believe that so much has been leaked too one guy when it seems a lot of the people working on it didn’t even know the plot, which makes me thing he’s in on misinformation or he’s just not entirely right especially with the details of some scenes and Lukes involvement in the film.
Is the fine 36 bucks or 36K? I’ll pay the fine! Tell us!
It’s 36000 or more… he said 10 millionS of forints, 10-20-30 and so on
his partner? Hmmm
Maybe one day we’ll get a villain with his own partner.
The more I hear about JJ on set the more I get excited and believe he was the perfect choice to continue the saga
Its certainly not the: “Hang out on my ranch and I’ll validate or invalidate what you put out for my movie” kind of boss.
You do realise that crashed Star destroyer shot is a Matte painting…just like a lot of the backgrounds in in the original trilogy
Matte painting technique is a thing of the past. I doubt he’s using such old-style film-making technique. Yeah, it may look that way but I’m sure he’s using a new technique that makes it look like that (at least compared to the matte paintings we see in the OT).
Digital matte paintings then? Either way, that opening teaser #2 shot is breathtakingly gorgeous and easily conveys the message, “This is going to be a large film.”
Yeah, I’m thinking some sort of digital matte image via modern technique as well. And I agree you with regarding the message that that opening shot conveys in teaser #2.
To those who embrace the discuss about CG, I recommend you this article about nowadays CG looking crappier than before: http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-expensive-films-end-up-with-crappy-special-effects/
And I’m talking about the first shot with the speeder going past..not the one with the Falcon flying through it.
That shot of the falcon flying through the star destroyer is almost a shot for shot likeness of a scene in Star Trek into darkness when the Klingons are chasing the crew and space is running out and kirk is arguing with Spock about making it through
Hmm. Let’s see. It’s an homage to that STID scene, which itself was an homage to that asteroid scene in Empire.
ABRAMS: Exactly! You got it! You see, instead of simply rhyming each trilogy like Lucas did, my take as a director is to rhyme everything through homages from my own body of work. Gives it that “something extra” for JJ fans. qxD
I thought it was more an homage to the Falcon flying through the Death Star 2. Seams to have a little more in common to it than the scene in the asteroids in ESB, ie, flying through a tight space as opposed to out in the open with a bunch of large fast moving obstacles in your way.
Good point.
Picking a Director to helm a Star Wars movie has to be a pretty hard task to accomplish. At the very least, JJ seems to be aware of the responsibility he has to carry the torch and give 100% to this movie.
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying he is taking this film very seriously. Whether that translates into film magic, no one (other than the editors) will really know until December.
But I am willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt until I have a chance to see it for myself.
I’ll him credit for taking on the challenge.
I’d probably faint after signing the damn contract lol.
He revived Mission Impossible and made 1.5 good Trek films – that were really SW films using original Trek characters – so I gotta give him credit for that.
I’ve never been a JJ fan, but neither have I thought anything he’s done has been bad. Hell, before Lucas did Star Wars, he only had a cult classic mediocre sci-fi film and a mostly OK comedy.
So good to see a hungarian name up there… with my surname.
How about this as a thought? Probably other people have had it, I don’t know. Anyway, here goes: Maybe The First Order is collecting old lightsabers as part of their new super weapon. A big old combination of lightsabers with a big bad effect?
So it would shoot a big ball of light sabers or it would just use their crystals?
“The First Order is collecting old lightsabers as part of their new super weapon.”
Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to mine for lightsaber crystals?
So lets start the gofundme campaing for 36 000 USD so he can spill the beans
“I can tell that it is not by chance that the title is The Force Awakens, the lightsabers will have a major role.”
I hope this doesnt mean that every Tom, Dick and Harry along with their wookies are able to control the force…that would just totally ruin the Jedi/Sith mystic.
BB-8 was holding onto R2’s lightsaber for the right moment to give it to him. R2 is now a Jedi trained by Luke the last 30 yrs. This will be R2-D2’s new talent in this saga.
Great. Just what we needed. Inflationary lightsaber use.
“I can tell that it is not by chance that the title is The Force Awakens, the lightsabers will have a major role.”
Now, that’s what I liked from the interview. It probably has to do with a generation gap between lightsaber forging techniques or something and the new saber will be an indicator of that, we are going deep to ancient Sith lore here people, I love it!
It also makes me wonder how this awakening will come to pass, I still cannot get past my gutt feeling that an ancient Sith warlord like Revan or Ragnos will rise along with an army and Kylo Ren will be the guy to do the evil deed of that awakening.
I just don`t buy this “MSW” is purely speculation/rumours – the 2nd teaser completely tied in with what they`d been saying for ages – Finn with the blood stained hand on the helmet,the burning down of the village,the chase through the wreckage of the Star Destroyer etc – plus I`m sure we would have seen Luke in the 2nd teaser if he had a substantial role;I just feel everything ties in with what they`re saying.
Hate to break it to this guy but they used squibs on the prequels. And sets, props, locations, masks, puppets etc. This urban legend that they were 100% CGI has taken hold forever, it seems.
Get real. Nobody believes the Prequels were anywhere near 100% CGI.
However, despite all their practical effects, they still mostly came across as fake, especially after Episode I. Not one of the clone troopers were people in costume, and Episode III didn’t have any location shooting with actors present, except maybe Tatooine at the end.
Pathetic.
Hányan vagyunk magyarok itt?? :DDD
I’m curious to hear his thoughts on the Sith-caliber fighting technique,
Like what kind of differences are there in his moves and poses when dealing with the alternative shape?
And also how many times did he jump while parrying?
Vagyunk paran Levente hidd el!!!
Micsoda buszkeseg ez szamunkra, a 6:3 helyett inkabb majd ezt emlegetem kulhonban 😉
akkor feleslegesen fordítottam 😀
Gondoltam, hogy te vagy Gyimesi Levente. Volt munka a fordítással, de megérte! 🙂
Köszönet érte.
“And of course there is also the reason why SO (crossbar), but I can not say anything about it.”
Kylo Ren doesn’t want to loose his hand in battle, like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker did 😛
What do people think of the First Order’s flag symbol? Maybe represents a concentrated ring of collected lightsabers in their super weapon?
Considering Jedi and Sith have existed for over a millennium, I’d be certain that there’s more than just a few lightsabers lying around so whats the big deal about Luke’s?
JJ had better up his game, did anyone see the end of lost? I watched every episode and felt it ended rotten.
Second trek film is so, so disappointing.
And above all he doesn’t have George’s eye for design, at all.
Every design so far has been sub par compared to the PT and the OT and inferior to it’s older counterpart. Just look at that awful BB8. Lucas would never let that crap past no matter what he says.
And before you all say it was designed by Mcquarrie, his design was different.. And it was changed for the better by George. Beep.
We’re doomed!
Thank god you’re not working on the film.
Uhrmm, I am working on the film, I’m in it. Beep.
Booooooommmmmm! End of the job…
Prequel designs were either straight homage or utter shite
Excuse me, some very dear friends of mine are pit droids. Beep.
BB8 is already a fan favorite.
So. No.
“J.J. Abrams really feels what the fans didn’t like in the Star Wars prequels. He strove to capture the IV-V-VI. atmosphere. During filming, he worked through the tools of the old trilogy, and only marginally used the technology at present.”
Yes. Yes. and Yes. Thats why JJ should be in charge of all three films. Throw the prequels out the window.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/more-luke-skywalker-in-episode-8