Gary Whitta Talks About Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One.

GaryGary Whitta, the writer behind the first draft of Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, has recently talked with Blastr to promote his new book, Abomination. He shared a few details about his experience with working on the film.

 

From Blastr:

Blastr: How did you get to write Star Wars: Rogue One?

 

Gary Whitta: [In 2014,] Disney had [announced it had] bought Lucasfilm… Star Wars was basically coming back in a big way. I was so excited, I instantly emailed my agent, saying, “I know there’s probably a hundred writers who are better placed, but the 10-year-old kid in me would kill me if I didn’t at least try to throw my hat in the ring for one of these films.” I never really expected anything to come out of it. But I was on the list of writers they wanted to meet. Lucasfilm approached me at what kind of seemed like a general meeting. Then they offered me this job. I had no idea it was going to be a movie, I just thought it would be a video game or a novelization, or something… I’m still pinching myself that I got to work on [an official movie]. It’s just been an amazing experience.

 

B: What do you think it was about your writing that attracted Lucasfilm to you?

 

GW: I don’t know what it is about my writing that makes anyone call me up… Lucasfilm had a sense of the story they wanted to tell. It was a question of finding good fits for the ideas they knew they wanted to do.

 

Rogue One War Zone

B: Was there a story bible that you drew from, or did you create the world from scratch?

 

GW: A little bit of both. [Lucasfilm] really want[s] to give their writers and their creative people a lot of freedom, to tell the best story possible. But they’re also aware of the fact that they’re building this very large interconnected universe, now with all the comic books, TV shows, videogames, and films everything is now canon. So everything they do now going forward is canonically connected and has to be consistent as part of the same universe. No one is making the movies or the comics or the TV shows in a vacuum; everything is part of this one big consistent universe. Lucasfilm has a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge, you know. I know Star Wars fairly well myself, just as a fan, but they have experts there, people there who know the Star Wars universe inside and out. They’re also are very aware of what else is going on in the other movies, and what their overall plan is.

 

B: What else, if anything, can you tell me about Rogue One?

 

GW: I spent the best part of a year on the script working very closely with Gareth Edwards, who’s directing it. He’s one of the smartest filmmakers I ever met and also one of the few people I’ve ever met who’s an even bigger Star Wars fan than I am… He’s so committed to making a Star Wars film that everyone can look at and feel that honors the legacy of [Star Wars] films. I wish I could talk more about it in more detail, but there will be plenty of time for that next year.

 

 

With Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation nearly out in theaters, it’s likely that we’ll start to hear more snippets about Rogue One after the embargo expired. That being said, it’s more likely that major information about this film will start popping up next year – just so the focus doesn’t shift away from The Force Awakens.

 

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Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

40 thoughts on “Gary Whitta Talks About Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One.

  • July 29, 2015 at 12:47 am
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    cool.

    • July 29, 2015 at 5:19 am
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      i trust that this movie will also use real sets and practical effects

      • July 29, 2015 at 5:59 am
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        It’s about as likely as some asshat making a snarky comment about practical scenes and effects, within the first 5 comments on any article posted here.

        That is to say, it is a certainty.

        • July 29, 2015 at 6:32 am
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          Second interview in a row where they don’t mention practical effects.

          I must admit I’m impressed.

        • July 29, 2015 at 6:38 am
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          Hey Dartholomw, instead of getting butt–hurt because people post annoying comments about practical effects, why don’t you raise your voice and bash Disney, who has been nothing but slam us nonstop about practical effects.

          • July 29, 2015 at 7:16 am
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            The fact that you anti practical effects people have managed to out-voice Disney’s pro-practical effects jabber, which is indeed quite constant, is actually something you must be proud of. Couldn’t have been easy.

            Then again, children tend to a) not be busy with things like work. b) love the prequels and SE cgi and c) say “butt-hurt”.

          • July 29, 2015 at 3:53 pm
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            Don’t be stupid…please. You know, the rest of the world are not as rabid as the diehards like us, and they don’t hang on every possible word that is said about this movie. So they might see 1 in 10 of these interviews/stories. So Disney has to make sure the comment is made enough times that it will annoy some of the diehards, because it’s the only way to make sure that the general public, that mostly thought the PT was too CG, isn’t going to be the same. Why would I bash them for doing ANOTHER thing to make sure that they take VERY good care of the Star Wars brand? *sigh*

          • July 29, 2015 at 4:59 pm
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            I agree with Dartholomew, and honestly I don’t understand why the practical effects talk is pissing people off so much. If it is as annoying as they say then why not just stop reading it?..and why compound the “problem” by constantly harping on the subject themselves? It makes them sound like entitled, spoiled brats.

          • July 30, 2015 at 5:35 pm
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            This is something to keep in mind in general.

            There are always comments stating, “We already know this!” or, “Why doesn’t Simon Pegg STFU??? [by the way, it’s because people keep wanting to interview him]”, or “How is this news?”.

            The answer to most complaints about the articles floating around is that you’re on a very specific news aggregator site and you’re reading nearly 100% of the articles being written about a franchise that they are indeed trying to promote to as wide an audience as possible.

        • July 29, 2015 at 5:27 pm
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          Please take your obnoxious butt hurt elsewhere little boy.

          • July 29, 2015 at 9:11 pm
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            You call him a “little boy” while you spout immature comments. You have a right to an opinion, but when you use phrases like “butt hurt” you sound like an imbecile who resorts to childish nonsense because you don’t have the mental capacity to mount a coherent argument.

            Try stating your case in an adult manner and maybe someone will take your opinion seriously.

          • July 29, 2015 at 11:29 pm
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            >obnoxious butt hurt
            >little boy

            An ounce of self-awareness would go a long way.

  • July 29, 2015 at 12:54 am
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    The little information we have about this movie sounds promising. Good for him that Lucasfilm gave him a shot. I’m thinking someone in the production might have some love for The Book of Eli to have given him a shot…

  • July 29, 2015 at 12:57 am
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    It was nice to know Edwards has been a big fan of SW, so he can’t mess up with ANH continuity , which will be a big deal to this movie.

    • July 30, 2015 at 2:48 am
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      He said he went to Tunisia and dyed milk in blue to picture him inside Luke’s home.

  • July 29, 2015 at 12:59 am
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    My sources claim that there are literally zero practical effects in this Anthology film.

    • July 29, 2015 at 2:32 am
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      That would be terrible! I know kids only like the lack of true face movements in aliens and bland true action sequence colorizations – SORT OF CLONE FACES IN TOY STORY, SHREK, STAR WARS PT ALIENS, ETC. Then, because huge screen battles skip all over the place in bright-lit areas – MAKING IT DARK SOLVES THE PROBLEM! Color satuarates and eye squinting is neccessary! ONE BIG EXAMPLE IS COMPARING DVD MOVIES BATMAN AND TOBY MAGUIRRE SPIDERMAN TO OLDER PRACTICAL EFFECTS MOVIES LIKE EP IV-VI, FIRST TWO TERMINATOR MOVIES, ALIEN SIGOURNEY WEAVER, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK I AND III (II PRACTICAL EFFECTS SUFFERING), OLDER JAMES BOND WITH ROGER MOORE TO CGI SATURATE TODAY’S JAMES BOND, ETC.

      • July 29, 2015 at 6:34 am
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        What, no practical effects???????? How will mankind survive????

      • July 29, 2015 at 11:29 am
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        Practical effects are not holy. The main reason why the CGI effects were so obvious in Ep1-3 is because the CGI render engine was not good enough yet. It was good enough for a cartoon, good enough for some CGI effects, but not good enough to render a full 2 hour photo realistic movie. Years have passed, the render engine has improved, maybe it can do a better job nowadays (personally I’m hoping for a re-render of Ep1-3 someday).

        • July 29, 2015 at 2:06 pm
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          If the new almighty render engines you are talking about are powerful enough to re-render the script and the acting of the live characters too, I will be all for this.

        • July 29, 2015 at 3:00 pm
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          why does Terminator 2 still look good then? it’s about the artistry not the CPUs.

  • July 29, 2015 at 1:03 am
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    At least he’s not spreading the negativity about the Star Wars saga anymore by not saying negative crap about the PT, Special Editions and surprisingly Clone Wars, which Simon Frickin Pegg, as RebelForce Radio calls him, is still doing, well except for The Clone Wars, which Pegg may actually enjoy because he was Dengar in the show.

    • July 29, 2015 at 1:18 am
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      Agreed. Negativity about Star Wars is anathema to me. I respect that people have their differing opinions on the saga, just don’t pretend they are factual and don’t tear the saga down incessantly. We all … err, … well, most of us come here because we love the saga. I would hope we could cease engendering animosity, despite what my name might imply.

    • July 29, 2015 at 2:11 am
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      That Pegg interview is from 2012. Plus, he’s telling the truth. The or equals were AWFUL and I’m hoping once Lucas dies they are rewritten and given the proper treatment.

      The emperor didn’t turn evil in a matter of seconds. Jesus fucking Christ what a joke.

      • July 29, 2015 at 2:18 pm
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        Juan Solo, you sir are certainly not a Star Wars fan by any stretch of the imagination, what possesses you to come to this forum? Another reason why registration should be introduced…

    • July 29, 2015 at 6:35 am
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      Death to practical effects and death to babajo. May he die a paindul death hanging on his own puppet strings.

    • July 29, 2015 at 1:49 am
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      But, he’s not anymore, because he deleted all his posts on Neogaf to say to the fans “Hey, I’m on board with this Star Wars spin-off. Let’s not spread negativity about the saga, anymore.”

  • July 29, 2015 at 1:54 am
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    Because he was being paid to work on Star Wars. Thats how having “a job” works.

    • July 29, 2015 at 1:59 am
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      Well, I’m sure he’s done with it for good now, since he got his wish to make a Star Wars movie. I just hope they put his name in the closing credits of Rogue One alongside Chris Weitz.

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:38 am
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    This guy looks like a dork with that helmut on

  • July 29, 2015 at 8:32 am
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    The entire teaser was CGI.

    Anarchy! Anarchy! Run away! Run away!

  • July 29, 2015 at 9:58 am
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    I love all things Star Wars but I really, really HATE – I repeat HATE Star Wars fans.

    They always find something to whine about, The latest in a LONG list is practical effects.

    If you people don’t like the series don’t watch it, Go watch star trek or my little pony…

  • July 29, 2015 at 10:56 am
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    The only reason these so called “fans” are pissing vinegar about the practical effects is because these spoiled brats didn’t get to see a new trailer at SDCC.

    • July 29, 2015 at 2:26 pm
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      Patience my little brats, you must learn patience…

  • July 29, 2015 at 5:07 pm
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    More excited about this than I am the sequels.

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:21 pm
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    with the killing of Han Solo (Ford finally gets he wish) I believe this series of movie will be where most of my attention will be due to the time lines of the movies. Also a whole Han Solo movie (Ford can’t bitch about) is what I’m really wanting to see after TFA.

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:34 pm
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    He looks like a bell end in that helmet.

  • July 31, 2015 at 8:39 pm
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    i hope they use practical effects in this film as well. Hopefully Disney learned from Lucas’ mistakes and film all of the Space battles on location instead of using CGI and green screen.

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