J.J. Abrams on How He’s Handling the Pressure of Directing The Force Awakens

J.J. AbramsJ.J. Abrams was in NYC for the premiere of “Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation”, and briefly chatted with “Extra’s” AJ Calloway about how he’s handling the pressure of directing the movie, and how he has been able to keep so much information about the movie under wraps…

 

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

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

103 thoughts on “J.J. Abrams on How He’s Handling the Pressure of Directing The Force Awakens

  • July 29, 2015 at 5:33 pm
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    I’m first

    • July 29, 2015 at 5:41 pm
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      ^Congrats man that’s so cool!

      • July 29, 2015 at 8:05 pm
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        Dear J.J.,

        I would be glad if I could see a (clever and) beautiful, spectacular and long (at least 8-10 minutes) space battle scene in the movie – huge ships, asteroids, explosions, etc. I hope it’s not too late.

        Thank you

        • July 29, 2015 at 9:59 pm
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          You do know the movie is finished filming, right?

          • July 29, 2015 at 10:09 pm
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            You do know that the space battles are all CGI and not the much celebrated practical effects, right? So technically JJ could add a glorious space battle. if one wasn’t already in the movie in the form of say, a battle of Jakku flashback, er something…

          • July 29, 2015 at 11:11 pm
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            While space battles are mostly CG, they would still need the actors for cockpit or bridge shots.

          • July 30, 2015 at 4:39 am
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            What do you mean plenty of CGI? according to MSW, there’s only 25 flippin’ computer generated shots which, in this day and age, is NOTHING.
            Note: i’m not happy with this decision.

          • July 29, 2015 at 11:58 pm
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            I do know that God owns several zoos, and the walls in them are not so high.

        • July 30, 2015 at 12:11 am
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          *SPOILER WARNING*
          According to rumours, there is some kind of space battle as the First Order defends Starkiller base from the Resistance fleet. Both sides are equipped with capital ships and masses of fighters. The Resistance uses some special weapon to wreck the Star Destroyers, which has been described as some kind of ramming ship which just plows through Star destroyers with ease. After sustaining heavy losses, the First Order retaliates with Starkiller’s planetary defense array to wreck most ships on both sides.
          Poe Dameron and a few other resistance fighters survive and prepare to make their assault on the base…

          • July 30, 2015 at 12:35 am
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            It sounds great – capital res ships, ramming ship, etc. It is the first time I hear about them.
            It sounds insider info.
            Thank you.

          • July 30, 2015 at 6:15 am
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            You did read the Making Star Wars article about CGI in this movie, where this is all described, right?

          • July 30, 2015 at 11:31 pm
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            No, left!

        • July 30, 2015 at 8:55 am
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          why the fuck would J.J. listen to you?

          • July 30, 2015 at 11:32 pm
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            Because he does not love you.

        • July 30, 2015 at 6:51 pm
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          CG shots take just as much time to put together as practical shots do.

          Seriously.
          That’s why Toy Story took just as long to film as, say, Saving Private Ryan.

          It’s an aesthetic and technical choice. Time is not affected that much.

    • July 29, 2015 at 5:49 pm
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      All hail Anon 17:33

    • July 29, 2015 at 7:53 pm
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      No.

    • July 29, 2015 at 7:58 pm
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      You’re first because you are apparently still living in 2003.

    • July 29, 2015 at 10:01 pm
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      I actually liked your comment. I’m sincerely happy for you.

    • July 29, 2015 at 10:32 pm
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      You’re first? Then use it and say something worthwhile.

      The interviewer in that short clip asked some seriously original questions, they were so incredibly deep. I feared JJ’s head might explode.
      We really need some real news!

    • July 30, 2015 at 4:50 am
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      Bring on the real “news” JJ, which is:

      STAR WARS VII IS USING PRACTICAL EFFECTS!!!

  • July 29, 2015 at 5:39 pm
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    I’m looking forward to some good old fashioned CGI. Don’t give me any of that practical effects nonsense…

    • July 29, 2015 at 6:21 pm
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      Shhh! J.J. plans to go to infinity and beyond. Woody and the gang are all back in The Force Awakens! J.J. actually had his team throw off and mis-inform his actual love of the prequels. CGI is the only way to load up Disney Executive’s wallets (like robot automation companies) so that the people part will be gone! Us toys of Toy Story can’t act with humans and Jar Jar Binks will join us as Rey, Finn and old Star Wars cast will all die in the first half hour of the movie so that our toys “Force can awaken!” Like our merchandising suggest: TOYS WIN … HUMANS LOSE, ESPECIALLY BIG MONEY! Little children use to love us and play with us during Star Wars prequels. When we ended up in landfills over the last 20 years, a Darth Maul doll in two pieces says, “AT LAST WE WILL HAVE OUR REVENGE!”

  • July 29, 2015 at 5:55 pm
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    That was An uncomfortable video to watch.

    • July 29, 2015 at 7:18 pm
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      Yeah you can tell it’s taking its toll on him. TFA is completely dominating his life right now. It must be like Groundhog Day when he speaks to press. Even I would get fed up saying pretty much the same things over and over. I’m sure he knows this and will probably be relieved when he passes the baton to the next director. Until then he better prepare himself as it’s going to get more intense as we approach release.

      • July 29, 2015 at 9:08 pm
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        People can bother me all day long for the amount of cash he’s going to be bringing in.

      • July 30, 2015 at 12:10 am
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        Oh &#€£ JJ Abrams and “the toll” this is taking on him. 75% of the work is the stupid mystery box. He’s a big boy who’s been Hollywood awhile. He said no the first time, then they offered him more money and power over the project, then he said yes. Put out a full trailer, take a week off from spewing misinformation, and delegate something to someone you might ***gasp*** trust. Pay them a lot of money. Worked on you.

    • July 29, 2015 at 10:18 pm
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      So was the porno that you were conceived in, but I watched it anyway.

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:12 pm
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    JJ was always a neat director I sort of liked on the side. Now I just love the guy… I hope I still do after December 😀

    Overall I’m pretty positive with what I’ve heard about FA. Which is quite a lot given a certain site I visit which name escapes me at the moment… (ツ)_/¯

    • July 29, 2015 at 6:21 pm
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      Don’t think you’re so clever in hiding that shade-throwing of yours. It’s clear that you’re referring to MSW yet you’re trying to be all slick and cool with your snide comment.

      • July 29, 2015 at 6:22 pm
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        Actually I was trying to be funny that I’m on the very site I get the news lol.

        I wouldn’t know those other sites existed without these guys! I was one of the first comments on this very site! I love Viral and the gang.

        You gotta chillax!

        • July 29, 2015 at 7:49 pm
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          Agreed

        • July 29, 2015 at 8:00 pm
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          Don’t worry, it was clear to all of us who weren’t desperately seeking a fight to start.

          • July 29, 2015 at 8:23 pm
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            Oh, you think you’re slick too, huh?

          • July 30, 2015 at 12:50 am
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            And those of us that understand sarcasm

          • July 30, 2015 at 3:22 am
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            It’s that anonymous guy again?

      • July 29, 2015 at 11:24 pm
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        Another one of those sensitive folks who get triggered at the mere thought of MSW…

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:19 pm
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    At least he’s not talking about practical effects in this interview beating the dead horse again on that. And before someone attacks me thinking that I’m throwing shade at practical effects, no, I’m not as I’m all for it (as well as whatever other effects they will utilize and blend in for TFA), but at this point, continuing talking about practical effects has become overkill. Give us something else to look forward to besides redundant info!

    • July 29, 2015 at 6:50 pm
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      Is JJ’s hair style a practical effect???

      I like it.

      • July 29, 2015 at 7:42 pm
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        Donald Trump is a Practical Effect, I deeply admire the puppeteer who plays Donald Trump – hidden under the hair implant.

    • July 30, 2015 at 4:43 am
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      I am so over with hearing about practical effects. The sad thing is that if we were all vocal, disney would notice and change their tune regarding this film’s marketing.

    • August 7, 2015 at 10:29 pm
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      “By the third prequel, almost all of the environments and everything were all done on the computer.”

      – George Lucas

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:39 pm
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    That’s interesting – JJ admitting “you can’t keep everything secret”. He’s obviously learnt from ST:ID.
    Now you tell part of the truth, mix with a little misinformation, then add a few red herrings, and voilà !

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:49 pm
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    Enough with the secrecy JJ! In today’s connected world with mass media and social media intertwined, I can’t believe how draconian JJ and Disney/LFL have become in no giving the world by now some notion of the story (theatrical trailer,opening crawl,synopsis, anything!). And before someone comes on here stating that they don’t want to know more details about TFA and that they want to be surprised, yes, I can understand your opinion (that you’re rightfully entitled to), but come on now, not everyone is like that and there are plenty of people who want to know a bit more about the movie. Just the sheer fact that this website has many visitors proves this supposition.

    • July 29, 2015 at 7:20 pm
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      Wrong. If you want to go searching for info, and theres websites like this working away to try and dig up what they can, ok, have at it. But disney or jj or lucasfilm absolutely does NOT owe anyone a shred of the STORY.

      • July 29, 2015 at 7:38 pm
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        Who said anything about owning fans something? We’re talking about releasing basic info about the movie despite going against social media pressure in the year 2015 (you know, it’s kind of a big deal nowadays); why can’t they be like very other business in Corporate America and just give in to the overwhelming social media pressure that is being thrown at them?

        “theres websites like this working away to try and dig up what they can, ok, have at it”

        This is essentially what SW7N, MSW, and SWU give out to their respective site visitors and movie info is a big part of what these websites are about.

        It’s outrageously stupid that during SDCC, we got trailers for two movies that are coming out in 2016 (BvS and Suicide Squad) yet for TFA, a movie that’s coming out in 2015 (albeit at the end of the year), we only got some tidbits of info and a BTS video that although was great, it doesn’t really say much about regarding the story in TFA. It’s hypocritically ludicrous!

        • July 29, 2015 at 7:42 pm
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          You must have patience!

        • July 29, 2015 at 8:04 pm
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          And as far as “owning” people something, you might say one thing but their bottom lines say another thing. Maybe you should keep that in mind when stating things like “Disney/LFL doesn’t owe fans anything”.

        • July 29, 2015 at 10:54 pm
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          i agree with all of that %100. we do deserve a story plot setting poster or something. after 3 years of waiting for it to come out after it was announced we have only 2 trailers a BTS and still dont even know what some of the main cast looks like especially luke?!!! its really dumb and annoying to fans. if they try to pull this sh!t with the other movies thats really gonna piss fans off

      • July 29, 2015 at 7:41 pm
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        Agreed. They can release the film however they want. Plus, we still have a few months. They will be rolling stuff out at D23 and Force Friday which I’m sure will include posters and synopses.

    • July 30, 2015 at 2:16 am
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      You come across like an entitled brat without even a shred of patience…infantile.

      It’s just bizarre that you think the mere existence of social media means Disney should release plot details! Where the hell does that come from?

      This movie will be released at the end of the year. Do you have nothing going on in your life to occupy yourself in the meantime?

      • July 30, 2015 at 4:02 am
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        I agree lol

      • July 30, 2015 at 4:45 am
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        Hey Fitterhappier,

        go shove a practical effect up your ass and leave us alone.

      • July 31, 2015 at 5:51 pm
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        This.

  • July 29, 2015 at 6:50 pm
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    “Hopefully whoever can ruin it for people,won’t”

    Well done JJ!!!well done.

  • July 29, 2015 at 7:17 pm
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    if they pull this top secret bullshit on all of the star wars movies im gonna be pissed. i get it that its the first film in 10 years but come on give us a fucking break and show something like a poster or a single plot line that we can actually know what the setting is gonna be. all we got is jakku, some random jungle and snow planet. wowwww. thanks thats nice. not even a basic intro to the story. my patience is done, we been waiting long enough. if d23 doesnt show something other than a few little sneak peaks than wtf? comicon was the chance to really show it off. they should have done the behind the scenes at something else.

    • July 31, 2015 at 5:53 pm
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      Why do you need the plot, poster, story, etc.?

      I really would like somebody to answer this question. Why?

      Is it preventing you from being excited enough to jump on the internet and follow websites DEDICATED TO STAR WARS 7 NEWS? Probably not. It is preventing you from wanting to see the movie? Probably not.

  • July 29, 2015 at 7:28 pm
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    if they pull this top secret bullshit on all of the star wars movies im gonna be pissed. i get it that its the first film in 10 years but come on give us a fucking break and show something like a poster or a single plot line that we can actually know what the setting is gonna be. all we got is jakku, some random jungle and snow planet. wowwww. thanks thats nice. not even a basic intro to the story. my patience is done, we been waiting long enough.

  • July 29, 2015 at 7:28 pm
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    show us a poster

    • July 29, 2015 at 10:22 pm
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      Ok, saying please would have worked, but this will suffice. A few posters for the film will be unveiled at the E3, and one other surprise.
      -J.J

      • July 29, 2015 at 10:56 pm
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        u suck jj jk jk kkjkjkjjkjjk

  • July 29, 2015 at 7:46 pm
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    I struggle to find anything JJ says that I disagree with. Damn.

    All that stuff he’s saying, like; “I’m a fan, SO WHAT? Let’s focus on making a GOOD movie”, it’s like he’s doing it right or something, it’s weird, nay, ILLEGAL how on-track he appears to be.

    It does seem to be taking a toll on him though, sort of like Lincoln pre/post-Civil War aging – though not AS bad.

    • July 29, 2015 at 8:52 pm
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      Hmm. If TFA sucks, he’ll forever be Jar Jar Abrams. But if it rules, we can call him Abrams Lincoln because he kept our great Fanbase from tearing asunder.

      • July 29, 2015 at 9:21 pm
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        LOL @ jar jar abrams

        • July 30, 2015 at 7:48 am
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          Yeah, I thought of this pun 2 days after JJ was announced as Director. It’s not a new joke.

          • July 30, 2015 at 7:11 pm
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            its new to me

      • July 30, 2015 at 5:43 am
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        I love that sentence, I’m gonna share it on my FB.

  • July 29, 2015 at 7:46 pm
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    POSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTERPOSTER

    P-O-S-T-E-R-!!!!!

  • July 29, 2015 at 7:47 pm
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    Why couldn’t he have permanently adopted the George Lucas flannel look? Why did he go back to wearing his stupid “one size too small” suits and little rascals haircut?

    What the fuck, Jar Jar?

  • July 29, 2015 at 8:12 pm
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    You can just tell he’s sleep deprived but loving the creation of it. The way he answers this dudes questions is just a tad bit snappy. He seems annoyed that he has to be there, and not working on his masterpiece!

    • July 29, 2015 at 8:47 pm
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      Good thing Lucas’ Prequels sucked. All that hard work would’ve killed him.

      • July 29, 2015 at 9:29 pm
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        Don’t turn this article’s comment section into a battle now. Watch how you post because not everyone agrees with you and you’ll get an earful for your irrational and delusional-laced vitrol!

      • July 30, 2015 at 7:51 am
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        The difference in quality in the PT is NOT and will never be A GOOD THING.

        I refuse to cheer failure.

  • July 29, 2015 at 8:41 pm
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    Poor JJ, that was one of the strangest interviewers I’ve ever seen.

    • July 30, 2015 at 5:46 am
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      what, a black man?

  • July 29, 2015 at 8:42 pm
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    Wow. Abrams’ aging faster than Obama during two terms! Then again, it is Star Wars…

    • July 29, 2015 at 8:45 pm
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      JJ: True story. My wrinkles are practical effects.
      AJ: Eh. You might want to touch that up in post, brah.

      • July 30, 2015 at 4:48 am
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        As fake as his wrinkles look, I bet Abrams can still move his arms, unlike Babajoe.

  • July 29, 2015 at 9:10 pm
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    At least, he had a ball to discard the story treatment from the man he deeply respected in the past. Whether he could improvise the story is in question. it strikes me that he doesn’t come back to episode nine.

  • July 29, 2015 at 10:50 pm
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    I saw this article pop up a few times since yesterday… is there something un-substantiated about this? (I’m curious why it didn’t get posted to SW7 news)

    *spoiler* (citation makes reference to the rumor about EP VII’s intro which I hope isn’t true)

    Not to start a debate about CGI shots in VII… to the contrary I’d be sad if this article is correct because I’m hoping there is at least one star destroyer model used. I can live with a fair amount of battles done entirely with CGI but if there is at least one star destroyer model I’d die happy:

    http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-the-force-awakens-cgi-shots/

  • July 29, 2015 at 11:47 pm
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    Does diarrhea happen in the star wars universe?

    • July 30, 2015 at 12:54 am
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      I guess you havent seen the prequels yet?

      • July 30, 2015 at 2:56 am
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        ZING!

  • July 30, 2015 at 12:53 am
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    If TFA fails, JJ has no one but himself to blame, because he insisted on the main duo being a woman and a black guy.

    …which is a radical departure from traditional Star Wars and reeks of left-wing political nonsense.

    • July 30, 2015 at 1:14 am
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      People of many races auditioned for the role of Finn. In fact, he was white in early concept art. Boyega won the role through his talent. And what about Oscar Isaac – he’s Guatemalan but does he pass as white for you? Is Daisy a different race from Carrie? I don’t get your point.

    • July 30, 2015 at 2:25 am
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      You appear to have an issue with ethnicity.

      That’s your issue, not JJ’s.

      As stated, the three main roles were not written with any ethnic specificity, they were given to the people who auditioned and were the best match for the character(s).

      “…which is a radical departure from traditional Star Wars and reeks of left-wing political nonsense.”

      “left wing political nonsense” has absolutely nothing to do with this film. Your insistence that it does contain any relevancy whatsoever is indicative of your bias and ignorance and nothing more.

      Also – Billy Dee Williams was a lead character for two of the three original films. I suppose you’d blame that on George Lucas being guilty of subscribing to “left wing political nonsense” too.

    • July 30, 2015 at 3:38 am
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      Why is it that every time an African-American gets a role that isn’t that of thug or “sidekick”, or a woman is portrayed beyond “girlfriend” or “love-interest”, its automatically assumed by close-minded idiots such as yourself to be some sort of left-wing conspiracy? If you ever decide to emerge from your parents’ basement, you will realize that there is a whole wide world of reality out there beyond that of “white male”. The “traditions” that you refer to and are desperately hanging onto are finally going the way of the dinosaurs. But if it bothers you so much, why don’t you just give up on Star Wars altogether and go watch The Fast and the Furious, or a Klan rally or something? Oh, never mind. Fast And the Furious has non-white males and women in it. Wouldn’t want to sully your ideas of what pop culture “should” be.

      • July 30, 2015 at 4:05 am
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        I think you missed his point and jumped to conclusions too quickly.

    • July 30, 2015 at 6:58 pm
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      So I guess Abraham Lincoln was… left-wing?

      the dude was an axe-chucking lumberjack, a capitalist-tycoon’s defense lawyer and he broke the law in order to free the slaves.

      Name one thing about that that’s left-wing.

      Republicans can do it too.

      Also: WTF is up with THE REST of your statement??

      You know that feeling where you find something someone said SO counter to your own opinion / existence that you actually LOL? because that’s what I’m doing right now.

      I laugh at your statement.

      Also – Lando and Leia, the OT is “left-wing politcal” o_O
      give me a break.

      • July 31, 2015 at 7:58 am
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        Free the slaves! don’t make me laugh, that was a by product,Lincoln wanted the land and to tax the rich southerners, ending slavery was the excuse.

        • July 31, 2015 at 10:30 pm
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          and also, a human rights issue.

    • July 31, 2015 at 10:32 pm
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      The Rebels (based on the VIETCONG) – a diverse group of species clothed in orange, tans, reds, blues and yellows defeated the black and white racist Empire in 1983.

      But believe what you want to believe.

  • July 30, 2015 at 1:09 am
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    I like the balance here.

    There’s going to be plenty of CGI, and plenty of practical effects.

    There’s a great deal of mystery for fans who don’t like spoilers, and a great deal of spoilers (online) for fans who don’t like mystery.

  • July 30, 2015 at 5:53 am
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    The last part makes me think they are strategically releasing very small amounts of info as “leaks” to try and stop the hordes (read, us) from getting over-zealous in our thirst for plot information.

    I am honestly most curious about the in-between 30 years… Bring on Shattered Empire and the Journey to The Force Awakens!

    • July 30, 2015 at 5:55 am
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      By this I mean, if we have small amounts of unimportant things to stew over and debate, we are less likely to actually break into Bad Robot and pillage the script lol. Sort of like illuminati tactics…

  • July 30, 2015 at 7:03 am
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    He’s handling the pressure by making sure his nose looks even more like a penis than usual.

  • July 30, 2015 at 7:22 am
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    LOL!!!

  • July 31, 2015 at 1:26 am
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    Was the interviewer doing his Lando impression at the end of the interview or what???

  • July 31, 2015 at 8:08 am
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    JJ is putting to much emphasis on “ALL” the people who worked on TFA….it’s like if it bombs it wasn’t just me.Lucas took all the crap that was thrown at him for the PT, so it’ only right that you, JJ, take the blame as the captain and go down with you’r ship.

  • July 31, 2015 at 8:02 pm
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    VA lot of ” jokes ” around here especially about the practical vs cgi effects are so stupid, and believe me i have a real good sence of humor! And the racism, pffffff, tiring. The only good thing i get out of it is that i am glad not to be synical, bitter and childish. I love Starwars.period. I am not going to be all drama about it, just enjoy it because i loved it back as a child. When rotj came out , remember how you looked at it then. Just waiting for a new adventure, try to revisit that emotion. With all the stupid things in the world why bit€h about a movie. And it happens everywhere, on imdb, jedicounsil, its all whine whine whine. Really….

  • July 31, 2015 at 8:58 pm
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    I am ashamed to call myself a Star Wars fan….you all seem to be a bunch of uppity asshole whining crybabies. I really hope this movie ruins Star Wars for every single one of you…so that when Episode 8 is being made..the real fans wont have to read this bs day in and day out for 2 years straight…it is getting very tiring, this negativity that you post everyday and all day..It is going to make me sick to watch all of you long stroking JJ after you see this masterpiece he is about to release after you have done nothing but bad mouth him the passed two years…i really really really hope you hate it and go back to your Star Trek forums .

    • July 31, 2015 at 10:16 pm
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      AWW! Tidums.

    • August 1, 2015 at 4:33 pm
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      I totally agree, I can’t even share my love for Star Wars without someone talking shit here. I sense much anger in here, try living your life using the light side of the force, by giving other fans respect. I’m done with the blog here at SW7N, get rid of the “anonymous” post and make people accountable for their douchebaggery. Begin trolling, now.

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