UPDATE 4! Wired on Star Wars and Shared Universes and the Process of Creating the Creatures for The Force Awakens. Now with Kasdan and Michael Kaplan Interviews, and Props Gallery

StormiesWired has a great feature out today discussing the trend of the day in Hollywood.  The shared universe.  Popularized initially by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shared universes are all anyone in Hollywood wants to do these days.  Wired takes a fascinating deep dive look into the processes that goes into writing and developing these properties from the point of view of screenwriters, directors, and producers.

 

 

The article features some revealing quotes from the filmmakers on the process of developing the new Star Wars films as well as the approach of those leading the process.

Nonfans might scoff, but the universe of Star Wars has more than an audience—it has followers. And followers are emotionally invested, which makes redeveloping it a daunting task. “The first question J.J. asked us when we all sat down was, what do we want to feel?” Kennedy says.

 

The answers Kennedy’s brain trust gave: A sense of a beginning. A sense of urgency but also humor. Working with Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, Abrams developed another list: “The feeling we wanted was from the first trilogy,” Kasdan says. “It’s fun, it’s delightful, it moves like a son of a bitch, and you don’t question too much.”

 

The article discusses the MCU, DCU, Star Trek, Transformers and more, but the primary focus is on Star Wars featuring more illuminating quotes from Kennedy, Abrams, and Kasdan.  Its a great piece featuring a nice new behind the scenes shot of Kennedy working on the Millennium Falcon.

 

To read the entire piece head over to Wired.

 

Kennedy and Abrams on Flacon

 

UPDATE!

 

Wired has a second piece out today.  This time they talk to Neal Scanlon and discuss the extensive process created to bring the creatures of The Force Awakens to life.  The article covers the design process for both practical and CGI creatures and discusses his and Abrams’ general philosophy in creating the species that exist in Episode VII.

Under Scanlan’s direction, the creature workshop at Pinewood Studios built more than 100 characters for The Force Awakens, a combination of old favourites and all-new species and droids. “There are maybe 4 or 5 completely prosthetic characters. There are combinations of prosthetics and mechanic animatronic elements,” he explains. “Then you get into the physical characters — they could be as simple as somebody in costume with an animatronic head, to creatures that demanded there be 5 or 6 people inside.”

 

Wired: How Neal Scanlan built the aliens and droids in The Force Awakens

Kasdan

UPDATE 2!

 

Wired has also now released their full interview with Lawrence Kasdan.  Some of the quotes in this piece were featured in the earlier article on shared universes, but he goes into much more detail and discusses some of his other films.  It is a very interesting read.

I’ll be honest with you. On Force Awakens, we purposely said to each other, just J.J. and I, we don’t have to do much of anything. We know that we’re gonna have Harrison and Carrie and Mark back. We know we have Chewie. But everything else is up for grabs. Maybe J.J. felt different, but I didn’t feel any parameters were imposed on us. On the first day, I said, “look, delight, that’s the word. In every scene, that should be the criteria we’re using. Does it delight? Is it fun?” I look at the movie now, and I’m feeling very good about that. What J.J. did with it is so great. You take all of J.J.’s gifts, the dynamism of his camera and his sense of humor and feeling of momentum, his ideas of story, and I feel like we were able to achieve that delight. It’s an unusual feeling even for me. When I look at the movie, I can’t resist it. It just tickles me.

Wired Interview with Lawrence Kasdan

 

 

Flametroopers

UPDATE 3!

 

Another interesting article from Wired, this time an interview with costume designer Michael Kaplan.

“Kylo Ren feels a kinship with Darth Vader, so there is a bit of emulation,” he says. Particularly in the mask, for which Abrams’ specification was that Kaplan create, “something that would make a child want to see the movie”.

 

“I loved the idea of taking a stormtrooper into the world of armour,” he says. “It was just something I had in my head. The concept artist took my sketch and came up with a really beautiful illustration. I loved it and I hung it on the wall of our design room.
Don’t miss

One afternoon [producer] Kathy Kennedy came by and pointed at it and exclaimed, ‘That is fantastic.’ JJ loved it as well, so he created the role of Captain Phasma to wear it.”

 

You can read the full interview HERE.

 

 

UPDATE 4!

 

And now a huge gallery with props from the movie:

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Arsenal of Epic Battle Props

 

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109 thoughts on “UPDATE 4! Wired on Star Wars and Shared Universes and the Process of Creating the Creatures for The Force Awakens. Now with Kasdan and Michael Kaplan Interviews, and Props Gallery

  • November 17, 2015 at 7:02 pm
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    Is it possible that Finn is the son of captain Panaka from Naboo? In legends Panaka becomes a moff.

    • November 17, 2015 at 7:09 pm
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      I don’t think Finn is related to anyone we’ve been introduced too in the films. I think the reason Finn’s last name hasn’t been seen yet, is because he doesn’t have a last name. I think he was born and raised with the name FN-2187, which is his First Order stormtrooper code/name. Once he realizes he doesn’t want to work for them anymore, he just decides to go by the name Finn.

      All speculation of course, anything is possible.

      • November 17, 2015 at 8:30 pm
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        It’s possible. But the empire was more of a volunteering thing than a born and moulded into it kind of thing. I guess maybe they could have gone into unnatural processes to create new troops after their downfall during the Battle of Endor, but at the same time, it just seems really farfetched to think that Finn could have gained any force powers through being born like that; unless of course they’re going for giving their troops force powers, but with none of them visibly using the force in any trailers, I don’t think that’s the case. I’d hazard to guess the FN in his code was influenced directly by his name, and not the other way around.

        I’m gonna give it a guess and assume his last name would be a movie spoiler, so they haven’t bothered labelling it on anything until after the movie comes out. He probably learns his name at some point, and it’s an important aspect of the story. So maybe we’ll see a newer Black series figure of him with the lightsaber and his last name printed on the box.

    • November 17, 2015 at 7:12 pm
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      Also , I forgot to add, JJ specifically stated he wasn’t looking for a specific race to match the character of Finn. It could have been a Caucasian, asian, african american, or just anything. So with that being said, im pretty sureJJ had no family lineage in mind.

      • November 17, 2015 at 7:16 pm
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        JJ also said the exact same thing about rey’s character.. although everyone still thinks she’ll be a skywalker.

        • November 17, 2015 at 7:18 pm
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          I don’t remember reading anything like that about Rey, but it could have slipped passed me.

          • November 17, 2015 at 7:21 pm
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            it was during the comic con panel.. he said they didn’t have any race in mind for the characters of rey and finn. i really think kylo will be the skywalker.. but we’ll see!

          • November 17, 2015 at 7:58 pm
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            Hmm… that’s interesting considering the whole “family” thing Rey keeps talking about in every trailer. She has to be related to someone we know. At least I’d hope it’s someone we all know..

          • November 17, 2015 at 8:32 pm
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            I think it’d be cool if Kylo was the reason behind the Luke secrecy. If he left in shame for creating a son full of such anger and hatred….and only making matters worse by failing to bring him away from the Dark side….

          • November 18, 2015 at 7:15 am
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            that’s a cool thought. i mean, rey could still be a skywalker.. i just have a feeling that kylo has something to do with luke or leia. i’m just really hoping they aren’t twins.. a fresh story would be nice.. not a rehashing of the OT

          • November 18, 2015 at 6:18 am
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            The Kylo Ren toy said something about destroying “the last Jedi” – not sure he would refer to Luke that way if Luke was his father. Unless of course he doesn’t know.

      • November 17, 2015 at 9:57 pm
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        And I’m sure they’re waiting until the second film to bring Lando back into the fray, if at all. So that it ‘rhymes.’

      • November 17, 2015 at 11:58 pm
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        The funny thing about Finn is that he has a little bit of Kyle Katarn in his character arc based on what we know so far…

        • November 18, 2015 at 7:51 pm
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          That’s what I thought the moment it was confirmed he was an ex stormtrooper. I still hope Katarn will make a canon appearance somewhere. (Rogue One? He did steal the Death Star plans in old canon…) If he was the inspiration behind Finn, that’s cool.

    • November 17, 2015 at 7:26 pm
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      Finn Panaka sounds alot cooler then Finn Calrissian

      • November 20, 2015 at 12:52 am
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        Finn Windu?

    • November 17, 2015 at 8:07 pm
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      How ’bout he’s just a new character. I’m not sold on the fact that everybdoy has to be related to everybody, and we have to know everybody’s origin story. That aside, the role for Finn was not designed for any particular race of person. Of course that doesn’t mean that they can’t add a backstory to support him being related to anybody that has already been seen in the universe.

      • November 17, 2015 at 8:38 pm
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        Thank you.

    • November 17, 2015 at 8:35 pm
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      I don’t think it will turn out that way, but I love the theory! Didn’t JJ confirm that Finn has no last name?

      I think we will actually never find out who FN-2187’s parents are to help add to his initial “faceless stormtrooper” status. Then when he goes rouge he discovers that he can forge his own destiny. They will keep Finn vague because he is the audience-character. The Skywalkers are destined to be great and powerful, but Finn has no special destiny or messianic prophecy…he is a regular cog in the machine who could be anybody, but chooses to make himself special. Just my theory. We will find out in a month!

      • November 17, 2015 at 10:34 pm
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        Finn didn’t seem to hesitate when Rey asked. I’m guessing his name is really Finn.

        • November 18, 2015 at 4:28 pm
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          C3PO = (See-)Threepio
          R2D2 = Artoo(-Detoo)
          OB-1 = Obiwan
          FN(-2187) = Finn

    • November 17, 2015 at 8:40 pm
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      There is no reason to assume that everyone must be related to everyone. If fact, that would just be terrible, and reek of lazy writing.

      I hope this isn’t the case, and that he is not related to any character that we’ve already been introduced to. Let’s expand the universe…not make it smaller.

      • November 18, 2015 at 12:03 am
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        I think you watch Collider Jedi Council.

        • November 18, 2015 at 12:12 am
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          Guilty. But it’s something I’ve thought for a long while…long before the Council convened.

    • November 17, 2015 at 10:00 pm
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      Like I said yesterday, Prequel references seem to be kept to a minimum in this one due to the toxic reputation the trilogy has among most fans BUT to be fair – Panaka was a traitor and one of Palpatine’s original backers.

      I think because Hugh Quarshie got greedy since he was going to be in II but wanted more money so they replaced him with the equally worthless character of Captain Typho. I can’t deny that there is a resemblance though but Quarshie looks a bit taller.

      • November 17, 2015 at 10:36 pm
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        It’s toxic only to the few that believe their version of Star Wars is better than George Lucas’ vision. That being said, I welcome canon from the PT as much as the OT. Haters gonna hate.

        • November 18, 2015 at 2:22 am
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          The EU was better than all the PT and over 75 percent of it was shit. I’d rather they decanonize I-III and make the Clone Wars serve that pupose instead which did a far better job in terms of setting up the OT.

          • November 18, 2015 at 8:20 am
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            I’d say 58.77% of it was shit.

          • November 18, 2015 at 11:56 am
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            Anything after Jedi that wasn’t the Thrawn trilogy or had an X-Wing title was shit. The good stuff took place before VI.

        • November 18, 2015 at 8:18 am
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          I was going to say that but you beat me to it.

        • November 18, 2015 at 8:50 am
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          The few? Just because it came from the creator doesn’t make it good. The prequels aren’t good movies. I’m not saying that as a hater, I’m saying that as a lover of film. I don’t want the prequels to suck. I don’t. And I didn’t want them to suck. I remember being excited for each one when I was little. They are nostalgic. But they aren’t good. Stop claiming that we are haters.

          • November 18, 2015 at 11:58 am
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            Exactly. No one would care about any of the characters in it if we didn’t know what they would become later on. It was all hype and no payoff.

          • November 18, 2015 at 9:37 pm
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            Whether those prequels are good are bad is subjective individual opinion, it’s art, not science.

    • November 18, 2015 at 1:06 am
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      Finn is most likely not related to Panaka, Calrissian, Windu, or any other Black actor you lump together with him, simply because the casting call for Finn accepted ALL races. There were White guys in the running!

  • November 17, 2015 at 7:13 pm
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    uhm… its difficult to paragonate star wars universe to superhero universes mainly because it makes sense

    • November 17, 2015 at 7:33 pm
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      what.

      • November 17, 2015 at 8:20 pm
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        ?!

    • November 17, 2015 at 9:19 pm
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      Precisely. An average tax rate of 41% is the most likely indicator.

  • November 17, 2015 at 7:17 pm
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    Unless I missed something important the article informs us essentially that Lucasfilm will be making many Star Wars movies in the next years, which doesn’t come as a surprise to me because Disney spent a lot of money for the acquisition of Lucasfilm.
    The secrecy about the Rogue One Studio set is funny, because pictures from this “towering” set had leaked in July. Let me think, it’s about Rebels striking from a hidden base to steal the Death Star plans…

    • November 17, 2015 at 8:37 pm
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      They have announced just that very thing, many times in the past already. Collider has also covered this in detail. Once things get ramped up, we should have a new Star Wars Saga film every two years until this trilogy is finished…with a different Anthology Series film based on events that have been alluded to in the past, in the interim years. Rogue One, Han Solo, possible Kenobi film, etc.
      Basically, within the next 6-8 years, we could possibly see upwards of 5-6 new SW films after TFA.

    • November 18, 2015 at 12:25 am
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      Yep, lots of films, and you know what? The odds of at least some of those films being completely shit increase with each new outing.
      Eventually these films will be low budget, straight to DVD efforts. But at least by then I will (hopefully) have expired of old age.

      • November 18, 2015 at 9:34 am
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        Lol, even if they went Marvel crazy with releasing films, the “bad” movies will still be overwhelmed by the good movies. Like with the Marvel franchise. No way Star Wars will become low budget.

  • November 17, 2015 at 9:56 pm
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    I would agree that the PT took itself WAY too seriously at times (though maybe not with Jar Jar, the stupid CG aliens, or Anakin) and I really hope Kasdan means the films will actually be fun and enjoyable like the OT but I hope it doesn’t mean that they throw all logic out the wind with the plot like Abrams did with his Trek films and pretty much every other project’s he worked on.

    • November 17, 2015 at 10:00 pm
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      I took the headline as indicating Star Wars would eventually end up doing a crossover/shared universe thing. Or they are entertaining the idea…

      • November 17, 2015 at 10:13 pm
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        I hope you are right since I’m more interested in the spinoffs from what little I know of them so far but I guess we’ll know in another year or so if they will both mesh well together or it’s a Rebels to Clone Wars situation.

    • November 18, 2015 at 8:16 am
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      The PT is too silly.. The PT is too serious. Make up your mind, people.

      • November 18, 2015 at 11:53 am
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        Because a film can’t be both. They took the serious parts silly and the silly parts serious.

        • November 18, 2015 at 4:14 pm
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          I would say the serious parts were too boring and the silly parts were too stupid.

          • November 19, 2015 at 12:31 pm
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            I won’t argue that either. Episode I is still the ONLY film in the saga with fart and shit jokes.

      • November 18, 2015 at 3:58 pm
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        It is both. Too dry and unfun with all the senate stuff and endless scenes of walking and talking, sitting and talking, etc.. Too silly with Jar Jar stepping in fecal matter, etc..

      • November 18, 2015 at 10:52 pm
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        The PT is too shitty

    • November 18, 2015 at 11:40 am
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      IMHO, the problem with the PT comedy is that is was mostly stupid. Jar Jar stepping in crap, the slapstick business with Threepio in AotC, etc. But in the OT, the funny moments were more intelligent, witty and natural. Such as one of my favorite little bits in RotJ:

      Han: How’re we doing?

      Luke: Same as always.

      Han: That bad, huh?

      I laugh every time I see it, and sometimes just from thinking about it.

      For me, the biggest flaw in the PT was the crappy dialogue. I’m not worried about that in regards to TFA.

      • November 18, 2015 at 11:53 am
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        Nailed it! The Droids were comedy in the grand tradion of Laurel and Hardy while Jar Jar was a horrible mix of Dane Cook and Carlos Mencia.

  • November 18, 2015 at 12:57 am
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    SWNN: in regards to the update you just did – you’re pandering 😉

  • November 18, 2015 at 1:22 am
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    Loving the diversity in that pic.

    • November 18, 2015 at 6:37 am
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      It’s just the best in the business.. Affirmative action’s crap

      • November 18, 2015 at 1:35 pm
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        Who just happen to all be….white dudes. Mathematics does not like you

        • November 18, 2015 at 5:02 pm
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          That was my point.. English not your first language? The truth is you’re a racist fool. So what if they’re white? Does the color of their skin matter that much to you? Or the “content of their character”? Yeah they’re white.. And they come from different backgrounds and have different minds. But to you.. “Omg they’re all same.. no diversity!” LoL!! Racism has blinded you..

          • November 18, 2015 at 5:15 pm
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            That is the dumbest excuse and it is you that is actually in fact the racist. So we should always dismiss the fact that white people get to be black, asian, latino and anything they want and always say “its the content of the character” that matters. Please. I’m tired of seeing one race act as everything. It’s boring

  • November 18, 2015 at 3:04 am
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    In regards to that Wired article, the picture with all the troops gathering and Leaders speaking at the podium, it say Kylo Ren is speaking to the troops but it looks more like Hux

    • November 18, 2015 at 4:31 am
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      It’s Hux. They got it wrong.

  • November 18, 2015 at 6:32 am
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    The full article is worth a read – don’t worry, it’s a quarter the size of the article before, if you’re strapped for time.

    My favorite part is this:

    “We designed [Maz Kanata] with JJ, we then sculpted and created her as a full-size real world entity, worked out how she would move, all in the real world. Then we pass that all over to digital.”

    I really like the angle their taking this go-around: Make the CGI look more like animatronic. Not more animatronic, more animatronic-LIKE.
    I really do not hate CGI, but it has to be used properly, just the presence of it isn’t enough anymore. The gimmick has worn off, and so it really needs to step up and deliver charisma and warmth to the screen. It’s awesome that JJ recognizes this and is actively trying to get CG on the monkey-bars, so to speak.

    Even if JJ turns out to be shit as a director, I just can’t describe how much I love his work philosophy. Less “it rhymes” and more “let’s make this fun to watch”.

    • November 18, 2015 at 8:15 am
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      His Star Trek could have used more “Rhyme.”

      • November 18, 2015 at 10:03 am
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        Star Trek wasn’t Star Trek, it was JJ’s Star Wars audition.

        • November 18, 2015 at 9:55 pm
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          And that’s why I enjoy JJ’s Star Trek more than any other Star Trek anything (except II, that movie was great). Star Trek just doesn’t do it for me. JJ’s interpretation does, though.

          • November 18, 2015 at 10:20 pm
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            Abrams made me like Star Trek. ST was never that fun before. I am not a trekkie so I do recognize I’m speaking from ignorance, but I really enjoyed Abram’s Trek.

          • November 19, 2015 at 5:14 pm
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            I enjoy Abrams’ Trek the same way I enjoy the original Star Trek series, the actors and interactions between characters as well as the 1960s sci-fi aesthetics. It’s a big thing that I just didn’t find in TNG-era productions. And seeing TOS after SW, I can even see some parallels at times.

    • November 20, 2015 at 12:51 am
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      why not just build a puppet of her like they did with Yoda in the OT

      • November 20, 2015 at 3:44 am
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        more sublety in the expression, they want Lupita’s acting chops + crazy character design.

  • November 18, 2015 at 7:48 am
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    Anyone recognise the guy with the glasses sitting beside JJ? I bumped into him a few weeks ago during Episode VIII shooting and I’m wondering what his role in the production is.

    • November 18, 2015 at 12:51 pm
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      Both men on either side of JJ have glasses.

      • November 29, 2015 at 9:03 pm
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        Apologies for the delay. Only seeing your reply now. I meant the guy on the left. Also, interesting name.

  • November 18, 2015 at 11:38 am
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    i like star wars cos its a straight forward story and i dont need to read or watch a bunch of other stuff to understand whats going on or whos who . shared universe might be great for some but its not something ill be looking forward to. .. depends how its done .

    • November 18, 2015 at 11:43 am
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      If they stick to the plan (Saga Films are one thing, Anthologies are another), then that shouldn’t be a problem. I don’t think they’re going to take the MCU approach (where all of the films are somewhat tied together in a linear manner).

  • November 18, 2015 at 11:57 am
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    I find it interesting that in quotes from the german tabloid Bild, via the Hollywood Reporter and then SWNN here: http://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2015/11/26312.html, Lawrence Kasdan was stated having “[…] little interest in being involved in the Solo movie, but that his family were so excited about the idea for him, he agreed to co-write the screenplay with his son Jon Kasdan.”

    In the first Wired article referenced above, it turns out Kasdan was asked to write a script for a new Star Wars movie. Apparently, George Lucas had “a whole crop of ideas” to choose from, and that “Kasdan chooses something about Han Solo when he was a kid. ‘Because Han is my favorite character,’ Kasdan says.”

    Seems a bit contradicting to me. But the first source is a tabloid, so I guess it could be dismissed as being “tabloidy”?

    • November 18, 2015 at 12:49 pm
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      I remember Kathleen Kennedy at one of the conventions specifically said the movie would not be about Han Solo as a child, though. I think Some prequel haters thought it would wind up another young Anakin story from TPM.

      • November 18, 2015 at 1:33 pm
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        She did say “as a kid”, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be an 11 year old or something. Us cranky older folks refer to anyone under 25 as a kid. I took that comment to mean Solo in his late teens early 20’s which has been where the rumors have been focused of late.

      • November 19, 2015 at 12:44 am
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        I don’t hate the prequels but I do recognize that having a whimpy character played by a badly directed kid as star of the most anticipated movie of all times (in 1999) was a huge mistake

        • November 20, 2015 at 12:49 am
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          Boba Fett as a kid was worser1

    • November 18, 2015 at 3:53 pm
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      My impression is that Kasdan wanted to do the Solo movie originally, but after doing Ep. VII (which was supposed to be Arndt) he was ready to move on.

  • November 18, 2015 at 8:35 pm
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    The guy sitting between Abrams and Kennedy looks like he’s staring at her boobs…

  • November 18, 2015 at 9:45 pm
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    Kasdan on TFA:

    “The feeling we wanted was from the first trilogy, which was, it’s fun, it’s delightful, it moves like a son of a bitch, and you don’t question too much.”

    HELL, YES.

    • November 20, 2015 at 1:21 am
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      you ready kid?

  • November 18, 2015 at 10:00 pm
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    It seems like Kasdan kind of owns the Han Solo narrative. Getting to write that character’s beginning and possibly his ending. Solo is a huge presence in TFA and with Kasdan it seems like he would write in Solo’s legacy and presence being left behind to character in a positive way for future films, perhaps a daughter. I know it probably won’t happen, but it just seems so right.

  • November 18, 2015 at 10:08 pm
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    Reading that interview with Kasdan brings the hype to an 11. This movie is going to be good.

  • November 18, 2015 at 10:45 pm
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    I love the interview but Kasdan didn’t write “I love you”/”I know”. Don’t they ever research before publishing? :p

    • November 18, 2015 at 11:07 pm
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      I thought that was an improv by Harrison Ford who asked Kershner to say something other than, “I love you, too.”

    • November 19, 2015 at 12:08 am
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      funny, I was about to post the same thing. both by ford, no less

  • November 19, 2015 at 12:37 am
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    Great interview with Kasdan. He is the most important part of this project and with J.J. will make a great team.

    “…, delight, that’s the word. In every scene, that should be the criteria we’re using…” That’s driving me crazy.
    It’s what i feel with trailers.
    Imagine for a second that absolutely every shot of TFA is special. In some ways It reminds me Road to Perdition. Every single shot is made with love and passion. Every shot is a beautiful painting. Imagine that in Star Wars…

  • November 19, 2015 at 6:22 pm
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    Love the prop gallery. There’s some Trandoshan weaponry in there…hmm… And Kylo’s lightsaber definitely looks like a “tinkerer” prototype.

    • November 19, 2015 at 6:34 pm
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      and no CGI!

      • November 19, 2015 at 7:00 pm
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        No CGI, no CGI. This movie will have CGI, hide your eyes when watching The Force Awakens. Therapy does work.

        • November 20, 2015 at 12:48 am
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          its easy to build the sets then have the fighters then just shoot them inside the ship no cgi needed and the only two CGI people we know of is Maz Kanatan and Snoke

      • November 19, 2015 at 10:12 pm
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        Yeah right… the star destroyer from the trailer was no cgi… the mid-air battle was no cgi… the ground battle on takodana had no cgi background and so on…

  • November 19, 2015 at 6:24 pm
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    I love that you guys redirect people to the original article instead of simply reposting the whole thing. That’s journalistic respect right there.

  • November 19, 2015 at 9:07 pm
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    I don’t ever remember seeing this talked about on here but something that has me a bit troubled is the lack of the used universe look in what we seen so far outside possibly Jakku. Starkiller Base and Takodana look very pristine by comparison compared to the OT. I’ll admit that it does look more “used” than the PT but that’s not saying much. Part of why the original Star Wars films, Alien, Predator, The Terminator etc. so believable was that gritty pulp 70’s/80’s look that seemed to vanish in Sci-Fi films since the early 90’s or so which is probably why the genre has fallen into a bit of obscurity since then like the western has.

    • November 19, 2015 at 10:26 pm
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      Starkiller base SHOULD look new….. it IS new lol. Outside of the grimy trash compactor scene, the Deathstar also looked new and shiny.

      • November 20, 2015 at 2:34 am
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        The potential plothole is HOW do they a) get the funds to build it b) do so undetected? It’s not like the OT days where they could just steal trillions and had a monopoly on the galaxy. The Death Star looked new-ish but it was never pristine or gleaming looking. I think a lot of it has to do with the way the films were shot though.

        • November 20, 2015 at 4:55 am
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          Well, Just because they cut off the head (Both Palpatine, vader, and the second DeathStar) doesn’t mean there aren’t countless others who want to pick up where they left off.

          a. funds? Well, like i said, not everyone was oppossed to the empire.. hence.. there was an Empire lol. Perhaps Snoke is a source of money. Regardless, money would be easy.

          b. a galaxy is huge. However, who said they were undetected? Leia is a General. I assume the fighting didn’t stop at Jedi. Only the main evils/super weapon were destroyed. I am sure the ‘resistance’ has resisted the First order for a while. But we shall see in less than a month!

          • November 20, 2015 at 12:49 pm
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            It will probably be explained in the EU but less territory means less sources of revenue. Had this been an abandoned Imperial project from the Endor days that they finished later on or some kind of ancient Sith weapon long forgotten then it would make sense but it’s all new. This thing would probably cost more than both Death Stars combined.

            The other thing is that after Yavin and Endor, The rest of the galaxy wouldn’t take any chances with another superweapon and swarm all over the planet soon as they knew where it was. And unless the planet has a hyperdrive then it was really bad idea to tether themselves to a fixed posistion.

    • November 20, 2015 at 1:19 am
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      There’s absolutely nothing “new” looking except for the interiors of the new Star Destroyers and Starkiller base. the Falcon looks like a flying trashcan, Jakku is ragged as can be and in my eyes Takodana looks like it’s just falling apart, only the grass is lush. Especially the interior shots make you feel like it’s dirtier than Mos Eisley.

      • November 20, 2015 at 2:37 am
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        Well the Falcon is from the OT minus the new rectenna which does look pretty clean by comparison. Jakku is dirtier than the Tatooine of the PT but it’s not as grimy as the one in IV and VI. We haven’t really seen much of the interior of Takodana outside still shots which are rarely perfect examples of how it looks on film. A lot of the costumes look too clean too aside from maybe Rey’s outfit.

        • November 20, 2015 at 4:57 am
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          neither Poe or Finn look clean to me, and the props in the wired article literally show only the FO stuff looking new (except for Phasma and some battle-worn stuff) and literally everything else looks like it’s been dug out of a backyard.

          • November 20, 2015 at 12:41 pm
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            Their clothing is very pristine looking like it came off an assembly line. I think a lot of it has to do with the poor choice of DP who wanted to make it look it was made in 2015 just like Abrams 21st century look in both his Trek films. Zoom in shots and lens flares don’t help either and will date the thing like the poor CG did in the PT.

  • November 19, 2015 at 11:27 pm
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    Anybody else catch the new character name in the prop photos? Dasha Promenti. I’m guessing this character is a member of the Kanjiklub gang given the weapon design.

  • November 20, 2015 at 12:46 am
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    When you see those storm trooper outfits laid out like that it really puts into perspective the grand scale of this movie.

  • November 20, 2015 at 3:31 am
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    “Particularly in the mask, for which Abrams’ specification was that Kaplan create, “something that would make a child want to see the movie”. ”

    Wait, wasn’t that how we got Ewoks and Jar Jar?

  • November 20, 2015 at 10:48 am
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    Read the Kasdan Interview:

    “Alec Guinness’s Ben Kenobi is in my mind the perfect Jedi… he’s not off in some spiritual realm, he’s in both, caring and generous and brave…” – Kasdan

    FISTBUMP!!

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