Disney Buy's LucasFilm, Star Wars Episode 7 in 2015

[j7wild]

OK, this one has been bugging me for a long long time: years!!

In 'Return of the Jedi', why do the rebel forces need a code that de-activate the shield that's protecting the unfinished Death Star to land on Endor?

You can see the shield projecting from Endor to the unfinished Death Star in the mission briefing scene, when the fish guy is speaking.

Han says "parts and technical group for the forest moon" over the radio.

So they plan to land on Endor, which has no shield, only a shield generator, which is pointing at the death star, so why do they need a code to de-activate it?

There is NO SHIELD around Endor!!

Unless i have missed something, this plot point is a bit daft.

So is George Lucas!

[Hardkore]

Is John Williams going to compose the music to all 3 films?

It's not Star Wars without John Williams!!

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=107112

John Williams, the legendary composer who crafted the iconic, sweeping music of all six films in the "Star Wars" saga, is returning to score Star Wars: Episode VII, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced today at Star Wars Celebration Europe. Williams' grand orchestral compositions for "Star Wars" are among the most beloved and recognizable in movie history, from the classic "Main Title" theme introduced in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope to the ominous "Imperial March" from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back to the stirring "Duel of the Fates" from the prequel trilogy.

Williams, whose career spans over six decades, has won five Academy Awards and has scored some of the most popular and critically-acclaimed films of all time, including Jaws, the "Indiana Jones" series, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Lincoln, and countless others.

The composer joins a growing list of all-star creators including director J.J. Abrams, screenwriter Michael Arndt, and consultants Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg, who are shaping Star Wars: Episode VII, currently set for a 2015 release.

Watch StarWars.com's new interview with Williams below, in which he discusses composing the music for Star Wars: Episode VII, working with Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams, and why he's excited about returning to a galaxy far, far away.

[Hardkore]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=107118

In addition to the announcement that John Williams is returning to score Star Wars: Episode VII, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy talked more about the anticipated film at Star Wars Celebration Europe. In a panel hosted by Warwick Davis, Kennedy said (via IGN) that she is currently dividing her time between Lucasfilm and Bad Robot, where she's having story meetings with J.J. Abrams and the writing team.

"The story and characters are all we're talking about right now," said Kennedy. "We have an amazing team at ILM, who can create fantastic effects, but if we don't have a great story and characters, the effects mean nothing. I do think making huge popular culture – and I've had the good fortune to be a part of a lot it – is really hard to do and get right. And if you don't spend the time you need on developing characters, and finding stories, complicated stories, the audience gets tired because they think they're seeing the same thing again and again."

She added that "Episode VII" will combine real locations and special effects. "It's a conversation we're having all the time in the development of 'Episode VII.' Looking at all the Star Wars movies and getting a feel for what even some of the early films did, combining real locations and special effects – that's something we're looking very seriously at. So we're going to find some very cool locations that we're going to use in support of 'Episode VII.' And I think we're probably going to end up using every single tool in the toolbox to create the look of these movies."

Davis asked Kennedy what was in that toolbox, to which she responded: "It's using model makers; it's using real droids; it's taking advantage of artwork that you actually can touch and feel. And we want to do that in combination with CG effects. We figure that's what will make it real."

[Hardkore]

The movie will be shot on 35mm film,not digitally.

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-e...m-not-digital/

Cinematographer Dan Mindel ASC, BSC will be reteaming with JJ Abrams to shoot Star Wars Episode VII. That comes as no surprise as Mindel worked with Abrams on the Star Trek films and Mission: Impossible III. The big news is that Mindel says that Episode 7 will be shot on Kodak film stock 5219 film, NOT digital cameras like the last couple prequel movies. The Phantom Menace was the last Star Wars film to be shot with film cameras (although some trivia fanatics will note, the movie did include a digitally photographed shot).

What does this mean? Here are a few things we can extrapolate from this information:

The movie will not be shot natively in 3D, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the film won’t be post converted (which is what happened with JJ’s Star Trek Into Darkness).
We also all know about JJ’s love for anamorphic lens flares, something not possible now with digital 3D camera rigs. So while film would allow him to use (or overuse?) this visual style, I’m guessing (and I could be wrong) that JJ will employ a look for Episode 7 more in line with the original trilogy.
Who knows what this means for IMAX, but JJ has shown an excitement for the company in addition to shooting a couple kew scenes of Star Trek Into Darkness with IMAX cameras. Disney has a deal with IMAX, so the movie will likely be released in IMAX theaters (what event movie would forgo the extra cash on the table?).

Abrams had previously stated his preference for film vs. digital at the PRoduced By conference earlier this year:

“I have not yet shot a movie digitally. Film is the thing I am most comfortable with. If film were to go away — and digital is challenging it— then the standard for the highest, best quality would go away.”

[j7wild]

Screenwriter Michael Arndt has been removed from the Star Wars: Episode VII and replaced with Lawrence Kasdan who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders Of The Lost Ark!

YAY!

[Granite]

Disney issues 2015 mandatory film release for Star Wars

http://www.blastr.com/2013-10-31/dis...rs-episode-vii

It's looking more and more like the Force is not with J.J. Abrams' relaunch into a galaxy far, far away.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and several members of the filmmaking team went to corporate parent Disney recently and asked to push the movie's release back to 2016.

With screenwriter Michael Arndt departing the project and Abrams having to start from scratch on the script (with Lawrence Kasdan's help), there were concerns that the movie would not be ready for cameras to roll in early 2014.

The Mouse House's answer: a resounding no.

Disney CEO Robert Iger was "adamant" that the film come out in 2015, probably to meet the demands of Disney stockholders, merchandising partners and quarterly profit targets.

As a result, the pressure is now on. The start of shooting has already been bumped from January 2014 to the spring, which will leave barely a year for post-production if the movie wants to meet a summer 2015 release date. If they at least move it to December -- which has been heavily rumored -- that gives Abrams and his team a little breathing room. But Iger's entire marketing strategy is apparently based on the movie coming out in the summer, so he won't even compromise on that.

Either way, this is a classic Hollywood example of setting a release date before you have many pivotal elements of the film -- including a satisfactory script and a solid cast -- in place. And to do that with the Star Wars franchise, which has already been damaged by the prequels, is taking an enormous risk.

The Reporter notes that Abrams seems to think he can make a 2015 date, while Kennedy was the one pushing to move the film back a year. How that bodes for their relationship remains to be seen. And what about the rollout of Episodes VIII and IX, as well as those spinoff films? Will those be hurried to the screen as well? No one knows yet.

Our takeaway is this: Rushing a project with such enormous expectations cannot be a good thing. Do you think Abrams, Kennedy and company can pull it together and make the Star Wars movie we all want to see. or has Disney doomed the franchise?

[j7wild]

Great!

Episode 7 is going to suck more than Episode 1 and 2 and 3 combined!

[goodasgold]

Well, I don't think it is possible to get worse than the prequels. Especially episode 1. But that being said, it is better that they take thier time than to rush it. Get the script right. We fans can wait an extra year or 2 if necessary as long as they finally deliver a good Star Wars movie.

[ClaytonMG]

I seriously doubt that this could be close to the terribleness of the prequels.

But seriously, what happened to movies being made because they have a good story/script? And what happened to people making the best product possible instead of rushing it just to get it into theaters?

[jacques1400]

But seriously, what happened to movies being made because they have a good story/script? And what happened to people making the best product possible instead of rushing it just to get it into theaters?

We are talking Disney, they need to get as much as possible back from the purchase to counter their losses over the last few years. They know that it doesn't matter how bad or good the movie is, the Fan base is already established, and they will be buying tickets to see it. The day's of Uncle Walt making sure that quality and originality is key are gone. All that matters now is money.
I saw the original Star Wars in theaters and was in awe from the time the preface rolled into infinity, not for any other reason than this was a first given the time. You watch it now and it looks kind of corny, but you still have to admire the dedication and efforts that were made by everyone to make it work. Do you seriously think Disney has this commitment?

[ClaytonMG]

We are talking Disney, they need to get as much as possible back from the purchase to counter their losses over the last few years. They know that it doesn't matter how bad or good the movie is, the Fan base is already established, and they will be buying tickets to see it. The day's of Uncle Walt making sure that quality and originality is key are gone. All that matters now is money.
I saw the original Star Wars in theaters and was in awe from the time the preface rolled into infinity, not for any other reason than this was a first given the time. You watch it now and it looks kind of corny, but you still have to admire the dedication and efforts that were made by everyone to make it work. Do you seriously think Disney has this commitment?

Sooo disturbingly true. But at some point all of this brainless filmmaking is going to start to hurt them. Look at Gravity, a film that had a brain and was carefully constructed and worked on for something like 4 years if I remember correctly and you can see the amount of effort that went into it from the acting/directing to the sound design and special effects. Then you look at these other "summer blockbusters" and honestly they're getting worse and worse. As is the marketing oddly enough (look at The Lone Ranger... 10 trailers... seriously Disney?!)

I just think at some point people are going to have to stop and take the time and put the money in the right places. The Star Wars films caused/created sooo many improvements with sooo many different technical aspects of film (even sound formats alone: THX, Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital Surround EX, then countless special effect advances...) Of course now we unfortunately have the terrible prequels but still haha... At least we got some pretty awesome John Williams scores out of it!

[Granite]

Everyone forgets though, that while the prequels are admittedly terrible, they made an obscene amount of money. Also, kids cite the prequels as their favorite Star Wars films. Ultimately these films are meant to dazzle, not to have a quality story. ClaytonMG, I note how you never cited storytelling technique for star wars, only effects improvements.

[ClaytonMG]

Everyone forgets though, that while the prequels are admittedly terrible, they made an obscene amount of money. Also, kids cite the prequels as their favorite Star Wars films. Ultimately these films are meant to dazzle, not to have a quality story. ClaytonMG, I note how you never cited storytelling technique for star wars, only effects improvements.

Well that's more because I was thinking about how little post production time they'll have. But I'm also not a huge Star Wars fan (don't kill me people!) I'm more frustrated with how big budget filmmaking has kind of lost its way and this is kind of a perfect example of it. It feels like something has gone backwards here and business/money making has overtaken the art form. But I do trust that JJ Abrams will be respectful and also very passionate about making the movie the best that he can.

[jacques1400]

But I do trust that JJ Abrams will be respectful and also very passionate about making the movie the best that he can.

As long as there are Lens Flares!!!!!
I'm no Fanboy either, actually I'm too old to be a Fanboy of anything, I simply enjoy movies for what they are.
I judge movies on entertainment value and coherence, what I mean by that is simple, if I watch a "B" movie, my expectations are low, and if it's actually well made in general with half descent acting I'm happy.
If I watch an over-hyped blockbuster my expectations are obviously a little higher, but I still watch it with an open mind until the thematic elements of the story shift, and that kills it for me. I'm a true believer in watching a movie with a "Suspension of Disbelief" state of mind, but credibility goes down the crapper real fast when the storyline goes on a 360 degree turn half way through.

[j7wild]

Still not happy!

It should be December 2016, at the earliest!

Damn you Disney!

Damn you, you Damn Mouse!

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-...213223327.html

I am happy they are finally making another Star Wars film and I am also happy they replaced the original screenwriter choice with Lawrence Kasdan

BUT

I am NOT HAPPY that Disney is calling for the mandatory release of Episode 7 to be in 2015.

Looks like Episode 7 is going to suck more than Episode 1 to 3 combined.

Sure, Lucas sometimes let himself get the best of him (Jar Jar Binks, Ewoks) but at least when he made the 6 Star Wars films, they were all a work of LOVE.

For Disney, it's all about how fast can we churn it out so we can start making money.

After all, even if the movie sucks, by the time people have figured it out that it sucks, we already sold $1 billion worth of movie tickets worldwide!