Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[Omizzay]

[Wraith]

this may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm actually quite happy with Lucas ding the treatment and having some basic input into the shape of the story. obviously he and hist view of storytelling/film-making has changed since he worked on the originals but i honestly think that he can still make a significant and worthwhile contribution to the series as long as he's handing off the heavy lifting to some else who's talented and is passionate/cares about the franchise.

it would be unrealistic to expect him to hand off total control while he's still alive and i don't think anyone really wants to wait for him to die before we even get talk of a new movie.

[moosegrinder]

The problem has never been Lucas's ideas or writing or treatments or whatever, the problem is that George Lucas has all the directing talent of a fucking sponge and he doesn't know when to cut shit out.

[Paulando]

As shite as the prequels were, if Lucas was shut out completely these new films would just feel like a fan-fic blag trilogy, no matter how good they were. So yeah, I'll accept a tiny input from him.

[Wraith]

i'd say the writing in the prequels was a large part of the problem and it certainly seems that he had less assistance with those then he did the OT. Lucas has vision and is great when he guides/is guided, however after the prequels, Indy 4 and his many years of ranting about how the latest version are how he really meant the films to be and gradual/constant denial that a sequel trilogy was ever planned, some people have come to hate him to much they can't see that he was still the major driving force behind the series.

[Captain Kelsten]

My motivation is to the talk about stuff and share my opinions. The same as the rest of you. What you're saying is that my opinions don't deserve to be heard because you disagree with them.

Your opinion is always the same, regardless of subject; and it always boils down to you vs the world. You might as well just type 'Insert generic Smittyism here' and be done with it.

Seriously man. Find some joy in your life and cheer the hell up. Find happiness in the fact it's almost Christmas, or something. Not everyone is out to get you. Most people think you're a massively whingy, annoying little troll, but that's probably because you keep fanning those flames through your constant negativity, doom and gloom and cries for attention.

CHEER THE FUCK UP.

[SpagMasterSwift]

Hoping we get an Avengers rather than a John Carter out of this.

Will Clone Wars change style to become a Disney Pixar production I wonder. Could make for an interesting shake up.

No Angry Birds Star Wars TV show tho please.

[moosegrinder]

EDIT: @wraith Hence me saying "doesn't know when to cut shit out". He suffers from the delusion, like a lot of successful creatives, that everything he does is solid fucking gold. When it came to do Episode I he went fucking nuts and like you say, without anyone to rein him in it pumped out shit. It's telling that Empire is the best on and the one he had least input into*. Midiclorians, anyone?

*Going by IMDB at any rate.

[sandman]

I have been waiting for these films since reading in the official Star Wars comic that they were "coming soon" back in 1983.

For me, Star Wars pretty much WAS my childhood. It must be hard to imagine for under 25's but that was a time when you had to wait years for Empire to arrive on video and if you wanted to buy a copy on VHS it would set you back around £50. One of the reasons the toys were so popular was that they enabled you to relive the films that werent readily available to watch at home.

So, back then the promise of more films was an amazing idea. I was always hyped to know what happened to the gang post Jedi and the thought of prequels never even entered my mind back then. I do quite enjoy the prequel trilogy and really quite like ROTS. But they are never the story I wanted to see. I wanted to see Luke and Leia training to be Jedi's together. I wanted to see Han and Chewie helping to establish the new republic by dealing with the Hutt.

Hopefully this is what I will now get. TBH, the original trilogy doesnt have great directors so as long as it isnt Michael Bay I am not too worried (and this is from someone who likes some of MB's films).

[Wraith]

@Handsome Light Brown i doubt Clone Wars will change style after all the time/effort/money that's been put into it. more pressing though is if it will continue at all if Disney are unable to switch it from cartoon network to their own channels.

@moosegrinder i wasn't disagreeing, more qualifying my 'this might be an unpopular opinion' remark. was a bit surprised that the first two replies were as like minded. as for the Midiclorians, i always do my only little retcon with them.... they don't cause/create the force, they are just micro-organisms that are attracted to the force and so show up in high levels in the blood of those strong in the force. similarly, if you were to take and air sample from the cave on Degohbah(sp?) you'd see also see a high level. i'd meekly apologize for putting to much thought into that, but honestly it was just the first thing that popped into my head when they were introduced.

[moosegrinder]

Nah, sorry my tone was a bit off but I see we're coming at the same point.

The problem I've got with the Midiclorians is that it's the best example of how Lucas doesn't have the power of his convictions and has been making shit up as he goes.

[Wraith]

you just need to look up his ever changing stance on the sequel trilogy to know he's been making it all up depending on his mood. even more so when you look into the varied treatments for the original too. like i said, he has great vision as long as he can be kept on task. the minute his mind starts to wander, that's when someone else needs to take charge and talk him back from walking over the edge of the cliff.

thankfully he seems to be at a point where he only wants to do the bare minimum and yet knows that handing over everything is the only way he'll be able to stay at arms length.

[Harsin]

Too true, he's been making it up from Day 1. There's not anything wrong with that, but then he keeps trying to perpetuate a myth that it's all some masterplan with a 6, no 9, no 12 film intricately plotted timeline. On one of the commentaries I think he actually tries to make out that he always planned for Luke and Leia to be siblings.

[Wraith]

the saddest thing is that he'd get so much more respect and probably be forgiven much easier if only he were more honest instead of holding on to the idea he's some great auteur. he has a talent, but unfortunately its out weighed by his ego.

[Spacehost]

Dear Disney,

Please get someone good to make this. The Avengers was neither shit nor a commercial disaster. Do something like that!

Sincerely,

The Internet

[neoELITE]

Oh sorry, yeah, this thread has been designated an absurd hype and squealing zone only. Did you decide that by yourself, or did the Committee have a meeting on it as well?

It's like going into the female form thread in Off Topic as an asexual man and just repeating over and over again that you would not want to have sex with any of the women posted. If you aren't hyped, stay out of the hype thread - there's no point really is there?

My kids have recently sat and watched all the films over a few weeks and they love them - their favourite was the very first one. My youngest daughter was born 31 years after it was released. That's quite amazing and they're up there with stuff like The Wizard of Oz as they're now classics and they're part of everyone's childhood - I was only one years old when it came out and I saw it one TV one Xmas on a little 22" TV in my front room and was blown away. I'm not a fanboy but they're great, great films and, although they've not got the gravitas of some of the more serious films of our generation and although they aren't artistically that important to the genre of cinematography, they're amazing fun and entertaining.

If we can't have hype and hyperbole, there's no point to being alive - they might not be great art but isn't a part of good art that it makes you feel something emotionally, it makes you excited and it sticks in your mind.

I personally cannot wait to see something new and something from a company that's made some of the greatest films of all time - if they didn't have impressive plans for the franchise, Lucas wouldn't have sold it off.

The last films were trying to be dark while retaining their lower age ratings and they failed - Revenge of The Sith was trying to be dramatic and dark and mature but it failed as it still had to include the quirky little characters that children love and it didn't have a cast that could pull it off. I think Disney and Pixar are capable of making the series fun again and that's what it's all about. As a 7 year old, after I watched any of those films, I was Luke Skywalker for the rest of the day in my mind and that's what was so special about them.

[Mr Cochese]

The whole thing is utterly moribund now, probably from as far back as the third film. People need to let go of the idea that when you create a good setting you're obliged to keep pouring more and more crap into it until it creaks under the weight of established continuity. To me, the ideal setting is one that is created to form the right backdrop to the story that is being told - after that it is discarded.

[Mr Cochese]

That said, if I wrote a book about gay vampire space cowboys and it sold millions, I'd write another twenty volumes of the gay vampire space cowboys saga,

[Ran]

Sadly not, he is at Sony.

As surprising as this news is I couldn't remotely care about the news of more Star Wars films but it is always fun speculating on potential directors - Cuaron and Bird would be my picks.

I'm in a similar frame of mind. I think Bird would do an excellent job. This is a total flight of fancy but I would love to see a Del Toro directed installment too. The second Hellboy has a perfect mix of CGI and puppetry that makes it seem realer than the almost 100% green screening used in the prequels. The scene where they go to that demon market (or whatever it is) instantly made me think of the Cantina scene in the original Star Wars in a good way.

[SpagMasterSwift]

I look forward to reading BrokeVamp SpaceMountain soon.

[Chosty]

The problem has never been Lucas's ideas or writing or treatments or whatever, the problem is that George Lucas has all the directing talent of a fucking sponge and he doesn't know when to cut shit out.

As long as he's kept away from writing dialogue, and comedy characters, and plot, and backstory, and direction, I'm fine with him being involved in any capacity.

[gizmo1990]

It's interesting to read how people think Disney are going to be hereos in this, riding along on their white chargers and saving the fans! I guess this comes from Avengers?

Well I think those people may be in for a BIG shock as time goes by... Disney's modus operandi are kids and they make huge amounts of money out of them, especially toys. They've bought Lucas because, quite rightly, they can see the earning potential there. This means that, imo, peoples hopes of the seeing the films return to their less kiddy roots, will be sorely mistaken.

[RubberJohnny]

This whole thread is hilarious.

[Glasgowchivas]

I don't think anyone's clamouring for Star Wars to "return to their less kiddy roots", we just don't want any new films to be shit.

If this is going to be a continuation of the Skywalker story and it's to be live action then surely,surely Hamill is a dead cert for a wizened Luke Sywalker, now playing the Obi-Wan role. I would bet my house that Ford will not return as Solo unless he gets to be killed off in Ep.VII.

I bet Anthony Daniels just bought a boat.

[Matt Defis]

To be fair I never learn when it comes to star wars, I thought SWTOR was going to be my holy grail but once again I was let down

[mdn2]

It's interesting to read how people think Disney are going to be hereos in this, riding along on their white chargers and saving the fans! I guess this comes from Avengers?

Well I think those people may be in for a BIG shock as time goes by... Disney's modus operandi are kids and they make huge amounts of money out of them, especially toys. They've bought Lucas because, quite rightly, they can see the earning potential there. This means that, imo, peoples hopes of the seeing the films return to their less kiddy roots, will be sorely mistaken.

Eh? Star Wars have always been kids films. Disney are a good fit for exactly that reason. I don't see your point. Most people are happy because there'll be new Star Wars films without Lucas having his podgy fingers in every aspect of making them.

[AK Bell]

Well I think those people may be in for a BIG shock as time goes by... Disney's modus operandi are kids and they make huge amounts of money out of them, especially toys.

I'm not so sure about that. I think they're very kid focused, but can go down more grown-up routes when they want to. Pirates of the Caribbean got very dark by the end of the trilogy (too dark for me) and they have other films like National Treasure that aren't kid focused.

But when it boils down to it, Star Wars is a kids film. The first trilogy were great fun and we all loved them for it. The prequels were a mess of fart jokes, toy adverts mixed with politics and dull conversation. Disney would be perfect for making a new Star Wars film BECAUSE they make good kids films.

[Glasgowchivas]

I'd love the Thrawn trilogy to be adapted but I doubt it's going to happen. Thankfully, I doubt the Yuuzhan Vong will make an appearance either, as their storyline is too bloody and adult (and Cronenbergian) to fit with the rest of the series.

I think we're looking at a new story, a new threat to the New Republic and the old OT heroes jumping into the Falcon with their kids / students / proteges to save the day.

Having said that I have no great love for the Expanded Universe stories, I would accept a proper, dramatic, big screen version of Chewie's story.

He dies heroically saving one of Han's kids! Yay! Go Chewie!

The baddies drop a moon on him! Boo!

[Matt Defis]

No chance of the Vong, way to nasty.

[mdn2]

Having said that I have no great love for the Expanded Universe stories, I would accept a proper, dramatic, big screen version of Chewie's story.

He dies heroically saving one of Han's kids! Yay! Go Chewie!

The baddies drop a moon on him! Boo!

He really shouldn't have bothered given

Anakin dies a few books later anyway.

They should make the book 'Children of the Jedi' as Episode VII. Who can forget the classic tale where Luke falls in love with a Force ghost stuck in a computer and has to battle with an evil ships A.I. in order to stop it from destroying a dead planet? I can't. The nightmares from it wake me even today.