New Star Wars films from Game of Thrones writers (1 Viewer)

[Carabimero]

Even if the ultimate outcome is known, if the writing is authentic, if I care about the characters at hand, then what happens to them in the immediate future is enough to carry me through. My problem is, the writing of SW movies under Disney has, with maybe one exception IMO, not even been close to unified.

Give me good writing I can count on from movie to movie and I'll spend money at the box office, repeatedly. Give me more of the same unmotivated schizophrenic mediocrity, and sooner or later I'll stop caring.

Probably sooner.

 

[TravisR]

Even if the ultimate outcome is known, if the writing is authentic, if I care about the characters at hand, then what happens to them in the immediate future is enough to carry me through.

The Better Call Saul scenario.

 

[Carabimero]

The Better Call Saul scenario or, as I like to call it, producing episode after episode that could be used in film school to teach writing, directing, editing, mixing, scoring, acting or whatever else you want to teach about superior visual storytelling.

Unified talent is what the Star Wars movies need, and that starts at the top.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The Better Call Saul scenario.

I’ll be the devil’s advocate. I loved Breaking Bad, but I barely made it through Saul’s first season and stopped watching somewhere in its second - I don’t even know where it’s at right now.

I found it very hard to get invested when I realized that, by definition, the main character was going to have to fail at every honest and noble thing he ever thought to try in order for him to be the character he is in Breaking Bad. And it just became frustrating and unpleasant at a certain point to watch him throwing his life away, knowing that there was no way he was going to pull himself out of it. I was infinitely more interested in the 30 seconds of “after Breaking Bad” footage they showed than the entirety of everything else that I saw.

I certainly acknowledge it’s a show made with great production values, good cast, etc. but I just couldn’t find a reason to care. Or rather, I was having great difficulty being able to invest myself emotionally into the characters and their journeys.

 

[Carabimero]

I get what you're saying, but as I'm watching Saul and Mike and Fring, what keeps me interested is the fact that they don't know what's going to happen. I'm invested in them, in that living and breathing moment, and not in my foreknowledge of the distant future. The drama of the moment short circuits my clairvoyance.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I get that and I wish I had been able to enjoy the show more. Sometimes that works for me, and sometimes it doesn't. In the case of Better Call Saul, ultimately, I struggled with it.

 

[TravisR]

I found it very hard to get invested when I realized that, by definition, the main character was going to have to fail at every honest and noble thing he ever thought to try in order for him to be the character he is in Breaking Bad. And it just became frustrating and unpleasant at a certain point to watch him throwing his life away, knowing that there was no way he was going to pull himself out of it. I was infinitely more interested in the 30 seconds of “after Breaking Bad” footage they showed than the entirety of everything else that I saw.

I think you're going to see some redemption for Jimmy McGill by way of those flashforwards.

 

[BobO'Link]

I'm not a big fan of Game Of Thrones either but I think my problems are related to the source material than the writing so I don't really have an opinion on what they'd do relying on their own ideas.

I am a Game of Thrones fan. If what they've done with Game of Thrones without Martin's prose to fully guide them is an indication I'd prefer they just leave it alone. They produce a pretty product but their dialog skills just aren't up to snuff without a good story to adapt.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think you're going to see some redemption for Jimmy McGill by way of those flashforwards.

Maybe I'll try to give it another shot during this free time I one day imagine myself having I'm not opposed, it's just low priority at the moment. But I trust your taste and recommendations, and Alan's, a lot, so the fact that both of you are speaking so highly of the show tells me a lot.

I am a Game of Thrones fan. If what they've done with Game of Thrones without Martin's prose to fully guide them is an indication I'd prefer they just leave it alone. They produce a pretty product but their dialog skills just aren't up to snuff without a good story to adapt.

Not to be mean, but Benioff's most notable credit outside of Game Of Thrones is "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and Weiss doesn't have any other notable credits. Were it not for Game Of Thrones (which I don't watch but is enjoyed by a lot of people whose taste I do respect), their hiring would not be inspiring any confidence.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

In the case of Better Call Saul, ultimately, I struggled with it.

That was my experience, too. I struggled through the first season and then gave up on it. It was a show I wanted to like way more than actually liked.

Not to be mean, but Benioff's most notable credit outside of Game Of Thrones is "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and Weiss doesn't have any other notable credits. Were it not for Game Of Thrones (which I don't watch but is enjoyed by a lot of people whose taste I do respect), their hiring would not be inspiring any confidence.

I think it's deeply unfair to call X-Men Origins: Wolverine Benioff's most notable other credit. Benioff adapted his novel 25th Hour to the screen, and it became a Spike Lee film that is 78 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. His screenplay for The Kite Runner was nominated for a BAFTA. His screenplay for X-Men Origins: Wolverine was written as a hard R more along the lines of Logan, and was heavily rewritten by Skip Woods once Fox decided to target a PG-13 rating.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think it's deeply unfair to call X-Men Origins: Wolverine Benioff's most notable other credit.

You’re probably right.

I was trying to get at the idea that there’s not much in his filmography to show that he’s uniquely suited to breathe life into the Star Wars franchise (and frankly, I’m not sure that’s a necessary qualification anyway), but I probably overstated the case for a cheap Wolverine shot.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think I overreacted a little, because (until Hereditary came along) X-Men Origins: Wolverine might have been my candidate for the worst movie of all time.

 

[Sam Favate]

Benioff and Weiss understand scope and have been able to tell a very long story that plays out in several arenas simultaneously, and they've done it tremendously well. Sure, Martin wrote the underlying story (even the seasons that are not precisely based on his books are still based on his story), but B&W put it together for television in a way and on a scale that no one has ever seen before. The final battle in the upcoming season is being described as bigger than Helms Deep (from The Two Towers).

If they can do some of this to Star Wars, it could be an amazing film(s). The biggest question, to me, is can they work all this magic into two hours (or six, depending on whether it's a trilogy)?

 

[BobO'Link]

Benioff and Weiss understand scope and have been able to tell a very long story that plays out in several arenas simultaneously, and they've done it tremendously well. Sure, Martin wrote the underlying story (even the seasons that are not precisely based on his books are still based on his story), but B&W put it together for television in a way and on a scale that no one has ever seen before. The final battle in the upcoming season is being described as bigger than Helms Deep (from The Two Towers).

If they can do some of this to Star Wars, it could be an amazing film(s). The biggest question, to me, is can they work all this magic into two hours (or six, depending on whether it's a trilogy)?

That's what bothers me... when they had the books to draw on for pacing and dialog it was better. It's still good, IMHO better than anything else on "TV" right now, but since they've run out of books the dialog and pacing is just a bit "off." That makes me feel that they *need* a good story that's already been fully written to get the most out of the product.

But then Lucas wasn't exactly a literary genius and showed on several occasions his grasp of "good" dialog is lacking.

Hopefully they'll have a full story ready for their Star Wars efforts - and that someone else is doing the principle writing.

Neither has experience writing original SF/Fantasy. Benioff's prior "SF" work, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was based on several comic series and is widely considered to have cliche-ridden script and familiar narrative which is not surprising considering the origins of the story. No... I'm not saying the source comics are the same but that pulling from them can easily introduce such issues as many superhero comics are pretty much tell the same stories over and over and over for each generation of reader. Weiss has none.

They've seemingly gone on record as preferring "long form" type productions:

“We have discussed Confederate for years, originally as a concept for a feature film,” said Benioff and Weiss in a joint statement. “But our experience on Thrones has convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better storytelling canvas than HBO.”

In the announcement of them being selected as the next Star Wars developers, Kathleen Kennedy said:

“David and Dan are some of the best storytellers working today,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “Their command of complex characters, depth of story and richness of mythology will break new ground and boldly push Star Wars in ways I find incredibly exciting.”

While they *have* adapted Martin's story for the screen superbly they've not shown any true writing skills other than adapting a story that's already been told.

Kennedy has a track record of choosing creators poorly for new Star Wars material. How much of that lies with Disney is anyone's guess. What's been done so far is "safe" and "derivative" with little innovation or real advancement of the overall story. IMHO the best of the Disney efforts is the one prequel film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Even though it brought nothing truly new to the table and was mostly unnecessary it at least slots in nicely with the original Star Wars.

So... hopefully Kennedy already has a good story ready for them to adapt. If they're writing it themselves, from scratch, I have less faith.

In either event I'll wait for reviews.[/quote]

 

[Sam Favate]

Coming off the success of Endgame, the Russos can probably do anything they want.


Bob Iger Seems Interested in Russo Brothers Directing 'Star Wars' Project

https://www.floor8.com/posts/20421-bob-iger-seems-interested-in-russo-brothers-directing-star-wars-project/partners/42571?fbclid=IwAR22N6CehBkrHSOiX-grk904ohETPKxt6eQE-aWlXmJ3yy_nR2njjxYmVFU

 

[Jake Lipson]

Coming off the success of Endgame, the Russos can probably do anything they want.

Interesting. But I think Iger was just being nice there. Of course he would like them to do Star Wars; probably everyone in Hollywood would love them to do their movie. What they want to do next is Cherry, a movie about opioid addiction which will star Tom Holland, and they're filming that this summer. After that, who knows? By the time they get done with Cherry, and the press tour for i and all that, which will probably be sometime in 2020, they might want a break. If Iger is actually going to leave in 2021 as he said he is, he might not be involved in setting them for another Disney property before his departure.

 

[Nigel P]

I want them to do a Star Wars film, I also want them to do a Bond film, I also want them to keep making Marvel movies and I also want them to do whatever other projects they want to do. I also want them to take a well earned break if they want one although I am a bit more iffy on that one!

 

[Greg.K]

I think the Russos would be an excellent fit for Star Wars. Can we send them back in time to before Episode VII?

 

[Wayne_j]

I think a Benioff and Weiss Star Wars movie might be the next movie with a chance to beat End Game's opening box office number but a great ending for Game of Thrones and well received Star Wars Episode IX and The Mandalorean would be required.

 

[Wayne_j]

I'm not sure if it refers to these films or not but Disney just put Untitled Star Wars movies coming out December of 2022, 2024, and 2026. 3 years between episode IX and the next Star Wars movie seems like an awfully long wait to me.

https://deadline.com/2019/05/star-wars-movies-new-mutants-disney-fox-release-schedule-1202608933/