Star Wars Ep. VII Megathread: The Force Awakens (2 Viewers)

[SamT]

The first teaser

 

[andySu]

Han Slipped First?

 

[SamT]

Excellent photoshop work.

 

[SamT]

'Star Wars': Episode VIII to be made by 'Breaking Bad' director Rian Johnson
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/06/20/star-wars-episodes-viii-ix-rian-johnson/?hootPostID=eeb0eb6e6f950c48352ea315931f6cfe

 

[SamT]

Wow he directed Breaking Bad Ozymandias episode. Now that is exciting. For the first time I feel excited for a new Star Wars film.

 

[Sam Favate]

There's even a rumor he will write and/or direct Episode IX as well.

http://www.deadline.com/2014/06/star-wars-rian-johnson-director-next-two-movies/

 

[SamT]

There's even a rumor he will write and/or direct Episode IX as well.

http://www.deadline.com/2014/06/star-wars-rian-johnson-director-next-two-movies/

That's not true. It was debunked by various sources.

 

[TravisR]

Wow he directed Breaking Bad Ozymandias episode. Now that is exciting.

In addition to that amazing BB episode, he also directed Fly from the third season (a controversial episode amongst fans since it's a bottle show but it certainly demonstrates Johnson's ability to get great work out of actors) and Fifty-One from the fifth season.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I like that they're going with a different director for each movie.

 

[joshEH]

So how long now until Edgar Wright is snagged for Episode IX?

That was unexpected as fuck. Pleasant as fuck, too. As folks have already mentioned above, Rian Johnson directed three of the greatest Breaking Bad episodes, and I'm a huge fan of all of his feature films, as well.


Johnson is smart to take this. It'll guarantee him a huge hit (even though it would've happened with or without him), and will probably give him some juice to get his cyberpunk flick off the ground. It's probably more of a childhood wish-come-true/bucket-list item for him, than something that offers vast creative possibilities, but I'm still thrilled for him.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Besides his great BB work he also directed Brick, and more recently Looper.I will admit, I am much more interested in Rian Johnson's entry than JJ's. His addition gets me a bit more excited for the next trilogy. Hopefully, he isn't crushed under too many producer's notes, and can stretch his legs a little writing the 8th movie. I'd almost rather he was tackling one of the "one offs," but only if he had some creative control. I'm not particularly interested in Yoda: The Early Years or Boba: Also The Early Years.At some point, I hope Disney stretches the genre a little and gets out into the universe we haven't seen yet, and I hope they find someone like Rian to do it.I know that is down the road though. Got to start making that $4B back as quickly as possible.

 

[Simon Massey]

Surprised they haven't asked Spielberg or that he hasn't gone to them - didn't he always want to do one ?Great news about Johnson thoughSent from my iPad using HTF

 

[SamT]

Surprised they haven't asked Spielberg or that he hasn't gone to them - didn't he always want to do one ?Great news about Johnson thoughSent from my iPad using HTF

He was against it. He always wanted to do James Bond. I would love to see a Spielberg Star Wars.

 

[Sam Favate]

Spielberg has said he would have directed a SW film in the early 80s. The timeframe he hinted at suggested he would have done ROTJ. Lucas used guys who weren't in the director's guild, right? So Spielberg couldn't have done it without some wrangling. I doubt they'd ask him now, as they seemed focused on younger creative people. But I'd still love to see it, especially with the original cast.

 

[joshEH]

I will admit, I am much more interested in Rian Johnson's entry than JJ's. His addition gets me a bit more excited for the next trilogy. Hopefully, he isn't crushed under too many producer's notes, and can stretch his legs a little writing the 8th movie. I'd almost rather he was tackling one of the "one offs," but only if he had some creative control. I'm not particularly interested in Yoda: The Early Years or Boba: Also The Early Years.At some point, I hope Disney stretches the genre a little and gets out into the universe we haven't seen yet, and I hope they find someone like Rian to do it.

Agreed -- Disney is going to exert certain controls, but hopefully Johnson can work around these, and allow the limitations to spark creativity.

Was thinking about this some more late last night, and whether or not Johnson should've accepted this project (I'm glad he did, for the record). As a filmmaker, should he be doing something else more original? Of course. In an ideal world, where all we eat are lean proteins and vegetables, run five miles a day, and read philosophy before going to bed at 9 PM, maybe he would be making only original films.

But practically since cinema has been around, there's been a "one-for-them, one-for-me" mentality amongst filmmakers. And that the ones for the massive audience often earn the clout to finance the more personal ones. I'm not worried.

Matter of fact, I'm absolutely stoked that I'm likely to see a Rian Johnson Star Wars movie in a couple of years.

 

[joshEH]

He was against it. He always wanted to do James Bond. I would love to see a Spielberg Star Wars.

It's mentioned onscreen in the 2004 Empire of Dreams DVD documentary -- Spielberg was going to direct Return of the Jedi, but Lucas's (then-recent) resignation from the DGA forced him to drop out of the running, resulting in Richard Marquand's hiring.

 

[joshEH]

I'm not particularly interested in Yoda: The Early Years or Boba: Also The Early Years.

How about Oola: The Shower Years?

 

[Sam Favate]

As for Spielberg wanting to do James Bond, he famously talked to George Lucas about that in the late 70s, and Lucas told him "I have something that's better than James Bond," and thus was born Indiana Jones.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I'm very happy Rian is doing one of these films, don't get me wrong. I still think the Star Wars universe is a place with great movies left in it. I was intrigued by the cast of the 7th film, and now I'm intrigued by the director of the 8th. That is all you can hope for at this point.. I'm not worried about RJ being shackled, I get the property is worth enough that the studio will keep it within certain boundaries to keep it aligned with expectations. That is still plenty of room to make a solid entry for someone as talented as RJ. And my metric for being excited about a director doing a project is the same as always. If he is excited to do it, that is enough for me.I was always going to see these movies, but now I can truly look forward to at least a few of them sight unseen.

 

[Simon Massey]

But practically since cinema has been around, there's been a "one-for-them, one-for-me" mentality amongst filmmakers. And that the ones for the massive audience often earn the clout to finance the more personal ones. I'm not worried.Matter of fact, I'm absolutely stoked that I'm likely to see a Rian Johnson Star Wars movie in a couple of years.

I think for a lot of these film makers, this is about more than just earning clout - the chance to direct a Star Wars movie is probably high on the list of many film makers who recall the originals. His tweet following the story whilst funny says a lot about what he thinks of the opportunity.Sent from my iPad using HTF