[SPOILERS] Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Thread #2) - One Thumb Up

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prequel Hayden straight up reminds me of doing casting for 15 year olds at film school and you know when someone talks and he just cannot act

like he cannot talk. like his lines come all super phony and without any effort on making as if his character was actually thinking them

he's stinky garbage
 
Who would you see as interesting choices, out of curiosity?

My dream choices would be like...

Brad Bird (or a director that had a real strong sensibility for making great family films. George Miller!) for Episode VII
David Fincher (or any critically acclaimed drama director) for Episode 8
idk about Episode 9. Ang Lee? lol. I'd see an Ang Lee directed Star Wars film

Mainly, I just want experienced directors who have directed a range of films instead of being simply contained to being "science fiction/high concept big budget blockbuster" directors, especially when those big budget blockbusters are so fucking homogenized these days and when Star Wars is barely even a science fiction franchise anyways.

These particular examples are pipe-dream-y but I like the idea of directors who aren't just chosen for their genre pedigree. A good director of science fiction will be made better by having made films that aren't science fiction, and same goes for directors who wouldn't normally dabble in science fiction or whatever genre. If that makes any sense.

edit: for example, Villenueve directing Blade Runner sequel. Wow. Now that was an incredibly inspired choice that, despite not really fitting any particular template or having the resume experience, just feels right.
 
He's not going to say, BOY THOSE PREQUELS WERE GARBAGE HUH AMIRITE GUYS because that's disrespectful of the work put into those films and just would be a poor showing by him if he did that.

I think the biggest sign that they're distancing themselves from the prequels is that folks are grasping as straws to find a direct prequels reference in TFA.

Exactly. Abrams also said there's something remarkable about the prequels:

https://fanofstarwars.wordpress.com/2015/12/13/the-force-awakens-jj-abrams-praises-the-prequels/

“
”I enjoy the prequels,” he says. “I am a kid of the Seventies whose life was fundamentally impacted by the original films. And one of the reasons that I preferred the original trilogy was that it felt the characters were more everyman or everywoman characters. They felt scrappy and they felt real and lived in, and characters that were essentially nobodies who had to go up against some of the scariest and most intense villains of all time. That, for me, was inherently a more fun trilogy of stories. I felt that the use of technology, the use of design, the world-expanding that George did in the prequels is incredibly impressive. My favorite of the prequels is the third, which has some very powerful moments and some incredible imagery. But I know that when I went into doing The Force Awakens, my goal was to try and make a movie that felt like it was continuing from Return of the Jedi, which it is. As opposed to the significantly different aesthetic that George applied to the prequels, in his remarkable pushing of the boundaries of cinema.”

Maybe if Johnson's statement was more than one sentence we would know more precisely what he liked and what he may or may not like.
 
I love this bro.
Q80cQZ3.gif
 
If they decide to go with a crazy Luke, it'd be interesting if he was appearing to mutter to himself, but in reality he's talking to Force Ghosts that Rey can't see or hear.

And as Rey grows in her training, she can make out blurry half images of Obi, Yoda, Anakin... others(?) surrounding Luke.

It'd be like that moment when Luke realized Yoda was just pretending to be nuts.

But yeah, I'd imagine everyone would prefer he be more coherent. I just think it'd help to "depower" Luke (something writers struggled against originally with Ep 7), add some potential comedic relief, as well as make things seem lost, as their most powerful hope is half crazy.

Hamill could pull off half crazy too and the film could be about helping Luke recover.
 
My dream choices would be like...

Brad Bird (or a director that had a real strong sensibility for making great family films. George Miller!) for Episode VII
David Fincher (or any critically acclaimed drama director) for Episode 8
idk about Episode 9. Ang Lee? lol. I'd see an Ang Lee directed Star Wars film

Mainly, I just want experienced directors who have directed a range of films instead of being simply contained to being "science fiction/high concept big budget blockbuster" directors, especially when those big budget blockbusters are so fucking homogenized these days and when Star Wars is barely even a science fiction franchise anyways.

These particular examples are pipe-dream-y but I like the idea of directors who aren't just chosen for their genre pedigree. A good director of science fiction will be made better by having made films that aren't science fiction, and same goes for directors who wouldn't normally dabble in science fiction or whatever genre. If that makes any sense.

David Fincher and Ang Lee are on that level that they can make whatever they want at this point. They're far and away above making any kind of franchise films even Star Wars.
 
I like Rian (and might be the only person that likes Gareth Edwards too) but even that's pretty uninspired.

How is choosing Rian Johnson "uninspired?"

The fuck?

People were pretty fucking surprised he got the nod. It wasn't like "oh, safe choice there!" when it happened.
 
My dream choices would be like...

Brad Bird (or a director that had a real strong sensibility for making great family films. George Miller!) for Episode VII
David Fincher (or any critically acclaimed drama director) for Episode 8
idk about Episode 9. Ang Lee? lol. I'd see an Ang Lee directed Star Wars film

Mainly, I just want experienced directors who have directed a range of films instead of being simply contained to being "science fiction/high concept big budget blockbuster" directors, especially when those big budget blockbusters are so fucking homogenized these days and when Star Wars is barely even a science fiction franchise anyways.

These particular examples are pipe-dream-y but I like the idea of directors who aren't just chosen for their genre pedigree. A good director of science fiction will be made better by having made films that aren't science fiction, and same goes for directors who wouldn't normally dabble in science fiction or whatever genre. If that makes any sense.

I didn't agree with anything you said prior but Bird and Fisher would definitely be interesting. I still think Rian could do something really great. I don't know how your not excited about him. Guy can shoot action extremely well and is a smart director.

I like all the choices except colin and i'd change nothing except giving IX to George Miller easily

Easily.]
 
prequel Hayden straight up reminds me of doing casting for 15 year olds at film school and you know when someone talks and he just cannot act

like he cannot talk. like his lines come all super phony and without any effort on making as if his character was actually thinking them

he's stinky garbage

I had a co-worker at an old job say he was in acting classes with him in Toronto, and his acting was always as it was in the prequels. Just an anecdote, but it tracks for me.
 
Mainly, I just want experienced directors who have directed a range of films instead of being simply contained to being "science fiction/high concept big budget blockbuster" directors, especially when those big budget blockbusters are so fucking homogenized these days and when Star Wars is barely even a science fiction franchise anyways.

Also, The fuck? Rian Johnson is exactly that. He's made one science fiction film that is the furthest thing from from big budget or homogenized. His other two films are a con-man comedy, and a neo-noir set in a high school. He's also directed some of the most highly regarded episodes of Breaking Bad.
 
How is choosing Rian Johnson "uninspired?"

The fuck?

People were pretty fucking surprised he got the nod. It wasn't like "oh, safe choice there!" when it happened.

If anything, they could've played it safe and gone with bigger and more established directors. Or they could've phoned it in and gone with the cheapest but okay option like Marvel often does.

That they went with Rian is, like, the exact opposite of uninspired lol
 
Also, The fuck? Rian Johnson is exactly that. He's made one science fiction film that is the furthest thing from from big budget or homogenized. His other two films are a con-man comedy, and a neo-noir set in a high school. He's also directed some of the most highly regarded episodes of Breaking Bad.

Beat me to it but yeah, Johnson's shown he can direct drama. He's not another sci-fi/blockbuster director.
 
How is choosing Rian Johnson "uninspired?"

The fuck?

People were pretty fucking surprised he got the nod. It wasn't like "oh, safe choice there!" when it happened.

It's a good choice. Uninspired is maybe the wrong word. I guess my point is I could easily see it happening after Looper and JJ was signed on to Episode 7 because he appeals to science fiction fans.

For me, I just think approaching Star Wars, creatively, as a science fiction franchise never made much sense.

Also, The fuck? Rian Johnson is exactly that. He's made one science fiction film that is the furthest thing from from big budget or homogenized. His other two films are a con-man comedy, and a neo-noir set in a high school. He's also directed some of the most highly regarded episodes of Breaking Bad.

I like Rian. I even like Gareth!
 
Star Wars by David Lynch

a man can dream

That's no dream.

That's a nightmare.

...and by that, I don't mean it would be bad, just that it would make you super duper uncomfortable. I don't think I've ever seen anything by Lynch that didn't on some emotional level feel like one of those nightmares where you're trying to run away from something, but you don't move no matter how hard you run.
 
My dream choices would be like...

Brad Bird (or a director that had a real strong sensibility for making great family films. George Miller!) for Episode VII
David Fincher (or any critically acclaimed drama director) for Episode 8
idk about Episode 9. Ang Lee? lol. I'd see an Ang Lee directed Star Wars film

Mainly, I just want experienced directors who have directed a range of films instead of being simply contained to being "science fiction/high concept big budget blockbuster" directors, especially when those big budget blockbusters are so fucking homogenized these days and when Star Wars is barely even a science fiction franchise anyways.

These particular examples are pipe-dream-y but I like the idea of directors who aren't just chosen for their genre pedigree. A good director of science fiction will be made better by having made films that aren't science fiction, and same goes for directors who wouldn't normally dabble in science fiction or whatever genre. If that makes any sense.

edit: for example, Villenueve directing Blade Runner sequel. Wow. Now that was an incredibly inspired choice that, despite not really fitting any particular template or having the resume experience, just feels right.

I think Rian Johnson is a far more inspired choice than Bird or Fincher, especially Fincher who is like everyone's go-to pick for anything. Who would've thought Rian for Star Wars? Not many, but looks totally perfect (on paper at least).

Bird actually was chosen to direct VII (or co-direct it with someone, I forget) and turned it down because he wanted to do Tomorrowland and couldn't do both at the same time.

David Fincher will never do Star Wars or anything remotely approaching something like Star Wars. Also, as impeccable of a craftsman he may be, his career is largely built on adaptations and remakes, so if your criticism of JJ is that he's just co-opting other people's visions, I don't really see how that doesn't apply here too.
 
JJ doesn't have creative vision. He regurgitates other people's already existing creative visions and then makes them worse.

This tired narrative needs to end. Just because he has style similar to some other directors doesn't mean he lacks vision.

I've made this point elsewhere, but let's compare this to Tarantino. His movies and directorial style borrow heavily from blaxploitation, spaghetti westerns, and 70s Hong Kong cinema. Yet nobody calls him a hack who lacks creative vision (often because of how compelling his characters are...an area where Abrams is also no slouch).

Yet Tarantino is hailed as a visionary because his films are "darkly comic" and "edgy" (violent with lots of swear words and n-words) while Abrams is called a copycat (by some) because his movies are directed toward a more general audience.

It's the same "he makes popcorn movies, not art" horseshit people used to drop on Spielberg before Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan (and some still do).
 
Just got back from Episode 7 after avoiding spoilers and every trailer except the very first one.

Wow. I think it'll take me a while to fully form my thoughts on it but I actually felt like I was watching a Star Wars film. Being born in '92 that's something I've never experienced before.
Thanks, George Lucas.
I didn't see a couch once and I didn't see excessive shot-reverse shot.

It wasn't just JJ Abrams' Star Trek + Lightsabers. It was very derivative of the Star Wars Original Trilogy 'formula' but I don't bemoan that at all.

In JJ Abrams I trust.
 
That 79% for Revenge of the Sith would be like, 40% if the other two movies didn't exist for comparison's sake. In a vacuum, it's still a shitty movie.
 
Star Wars by David Lynch

a man can dream

Lucas tried to get Lynch to direct RotJ.

Seriously.

Also, David Fincher was in talks with LFL to direct Episode VII but he wanted to make it focused on R2 and 3PO moving from master to master and showing the folly of man or something like that and they...politely declined.
 
He hugged her as soon as he saw her. He's not avoiding her.

I still feel really bad for Chewie. There is no way he wasn't Ben's Godfather, and he probably watched as the kid turned more and more rotten. And saw all the pain and anguish Han went through with him.

Only to then end up watching that little shit kill his best friend.

Chewie probably put up with a lot of shit over the last 30 years, and that shit ended with even more shit. Poor guy.
 
Rian hasn't made a great film yet, but I think he has it in him. Ideally, because I'm selfish (and frankly it's a 2bn dollar-a-pop franchise, so why not pull out all the stops???), give me a director who has directed at least one great film beforehand. But, like I said, I know that's unrealistic.

I think Rian Johnson is a far more inspired choice than Bird or Fincher, especially Fincher who is like everyone's go-to pick for anything. Who would've thought Rian for Star Wars? Not many, but looks totally perfect (on paper at least).

Bird actually was chosen to direct VII (or co-direct it with someone, I forget) and turned it down because he wanted to do Tomorrowland and couldn't do both at the same time.

David Fincher will never do Star Wars or anything remotely approaching something like Star Wars. Also, as impeccable of a craftsman he may be, his career is largely built on adaptations and remakes, so if your criticism of JJ is that he's just co-opting other people's visions, I don't really see how that doesn't apply here too.

I don't disagree with anything you say (except Fincher above Rian). Agreed that Fincher gets slapped on a bunch of dumb shit, but I think, particularly after seeing the spectacular misfire that was Benjamin Button, that a Star Wars films is the last thing that would really challenge him as a director and force him out of his comfort zone. So I probably approach that from the opposite perspective of everyone else.

Bird choosing Tomorrowland over VII is, was, and remains such a spectacularly terrible decision.... ugh. my god. I love Bird. I know his live action stuff is hit/miss but he will have infinite good will with me after his animated films, which are all perfect masterpieces.
 
If anything, they could've played it safe and gone with bigger and more established directors. Or they could've phoned it in and gone with the cheapest but okay option like Marvel often does.

That they went with Rian is, like, the exact opposite of uninspired lol

Indeed that comment was bizarre.

If anything handing a $200 million Star Wars film that is the middle piece in a new trilogy to Rian Johnson, who is best known lately for directing acclaimed episodes of a TV show about a meth dealer, is swag ballsy as fuck.
 
prequel Hayden straight up reminds me of doing casting for 15 year olds at film school and you know when someone talks and he just cannot act

like he cannot talk. like his lines come all super phony and without any effort on making as if his character was actually thinking them

he's stinky garbage
Ewan McGregor did great, and it still even wasn't his best media performance. The writing for the prequels just weren't the greatest. Not much anyone could do.
 
I feel like they'll kind of have to - she practically seems to be built up as this trilogy's Yoda (sort of). There's too many things that she'll need to answer, such as where she found Luke's lightsaber.

Which is why she's horrible. I mean, she just feels like such a random PT character; the moment she shows up, I just get this very Lucas-y vibe that feels completely out of place in the rest of the movie.
 
Also, just for the sake of bringing up alt-universe Star Wars directors, Lucas asked Spielberg, Zemeckis, and Ron Howard to direct TPM and they all turned him down.

Just remember this the next time you think that Lucas is a power hungry individual who didn't want anyone else to challenge him on the prequels.
 
Actually, the ultimate pipe-dream choice would be Spielberg directing Episode 9.

It would never never never ever happen, but that'd be a really nice way to put a bow on the whole franchise. Especially since all these directors (JJ and Colin, especially) clearly look to imitate Spielberg far than they do Lucas (and probably for good reason lol).
 
Also, just for the sake of bringing up alt-universe Star Wars directors, Lucas asked Spielberg, Zemeckis, and Ron Howard to direct TPM and they all turned him down.

Just remember this the next time you think that Lucas is a power hungry individual who didn't want anyone else to challenge him on the prequels.
If that's the case than when he decided to direct them he should have listened to the people around him for help and advice.
 
I think Rian Johnson is a far more inspired choice than Bird or Fincher, especially Fincher who is like everyone's go-to pick for anything. Who would've thought Rian for Star Wars? Not many, but looks totally perfect (on paper at least).

Bird actually was chosen to direct VII (or co-direct it with someone, I forget) and turned it down because he wanted to do Tomorrowland and couldn't do both at the same time.

David Fincher will never do Star Wars or anything remotely approaching something like Star Wars. Also, as impeccable of a craftsman he may be, his career is largely built on adaptations and remakes, so if your criticism of JJ is that he's just co-opting other people's visions, I don't really see how that doesn't apply here too.

Good choice. Who wouldn't want to turn down Star Wars to direct that imaginative blockbuster.
 
lol
Poe: What’s your name?
Finn: FN-2198.
Poe: F - What?
Finn: That’s the only name they ever gave me.
Poe: Well, I ain’t using it. FN, huh? Finn. I’m gonna call you Finn, is that alright?
Finn: Finn, yeah. Finn, I like that. I like that.
Poe: I’m Poe, Poe Dameron.
Finn: Good to meet you, Poe.
Poe: Good to meet you too Finn.

Obi-Wan: You seem a little on edge.
Anakin: Not at all.
Obi-Wan: I haven't felt you this tense since we fell into that nest of gundarks.
Anakin: You fell into that nightmare, Master... and I rescued you, remember?
Obi-Wan: Oh, yes.
FRANDSHIP
 
remember when that rumor came up of Zack Snyder directing some stand alone samurai inspired jedi movie

Wasn't a rumor, this is actually something Snyder discussed with LFL, but they passed on it. I believe he's commented that he would still be interested in one day doing something like that but right now he's bogged down with the DC stuff.
 
I caught this a second time this afternoon, and enjoyed it even more than the first viewing. I think it will remain second in my rankings, behind only ESB.
 
Ewan McGregor did great, and it still even wasn't his best media performance. The writing for the prequels just weren't the greatest. Not much anyone could do.

"You were the chosen one!" is pretty much the only line in the PT that actually felt like it had emotional weight to it. But man, that line was delivered perfectly.
 
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