THR: Ron Howard officially directing Han Solo after Lord/Miller firing

They've been filming for months. They'll be a team deciding which of the dailies they want to keep and think are useable and which will need to be reshot in reshoots. They won't be refilming anything at the end of the initial production but the reshoots may be larger than the 5 week schedule they had always carved out for safety. It wouldn't surprise me if reshoots end up being nearer 10 weeks depending on the scale of the reshoots they decide upon.
 
I was against this project from the get go.

Now my morbid curiosity is probably going to get the better of me and force me into seeing this in a cinema.
 
SpaceWolf said:
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Star Wars and the killer robot driving instructor who travels back in time for some reason.
 
iFirez said:
They've been filming for months. They'll be a team deciding which of the dailies they want to keep and think are useable and which will need to be reshot in reshoots. They won't be refilming anything at the end of the initial production but the reshoots may be larger than the 5 week schedule they had always carved out for safety. It wouldn't surprise me if reshoots end up being nearer 10 weeks depending on the scale of the reshoots they decide upon.
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When this news hit I was surprised that filming hadn't wrapped up. They started in what end of January and it was supposed to go another 3 weeks? That seems excessive and a lot longer than Episode 7 from what I remember. I can't imagine the scale of this one is grander than Episode 7 plus they had all those remote shooting locations. Not a great sign for directors running a tight ship.
 
I like Ron Howard movies, but visually most of them are so boring and uninspired. I'm hoping he gets a good cinematographer.
 
This is going to sound really weird on the surface in terms of praising someone for it, but the one thing I'll say about Howard is that he is someone who is smart enough to let a good story be and not try to overwhelm it with too much with his own ideas. He has a good ability to zero in on the storytelling needs of a particular scene, almost always gets his actors to turn in good-to-very good performances, and knows how to wrangle a healthy budget to give the film exactly what it needs without having to go overboard with what he wants instead. Yes, this does ultimately give him a kind of anonymous presence as a director in terms of stylistic approach and ambition, but if you think back to something widely beloved he's done like Apollo 13, that's a story that really didn't need anything else other than a filmmaker to recognize that was a story worth telling without having to bombard the viewer with anything tricky. In a weird way, a lack of flourishing is in itself its own kind of flourish. It is true that Spielberg is way better at that kind of thing, hence all the criticism of Howard being a "budget Spielberg," but being a competent journeyman isn't the worst thing in the world when you have the material to justify that kind of approach.

I don't know what that means for this project in particular, especially since Howard is taking over for a pair that is clearly operating on an opposite end of the spectrum for artistic approach, but I estimate that at the worst, Howard will simply steer this towards being a typical Star Wars kind of movie than it was shaping up to be with Lord & Miller. That could be good, that could be bad, but ultimately, it will be no more or no less what's advertised on the tin.
 
Just had a thought. Considering their history. Imagine if Tom Hanks somehow sneaks his way in to reshoots? Han's wise uncle or some shit.
 
Why would Ron Howard even take this job? What's he going to be doing here besides being a yes man for Kasdan and Kennedy? Maybe he's just trying to get in good with Lucasfilm for his own Star Wars movie down the line?
 
All this talk about creative vision.

The only creative vision that matters, apparently, is Lawrence Kasdan's and Kathleen Kennedy's.

Star Wars movies are like Marvel films, where directors are treated like factory foreman to marshal a cast and crew to deliver a product on spec, not to play auteur in a multi-billion dollar transmedia universe.

Ron Howard is an experienced, charismatic director that works well with actors and is well liked by studio types for his proven ability to play ball. That's why they picked him. His creativity comes into play if it can deliver the movie the producers want cheaper or faster than projected, and at this stage in the game, that's definitely a major plus for bringing him onboard.
 
Jigorath said:
Why would Ron Howard even take this job? What's he going to be doing here besides being a yes man for Kasdan and Kennedy? Maybe he's just trying to get in good with Lucasfilm for his own Star Wars movie down the line?
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Maybe it's just as simple as not wanting his legacy at Lucasfilm to be "directed Willow" for the rest of his life!

But given the tepid reception that the most recent Dan Brown adaptation had, it's not a bad idea for him to get his foot in the door on a globally popular franchise that's actually on the rise. Given his history with both the company and the man himself, he's actually pretty much vertically integrated as it is, which is an asset for him even in the face of how much of a cold streak he's been on in the past decade or so.
 
Ron may not have a trademark vision or style, but he's a competent director. He'll do the best with what he has to work with and won't be easily muscled around.
 
As mad as I am about the news on Lord & Miller getting fired, I can begrudgingly get KK's motivations for doing so and Opie will do a solid job finishing shooting and reshoots for the film.

That being said, I think it's a little nuts that Lucasfilm still wants this film to come out in May. It's obviously doable, but bumping it back to December would give them way more time to make sure everything's working.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
Shit, apologies. I thought I'd mentioned bumping Frozen 2 back to late Nov in that case. But I didn't at all. Total brainfart.
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No problem.

Now I see why we were kinda talking in circles around each other.

firelogic said:
I don't think it's a huge risk because they'll still be in the Star Wars universe and they can easily chop the budgets down compared to the mainline movies. The "A Star Wars Story" line of films don't need to make $1B each. Of course Disney is a business and they want to make the sure bet but come on, they can take on a little bit of risk and give us something new that they could potentially spin out into another cash cow. To ease audiences in, you can do a Jedi/Sith movie that doesn't involve any known characters or have lesser known characters so you can have the lightsaber battles and force powers. There's a lot of potential out there. I secretly want this Han Solo movie to fail commercially so they rethink their existing plan with the side-stories.
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Everything you are saying is a much larger inherent risk than telling new stories about old favorites.

Let me be clear, I would love to see a non OT direct influenced SW movie but the business aspect compells LFL to go with what is familiar.

DOWN said:
Opinions and concerns are a bit irrelevant when the mainstream consensus has been exactly what Lucasfilm wants. It feels like concern trolling.
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Yet here on this very forum,a movie called AVATAR that had an 82% RT is shit on relentlessly and somehow, in those discussions, critical consensus doesn't mean shit.
 
If this movie turns out great, it will be because of L&M. If it turns out terrible, it will be all RH's fault. I feel for him in some ways.

I look forward to years of haters telling everybody about how L&M's non-existent Han Solo movie was better than the one that was released.
 
I think the more important thing for the studio here is that pretty much everyone likes Ron Howard as a person. If you have to mess with a production - cast and crew - so far in production, you want to bring someone in that can get get everyone on board.

I think he's more than capable of that.

Also, Star Wars is so different than other franchises. Fans expect it to stick to canon through all media ... Directors have to understand they are playing in a shared sandbox, so there are rules. I don't blame them for getting fired - nothing wrong with trying to get your vision made, but I don't blame Kennedy for doing her job of shepherding the property; that's her job.
 
shanafan said:
th
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Yes, he won Best Director and Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind...in the same year the following films were also released:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Moulin Rouge!
Mulholland Dr.
Ghost World

This does not make him a particularly gifted filmmaker.
 
Ridley327 said:
Maybe it's just as simple as not wanting his legacy at Lucasfilm to be "directed Willow" for the rest of his life!

But given the tepid reception that the most recent Dan Brown adaptation had, it's not a bad idea for him to get his foot in the door on a globally popular franchise that's actually on the rise. Given his history with both the company and the man himself, he's actually pretty much vertically integrated as it is, which is an asset for him even in the face of how much of a cold streak he's been on in the past decade or so.
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Willow is fine. Nothing to be embarrassed about. But his overall filmmakjng legacy is fine, he directed Apollo 13. All those Dan Brown movies can't erase that.
 
Markitron said:
If this movie turns out great, it will be because of L&M. If it turns out terrible, it will be all RH's fault. I feel for him in some ways.

I look forward to years of haters telling everybody about how L&M's non-existent Han Solo movie was better than the one that was released.
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I doubt anyone will blame Howard if the movie is terrible. And least of all anyone in Hollywood. They all understand the shit he is walking into.

He won't get much credit here if it's good either though. That's why I think they will give him some first looks at upcoming Star Wars Stories.
 
On principle, I see nothing wrong with directors getting canned for making a different movie than the studio expected.

What I don't understand is how Kennedy, as involved as we're led to believe she is, didn't know this particular movie had veered so widely until now.

Either way, I will probably enjoy the film and have no concerns about it. I enjoyed Rogue One very much after all that reshoot drama. And a Han Solo origin story hardly seems like the place to try out a Star Wars comedy. Love the idea of a Star Wars comedy, just not in this particular context.
 
And here's EW straight-up going with the "they thought they were making a comedy" angle:

Here’s what we know now: Several sources close to the movie and others close to the directors tell EW that ever since filming began back in February, Lord and Miller, who are known primarily for wry, self-referential comedies like 21 Jump Street and the pilot episodes for Brooklyn 99 and Last Man on Earth, began steering the Han Solo movie more into the genre of comedy than space fantasy.

Apparently, the split was a subtle one that became magnified over time: Lucasfilm and producer Kennedy believed Lord and Miller were hired to add a comedic touch; Lord and Miller believed they were hired to make a comedy.

It’s an ironic turn. Last year, when Rogue One was undergoing reshoots, fans were critical because they assumed Lucasfilm was trying to “lighten” the war story with more comedy. Those concerns were unfounded, but now the opposite is the case for the Han Solo film: Lucasfilm wants young Han Solo to be more grounded.
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I get the feeling that the extras may be surprisingly light for the blu-ray/digital release.
 
DonShula said:
On principle, I see nothing wrong with directors getting canned for making a different movie than the studio expected.

What I don't understand is how Kennedy, as involved as we're led to believe she is, didn't know this particular movie had veered so widely until now.

Either way, I will probably enjoy the film and have no concerns about it. I enjoyed Rogue One very much after all that reshoot drama. And a Han Solo origin story hardly seems like the place to try out a Star Wars comedy. Love the idea of a Star Wars comedy, just not in this particular context.
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Isnt IX shooting in January? Might be too much shit on her plate.
 
VaultBoy101 said:
Yes, he won Best Director and Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind...in the same year the following films were also released:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Moulin Rouge!
Mulholland Dr.
Ghost World

This does not make him a particularly gifted filmmaker.
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In what world is Fellowship of the Ring not a good movie? Mulholland Dr is also excellent albeit a bit too weird to win any real awards.
 
Jigorath said:
Why would Ron Howard even take this job? What's he going to be doing here besides being a yes man for Kasdan and Kennedy? Maybe he's just trying to get in good with Lucasfilm for his own Star Wars movie down the line?
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How many more times must this image be posted.
I bet he has been offered points on the movie's gross, because there's really very little reason someone of Howard's profile would otherwise come on to finish somebody else's work.
 
So how come Rian Johnson is saying that he felt free while making Ep8, but Gareth Edwards and Lord/Miller were under strict control by Kennedy?

I was watching the behind the scenes footage of Rogue One yesterday, and Edwards looks uncomfortable, as well does Kennedy look very manic and frightening.

So much for creative freedom at Lucasfilm I guess...
 
VaultBoy101 said:
Yes, he won Best Director and Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind...in the same year the following films were also released:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Moulin Rouge!
Mulholland Dr.
Ghost World

This does not make him a particularly gifted filmmaker.
Click to expand...
The competition doesn't make A Beautiful Mind any less of an accomplishment on its own. That's not really how it works.
 
Jigorath said:
Why would Ron Howard even take this job? What's he going to be doing here besides being a yes man for Kasdan and Kennedy? Maybe he's just trying to get in good with Lucasfilm for his own Star Wars movie down the line?
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If he saves the film and it makes a billion, dude is adding to an already excellent career.
 
Hollywood Duo said:
In what world is Fellowship of the Ring not a good movie? Mulholland Dr is also excellent albeit a bit too weird to win any real awards.
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That's my point. All of those films are higher in quality than A Beautiful Mind, as history has now proven by the level of remembrance/reverence shown to them.

Or, to put it more bluntly, holding an Oscar in each hand does not a master director make.
 
Solid choice if I'm reading situation correctly. This is about someone with enough experience who's solid enough to make sure the film comes together in a short time. There's not that many options around.

A truly individual director simply isn't going to be interested nor likely have the right temperament for such a situation.

This clearly a "safe pair of hands" choice not an artistic one.
 
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