May The Fourth Be With You ~ Happy Star Wars Day 2014!!!

[Todd]

No way they can any worse than Episodes 1-3.

I'm not so certain about that.

[71 dB]

BUT I also think that it will be a generic sf adventure just like the Star Trek reboots.  Abrams is inoffensively safe and boring, he does not take risks, he does not make interesting, creative, innovative choices. 

That's what I fear too plus Disney paid a lot to Lucas for Lucasfilm, so their want to cash in big money, not make art.

[Todd]

That's what I fear too plus Disney paid a lot to Lucas for Lucasfilm, so their want to cash in big money, not make art.

Current stories making the rounds in the mainstream business press and even the regular press is that the next Star Wars film will gross about $1.2 billion globally, and Disney is projecting similar global revenue with each film that will come out every couple years thereafter.  The entire purpose of the purchase of Lucasfilm was to have a predictable series of blockbusters.  Making artistically high quality films had nothing to do with the purchase, and putting someone like JJ Abrams in charge means that a nice, safe product will be the end result, at least for the first movie.  If I see a name like Derek Cianfrance or Duncan Jones attached to a future project, well, then maybe my outlook will change.  Episodes I-III were not great, to say the least, but at least George Lucas still advanced film making in terms of digital photography, sound, and visual effects.  With Disney in charge, it's hard to even see advances in those arenas.  Look at what happened to Pixar to get an idea of what will happen to Lucasfilm.

[Mirror Image]

Sure, Disney are all about the money. No surprise there, so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone if they vomit their mother-approved, infuriatingly juvenile sludge all over a once reputable franchise.

[Rinaldo]

The casting doesn't determine the quality of a movie.  Period.

I'm not saying it does, I just read it as a concerted effort to bring interesting actors into the mix. And I read that effort as good sign.

I do believe that Abrams will make a good Star Wars flick.  BUT I also think that it will be a generic sf adventure just like the Star Trek reboots.  Abrams is inoffensively safe and boring, he does not take risks, he does not make interesting, creative, innovative choices.  I feel that I will enjoy Star Wars 7 the same way that I do the Trek reboots, by simply judging them as sf adventures and not by what came before.

I'm no Abrams fan but I'd cut him some slack - Cloverfield, Super 8, heck, even a few things in the reboots were quite daring (albeit stupid).

That's what I fear too plus Disney paid a lot to Lucas for Lucasfilm, so their want to cash in big money, not make art.

They WILL cash in whatever the outcome. If they weren't interested in making a good Star Wars movie in the process, they could hire literally anyone and let him film whatever crap cobbled together from Lucas' bin.

Sure, I might be catastrophically wrong, but the ambition here seems to be clear: to at least attempt a "return to form" for a once beloved franchise. And make a fortune while doing it, obviously.

[Todd]

Sure, I might be catastrophically wrong, but the ambition here seems to be clear: to at least attempt a "return to form" for a once beloved franchise.

Disney executives have been quite candid about what they want.  They do not want what you want.

[Moonfish]

Wow!  They just issued a trailer for the new Star Wars movie!!!!!  Amazing!   
I think they are having some budget issues though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E

[Rinaldo]

Disney executives have been quite candid about what they want.  They do not want what you want.

They want money. I want a good Star Wars flick. There's not a contradiction here.

[Todd]

They want money. I want a good Star Wars flick. There's not a contradiction here.

There may very well be.  The first two Star Wars films weren't subjected to the same type of multi-market test screenings and studio-mandated changes that most $200 million+ budget films are subject to today.  I'm not privy to the contract that Abrams has with Disney, but I would be quite surprised if the studio gave him control of the final cut.  Disney has been very clear that the upcoming series of movies are global franchise films.  Quality is not job one.  Assuming they make five more films, it is possible that one may be good, and perhaps it will be the first one.  I'll probably see it in theaters, but I have the same expectations I have for Avatars 2, 3, and 4.

[Cato]

The later years of Lost and the later years of Alias show that Abrams is not immune to certain problems in long-term story-telling, e.g. writing his way into a corner with contradictions everywhere and not being able to find his way out.

Perhaps this will not be a problem with one 2-hour movie: it might be a problem with a 6-hour storyline.

We shall see!

I assume Ewoks will not be around, nor will Mr. Binks?

[Ken B]

Art? Movie making? Am I lost, I thought this was the Star Wars thread. You know, those long boring ads for MacDonald's happy meals?

[71 dB]

Art? Movie making? Am I lost, I thought this was the Star Wars thread.

Star Wars movies are high art. Don't be an ignoramus. Educate yourself. Understand Lucas' vision.

[North Star]

Star Wars movies are high art. Don't be an ignoramus. Educate yourself. Understand Lucas' vision.

They are very skilled in the art of making money, yes.

[TheGSMoeller]

They are very skilled in the art of making money, yes.

Yes, the art of marketing.

[kishnevi]

The later years of Lost and the later years of Alias show that Abrams is not immune to certain problems in long-term story-telling, e.g. writing his way into a corner with contradictions everywhere and not being able to find his way out.

Perhaps this will not be a problem with one 2-hour movie: it might be a problem with a 6-hour storyline.

We shall see!

I assume Ewoks will not be around, nor will Mr. Binks?

I've always had low expectations of JJ Abrams's films,not because of anything actually related to the films, but because of his name.

You see, there used to be (possibly they still may be) a local car insurance agency (specializing in low cost we-know-you-have-a-suspended-DL policies) which for many years used for its radio advertisements a fictive but Anglophonic animal named J J Moose.

[Karl Henning]

Don't be an ignoramus. Educate yourself. Understand Lucas' vision.

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi: you're my only hope . . . .

[Cato]

I've always had low expectations of JJ Abrams's films,not because of anything actually related to the films, but because of his name.

You see, there used to be (possibly they still may be) a local car insurance agency (specializing in low cost we-know-you-have-a-suspended-DL policies) which for many years used for its radio advertisements a fictive but Anglophonic animal named J J Moose.

Guilt by association!   

[Moonfish]

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi: you're my only hope . . . .

When Episode I was shown in the theater I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

[Karl Henning]

Guilt by association!   

Wossamotta U!

[Cato]

When Episode I was shown in the theater I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

I remember my wife complaining about the child actor playing the future Darth Vader: "Why would they have kept that kid?  Didn't they realize how awful he is?"

Apparently not!