Han Solo Anthology Film - "Solo: A Star Wars Story"*

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Encuentro, Nov 18, 2016.

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  1. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Ehrenreich's character was oozing confidence and charm in Hail, Caesar! He plays a surrogate for singing cowboy actors such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers (Wikipedia mentions Kirby Grant) who faces two challenges. He has to pose as being on a date with a Hispanic actress, who is basically a young Carmen Miranda, to promote each other's career through fluff gossip pieces. And he's cast at the last possible minute as a replacement in a sophisticated romantic comedy whose director (Ralph Fiennes) is so effete that Vincente Minnelli would look butch next to him. Ehrenreich, at that point, is supposed to be out of his element, his thick accent is all wrong, and he can't understand or even remember his own lines, which makes for great comedy (in Hail, Caesar!). But when his character isn't acting, he's very charming and more quick-witted than other people expect. Ehrenreich is actually better than, let's say, the guy who was opposite Gene Wilder in The Frisco Kid. He basically steals the film from a cast filled with stars.

    But then, you can't ask people to watch the films before they make any comment about some actor's skills. Well, maybe you can.

    It's actually the thing that makes Ehrenreich's performance so good in Hail, Caesar! He takes on the part of the singing cowboy who does his own stunts, which screams Poverty Row, B-unit westerns and a old-fashioned style which is gone for good, and he makes you understand why these films were so popular at the time, despite the dated comedic elements.

    Also, can I remind you that both Harrison Ford and Jack Nicholson had to wait for their mid-thirties to get noticed by the studios, which already favored bland good looks at the time?
     
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  2. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    That's great. But I'm not getting any of that from this trailer.

    He might have been Laurence Effing Olivier in Hail, Caesar!, but he bombs in this trailer.
     
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  3. matteos

    matteos Stereotype

    Location:
    US
    We'll see how he does when the movie comes out, but I won't be there for it on opening day.
     
  4. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    These damn millennials! They're so rushed that they'll spend hours on the Internet posting conclusions on an actor or a film from a trailer, rather than watching the actor's existing body of work, even if it's commonly available. Snap the iPhone gizmos away from their hands...

    Ehrenreich has to step in one of the most emblematic parts of the seventies and eighties. I'm not sure that a two minute trailer would be enough to convince people that he was the right actor for the project, or that the project can work. We'll get more clues with the early reviews. But I do know, from The Phantom Menace experience, that it's never a good idea to judge a Star Wars film based on the merits of its trailer.
     
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  5. matteos

    matteos Stereotype

    Location:
    US
    Not a millennial and he looks as wooden in the trailers as Hayden Christensen was in both his movies. And if he had been a better actor (Or had gotten better direction) those movies would have been a lot better. Those movies lacked the charisma and charm that Ford brought to the original trilogies.
     
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  6. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Great actors with extensive bodies of work get miscast all the time. I'm judging him based on his performance in this film, from what I would assume to be the highlights carefully selected by the studio.

    Fail.

    Bingo.

    There's a reason why Disney sacked the directors over halfway thru the shoot...
     
  7. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    Ok, everyone knows how you feel about the actor and the trailer. You've certainly made your point over and over again.
     
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  8. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US

    I’m glad Disney pulled the plug on the two guys who were directing. I read another article where Disney was unhappy with them throwing aside Lawrence Kasdan’s script (big mistake) and improving. Okay, I’ve heard these guys version of improvisational humor with The LEGO Movie and it’s fine for kids but
    I wouldnt want the same level of silliness in a Star Wars movie. So I’m glad they realized Kasdan is a great writer and didn’t let his script get jettisoned. He’s one’s of the cinema’s great writers.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2018
  9. David Campbell

    David Campbell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Luray, Virginia
    Seeing as Kasdan has already sort of said that Solo has been his dream script and likely his final statement on Star Wars, I'm glad it's getting proper consideration.

    It just occurred to me , via this movie, Kasdan is basically writing Han's "birth", and in TFA, he wrote his Death. Fitting in a way. Lucas may have created Han, but Kasdan has written much of Han's evolution across three movies to date. Add this one, and in a way, Larry Kasdan sort of " owns" Han.
     
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  10. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    I didn't know that. Now, I'm really happy Disney is protecting his script from becoming the LEGO Star Wars movie.
     
  11. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Im not so much focused on "he dont look or act enough like Han" as I am the storyline. No one is going to be completely satisfying to the audience playing Han. IMO, and from the short time I saw him on screen in the trailer, I think this actor seemed comfortable in the role. You cant force (no pun intended) the mannerisms and one liners to fool people. And it didnt seem forced. I dont think anyone would be able to play Han perfectly. Hopefully the characterization doesnt seem weird and uncomfortable. So far, I dont see the later. The only truely uncomfortable moment was Woody (still havent figured out how he managed to film bomb this Star Wars movie).

    All in all, I got a pretty good feeling from the actor playing Han.

    The clip had a lot going on. My initial worry is there was too much going on. Felt a bit too much like the pod racing scene in Phantom. But, if any SW film should be an action film this is the one.

    Storyline will be key to me in this movie. How will it shed any meaningful light on the Han Solo character? Whats the plot? Will these other characters that are new be a bunch of supporting hobbits that in the end we care zero about or remember? Will they enhance who Solo is? Those type questions, rather than whether we have a great Han impersonator on board, are more my concerns.
     
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  12. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Chris Pine’s star-making performance as James Kirk both offered a new and somewhat definitive interpretation of the iconic character without taking anything away from William Shatner’s performances. So there is at least a chance that Alden Ehrenreich will offer his own take on Harrison Ford’s rogue smuggler/anti-hero.
    'Solo' Trailer Sells 'Star Wars Story' Like 'Star Trek' Reboot
     
  13. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident Thread Starter

  14. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US

    I mean, the story should be a joy, no? It's young Han Solo. Everyone else is around Obi Wan, Jabba, Darth Vader, et al. No reason they can't pop up. We've got the Empire (the rebels? I guess) and the whole universe. Trust me. If someone can make a good story out of this, it's Lawrence Kasdan! I mean, fer krike's sake! Look at the STORIES this man has written! This man IS STAR WARS! Lucas schmookish!

    If two hot young directors got booted to help preserve the words of this screenwriting legend, then there is still a god in Hollywood!

    Solo: A Star Wars Story (screenplay) (post-production)
    2015Star Wars: The Force Awakens (written by)
    2014The Empire Strikes Back Uncut: Director's Cut (Video) (screenplay)
    2014The Lego Movie (character: Lando Calrissian - uncredited)
    2012Darling Companion (written by)
    2008Lego Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick (TV Short) (based on a screenplay by - uncredited)
    2003Dreamcatcher (screenplay)
    1999Mumford (written by)
    1996Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Video Game) (story)
    1994Wyatt Earp (written by)
    1992The Bodyguard (written by)
    1991Grand Canyon (written by)
    1989Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (Video) (screenplay)
    1988The Accidental Tourist (screenplay)
    1985Silverado (written by)
    1983The Big Chill (written by)
    1983Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (screenplay by)
    1981Continental Divide (written by)
    1981Body Heat (written by)
    1981Raiders of the Lost Ark (screenplay by)
    1980Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (screenplay by)
     
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  15. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Was he involved in any of the sequel writing?
     
  16. FACE OF BOE

    FACE OF BOE Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I was also watching the Jack Nicholson film from 1997 As Good As It Gets and Kasden plays Nicholson's shrink in that.
     
  17. Grunge Master

    Grunge Master 8 Bit Enthusiast

    Location:
    Michigan
    On a sidenote, I wonder what exactly he did on Shadows Of The Empire; Steve Perry wrote the novel, and Lucas (characters) and Wagner (comic book) are listed as the other writers. I've seen Kasdan listed at a couple of different sites, yet they don't say specifically what he did.
     
  18. El Bacho

    El Bacho Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Basically, he worked on the scripts for The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Return of the Jedi. Until he was summoned again by Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams, all his other Star Wars and Indy credits or IMDb references were just adaptations of his former works, because they used scenes or characters he had written, not actual writing contributions. Notice that Leigh Brackett, who died in 1978, also gets credits on IMDb for Shadows of the Empire and The LEGO Movie.

    So, his actual 21st century writing credits, outside of The Force Awakens and Solo (which he intends to be his final contribution to Star Wars, even if there were rumors he had ideas for a Boba Fett stand alone film) are Darling Companion and Dreamcatcher, which basically rival in the schlock department what Lucas wrote during the same time.
     
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  19. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I thought Wyatt Earp was one of the worst movies I'd ever seen. Terrible script.
     
  20. dprokopy

    dprokopy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Seattle, WA
    He's probably credited for characters he created, much like Lucas.
     
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  21. Matt Starr

    Matt Starr Forum Troglodyte

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
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  22. AKA

    AKA Senior Member

  23. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Oh, you beat me to it! :) It looks pretty good, in my humble opinion.
     
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  24. FVDnz

    FVDnz Forum Resident

    "I've got a good feeling about this..."

    :laugh:
     
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  25. zakyfarms

    zakyfarms White cane lying in a gutter in the lane.

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Looks good to me.
     
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