Star Wars: Episode VII

I think this will be an epic blockbuster hit.

 

And with the original cast and most movie tickets costing over ten bucks, this will be the biggest box office draw of all time.

 

Though there's always the possibility it will suck.

There's a great moment in the documentary The People vs. George Lucas where the fans go out to see Phantom Menace for the first time, and as they're leaving the theater, they're all a little bit in shock and they say, "gee, was this movie really that bad? Maybe we have to see it again to be sure." They go back and see it again, and then they come out completely dejected and say, "god, that really, really was bad."

Disney is a very calculating, demanding studio, so I would bet that they had a lot of input on what's been done in the script. Though Abrams is an A-list director, I suspect he's really under their thumb in terms of what he can do and how far he can go with the characters and story. And I wouldn't be surprised if he asks Lucas for some input (pro and con). But it's a gamble, no matter what.

 

I want it to be great. I really do. Abrams and Disney have a lot of pressure on them to say the least.

Lightening is very very hard to catch in a bottle twice.

May the fo..

..ok ..ok, I wont say it

*goes back to rearranging my SW figurine collection*...

 

Better yet, you could take drunks off Skid Row and they could do better...

 

Those two things are unfortunately not mutually exclusive…which is why so much cr@p gets made nowadays...

 

I'm going to guess 1.4 billion worldwide - great but not ginormous. I'm also going to guess 77% tomatometer. You heard it here first.

 

I just want Star Wars to be fun and have a sense of adventure again. To me, that's what the prequels are missing.

 

In my view, one of the things the new film needs is less CGI than the prequels, and to be more Firefly like as a space saga. Real people as 'characters' will help!

 

But it's not so much a question of the characters as it is the actors. Hamill and Fisher were never great actors to begin with and by now they've lost some of the qualities that made them appealing in the original films--youth and good looks. I enjoy some of Hamill's voice work, but that's a very different matter than actually appearing on the screen, reprising such a famous character. Even Harrison Ford's career has gone stale by this point and I'm not at all sure that he can convincingly rekindle Han's roguish charm. Can these actors successfully anchor a revitalization of the old franchise or will their presence only serve to bog things down? It would have been one thing to feature them in little cameos, but I'm not excited by the prospect of them appearing in substantial roles here.

 

The original movie was great! Empire was cool. And then they made a bunch more. It would be cool if they could get back the original mojo.

 

I kind of doubt he could withstand filming a major motion picture at this point. He's now 77 and has numerous health problems (including a chronic bad back, which caused him to bow out of the current season of "Dancing with the Stars".

 

I didn't know that. That's too bad.

 

The only thing that worries me is that Abrams is directing. I know many folks swear by his Star Trek reboot, but I couldn't even finish the first one. It was just...bad.

 

All I ask is that it have the same sensibilities of Episode 4 and 5, and a great score.

 

The score should be the best sure bet with old themes and some new ones. Less cgi is key. Watch Empire Strikes Back and it's almost 35 years and yeah the special effects are old school but still holdup IMO but you barely notice it because the story and the pace is just incredible.

 

I hate to say it, but I think the less CGI thing is a pipe dream.

CGI is basically what all movies are anymore. And to be perfectly honest, the CGI of episodes II and III was incredibly impressive. It was the writing and the acting that was painful. You can combine the heart and fun of the original trilogy with monster CGI and still have a great movie.

 

You're right J. J. Knows the balance must be the story and acting and if you can imagine it ILM can do anything

 

Kathleen Kennedy has said that they are going old school in conjunction with CGI, and some of the photos of props and models in this thread seem to support that claim.

 

His first one was bad, and the second one was even worse. Odds are in favor that JJ will ruin this new SW film. The only thing that gives me any hope is that Lawrence Kasdan is involved in the project.

Derek

 

I dont know (and its past history of course) but one of the things that was appealing to me in New Hope and Empire was that the ships all looked beat to hell. Like they had seen real action. The prequels were just too clean and sleek. Didnt seem to *feel* like I was in a SW setting.

 

with prequels I expected a massive fight between Jedi and the dar

the number III cgi was awful ! especially the last fight scene ! the cgi in lord of rings was ten times better !

 

No matter "good" the CGI is, it still looks like animation. Gollum in Lord of the Rings looked like a fancy cartoon. Watching human characters interact with CGI characters is like watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.

 

Okay, so what would you have liked them to do to give us Gollum instead?

A puppet (any kind of puppet) wouldn't have been able to do the movements necessary (and they wouldn't have looked as good) and a human actor in makeup can't be as emaciated and small as Gollum is.

I think Gollum looks outstanding and is the best example of a fully-realized CGI character so far.

 

There was a picture of Hamill on the web this week in a London Gym. Looks like he's getting is shape nicely. Looks a lot fitter than he did last year.