The Star Wars Thread

[GoGo Yubari]

Watchmen being amongst his two best movies is troubling in and of itself.

[Your Mom]

Dawn of the Dead was good at least. I mean I liked it anyway

[TKz]

Yeah, Dawn of the Dead was a ton of fun. But considering the difference in tone between that and Man of Steel, I'm fairly worried about it. I'm hoping this is the big film that really shows exactly what Zack Snyder is capable of when he's not relying on the same tired gimmicks he's used since 300, but his more recent efforts haven't exactly filled me with optimism. It's so odd to me that Snyder does a more traditional Super Hero film and it's the one film of his that isn't what he usually does... which is comic book style in film. It feels like he'd be better suited to directing something flashier like Iron Man or Fantastic Four, rather than a more serious, somewhat realistic take on a hero.

Saying that, I guess he's pretty well suited in terms of visuals to direct a Star Wars film. Like Livid said, as long as he doesn't write it, it could work out pretty well. But then, the prequels could be argued as looking pretty gorgeous and that didn't help them out much.

[gunnar hendershow]

For those who don't know I hold Seven Samurai on a pedestal above every film ever made. I'm not excited about anything Zack Snyder does, I think he's a perfect example of a one-trick pony. He can do visuals well enough, but there is a lot more that goes into making a good popcorn movie. I thought Dawn of the Dead was decent, beyond that I've been bored by his movies since I feel the spend their energy on "looking cool". This said, making an adaptation of Seven Samurai requires attention to be paid to the characters and giving them as much depth as possible, from the most insignificant farmer to the great hero, everyone has to be treated as an important piece in the movie. Otherwise you don't do an adaptation of it justice.

I have to say, while I don't know if many or any of them will necessarily be bad, the idea of a new film every 2 or 3 years set in the universe really screams oversaturation. Obviously Disney spent the money they did on the franchise planning to milk it dry, and that doesn't bother me since they can go through TV shows, video games, merchandise, collectibles, and toys for revenue. However I just don't think the plan to release movies with such a high frequency is going to result in Disney really capturing Star Wars best, instead it'll just be something that tires out fans quickly and loses its popularity. Basically dulling its magic and appeal.

[TKz]

Star Wars still has a huge fanbase after 30 years of the franchise being milked. I don't think good, new films is what'll kill it's popularity. The new film every year thing is working for Marvel so far, this is almost a lesser approach to that.

[tristy]

Snyder's denied the 7 Jedi movie rumors. So, there's that.

[Skummy]

Star Wars was massively influenced by Kurosawa in the first place - The Hidden Fortress in particular - so I think looking to other Kurosawa films for inspiration is actually quite astute.

[Kane's Mullet Slacker]

Star Wars was massively influenced by Kurosawa in the first place - The Hidden Fortress in particular - so I think looking to other Kurosawa films for inspiration is actually quite astute.

This is true, especially R2D2 and C-3PO.

[GoGo Yubari]

There's a rumor out there that Toshiro Mifune was their first choice for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he turned the movie down because he thought it looked like a kid's movie that wouldn't be any good.

[gunnar hendershow]

Star Wars still has a huge fanbase after 30 years of the franchise being milked. I don't think good, new films is what'll kill it's popularity. The new film every year thing is working for Marvel so far, this is almost a lesser approach to that.

It's not along the lines of "I don't think it'll work" because Marvel is doing well right now. Long-term there isn't a lot of proof whether it works, but if you look at consumer goods over time too much saturation wears out the market for the goods. It's just economics. Star Wars has had a huge following because of its presence in numerous forms of media, it has been spread out without being too burdensome on the fanbase by having regular movies. This could be Disney taking the wrong message from its popularity, or me taking the wrong message from what I understand about economics, but if you regularly overwhelm your fanbase eventually they get tired. For an example, look at the oldest Star Wars fans and their perceptions of the recent years of the franchise and put that on a much more micro level where they need to constantly please fans on a nearly annual basis. Marvel has done well with it so far, but economics indicates eventually they'll tire out their fans and there won't be a new base of consumers ready and willing to become fans for another generation. This is why we get reboots after 20 years, there's a whole new base of consumers to market the product to. It's more me sitting here wondering if Disney thinks they can curb that trend more than not thinking they know it exists.

Star Wars was massively influenced by Kurosawa in the first place - The Hidden Fortress in particular - so I think looking to other Kurosawa films for inspiration is actually quite astute.

And there was serious consideration to paying justice to the influences, especially with C3PO and R2D2. A consideration I am highly skeptical we'll be getting from a project headed by Zack Snyder. I just don't think he's very good and will be in over his head.

[livid]

Apparently JJ Abrams turned down the chance to direct Episode VII.

Pretty interesting as I would've thought he'd be a great choice but the Star Trek attachment would've been kind of weird, had he accepted.

I'm still really curious to see who they'll hire but I hope it's not Jon Favreau because he would just make the same film 1000 other directors would. I still think Matthew Vaughn would be the best choice out of the ones that have been rumored for the gig.

So much for that, then. He signed on to direct Episode VII.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm really looking forward to this movie.

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

You know...Josh Holloway would be a really good choice to play Anakin Solo or if they were ever to recast a young Han Solo.

[Ant]

Apparently a female protagonist is the way forward.

Whenever Lost was on, Evangeline Lilly reminded me of Carrie Fisher. If they go the route of Leias children she could be a great Jaina Solo.

[Maxx]

Word is they're also going to do stand alone, character specific films and Yoda is the first in line.

[TKz]

Pretty sure this is the first piece of Star Wars news that I'm not keen on. No way can Yoda really hold together a whole film himself. I'd much rather see the previously mentioned Han Solo origin story. Except not directed by Robert Rodriguez.

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

What more can be told of the characters the mass audience will care about? We know the complete stories of Obi-Wan, Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, The Droids, The Empire, Luke and Leia. Other than the Han Solo/Chewie backstories (hopefully incorporating LIFE DAY and the family Chewbacca abandoned on Kashyyyk), there's nobody all that interesting. A mass audience won't really care about Expanded Universe stuff.

[Mick]

No way can Yoda really hold together a whole film himself.

Judge him by his size, do you?

[Skummy]

Yoda's character got fucked up enough by the prequels, I DO NOT WANT a Yoda movie.

[Benjamin]

Let's all be honest and admit that we're secretly praying for that Ja Ja Binks movie.