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Little Miss Sunshine Screenwriter Gets Nod For Star Wars: Episode VII
The screenwriter of Toy Story 3, and Little Miss Sunshine, Michael Arndt is writing the script for Star Wars: Episode VII according to Lucasfilm. From the article: "...The new movie has just entered pre-production and is slated to be released in 2015. It was announced just last month as Disney acquired Lucasfilm, but there’s still no word on what the major plot points of the new chapter will entail. However, Vulture reports that 'the studio’s brass want to bring back the three central characters of the original Star Wars: a much older Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. No deals are in place with any of the original actors, though our source did say it had high ambition to sign up Mark Hamill, and EW recently reported that Harrison Ford was open to the idea of returning.'"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s
They need to go back to Alan Dean Foster.
Mark Hamill? Seriously? Why not just make Jar-Jar the central character of the next movie? The writers and directors of episode VII have the easiest job ever: do better than George Lucas. That's it. No matter how crappy the movie is it only needs to be better than episodes I through IV and it'll still be a huge win.
Hey, if they haven't announced the plot at all, there's nothing explicitly barring the Thrawn trilogy still getting in there. I'm pessimistic and doubt that they'd decide to do anything so popular, but I haven't seen total proof that I'm right about it yet... (After all, even if they do use an existing story, they would still need a screenwriter.)
R2D2 gets married and lives happily ever after. The End.
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
That will be the title.....
An older Jabba the Hutt?
Because Disney has such a history of screwing up the franchises it buys...
Of course they are going to ignore the expanded universe. Those are what star wars fans care about, which is not what the studios want. They will dumb down any series to make sure anyone can watch it.
New? Disney?
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
Is it just me, or did they nail it? Anakin Solo, ready to Emote!
They want to hire actual wirters for a Star Wars movie? That's got to be a first.
It's propably going to center around their kids. Oh wow. The stuff way, way before the Republic would be much more interesting.
Star Wars: Jar-Jar Hugs U.
Pass.
20 minutes into the future
This means that their source is Mark Hamil.
3:47 Text from Disney coporate "Just announced the new Star Wars films."
3:48 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:49 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:50 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:51 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:52 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:53 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:54 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:55 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:56 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:57 Missed call from Mark Hamil
3:58 Missed call from Mark Hamil
You don't even know the story of SW E7 and you say its crap ? wow, your an idiot. Wait until they give some hints to the movie and then judge if you want. All I can say is lots of stories in the Star Wars universe are really good; think of Star Wars knights of the old republic for example. ok ok, not the same timeframe but story quality is something I haven't seem for a while. Also true that episode 1, 2 and 3 were not the same quality but thats mainly because they used science to explain the jedy powers which really ruined the mood. Besides, episode 1 through 3 was already known since we had a big idea what was going on in his life. What left a blank to me and would of been great story is from the beginning Anakin used the whole darth vader suit which he his very young up to the point where episode 4 starts which if everyone remember THAT darth vader is old...he aint young.
Hollywood has introduced typical Hollywood people which will take Star Wars, a film loved by many in part because it departed from the Hollywood norm, and turn it into the same old Hollywood dreck.
That's bad, but what's worse is that Lucasfilm will not do any better. After sitting through at least one of the "new" Star Wars movies, I concluded that Lucas has no idea why people loved the original film. Flat dialogue, gratuitous action, and lots of special effects does not make up for lack of a compelling plot or characters, and actors who in no way matched the quality of those in the originals.
Now there's rumor they want to bring back the original cast, who are now in their 60s, and have them re-live their former roles. Unless we CGI them, too, they're going to play older characters, which will either be unbelievable as they take on action scenes, or involve a lot less action.
All of the signs regarding this movie show that Lucasfilm and now Disney have missed the point. People don't want to see "all the familiar things" again. They want a movie that's as good as the original Star Wars, and has the same elements: adventuresome space rogues, conflict between good and evil, cool technology and racing around space at light speed.
What made Star Wars good was related to these elements and a compelling script. Disney is trying to make a new one by imitating the surface traits of that past movie, and will as a result not explore what made the movie great, and therefore will be flogging a dead horse instead of coming up with a new success story.
It won't be animated, obviously, but it probably will be a family-friendly movie... just like the original three were. Lots of the now-older fans forget that, but the movies were very much family-friendly. Not a "kids movie", perhaps, but many of the fans were kids when they first watched it.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
The time to make post-ROTJ sequels was the 80's. The tech ain't advanced enough to fit your vision, Lucas? Really? The original trilogy looked just fine. Might have been ok to wait until the 90's for the sequels. Now? If the original actors are in the background, fine, but as central leads in a brand new adventure? Do you realize how awful Ford looked in the Crystal Skullfucking and realize he'll be years older than that by the time this turd is pinched off?
Oh, right. Nobody cares about quality.
Damn it, every time I think I've finally let go and am no longer caring what they do to the franchise, they come up with some fresh, new obscenity that has me going Joe Pesci.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Making Anakin/Vader a whiny bitch ruined the first 3. It ruined the entire character, just as making Han shoot second ruined that character.
Science can explain a lot and not ruin it, poor writing however can ruin any movie.
Disney will only go further in making sure these movies have no real conflict and that the characters are all two dimensional set pieces. I expect JarJar to be back in a big way.
New stories don't, by default, throw out the expanded universe. The characters in the Expanded Universe are approximately the age of the actors, and efforts have even been made by the EU authors to make Luke kinda beat up and looking like Mark Hamill (whether consciously hoping he might one day reprise the role, or just unconsciously making him look like his template.) The biggest obstacle to using the three original actors in a film that takes the EU into account is Carrie Fisher. She'd need to get in shape (not that's she's hideously fat or anything, just not Jedi Knight fit.) Last I saw Hamill and Ford they could believably play an aging Luke and Han in the EU assuming lots of special effects for Luke's more athletic capabilities (but that would be required no matter what).
I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
Hollywood has introduced typical Hollywood people which will take Star Wars, a film loved by many in part because it departed from the Hollywood norm, and turn it into the same old Hollywood dreck.
I think you have that backwards a bit. Star Wars CHANGED the "Hollywood norm". I am old enough that I saw Episode IV in theaters in the 1970s. Perhaps you aren't old enough to remember it (apologies if you are) but Star Wars changed sci-fi movies, particularly space adventures. It was a change equivalent to the magnitude of the change the iPhone had on the cell phone market. Almost everything since was influenced by the Star Wars movies and much of it for the better. It isn't that Star Wars did something different and then went back. It's that Hollywood changed to match Star Wars and so it was difficult for it to stand out anymore.
Furthermore, George Lucas reached the limit of his talent but not his ego. There were signs of this in Return of the Jedi with the Ewoks and things got worse after that. However the Star Wars universe is pretty rich ground for good story telling so perhaps there is hope that in more capable hands we will see some new movies worthy of the impact of the originals.
I'm actually for this, if they incorporate a story involving Hammil, Fisher, & Ford. I feel it needs that, just as Leonard Nimoy added to the the revisioned Star Trek.
Episode IV was fairly well brilliant. Empire was even better. ROTJ is the letdown.
The only one of the prequels that is bearable is Episode III - I like it about as much as ROTJ which is to say it is fun but not great.
I could not suspend disbelief far enough to enjoy Episode II because of the love story or Episode III because of Episode III, and I was able to suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the first season of Babylon 5 in spite of the incredibly bad acting. Episode I is OK if you watch The Phantom Edit.
I'm assuming you meant "because of Episode II," in which case I agree with both of these statements from you I quoted.
I would rather say, though, that IV was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.... given that I was 10 years old and there'd been nothing like it before (despite it obviously using some tired cliches and borrowing from other movies - nothing like it that a 10 year old would ever have seen). V was the best, VI was a let down, but it was still good and still better than any of the prequels. Of course, this is all just my opinion.
I was terribly disappointed with episode I, but I was like "Ok, let's just see where he's going with this..." and then after episode II I was like "OK, he went nowhere." I might have liked it, but like you, as a mature adult, the love story was just too unbelievable... even Natalie couldn't save the terrible writing and direction. I will say, though, that despite that, I thought III was OK.
Like a lot of others, though, back on topic, I think it can't get much worse than I - III, and without Lucas writing, I think it stands a chance of being much better, and with more eyes on it - IOW, not just Lucas saying "this is my movie, so it goes my way," I think Disney execs are better judges of what will sell. My only problem is the target market for Disney, so if they dumb it down to a kid's movie, then again - ten year olds might think it's fantastic, but us old fans probably won't.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
The Star Wars we used to know
http://saveie6.com/
It will be about the sudden return of Darth Binks, who we all suspected was the *REAL* sith lord of evil within the films.
After all,
* He conveniently appears right after the Jedi manage to escape in Ep 1.
* He manages to hand the republic into the hands of the "sith lord" with his vote on the Military Creation Act, having somehow gained the trust of Naboo after blundering his way as a General in the army.
* He conveniently disappears for the final three films, letting both sides expend all their resources and war funds
So obviously, for Ep 7 he will show up with the armada of left-over space battleships (which were, illogically, not used after the death star exploded again) to destroy the New Republic, first by assassinating Luke.
"Issa gonna be MESSY, bishes!" BAM!
I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.
I'd be OK with having the screenwriter for Cars 3 so long as Joss Whedon is hired as director and rewrites everything he does.
My only problem is the target market for Disney, so if they dumb it down to a kid's movie, then again
Miramax made Kill Bill when The Walt Disney Company owned it. That film was decidedly not intended for preteen children.
Han: Leia you still got that outfit Jaba put on you? *wink wink*
Leia: Sure I do. *YELL - 3PO - I need my outfit back!!
Han: Um, never mind.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Luke has been asked to help open a shopping mall but isn't allowed to fly anymore. So he goes to Han and Lea, asking if they'll fly him cross-galaxy in the Millennium Falcon, now a beat up old ship that's always getting passed on the Kessel run. Unexpectedly, Chewie shows up, having just gotten out of the hospital with a bad case of mange requiring him to shave off all his fur. Along the way there is joy and sadness tinged with melancholy over what was, and in the end they realize it's about their frienships and not mall openings or fur. Guest cameo by Chad Vader as manager of the grocery store in the mall.
The above is the kind of often repeated comment made by a wanna-be movie expert who knows he will be laughed out of the room if he just says Star Wars is crap so he tries to dress it up by saying the 2nd movie was okay because of (never actually specify because that takes knowledge) and the 1st was just popular.
And it is a LOAD OF BULL.
Star Wars was HUGE and not just with 10 years old. There is little point in comparing it with anything else because little else had such impact. Beauty and the Beast (the disney animation) and the Lion King are ALMOST there because they were the only kids movies parents didn't dread having to watch but Star Wars was NOT a kid movie, it was a movie for all ages and ALL ages saw it, on their own AND with each other.
The acting and the story, they are not important to the impact a movie has on history. (one of) The first movie I believe was of a train coming to the camera and scared the shit out of viewers. It has no story but it is important because it was the first time anybody had done anything like it. Some classic movies are now practically unwatchable because our tastes changed but some stood the test of time and are movies that divide the world in those who haven't seen it and those who have and those who haven't can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
"I never seen Star Wars" is a TV show, it isn't called "I never seen Firefly". Loads of people never seen that, it might be a better story it might have better special effects (or not, never seen it) but not having seen it isn't anything special. But Star Wars, EVERYONE has seen. That is part of what makes it big.
Complaining that the special effects are outdated is only said by people who would color Casablanca.
If you write a book about movie history and indeed, popular western culture in the last century, you have to include Star Wars. You can skip over hundreds of movies with far better plots with fewer plotholes and better acting because while those movies were enjoyable, they just did not have the impact Star Wars did. And no, again, not just to kids. My mother was as big a fan as me and countless adults enjoyed it just as much as their kids and as teenagers.
And this was in an age when a lot of movies were getting darker and darker, grittier and nastier and BAM there was one movie made on a shoe string budget by a virtual unknown and EVERYONE was back into Flash Gordon. And yes, thank you, EVERYONE knows the story wasn't the least bit original. That was partly the point, the pundits knew people wanted more substance and George Lucas proved them wrong, this was straight back to the beginning of movie making. Skip the talking and give us ACTION!
And few would get it. Lucas and Spielberg would OWN movies for years to come even as others tried with The Black Hole and Battle Star Galactica. With no real success.
Empire Strikes Back was technically a better movie but it was a sequel to. It never had the same impact, it was amazingly succesful but it was riding on the tails of a far greater movie. Not because the first was the best but because it was the first.
It is the difference between when Hillary went up Mount Everest and when a modern team does it. And if you don't get that, then you are a very sad person.
As for all the hating on Ewoks, that just become a meme for people to scared of getting beat up by nerds if they dish Star Wars to hate on something popular. Hating Star Wars for Ewoks is like hating Star Trek for Spocks Brain.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Very mature insulting people because they dare point out that the holy Star Wars trilogy might (gasp shock horror) have some flaws.
The above is the kind of often repeated comment made by a wanna-be movie expert who knows he will be laughed out of the room if he just says Star Wars is crap so he tries to dress it up by saying the 2nd movie was okay because of (never actually specify because that takes knowledge) and the 1st was just popular.
Who said it was crap? I said it was a good movie with a shallow plot with breakthrough FX for its day that hasn't aged especially well. All of that is true It ISN"T a deep story and wasn't really meant to be. It was meant to be a rollicking fun summer popcorn film and it was. The FX were amazing by the standards of the 1970s. Star Wars didn't win an academy award for Best Screenplay, it won for Special Effects. It's ok to acknowledge the flaws of a work of art and still love the work.
Empire Strikes Back was technically a better movie but it was a sequel to. It never had the same impact, it was amazingly succesful but it was riding on the tails of a far greater movie. Not because the first was the best but because it was the first.
THE most iconic scene in all of the Star Wars movies is when you find out that Darth Vader is Luke's father. You admit it yourself, Empire is a better movie. That doesn't imply that Episode IV is a bad movie. It is a great movie and a tremendously influential one. Every sci-fi movie since owes a debt to Star Wars. And your argument that because it was first it is "greater" doesn't hold much water. The first Star Trek movie is complete crap but the second movie is widely acknowledged to be a terrific film.
As for all the hating on Ewoks, that just become a meme for people to scared of getting beat up by nerds if they dish Star Wars to hate on something popular.
Or if we go with an actually logical and simple answer, the reason people hate the Ewoks is because the Ewoks were a badly conceived and poorly executed plot device that simply didn't work very well. They strain one's suspension of disbelief which is really saying something in a universe where The Force exists.
How's Marvel working out?
Pretty well, considering Avengers is the top grossing film of the year (and third highest ever) and was actually a halfway decent film. And that is exactly his sarcastic point that apparently went over your head. Disney has done decently with franchise acquisitions. Worst case scenario: it sucks as much as the episodes that I like to deny the existence of. More likely: it doesn't suck nearly as much, though whether or not it's good (or great?) remains to be seen.
"you can only light it with the magic word "Somalia"."
When you live for decades under an evil galactic empire which is deposed by violent revolution and creates a a power vacuum that dissolves into clan warfare, you can't expect the peace and justice of the Old Republic to spontaneously blossom.
Personally I'd like to see a Ronald D. Moore reboot, his take on BSG was awesome.....
Ugh. Personally, I'd like to see Ron Moore not work on anything ever again.
BSG had its great moments, but that's only because Moore uses the JJ Abrams style of writing: Continuously up the stakes to make the story interesting. The audience will want to know how it all fits together. How does it all actually fit together? Who cares, when the series ends, we'll come up with something. It won't be satisfying, it won't even make sense, but by then the series is over. The important thing was that we held on to the ratings while it was on.