Comments on: Lucasfilm confirms: Michael Arndt will write Star Wars: Episode VII

By: bill_mcgonigle

bill_mcgonigle — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:26:00 +0000

Which is why Eps 1-3 and 4-6 are set in different universes. Luke ages 16 years, but ObiWan ages a minimum of 50 (more like 100 since he’s a Jedi). “Surely he must be dead by now?” Vader also.
This means Ep 1-3 can get a ‘reboot’ in the consistent universe, and the trash can be properly discarded.

By: miasm

miasm — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:36:00 +0000

Bring back Carrie and Mark!

By: Editz

Editz — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:57:00 +0000

Scrappy Doo!

By: EH

EH — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:03:00 +0000

But a point must be made! Internet!!

By: Mister44

Mister44 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 19:16:00 +0000

Story treatments are vague outlines. Lots of wiggle room.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:09:00 +0000

This is all just so bizarre to me. Sixteen years between episodes VI and I, and III really looked like the end. And then, ten years after III – WHAM! New Star Wars out of NOWHERE! Mind = blown.

By: GlenBlank

GlenBlank — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:54:00 +0000

Actually, if you want to see exactly where the attack-the-Death-Star bomber runs came from, you need to dig up a copy of “The Dam Busters.”

It’s a docudrama account of a British engineer during WWII who developed a special bomb to try to destroy the massive hydroelectric dams in Germany’s industrial Ruhr Valley.

The bomb is a large spinning cylinder dropped from a plane skimming low and level over the surface of the reservoir, which skips across the water surface until it hits the face of the dam, then sinks and explodes at the desired depth.

The plane has to approach at a precise height, holding steady as it flies through the tracers of the anti-aircraft fire from the dam’s gun towers, until it reaches a precise release point. Once the bomb is released, the plane pulls up into a hard turn to clear the dam.

It was used (along with another WWII movie whose name escapes me at the moment) to storyboard the bomber runs on the Death Star. The resemblance is unmistakable.

By: Andy Reilly

Andy Reilly — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Of course there will be more Star Wars films. You don’t let a franchise like that die off, ESPECIALLY if you’re Disney. There’s $$$$ to be had, movies will be made. They will milk every last dollar they can from it.

By: Diogenes

Diogenes — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 15:39:00 +0000

It’s about a bunch of people stuck in a car on a long miserable trip, and the damn camera is stuck with them. Great advertising for commercial air travel.

By: Diogenes

Diogenes — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 15:35:00 +0000

Time travel!!!

By: mysterymoil

mysterymoil — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 15:01:00 +0000

Grandpa Luke Skywalker: Are you listening? Kill a lot of Sith. Not just one Sith. A lot of Sith.

By: ocker3

ocker3 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 13:54:00 +0000

Please give a synopsis of Little Miss Sunshine’s story, perhaps we saw two different films. I’m assuming that you Have seen Little Miss Sunshine??

By: FourFeetOfCurl

FourFeetOfCurl — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:17:00 +0000

I think a film like “Little Miss Sunshine” leads into “Ewoks Raise A Rukus” quite nicely. I’m sure that’s why Michael Arndt was selected for Episode 7.

By: ocker3

ocker3 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 11:56:00 +0000

So you think the guy who wrote the mainstream-culture-challenging film “Little Miss Sunshine” and the at times quite dark “Toy Story 3″ (beloved toy characters facing inceneration??) would write a movie like you’ve described?? Both of those films would be funny for kids, but the layers in them speak volumes to anyone old enough to understand, about facing death, losing your long-held dreams, fighting for your place in the world and sometimes your very survival.

By: ocker3

ocker3 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 11:52:00 +0000

Unless Gungans have a Very long life-span, he’d be dead. Most of the Ep 1-3 chars are dead or very old by Ep 4-6, and Ep 7 is a few decades after that. But I am scared about Jar Jar Jr.

By: niktemadur

niktemadur — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 10:01:00 +0000

who is the lead in that film? What in holy hell is the center of that piece of crap??

As the YouTube review by Red Letter Media/Mr Plinkett pointed out, Episode One has no story arc and the characters are hazy, to say the least.

Then I’m reminded of a potentially similar situation in 2001: A Space Odyssey. But Kubrick is my hero for a reason (so is John Coltrane, but that is another story for another time).
In A Space Odyssey, the hazy humans in the middle act are supposed to be bland and polite semi-drones stuck in a rut. The true arc of the film is nothing less than the evolution of mankind, over a stretch of four million years, from hopeless to transcendent.

Anyway, Lucas has been a very cool, Kubrick-inspired, avant-garde kinda guy, I highly recommend watching the remastered version of THX-1138 over the original one. In the remaster, the new effects were used for adding texture and depth, and they actually turned a good and intriguing low-budget film into a great one. Also, THX-1138 is essential (and compelling) viewing if you want to see exactly where those trench bomber runs in Star Wars (1977) came from. Star Wars. No prefix, no suffix. Just Star Wars.

By: niktemadur

niktemadur — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:25:00 +0000

Did you get any pizza rolls?
I concur, Mr Plinkett is as fun as a barrel full of monkeys and if you’re not careful, you might learn a bit about the art of cinema storytelling before it’s done.

But Plinkett does reviews only. For the full deal, there’s Mike J Nichols, who did “The Phantom Edit” for episodes 1 and 2. That guy knows what he’s doing and talking about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_Edit

By: niktemadur

niktemadur — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:14:00 +0000

I said it in a recent Boing Boing thread and I’ll repeat it here:
Since Irvin Keshner sadly passed away a couple of years ago, pass the torch to Christopher Nolan.
With Nolan, it would mean no more CGI than absolutely necessary. Let’s take it back to the matte paintings.
It would mean some good old fashioned popcorn substance, but substance nonetheless, to sink one’s teeth into.
PLEASE!

By: Nathan Castle

Nathan Castle — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:12:00 +0000

Stop harping on about the ‘expanded universe’. The films are based on story treatments Lucas has already written.

By: Tynam

Tynam — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:04:00 +0000

That’s not actually much of a test. Avengers is a frakkin’ awesome action movie, but it doesn’t have a lead. It doesn’t need one.

By: Tynam

Tynam — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:03:00 +0000

Shhh. If B E Pratt actually didn’t see it, there’s no excuse for spoiling that innocence.

By: Tynam

Tynam — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:01:00 +0000

Exactly. Marcia is (thanks to George) the forgotten figure of Star Wars history, but she was arguably the most important. (The difference between Phantom Menace and New Hope says everything there is to say about the importance of a good editor.)

By: Soul Cake Duck

Soul Cake Duck — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 08:18:00 +0000

There are a ton of story lines in the expanded universe to draw from. If this guy has half a brain, that’s where he will look for inspiration.

By: Mister44

Mister44 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 07:43:00 +0000

This guy from Red Letter Media on youtube has the BEST, LOL critiques of the sequels. He has a back ground in film so he can articulate WHY Phantom Menace sucked so hard, but why the First movies were so good. The reviews are long, but 5 minutes into the first one I was hooked and watched them all at once. There is some dark humor and cussing mixed in, for those of us with delicate ears and minds.

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

By: Mister44

Mister44 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 07:40:00 +0000

re: “That C3PO was a project of Anikin’s childhood is something of a revelation to me”

Seriously – did you not see the first film?

By: Mister44

Mister44 — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 07:39:00 +0000

The two droids were supposed to be the common thread through the whole saga – but I agree it was total weak sauce that 3PO started out as a project by Anakin.

It would just be nice to see the old characters of Luke, Han, etc again. Though they are getting up there and maybe a film focused on them wouldn’t be a good idea. The next generation would be a natural progression.

OR like you said, a whole new set of films with new characters ect might be cool too.

By: B E Pratt

B E Pratt — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:25:00 +0000

Eh, sorry, but that does make sense. The droids were always to be the thread. That C3PO was a project of Anikin’s childhood is something of a revelation to me. Just shows how little attention I could muster for that crap.

By: FourFeetOfCurl

FourFeetOfCurl — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:20:00 +0000

Star Wars Episode VII: Ewoks Raise A Ruckus

On his last mission before retirement, Luke Skywalker leads a squadron of young Jedi cadets to put down a brewing Ewok rebellion and restore order on the Ewok home planet.

Meanwhile, R2D2′s CPU has been mistakenly installed into a garbage droid, and it’s up to Chewbacca to sort out the terrible mess before Han and Leia get back from house shopping on Tatooine.

By: HubrisSonic

HubrisSonic — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:08:00 +0000

George Lucas.

By: B E Pratt

B E Pratt — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 05:59:00 +0000

Ok, I was sad when it seemed like there would be no promised third part. Then again, I saw Episode One. God, what a train wreck. I once accidentally saw that at the food stamp office. The sound was off, but it didn’t matter. What I saw was one fucking unholy mess of film. Jesus! It was just awful!! Here’s a test: who is the lead in that film? What in holy hell is the center of that piece of crap??