Currently involved in Star Trek movies, JJ Abrams will soon start directing the next episode in the Star Wars franchise. Previously JJ had turned everyone down. It was a combination of money, a lack of time and a dedication to Star Trek that had seen him say no. It does seem like every television or movie has some JJ Abrams in it. I think it is a great hire. If you want people to not criticize your choice then JJ is the way to go. I thought that Kathryn Bigelow would have been a good choice too. She can do action, but JJ has that extra crazy out of this world stuff he does combined with Star Trek and he is the perfect choice.
YES!!! Having a Nerd-gasm!!!
ReplyDeleteYES!! I am a happy nerd today.
ReplyDeleteDynomite!
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of Nerds - my sweet BF made me read an article explaining the proper way to watch all the Star Wars films.
ReplyDeleteWatch them in this order 4, 5, 2, 3, 6. And throw that shit #1 in the trash!
dia, great list!
DeleteIt's called Machete Order.
Deletehttp://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/
Thanks, dia.
DeleteEpisode 1 should be banned from ever been watched again.
Deletedia, I thought episode 3 was really great, but by that stage my hubby refused to watch because of 1 & 2. Thanks for this.
DeleteOur guitarist Justin is gonna SHIT!!!
ReplyDeleteMay the lens flare be with you.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteSo excited! Can't wait to see it. Was so disappointed in the last ones, I hope these really bring it back to the greatness of the original movies. Excited that original cast is back too.
ReplyDeleteThe last three were real letdowns. I doubt I'll even try with these.
DeleteLOL @dee123, JJ loves his lens flare!
ReplyDeleteI love JJ so I'm excited. I'd go see this movie no matter what. I went to the midnight showings for most of the new ones (if only for my Ewang!) So hopefully this movie will be great!
RCB - Ewan and Liam were the only good things!
ReplyDeleteBut those films could have been so good. It was a classic case of an artisté being told yes too many times.
If you have time read that article I posted, it's long but he ropes you in. Your inner nerd will NOT be disappointed :)
What I like about JJ he is thoughtful about the genre and content of the movies he works on. Any other producer would of thrown some shlock together and pumped out a Star Trek movie a year. But JJ waited until the script is right and takes time with the CGI.
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited about this also.
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ReplyDeleteEvery time you delete a comment I feel like I missed something amazing and extra bad
Delete@dia, I read that article and that's how I'm going to show my nephew the films! He hasn't watched any and he's starting to get into SW (mostly thru toys he got for christmas) now if I can only get him to love LOTR!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see more lens flare brought to the Star Wars franchise. It was something that hasn't been used nearly enough in it.
ReplyDelete(/sarcasm off)
Foster that sci-fi love! LOTR may be a bit advanced. but what about The Hobbit cartoon.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think if the new Hobbit?
Can I ask your opinion? I am a huge LOTR geek and while I enjoyed The Hobbit, it wasn't in the same league as LOTR.
DeleteAs someone with mad love for the recently departed Fringe series, this is great to hear.
ReplyDeleteI just got into it thanks to Hulu
DeleteCool Beans...
ReplyDelete@Dia, don't be upset but I still haven't seen it! I don't have many friends/family members who love LOTR except my brother and hes been busy with his babe so hopefully soon I will go, even if I have to go alone! Fun fact, my brother is way older than me and I was in HS when the original LOTR came out and he would take me out of school early to go and see them on opening day! He had to pretend he was my dad in order to get permission for me to leave! Yes, i have the best brother!
ReplyDelete@dia- I wasn't too impressed with the storyline. I know Jackson included what Gandalf did when he left, but in the movie he's always there. Basically, if you've never read the book you will like the movie.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little nervous. I loved Fringe but he didn't really have much to do with it. Lost was amazing but ended with epic fail. And Star Trek, he blew up Vulcan so I'm still not handling that well.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so very happy! And I liked 1 better than 2 and 3 but that's probably because of my intense dislike of Hayden Christiansen.
ReplyDeleteI second showing the Hobbit cartoon to any child you want to hook into the nerd-iverse. My older boys both loved it and it was the perfect intro to LOTR.
Now off to read the article Dia linked...
I love you all so much more now that I know you're all nerds, too!
ReplyDeleteIt's not even confirmed. The "source" that every article continues to cite is the main article written on speculation in The Wrap. Nobody from Disney, Lucasfilm, Bad Robot or Abram's reps will even respond to calls.
ReplyDelete@whocaresnow12 - You're such a fucking killjoy. It's Friday and we're trying to be happy trashy gossip-reading nerds. Must you piss all over our cupcakes? Jesus H Christ. We finally get something that doesn't involve LiLo or Kartrashians or Teen Moms and we're all having a good time and the BAM! Get over yourself. Even if you are some kind of connected insider we don't care (which answers the eternal question "who cares now").
DeleteGo @Lucas :)
DeleteAMEN Lucas!
DeleteI agree that if anyone can save the Star Wars franchise, it's JJ HOWEVER--he should know that it is time to let the damned thing die, the first three (last three? so f'ing confusing) were stand alones....the last three (first three?) were absolute GARBAGE and the best director in the world can't save poorly written, money-grubbing shyte.
ReplyDeleteHe'd be better to focus on the Star Trek films. Now, if he could get Ewan to appear in those.....
It has been so long since the first 3 that I think they can cast Mark Hamill as Yoda and Carrie Fisher as the guy Jedi mind tricks don't work on.
ReplyDeleteHobbit!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to spoil anything for RCB (your bro sounds awesome!) But I will say that I watched it twice. First time, hated it bc it was so different from the book. Second time, watched without any expectations, and liked it. From a purely story telling point of view it does work. Just have to ignore the differences and hope that Jackson's changes will lead to better things. I haven't read the book since 7th grade and my memory is a bit foggy so maybe it was easier for me.
However, I would totally see it again. Yes for a third time.
Alas, even Abrams can't go back in time and un-botch the three prequel films of the series.
ReplyDeleteI still do not, to this day, understand how a guy who had the narrative vision to create THX-1138 and American Graffiti so titanically screwed up the seminal, mythological epic that is Star Wars. He so clearly had it right when he plotted out the first three. Nothing special, of course. Basic pulp serial stuff, but such a crisp vision of how simple, elemental narrative elements can be leveraged in the medium.
And then he so utterly jaked it when he tried to complete his vision. Like film-school failure bad.
I feel like Lucas just got too full of himself and this world he created, and either no one would tell him he was off base or he got rid of anyone who did.
ReplyDeleteMy 17 year old can go on for hours about how Lucas ruined his own creation, so proud to have raised a good nerd.
whocaresnow12 isn't an insider. She works in post.
ReplyDeleteBack to Lucas, how do you take the likes of Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Sam Jackson, etc. and turn them into walking timber on celluloid? With all that budget how do you not see what an utter catastrophe you're getting in the dailies? It takes almost deliberate malevolence to make actors that good look that crappy in performance.
I didn't say I had inside info on this, but I do know that nothing has been confirmed and another A List director was in negotiations on the 21st.
DeleteHas anyone seen Fanboys? There is a hilarious epic showdown between Star Wars and Star Trek nerds. I'm not sure how the hardcores will handle this.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love about it is that JJ will shoot it in live locations and have a sense of humor - something that was sorely lacking in the most recent Star Wars segments. I love CG as much as the next nerd, but I think that was a huge area where Lucas went wrong.
I loved Fanboys! Hee Hee!
DeleteJules nailed it. Lucas seems to be the same type of person as Michael Jackson, Howard Stern and Oprah: Surrounded by sycophants for so long they actually convinced themselves their farts smell like fresh apple pie.
ReplyDeleteAnother parallel between Lucas and Stern that I've heard, they both feel the privilege of working for them should be payment enough, and treat employees like shit.
@yodelay, that was actually the first thing I thought of when I read this yesterday. Somewhere, someone's head is exploding right now at this idea ;)
ReplyDeleteI think you guys are onto something about Lucas head getting too big and that's why the most recent films were screwed up and the first three were great. I like JJ so I'm hoping he gives us something good. I would be so dissapointed if its garbage. @Dia, thanks for the link, have to go read it :)
ReplyDeleteAbout the Hobbit, I haven't watched it yet ( with two under 5 is hard to get away) but I've been missing LOTR so much I will probably like it unless its total crap.
My only beef with The Hobbit is that it moved a little slow, which was a result of cramming in a bunch of visually stunning bits that weren't necessary to the narrative. I get wanting to show off the 48 fps in 3D, but like every flick I've seen in 3D this one was not at all improved by the 3D.
ReplyDeleteI'm clearly in the minority, so that's why I'm putting this out there. The second trilogy of movies was done WAY better than the first, and I think the only reason people think otherwise stems from nostalgia. With the first three movies, no one had ever seen anything like it. Now we just take all the CGI and everything for granted, so it's no big deal. People have an emotional reaction to the first trilogy. But in fact, the acting and dialogue are pretty awful. And yes, I thought Jar Jar Binks was adorable too!
ReplyDelete@Cee Kay
DeleteI think that comment is grounds to get you committed ;)
I think the 4-6 movies had much better characterisation and acting. The dialogue was also better. That's why I like them more, sure I saw them when I was younger, but not when they first came out, it's not a nostalgia thing for me.
There is a bunch of stuff about George Lucas being an arrogant sod - one funny read was bry a guy called 'the shaddow' (I think) who apparently worked with Lucas, and is a massive sycophant. All the stuff he's trying to say to make Lucas sound, in the immortal words of Katie Holmes, 'amazing,' end up missing him sound like a total dick.
Is anyone here a fan of the Pinkett reviews? "He" does a 70 minute review of The Phantom Menace (and a lot of other movies) that are brilliantly funny. Please, check this out for just one minute and you will be hooked.
ReplyDeletePlinkett Review of The Phantom Menace
A friend of mine is taking a UCLA screenwriting course and she sent this link to her professor and he sent it to everyone in the class. Not only is it funny, it's insightful as hell.
Mango, great referral, thanks.
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ReplyDeleteJJ admitted that he used way too much lens flare, and promised not to do it again. He was just a kid with a new toy.
ReplyDeleteThey must have really wanted him. (With good reason.) They must have either thrown a ginormous amount of money at him, or changed the timing to accommodate his schedule.
"... like every flick I've seen in 3D this one was not at all improved by the 3D."
ReplyDeleteYou must not watch horror movies. They actually put the 3-D effects to very good use, with flying weapons, body parts, and boobs. In my opinion, it's the only genre that benefits from 3-D.
HATE HATE HATEEEE this!
ReplyDeletebad enough we had those shitty prequels
BAD ENOUGH he went in and infused the original CLASSIC with parts from the SHITTY PREQUELS... why even add to it
all involved are millionaires juiced it for all its worth, just leave it alone
This means that John Williams will not be scoring these next movies. It'll be Michael Giacchino.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't right.
@Lucas
ReplyDeletelol, you almost knocked me off my chair. I don't think I've ever seen you write such a strongly worded post! :-)
@CanadianMiss - It just tweaked me that we couldn't just have fun and be happy on Friday without Whocares trying to bring it down. There has been so much fussing and cattiness lately and this one was an opportunity to avoid it. I dunno, sometimes my fingers move faster than my brain.
Delete@Lucas - high five!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a little longer than it needed to be too. I watched it in both formats and hated the 3D version.
I have to say when compared to the George Lucas disaster that was 1, 2, 3 - I think Jackson did a great job. It was watchable and not ridiculous!!!
@jason blue eyes - My father loved classical music and John Williams was kind of my hero bc of my dad. That's really sad that he won't be involved. His music IS Star Wars.
@CeeKay...I was just going to say something similar. The prequels suck ass, however...(and I say this as a huge SW fan with an even bigger fan for a daughter) Lucas is in no way, shape or form a dialog master. Go back and listen to the originals, the dialog is hokey as can be. But the special effects!!!! I remember going to see Star Wars (I will never call it "A New Hope" screw that) and being completely and totally blown away by the effects. Now we are all CGI experts and you can't have all CGI and no story anymore...and that's what the trilogy is (well that and they cast the WORST child actor in the history of child acting). Add in that Lucas screwed with canon and, well...the prequels were a mess.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, the new movies are going to be written, directed and produced by others and I think Disney will be extremely careful in their desire to cater to a long term, hugely profitable franchise.
Oh, and confirmed or not, JJ would be an awesome choice.
I really enjoyed the Hobbit. It kind of wandered from the books and they could have cut the first 30 minutes, but overall it was quite enjoyable.
ReplyDelete(And Richard Armitage...Thorin...is totally hot.)
Even back in 77, 80, 83, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford talked about the ridiculous dialog, how stilted it was. Ford would rephrase things, and Fisher always has cracked on her "vital to the survival" speech.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Mark Hamill might not make such a bad Yoda! Maybe not in looks, but he does a pretty spot-on impression of Yoda -- and an equally good Harrison Ford one!