For better or Wars

November 1, 2012
Peter Bradshaw

Those of us who grew up with Star Wars never recovered from the turgid horror that was The Phantom Menace. Will the new sequels rescue Luke Skywalker and co?

Episode Seven! It has been a rumour ever since the houselights came up on the most recent Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith, in 2005. In fact, Star Wars creator George Lucas had been talking about it way back in the late 1970s; he had hinted at a prequel trilogy which finally came to pass in 1999 with The Phantom Menace and also a sequel trilogy, taking the story onward from where it appeared to finish with Return of the Jedi in 1983. So we're going to get Episode Eight, Nine ... and maybe more.

Episode Seven is the jewel in the acquisition crown: Disney has bought George Lucas's production behemoth LucasFilm for $US4.02 billion: George Lucas gets a head-spinning payday and a big shareholding in Disney, and Disney itself gets the rights to the still-far-from-exhausted franchise goldmines such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The movie business wants guaranteed earners: rebooted, reinvented, reimagined.

Yet that doesn't prevent a sinking of the spirits as Episode Seven begins its long crawl towards us, scheduled to appear in 2015. Really? Another one? It's like hearing that JK Rowling was readying another three Harry Potter movies for Warner Brothers.

We all remember the terrible let-down of The Phantom Menace. Oh, the disappointment at how boring it was, how dramatically obtuse, how extremely terrible the characterisation of Jar Jar Binks. There was something very wrong there, a sense of misjudgment that never lifted, even when Anakin Skywalker underwent his great, mythic transformation at the end of Revenge of the Sith, when all that prequel history finally came to the dramatic point. Was it just that we were all older and that we were sentimentally loyal to our younger selves, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?

Maybe. And maybe the failure of The Phantom Menace, a critical failure itself extensively mythologised (though it came up smelling of roses commercially), will vanish as a new generation of fans comes to remember that as the gold-standard of their own youth. But I'll never forget my first viewing of Episode Four in a shopping mall near Boston, Massachusetts in the summer of 1977 - and freaking to that irresistibly corny, syrupy, exclamatory theme from John Williams.

So how will Episode Seven play out? The narrative has been thrashed out in the fan community, with hints from Lucas himself over the years, and a now-discredited story arc was laid down by Star Wars Expanded Universe author Timothy Zahn in the early '90s. It is not known if Zahn will have anything to do with writing this new movie, but Lucas will not be directing. That will be a plum job for someone, and names such as Brad Bird and Andrew Stanton have been mentioned online.

But if Episode Seven is set a few decades further down the line, then we have the intriguing and rather exciting prospect of bringing back Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill (respectively 56, 70 and 61 years' old) in their original roles. For once, we would have some of the old-fashioned, forward-facing narrative interest that was stymied with The Phantom Menace, and our sense of having grown old with the movies will now fit, and make sense.

It could be that this original trio will be merely an incidental gerontocracy, there to be wise and all-knowing with a younger generation. But I'd hope that the story might still revolve around them, particularly Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia, whose character could playfully mirror some of Fisher's own chequered life-story. Or perhaps we could focus on the relationship of Leia and Solo, now married, and there could be a poignant study of their elderly existence together, rather like Michael Haneke's Amour, but set in space. Of course, it could be that Disney and Lucas will think it more interesting to have the original characters still as their younger selves, in which case using the original cast is not workable. But it would be a shame to ditch these iconic faces.

We live in hope. Episode Seven might well just look silly and cynical and tired. But with a new creative team in place, it could be like Sam Mendes's Skyfall - a fresh and witty new version. Just as George Lucas in 1977 was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, maybe the creators of Episode Seven will take something from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, or Bong Joon-ho's The Host, or Tony Jaa's Ong Bak. The Star Wars myth could regain what it had lost: force.

Guardian News Service



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/for-better-or-wars-20121101-28m3j.html#ixzz2B425e11O

However, just some food for thought, Star Wars Episode 10 is expected to be in cinemas in 2043

Star Wars rumours: Harrison Ford ‘open' to returning to galaxy far, far away, Matthew Vaughn tapped as director

From: news.com.au November 07, 2012 10:13AM

NOW that the shock of new Star Wars films has worn off, the rumour mill has started up in earnest.

..Fans are desperate for any scrap of news and yesterday the web offered up two juicy rumours that didn't immediately read like they've been cooked up in someone's basement.

The first is that Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels producer and X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn has been tapped for the job of continuing the Star Wars saga.

Movie site Collider reports that Vaughn dropped out of directing the sequel to X-Men: First Class last month mainly because he was in talks with Disney and Lucasfilm chiefs about directing Episode VII.

The second rumour is the juiciest and also the most surprising: that Harrison Ford may reprise the role that made him famous, Han Solo.

Entertainment Weekly quotes a "highly placed source" that like Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, who played Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, Ford is "open to the idea of doing the movie and he's upbeat about it".

Ford wasn't all that keen on bringing back Han for Return of the Jedi - he had hoped that George Lucas would kill the character off - and generally comes across gruff when discussing Star Wars.

Although none of these reports have been confirmed, Episode VII is set for release in 2015 and given that Star Wars films are a huge undertaking Lucasfilm is bound to be in the process of sounding out directors, writers and actors.

Expect some announcements from Lucasfilm early next year but until then, fans can dream of that Han Solo death scene.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/movies/star-wars-rumours-harrison-ford-open-to-returning-to-galaxy-far-far-away-matthew-vaughn-tapped-as-director/story-e6frf9h6-1226512055323

I'd like to see a movie bridging the two trilogies, detailing the further fall of the Republic, execution of the Jedi's and chronicling the rise of the Empire. I'm not sure what to make of this as I hope they aren't butchered but Lucas has created a very diverse universe and seems like the sort of bloke who knows what he's doing leaving this in the hands of a new generation.

ill go see it but it will probably be crap, what is it going to be about? new jedis or something?

they cant fuck it up anymore then Dragonball Evolution

As pre-production of Star Wars: Episode VII begins, Lucasfilm has confirmed that award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film. As revealed in the ongoing video series posted here on StarWars.com, Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have begun story conferences with Arndt. Arndt won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for writing Toy Story 3 (2010)

I laughed out loud :lol:

That was the singularly the biggest abomination to the original of anything in human history.
It was so bad I can't even begin to fathom the words to describe it. Not just how it completely misrepresented the original.. but just on it's own it was one of the worst most disjointed nonsensical dumbed down movies ever made.
14/100 on Rotten Tomatoes :lol:

Edited by neanderthal: 9/11/2012 03:14:45 PM

I think Disney should do a remake of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Bring back Chewey's wife!

Star Wars: Episode 7′ Story Already Finished By ‘Toy Story 3′ Writer?
It didn’t take long for the Star Wars rumor mill to start functioning at full capacity again, once the Walt Disney company formerly announced that it is purchasing Lucasfilm from George Lucas and plans to release a third trilogy beginning with Episode VII in 2015. The news broke over 10 days ago now, but people around Hollywood are still reeling from the unexpected news; not to mention, the easily-excitable Internet masses have gone into overdrive, debating the benefits and drawbacks of this development (in ways both serious and not-so-serious).

We heard some rumors about prospective directors for Episode VII earlier on this week, with candidates including Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) and Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class). However, today we have a nice juicy rumor about who has written the screen story for the new installment.

Mark Hamill revealed last week that plans for a new Star Wars trilogy have been developing for over a year now, so it would make sense for a story treatment for Episode VII to have been written by now (seeing how we’ve heard the plan is to cover a new original story). Vulture has been told by its “informed sources” that such a 40-50 page treatment has indeed been finished, by none other than Oscar-winner Michael Arndt.

Arndt won his Academy Award for scripting Little Miss Sunshine; some four years later, he picked up an additional Oscar nod for his Toy Story 3 screenplay. He has since contributed to the scripts for the upcoming Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller Oblivion and Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, as well as Pixar director Peter Docter’s followup to Up (with the playful working title The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind). Hence, it would make perfect sense for Disney and LucasFilm to recruit Arndt to write up a story treatment for Episode VII, given his established relationship with the Mouse House (in combination with his stellar output to date).

Arndt’s history lends further credibility to this Episode VII rumor, as he’s overseen numerous writers’ retreats in the past; specifically, ones where he traditionally breaks down and examines the effectiveness of Lucas’ screenplay for the original Star Wars installment, Episode IV – A New Hope:

The Episode VII story treatment from Arndt reportedly sets the stage for both Luke and Leia Skywalker to return in some capacity – along with Han Solo and (by extension) possibly other important characters from Episodes IV-VI. Nothing is set yet, of course, but we know that Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher met with Lucas to discuss the third Star Wars trilogy last summer; moreover, Harrison Ford recently announced that he is indeed open to the idea of reprising his role as Han Solo.

It’s also worth mentioning that Arndt’s treatment reportedly calls for “much older” versions of these characters, so the stage would be set for all three stars to return to the franchise (assuming this element of Vulture‘s scoop is accurate). Suffice it to say, there should be more than enough fan support for the trio coming back – even if the Skywalker siblings and Han Solo end up serving little purpose beyond bridging the gap between the second and third Star Wars trilogy (a la Leonard Nimoy as the older Spock in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot).

On that note, Abrams is also name-dropped as one of the individuals who will be receiving Arndt’s treatment for Episode VII. Other big-name contenders are said to include Lucas’ BFF Steven Spielberg (who was offered the chance to direct Return of the Jedi back in the day) and Brad Bird. The latter of those two filmmakers is a very popular choice among fans for tackling the Star Wars franchise, based on his work on such do-daring action-packed titles as The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. However, these individuals are considered long-shots right now.

It also needs to be emphasized that this is all technically RUMOR (until we report otherwise, at least). Nonetheless, if Arndt has indeed written a story treatment for Episode VII, then there’s a good chance he’ll be involved in the actual screenwriting process (which would be welcome news indeed). Furthermore, it’s not surprising to hear that the cream of the crop are being looked at to direct – but is quite encouraging, all the same.

UPDATE: Deadline is now confirming that not only has Arndt written a treatment for Episode VII, but the entire third Star Wars trilogy. Furthermore, the site has been informed that he will indeed begin working on the script for Episode VII next year.

UPDATE 2: The official Star Wars site has confirmed that Michael Arndt is scripting Star Wars: Episode VII.

What is this crap i hear about bringing back Vader.

Edited by aussie4ever4: 16/11/2012 01:06:50 AM

Star Wars: Episode 7′ Story Already Finished By ‘Toy Story 3′ Writer?

That Michael Arndt news is old. Been around for about a week now.

What is this crap i hear about bringing back Vader.

Edited by aussie4ever4: 16/11/2012 01:06:50 AM

So long as SLJ still plays Mace, I'll be happy.

:lol: please let this be true :lol:

Look at you, mr 'Star Wars Hipster'.

I was interested in the fact all 3 scripts had already been written.

Ewoks aren't cute, they kick a***, says cutest Ewok in the village

From: news.com.au November 27, 2012 9:53AM

NEXT to Jar Jar Binks, the Ewoks look like Shaft, but hardcore Star Wars fans still treat 'em mean.

..But Warwick Davis, who played the cutest Ewok in Return of the Jedi, is fighting to save their reputation, possibly with a view to getting more work when the new Star Wars films come out.

Davis told UK free sheet Metro that the Ewoks weren't teddy bears, they were warriors.

"There are Star Wars fans who don’t appreciate Ewoks for what they were. We kicked arse and helped the rebels defeat the Empire. Without us, what would have happened? But some people see Ewoks as an excuse to sell merchandise; they were 'too cute' and so on.

"That's a minority view within the Star Wars community. When I go to the events, everyone is usually happy to see me. Those are the sort of people who look forward to playing the Star Wars video games where you get to be a Stormtrooper and kill Ewoks. They know who they are."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/movies/ewoks-arent-cute-they-kick-a-says-cutest-ewok-in-the-village/story-e6frf9h6-1226524714575