Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
John Boyega and Daisy Ridley have returned to London, with both attending yesterday’s Star Trek – Live in Concert at The Royal Albert Hall. Boyega’s also engaged in some very relevant reading… All that and more below the cut.
Continue reading “Back in London: Dispatches from the Episode VII cast”
Carrie Fisher has been out and about lately, first in an interview with BBC Radio Wales (as reported by Digital Spy) and at the Hay-On-Wye literary festival.
She told the BBC that she’s “fighting for the buns, but that’s always what I’m doing. I think they should make an appearance if I just walked by a rocket window and I was in buns,” and would also appreciate the gang going and getting their nails done as a respite from all the blasting and lightsabers. (There you have it: The female agenda is Star Wars spa time. Really. We swear.)
At the festival, she revealed that aside from the script reading we’ve seen, she’s also done costume fittings and rehearsals for Episode VII, but not any actual filming yet. That’s expected to start in a few weeks.
John Boyega particularly has been very sharey this week… Nothing particularly sensitive, but it is fun to get these quick glimpses. More Instagrams and tweets beneath the cut – including, finally, confirmation that that is Daisy Ridley’s Twitter. (If the photo wasn’t enough…)
Continue reading “Ice and camels: Dispatches from the Episode VII cast”
Singing twins in Episode VII? Jedi News has seemingly found some evidence that actress Thea Shengelaya and her sister Liana have spent a few days filming on Epiosde VII. The two sing together as the Healer Twins.
We’ve already seen some evidence, but Lucasfilm and Abu Dhabi’s twofour54 announced today that they are indeed currently filming in the UAE. “We were very excited to start the filming of Star Wars: Episode VII in Abu Dhabi,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement. “It has been an incredible place to commence this journey.” J.J. Abrams “and cast” (we’re not sure who) flew to Abu Dhabi “in early May.” Hundreds of crew are working currently, and “key production staff” have been working with the locals since January.
Fans can also win a chance to be in the film, as part of A Force For Change, a new initiative with UNICEF.
The Hollywood Reporter’s sources say they’re recreating parts of Tatooine there, as one might expect from the clip, which bears a strong resemblance to the Mos Espa market in The Phantom Menace. Variety has a few more details on the financial arrangements.
Now on to important matters: What the hell is that thing on the right?
I’m not quite sure where this leaked originally (it’s not on any of the expected official accounts, though it’s certainly not giving away any spoilers or other sensitive information) but ScreenCrush has a note from J.J. Abrams to the cast and crew of Episode VII. (Apparently, from the copy of script supervisor Dawn Gilliam.) The translation:
Dearest Cast and Crew, What an honor it is to work beside all of you, on Star Wars Ep VII. I can’t thank you enough, for all work past and future. Let’s take good care of not just ourselves, but of each other. Amazing, but true: the world awaits this film. Let’s give ‘em something GREAT. xo JJ
The Episode VII clapperboard pic was taken in Abu Dhabi, per the Instagram geolocation info. (via)
Mark Hamill: “I would be the most reviled person on the planet,” if he had turned down Episode VII. We already knew about he and Carrie Fisher’s Celebration lunch with George Lucas, but the quote about “angry townspeople with torches” is sadly probably true. Shameful, but true. This is not a gentle fandom.
Report: Legal woes over extras casting contracts may tangle some Episode VII production, per the Daily Mail. Or, y’know, there’s always ILM, Lucasfilm/Bad Robot staffers and green screen for those “big crowd scenes.” (via)
Buried under some ‘Han Solo is going to die’ blah blah blah, Latino Review claims that additional Episode VII roles may go not only go to the previously-rumored Maisie Richardson-Sellers, but also to another young British actress, Katie Jarvis. Two more women is one more than we were expecting, so that’s hopeful.
They also say Adam Driver is definitely not Solo offspring and that John Boyega and stormtrooper armor are headed for Abu Dhabi. Or maybe Orlando.