Making Star Wars has a brief description of Finn’s first scene in Episode VIII. This is fairly mild as spoilers go, but consider yourself warned.
Lupita Nyong’o has (now) shot her Episode VIII scenes
It’s been two weeks, and now Lupita Nyong’o tells Ellen DeGeneres that she has filmed for Episode VIII. Could this development also have something to do with Carrie Fisher having to pull out of some days at New York Comic Con?
Adam Driver on Star Wars directors and how the Episode VIII script has “nuance and ambiguity”
Adam Driver is the latest Star Wars star to show up at the Toronto International Film Festival. (We previously heard from Lupita Nyong’o.) He’s actually there for Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, but of course no one can resist asking him about Star Wars.
In the Toronto Sun, Driver praises Star Wars directors J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, citing their “very specific vision.” He went into further detail (on director technique, anyway) with Collider, and compared the VIII script to Empire… Sort of:
It’s great. It’s similar to how The Empire Strikes Back has a different tone. For that people always go “oooh, it’s dark” but I don’t know that it necessarily is. It’s just different in tone in a way that I think is great and necessary but also very clear. He trusts [that] his audience is ready for nuance and ambiguity. He’s not dumbing anything down for someone and that’s really fun to play.
He also talks about originally being overwhelmed with the scope of Star Wars, and how Abrams helped break that down. A full interview will be coming to Collider soon, and Patterson will be in theaters at the end of the year.
Video: Yet another look at Rebels S3
Disney XD has a new 30-second spot for the upcoming third season of Rebels, which debuts later this month. (via)
Lupita Nyong’o hasn’t shot for Episode VIII yet
In an interview with Collider, Lupita Nyong’o said that she hadn’t yet shot for Episode VIII, which wrapped primary photography in the summer. “That’s in my future,” she said of working with VIII director Rian Johnson.
Nyong’o was announced as part of the VIII cast when production began, and Johnson did share a picture of what appeared to be motion capture of her character, Maz Kanata – a test, perhaps? (Part of me wonders now if they swapped in Maz for another digital character who has yet to be revealed or finalized. Or maybe she’s just part of the standard demo?)
The most logical answer for when Nyong’o films for VIII would be the ubiquitous reshoots, which probably won’t happen until next year. In the meantime she has Queen of Katwe opening at the end of the month and Marvel’s Black Panther coming up for 2018.
The Force Awakens debuts on Starz, and how I finally joined the 21st century
The Force Awakens begins its run on the premium cable channel Starz today. While currently available On Demand and in the Starz app, it will air on the actual channel at 9:00pm tonight. (There may be live-tweeting!)
Also available are the extra features from the two Blu-ray releases – several behind-the-scenes documentaries and cut scenes.
To celebrate the release, Starz contacted me (along with several other fans, I believe) and sent me a Google Chromecast and access to their app. I do have Starz through my cable package, but I’ve never ventured much beyond that. (Yes, I am fitfully behind the times in my TV-watching technology – I didn’t even have a functioning flatscreen TV until late last year.) Setup on the Chromecast was simple – it requires a power outlet, a HDMI slot and an iOS or Android device to act as the remote. I set it up, grabbed Starz from the app store for my iPhone, and was streaming the special features to my TV last night in under twenty minutes. (You will need an existing Starz subscription, but once that’s set up, you can also watch directly on the app.)
This morning, I powered it back on and, boom – The Force Awakens itself. Next up – moving the Chromecast to a currently defunct flatscreen that’s been gathering dust in a cable-less part of the house…
Video: New The Force Awakens VFX reel
ILM has posted a new VFX reel for The Force Awakens, giving us new look behind the (digital) scenes of the film.
This week in Episode VIII: Mark Hamill drops some tiny beans
Mark Hamill appeared this weekend at Salt Lake Comic Con, and while he was (naturally) tight-lipped about Episode VIII, he did drop a few things: Namely, that he’s a part of “an intense action FX sequence” that was being shot at night.
You can watch a video (via) of his appearance below, or head over to Big Shiny Robot for a recap.
→ In the realm of rumors, Making Star Wars has some possible details on some things that relate to Rey’s vision in The Force Awakens.
→ Every other ‘new’ rumor you’ve heard lately originates from Reddit. And what do we say to Reddit rumors? Not today.
Beardwatch 2016 is over: Mark Hamill shaves his VIII beard
Mark Hamill has finally gotten rid of his Episode VIII beard, in a video shared to Facebook and Twitter. Hamill wrapped on VIII in June, but he (and the beard) will return for Episode IX.
Daisy Ridley: Episode VIII title probably not coming for “a while”
Daisy Ridley appeared on the comedy podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno and dropped a few vague comments about Episode VIII.
First of all, don’t expect the title for some time:
I heard a title, but I don’t know if it’s going to be that. I really don’t know much about anything. I heard it, but I heard it a long time ago, before we started filming. So I feel some things have tweaked slightly during production. It’s going to be a while before it’s released, I imagine.
Pablo Hidalgo told us back in July that the film doesn’t have a title yet, so it seems likely they have options to consider or some firm ideas, but nothing quite set in stone yet. The Force Awakens, as the first live-action film in a decade, was an outlier in a lot of things. VIII announcements aren’t – and don’t need to be – on the same schedule, particularly with Rogue One coming up.
(And remember, TFA had the title Shadow of the Empire at one point.)
Daisy also said that Rey “maybe” gets a new outfit. Romance also got a “maybe,” but she went as far as to say:
The thing is, I read this article the other day. It was talking about being in love with your friends and how like, that is the ultimate thing. So I think romance covers a lot of bases.”
The Star Wars stuff comes on at the end of the podcast, beginning at about the 25:00 mark. (If the site audio doesn’t work for you, it is on iTunes.)