Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
John Boyega is taking his Star Wars sci-fi cred to the Shatterdome – he’s signed on to play the lead in the upcoming sequel to Pacific Rim. Not much is known about the sequel, but his character will be the son of Idris Elba’s character from the original. Boyega will also be a producer.
The film will be directed by Steven S. DeKnight. The first film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, came out in 2013.
#WearStarWarsEveryDay hits Day 150 and crosses over into June with Week 22! Thanks to Tony, Christian, Paul, Shannon, Caitlin, and Mike for all the shirts I showcase this week: Wookiees, stormtroopers, and R2-D2, including some representing the Inland Empire Squad of the 501st Legion and the podcast Coffee with Kenobi. Plus I might reveal too much about my special Day 150 strategically placed sock! This review for Week 22 covers May 27 to June 2 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.
But the big news is that some of you answered the call to boost donations! Big thanks to Beth and Ian for their one-time donations to Collateral Repair Project. Let’s keep that streak going as I aim to complete six months by the end of June! Why not chip in $20 to celebrate this milestone. $20 is enough to provide a mattress to a refugee.
Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!
In the comic shops this week will be Poe Dameron #3 and Darth Vader #21. Only 4 issues left of Vader, which will wrap up with #25.
If it’s Legends you’re out for, Timothy Zahn’s Specter of the Past has been on sale for $1.99 in Kindle for the past few days, though Visions of the Future is still regular price. The Hand of Thrawn duology, which wrapped up the Bantam era of publishing back in the late ’90s, is a Club Jade favorite. (If you’re new, I do have some Legends recommendations over at my sadly neglected personal site.)
Our next new novel is still just over a month away. Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Life Debt is dropping July 12 in hardcover and eBook. Del Rey gave a look at the book’s dedication last week. (And the first book in that series is also still on sale at Amazon.)
Entertainment Weekly’s Anthony Breznican has reached out to Lucasfilm sources to check out what really behind all the Rogue One reshoot brouhaha that’s been going on this week.
Lucasfilm isn’t ‘officially’ commenting on the rumors, but given that EW has been one of their most frequent choices for film reveals in the past few years, this is probably as close as we’re going to get. Here’s the rundown:
→ The reshoots were indeed preplanned, though they have been moved back to summer to allow for adjustment. They expect to lock picture in August, with scoring beginning in September – earlier than The Force Awakens, which locked in October.
→ They are not reshooting 40% of the film, as Making Star Wars claimed yesterday. If that was the case, the film would likely have been pushed back.
→ The reshoots “have everything to do with clarity and character development” and are parts of larger scenes that are already shot. “It’s a lot of talking in cockpits,” one insider said.
→ One reason the reshoots are for such a long period has to do with scheduling the actors. With things being pushed back, the actors have other commitments that need to be worked around.
→ Christopher McQuarrie contributed to an earlier draft of the script, but is not involved at the moment. EW did find another script collaborator, though: Tony Gilroy, who came aboard in the spring and “has even been recruited to consult on other Star Wars projects.” He has a long association with Frank Marshall and also worked on Edwards’ Godzilla. He will act as a second unit director for the reshoots.
→ There have been other rumors/fears flying that the film is being “watered down” to appeal to the traditional Disney demographic. These accusations are unfounded, EW says, and Rogue One is still very much a war movie. The only people within Disney who’ve seen it are CEO Bob Iger and studio chief Alan Horn. There’s no feeling of “meddling” from the parent company, EW sources say, just gratefulness that they allowed the schedule alteration.
→ There have been no test screenings with the public. (Did anyone ever really buy that one?)
→ And, in what is no surprise to anyone, we’ll see more of Rogue One at Celebration Europe in July. Expect to be blown away.
Read the whole story at Entertainment Weekly.
Making Star Wars’ Jason Ward dug into his sources regarding the Rogue One reshoots, and he got a fairly detailed (though not spoilery) breakdown of just how much there is to be done, why they need so much time, and what the mood of the crew is.
UPDATE: Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, who worked on the script, says he is not supervising the reshoots. (MSW says he’s “helping out.”) “For any outlet to say so is not only wrong, it’s irresponsible,” he tells Slashfilm. “Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker who deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
MSW also found out that Scott Z. Burns did an earlier pass at the script.
Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest, a documentary-style series about collectors and their collections, will debut on Comic-Con HQ in the fall.
The video-on-demand service, which will also feature a show from Ashley Eckstein’s Her Universe, plans to launch this summer on Roku, AppleTV and Amazon.
ILM’s Dennis Muren answers fan questions, tabletop gaming, and a surprise message from the Centrists in the fourth episode of The Star Wars Show.
Also mentioned: Audience voting for the Star Wars Fan Film Awards, Martin Panchaud’s A New Hope infographic adaptation.
Fans can now buy super-accurate The Force Awakens prop replicas made from the original 3D data. They’re pricey, ranging from $3,500 for the melted Vader helmet to $1,250 for the lghtsaber hilts, but I have no doubt there’ll be plenty of buyers. They’re available for order now at collectibles.starwars.com.
A report emerged yesterday from Page Six claiming that Disney executives are worried about Rogue One, that that the movie is “in crisis,” and that they are thus having do – gasp! – reshoots.
Now, here’s a ‘scoop’ for you: Reshoots happen on all big effects movies these days, to the point where they are planned in advance. They are standard. It’s not an unusual move. Rogue One may indeed have some issues, but there’s plenty of time yet to refine it. So reshoots alone are not a reason to panic… And a report from Page Six alone is not going to make me worry.
In other news, the Queen is on the cover of June’s issue of Vanity Fair, meaning we’re not getting a Rogue One spread just yet. I’m beginning to suspect we won’t see it until the publicity machine really kicks in – probably the fall. And no, that’s not a reason to panic, either.
UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has weighed in – a source a bit more hefty than Page Six. Their source says director Gareth Edwards’ first cut was “a solid showing,” but “anything less than extraordinary won’t do.”
And here’s what they have to say about the aim of the reshoots:
The goal of the reshoots will be to lighten the mood, bring some levity into the story and restore a sense of fun to the adventure.
As we recently learned from Oscar Isaac, a similar thing happened with The Force Awakens, a similar thing happened with The Force Awakens reshoots, which brought in the film’s first bit of lightheartedness – the “who talks first” line.
We’re doing some Star Wars math for this week of #WearStarWarsEveryDay! I had 7 Star Wars shirts, lent by 7 Star Wars fans, for 7 days, and that adds up to Week 21! Thanks to Carrie, Todd, Margaret, Mike, Anastasia, James, and MediocreJedi for all the cool wear I showcase this week: aloha shirts and plenty of other cool threads, including some representing Chicago Force and Rebels Report. This review for Week 21 covers May 20 to May 26 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.
But there’s a big fat zero this week when it comes to donations to Collateral Repair Project.- maybe you can do something about it for next week as I hit Day 150 today, Sunday, May 29th! Perhaps just $15 to celebrate this milestone. Please please help me out! This month has been pretty slow on the donation front. Do I need to offer a new incentive?
Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!