Tag: jj abrams

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J.J Abrams talks Episode VII, plus a great fan poster

Fan art: Episode VII poster by Adam Schickling Empire talked to director J.J. Abrams about Episode VII and Star Trek. No real revelations, but some intersting comments for fans of the franchises.

“I don’t know because we’re just getting started. So it’s a great question that I hope I’ll have a good answer to when I know what the answer is. There are infinitely more questions than answers right now, but to me, they’re not that dissimilar. Though I came at these both from very different places, where they both meet is a place of ‘Ooh, that’s really exciting.’ And even though I was never a Star Trek fan, I felt like there was a version of it that would make me excited, that I would think ‘that’s cool, that feels right, I actually would want to see that.

“How we were going to get there, what the choices were going to be, who was going to be in it – all of those things I knew would have to be figured out, but it was all based on a foundation of this indescribable, guttural passion for something that could be. It’s a similar feeling that I have with Star Wars. I feel like I can identify a hunger for what I would want to see again and that is an incredibly exciting place to begin a project. The movies, the worlds could not be more different but that feeling that there’s something amazing here is the thing that they share.”

He also talks about how Kathleen Kennedy was able to change his mind, and about talking to Steven Spielberg.

And above is a fantastic fan poster by artist Adam Schickling!

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Roundup: Whedon says Star Wars should “move forward,” Billy Dee is up for a return

whedonWhat if? When asked about the Star Wars standalone films by Digital Spy Joss Whedon says he wouldn’t bring back the original trilogy characters like, as rumored, Han Solo and Boba Fett. Yeah, I’m with him on that: These standalone options we’ve thus heard are by far the weakest part of this whole new era for me.

Actors. Billy Dee Williams told attendees at Emerald City Comic Con that he hasn’t been approached for Episode VII, but that he’d be all for it. Meanwhile, Zoe Saldana wants in. “I want to be a sexy something, like a princess from another planet,” she told E! at the Oscars.

Expect this to continue. In perhaps an effort to keep Star Wars from overtaking the press cycle for Star Trek Into Darkness, J.J. Abrams said it’s “too early” to talk about Episode VII. Diplomatic, but are people going to stop asking? Probably not.

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Rumor: Episode VII to focus on Solo kid, grandkid; Lucasfilm wants Zahn for three novels?

SEQUEL TRILOGY RUMORS: Take seriously at your own risk.Nerdvana‘s ‘insider’ tells them that the new film will focus on a child and grandchild of Han and Leia’s – which may or may not give hope to those wedded to the novel continuty. On that note, the source claims “there are three new books we want Timothy Zahn to write.” Novelizations? Intriguing…

And here’s what they have to say about Abram’s contract:

JJ’s contract has a clause for all three movies and an additional three of Lucas/Disney choosing if everyone melds well on the first one. This is typical of these types of contracts; gives everyone an out if needed.

They also say that the Big Three have contracts already (right…) and that George Lucas himself has nixed the Yoda spin-off: He’s “a supporting character and will stay that way.” That last one I actually hope is true.

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Video: First look at Star Trek Into Darkness

Paramount released a new featurette video: a first look video at the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness, with director J.J. Abrams describing the film as ‘upping the ante’ and ‘everything I’ve ever done, wrapped into one movie’ while Chris Pine calls it ‘relentless’. And a handful of clips, mostly from the previously-released trailers, though there are a few new shots. At least, I don’t recall someone dropping some antacids into water in earlier teasers. And some BWAAAAAAAANH! BWAAAAAAANNHH!

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Roundup: Star Wars authors consider future movies, Ewan down with a return to the desert

X-Wing: Mercy KillPonders. Christian Blauvelt asks eight Star Wars authors (Drew Karpyshyn, Paul Kemp, Troy Denning, John Jackson Miller, James Luceno, Michael Reaves, Christie Golden and Aaron Allston) what they’d like to see in Episode VII and the other new films. Lots of love for the EU and female characters, naturally, which is more than I can say for most of the other wishlists that have been popping up daily.

Spin-offs. Ewan McGregor continues to voice his willingness to return as Obi-Wan. “I don’t know what he did in the desert,” he tells MTV. “We could make up some stuff.”

Superfans. Kevin Smith is (still) very excited. Though his casting for a young Han Solo is… the worst I’ve seen yet. Hopefully for the LULZ.

Video. J.J. Abrams D.I.C.E keynote speech.

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Shatner calls Abrams a ‘pig’ for taking Star Wars gig

ShatnerYou can always count on Crazy Fandom Grandpa William Shatner to fan the tired old Star Wars vs. Star Trek flames.

“He’s being a pig,” Shatner told Movie Fanatic. “He’s probably the most talented director of that ilk we have. But, he’s gone too far this time.”

Looks like Abrams is going to get a real tongue-lashing from the Captain next time they meet up… Maybe he should draft Shatner’s ‘nemesis’ Carrie Fisher for backup?

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Roundup: Will Episode VII feature a Lord of the Rings transplant as the big bad?

John Noble in FringeActors. An Australian DJ (?!?) is claiming that John Noble will be playing the villain in Episode VII. You probably know Noble as Fringe’s Walter Bishop, or from Lord of the Rings, where he played Denethor, perhaps Middle-Earth’s least stable father figure. Like Walter Bishop, I have my skeptic face on.

Abrams alumni Keri Russell would be down for Star Wars, because once again, who’s going to say they don’t want to be in Star Wars?

And finally, Ewan McGregor doesn’t know anything about the new movies, but it seems like he’s still game. He’ll be talking about his new film, Jack and the Giant Slayer, on Ellen this Friday.

The once and future directors. HuffPo’s Mike Ryan has a great article exploring the Star Wars directors thus far. And at the Star Wars Blog, Bonnie Burton has the relevant quotes from her past interviews with J.J. Abrams.

Solo, solo. Hollywood.com’s Christian Blauvelt talks about casting (and writing) a younger Han Solo with Scoundrels author Timothy Zahn. Since the conversation naturally turns to casting Thrawn, Zahn spoke a bit more about casting his characters back on January’s book tour for Scoundrels.

Video. J.J. Abrams talks about Star Wars, Star Trek and the mystery box in a TED Talk from 2007. (via)

Money matters. George Lucas has filed to cash out his Disney stock – the 37,076,679 shares that were half the purchase price for Lucasfilm. (Note: The move doesn’t mean he has to or even will sell immediately, just that he can.) In any case, it was announced early on that Lucas would donate the company’s purchase price to fund “educational issues.”

Lists. Empire has nine characters who deserve a spin-off. They’re all dudes, naturally, but step over to Alyssa Rosenberg’s blog for five women who should be in Episode VII.