Hey kids! You want a Last Jedi blooper reel?

Here’s one! It has the infamous 27 slaps, a surprise from (we assume) BB-8 and hugs.

And another! Even more Oscar Isaac shenanigans, an overenthusiastic wind machine and John Boyega’s big bio-hexacrypt problem.

Man, I love these things.

Forces of Destiny is back on March 19

Disney has announced that we can expect the next set of Forces of Destiny shorts on Monday, March 19. All eight new episodes will debut at 10:00 a.m. PT (1:00 p.m. ET) on Disney’s Youtube and Disney.com. The special will air on the Disney Channel the following Monday (March 25) at 9:50 p.m. ET/PT.

Voices include Mark Hamill (Luke), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka), Vanessa Marshall (Hera), Catherine Taber (Padmé) and Matt Lanter (Anakin).

Titles, descriptions, and images in a gallery under the cut. Continue reading “Forces of Destiny is back on March 19”

Carrie, crystal foxes and more in latest The Last Jedi behind the scenes featurettes

A few new behind the scenes clips have emerged since we last checked in. The first, on Kylo’s choice to not kill Leia, features a new priceless quote from Carrie Fisher. The second is on the crystal foxes (err, vulptices), finally giving us a long-awaited look at the actual dog-wearing-straw-costume used to help develop them. And from yesterday, how a Ralph McQuarrie painting from Empire inspired the final showdown and a bit on the red of Crait.

Continue reading “Carrie, crystal foxes and more in latest The Last Jedi behind the scenes featurettes”

The Last Jedi behind-the-scenes with Andy Serkis, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac and Daisy Ridley

With The Last Jedi home release imminent, several behind the scenes clips and featurettes have been released. There’s an interview with Andy Serkis on Snoke at Entertainment Weekly; Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher and The Slap at People; Daisy Ridley and Rian Johnson on Rey at E!.

Continue reading “The Last Jedi behind-the-scenes with Andy Serkis, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac and Daisy Ridley”

Crybabies edit The Last Jedi down to a 46-minute ‘chauvinist cut’

Some sad, scared little men edited almost all the women out of The Last Jedi. Their version is 46 minutes long, less than half the actual running length, cutting out most of Holdo, nearly all of Rose’s lines, and of course Luke milking the thala-siren. (No boobs allowed!) But the best part? The reaction of the actual men involved in the movie.

Continue reading “Crybabies edit The Last Jedi down to a 46-minute ‘chauvinist cut’”

The Last Jedi: More pictures, how the Rey/Kylo scenes were filmed, Story Group and more

Disney has posted a few new The Last Jedi things on their award site, including several new stills, an extended score, production notes and the BAFTA Q&A with Rian Johnson and the cast.

Rian Johnson talks to People about how they filmed the “Force connection” scenes between Rey and Kylo Ren. Remember those paparazzi shots of Adam Driver flying into Ireland with Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill, and all those rumors of a big fight scene with the Knights of Ren? Jokes on us. Johnson has another wide-ranging interview over at the Daily Beast. He also explains Snoke’s big scene and the Kylo shirtless scene.

The NYT takes a look at the women behind Lucasfilm’s story group, mainly Kiri Hart. It’s not just Pablo!

You’ll never guess what from the Legends EU made it into the movie. Sort of. Hey, at least it’s not something Courtship of Princess Leia this time.

On that note, there’s a ton of meta happening on Tumblr. I’m reblogging a lot of it and hope to do a roundup of the highlights here, but for the moment, an analysis of “the sacred Jedi texts.” (There’s plenty more coming – the fandom is prolific and I have a ton of backlog in the drafts folder.)

Tech corner: Neal Scanlan on how they built the film’s creatures, and again | Visual effects supervisor Ben Morris on creating Crait and the Earth equivilants | How Yoda was rebuilt | The movie’s sound design | The creation and science of that silent hyperspace scene.

It’s the night before Star Wars, and George Lucas has weighed in

The Last Jedi script originally called for 160 sets, which is “a ridiculous amount of sets,” production designer Rick Heinrichs told The Hollywood Reporter. The production ended up having 125 sets at Pinewood. He also reveals that George Lucas visited the set… And on that note, he’s seen the movie as well, calling it “beautifully made.” In London, Rian Johnson said: “To have a chat with him and to have him be so kind and gracious felt really good.”

StarWars.com has the first excerpt of Cobalt Squadron, a middle-grade novel that features The Last Jedi’s Rose and Paige Tico. The book by Elizabeth Wein (Code Name Verity) will be out Friday.

This week’s Star Wars Show takes us back to the World Premiere with a behind-the-scenes look at creating the livestream.

Continue reading “It’s the night before Star Wars, and George Lucas has weighed in”