We may not get an extensive behind-the-scenes book on the making of any of the new Star Wars movies for decades, if at all, but at least we’ll get something for The Last Jedi: Writer/director Rian Johnson told /Film that Lucasfilm is planning to release a book of his great black-and-white set photos. And you know what? I’ll take it. Johnson’s photos have been one of my favorite parts of the runup to the movie.
Books detailing the making of The Force Awakens and Rogue One were planned and scheduled and perhaps even (partially?) written, but never saw the light of day. A photo book might not give all the juicy details, but it’s certainly better than nothing – and aren’t the photos usually the best parts, anyway?
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.
The charity auction for the custom Louboutins has begin. (Currently in the lead is the Amilyn, for $9,500, followed by Rey, Rose and Phasma.) In true collector fashion, each auction winner will come away with two pairs of the shoe – one signed by Christian Louboutin and the actress, and a second “in the size of your choice” – which means yes, you CAN wear them.
A new featurette takes a look at the locations of The Last Jedi, and it’s chock full of behind-the-scenes footage of filming in Croatia and Ireland, plus a few tiny new clips.
The Last Jedi press conference (and junket) was held on Sunday, and while it was low on news, an official video has now been released so you can comb through it for details on your specific foci. It had fun moments, but you can feel the exhaustion pouring off all these poor people. Moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Anthony Breznican, it features Rian Johnson, Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson and Andy Serkis.
Jimmy Kimmel Live was almost all Star Wars last night. As expected, it was low on revelations, but Rian Johnson did reveal the first word of the film, and we spotted a couple of familiar faces in the audience…
We got a pair of new commercials overnight. The first, which debuted during a Disney Christmas special, features some new Poe Dameron, BB-8 and Rey footage. The other commercial has a porg!
The big feature today was Rolling Stone’s cover story, which talks to a good chunk of the cast and reveals some shocking facts – like Adam Driver not knowing what emo is, which is a shame. It also gives us this priceless quote from Daisy Ridley:
“It’s somewhat a reflection of society,” acknowledges the saga’s new star, Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, and who has gone from unknown London actress to full-blown movie star nearly as fast as her character went from desert scavenger to budding Jedi. “But also it is escapism, because there are creatures and there are people running around with fucking lasers and shit. So, I think, a wonderful mix of both.”
Fucking lasers and shit. Star Wars! For a less sweary take on the subject, Rian Johnson:
“That’s one thing I hope people will be surprised about with the movie,” Johnson says. “I think it’s very funny. The trailers have been kind of dark – the movie has that, but I also made a real conscious effort for it to be a riot. I want it to have all the things tonally that I associate with Star Wars, which is not just the Wagner of it. It’s also the Flash Gordon.”
There’s plenty more – consider this one a must-read.
It was John Boyega’s turn on the publicity rounds today, as he stopped by Good Morning America and Live with Kelly and Ryan. And Kelly Marie Tran is on The Star Wars Show. I believe this is the first we’ve heard that she’s narrating the Cobalt Squad audiobook?
Her Universe’s new collections have launched at Torrid and Hot Topic, with many items inspired by The Last Jedi. They’re both beginning with some very different selections, but we have reason to believe (hope!) that all items will eventually span both stores. (I am really loving the Kylo Ren dress and the Leia cape sweatshirt.)
“His training of Kylo Ren is not yielding what he wants,” Serkis says. “Therefore his anger towards Kylo Ren is intensified because he can’t bear weakness in others. Part of the manipulation is goading him with Hux and playing them off against each other.”
They’re not promising all the answers on Snoke – Johnson compares him to the Emperor in the original trilogy and says “a story is not a Wikipedia page,” but there’s a lot more here than I expected. And sometimes? A bare outline is enough.
