Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Although there are some rumblings that filming isn’t quite done for all, Saturday night was the wrap party for Episode VII. John Boyega posted a photo with Artoo and a video to his Instagram, and later shared another from the party. Naturally, the paparazzi were there. (Yes, Simon Pegg was there, so get ready for another round of ‘does he have a role?!?‘)
And you can get a closer look at the Artoo – presumably the same one used during the filmng – at Indie Revolver.
Well, if the beard wasn’t sign enough, we now have even more proof that filming on Episode VII is wrapping up: A goodbye letter to cast and crew:
Last day on set for some friends today! #StarWarsEpisodeVII #StarWars pic.twitter.com/ydrxbdpGS5
— James Rose (@AdmiralPellaeon) October 31, 2014
You can just see, in the very top of the picture, the VII hat that we’ve seen around before.
Of course, we knew this was inevitable, as it’s been two weeks since we last heard from Kathleen Kennedy, but it’s sad to see the proof rolling in.
…And then there’s Carrie Fisher. Is #blondewatch still a go?
Just realized it’s Halloween meaning I’ve been in costume all day & didn’t get any treats. Thoughts? I’m all ears, even my ass is an ear.
— Carrie Fisher (@carrieffisher) November 1, 2014
→ Mark Hamill is still in the U.K., but the beard is gone. The beard is no more. #Beardwatch is dead. Long live #beardwatch!
→ John Boyega and Daisy Ridley make Vulture’s list of future stars to watch out for.
→ We still have plenty of rumors, though. Making Star Wars describes concept art of our young heroine, a new droid, and some thoughts involving the Arndt draft.
In an article on IMAX, Variety reveals that J.J. Abrams only used the format for only one sequence. Here’s the graph:
“The benefits outweigh the headache of shooting on Imax cameras,” says Abrams, who used them for a single sequence in “Star Wars.” “The opportunity to have an action sequence for this movie done in Imax’s natural format was too delicious an idea to pass up. As a filmgoer, it’s something I want to see.”
Thanks to the photo proof, we know that IMAX cameras were on site for the Abu Dubai shoot – but also (unconfirmed) that Abrams had a whooping three of them on hand. Sounds like it’s going to be one hell of an action scene.
The article understandably focuses on a film that uses more IMAX and is coming out next week: Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.
→ I know the geekerwebs are all about Marvel right now, but the big (‘big’) Episode VII rumor today has been yet another ‘leaked’ piece of concept art. Several sites are backing it up (Making Star Wars, Indie Revolver) but my gut instinct is that this is the Karen Gillan’s wig for Knights of the Old Republic fans. (Bias of note: Nothing KOTOR-related is ever going to get me excited.) In short, meh.
→ MSW, meanwhile, has been theorizing about the opening sequence and the villain’s ‘haunting embrace, plus some speeder details.
Will we get our first look at an Episode VII starship in a June book? It’s an Amazon listing, and we know what trouble those can be… (For one, the publisher is listed as… Reader’s Digest?) But by June, we’ll also most likely have a trailer and/or a handful of stills. Still, this is our first sign of an Episode VII book tie-in of any sort.
→ A source has told the John Williams Fan Network that Williams has received a trailer for Episode VII from J.J. Abrams, has already written the music for it, and will be scoring on November 15th. Jason at Making Star Wars points out:
My bet has always been we would not see a trailer until Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015, 8 months before Star Wars: Episode VII is released. But Trek friends have let me know that each time Abrams did a film, he did a teaser with stuff not from the film itself and that could mean we are about to see something for Christmas. The one thing I will say, is I have heard we would see the Star Wars “kick off” really begin at about the one year mark before the film and this lines up really well with that.
The earliest teaser for Star Trek Into Darkness I can recall definitely had footage, but I probably wouldn’t have bothered to cover one here that didn’t. (Well, not for Trek, anyway.) I hope there is a December teaser for Episode VII, even if it’s just old footage and a title – but Disney, you’re still not going to get me to see Into the Woods.
→ Taking a beeline to the standalones for a moment – Cinematographer Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Snow White and the Huntsman) has told Hitfix that he’ll be working on the Gareth Edwards Star Wars film that’s aiming for December 2016.
→ The Irish Examiner has some technical details on the Skellig Michael (aka Sceilig Mhichíl) shot, which was significantly scaled down.
→ Also at MSW, we have the last of the new alphabet fighters and more on Han Solo’s wardrobe.
→ Just when you think we’re free of Benedict Cumberbatch… He admits he’s been to the set. UGH.
Things continue to be slow…
→ The rumor/spoiler parade just doesn’t end at Making Star Wars: Do Han and Chewie go on a mission? Does a hero dress like a stormtrooper? And did a set spy get a picture of one of the new kinds of stormtroopers?
→ #Beardwatch! Mark Hamill still has his. Plus a doggy! Also on Instagram, John Boyega works out with buzzwords.
→ Some of the Episode VII crew went out yesterday to celebrate Carrie Fisher’s birthday. The article is from the Daily Mail and thus awful, so here’s the pictures.
→ Daniel Radcliffe has visited the Pinewood set; he knows folks there due to Harry Potter, naturally.
→ Christina Chong still hasn’t been confirmed, but her management says she’s wrapped her part on Episode VII. (via)
→ Abu Dhabi nabbed Star Wars from Jordan at the very last minute, according to a new article in The Hollywood Reporter.
→ Harrison Ford is flying around England, while John Boyega and Lupita Nyong’o are either hanging out with his likeness or they both have the same one. Mystery!
→ And finally, in the possible spoiler department, Making Star Wars describes a ship that is either very Falcon-like or an alternate Falcon model. Jason has also seen two more alphabet fighters and X-wing concepts. And then he heard from someone who witnessed some filming at Pinewood.