The big news today is StarWars.com confirming that John Williams will be recording The Force Awakens score in Los Angeles, the first time a Star Wars score has been recorded in the U.S.
But I’ve been sitting on a few other things, so:
→ There was some scuttlebutt about how Oscar Isaac said he would be excited to work with Episode VIII director Rian Johnson, and (of course) the internet jumped on that as proof his character survives Episode VII. Now, I’d be very surprised if Poe Dameron kicks it that early, seeing as we suspect – with very heavy assistance from the trailer – that he’s one of the new Big 3. But for what it’s worth, /Film sought a clarification from him, and there’s your lesson in making hay out of Star Wars news for the week.
→ And now the rumors/spoilers: Making Star Wars had pieces on Kylo Ren and his connection to some earlier concept art, some stuff on Poe Dameron and Finn from early in the film, plus a look how things fit together from there. Then there’s some concept art of Ren and how it may connect to ‘Captain Phasma.’
Thankfully no one here has been flipping out about this. I want to point out that many times scores are recorded in London to avoid paying the union musicians in LA, not because there’s anything more magical about London’s musicians. It’s not necessarily an indication of anyone’s health or cares about tradition and is probably more about Disney having a higher budget than Lucasfilm had in the past.