Star Wars Episode VII - Official release date

[Telefrog]

Image #9 of the alleyway looks very similar to the sets they built for Episode 8 in Dubrovnik.

[Desslock]

ILM posted some cool concept art on their page. Gorgeous stuff, even if not all of it made it to the screen.

I love the last one, with the TIE Interceptors (which never made an appearance) outside of a gothic fortress on a lava planet. They really tried to fit every sort of planetary location from the original trilogy into this movie.

[TranquilityBase]

I didn’t know TIE fighters could land like that (#8).

[Telefrog]

Footage from Daisy Ridley’s audition.

[Daagar]

I love that the concept art was translated pretty much 1:1 into the movie - I thought concept art was usually just to give a rough outline of how things should look - instead, this looks like art created from still frames of the actual film.

[AustinArlitt]

Yeah, the concept artwork was on a level of detail & complete realization that I’m not sure I’ve seen since Lord of the Rings.

[sharaleo]

Yeah, the concept artwork was on a level of detail & complete realization that I’m not sure I’ve seen since Lord of the Rings.

And Star Citizen…that’s going to be a movie, right?

[CraigM]

So the fun of digital movies. Apparently the bonus features are only listed on the web browser for copies. However if you load it through the app on your TV or BluRay player, it only gives the actual film.

Got it sorted, but confused me for a bit. Most deleted scenes and features are interesting, I always have found the craft to filmmaking to be intriguing. There was no deleted scene (at least with the digital copies) that had the scene with Leia and her representative to the Republic, as many of us hoped. I wonder if it was because the length. I think the longest deleted scene topped out at just over a minute, most in the 20-40 second range. I’d imagine that Leia scene would have been longer.

But the movie? Still enjoyed it. Even more convinced who Rey is, what Luke is doing, and who brought Rey to Jakku. Knowing what my initial impressions were, and watching for hints in that direction, I’m like 75% certain that Kylo is the one who dropped her off, and that there is some familial connection. We’ll find out in a little over a year I guess.

[RickH]

Even more convinced who Rey is, what Luke is doing, and who brought Rey to Jakku. Knowing what my initial impressions were, and watching for hints in that direction, I’m like 75% certain that Kylo is the one who dropped her off, and that there is some familial connection. We’ll find out in a little over a year I guess.

“No, Rey, I am your cousin.”

No, they wouldn’t match Empire beat-for-beat, would they? I wish I could say no with confidence. I guess I’ll know when Ep8 does or does not start on a snow planet.

[RayRayK]

“No, Rey, I am your cousin.”

No, they wouldn’t match Empire beat-for-beat, would they? I wish I could say no with confidence. I guess I’ll know when Ep8 does or does not start on a snow planet.

It’ll be a snow planet with a Resistance base on it and a giant nipple cannon, but don’t you dare call the planet Hoth!

[AustinArlitt]

But the movie? Still enjoyed it. Even more convinced who Rey is, what Luke is doing, and who brought Rey to Jakku. Knowing what my initial impressions were, and watching for hints in that direction, I’m like 75% certain that Kylo is the one who dropped her off, and that there is some familial connection. We’ll find out in a little over a year I guess.

I’d go so far as to say that the vision scene isn’t even consistent with any other interpretation.

[CraigM]

I’d go so far as to say that the vision scene isn’t even consistent with any other interpretation.

Yeah they don’t explicitly state it, but the careful framing indicates they absolutely are hiding that fact. But the ship flying off is the same style the First Order uses as the troop transport.

And, yeah, definitely a tombstone on Luke island.

[John_Reynolds]

I’m surprised no one linked this yet.

[Telefrog]

One last update on Harrison Ford’s lawsuit against one of the sub-companies involved in the production of the movie for his broken leg.

‘Star Wars’ Firm Guilty of Health Violations Over Harrison Ford’s Broken Leg

[quote]
London-based Foodles Production acknowledged that it broke the law on the Pinewood Studios set. It pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to ensure workplace safety.[/quote]

[quote]
“In the original film, the door…would have been closed with a pulley and a stagehand just closing it,” Ford said. “But now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a f—ing great hydraulic door which closed at light speed.”[/quote]

[sharaleo]

You know those little lasers that stop elevator doors from closing? Yeah, I am betting they skimped a few bucks and decided one of those was not required.

[Rock8man]

Disney CEO Says Star Wars Creator George Lucas Felt Upset and Betrayed When...

Lucas was upset that they weren’t using his trilogy outline that he sold to them.

And when he was finally shown the new film, he was pretty disappointed.

Recently, Iger shared the story of Lucas’ reaction to Star Wars: The Force Awakens upon his first screening. The CEO chose to include the anecdote in his latest book, Iger’s The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company , and it was there Iger said Lucas “didn’t hide his disappointment” over The Force Awakens.

According to Lucas, there was “nothing new” about the film which caught his eye or interest.

“In each of the films in the original trilogy, it was important to him to present new worlds, new stories, new characters, and new technologies. In this one, he said, “There weren’t enough visual or technical leaps forward.” He wasn’t wrong, but he also wasn’t appreciating the pressure we were under to give ardent fans a film that felt quintessentially Star Wars,” Iger explained.

As much as I dislike the fact that JJ Abrams went with yet another death star (basically), at least we were spared more Lucas madness.

As Lucas told it, the trilogy was “going to get into a microbiotic world,” exploring a “world of creatures that operate differently than we do.”

“I call them the Whills. And the Whills are the ones who actually control the universe. They feed off the Force,” Lucas said. “If I’d held onto the company I could have done it, and then it would have been done.

[SlyFrog]

“I call them the Whills. And the Whills are the ones who actually control the universe. They feed off the Force,” Lucas said. “If I’d held onto the company I could have done it, and then it would have been done.

Good god, saved from dreck by wretched mediocrity.

[Telefrog]

Yeah, I remember when Force Awakens came out and Lucas said similar words to that effect in an interview. He criticized the movie for not “showing the audience something new” and said he was proud of how his prequels did.

Which, I guess, is a valid point. I’m just not sure that Lucas’ ideas of new stuff is really what anyone cares about in Star Wars. Midichlorians seem to be a massive misunderstanding of what the audience thought The Force was about.

[SlyFrog]

Yeah, I remember when Force Awakens came out and Lucas said similar words to that effect in an interview. He criticized the movie for not “showing the audience something new” and said he was proud of how his prequels did.

Which, I guess, is a valid point. I’m just not sure that Lucas’ ideas of new stuff is really what anyone cares about in Star Wars. Midichlorians seem to be a massive misunderstanding of what the audience thought The Force was about.

One of my favorite quotes is, “In order to wear the mantle of Galileo, it is insufficient to be oppressed, you must also be right.”

I think there could be a corollary for things like this - it is insufficient to be original, it must also be good.

[Woolen_Horde]

George Lucas Says He Sold ‘Star Wars’ to ‘White Slavers’