Oolite Bulletins

Disney has apparently just bought Lucasfilm and has announced that Star Wars VII will be released in 2015!!

http://starwars.com/future-of-star-wars ... index.html

Holy cow.

Hopefully Lucas will be made to take a step back and NOT write and/or direct.

Oh dear - hey-ho!

Mr Lucas will continue as a creative consultant.

I wouldn't be too worried about that. Gene Roddenberry was creative consultant for every Trek film from Khaaaaaaaaaan until he died, but he had very little ACTUAL input. He was given a preview, allowed to complain, then duly ignored.

Thing is, as a creator Lucas is very very good. His stories are very good and very engaging. The overview of the Star Wars saga is fascinating and sounds magnificent. His problem is that he can't write dialog and can't get decent, engaging performances out of actors whose ability is perhaps below par. Haydn Christensen is an actor. Whoever directed Jumper managed to get a decent performance out of him, but his performance in SW was pants. Utter pants. Bad dialog, badly delivered.

Lucas' ability to write a coherent sequence of events and provide decent motivation and logic to enable one event/scene to follow on from the other is POOR. Example: "I have the high ground, Anakin". That's a piss poor "excuse" for Obi-wan being able to dice and slice the somersaulting Anakin on Mustafar. Does Lucas not remember his OWN script for Episode 1, where the STUDENT Obi-wan, dangling from the precipice of a looong tube, with the evil and EXPERIENCED Sith lord Maul standing over him, managed to cut him in half and send him tumbling to his doom? Apparently not.

As long as decent scriptwriters and directors are involved, Lucas can consult as much as he likes. He'll likely get an overall say in the story arc, but no say in the scene-by-scene play of the film.

EDIT: I just thought of a good example that proves my theory - The Clone Wars cartoon. This series has proved that with Lucas in creative control but with scripts coming from other people and acting being directed by a half-competent chap, Star Wars can be magic again. They've even managed to make Jar-jar and Anakin sympathetic and likeable characters and provided a depth to the universe that has been lacking.

Selezen wrote:

I wouldn't be too worried about that.

Heh - not really being a SW fan, I ain't at all worried!

I will see them of course, but expect to be disappointed.

(As I was the JJ's "re-imagining" (aka "fecking about with canon of") Star Trek)

[As I expect to be with "The Hobbit" - which will no doubt be great films - but not actually "The Hobbit" - saw Trailer before Skyfall last night - and it left me more worried about it not less)

Well, the Hobbit trailer was much what I expected after keeping up with the development: more-or-less by the book, but lots of stuff added in from JRRT's notes and appendices, especially regarding what Gandalf was doing when he wandered off about two-thirds into the book.

I liked JJ's Star Trek. He didn't mess with canon - he deliberately moved the film OUT of the original canon and rebooted the franchise.

I don't think Disney will do the SW franchise any harm - I think it's hit rock bottom thanks to its creator meddling with everything for a decade or so. The prequels were dire, but have sufficient grand concepts to keep me wanting to watch them. I think the sequels will be a lot better than that, but a lot will depend on where they go.

Questions (mine and, most likely, most other SW fans):
- Will the sequels focus on Luke, Leia, et all?
- Will the original actors come back?
- Will the sequels be the Heir To The Empire series?
- Will the sequels adhere to the existing EU canon (ha ha ha)?

I think the only way Disney may wee all over things is if they decide to "reboot" the franchise or remake the original films. Mind you, rebooting/remaking episodes 1 to 3 might be a good idea.

Lucas edited out the original Anakin at the end of Jedi. Maybe Disney and their related studios can recast Anakin again and composite a new one in with decent acting ability and dialog. THAT would be a special edition I would watch.

Of course, maybe, once in a while, someone could come up with a NEW idea ... Oh, I know, I'm just a crazy dreamin' fool ...

Disembodied wrote:

Of course, maybe, once in a while, someone could come up with a NEW idea ... Oh, I know, I'm just a crazy dreamin' fool ...

My favourite SciFi book, Enders Game, is coming out as a film next fall. Even though the book has been about for a while, it's a newish idea.
I have decided to have no expectations though, but I am slightly reassured by Mr Card being consulted along the way, and the cast is pretty good on paper.

Thargoid wrote:

Personally it seems like a bloody expensive way for Disney to get their next princess...

Somehow she may look a little out of place in the 3pm parade though, especially in the steel bikini.

Or maybe a much needed excuse to revitalise Epcot.

Selezen wrote:

Well, the Hobbit trailer was much what I expected after keeping up with the development: more-or-less by the book, but lots of stuff added in from JRRT's notes and appendices, especially regarding what Gandalf was doing when he wandered off about two-thirds into the book.

I liked JJ's Star Trek. He didn't mess with canon - he deliberately moved the film OUT of the original canon and rebooted the franchise.

I don't think Disney will do the SW franchise any harm - I think it's hit rock bottom thanks to its creator meddling with everything for a decade or so. The prequels were dire, but have sufficient grand concepts to keep me wanting to watch them. I think the sequels will be a lot better than that, but a lot will depend on where they go.

Questions (mine and, most likely, most other SW fans):
- Will the sequels focus on Luke, Leia, et all?
- Will the original actors come back?
- Will the sequels be the Heir To The Empire series?
- Will the sequels adhere to the existing EU canon (ha ha ha)?

I think the only way Disney may wee all over things is if they decide to "reboot" the franchise or remake the original films. Mind you, rebooting/remaking episodes 1 to 3 might be a good idea.

Lucas edited out the original Anakin at the end of Jedi. Maybe Disney and their related studios can recast Anakin again and composite a new one in with decent acting ability and dialog. THAT would be a special edition I would watch.

Re: Star Trek - Enjoyable SF film - but it wasn't Star Trek - it just happened to have characters with the same name - in my book "reboot" just means "lacks the imagination to work within already laid down constraints".

But I agree with your comments about the future SW films - if Thrawn makes an appearance I'll be happy.

We'll see. There are some good points about Lucas not being able to write scripts, but still come up with a good story. Hopefully there will be good script writers for this one.

Hmmm, Disney does Star Wars! Move over R2D2.

I have been a SW fan of the original trilogy. Of the prequels, all of them were frankly bad. I thought Ewan McGregor played a great Obi Wan and Natalie Portman's role was strong in I and II. What they made her in III was IMO a crime. So she was dead in IV, but why couldn't she have died heroically rather than of a broken heart.

CaptSolo wrote:

... but why couldn't she have died heroically rather than of a broken heart.

Lucas doesn't seem to do terribly well with female roles. There are only four females who get any screen time at all in the whole of the first trilogy: Leia, Aunt Beru, Jabba's (other) dancing girl and The Woman Who Says That Thing About The Bothans.