jye4ever
Broke and happy
BY ALEX OSBORN Rogue One: A Star Wars Story features a number of iconic characters from prior Star Wars films, but there's one particular cameo in the movie that one of the film's writers, Gary Whitta, wishes wasn't included.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Whitta said he wasn't enthusiastic about the decision to include A New Hope's cantina brawlers Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba (aka Walrus Man) in the brief scene that's set in the streets of Jedha.
"I thought having Evazan and Walrus Man was a little too much," Whitta said. "You have to reign in that instinct to go back and put things in just because you loved them when you were a kid." Whitta was the first screenwriter on Rogue One, but others worked on the film after he did (though he would continue to contribute to Star Wars by writing for Star Wars Rebels).
Additionally, director Gareth Edwards discussed with EW how in Rogue One they attempted to reconcile a couple of different lines in the original Star Wars film regarding the Rebel's acquisition of the Death Star plans. "The problem is that in A New Hope, they contradict themselves," he explained, noting that "At one point, they say, 'Conjure up the stolen data tapes' and at another point they say, 'Several transmissions were beamed aboard the ship.' Did they steal data tapes or was it transmissions?"
In an attempt to solve this plot issue, they tried to do both in their depiction of the mission, in footage glimpsed in trailers that included Jyn Erso running across the beach with the plans in her hand. "The original version was that they stole the plans,
tried to get back to the ship and on their way, it all went wrong," Edwards said. This then led to them going to the transmission tower -- which was in a completely different location in this incarnation of the film -- to send the plans. Ultimately though, this extended sequence made the film too long, Edwards explained. In order to condense this part of the film they moved the tower during the film's significant reshoots so it was located at the same base where the tapes are stolen.
Unfortunately, this meant the beach scene, among others, wouldn't make it into the film. "They no longer have to go on a journey across the beach, and some of those decisions can be heartbreaking because I loved a lot of the material we got from that moment," Edwards remarked, while telling EW the decision to cut this material was still best for the film. As he put it, "No matter how well you’re doing in a movie there’s always the point where the audience gets a bit antsy. You don’t want people to have that feeling in a Star Wars film.”
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Whitta said he wasn't enthusiastic about the decision to include A New Hope's cantina brawlers Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba (aka Walrus Man) in the brief scene that's set in the streets of Jedha.
"I thought having Evazan and Walrus Man was a little too much," Whitta said. "You have to reign in that instinct to go back and put things in just because you loved them when you were a kid." Whitta was the first screenwriter on Rogue One, but others worked on the film after he did (though he would continue to contribute to Star Wars by writing for Star Wars Rebels).
Additionally, director Gareth Edwards discussed with EW how in Rogue One they attempted to reconcile a couple of different lines in the original Star Wars film regarding the Rebel's acquisition of the Death Star plans. "The problem is that in A New Hope, they contradict themselves," he explained, noting that "At one point, they say, 'Conjure up the stolen data tapes' and at another point they say, 'Several transmissions were beamed aboard the ship.' Did they steal data tapes or was it transmissions?"
In an attempt to solve this plot issue, they tried to do both in their depiction of the mission, in footage glimpsed in trailers that included Jyn Erso running across the beach with the plans in her hand. "The original version was that they stole the plans,
tried to get back to the ship and on their way, it all went wrong," Edwards said. This then led to them going to the transmission tower -- which was in a completely different location in this incarnation of the film -- to send the plans. Ultimately though, this extended sequence made the film too long, Edwards explained. In order to condense this part of the film they moved the tower during the film's significant reshoots so it was located at the same base where the tapes are stolen.
Unfortunately, this meant the beach scene, among others, wouldn't make it into the film. "They no longer have to go on a journey across the beach, and some of those decisions can be heartbreaking because I loved a lot of the material we got from that moment," Edwards remarked, while telling EW the decision to cut this material was still best for the film. As he put it, "No matter how well you’re doing in a movie there’s always the point where the audience gets a bit antsy. You don’t want people to have that feeling in a Star Wars film.”
