Solo: A Star Wars Story

[Khev]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Ironically, Maz would have been far more interesting without the CGI.

Ironic indeed considering that a sticking point Abrams had with OT Yoda vs PT Yoda was that you could tell OT Yoda was "real." And then we get Maz who is basically the TFA Yoda character and she's...CGI.

She wasn't supposed to be though. The art book revealed that she was designed to be a puppet but they couldn't engineer her in time to be ready when principal photography began. That's the trick with the puppets. They can tinker with CG for multiple years until release date but the puppets have to be ready to go with the actors when the cameras roll.

Just one of those win some/lose some things with filmmaking, especially considering the amount of practical costumes and puppets that did make it into the movie.

 

[pixletwin]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

True. When you consider the fast pace they had to cull everything together, it's a minor miracle tht TFA came out as good as it did.

 

[rushmore223]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

True. When you consider the fast pace they had to cull everything together, it's a minor miracle tht TFA came out as good as it did.

Or came out on time at all. They had such a time crunch to make a huge picture, that was honestly my biggest worry, but I feel like we got a solid movie out of it. Let's just hope the next one has more originality. If it starts off on an ice planet with Rey being attacked by a yeti, I'll have issues. One redux I can understand, a second one is unforgivable.

Considering how much time they have to film Ep. 8, will be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[Khev]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Or came out on time at all. They had such a time crunch to make a huge picture, that was honestly my biggest worry, but I feel like we got a solid movie out of it. Let's just hope the next one has more originality. If it starts off on an ice planet with Rey being attacked by a yeti, I'll have issues. One redux I can understand, a second one is unforgivable.

Considering how much time they have to film Ep. 8, will be interesting to see how it turns out.

If Episode 8 features Rey and Luke off hunting for Jedi artifacts then they'll be adhering to the story that George Lucas wanted to tell in Episode 7 when he still owned the franchise. That's what Michael Arndt was drafting but he kept hitting a wall on how to make Rey (first named Kira) appealing in the constant shadow of LUKE SKYWALKER. He stated he just couldn't think of a way to make audiences care about or worry about brand new characters when Jedi Master Luke was there to kick *** and take names.

It was actually Arndt's idea to hold off on Luke until the second movie in order to give the new cast some room to get their footing. Who knows if George was okay with that or not but clearly Abrams was on board and took the opportunity to have TFA not only give Rey her moment to shine but also reset the saga to a more traditional OT feel. I have a feeling that all of JJ's talk of "we needed to go backward to go forward" might hint that Lucas will get his crazy new planets in Episodes 8 and 9 after TFA bridged the OT with the new stuff. As always, "we'll see."

Lucas famously decried that TFA "threw out all of my ideas" but reading through the art book that really wasn't the case. A lot of Lucas/Arndt elements ended up in TFA. I think Lucas was just mad that they took a moment to go "backward" so to speak and made his public claims in order to distance himself from the frustration of watching others tinker with his story ideas.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

If Episode 8 features Rey and Luke off hunting for Jedi artifacts then they'll be adhering to the story that George Lucas wanted to tell in Episode 7 when he still owned the franchise. That's what Michael Arndt was drafting but he kept hitting a wall on how to make Rey (first named Kira) appealing in the constant shadow of LUKE SKYWALKER. He stated he just couldn't think of a way to make audiences care about or worry about brand new characters when Jedi Master Luke was there to kick *** and take names.

It was actually Arndt's idea to hold off on Luke until the second movie in order to give the new cast some room to get their footing. Who knows if George was okay with that or not but clearly Abrams was on board and took the opportunity to have TFA not only give Rey her moment to shine but also reset the saga to a more traditional OT feel. I have a feeling that all of JJ's talk of "we needed to go backward to go forward" might hint that Lucas will get his crazy new planets in Episodes 8 and 9 after TFA bridged the OT with the new stuff. As always, "we'll see."

Lucas famously decried that TFA "threw out all of my ideas" but reading through the art book that really wasn't the case. A lot of Lucas/Arndt elements ended up in TFA. I think Lucas was just mad that they took a moment to go "backward" so to speak and made his public claims in order to distance himself from the frustration of watching others tinker with his story ideas.

Great post! I didn't know that it was Arndt's idea to hold off on Luke. Where did you read that? Too bad the "Making of" book was cancelled.. I would love to know more about Arndt's script and Lucas's "ideas". Regardless, it was a good call to "go back to go forward", and it's the kind of criticism Lucas needed for the PT, someone to look at his outlines objectively and tell him what is working and what isn't.

 

[Khev]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Great post! I didn't know that it was Arndt's idea to hold off on Luke. Where did you read that? Too bad the "Making of" book was cancelled.. I would love to know more about Arndt's script and Lucas's "ideas". Regardless, it was a good call to "go back to go forward", and it's the kind of criticism Lucas needed for the PT, someone to look at his outlines objectively and tell him what is working and what isn't.

Thanks! Arndt shared some of the script writing process with Entertainment Weekly:

“Early on I tried to write versions of the story where [Rey] is at home, her home is destroyed, and then she goes on the road and meets Luke. And then she goes and kicks the bad guy’s ***,” Arndt said (via EW). “It just never worked and I struggled with this. This was back in 2012.” Apparently the issue was Luke’s presence was always upstaging everyone in the script. “It just felt like every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over,” Arndt continued. “Suddenly you didn’t care about your main character anymore because, ‘Oh f–k, Luke Skywalker’s here. I want to see what he’s going to do.’”

EW also says there were other big plot ideas dropped: "a search for Darth Vader’s remains, or a quest to the underwater wreckage of the second Death Star to recover a key piece of history about sacred Jedi sites in the galaxy." These of course, totally different movies and one could argue fairly different from the remake and remix-ness of ‘The Force Awakens.’

https://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/...-question-about-r2-d2-star-wars-force-awakens

So basically Lucas had Arndt writing a story about a girl who joins with Luke and they do some galaxy hopping in search of Jedi artifacts and historical sites before fighting the main bad guy. Obviously TFA didn't scrap all of those themes which I'm actually glad for. No matter how crappy the PT turned out Lucas is still a genius when it comes to ideas IMO, his ideas are just best served when others execute them and it seems that Kathleen Kennedy is smart enough to recognize that.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Thanks! Arndt shared some of the script writing process with Entertainment Weekly:


So basically Lucas had Arndt writing a story about a girl who joins with Luke and they do some galaxy hopping in search of Jedi artifacts and historical sites before fighting the main bad guy. Obviously TFA didn't scrap all of those themes which I'm actually glad for. No matter how crappy the PT turned out Lucas is still a genius when it comes to ideas IMO, his ideas are just best served when others execute them and it seems that Kathleen Kennedy is smart enough to recognize that.

Thanks for that! Having a whole movie dedicated to building Rey's character will hopefully prevent Luke taking over in the next movie. Hell, it could have happened with Han too. But they managed to balance it all well. Han's scenes with Rey are among the best parts of TFA for me.

It'll be interesting if they do go forward with the artifacts storyline for the next movie. And I do agree that Lucas has good ideas. The Prequels' basic outline is fine, but they really needed several more drafts by trained professionals and people who knew how to be brutal with their own work and not be afraid to completely rethink or throw out things that aren't working. The "going backwards to go forwards" is a great example of someone being able to step back and evaluate things objectively and not be afraid to go back to the drawing board.

 

[Khev]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

It'll be interesting if they do go forward with the artifacts storyline for the next movie.

Yes, though technically TFA already showcased four Jedi artifacts; Vader's helm, Luke's saber, first Jedi Temple Site, and Luke Skywalker himself. So I wonder if that means they're done with that aspect or if Luke will tell Rey that there are more things they need to retrieve.

And I do agree that Lucas has good ideas. The Prequels' basic outline is fine, but they really needed several more drafts by trained professionals and people who knew how to be brutal with their own work and not be afraid to completely rethink or throw out things that aren't working.

Definitely. Even ESB could have been another "AOTC" with how bad some of those deleted Han/Leia romance scenes were and the goofy Snowtroopers running around and screaming like Keystone Cops as they get killed by Wampas in Echo Base. They could have been as dumb as battle droids but a few strategic edits allowed us to grow up thinking those guys were badasses. Cuts like that and a few iconic ad libs from Ford allowed ESB to be one of the greatest sequels ever made.

The "going backwards to go forwards" is a great example of someone being able to step back and evaluate things objectively and not be afraid to go back to the drawing board.

Yep, one of the best examples of that in TFA was Abrams looking at all the footage of Rey and Finn arguing with each other from Jakku to Takodana and coming to the realization that it just felt unpleasant and that none of it really worked. The footage was done, all he had to do was edit it, but he went with his gut and scrapped everything after the Falcon chase and rewrote Rey and Finn so that they bonded as a result of escaping the TIE Fighters and he reshot all of their scenes. So instead of ongoing conscientiousness we got all these scenes that were light and endearing and humorous that hadn't really existed in a Star Wars movie since the OT.

 

[spindrift]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Why was the "Making of" book canceled? My guess is Disney didn't like the dirt it would have exposed??

 

[rushmore223]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Good info and discussion Khev and Lu!

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the artifact slant was a big part of 8 and I'm totally okay with The idea they needed to go back to go forward, just as long as they truly go forward, which I'm sure they will. This seems very likely since Luke is supposedly living at the site of the first Jedi Temple.

Lucas is definitely a broad strokes kind of guy, he has an amazing vision, and no doubt the prequels COULD have been every bit as good as the OT if only he was open to criticism, and people weren't afraid to voice those opinions. A better script/Dialogue, some storyline tinkering and better acting would have totally transformed the Prequels.

 

[Kamandi]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Why was the "Making of" book canceled? My guess is Disney didn't like the dirt it would have exposed??

I doubt there's only one reason, but a big one would have to be unused ideas that might still find their way into later films.

LFL might've decided to hold back on the ep 7 production notes because they're part of ep 8.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

She is hawt and looks good neekked

There you have it: casting 101.

 

[EVILFACE]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

When it comes to women, yes. There are always the mandatory rules:

1: Are they hawt?
2: Do they get neekked?
3. Depending on 1 and 2 answers, nothing else matters.

 

[meanstreak]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Agreed. I was looking forward to seeing Lupita make for a different kind of female SW lead and we saw what they did to her. Same with Gwendoline Christie. Finally we'll see blonde hair on a girl in Star Wars! Nope.

too true, they really screwed the pooch with Lupita.

If Rey doesn't end up being related to Luke, I would've preferred Lupita had been Rey.

I thought she'd be perfect for a Sith character though.

Speaking of Maz - maybe she'll be in this movie since she's known Han Solo for quite some time...

 

[punisher1974]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Han and maz were probably drinking buddies since they got along so well. Really hope she shows back up. Curious how she got Luke's lightsaber

 

[RIDDICK]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Han Solo: A "Disney Gotta Eat" Story

 

[EVILFACE]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

Funny that a flick titled "Han Solo" needs 'A Star Wars Story' tagline.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

I don't think it's the official title, I just slapped it on there when it was announced.

 

[Merle's Right Hand]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

When it comes to women, yes. There are always the mandatory rules:

1: Are they hawt?
2: Do they get neekked?
3. Depending on 1 and 2 answers, nothing else matters.

I'm not gay either.

 

[Khev]

Re: Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)

So should we expect to see the Battle of Tanaab in this movie? Will LFL try to top the finale of RO? I had originally assumed that the movie would be about a young Han and Chewie in the Falcon but now thinking about how both TFA and RO saved certain moments for the last two minutes of their respective films I wonder if most of the Han movie will have Lando flying the Falcon, then a massive space battle with Lando piloting (maybe with Han as the gunner saying things like "they're coming in too fast!" *groan*) and after the battle they play the card game that Lando loses.

Then the final seconds of the movie has Han sitting in the pilot's chair for the first time and engaging the hyperdrive. End credits.

One thing I can't help but realize is that LFL already set a precedent with younger OT characters in prequel films with Tarkin and

Spoiler

Leia

. They did NOT recast them with age appropriate actors, no they CGI'd them with the likenesses of the previous actors. Casting Alden and Glover contradicts that approach and has already de-legitimatized the movie as canon IMO.