The Force Awakens Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams 2015)

[Jay 37,373]

J.J. Abrams broke his back trying to help Harrison Ford on the set of Star Wars

[BloodBoal 7,538]

My god. This is turning into a slapstick comedy.

[crumbs 14,319]

What is it with broken backs lately?

[Bilbo 3,709]

Not sure if this is a spoiler, but just in case...

Probably for the Dejarkik chess board, again. While it'll definitely be cool to see it again (especially with the same effects) I fear that it will be too fan-servicey

It's confirmed that's what it is in the video.

Oh, ok. My point still stands though

You say you fear it will be too fan-servicey. I guess I don't understand why that's a big deal. It's cool that it's back. Doesn't really matter if it's too fan-servicey or not. We haven't even seen the film to see how it's used.

Fan-service can be great in moderation, but I'm afraid that the movie will be nothing but that. A series of reminders about all of the awesome things about the original trilogy without bringing anything new to the table.

The film will be full of fan service. I was excited when JJ said you have to be respectful to what came before but not beholden to it. That doesn't seem to be the case though. The rumours that I've read (a lot proved correct from the trailers) show that it's going to be an OT best of reel. I hope JJ is one and done for this franchise.n

[Quintus 5,399]

My god. This is turning into a slapstick comedy.

Or the Star Wars version of Jaws.

My god...

[Faleel 5,359]

If you don't want fan service then you don't want another Star Wars movie.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes!

The Force Awakens will desperately try to make up for the last 3.

[Wojo 2,453]

You mean the first three.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

.......

No!

[TownerFan 4,983]

I think The Force Awakens is gonna be VERY divisive among fans, imho. Probably even more than the prequels.

I'll say only this (but it's just a hunch) and then I won't say anything else about this film:

Star Wars movies (both OT and the prequels) have always had one very important and BIG aspect playing at their core--they've always been innovative pieces of filmmaking, from many points of view. Aesthetically, cinematically, technically. They've always brought something new to the table and offered new experiences to the audience. Yes, even the prequels, even though almost just on the technical side. This kind of innovation worked wonders and just perfect in most cases, while other times felt maybe too convoluted and lost into myriads of other (more ephemeral) aspects. But it's always been one of the true driving forces at the core of Star Wars films.

From what I read and saw about TFA, it seems this aspect of innovation is somewhat left behind in favor of pure nostalgia and "good old-fashioned filmmaking techniques that made the original films great". The reel showed at Comic-Con really reinforced this feeling I already had. Of course there's a big marketing ploy at work here, if only to reassure fans that this is something totally different from the prequels, and maybe some of the more innovative aspects are being well kept under wraps until release, who knows. But it's undeniable that a lot of the choices they made have been driven by other considerations other than "let's do something new and surprising", or "let's do something people won't expect", or "let's invent a new tool/camera/sound system/vfx to show what was impossible to do before", etc.

Of course technology is only a tool to help storytelling, which must be good and well-written (something George Lucas himself seemed to forget while he was doing the prequels). In the case of TFA, it's gonna be story and characters the first thing audiences and fans are gonna judge. But I have a hunch this film is gonna be kind of "more of the same" stuff, like a major studio would have done back in the '80s if only they could ("Let's make STAR WARS 2!"). Of course I still have some faith--JJ Abrams, Larry Kasdan, Kathy Kennedy are all good people, passionate about their work and surely driven by healthy popular entertainment philosophy other than just "let's do a sequel and make a couple billion of bucks", so there are good chances they're cracking out a fun and entertaining movie a lot of people will enjoy.

Okay, there I said it. I won't write anything else about TFA until December, maybe even after that

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Was even the OT truly "innovative" on anything beyond a technical level? It didn't come out of nowhere aesthetically or dramatically or thematically and its roots are very easy to trace. The difference will be, I think, that the OT was also founded on that "pure nostalgia" you mentioned, just slightly repackaged, but of stuff that wasn't Star Wars, obviously, whereas the new films will also be "pure nostalgia," but for Star Wars. So the result could very well be... diluted.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The editing was actually rather advanced for its day. And the notion of essentially starting a film in the middle of the action, which Star Wars did brilliantly.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

The editing was actually rather advanced for its day. And the notion of essentially starting a film in the middle of the action, which Star Wars did brilliantly.

That was hardly a new idea with fiction in 1977! Maybe in a film specifically, I don't know.

[TownerFan 4,983]

Was even the OT truly "innovative" on anything beyond a technical level? It didn't come out of nowhere aesthetically or dramatically or thematically and its roots are very easy to trace. The difference will be, I think, that the OT was also founded on that "pure nostalgia" you mentioned, just slightly repackaged, but of stuff that wasn't Star Wars, obviously, whereas the new films will also be "pure nostalgia," but for Star Wars. So the result could very well be... diluted.

The most innovative aspects were on the technical side, sure. And the OT had nostalgia for that kind of 1940s swashbucklers/serials, as we all know. But imho the driving force at the core was to deliver something new and unexpected. That kind of self-aware attitude (we could say post-modern, in a way) was very deliberate and declared since the beginning ("A long time ago..."), as if to imply these were stories we were already told, but not like we were about to see in that movie.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Okay, there I said it. I won't write anything else about TFA until December, maybe even after that

Quoted for future reference!

[A. A. Ron 1,742]

The editing was actually rather advanced for its day. And the notion of essentially starting a film in the middle of the action, which Star Wars did brilliantly.

That was hardly a new idea with fiction in 1977! Maybe in a film specifically, I don't know.

It was very unusual for a major motion picture at the time. It upset a LOT of people when ESB ended on a cliffhanger as well.

[A24 4,346]

The editing was actually rather advanced for its day. And the notion of essentially starting a film in the middle of the action, which Star Wars did brilliantly.

It was George telling the audience we're actually watching Episode IV and not the beginning of the story.

[Jay 37,373]

The Episode IV moniker was not added to prints of the film until 1981

[A24 4,346]

Yes, Jay, we all know that. I saw the movie when it was first released.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

There are many young people who did not know that. I know I didnt until I joined this forum.

[A24 4,346]

I still call the first movie 'Star Wars'.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I agree, though many Prequel fanatics will disagree with you.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

I always assumed it was added for the 1997 Special editions.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It was added in 80 or 81

[crocodile 8,019]

If you think about it, this addition must have been perplexing for quite a few people back then.

Karol

[Jay 37,373]

Not really, because Empire Strikes Back said "Episode V" on day 1 in 1980

They retroactively added "Episode IV" and "A New Hope" to Star Wars in its 1981 re-release.

[Jay 37,373]

The Force Awakens will be screened ON FILM in IMAX theaters

http://nerdist.com/details-emerge-about-star-wars-the-force-awakens-in-imax/

[crocodile 8,019]

Not really, because Empire Strikes Back said "Episode V" on day 1 in 1980

They retroactively added "Episode IV" and "A New Hope" to Star Wars in its 1981 re-release.

Well, it must have been confusing back in 1980.

Karol

[A24 4,346]

Why was it confusing? At the time, Lucas said in interviews that he wrote 9 episodes and that Star Wars was actually the fourth one. Every fan knew that.

Alex

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

And casual viewers?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Was that actually confirmed by film historians?

[A24 4,346]

I'm confirming it now!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Sounds more like historical revisionism by the Cult of Lucas.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I agree.

What proof do you have Alex?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

What proof do you have Alex?

[A24 4,346]

My Star Wars fandom of that time. I read every Lucas interview I could find in those days.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

And so did every casual viewer? They all knew this too?

[A24 4,346]

Many who saw Star Wars became apostles. We all spread the word to enlighten the casual viewers.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I'll bet.

[A24 4,346]

I actually was approached by a Hare Krishna apostle who said the force was real and that I could learn about it if I joined his movement.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

And did you?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

He joined Scientology instead.

[A24 4,346]

And did you?

No, I realized he was trying to ride on the enormous success of the Star Wars movement and so I cut him in two pieces.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

With your light saber?

[BloodBoal 7,538]

I remember back in the days, there were fake bootleg versions of the first three episodes that were circulating on the black market. These homemade movies were actually better than the Prequels.

[Matt C 455]

I think The Force Awakens is gonna be VERY divisive among fans, imho. Probably even more than the prequels.

[...]

From what I read and saw about TFA, it seems this aspect of innovation is somewhat left behind in favor of pure nostalgia and "good old-fashioned filmmaking techniques that made the original films great". The reel showed at Comic-Con really reinforced this feeling I already had. Of course there's a big marketing ploy at work here, if only to reassure fans that this is something totally different from the prequels, and maybe some of the more innovative aspects are being well kept under wraps until release, who knows. But it's undeniable that a lot of the choices they made have been driven by other considerations other than "let's do something new and surprising", or "let's do something people won't expect", or "let's invent a new tool/camera/sound system/vfx to show what was impossible to do before", etc.

J.J. Abrams would have to work overtime to make something worse than the prequels. What Lucas did wrong with the prequels, other than bad scripts and misused actors (Natalie Portman especially), is that he was way too eager to show off the digital technology at his disposal. They look like overproduced video games, there's no texture or weight to the excessive CGI on display. And aside from a handful of scenes, they don't feel visually consistent with the OT. That's the biggest sin Lucas committed in his PT.

Abrams seems to have nailed the aesthetic from the OT, but embraced the CGI and motion-capture work from today. If there's a decent plot for TFA, audiences will eat it up.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

They look like overproduced video games

Saying this was almost a bannible offence c.2002 at TFN.

[mstrox 6,651]

If somebody bans you from the TF.N forums, they're actually doing you a favor

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It's a hive of fanboys and SJWs.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

The TFN boards are actually pretty okay nowadays, save the (as usual) thick-headed and easily offended PT fanboys. Also, the moderators are clearly pro-PT since it's usually only the prequel bashers (and not the insane and anal defenders) that get warnings and bans.