It sure looks like Star Wars creator, George Lucas, dropped a bombshell in a fascinating Bloomberg Businessweek feature on how Disney acquired Lucasfilm late last year. When the article's author, Devin Leonard, asked Lucas if the original Star Wars cast will appear in the J.J. Abrams-directed Episode VII, the Force Father replied: more »
We're all waiting with baited (and force-assisted) breath until 2015 to see if the cinematic return to the Star Wars galaxy will make the taste of midi-chlorians go away, but could it be that we might first see our first post-George Lucas lightsabers on the smallscreen? Comments from ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee indicate that yes, maybe, possibly, this may be the case.
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George Lucas apparently has much atoning to do for his decision to sell LucasFilm to Disney. The Star Wars creator and film mogul comes in for a heavy tweaking in the list of 10 Celebrity New Year's Resolutions posted by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Funny or Die website. more »
While stars such as Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and perhaps even Harrison Ford have indicated they may make a return to Disney's Star Wars, the narrow pool of once possible directors has narrowed more.
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An often overlooked 80s classic is getting a slick HD makeover on the occasion of its 25th birthday: the George Lucas-produced and Ron Howard-directed fantasy film Willow comes to Blu-Ray on March 13. more »
George Lucas will take some part in the planned Star Wars: Episode VII planned by new Lucasfilm owner Disney, but it will likely be a minimal role.
Speaking at the Governor's Awards Saturday, he gave some insight on his duties in the next Star Wars installment being guided by Disney.
"[If the filmmakers ask],'Who's this guy?' I can tell them," he told Access Hollywood at the event in Los Angeles. "I mean, they have a hundred encyclopedias and things, but I actually know a lot. I can say, 'This is this and this is that.'"
Continuing, Lucas added, "Basically I'm not -- I don't really have much to do."
Lucas recently said in a more official capacity following the sale of Lucasfilm: "... Now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime."
He also said he'd like to do "little personal films" going forward.
Speculation has continued to swirl over who will direct the next Episode VII, though Lucas' longtime friend, Steven Spielberg, nipped any rumors he's in the running recently saying Star Wars is not his 'genre.'
"I'm pretty sure he'd never want to do that!" Lucas said when asked if he'd give his approval should Spielberg ever change his mind. "I don't think he'd want to."
Star Wars: Episode VII is slated to hit theaters in 2015.
[Source: Access Hollywood]
Now under the guiding force of Disney, Star Wars' next director is becoming a source of intrigue. Last week, one major rumored contender - Steven Spielberg - said he is a no-go and now two other front-running prospects have weighed in with their interest. The studio recently nabbed Star Wars creator George Lucas' Lucas Films for $4.05 billion and tapped Michael Arndt to lead the way on Star Wars: Episode VII, which is set for a 2015 release.
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Lincoln took the spotlight at a rainy premiere Thursday night, closing out AFI Fest 2012. But whispers of Star Wars made their way to the red carpet. Steve Spielberg, however, took the speculation head-on, saying he won't direct any future Star Wars installments.
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What do you do when going from being raised on a walnut ranch to launching some of the biggest movie franchises of all time spanning decades and then selling your film company for billions to Disney? Well, one might try making "little personal films" for one.
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Star Wars fans worldwide learned Tuesday the celestial shattering news that George Lucas had sold Lucasfilm, and its most famous offspring to Disney for $4.05 billion. That news even surprised none other than Luke Skywalker himself. Actor Mark Hamill said he was surprised by the news, though he and fellow Star Wars veteran Carrie Fisher had met with Lucas who told them he wanted to do additional episodes in the decades-long franchise.
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Indiana Jones junkies and future admirers will have a field day come September. The series of films are all coming out on Blue-ray full restored. It's hard to believe that it was back in 1981 when Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas first brought Indiana Jones to the screen with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now that film has been fully restored along with the archeologist's (played of course by Harrison Ford) other adventures.
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I went to see Prometheus over the weekend, and like many of you, I was disappointed (to put it lightly). Although a technical achievement in every way, the narrative and characters left much to be desired. The mystery I wanted solved was not the black goo or the Engineers — it was how the creative team of Ridley Scott, Damon Lindelof, and Jon Spaihts could produce a movie with such rudimentary mistakes. There have been casts of Scream movies with more intelligence than this lineup of characters. The connective tissue between the film’s big set pieces felt as if plucked from a Random Idea Generator program online; even the mythology was mucked up as the film dissolved into a by-the-book sci-fi thriller by the end.
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"There's this expression that it's written three times: during the script, when you're filming it and when you're editing it. And I believe that's wrong. I think it's written once, in editing — and everything is clay for that. And I wanted to learn about it — I thought it would be neat. It's like learning to play the piano and I need a lot of clay. And I thought if I did one movie out of these three ... whatever. [...] But I'm never going to show it to anyone. So I think that's why they were cool with it. By the way: It doesn't make fun of Star Wars at all." Also: Close Encounters is apparently Grace's next. Now you know. [Huffington Post]
Thanks to the magic of DVD and editing software, Star Wars fans have had their way with George Lucas's space saga for years now, re-editing bits and parts of the films into fan cuts to celebrate their favorite parts of the franchise (and fix its most cringeworthy bits). So why should famous fanboys be any different? Like, say, Topher Grace, who this week hosted a one-time only screening of his Star Wars: Episode III.5: The Editor Strikes Back, edited down from the prequels into an 85-minute cut that leaves most of the snoozey old space politics (and Jar Jar Binks' screen time) on the cutting-room floor. To the blogs!
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"Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this.'" [via WSJ]
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