Harrison Ford may look grumpy as hell, but the man has a fine-tuned sense of humor. Once again, the 42actor has some fun with his Star Wars wingWookiee Chewbacca on Jimmy Kimmel Live. I was hoping that this time Ford would be furious at Chewy for roping him into celebrating Life Day on the much-maligned Star Wars Holiday Special, but Kimmel's writers stuck to the running joke that the Wookiee had an affair with Ford's wife. more »
I don't know if J.J. Abrams did this intentionally, but, if he did, it's a real Jedi Master move. I just read the interview that the filmmaker gave to Empire magazine in the U.K. in conjunction with the upcoming release of Star Trek Into Darkness, and the way he answered the inevitable Star Warsquestion was so loopy and inscrutable that I have to wonder if that's his strategy for minimizing — in the nicest way possible —Episode VIItalk during the STID promotional push. more »
It sure looks like Star Warscreator, 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 »
Now that Ewan McGregor has voiced his enthusiasm for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi again, Disney should make it so. The actor, who's out promoting Jack The Giant Slayer told MTV News that he thought reprising his role as the Jedi Master was "a good idea" and had clearly done some thinking about where an Obi-Wan standalone movie could fit into the about-to-be-rebooted Star Wars franchise — the gap between Episode III and IV "before Alec Guinness, there's that period where he's in the desert....That might be my window there, to tell that story." McGregor said that he didn't know what Obi-Wan actually did in the desert, but added: "We could make up some stuff." more »
Is Disney still suffering from Shrek envy? Over the last two days the blogosphere has generated unconfirmed reports that the House of Mouse is developing a Yoda movie, as part of its Star Wars franchise reboot, and that Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, is planning a standaloneHulk movie that would tie together The Avengers 2 and 3 movies. more »
Like those vintage 1980s Reese's Peanut Butter cup ads built around the "Two great tastes that taste great together," tag line, this photo tweeted by J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot production company is a cool visual mash-up of the filmmaker's past and future work. No pressure, Mr. Abrams! more »
UPDATE: Whoops, never mind. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder's rep has flatly denied the report. "While he is super flattered because he is a huge fan," the statement says, "Zack is not involved in any way with the new Star Wars. He is currently in post on his two films, Man of Steel and 300: Battle of Artemisia." Looks like the Internet got played by a fun-having rumor monger. I look forward to seeing if there's any kernel of truth to anything else in the report.
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In case you were wondering, you can rest easy in the knowledge that Disney has absolutely no intention of treating the Star Wars franchise like a finite resource. Instead, they plan to mine it like spice from the cruelest mines of Kessel, and the proof is the possibility of a Kurosawa-inspired film set in the galaxy far, far away, brought to you by Zack Snyder, the man currently tasked with finally bringing a post-Christopher Reeve Superman to theaters. 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. more »
Brace yourselves, people: in an alternate galaxy far, far away, there is a Guillermo Del Toro-helmed Star Wars film in development.
Rampant speculation being the most powerful side effect of the Living Force, it's no wonder that last year's shocking news that we'll soon all be watching – and probably complaining about – Star Wars: Episode 7 has resulted in endless guessing from the Jeditariat. When we're not gushing about possible plot points, or the fact that the new film might feature a female lead. We're talking about the most common subject of baseless and not-so-baseless guesswork: Just who will be directing it?
With George Lucas retiring, the possibility of a somewhat clean slate for the Star Wars universe after the mess made of it by the prequel trilogy is enough to make even the most bitter ex-fan drool. In the weeks after the initial announcement of Episode 7, several directors were consistently mentioned as potential hirees. At the time it seemed like nothing more than wish fulfillment fantasies and baseless rumor, but it's beginning to look as though the rumored names reflected very real prospects.
One of the most frequently mentioned names was Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro. In November, Del Toro outright denied having been approached by Disney, but speaking this week to The Playlist he finally confirmed that he was, in fact, asked if he'd like the job. “We got one phone call to my agent saying, 'Is Guillermo interested?',” the director said. “And basically I have so much stuff already of my own, and I'm pursuing stuff that I'm generating already..."
He offered no other comment, aside from affirming that he'd love to see Brad Bird take the job, but in saying no to Star Wars, Del Toro is in good company. JJ Abrams recently revealed that he, too, turned down the chance to take over Star Wars, in his case because, as he put it, he's too big a fan to want to do anything more than watch the new films in theaters. Whether true or not, it's interesting that now two of the most obvious names-out-of-a-hat have said no to Star Wars 7.
Though Episode 7 is almost certainly racing into preproduction, Disney has not yet announced a director. Whether this is because they haven't hired one, or because the same CIA-levels of secrecy they employed to keep the purchase of the franchise a secret for more than a year are in full force now, I prefer to believe that the will of The Force is behind everything. (Flash Gordon director Mike Hodges for Episode 7, anyone?)
Ross Lincoln is an LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. Follow him on twitter (@rossalincoln).
A career of playing righteous bad-asses in Pulp Fiction, the Star Warsprequel trilogy and the Marvel superhero movies has made Samuel L. Jackson one of the highest grossing actors of all time. Which makes his decision to play Stephen, the calculating and merciless right-hand man of plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Quentin Tarantino'sDjango Unchained, Jackson's most daring acting choice yet. more »
In our pre-Mayan apocalypse era, when you want to ensure that whatever you say is disseminated far and wide faster than the time it takes to tweet 'DID YOU SEE THIS ###$$!!!' the best advice is to master the subtle art of trolling with useful facts. Case in point: Joss Whedon, who screened The Avengers and afterward, sat for one of Jeff Goldsmith's Q&As Tuesday night at the Director's Guild of America in Hollywood. more »
Technically, Heaven's Gate/The Deer Hunter director Michael Cimino (@Cimino1939) isn't yet verified on Twitter, but we'll allow the man the benefit of the doubt: He's barely been Tweeting for 24 hours and already his account is a must-read. more »
We the People of the United States...are some weird dudes. A clever but clearly tongue-in-cheek petition to build a Star Wars-style Death Star isn't the only petition that's been started on the Obama administration's much-debated We The People website. 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 toldAccess 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."
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.
Although Disney and LucasFilm remain officially mum, The Hollywood Reporter says Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and X-Men: The Last Stand/Sherlock Holmes scribe Simon Kinsberg have signed on to write Star Wars sequels following Michael Arndt's Star Wars Episode VII. more »
![[WATCH] Harrison Ford Will See That 'Wookiee Sack of S#@!' Chewbacca "In Hell!"](http://movieline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/harrison-ford-120x69.jpg?w=120&h=120&crop=1)
