Star Wars Episode VII News: Week 4

Star Wars to be filmed on IMAX?

       This week's otherwise slow "Star Wars" news trickle was punctuated with the announcement that a casting call had been announced in the UK for a 7 foot, 3 inch tall male, with broad shoulders and face. The movie that issued by casting call was officially "Untitled Studio Feature" produced by the Walt Disney Company and directed by J.J. Abrams. This doesn't leave much room for speculation as to what the movie could be. With Peter Mayhew, the original Chewbacca, apparently out of the running for the sequel with a double knee replacement surgery, the studio executives at Disney have decided to replace him with another extremely tall person. But Peter Mayhew isn't done yet. He is petitioning for the classic role even though he can barely walk. He is dedicated.

     In other news, J.J. Abrams has decided to keep the emotional tone of the next installment as real as possible. Here he is quoted as saying, 

     "It's been nice see that how important it is and to be reminded how important it is to so many people. We all know that [creator George Lucas's] dream has become almost a religion to some people. I remember reading a thing somewhere, someone wrote about just wanting [the new film] to feel real; to feel authentic. I remember I felt that way when I was 11 years old when I saw the first one. As much of a fairy tale as it was, it felt real. And to me, that is exactly right." It feels right that he wants to recapture the magic of the original Star Wars instead of going the way of a certain prequel film series. But the most important news of all: According to Metro Entertainment, part of Episode VII will be shot with IMAX cameras. 

     The CEO of IMAX, Richard Gelfond, has been in talks with J.J. Abrams about filming parts of Episode VII in IMAX. Only key scenes will be filmed in IMAX, according to some reports, due to the fact that Episode VII will be using 35 mm film, officially confirmed by Disney. IMAX uses 70 mm film, which is much larger and more cumbersome than 35 mm. But it looks AWESOME.

This rumor is based on truth, because J.J. Abrams did film key scenes of Star Trek Into Darkness on IMAX. If it is true, it would impact the movie's aesthetic feel and look, as well as make it more detailed. It would be a good decision on the part of Disney. J.J. Abrams' hope for an authentic Star Wars: Episode VII is looking more like reality.