Star Wars Episode VII News: Week 19

The Science of Spoilers (And Star Wars)

     As filming draws ever nearer, new questions, and sometimes answers, are raised about the cast, crew, the dates, the sets, and all other technical things. For example, Variety reports that the crew of Star Wars would be filming plate shots in Iceland, which may hint at a return to Hoth. However, Empire filmed in Norway in Hoth scenes, and Iceland is not true to it's namesake, with only its most northern regions covered in ice year round. It has extensive scenery, including mountains, volcanoes, and beaches. It is not limited to snow covered glaciers.

     As I was saying, many aspects of the technical side of Star Wars are being dissected by fans, but what about the psychology of the impact the films will have, or what a huge reveal similar to the one in Empire will do to a new generation of moviegoers. And what if this reveal, were say, revealed too early. According to one report, it will increase appreciation for the film.

     The Daily Beast states that having a great Episode VII will be extremely difficult. As they quote,

          "A satisfying sequel is difficult to pull off. Many geniuses have defeated themselves through hubris."

               —Abed Nadir, Community 

          "Objection, your honor. The pod race was pretty cool."

               —Lawyer, Clerks: The Animated Series

     The site suggest that Episode VII could tackle this problem with a story equally epic and thought out as the originals-- the tragedy of Jacen Solo. Caution: Potential spoilers ahead.

     Okay, so basically the story is this: Han Solo and Leia get married and have three kids, one dies, the other, Jaina Solo, is a devout Jedi. So is her twin brother, Jacen Solo, but eventually he turns to the dark side and kills a lot of people, so Jaina stabs him in the heart and he dies. Yeah, it sounds cliche, but the books (there are a dozen or so focusing on this plot) make it sound so much better than what I just said. I haven't read the books, because personally I think they don't count, but whatever. Bruce Willis is dead at the end of The Sixth Sense. A recent psychology paper from the Association for Psychological Science shows that when audience members are aware of what will happen at the end of a book, they actually enjoy it more. It doesn't matter if spoilers are leaked (unless you are a film purist) as long as it makes up part of the story. Now, I'm not saying that you should just go out and spoil stories for people, but everyone knew the Titanic was going to sink at the end of Titanic, but it was still the highest grossing movie of all time. It's why a famous play is called The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and not What Happens to Romeo and Juliet?. It works. It's not the end of the world if someone spoils to you that Rosebud is a sled or that The Planet of the Apes is Earth or Soylent Green is people or Darth Vader is Luke's father (Oh, spoiler alert). It's fine. There will be spoilers. And that's fine.

Star Wars Episode VII News: Week 18

Finally, Some Plot Details

     A flood of rumors and real confirmations came within the last two weeks, and it looks like after months of sluggishness, the Star Wars rumor mill seems to be running at full speed again. Up first, casting rumors.

     According to Variety, John Boyega, a relative unknown besides television, is being watched as a potential lead contender for a starring role in Episode VII. However, this would only add his name to a list of ever increasing candidates. Here are (most of) the names that have been suggested as potential cast recently:

     -Adam Driver

     -Jesse Plemmons

     -John Boyega

     -Matthew James Thomas

     -Ray Fischer

     -Benedict Cumberbatch

     -Hugo Weaving

     -Michael Fassbender

     -Ed Speelers

     -Michael B. Jordan

     -David Oyelowo

     -Gary Oldman

     -Harrison Ford

     And, most recently, Lupita Nyong'o, an actress from 12 Years A Slave, is said to have been in talks with J.J. Abrams over the leading female role, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Many of these names sound credible, because many of the actors listed are relative unknowns, so called "fresh faces" (we'll get to that later), and Adam Driver seems to be picked for acting talent over good looks, which is always what a studio should do. Unless they just want money. And Disney loves money. But Lucasfilm has had a tradition of using unknowns, and look where we got. But it could backfire (cough)Hayden Christiansen(cough).

     Next up, rumors have resurfaced that Episode VII will be shot in IMAX. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alan Bergman, president of The Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement,

     "Disney has enjoyed a terrific ongoing collaboration with IMAX, and we are thrilled to extend this relationship with a collection of exciting, highly anticipated cinematic events that are perfect for the immersive IMAX format."

     It seems to me that these "cinematic events" are Star Wars and Marvel's slew of blockbusters. This means more money for Disney, who will make the audience fork over a few extra bucks to see Episode VII. And Disney loves money. But more and more movies lately are shooting on IMAX, so it will probably be at least partially shot on the format, so no surprise there.

     The question was out there since October 2012, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and Episode VII was announced: "When is production going to start?" Well, after months of speculation, the rumors all conglomerated to one date: May 2014. Now, Lucasfilm has answered the question of when production will start: May 2014.

     Lucasfilm has just released a statement saying:

     "Disney and Lucasfilm are excited to announce that principal photography on Star Wars: Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams, will commence May 2014, and will be based at London's historic Pinewood Studios."

     This is very good news. It means that Star Wars production has not halted, been postponed, or cancelled. It should be smooth sailing from here on out. Unless Disney runs out of money. And Disney loves money. However, this is unlikely, as the backlash would be tremendous, and Disney is incapable of running out of money, with every blockbuster Marvel movie they release every 6 months. This production date, May 2014, is vague, however, and could range anywhere from 72 days to 42 days. With production on the horizon, official statements have to start with more frequency, due to the newfound attention by the media. But this isn't the only thing that Lucasfilm stated about Episode VII. They also gave the premise for the plot.

This is their statement:

     "It has also been confirmed that Star Wars: Episode VII is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and will star a trio of new young leads along with some very familiar faces. No further details on casting or plot are available at this time."

     FINALLY. We know for certain, that this trilogy will focus on the Skywalker family, and not do something weird like make it a pre-prequel or have some spinoff. Leave it to the spinoff movies. But more importantly, this new "trio of fresh faces". This means that Disney is going to attempt to recreate the chemistry of the original Star Wars trilogy trio. Who will they use? Do I really need to list all those names again? The important thing is that there will be new characters. And, by the looks of it "some very familiar faces" could include Hammil, Ford, and Fischer. I think everyone wants Han, Luke and Leia to return, and I think everyone expects them to. But there haven't been any reports, and a year and a half later, we are still guessing who the cast is going to be. Why is this even a question? Why isn't this just a given? Lucasfilm should have announced on October 30, 2012, that Han, Luke and Leia would return, and be done with it. It's inevitable. You can't fight it. They're back.
     And they want your money!