"JJ Abrams on building a bigger, badder Death Star" Again? Please no.

That was my first reaction too but when you think about it you realize that there's nothing as bad-ass as Death Star in what comes to galactic evil empire bases.

Harrison Ford Is Han Solo
11 November 2015

The 'Star Wars' actor has had harsh words for the smuggler, but they're closer than you think



Planes roar into the air from Santa Monica Airport as the early-morning sun blasts off the tarmac. Behind a private hangar door that’s slightly ajar, Harrison Ford breaks into a familiar crooked smile as he walks between a long-range, green-and-white Cessna Citation jet and a Bell Helicopter.

That famous scar on his chin now has a much larger rival cutting across the right side of his forehead, and he’s limping slightly. Both injuries came from the crash landing Ford survived last March when his World War II-era training fighter ­suffered engine failure and fell out of the sky.

"I’ve been flying for 20 years, and it was a very rare thing to happen," he says. "It was a mechanical issue. No fault of the maintenance or anybody else." He shrugs. It didn’t keep him grounded long. "I got back in the heli­copter first, because my foot was still in the cast, my toes were hanging out. It was the easiest aircraft to get into [that I’d still] be capable, and safe, to fly."

That’s why it stung so much when Ford showed scant affection for the smuggler — and even smacked him around a bit — over the years. He repeatedly said he wished Solo had been killed off in Return of the Jedi to give the final film in the original trilogy emotional gravity. He told NBC’s Today back then, "I was glad to see that costume for the last time."

The 73-year-old star has softened significantly now that the planet is beside itself awaiting his return in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. "I was glad that the character was still alive for me to play in this new iteration," he says.

If you spend any time with Ford, one simple reason for his long-standing discomfort with the role starts to reveal itself. Here is the hard truth that some, and Ford himself, may find difficult to accept:

Harrison Ford is totally Han Solo.

The Full Article: Ew.com/article/2015/11/11/harrison-ford-is-han-solo

Adam Relf's Poster Pitch for 'The Force Awakens'
12 November 2015

Artist Adam Relf created this poster for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', and The Force.net seems to think it was a poster pitch for the movie that didn’t move forward as official marketing material. The (poster) link is hidden on the artist’s website, but they somehow discovered the image through some digging. Some believe the poster was pitched and rejected because of the presence of Luke Skywalker, who has been kept under wraps in the marketing so far.



http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-bits ... the-art-awakens/2/

Starkiller Base: New Details on the Dark Side of 'The Force Awakens'
13 November 2015



What the hell is THAT? Along with "Where is Luke Skywalker?" that was one of the first things fans asked when they laid eyes on the giant planet-like weapon hovering in the upper right corner of the official poster for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'.

Now, we have confirmation from director J.J. Abrams: that is Starkiller Base, the command center for the Imperial remnant known as the First Order.

"It is very much — and it’s acknowledged as such in the movie — apparently another Death Star," Abrams says. "But what it’s capable of, how it works, and what the threat is, is far greater than what the Death Star could have done. Starkiller Base is another step forward, technologically speaking, in terms of power."

Exactly what that power it will be revealed in the movie on Dec. 18.

Abrams says it’s only logical that this new generation of Imperial wannabes would consider the failure of their idols to be a lack of ambition. If they’re going to succeed where Darth Vader and the Emperor failed, they’re going to have to demonstrate that they are even more menacing and destructive.

"Evil’s a little bit like a drug," Abrams says. "It takes more and more of it to have the same effect. And I think the First Order is a really deadly drug."

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/13/star-wars ... starkiller-base

http://postimg.org/image/r4unv5me5

Great New Footage In the 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Extended TV Spot
26 November 2015



The new 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Extended TV spot features some new dialogue from Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong’o) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), along with some cool new action shots, including what appears to be the weapon inside Starkiller Base being fired as a legion of First Order troops look on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e813AnfX0Y

J.J. Abrams’ 'Force Awakens' Cinematic Inspirations and More
27 November 2015



If you want to know the latest about the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke, the complex nature of Kylo Ren, and a little more about the still-absent Luke Skywalker, this is the place to be. Oh, and J.J. Abrams discusses his cinematic influences and throws just a teensy bit of shade at the prequels while taking about lightsaber duels.

All of this news comes from Empire’s new cover story on 'The Force Awakens' (although these excerpts were collected by Star Wars News Net), which means that there is nothing here that will outright spoil the movie for you. At the same time, the film is only three weeks away from release, so if you want to remain in the dark and just wait it out, go ahead and consider much of the chatter below to be minor spoilers. You know how much you want to know.

Let’s start with something totally non-spoilery – director J.J. Abrams’ cinematic influences for the film. And no, it’s not “the original trilogy a dozen times,” but work from an eclectic collection of classic directors:

Before he started The Force Awakens, Abrams watched some movies. No, not those ones, Other ones. He looked at “the confidence” of John Ford Westerns. He took in the “unbelievable scene choreography and composition” of Kurosawa’s High and Low. And he studied “the powerful stillness” of Terrence Malick. “It’s not something I would normally have thought of coming to Star Wars,” he says. The spare visual style of Ford, Kurosawa and Malick points to a key mandate for Abrams’ approach to Episode VII: the distinctive less-is-more quality of the originals.

George Lucas was never shy about his love for Kurosawa (there is a lot of The Hidden Fortress in the original Star Wars), but hearing Abrams mention those filmmakers confirms what we’ve known for a long time: he has his heart in the right place and the proper instincts. Now the final movie just has to be good.

Empire also dove into Andy Serkis‘ Supreme Leader Snoke, a bad guy whose alien appearance is so extreme that he could only be created through motion capture. Serkis has finally and officially confirmed what many fans have suspected for some time – he’s the “Big Bad” of the next few films, pulling strings from behind-the-scenes while Kylo Ren does his dirty work:

Whether Snoke is a two-storey-tall giant or a floating spectre, Serkis confirms he is definitely an alien we haven’t seen before, and the Emperor Palpatine of this series. “Exactly that. And he’s severely damaged. Although he is a powerful leader, he comes across as vulnerable. Very scarred and disfigured.”

Serkis even went a step further and said that Snoke is the reason Kylo Ren has taken to the dark side in the first place:

“I will say this one spoiler-y thing: he was critical in the seduction of Ren to the dark side. he is a hugely important part of the story and will continue to be.”

As for Kylo Ren, Adam Driver‘s masked wannabe Sith sounds like he’s going to be a lot more than a lightsaber-wielding heavy. Like his personal idol, Darth Vader, there’s a lot going in inside that helmet:

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan says, “There’s never been a character quite like the one that Adam plays.” Most people describe Kylo Ren as the movie’s villain but Driver thinks that the really worrying bad guys are the ones who believe they’re good. Beware the righteous fanatic. “When they think their actions are morally justified it makes them dangerous and unpredictable. There’s no level they won’t go to accomplish what they’re after. I never thought of the character as an evil person.”

We already know from the trailers that Kylo Ren and John Boyega‘s Finn will get in at least one lightsaber duel and Abrams is open about how he chose to stage laser-sword battles in his movie. The fancy choreography of the prequels is gone, replaced with the raw, emotional fights of the original trilogy:

“When you look at Star Wars and Empire, they are very different lightsaber battles, but for me they felt more powerful because they were not quite as slick. I was hoping to go for something much more primitive, aggressive and rougher, a throwback to the kind of heart-stopping lightsaber fights I remembered being so enthralled by as a kid.”

And finally, we got a nice little update from Mark Hamill on the status of Luke Skywalker, who has been AWOL in the film’s marketing. Hamill doesn’t share much, be does share a sweet anecdote about shooting on Skellig Michael off the Irish coast:

Rest assured, Luke will appear in TFA, although it’s a fair bet that he won’t quite be the innocent farm boy we met back in A New Hope. “Obviously you’re seeing him in a very different time in his life,” says Hamill. “There are lots of surprises in this movie. You’re going to love it.”

If scuttlebutt is to be believed, much of TFA will concern the search for the reclusive Luke, and there’s a prevailing theory that Hamill spends a large part of the movie by himself. Certainly, Hamill’s strongest memory of shooting the movie supports that. “It reminded me of when I was in Tunisia on the salt flats. If you could get into your own mind and shut out the crew and look at the horizon , you really felt like you were in a galaxy far, far away. I had that same wave of emotion happen to me when I was on Skellig Michael in Ireland. I wasn’t anticipating it.”

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-the- ... s-details/

Behind The Scenes with Finn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAWUBXlS8Z0

00:50 - Tie Fighter escape with Destroyer in the background and "Into The Trap" track from Return Of The Jedi - Goosebumps

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' - Official International Trailer #2
9 December 2015



Includes quite a bit of previously unseen footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpYnwS-BqOg

The 'Star Wars' Saga Films Will Focus on the Skywalker Story
10 December 2015



Kathleen Kennedy explains that "the Saga films are primarily centered around the Skywalker family." This isn’t very surprising, as it’s something she has said before. And yes, aside from the old Legacy characters (Luke Skywalker and General Leia) we don’t yet know who else might be of Skywalker descent in the new film.

Some fans have speculated that Finn and/or Rey must be Skywalker descendants. However, as recently as the Force Awakens press conference, John Boyega has strongly hinted that we may not even find out the heritage of the two main characters Finn and Rey, at least in this film.

Something I’ve never seen stated before is the fact that the Star Wars Story films will actually be tackling various genre stories set within the Star Wars universe. Kennedy told me "the standalone films can be a wide variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe."

When asked if Rogue One was Lucasfilm’s heist movie, Kennedy said, "It is to a certain extent." This is kind of like the approach that Marvel Studios has been taking with their films, with 'Winter Soldier' being a conspiracy thriller and 'Ant-Man' being a comedic heist film.

But Kennedy is only willing to entertain the comparison only so far:

"It is definitely in the genre thinking but Star Wars is very different than Marvel in that they basically build their stories around characters, and then they seed those characters in different stories. Star Wars, you know, is a place, it’s a universe, so those stories are constructed a little differently than Marvel."

With the Star Wars Saga movies there is an established feel, tone, and look which can’t be veered from too much. But like the animated series, the Star Wars Story standalone movies can have their own unique feel. Kennedy explained that was the reason for the filmmakers they have hired thus far:

"They are really being designed as standalone movies which is fantastic for the filmmakers we bring in, and the actors we hire, because it’s a different sensibility."

Another thing that surprised me was that Kathy says that the Star Wars Story standalone movies "are not being designed to necessarily build new franchises." So don’t expect to see a Han Solo sequel in development; these are standalone stories that as Kennedy says will "very definitely have a beginning, middle, and end." Of course, I assume if a movie did monster box office, a sequel could still happen.

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm and the new saga and standalone films were announced, it seemed to me that the Star Wars Saga films were going to follow the legacy characters and follow the events/story we know about, and the Star Wars Anthology films would focus on introducing new characters and new stories in this galaxy. But so far it seems like the opposite. When I mentioned this to Kathy, she was quick to interject:

"No, no. It just so happens to be 'Rogue One' is the precursor to 'New Hope' and yes, this Han Solo idea but I would not argue that we are setting up any kind of prequel notion with these standalone movies. I think that’s so far just coincidence. And to be perfectly honest, we have changed the order of those at the last minute, so that’s not the intention at all."

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-standalone-movies/

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' World Premiere Brings Hollywood to a Standstill
14 December 2015



If you were thinking of taking a leisurely stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Monday might not be the best day to do it.

Hollywood Boulevard, home to the iconic Grauman's Chinese Theater — one of the handful of locations that showed the original 'Star Wars' on its opening day, May 25 1977 — has been all but locked down in advance of Monday night's out-of-this-world event.

That would be the invite-only first screening of the year's most widely anticipated movie, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' — which some industry observers are already calling Hollywood's largest premiere ever.

It's not hard to see why. Six long blocks of this normally bustling boulevard have been blocked off to traffic, and a three block-long white tent has been erected to cover the red carpet where every celebrity Disney can muster will be walking — including the franchise's father, George Walton Lucas Jr.

The star-covered sidewalks have been fenced off, and metal detectors are visible everywhere. The LAPD says that extra vehicle patrols and more officers are being assigned to the area. Security guards are attempting to prevent curious passers-by from taking pictures, and strict dress instructions have been issued to guests.

"For your safety and security, we ask you leave masks, face shields, or other facial feature obstructing headgear or make-up, as well as light sabers, blasters, or other weaponry (real or simulated) at home," Disney reps told guests in an email.

Security efforts are helped by the fact that it's an unseasonably cold and blustery day in the City of Angels — though that hasn't stopped dozens of hardcore fans from bringing camping chairs and sitting out on the sidewalk a block outside the exclusion zone, hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

Guests aren't yet being told which theater or theaters they're seeing the movie in, although the Chinese and the nearby El Capitan, which is owned by Disney, seem like pretty safe bets.

http://mashable.com/2015/12/14/star-war ... -premiere/

Spoiler Free Early Buzz: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'
15 December 2015



The world premiere of JJ Abrams‘ 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' happened last night in Hollywood California at an unprecedented gala that took over the three big theaters on Hollywood Blvd: El Capitan, The Dolby Theatre and The TCL Chinese Theatre. While full on reviews are embargoed until Wednesday morning at 12:01am, guests in attendance at the premiere were allowed to tweet their brief reactions.

"Awesome. The Force has indeed awakened. I can't wait for what comes next."
—Peter Sciretta

The Force Awakens is everything we want from a Star Wars movie.

I talked to many people at the premiere party after the screening, and while some people were hesitant to make a definitive reaction after only one viewing, I did not talk to anyone who didn’t like the movie. Most people I talked to said it was certainly better than the prequels, with some ranking it as highly as their second favorite in the series.

"Star Wars is back. And it's never going away again."
—DrewAtHitFix

"Congrats to JJ Abrams and the entire cast and crew on an incredible film. Force Awakens made me a giddy 10 year old all over again."
—Josh Gad

"Star Wars is back. That’s for damn sure."
— Jeff Cannata

"Force Awakens might be the best blockbuster since the original."
—Brett Morgen

"The Force Awakens is soooo Star Wars, and Daisy Ridley is the business, and Star Wars."
—Jen Yamato

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a strong, promising kickoff. As a standalone, I'd rank it #3 in the series."
—Josh Lincoln Dickey

"Ranking: 1. Empire Strikes Back. 2. Force Awakens. 3. A New Hope. 4. Return of the Jedi. 5 – 8 Prequels. Thank you JJ."
—Adam F. Goldberg

"1st Star Wars review: it was epic, awesome & perfect. The cast was stellar. JJ killed it!"
—Rainn Wilson

"Not going to say much till I see it again but rest assured The Force Awakens is the best Star Wars since 1983…maybe 1980."
—Steven Weintraub

"We are back in business kids, back in business indeed. Bring on ep 8."
—Kristian Harloff

"JJ did it."
—Patton Oswalt

"No spoilers but The Force Awakens is beyond amazing. Truly. It was an emotional experience that exceeded my hopes!!!"
—Chris Hardwick

"Awesome!!!!!!"
—Robert Liefeld

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-the- ... arly-buzz/

just came home from watching the movie...and holy shit!!! Amazing!!! There's nothing else to say right now...I gotta digest the movie before watching it again in a few days

Fantastic, was on the edge of my seat the entire movie. Definitely need 2 more viewings to absorb it all.

It doesnt just surpass the last 4 movies (rotj/prequels) it kinda improves them in a way.

The hype is more than justified