Episode VIII Set Photos in the Star Wars News Roundup
Episode VIII set photos in the Star Wars News Roundup
The purpose of this roundup is to put all the Star Wars news from the last week in one location. If you read this each week, you should be able to converse fluently with any Star Wars fan on everything from the latest Star Wars developments to the latest toys. And maybe you’ll even share with them something that they might have missed.
viernes, 26 de febrero de 2016
List With The Force Awakens Blu-ray/DVD Special Features!
A
Swedish site has put up The Force Awakens Blu-ray for pre-order on
their site, and surprisingly included some information potentially
revealing what the special features are going to be…
A few days ago we told you
that The Force Awakens will hit digital platforms on March 15, which is
only 19 days away. The actual release of the movie is expected to be on
April 5th, and many people were wondering why we still don’t have an
official announcement on that.
Now the Swedish site CDON.com
has put up TFA Blu-ray for pre-order on their site and included some
really interesting and legit looking info on the special features. Here
they are:
Secrets Of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey
The Story Awakens: The Table Read
Building BB-8
Crafting Creatures
Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight
The Visual Magic Of The Force
John Williams: The Seventh Symphony
Deleted Scenes
Force For Change
As you can see the list sounds pretty genuine. It’s not uncommon
foreign sites to receive the info and post it in advance, not following a
certain embargo. The best recent example was TFA soundtrack list which
leaked on the French Amazon.
Until official word is released treat this as a regular rumor, but
from what I am hearing, I think that this is indeed the real list of
special features. Also we got word that this site is pretty reputable
(something like the Swedish Amazon), so my guess is that we will be
getting an official announcement on the Blu-ray/DVD release in the
following days.
Special thanks to Niklas Karlsson for the heads up.
The Force Awakens Editors Confirm at Least 7 Deleted Scenes on the Blu-ray/DVD
Mary
Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon, the Oscar nominated editors of The Force
Awakens, talked about The Force Awakens deleted scenes with The Independent.
In January the VFX crew talked about the deleted scenes, now the Editors sum up what might end up on the Blu-ray/DVD release in April 2016.
Disney asked them not to talk about those scenes “since they’re going
to be on the DVD treats for viewers” but at least we get a total
number:
“There aren’t a lot. There’s one with Harrison Ford, there’s one with Rey, but there aren’t a lot.
“I think there are maybe seven or eight,” added Markey.
Asked about regretting anything left on the cutting floor Brandon replied:
Brandon said: “I honestly think that what is in the film
is exactly what needs to be in the film, and what isn’t remains fun but
not necessary.
Or like Shakespeare once said: brevity is the soul of wit. After some
initial screenings to a small group they even tried to get those scenes
back.
“So we went back to see if we should add any of the
things we left off, and there really wasn’t anything that felt like it
needed to be in the film. That’s always the goal, to get it down to its
essence. There were fun things, but it didn’t actually have to be in the
movie for it to work.”
Tomorrow we will get the full interview with Markey and Brandon,
talking about the similarities with Lucas’ films, diversity in the film
industry and what it is like working with JJ Abrams. Stay tuned.
New Behind-the-scenes Image of Luke Skywalker from The Force Awakens!
It seems that the iron hold on the secrets of The Force Awakens is
loosening with the approaching release of Blu-Ray and with Episode VIII
currently in production.
Disney has released the behind-the-scene picture to follow the article in the Variety
about the film resurgence in Ireland which benefits the world cinema –
thanks to Ireland’s tax incentives. The image was taken on Skellig
Michael during the filming of final scene of The Force Awakens and it
shows Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and film’s crew.
Let’s hope that this means we will see more in the following months,
especially from Mark Hamill, because we have surely missed him.
jueves, 25 de febrero de 2016
Mark Hamill Shares Selfie from ‘Star Wars 8’ Set Read more at: https://tr.im/O6U0L
Mark Hamill Shares Selfie from ‘Star Wars 8’ Set
Mark Hamill teases a new alien in ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’, which turns out to just be his daughter's dog.
Now that we've all seen Luke Skywalker at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, actor Mark Hamill no longer has to keep himself hidden. Today, he's posted a selfie direct from the set of Star Wars: Episode VIII, showing off his bearded look along with the official working title logo Star Wars: Space Bear. He claims to have a first look at one of the new aliens in this impending sequel. But alas, it's only his daughter's dog. Carrie Fisher revealed a similar photo from the Star Wars: Episode VIII set last week. Showing off her dog Gary Fisher, the iconic actress revealed the secret working title of the movie and its unique logo. It's unclear if Carrie Fisher did this on accident, but now that the bear is out of the bag, so to speak, it seems that other cast members aren't shying away from showing off the secretive title. It shouldn't be long before Star Wars Space Bear T-shirts and merchandise are available.
Disney and Lucasfilm have confirmed that principal photography has officially begun at Pinewood Studios in London on February 15, 2016. Star Wars: Episode VIII is written and directed by Rian Johnson. This highly anticipated sequel continues the storylines introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Coming back are cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. New cast members will include Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award nominee Laura Dern, and talented newcomer Kelly Marie Tran. Star Wars: Episode VIII is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman and executive produced by J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski. Joining the production crew will be some of the industry's top talent, including Steve Yedlin (Director of Photography), Bob Ducsay (Editor), Rick Heinrichs (Production Designer), Peter Swords King (Hair and Make-Up Designer), and Mary Vernieu (US Casting Director). They will be joining returning crew members Pippa Anderson (Co-Producer, VP Post Production), Neal Scanlan (Creature & Droid FX Creative Supervisor), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Jamie Wilkinson (Prop Master), Chris Corbould (SFX Supervisor), Rob Inch (Stunt Coordinator), Ben Morris (VFX Supervisor), and Nina Gold (UK Casting Director). No story details have been released at this time. And none of the new characters have been announced. Take a look at Mark Hamill's latest selfie. Read more at: https://tr.im/O6U0L
EXCLUSIVE 1st LOOK #EP8-Exotic Alien Creature to terrorize...oh no wait-that's just my daughter's dog #Whoops#MyBadpic.twitter.com/qeD56nyL2A— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) February 24, 2016.
miércoles, 24 de febrero de 2016
Watch John Williams Discuss The Star Wars: The Force Awakens Score
The first blast of John Williams’ score at the beginning of Star Wars: The Force Awakens immediately reminded audiences that they were once again watching a Star Wars film. It was immediately nostalgic, as well as rousing and entertaining. Without it, Star Wars: The Force Awakens just
wouldn’t have worked as well. And now John Williams has been speaking
about what it was like working on the music for the space opera again.
Like the rest of us watching in theaters, he was immediately excited by
the proposition.
Straight off the bat, it’s great to see
the 84-year-old composter, conductor, pianist, and all-round musical
genius looking so sprightly and with it. And, despite his obvious
prowess, Williams was just as excited as everyone else when it came to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
John Williams admitted that he was chomping at the bit to "add to the glossary of themes" of Star Wars,
while also explaining that his main ambition was to create a fun and
exciting backbone to J.J. Abrams’ return to the franchise. In fact,
Williams wanted it to feel as though you were visiting an old friend.
Because of the return of Carrie Fisher’s Leia, Harrison Ford’s Han Solo,
Chewbacca, C3-PO, and, rather briefly, Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker,
John Williams made sure to make a connection to the original films with
the music, which he then combined with new melodies for the characters.
John Williams also elaborated on his hopes for the personal scores of
characters, insisting that Rey’s was meant to invoke empathy, and wasn’t
intended to be heroic. Rather, it was meant to be more like an
adventure theme. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren’s music was an extension of Darth
Vader, and was meant to convey terror, evil, and dread in short, sharp
notes.
For those of you that don’t know, and if you don’t then you should be thoroughly ashamed, John Williams is,
arguably, the greatest composer in the history of cinema. This is a
point that’s hard to dispute when you consider that he’s created some of
the most recognizable film scores in movie history, having composed
pieces for Jaws, the Star Wars series, Superman, the Indiana Jones franchise, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and the first three Harry Potter films.
John Williams is in contention for his sixth Academy Award at the end of the month thanks to his work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He is going up against Thomas Newman’s score for Bridge Of Spies, Carter Burwell’s on Carol, Johann Johannsson’s on Sicario, while his main competitor is Ennio Morricone, who created the music for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.
My money is John Williams to take home yet another Oscar. But, even if
he doesn’t, he’ll no doubt gain another nomination when he works on Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is due out on December 15, 2017. He's just that good.
Star Wars and Nixon have teamed up on a new collection inspired by the good guys. If you’re a fan of Star Wars, you’re hyped!
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Learn more on nixon.com.
domingo, 21 de febrero de 2016
Feel the Filmmaking Force: Star Wars Fan Film Awards 2016 Now Open
Lucasfilm's annual celebration of fan creativity is back!
The Star Wars Fan Film Awards 2016 are now fully operational.
Lucasfilm’s annual contest — in which fans make their own short films
based on the stories and characters of a galaxy far, far away — is
officially open! Visit StarWars.com’s Star Wars Fan Film Awards page to download a sound asset pack of official Star Wars sounds, view helpful Do’s and Don’ts, and more to get started and make your Star Wars
masterpiece. Submissions are open through April 24, 2016, at 11:59 p.m.
PT, and entrants will have the chance to win a Fett-worthy bounty: an
award plus a Star Wars Prize Pack consisting of Star Wars-themed merchandise and more. The Star Wars Fan
Film Awards welcome films of varying genres, styles, and tones; award
categories include Filmmaker Select, Best Animation, Best Non-Fiction,
Spirit of Fandom, Best Comedy, Best Visual Effects, and Audience Choice,
and winners will be announced in a special ceremony at Star Wars Celebration 2016.
In addition, the Star Wars Fan Film Awards are open to more
filmmakers than ever before, including residents age 13+ from the US and
District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), as well as
residents 18+ of the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand,
and Mexico.
Good luck and may the Force (of filmmaking) be with you!
StarWars.com. All Star Wars, all the time.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter contest between 2/18/16 at 12:00 p.m. PT
and 4/24/16 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S.
& D.C., Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 13+, and to legal
residents of the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and
Mexico who are 18+ at time of entry. Limit 1 entry per person. There
are 7 Star Wars prize packs available to be won (ARV: US$250 each). See Official Rules for
full details on how to enter, eligibility requirements, prize
description and limitations. Void in Quebec and where prohibited.
Sponsor: Disney Online, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA
91521-7667.
STAR WARS ACTOR BIRTHDAY
Anthony Daniels
Happy 70 birthday
sábado, 20 de febrero de 2016
Space Bear: Star Wars: Episode VIII’s Secret Title Revealed!
Carrie (and Gary) Fisher confirm that Space Bear is the working title for Star Wars: Episode VIII
A rumor first appeared via MovieCastingCall.org earlier this year about a secret production name for Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII. Now, via social media, Carrie Fisher (and her popular pup, Gary Fisher) has confirmed the rumor, snapping a shot of her chair at Pinewood Studios. Get ready for Space Bear to hit the big screen December 15, 2017!
Of course, the title Space Bear isn’t going to be
what appears on movie theater marquees next year. Working titles are
used on a lot of major releases and rarely have all that much to do with
the plot. Return of the Jedi famously featured the working title Blue Harvest and Lucasfilm even went so far as to invent the faux tagline “Horror beyond imagination.” J.J. Abrams’ recent The Force Awakens was rumored to have filmed under the title AVCO, while upcoming Rogue One is said to be going by the codename Lunak Heavy.
Over at Marvel Studios, recent production codenames have offered slight winks to the fans. The Avengers was known as Group Hug, Age of Ultron as After Party, Captain America as Freezer Burn and Ant-Man as Bigfoot, to name a few. So while you shouldn’t expect the next Star Wars saga film to focus on a Space Bear per se, we may one day have a much better idea about from where the Space Bear name originated. Space Bear is written and directed by Rian Johnson and continues the storylines introduced in The Force Awakens.
The film welcomes back, in addition to Fisher, cast members Mark
Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita
Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and
Andy Serkis. New cast members will include Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award nominee Laura Dern, and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran.
viernes, 19 de febrero de 2016
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and a tidbit on the squad.
The article below on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may
contain spoilers from the upcoming film, so read on at your own risk.
Please do not openly discuss these rumors on social media as to not
spoil the movie for anyone that wants to remain spoiler-free.
I have been told that the black Stormtroopers in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will belong to an elite unit called Death Squad. It takes me back to the Kenner line of Star Wars action
figures that had a “Death Squad Commander” before it was renamed “Star
Destroyer Commander.” I’m not sure if the name is in tribute or merely a
badass sounding coincidence.
In trooper news, I’ve heard another trooper mentioned called the
“Pinnacle Trooper.” At this time I have no point of reference for the
design. I do wonder/speculate if it will be the the long faced black
Stormtrooper? In other points of clarification, the the Stormtrooper
with the green lights by the microphone areas of the mask are the
classic Death Trooper and not the long faced one we saw in the Donnie
Yen released photo of the masks.
If this information pans out to pertain to screen used terms, we will have a Scarab Trooper, a Pinnacle Trooper, and a Death Squad consisting of black Stormtroopers in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The Empire has never sounded more menacing.
Watch the original Star Wars the way it looked in 1977
While defaced "special editions" and numerous re-releases are the way many have experienced Star Wars,
a group of dedicated fans have taken matters into their own hands,
recently releasing a digitally restored version of the film pulled from
35mm prints dating back to the original release in 1977. Dubbed "The
Silver Screen Edition," the project was completed by an anonymous group
going under the name Team Negative1, and is largely taken from a
Spanish-language low-fade 35mm print, with certain sections — including
the original title crawl, which had neither "Episode IV" nor "A New
Hope" when first released — filled in by a faded vintage print on Kodak
Eastman film stock.
There have been various fan-made restorations of the original Star Wars trilogy over the years, most famously the "Despecialized Edition," which just released an updated Return of the Jedi
earlier this year. But that project was made up of bits and pieces
assembled from a variety of different sources, whereas the new Silver
Screen release was pulled primarily from that single Spanish print — a
bit of a coup given that the film prints aren't technically supposed to
be floating around in the wild at all. "They all had to be destroyed
after they were shown. So the ones that still exist, somebody just dug
them out of dumpsters and managed to hang on to them," a representative
from Team Negative1, going by the name Mr. Black, recently told Movie Mezzanine.
"Even the best one, even the one that was used as a reference for the
Special Edition was in terrible shape. The colors are there, but the
damage is just insurmountable."
Han shoots first, Jabba doesn't show, and not a scrap of CG
To combat that damage, the scanned elements underwent digital
restoration to stabilize the images, color-correct them, and remove
damage and dirt — and while the end result is impressive, it's not going
to be what you're used to from a modern Blu-ray release. That's largely
due to the elements used; back in the days of film releases, prints
wouldn't be struck from the original conformed negative due to the high
probability of damage. Instead, an intermediary print called an
internegative — essentially, a duplicate of the final, color-corrected
negative — would be used to strike the release prints that ended up in
theaters. But given that this was an analog, photochemical procedure,
each generation away from that original negative introduced softness and
grain into the image, making the source material for this new version
softer than the negatives used for official releases. (It's the same
reason why when you watch digital restorations of old movies certain
wipes, transitions, or special effects suddenly leap out as grainier
than the rest of the restored footage; producing those effects back in
the day required compositing images on film, baking in added grain.) But
the result is Star Wars as it was when it set the world on fire
nearly 40 years ago: Han shoots first, Jabba doesn't show up, and
there's not a scrap of intrusive computer-generated imagery to be seen.
Of course, none of this is exactly legal, so things like the Silver Screen Edition aren't available for sale (but if you read The Verge,
you've probably already got a pretty good idea of where you should go
online to track it down). And it's just the first step for Team
Negative1. According to the team's site, they're already work on a second release of Star Wars,
which will be using even better source materials for reduced grain and
increased sharpness, and also have various versions of the other films
in the works — including a 70mm scan of The Empire Strikes Back.
The noise is getting louder for a proper, historically accurate release
The noise is getting louder from fans to see the original films as
they were first released, not only as a historical artifact, but because
that's the way people first fell in love with them. George Lucas
famously vowed that the original cuts would never be released, and that a
true restoration would be impossible due to the changes made to the
original elements for the Special Edition releases. With Disney having
purchased Lucasfilm, however, fans are hoping for that to change.
Another unreleased restoration project, by composer Mike Verta, is said
to be highest quality version yet, and a significant improvement to the
oversaturated colors of the Blu-ray release. (This comparison video from Verta sums up his issues pretty clearly.) He's so passionate about the issue, that Verta told Movie Mezzanine
that he is scheduling a meeting with Disney and 20th Century Fox
executives to screen the film and pitch them on the potential of a true
restoration. "I think the more vocal people are about supporting these
projects, the better," Verta said. "Have faith; more to come."
jueves, 18 de febrero de 2016
Peter Mayhew Confirmed for Star Wars: Episode VIII. The Actor Teases Big Announcement Coming Soon!
A few days ago, when the official announcement
about the start of principal photography for Star Wars: Episode VIII
was released, many people noticed that Peter Mayhew’s name was not among
the announced cast. Some fans feared the worst thinking that the
71-year-old actor probably won’t return for Episode VIII due to his knee
problems. Well, we’re happy to announce that our favorite Wookiee will
return for Rian Johnson’s take on the galaxy far, far away, and not only
that but Peter might also have a surprise in store for all of us…
The confirmation came after Mayhew had to cancel his appearance at this year’s Visioncon in Branson this month. (via news-leader.com)
Andrea Smith, spokeswoman for the southwest Missouri sci-fi convention, said Peter Mayhew was called to London to begin filming Star Wars: Episode VIII. “They start filming tomorrow,”
Smith said Wednesday. “There was another convention this weekend; he
had to cancel that, too. It’s not just us, it’s like, seven
conventions.”
It’s nice to see that Peter will have a long presence on the set. Canceling 7 conventions is no joke.
And if this news was not enough, the actor announced on Twitter that
he is going to be releasing a few pages each day from his own script of
the original Star Wars, that will lead up to a big announcement.
Starting today I'll post a few pages from my original @StarWars script each day leading up to a big announcement. pic.twitter.com/ReXI4hyQo1
That’s really cool. This actually is the fourth draft of the script
for A New Hope and it is titled “Journal of the Whills” by George Lucas.
It was released in January 1976 and as you can see still has Luke as
Starkiller.
Looking forward to the next post. In the meantime what do you think
the big announcement will be about? Tell us in the comments below.
Whether or not you see George Lucas’ tinkering with the original Star Wars
trilogy as harmless meddling or the greatest sin committed in cinematic
history, it’s a shame that fans don’t even have the choice to purchase
HD versions of the original theatrical cuts. But now, at least, a
restored version of the first Star Wars is available online.
This isn’t a “despecialized edition” like many other fan attempts to
revert Lucas’ changes. Somehow, a group of fans dubbing themselves Team
Negative One found an original 35mm film print of the first Star Wars movie,and
have spent years cleaning it up, scanning each frame of film and
digitally restoring it to make the cleanest version of the original
movie as possible. You can check out a video comparing the state of the
original film reel and the final, cleaned version below:
Team Negative One’s re
storation is meant to be more faithful than the
only publicly released HD version of the theatrical cuts made available
as DVD bonuses in a 2006 release of the original trilogy (which
themselves were taken from the Laserdisc release of the movies and
suffered from detail loss in the transfer process). It’s by no means a
perfect restoration, with some graininess and color differences, and you
won’t get the sharp image of the Blu-ray releases, changes and all, but
it’s the closest there’s ever been to a true restoration of the
original Star Wars.
Due to the highly dubious legality of releasing the restoration,
Negative One has remained relatively quiet about putting the restored
film online; it began seeding its way through the internet about a month
ago, but it’s only just started receiving wider attention as more and
more fans discover it. Obviously because of this, we can’t directly link
to where to download the restoration, but should you desire to see it,
it’s not exactly difficult to find if you go looking.
You can check out the link below to see more comparisons between the
restoration and the original print, as well as the 2011 Blu-ray release
of the film.
lunes, 15 de febrero de 2016
‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’: Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern Join Cast
The studio also announced that newcomer Kelly Marie Tran will have an
unspecified role in the latest installment of the space opera.
Dern scored Oscar nominations for her work in “Rambling Rose” and
“Wild,” and effectively ducked velociraptors and T-Rexes in “Jurassic
Park.” Upcoming projects include Jennifer Fox’s “The Tale” and Kelly
Reichardt’s “Certain Women.”
Del Toro scored an Oscar playing a morally conflicted cop in
“Traffic,” earned another nomination for “21 Grams” and headlined the
likes of “Sicario” and “Savages.” He next reprises his role as the
Collector in “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.” An earlier Variety report said that Del Toro will play the villain role in the new “Star Wars.”
Principal photography on “Star Wars: Episode VIII” begins Monday at
Pinewood Studios in London. The film hits theaters on Dec. 15, 2017,
when it should mint money.
“Looper” director Rian Johnson wrote the screenplay and will replace “The Force Awakens'” J.J. Abrams behind the camera.
Cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley,
John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony
Daniels, Gwendoline Christie and Andy Serkis will all return for the
latest sequel.
Mark Hamill finally has his say on that Luke and Leia incest kiss in Star Wars
It is one of the most memorable kissing scenes in movie
history – for all of the wrong reasons – and Luke Skywalker’s snog with
Princess Leia has become a bit of a joke among Star Wars fans.
Let’s face it, you either have to laugh or cry. Or vomit.
To be fair to Luke and Leia, they had no idea that they were engaging
in incest when their lips met in The Empire Strikes Back – Luke only
learned that she was his sister in Return Of The Jedi.
And now, Mark Hamill has finally spoken about his character’s
unfortunate (and only) romantic moment in the original trilogy by
pointing out that while we may all laugh, it was actually understandably
traumatic for poor Luke.
He tweeted:
It's a big joke & everyone has a good laugh, but for Luke it was TRAUMATIC! Seriously, a life-altering experience. https://t.co/IKBBtV2omK
With
Rogue One filming almost finished and the start of principal
photography for Episode VIII, we will briefly move our focus further in
the future and discuss a new rumor we heard about the cast for the
second stand alone movie – Han Solo… POTENTIAL SPOILERS!
You probably remember the rumor that actor Taron Egerton (Kingsman) was wanted to play the lead in the upcoming Han Solo film. The rumor first originated from the tabloid The Sun back in February 2015. Since then there were multiple reports on many young actors
who supposedly tried their luck to score the dream role. Surprisingly
Taron’s name was not mentioned in the recently revealed list of actors
that possibly auditioned for the role.
Now we’ve learned from a source that Egerton is still on the wanted
list. And not only that, but he actually already auditioned more than
once for the role. We can also add another name to the list of actors
being eyed for the role of the famous scoundrel – Alden Ehrenreich.
What’s interesting is that according to our source, both actors
auditioned separately and together. This means that they might be up for
two different roles. They were screen tested using a script that
suggested that they are both related. This script of course had nothing
to do with the Han Solo script. You probably remember that for TFA
actors read a scene from The Hunger Games for Finn and Rey. So
we can’t say for certain that the close relation between the two
characters will remain in the movie as well. Our source even thinks that
actually Han Solo might have a brother, but for now we put that under
the rumors column. Let’s just say that a major male family member is up
for casting and that it is of the same type as Han.
The source also confirmed that some of the already released names did
audition, but what’s interesting is that they were doing it in pairs as
well as single auditions.
While our source was pretty confident for the accuracy of the above
report he also mentioned another interesting casting possibility that is
still not confirmed. So take it with the usual dosage of salt.
According to him, Idris Elba met with Lucasfilm recently. We’re not sure
for what role he might be considered if any, but keep that in mind.
It’s interesting that Elba was recently announced
to be in talks to star in the romance drama “The Mountain Between Us”
at Fox 2000. The most recent draft of the screenplay was written by Rogue One writer Chris Weitz.
Special thanks to Pelican for supplying the news.
Fan mashup of 'Mario Kart' and 'Star Wars' is a gaming dream
'Star Kart' would be an instant pre-order... if it were real.
If you're like me, you spent your youth imagining what it'd be like if your favorite fictional universes got together -- heck, Aliens vs. Predator and Kingdom Hearts
are practically kids' dreams made real. Well, some fans weren't willing
to keep their fantasy locked in their heads. YouTube team Dark Pixel
made Star Kart, a video mashup of Mario Kart and Star Wars
that's pretty much the blend you'd hope it would be. The project (which
took a year to produce) has Mario, Yoshi and crew racing Star Wars
ships across a galaxy far, far away, complete with cute touches: shells
replace laser cannons, getting knocked out means leaving hyperspace...
and of course there's a Death Star trench race. Frankly, we
wish Disney and Nintendo would find a way to make this a proper game,
even if it's just a Mario Kart 8 add-on.
miércoles, 10 de febrero de 2016
Star Wars: Episode VIII has started filming
Disney CEO Bob Iger updates investors on the galactic franchise.
Filmmaker Rian Johnson is already making a few special modifications to the Star Wars universe. The director (best known for Brick and Looper) has started rolling cameras on Star Wars: Episode VIII, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger.
The galactic sequel was set to begin in January, but principal
photography was pushed back a few weeks around the same time the movie’s
release was shifted from May 2017 to December of that year.
Iger provided updates on the studio’s ever-expanding Star Wars universe during The Walt Disney Co.’s quarterly earnings call, touting the gargantuan financial success of the The Force Awakens. It is
only the third film in history to collect more than $2 billion at the
global box office, and the only domestic release to collect more than
$900 million. In addition, he said it earned more than $3 billion
globally in consumer products.
Iger said the company had a simple strategy for the future of Star Wars: don’t lose sight of what sold all those tickets and merchandise.
“There is no better way to propel this franchise into the future than producing quality products,” he said. “Filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII, the next chapter of the legendary saga, has just commenced and it will be in theaters December 2017. And production of Episode IX, a 2019 release, has also begun.”
That third film in the franchise will be directed by Jurassic World and Safety Not Guaranteed
filmmaker Colin Trevorrow. Exactly what Iger meant when he said
production had begun is unclear, given how far off that movie is — and
how much Lucasfilm still has to deliver before that.
“Filming of Rogue One is virtually completed and we
absolutely love what we’ve seen so far,” he said, of the heist story
about Rebel plans to steal the blueprints for the original Death Star.
(The film, directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards, will be
released Dec. 16.) “This is the first of a set of planned stand-alone
stories and we’re already in preproduction on our next one, for release
in May of 2018.”
That one would be the announced “young Han Solo” movie, which The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street directors Phil
Lord and Chris Miller are making, based on a script by Lawrence Kasdan
and his son Jon Kasdan. While Disney has been shifting Star Wars
release dates from spring to the winter holidays, Iger’s announcement
that young Han Solo would remain in May, at least for now, was a
surprise. For more Star Wars news, follow @Breznican. Sound off in the comments about what else you hope to see from this franchise in the future.
Finally, Iger confirmed that the company planned to break ground later this year on new Star Wars attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
If they start digging a trench with a giant cannon in the center,
we’ll know Disney’s plans for world domination have gone too far
domingo, 7 de febrero de 2016
Han Solo, Princess Leia and Kylo Ren finally get a corny family photo
Who is the real villain: the dude who ditched his family for the Dark
Side, or the parents who made him pose for a family photo even though
he just wanted to sulk in his bedroom?
A Star Wars fan on Reddit gave
Han Solo and Princess Leia the picture-perfect family photo they never
got using the force of Photoshop, and it's kind of unsettling.
Kylo
Ren will probably be going for a Skrillex look by the time it's time
for the Christmas card. Dark warriors — they grow up so fast! Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
The NFL meets 'Star Wars:' Helmet designs from a galaxy far, far away
See what the helmets of NFL teams would look like if they were set in the 'Star Wars' universe.
viernes, 5 de febrero de 2016
Disney is poised for an earnings lift from 'Star Wars' amid angst over ESPN
Walt Disney Co.'s
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is expected to cross the $2-billion mark
at the box office this week, becoming just the third film to reach that
lofty plateau.
The blockbuster space opera is the opening act in a
multiyear push by Disney to infuse its various businesses with the
"Star Wars" brand, generating billions of dollars in revenue for the
Burbank entertainment giant.
Investors and analysts have cheered the plans, but that hasn't yet
translated to gains on Wall Street. Amid a wider market downturn,
Disney's stock has declined 19% in the last three months, the steepest
drop among rivals Time Warner Inc., 21st Century Fox Inc., Comcast Corp. and Viacom Inc. See more of Entertainment’s top stories on Facebook >>
Shares of Disney have been in a slump since August,
when concerns over the strength of its television business in the face
of cord-cutting and questions about the high cost of sports rights led
to a sell-off of many publicly traded media and entertainment firms.
This
subject is likely to surface again Tuesday when Disney reports fiscal
first-quarter earnings. Though "Star Wars" merchandise and movie ticket
sales are expected to provide a big boost to the company, challenges in
the TV business remain a lingering concern among many analysts and
investors. Nielsen Co. said last summer that ESPN had lost about 3 million subscribers over the prior year.
"We
are concerned about the ESPN situation, television itself, the whole
television industry," said Janna Sampson, co-chief investment officer of
OakBrook Investments, which owns about $25 million of Disney stock.
"Are there continuing subscriber losses [at ESPN]? Any new issues? … I
think people will be focused on that."
The subscriber losses mean
that Disney will collect less money from pay-TV operators for the right
to carry its content. Those cable programming fees generate huge profits
for Disney and other media companies with cable TV channels.
ESPN
long has been a cash cow for Disney and the biggest contributor to the
company's lucrative cable group, which produced $16.6 billion in revenue
and operating income of $6.8 billion for fiscal 2015.
