Fun The STAR WARS Franchise

[Doctor Omega]

Abrams On “Last Jedi” Haters & Misogynists





Shortly headed for home video release, Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” remains one of the most divisive entries in the series, taking chances and stretching beyond the usual formula for these sorts of films.

J.J. Abrams takes over the franchise for the next entry, with his “Star Wars: Episode IX” capping off the trilogy he began. Quite a few haters of ‘Last Jedi’ seemed to take comfort in the news of his return, but in a new interview with Indiewire he’s revealed that he’s not fazed by it and has even less time for those few misogynist fans out there using the Internet and the film as a platform to spread their hate:

“Star Wars is a big galaxy, and you can sort of find almost anything you want to in Star Wars. If you are someone who feels threatened by women and needs to lash out against them, you can probably find an enemy in Star Wars. You can probably look at the first movie that George (Lucas) did and say that Leia was too outspoken, or she was too tough. Anyone who wants to find a problem with anything can find the problem. The internet seems to be made for that.

There’s a lot that I would like to say about it, but I feel like it’s a little early to be having the Episode IX conversation… I will say that the story of Rey and Poe and Finn and Kylo Ren – and if you look, there are three men and one woman, to those that are complaining that there are too many women in Star Wars – their story continues in a way that I couldn’t be more excited about and cannot wait for people to see.

I think everyone is going to have their point of view. Certainly, something I discovered early on in the Star Wars world, is that you’re going to have an incredibly passionate and vocal fan base, and they’re all going to have a lot of specific opinions.”

For the full interview, head to Indiewire. Abrams begins filming the new entry this summer ahead of its December 2019 release.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Solo Anime Teaser Trailer

Teaser for a Han Solo anime. Micro project done over 4 days. Follow me on Instagram @daztibbles where I’ll share more images and WIP from the project.

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

I know that, honestly, not everyone who hated The Last Jedi is a misogynist, but the most vocal haters of the film are. And unfortunately, everyone who dislikes it keep getting lumped together because of that. Still, most of the other viewers who hated it don't take a stand to distinguish themselves, but rather go "I just hated it, it's a bad film". That's fine, but you should vocalize why you didn't like it if it, in fact, had nothing to do with you being sexist.

Another thing that most people don't accept is that continually using the phrase "Mary Sue" is, in fact, sexist. Yes, we all know where it comes from and why it exists, but the fact that they get more riled up by a woman being written as such but not a man is a double standard, and mostly comes down to them not being able to accept a powerful female character.

I will be the first to admit, The Last Jedi is not a perfect movie, nor will it be at the top of the list were I to rank it. It's very good, but definitely flawed. The side story with Finn and Rose is really good, and should be in a Star Wars movie, but not this one. It would have worked better in another movie where it could have all been fleshed out, or perhaps in one of the comic book storylines. But it does drag this film down, and it makes it feel bloated. And the lactating alien at the Jedi refuge where Luke is hiding was...awkward. Still, I don't hate the movie, and obviously plan on owning it when it hits Blu-Ray.

 

[Doctor Omega]

George Lucas on Why He's Done Directing Star Wars Movies

George Lucas comments on the latest Star Wars movie "The Force Awakens," and why he prefers experimental film.

 

[Gavin]

OK I didn't watch the video but is his reason "because no one in their right mind would let me after what I did with the prequels"?

 

[Doctor Omega]

GEORGE: You go to make a movie - and all you do is get criticised - and people try to make decisions about what you're going to do before you do it. It's not much fun - and you can't experiment. You can't do anything. You have to do it a certain way. I don't like that. I never did. I started out on experimental films and I want to go back to experimental films. But, of course, nobody wants to see experimental films.

INTERVIEWER: I love experimental films.

GEORGE: Well, nobody else did.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Andy Serkis Talks Snoke Backstory





With the release of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on home video shortly, both video of and an interview with actor Andy Serkis are out with both going into his work as the villainous Supreme Leader Snoke in the film.

The CG character was played on set by Serkis in a mo-cap suit and sadly, by the film’s end, little was ultimately known about Snoke. Even so, Serkis tells EW that there was a lot of discussion about his disfigured character and his backstory:

“We wanted him to have a great deal of mystery, but we did … J.J. [Abrams] and I discussed it, and Rian [Johnson] and I did discuss backstories to him, where he came from. I’ve been asked to not shed anything, should we want to bring him back in any way whether [in a] prequel or whatever.

I think there’s something cool about that. It still does remain a mystery for people. I know that some people find it incredibly frustrating, but I think it allows for further exploration and layering at a further point.. I would love to think that there is room for him to come back. I think anything’s possible in a Star Wars movie. I’d be all up for it. I think there’s a lot more to be had from the character for sure, but I’m not in discussions with anybody at all about it.”

He also discussed how he played the character in regards to his relationships with others, including the new trilogy’s heroine Rey:

“I played him as incredibly threatened by this female, which he’s not used to or doesn’t understand. He completely underestimates Rey, obviously, but he can sense that there’s a strength there that certainly Kylo Ren doesn’t have. I would say he’s pretty misogynistic in that respect. Interestingly. For our time.”

 

[Doctor Omega]

Mark Hamill - Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony - Full Speech

Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker from 'Star War' received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. George Lucas, Harrison Ford and more were on hand to present Hamill with the honor. Mark thanked his fans and even ended his speech with his infamous joker laugh.

Mark Hamill - Hollywood Walk of Fame - Full Speech

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

OK I didn't watch the video but is his reason "because no one in their right mind would let me after what I did with the prequels"?

I say all of this as someone who still likes the prequels, even though they pale in comparison to the original trilogy. Uncle George realized that there was an entire universe that had been built on his movies, and wanted to cash in on it. Unfortunately, where most of the writers who worked on the EU knew how to craft stories that fans would like, George thought we needed banking and politics.

 

[Gavin]

I say all of this as someone who still likes the prequels, even though they pale in comparison to the original trilogy. Uncle George realized that there was an entire universe that had been built on his movies, and wanted to cash in on it. Unfortunately, where most of the writers who worked on the EU knew how to craft stories that fans would like, George thought we needed banking and politics.

I don't dislike the prequels either. They're not good but the originals weren't exactly high art either. The originals became classic because it was the first time sci-fi/fantasy had been made with a big budget and it captured peoples imaginations. TESB is the high point of the first 6 movies and it's the one that George had the least to do with. It suggests that George is good at identifying great ideas and an interesting story concept but needs to leave the development to others.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Kathleen Kennedy : Girls can't identify with Luke Skywalker

Kathleen Kennedy's agenda exposed. Kathleen Kennedy is assuming that girls didn't care about Star Wars because they couldn't identify with the main male hero, they could only identify with Princess Leia. However she still thinks boys can identify with female characters like Rey or Jyn Erso or admiral Holdo etc... This narrow minded vision explains why Luke has been mishandled in Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, because girls could not relate to him, he was therefore completely useless to Disney.

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

While I don't like her reasoning behind this, I get really tired of hearing the word "agenda". It's one of those words that gets thrown around by the right, like "fake news" and "winning", and everything else they hear on Faux News.

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

Okay, maybe I'm just a little annoyed because I've been reading user comments on Yahoo again, but I'd like to expand on this. For decades, in entertainment, it was predominately white, straight, and male centric. But whenever diversity of any kind is brought into play, it's an agenda. Gay agenda, feminist agenda, trans agenda, nerd agenda (I'm strongly in favor of nerd inclusion - Nerd Lives Matter!). However, when you point out how the years previous could be considered "white cis hetero misogynist Christian agenda", you get barked at by people who believe that Sean Hannity and Alex Jones are actually reporters. "War on Christianity", "War on straights", "War on Whites". I'm so sick of the persecution complex that these people have.

Sorry. Rant over.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Kathleen Kennedy thinks George Lucas is dead

Kathleen Kennedy needs help, she doesn't who know is Luke Skywalker and speaks of George Lucas as if he was dead. If she wanted to know what would George do, then why not pick up the phone? Why did she trash his sequel treatments? That's what he would have done.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Hamill Concerned About “Star Wars” Oversaturation





While there has been debate over why “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” didn’t earn as much as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” arguably the most obvious of reason tied to scarcity. ‘Force Awakens’ marked the return of the franchise after a twelve year break along with the return of fan favorite characters like Han, Leia and Luke after thirty-four years away from the screen. No matter how you felt about the film, it was a major cultural event.

‘Last Jedi’ on the other hand was a middle chapter, and the third “Star Wars” film in the past two years. There’s another due in two months and plenty more on the way as it has now become an annual release franchise. With so much product of course it means each new “Star Wars” film is less of a major event so much as just another entry – especially once it moves past the upcoming ‘Episode IX’ which will end the Skywalker saga.

In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, series star Mark Hamill has revealed his concerns about the new and more constant output of “Star Wars” films:

“I will say they should pace themselves because you don’t want to over-saturate it. I said to Disney, ‘Really? Five months after we come out comes Solo: A Star Wars Story? Can’t you at least wait until Christmas?’ But they’ve got things booked – they’re doing Marvel and their own movies, so that’s beyond my purview.”

Hamill says he does have hope for the potential in diversity of storytelling that comes with the “A Star Wars Story” banner which will allow for different kinds of storytelling in this universe:

“Well, there shouldn’t be a limit to the storytelling, as it’s a canvas that’s so infinite. With the standalone films, they can all have their own identity. Rogue One can be gritty and like a war film… I’m assuming, I don’t know, but I would assume that Solo will be more comedic-ly oriented because he’s a rogue, a scoundrel, and a gambler, and a womanizer and all those things. So I think the advantage of the standalone films is that they don’t have to follow the formula of a trilogy, so they can establish their premise, get it on, get it done and get out leaving the audience wanting more. So there are infinite possibilities.”

Of course, the obvious problem there is that Disney has played it fairly safe with the spin-off films thus far, both films boasting familiar characters and settings and story arcs we already knew, same goes for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi film reportedly in the works. However there are also indications those in charge plan to finally stretch out beyond stories of Jedis, Sith Lords and Force-sensitive bloodlines to explore the wider galaxy of the “Star Wars” world with both Rian Johnson’s and David Benioff and DB Weiss’ new film sagas.

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is now available on disc.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Johnson Talks “Last Jedi” Death Threats





Four months on from the release of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” there’s still plenty of fights being waged over Rian Johnson’s film which polarised the fanbase and exposed the toxic side of a fandom as large as the “Star Wars” franchise.

In a new interview with The Standard, Johnson has spoken about how extreme some of the reaction was that he received from fans – choices that earned him both a bunch of positive feedback and quite a few death threats:

“I knew intellectually what I was letting myself in for, but then when it happens you’re like, oh my God, this is intense. It’s about knowing you’re not going to please everyone. But then you still read someone saying they wish you were dead and it’s going to ruin your day.

There were death threats. It’s balanced by a few things – 90 percent of the stuff I got online was not only lovely and encouraging but phenomenally thoughtful. Fans would send me essays on the movie. The other 10 percent is just loud and gets amplified. At first I was freaked out but then I realized the things people were angry about are the things I’m most proud about.”

The film scored a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and pulled in $1.3 billion worldwide in box-office, a success by any measure, but it also featured a few key decisions which took a blowtorch to a series that some hold sacred and others found stolid and devoid of invention. Depending upon your viewpoint going in, those choices were either welcome shake-ups of tired formula or disrespectful and soul-destroying heresy.

The comments follow on from ones Johnson made at SXSW the other week where he told The L.A. Times that the franchise has to grow, change and take risks if it’s too survive as nostalgia and deference will only take you so far:

“When people ask me, ‘Don’t you think people are going to get sick of Star Wars movies?’ to me that question indicates that they’re thinking of Star Wars movies as a museum exhibit that is wheeled out once a year so you can say, ‘Oh, I loved that thing. Oh, I remember that thing!’ And yes, if Star Wars is that, people are going to get sick of it really quickly.

But if Star Wars are great new movies that are exciting and fresh, and that challenge you and surprise you and make you feel things and engage you the way that those original movies did – but always taking you to new places, both in the galaxy and emotionally – that’s never going to get old. That’s what it’s all about.”

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is now out on home video, while “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is slated to hit cinemas on May 25th.

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

 

[Doctor Omega]

Express UK (via Movieweb) has posted a report alleging that the reason filmmaker Colin Trevorrow was let go (and replaced by J.J. Abrams) on “Star Wars: Episode IX” came down to Luke Skywalker.

It alleges Trevorrow wanted to keep him, everyone else wanted to kill him off so the focus would be on the new characters in the trilogy capper. Trevorrow landed on his feet though, with him set to direct the third “Jurassic World” film following on from his rise to fame directing the first.

 

[Doctor Omega]