Let Episode VII Speculation Begin

[sshindel]

In the ongoing efforts to find ANY small possible news related item, this news story seems fairly small and speculative, but I share for your consumption.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/joe-johnston-star-wars_n_2121928.html

Basically the entirety of it is that Joe Johnston has not said that he is not interested, like some other directors have.
Ehh, I said it was small news.

 

[sshindel]

Writers hired for Episode VIII and IX
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/nov/21/star-wars-lawrence-kasdan-simon-kinberg

 

[twinnstar]

if Harrison, Mark & Carrie dont return - they just have to make new characters. I dont think any fans will stand for new people portraying Han, Luke & Leia.

...but I feel like that would be more of a George Lucas thing to do, he could give two craps! I think Disney is a little bit more in touch with fans emotions. Or at least I like to hope

 

[erasure fan1]

if Harrison, Mark & Carrie dont return - they just have to make new characters. I dont think any fans will stand for new people portraying Han, Luke & Leia.

I agree, re-casting would be a mistake. Its not that re-casting is always a bad thing, I just think that the original actors are so ingrained as their characters in the fans/peoples minds that it would be a hard pill to swallow for most. Even if they do have the 3 return, I really hope it is more of a secondary type role just to get the next trilogy going.

 

[UberMouse]

Mark and Carrie will be appointed personal trainers if they are to return. They will be in the best shape that they have been in for probably 30 years if this does happen.

 

[Master Yoda]

Mark and Carrie will be appointed personal trainers if they are to return. They will be in the best shape that they have been in for probably 30 years if this does happen.

Either that or they will use digital representations of their former selves. Let us not forget that Disney was able to make a darn near perfect 1982 version of Jeff Bridges in 2010.

 

[WDWmazprty]

Lawrence Kasdan & Simon Kinberg Writing Star Wars Spin-Offs Instead?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter​

November 28, 2012​

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=97466

A little over a week ago, it was announced that writers Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg had been brought on to begin writing the scripts for subsequent Star Wars films that follow Michael Arndt's Star Wars: Episode VII, but now it seems that's only partially true. THR is reporting that the films these two have been brought on to write are separate projects that might actually be spin-off films about individual characters from the Star Wars universe and not necessarily "Episodes VII" and "IX."

Disney is said to be planning on taking the 'Marvel' approach to Star Wars and releasing a new film every 2-3 years with some that focus on different aspects of the Universe, but they're remaining tight lipped about all of this for now.

Kasdan worked on the scripts for two of the original "Star Wars" films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kinberg's credits include X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes and the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past.

We also talked to Mark Hamill about Star Wars: Episode VII last night and you can check out his comments by clicking here.

Star Wars: Episode VII is planned for a 2015 release.

 

[WDWmazprty]

Rick McCallum Exits Lucasfilm, Plans Independent Film Future

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=97631

Source: StarWars.com​

December 1, 2012​

Lucasfilm has confirmed that Rick McCallum has left the company after working on "The Young Indiana Jones Chronices," Star Wars movies and most recently Red Tails. The company, which is being bought by The Walt Disney Company for $4.05 billion, posted the following at StarWars.com featuring quotes from McCallum and George Lucas about both McCallum and Lucasfilm's past and future:

As Lucasfilm embarks on a new future filled with more Star Wars movies, Rick McCallum, one of the key talents responsible for the past 20 years of Lucasfilm productions, has embarked on an exciting future filled with his own films. Coming from a background of independent film production, McCallum is readying films that bring him back to his roots, but now with the wealth of experience that comes from his two decades of collaboration with George Lucas.

McCallum's professional association with Lucas began with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992) and Radioland Murders (1994), and continued through the Special Edition release of the Star Wars Trilogy (1997), the prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II, and III, 1999-2005), and most recently Red Tails (2012).

"It's a producer's job to make possible a director's vision, whatever that may be," says McCallum. "George never let the limits of reality constrain his vision, so the challenge to production was always to find ways to make anything possible, while being respectful to the fact that he was financing his own movies. To do that, we needed to keep that independent filmmaking mentality that requires you to innovate and improvise, while making movies of enormous scale."

"Rick is a close friend as well as an extremely talented producer. No matter how impossible I made the task, Rick was able to overcome the challenges," says George Lucas. "In addition to putting together great crews and working miracles with the budget, he was instrumental in helping push filmmaking into the 21st century. He has a larger-than-life personality and made this amazing 20-year journey with him a fun one."

The partnership between Lucas and McCallum resulted in innovations that continue to shape the industry today. To deliver feature film quality production values on a weekly television schedule, McCallum's crew on Young Indiana Jones blazed new trails in digital postproduction that expanded crowd scenes, modified settings, and seamlessly blended scenes shot in wildly different conditions, all while traveling to over 35 countries around the world on the longest sustained location shoot in film history. These innovations were refined and expanded to create the amazing visual scale of the Star Wars prequels.

"We had hit the limit of production technology, and I needed someone with conviction and passion to help us into the digital realm," says Lucas. "Rick became an evangelist for the endless possibilities digital technology offered filmmakers. Rick and I fought many battles side-by-side, constantly facing nay-sayers who were convinced we could never make the lasting changes in the movie business that we set out to make. I cannot be more proud of what Rick accomplished. We worked with over 60 companies and hundreds of amazing engineers and artists over a 10-year period to bring about overdue changes: now digital cameras routinely capture images, films are released digitally, and the entire production pipeline maintains unprecedented quality by being digital. As I go off to make my own experimental films -- and I hope to be able to collaborate with Rick again on one of these projects -- I wish him the best and look forward to seeing his new films."

Since completing Red Tails, McCallum has relocated to Prague, his wife's native country, and he is now in development of a slate of smaller, independent films that more closely resemble the projects he was involved with prior to his association with Lucasfilm. "I have a Russian film about the Babi Yar Massacre in development that is being directed by Sergei Loznitsa. I am also working with Tom�s Mas�n on a Czech story about two brothers who escaped Czechoslovakia during the Cold War while being chased by 28,000 Soviet soldiers in what is still the largest manhunt in history. I'm also working on a film with David Oyelowo and developing a film with Laurence Bowen about the Boy Soldiers of Sierra Leone."

McCallum looks forward to the new Star Wars films under the stewardship of Kathleen Kennedy. "There's only person in the world who could do this, and that's Kathleen Kennedy," he says. "There's no one more suited who is able to bridge the worlds of elite filmmaking within a studio context. The Star Wars saga will always be taken care of under her leadership. She is truly one of the greatest producers in America as well as being a great friend."

McCallum leaves behind a history of being extremely accessible to Star Wars fans during production, appearing at Celebration conventions, discussing behind-the-scenes developments with Star Wars Insider magazine, and engaging in online chats. During one such chat in 2005, a fan club member asked if there was any chance he could attend the scoring sessions of Episode III, and McCallum immediately invited him to the recording studio the next day.

"Thank you for being so welcoming, supportive, and so good to me," says McCallum to Star Wars fans everywhere. "You all made it the most worthwhile and amazing experience. I have nothing but the biggest faith and trust that where Kathleen is going to take Star Wars will be a bold, exciting, and daring future that will be worthy of all your incredible passion and loyalty for all these years. It will be awesome."