Star Wars Bits: J.J. Abrams On The Most Disturbing ‘Star Wars’ Scene And Kathleen Kennedy On Which Actors Will Show Up In ‘Episode 8’
Would you look at that –Star Wars: The Force Awakensis less than a week away. attempt to contain your excitement through this latest edition of Star Wars Bits, which includes:
In an interview withEntertainment Weekly,Star Wars: The Force AwakensdirectorJ.J. Abramsrevealed what he thinks is the most disturbing scene in any Star Wars movie and it’s awfully hard to argue with his choice:
The most jaw-dropping-est thing to me, in retrospect, is that moment in Episode IV when Leia is being held and Vader goes in to torture her for information… When you think of it later, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, that’s his daughter.’ He’s going to torture his own daughter. At the time, it’s just scary. Then it gets just really creepy when you think about it. Oh my god, that’s the worst. It’s horrible.
A close runner-up: Leia locking lips with her own brother. Oh, Star Wars and your uncomfortable sexuality!
In more straightforward news, Abrams sat down withCinemaBlendto chat the about the future of theStar Warssaga. While he won’t be directingStar Wars Episode VIII(that will beRian Johnson), he did reveal that he’s going to be creatively involved in the films going forward, mainly because there are things he set up inThe Force Awakensthat need to be paid off:
Larry Kasdan and I, who wrote the script together, definitely were setting things up and were conscious of the fact… which is a really weird opportunity in features to know that this was going to be the beginning of a three picture story. So we were working on versions of what we knew we would have done or wanted to do, and had meetings with Rian and Ram [Bergman], who is a producer, very early on and went over what we were thinking. But also knew that Rian had his own ideas coming in. He was going to take this thing in the place that he felt right. So he’s incorporated some of the stuff in the way that we were expecting and hoping, he’s gone in other places we never would have dreamed of.
Speaking of futureStar Warsmovies, Lucasfilm president and Star Wars series executive producerKathleen Kennedyrevealedin a new interviewthatStar Wars Episode VIIIwill film certain scenes in Mexico… and she also revealed two moreStar Wars: The Force Awakenscast members who will return for director Rian Johnson’s sequel. This this can be considered a huge spoiler, highlight the rest of this paragraph if you want to know more. Start highlights…now:It’s not too surprising, but Oscar Isaac and John Boyega are both on board for the next film, which means that Finn and Poe Dameron will live to see the end credits of the new movie. So there you go.Moving on!
When askedabout whether or not he’s involved in the upcomingHan Solomovie in any way,Harrison Fordmade it very clear that he’s not and no, you shouldn’t ask him any more questions, please leave him alone:
When asked if he has any advice for the new Han Solo actor, Ford said no.
However, screenwriterLawrence Kasdanismore than willingto chat about the Han Solo spin-off (which he is writing with his son, Jon), telling the official Disney blog:
Oh yes. We just turned in the second draft, people are very excited, andChris[Miller] andPhil[Lord] are amazing. They’re from another planet. They’re going to start shooting in a year. Between now and then, that thing is going to change a lot. But I’ll be there to help if I can. They have to take over. I have to get back to directing.
Is he implying that the screenplay could go through another writer or two before it goes before cameras? That seems likely enough.Rogue One: A Star Warsstory went through a few screenwriters before everyone involved felt it was beaten into the right shape. In any case, Kasdan has done his part for theStar Warssaga – he should be allowed to do whatever the heck he wants next.
It’s no secret the 20th Century Fox had very little faith in the original 1977Star Wars. The untold story, though, involves the distribution executives who took onGeorge Lucas' weird space movie and found their careers skyrocketing for their efforts. A newTHR profileon some of these guys reveals that theaters were originally encouraged to playStar Warsbecause it would secure them the Sidney Sheldon thrillerThe Other Side of Midnight:
I think it did more or less start that way — Fox making you takeStar Warsif you wantedOther Side of Midnight. But it ultimately flipped around: If you wantedStar Wars, you had to play the other film.
Above: For theStar Warsfan whoneedsadorable drawings they can share in Facebook comments, there are these stickers,available here.
SGS Engineeringhas crunched some numbers and it turns out small-time smuggler Han Solo must be a secret millionaire. According to their estimates, a spaceship like the Millennium Falcon would cost £2,044,000 (or just over $3 million) per year in repairs and maintenance. And if it costs that much to keep a huge hunk of junk running, how much could a Star Destroyer cost?
While we’re on the subject of very smart people using math to break down theStar Warsuniverse, there’s this newThe Hollywood Reporterpiece that shed some, well,interestinglight on fans of this franchise. It turns out that that the average American spends $4,100 on technology, auto, food and personal care each year… while the averageStar Warsfan spends $4,300.Star Warsfans also spend more money on snacks than the average American, which explains alot. Oh, and aStar Warsfans is likely to be a Gen Xer and is 17% more likely to be Asian than the average American. Does this sound like you yet? Let us know.
Because the internet is a strange place where nothing is impossible, here isThe Late Late ShowhostJames Cordensinging a Christmas-themed Star Wars song (or is it a Star Wars-themed Christmas song?) with The Nerdist’sChris Hardwick. Enjoy. Or don’t. We’re really not sure.
