Fun The STAR WARS Franchise

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
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George Lucas in Love is a 1999 American parodical short film directed by Joe Nussbaum. A parody of Shakespeare in Love, it depicts a young George Lucas and his real-life inspirations behind the characters and plot of Star Wars. Upon its release, the film was widely passed around Hollywood offices and served as Nussbaum’s break into the film industry.[1] Lucas himself reacted to the film positively.[1]


Reception

The film received great attention as it circulated around Hollywood in the summer of 1999 and eventually premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 19 that year. It debuted online at MediaTrip.com on October 12, 1999. The film won several awards, including the Canal+ Short Film Award at the 2000 Deauville American Film Festival, the Audience Award at both the Florida Film Festival and the San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival and Best Short Film at the 2000 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.[2]

When the film was released on VHS in 2000, The New York Times reported that the film made it to #1 on Amazon.com's Top 10 sales chart, beating out sales of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace for at least a day.[3][4] A DVD with audio commentary by the director and producer, a behind-the-scenes featurette and several other MediaTrip short films, including Evil Hill, Film Club and Swing Blade, was released in 2001;[5] George Lucas in Love itself is also included in Cinema16's DVD of American Short Films, released in the United Kingdom in 2006.

Nussbaum would later direct films such as: Sleepover, American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and Sydney White starring Amanda Bynes.

In 2004, the film won the Pioneer Award in the Lucasfilm-sponsored 2004 Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards.

George Lucas is a fan of this movie, having sent a congratulatory letter to the filmmakers, which they show in a hidden easter egg on the DVD.



 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
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Am just working my way through this.....

While being bombarded with videos decrying what Kathleen Kennedy has done, this book offered another side to the story.

Kathleen Kennedy, it turns out, is one of George Lucas' oldest friends and it was he who invited her to take the reins of all things STAR WARS. So he has no one to blame but himself, if he is not happy with what subsequently happened.

I don't think he expected his stories for VII, VIII and IX to be chucked in the bin though, once Kathleen and Disney had him signing that dotted line.

But they were. And a retread of Episode IV took place instead with THE FORCE AWAKENS.

And he is not happy about that.

But the four billion he got for selling STAR WARS to them must be of some comfort.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
John Boyega tells Star Wars fans to stop harassing cast


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-44466093


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Star Wars actor John Boyega has urged fans of the franchise to stop harassing the cast on social media.

His comments came after two co-stars, Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran, quit Instagram after receiving online abuse.

The actor, who plays Finn, tweeted: "If you don't like Star Wars or the characters, understand that there are decisions makers [sic] and harassing the actors/actresses will do nothing."

He then appeared to say he was leaving the site, telling followers: "See ya!"

Fans of the sci-fi series have been vocal about recent films' storylines, often directing their views at Boyega.

The London-born actor, who appeared in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, told followers: "You're not entitled to politeness when your approach is rude. Even if you paid for a ticket!"
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Lucasfilm Puts “Star Wars” Spin-Offs On Hold?


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In the wake of the dismal box-office returns for “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” Colliderreports that all the other ‘A Star Wars Story’ spin-off films have been put on hold at Lucasfilm.

Previously it has been reported that Stephen Daldry was developing an Obi-Wan Kenobi film and James Mangold is at work on a Boba Fett film. The studio is now putting all of their efforts into the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode IX” which arrives Christmas 2019.

They’re also still continuing development on the previously announced trilogy from Rian Johnson and the new films from “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, all of which are expected to be set in whole new time periods and areas within the “Star Wars” universe.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” has to date brought in just $341.9 million at the global box office, in comparison all three of the other “Star Wars” films that have opened for Disney have each made over a billion dollars worldwide.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Lucasfilm Denies Star Wars Spin-Off Delay Rumors


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Yesterday, a new rumor dropped that suggested Lucasfilm was putting all of their Star Wars spin-off movies on hold indefinitely. These projects included the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi movies and were reportedly put on hold due to the sluggish box office earnings from [Solo: A Star Wars Story}. However, it appears that those rumors are "inaccurate," according to a source at Lucasfilm.


ABC News spoke to a source at Lucasfilm who said the rumors that they were putting the spin-off movies on hold were untrue. Additionally, the source confirmed that there are "multiple" Star Wars films currently in development that have yet to be officially announced. Both the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi projects have not been announced by Lucasfilm at this time, so it seems likely that they are still in development for the time being. While some believed that the idea of Lucasfilm taking a step back was a wise decision, it appears that everything is still full steam ahead. The ABC News report says.

"Lucasfilm told ABC News there are still multiple Star Wars films currently in development that have not been officially announced. Those projects are moving forward separate from an already-announced Star Wars trilogy being overseen by The Last Jedidirector Rian Johnson and another series of movies from Game of Thrones producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss."
Even with the rumors stating that the Star Wars spin-off movies were going to be put on hold, the other projects were always expected to be moving forward without any problems. Rian Johnson's new Trilogy, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' series, Jon Favreau's live-action TV series, and the Resistance animated series are all in various stages of development as well as the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi projects. Additionally, it sounds like there's even more that we don't know about.

The Star Wars spin-off rumors seem to have come from a report that the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie had lost its director, Stephen Daldry. The report went on to say that Daldry had left before Solo even hit theaters, which threw a monkey wrench into the Solo theories. While Daldry could be out, this is also an unconfirmed rumor. Even if the director has left the project, Lucasfilm will undoubtedly get someone else on board to get the Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off on the big screen.


There's going to be a lot of Star Wars projects hitting theaters over the next handful of years, so it's best to be prepared for the onslaught. Some fans are going to be really excited that all of these projects are still in development, while others are going to be upset. It's just the nature of the Star Wars beast. For now, Lucasfilm will be putting its focus on Star Wars 9, which is gearing up to begin production in a few weeks. Until then, you can read the new report denying the Lucasfilm spin-off rumors at ABC News.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Post-“Solo” Future Of “Star Wars” Remains Unclear


According to the trade, Disney and Lucasfilm are indeed reassessing their plans for future films in the wake of the disappointing performance of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” with one source telling the outlet:

“They haven’t slowed down development, but they are licking their wounds… in light of the reaction to Last Jedi and the performance of Solo, they are now just going to look at what’s coming in and seeing how good it is, before dating anything.”

Another adds: “It doesn’t mean those spinoffs don’t happen. It just means they’re trying to figure out how to make, and market, them differently”. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and her team are reportedly said to be regrouping and figuring out the direction of the movies beyond “Star Wars: Episode IX” due December 2019.

Among the projects that were in development were not only the already announced James Mangold-directed Boba Fett spin-off and a potential young Obi-Wan Kenobi one, but Making Star Wars reports that Lucasfilm was also looking into effectively a Mos Eisley-centered prequel – though that has seemingly stalled.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Hamill Reflects On Luke Skywalker’s “Tragic” Fate

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Fans have been widely and wildly divided over “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” including the actor at the center of the movie – Mark Hamill. Hamill has been outspoken about both his reservations over Rian Johnson’s film and more importantly to him – how the film treated his signature character of Luke Skywalker.

In the wake of the film’s release, Hamill was one of the more vocal critics of the movie and while his stance has softened with time, he’s still grappling with the film and the way it changed the perception of his character. Speaking with IGN this week he says:

“There’s just such a huge gap between ‘Return of the Jedi’ and ‘Force Awakens’ – I had to really contemplate that. I said ‘hey, how did I go from being the most optimistic, positive character to this cranky, suicidal man who wants people to get off his island?’. It was a radical change, but I think sometimes being pushed out of your comfort zone is a good thing.

Although a part of me said to Rian, ‘but you know, a Jedi would never give up’. My concept of the character was that even if I chose the New Hitler thinking he was the New Hope, yeah I’d feel terrible, but I wouldn’t secret myself on an island and then turn off the Force.”

That lies at the heart of the division over the film where fans went in expecting Luke to have stuck with his optimistic outlook and mastered the Force to the point of effectively becoming a superhero who could solve everything. Instead they received one haunted by his personal failures and burned out to such a degree that he has put himself in self-imposed exile for years.

It’s actually truer to real life in many ways, what we aspire to do in our teens and early twenties rarely turns out to be what one is actually doing in their forties or fifties (should one survive) and we accrue guilt, remorse, and regret over the years to differing degrees. But there’s also the argument to make that such ‘realities’ do not have a place in what is a piece of fantasy escapism and one that has always leant on grand myths and aspirational archetypes.

If the early trilogy was about a relentlessly idealistic farm boy who learns some hard lessons, ‘Last Jedi’ is a counterpoint with a deeply cynical type allowing some rays of sunshine to slip in through the cracks in his armor. Hamill himself is coming around to that admittedly depressing understanding as he’s seen it himself in his time on this Earth and understands the tragedy of it:

“It is tragic. I’m not a method actor, but one of the techniques a method actor will use is to try and use real-life experiences to relate to whatever fictional scenario he’s involved in. The only thing I could think of, given the screenplay that I read, was that I was of the Beatles generation – ‘All You Need Is Love’, ‘peace and love’.

I thought at that time, when I was a teenager: ‘By the time we get in power, there will be no more war, there will be no racial discrimination, and pot will be legal.’ So I’m one for three. When you think about it, [my generation is] a failure. The world is unquestionably worse now than it was then.”

‘The Last Jedi’ will likely remain a divisive film for years to come whether it forever soiled your innocence with its alien tit milkshakes, superfluous subplots to casino planets and illogical reasonings for character duplicity; to others calling it the best film since ‘Empire’ for refusing to see good/evil simply and asking questions about the more complex systemic reasons that perpetuate that conflict while suggesting the next generation can break that cycle and instil proper change that will stick.

For now the franchise, in the wake of the box-office disappointment of “Solo,” stands at something of a crossroads with J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: Episode IX” expected to avoid the risk-taking of ‘Last Jedi’ in favor of something more along the lines of classic “Star Wars”.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Kelly Marie Tran Talks “Last Jedi” Backlash


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Three months ago, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” actress Kelly Marie Tran left social media – erasing her Instagram account in the process. That exit came in the wake of many months of racist and sexist comments aimed at Tran for her involvement in the Lucasfilm sci-fi franchise and at the film itself.

Combined with nasty abuse thrown at co-star Daisy Ridley and director Rian Johnson, conversations began in regards to ‘toxic fandom’ – a growing problem that has seen apparent fans forcing stars off social media with cyber bullying and abuse tactics.

In a new essay for The New York Times, Tran has finally spoken and says she is not backing down and that the whole experience has given her a new perspective on her career and her identity:

“This is what it is to grow up as a person of color in a white-dominated world. This is what it is to be a woman in a society that has taught its daughters that we are worthy of love only if we are deemed attractive by its sons. This is the world I grew up in, but not the world I want to leave behind.

I want to live in a world where children of color don’t spend their entire adolescence wishing to be white. I want to live in a world where women are not subjected to scrutiny for their appearance, or their actions, or their general existence. I want to live in a world where people of all races, religions, socioeconomic classes, sexual orientations, gender identities and abilities are seen as what they have always been: human beings.

…I know the opportunity given to me is rare. I know that I now belong to a small group of privileged people who get to tell stories for a living, stories that are heard and seen and digested by a world that for so long has tasted only one thing. I know how important that is. And I am not giving up. You might know me as Kelly. I am the first woman of color to have a leading role in a ‘Star Wars’ movie. I am the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. My real name is Loan. And I am just getting started.”


Tran will next be seen in “Star Wars: Episode IX” which is currently in production and will reportedly film through until February ahead of a December 20th 2019 release.
 
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johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
No excuse for being rude to the actors at all! The new films are just one explosion after another with little story back up! But we live in an age where fans are hostile to people for not seeing their side of the coin or whatever which makes life nasty! I think Disney went overboard by producing a Star Wars film every Christmas but they have got even worse lately with not waiting to release Solo until December instead of April/May or whatever!
JB
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Williams Still Wants To Be In “Star Wars”


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Despite having his role cut and replaced by Paul Bettany, actor Michael K. Williams says he holds no grudges against the “Star Wars” franchise and hopes to one day return.

Williams took on the role of the villain Dryden Vos in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” originally a motion-capture creation in the original Phil Lord and Chris Miller-directed version. When they were let go and Ron Hoard came onboard to replace them, he reshot much of the movie including all the Dryden Vos scenes.

Williams couldn’t return due to a scheduling conflict with “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” so Bettany came in instead and took on a more human version of the villain who was slightly reimagined. Speaking with Variety on Saturday at the HFPA and InStyle party at the Toronto International Film Festival, Williams says:

“I have not had a chance to see Solo, but you know a shout out to my castmates, even though I didn’t make the final cut, they’re still my cast mates. I love you guys. I’m quite sure I’ll get around to it [seeing Solo] but I’m more interested in getting another shot in being in that galaxy…I would love another opportunity to make it happen. “

Ahead of its home video release, Disney and Lucasfilm have unveiled several clips online from “Solo” in HD including some of the train heist scene, the much talked about Darth Maul cameo, and a deleted scene involving swimming and eels. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” hits Digital-HD and 4K Ultra HD on September 14th ahead of a disc and rental VOD release on September 25th.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Disney To Slow Down “Star Wars” Releases?


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In the wake of the major disappointment of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” at the box-office, Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm put their other proposed “Star Wars” spin-off projects on hold.

Both companies were gung-ho about exploiting the brand, but in their race to pump out “Star Wars” films it has appeared as though much of what they have been doing has been made up on the fly – resulting in frequent directorial departures and the muddled PR that followed, along with talk of fatigue and harsh criticism.

Now, in a new interview with THR, Disney CEO Bob Iger says there’s zero plans to stop making “Star Wars” movies anytime soon, but the original plan of an annual release may be out the window – instead they’ll move forward with a new “Star Wars” film when they feel it’s ready:

“I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about. And we are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s. But I think we’re gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that.”

That likely means after Abrams’ “Star Wars: Episode IX” in late 2019, the franchise will take a break in 2020 as development continues on where it will go next – be it Rian Johnson or the ‘Thrones’ duo’s trilogies. Production is currently underway on ‘Episode IX’.
 

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
Disney are a greedy old bird aren't they? They weren't settled for an annual Christmas release every year like we've had for the past three years but decided to bring Solo to the cinemas a lot earlier than they should have! They should have waited till Yuletide when kids can maneuver their parents into shelling out £25-£40 for a day at the flicks and a Star Wars film! Now this year we have NO Star Wars but at least we save our £40!!!
JB
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Kathleen Kennedy Renews Lucasfilm Contract


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Giving a big middle finger to internet trolls, Kathleen Kennedy has renewed her contract and will remain the president of Lucasfilm for another three years, taking her through 2021.

Kennedy became chief of Lucasfilm in 2012 after Disney purchased the company from George Lucas for $4 billion, and has overseen the “Star Wars” relaunch.

Following the fan backlash to the divided reviews over “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and the recent disappointment of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” the franchise’s future isn’t clear at the moment beyond two trilogies in development and the currently shooting J.J. Abrams-directed “Star Wars: Episode IX”.

Lucasfilm plans on expanding the “Star Wars” universe into the TV realm as well with the new Jon Favreau-produced live-action series for Disney’s streaming service. The fifth installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise is also in the works for a July 2021 release.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
We Have Officially Begun - Teaser - Vader a Star Wars Theory Fan-Film


We have begun shooting for the Vader: a Star Wars Theory Fan Film yesterday so I put together a super quick compilation of a couple shots that I hope you will enjoy.


 
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