Certainly, the impact of Rey’s arrival, not to mention the terrific ending of ‘The Force Awakens’ with Luke’s reveal, would be much different if they were riding together side-by-side in a new adventure right from the start. With those comments in mind, Abrams’ idea of using ‘The Force Awakens’ as connective tissue, with the previous characters passing the torch narratively to the newcomers, makes a lot of sense. Suddenly you didn’t care about your main character anymore because, ‘Oh f–k, Luke Skywalker’s here. “It just felt like every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over. This was back in 2012,” he said in December. It just never worked and I struggled with this. And then she goes and kicks the bad guy’s ass.
“Early on I tried to write versions of the story where is at home, her home is destroyed, and then she goes on the road and meets Luke. Luke Skywalker was much more of a lead character alongside Rey, while Han Solo and Leia were essentially supporting players. Michael Arndt (“ Inside Out,” “ Toy Story 3“) was first hired to write the script before Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over (he retains a credit) and last year, he revealed his approach to the story was quite different. But trying to figure out the balance of managing the old and the new was a core problem as the script was coming together. From a franchise perspective, it’s a smart move, even if narratively it leaves something to be desired.
#STAR WARS FORCE AWAKENS BOOK MARK MOVIE#
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So we very consciously - and I know it is derided for this - we very consciously tried to borrow familiar beats so the rest of the movie could hang on something that we knew was ‘Star Wars.’ ” Obviously the prequels had existed in between and we wanted to, sort of, reclaim the story. “ was a bridge and a kind of reminder the audience needed to be reminded what ‘Star Wars’ is, but it needed to be established with something familiar, with a sense of where we are going to new lands, which is very much what 8 and 9 do,” Abrams said (via IGN). “The weird thing about that movie is that it had been so long since the last one. But speaking at the Tribeca Film Festival with Chris Rock, he admits to borrowing from ‘A New Hope’ and explains why it needed to be done. It’s a quibble that many fans have been fine with looking past, and it’s a credit to Abrams’ skill that the movie is so enjoyable that those story beats don’t distract. But let’s face it, a significant part of the story is ripped straight from the pages of “ Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,” right down to an even bigger Death Star that’s blown up by pretty much the exact same method. Recently Harrison Ford was shown the final cut and felt that it was a “wonderful movie.” Will it live up to the hype? There are just over 10 days to go.įind out the latest Disney and Star Wars jobs here and check out our latest recommended online film courses from top film industry instructors.Most everyone agrees that “ Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was the movie the franchise needed, a strong, hugely enjoyable entry that brought back the wonder and magic of George Lucas‘ original trilogy. Hamill certainly looks in top physical form after all the hard work. You might like : Learn acting with Nina Foch (Produced by George Lucas) She was critical of how Hollywood was obsessed with body image but didn’t direct her anger directly towards Disney despite the regimen she had to adopt to prepare for the Star Wars production. Disney expected actress Carrie Fisher, who plays Princess Leia, to lose weight for her comeback to the screen. It turns out Hamill wasn’t the only one needing to shape up. At the age of 64 it was no easy task for the actor to get into the best physical shape after such a long absence from the role. The actor lost a reported 50 pounds before embodying Luke Skywalker in the upcoming Disney production that is setting pre-sale box office records. Before Mark Hamill was able to return as Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” he had to train for two years.Īccording to Rolling Stone, Hamill went through a “brutal training regime” to shape up for his iconic character.