Star Wars episode 7 trailer coming soon, will JJ Abrams meet expectations?

As a Star Wars junkie, I'm sure you know that the title of episode seven was announced earlier this month. The title left me feeling cautiously optimistic.  

Star Wars, The Force Awakens.

Just to back up a few steps -after the last three films (episodes/debacles 1-3), I was left disheartened with the franchise (see my rants HERE ).  When Lucasfilm sold to Disney, I was excited.  No more George Lucas (sorry, bro, everyone's time comes eventually), no more crappy casting and vomit-inducing love scene dialogue. I was even more excited when I found out that JJ Abrams was slated to direct.  

He did an amazing job resurrecting  the Star Trek franchise with Star Trek and Into Darkness, directed Super 8 (awesome movie) and Lost (best TV show EVER). Then they released information about the casting…including casting some of the originals, which horrified me (see THIS blog post for more on that). 

Then, primary casting was announced  and I was slightly relieved.   Good potential -especially with Abrams at the helm. 

Okay now we are current.  

The name releases.  Star Wars, The Force Awakens. This could be good, right?

My first thoughts are negative (unfortunately -damn you, George Lucas for making me so pessimistic!) 

Can the force sleep? 

Are all those little Midi-chlorians taking a cozy little nap?  

Who/how are they going to be woken from their comfy beds?

At the end of episode VI (Return of the Jedi) Luke is the reigning bad-ass when it comes to the force (possibly the only one) and his sister, Leia has ‘the force’ in a very fledgling state. The end. 

So 30 years later what has happened to the dynamic duo (Luke & Leia) to cause the force to fall into obscurity?

Here is where the positive thinking comes in.  Something bad had to happen, right? Something dark and very JJ Abrams-esque. Perhaps the collapse of the Rebellion, the banishment of Luke and Leia, the destruction of Endor, Naboo and every other annoying character, species and storyline Lucas created?  

See 'ya later, Jar Jar. 

End of Endor.

Things are looking up for sure.

According to THIS ARTICLE  from IGN, Disney may debut a trailer within the next 4-5 weeks.  Sweet! (fingers crossed)

So, with any luck, the galaxy is in ruin, the original cast is banished and occupies about twelve seconds of screen time and an awesome re-booted franchise is birthed.

Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens, is scheduled to release December 18th, 2015

There is a GREAT ARTICLE with several fan-made Star Wars VII posters worth checking out.   Two of the coolest (and two of the funniest) are below. 

The future of Star Wars -Star Wars VII

by J.R. Wagner

J.J. Abrams

JJ Abrams has been picked (more like begged) to direct the next Star Wars film.

Two words: Thank God.

Shortly after the announcement that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm Ltd. came the announcement that there would be new star wars films. 

My first reaction was one of pure terror. You see, I've lived through a very similar announcement. The first time, we fans had come off the high of the original films years prior when we began hearing rumors of prequels.  Excitement rose until it was almost palpable...that is, until the films were released.

You can get a sense of how I felt about the prequels by perusing these posts:

Top five YouTube videos supporting my disdain for the Star Wars prequels
Star Wars VII, stop the nonsense
Top ten most annoying Star Wars characters

Anyway, it was a major let down. I actually did a speech about how George Lucas ruined my childhood.  This post; A Jedi's lament, covers some parts of that speech.

So, after cursing George Lucas for creating the prequels, I moved on with my life as a fan of film.  Years later I started watching this amazing show on network television (of all things) called Lost.  I was floored!  What an amazing, creative, cutting-edge show filled with fantastic actors.


And who was the man behind this ground-breaking show?  JJ Abrams.

Several years after Lost began came the greatest re-load of a series in the history of film.  Star Trek.  I'm not a Star Trek fan by any stretch of the imagination (or I wasn't at the time) but this film had everything a non-fan needed to appreciate the movie. Great acting, pacing, plot, creativity...and on.  Abrams pulled the drowning franchise from the depths. 

Not long after Star Trek came the end of Lost and a void, which has not been filled to this day, in my television enjoying life.

Thank goodness for the movies, right?



Along came a film that I fell in love with the moment I saw it. It so much reminded me of my childhood (except for the alien...and the train wreck) that I couldn't get over it! Who was responsible? JJ Abrams. The movie? Super 8.

So in my mind, Abrams had earned the street cred necessary to re-make just about any film.  Especially when so many big name directors (Ridley Scott: Prometheus -see my diatribe here) (Pete Jackson: The Hobbit -ditto here)  dropping the ball on their high budget films.

When I hard about Star Wars VII, all I could think was, ugh...how are they going to screw this one up.  Then, after some introspection, I decided there was one person who could resurrect this franchise.  JJ Abrams.  Lots of talk floated about from director to director and each announcement made me cringe.  Abrams originally declined and I though all was lost...alas, I was wrong.

There is hope for the Star Wars franchise after all!

Why Ridley Scott should let me direct Blade Runner 2 (part 2)

By J.R. Wagner

I know..It's about time, right?!

30th anniversary Blu-Ray combo pack!

For those not following from the beginning, there are two previous posts that should help clarify where I am coming from.

1. Prometheus from the Alien super-fan's perspective
2. Why Ridley Scott MUST let me direct Blade Runner 2

To quickly summarize, I've determined that I am not the best choice to direct the project however I am more than qualified to join the writing team. So, moving forward...

Have you watched the original Blade Runner lately?

I have.

I noticed something right away. Despite being the holy grail of sci-fi films, the pace of Blade Runner is slow.  Very slow. Almost to the point of being intolerable. Certainly to the point that younger audiences would probably change the channel after about five minutes. Yes, it is that slow.

While it may seem like I've been dragging my butt to write this post (this is partly true), in my defense, I've been brainstorming between posts.  Do I write a new, fresh screenplay with the same plot, characters and premise OR do I delve into the prequel/sequel arena.

Being fully aware of how terribly wrong prequels based on films not originally written with a prequel in mind (Prometheus, Star Wars -need I say more) I tend to shy away from the prequel.

But...but...there is mention of a storyline that would make great prequel fodder. AND the film is based on a book, which gives depth where a screenplay generally lacks. So against my better judgement, I believe a film set chronologically before Blade Runner (I'd actually like to over-lap just a tad) will be successful.

The storyline I speak of? 

This is the opening title sequence from Blade Runner:

Opening crawl from the movie:

Early in the 21st Century, THE TYRELL CORPORATION advanced Robot evolution into the NEXUS phase -- a being virtually identical to a human -- known as a replicant. The NEXUS 6 Replicants were superior in strength and agility, and at least equal in intelligence, to the genetic engineers who created them. Replicants were used Off-world as slave labor, in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets. After a bloody mutiny by a NEXUS 6 combat team in an Off-world colony, Replicants were declared illegal on earth -- under penalty of death. Special police squads -- BLADE RUNNER UNITS -- had orders to shoot to kill, upon detection, any trespassing Replicants.

Notice the bold type?  THAT is where we go.

The opening sequence looks something like this: 

We are going to interchange shots of the 'birth' of the NEXUS-6 combat team with shots of the very same androids turning on their human overseers.  So from the gate, we set a fast pace, gain some perspective on the characters and  introduce a new look for the film. None of this Prometheus/Alien crap where we attempt to cross over set design, costumes etc...none of that nonsense.

We will first focus on Roy Batty, the main bad ass android played by Rutger Hauer in the original.

Rutger Hauer as 'Roy'

Chris Hemsworth

 I think it is important -nigh essential to cast someone completely different than Rutger Hauer in this role. Since I recently watched The Avengers, I've got Chris Hemsworth on my brain. I know he can act beyond a super-hero (see the opening sequence from the new Star Trek film) so...congratulations, Chris, you've just been cast as Roy Batty in the new Blade Runner film written by J.R. Wagner (because writers so often have a say in the casting). Welcome aboard, Chris!


I realize this shot is eye-candy for some of y'all, however understand the NEXUS-6 are androids and therefore physically perfect.

Here. More clothes.

Why Ridley Scott MUST let me direct Blade Runner 2

By J.R. Wagner

To understand where I am coming from you need to read my post:

Prometheus from an Alien super-fan's perspective

 It is worth a look just for the humor -seriously.

Onward.

What gives me the right to say I should be chosen as director of Ridley Scott's mystery Blade Runner project?

How do I even know about this project?  Well, I simply stumbled upon it while looking up Scott's directorial credits on IMDB.  

The Mysterious Blade Runner Project!

Back to what gives me the right to suggest I should even be considered as director of the film.

Answer: Nothing.

I have no directorial credits to my name. I don't even know how to use a camera. I don't even know what a key grip is (I see it all the time in movie credits but have no clue what it is).

Actually, I don't want to direct Blade Runner Re-born (for lack of a better title).

That being said, I don't want Ridley Scott to direct BRR (that's Blade Runner Re-born for my slower readers) either. 

Let me be clear. Mr. Ridley Scott is a god in the film world (as he should be).  Until Prometheus, I would have been stoked about BRR but now I'm just afraid that another great story with all the potential in the world will be destroyed.  I'm going to mention another film god. George Lucas.  Why am I mentioning George Lucas? 3 reasons. Star Wars Episode I, Star Wars Episode II and Star Wars Episode III.  Bad, worse and a complete abomination. 

George Lucas...in carbonite.

Ridley Scott is on the precipice of a disaster of Star Wars proportions.  Will he be known as the great director or will he be known as the director who didn't know when to hand over the reins until it was too late?

I wouldn't have bothered writing this if I didn't have a solution in mind.  And, of course, I do. Here it is:

First, fire the director.  Wait, that's Ridley Scott isn't it?  Well, yeah. If he want's to see his baby rise to a level worthy of the original, he will need to let go.  He can be executive producer -or something like that.

Second, hire J. J. Abrams to direct.  Why Abrams? Three words: Star Trek and (the and doesn't count) Lost. Abrams successfully steered the Star Trek franchise out of the ever-swirling toilet of despair where films like the Star Wars prequels, Prometheus, Dredd, Total Recall (the new ones) and many other re-makes and sequels (or prequels) die horrible deaths. Star Trek is a phenomenal movie for more reasons than I will get into. Why is Lost relevant? You'll see.

Third, fire the writers. Based on the IMDB post, Scott is in talks with Hampton Fancher - one of the writers of the original screenplay (along with David Peoples).  I've got nothing against Mr. Fancher, who has a writing and acting resume longer than my first novel other than the fact that he was involved in the first Blade Runner.  We need fresh minds! Directors, writers, actors -the whole deal!

Fourth, hire new writers. So who are we hiring as writers? Two people, actually. The first is Damon Lindelof. Yes, I am aware Lindelof was a writer for Prometheus (one of several so I can't blame him PLUS it was Scott's baby). I am also aware that Lindlof wrote for Lost -there it is again...Lost, Star Trek (the new one) and some other great stuff. The second writer is J.R. Wagner.  Hmm -that name sounds familiar.  Damn right it does! I want in! And in my next post, I'll tell you why I deserve to be in...actually, I'll show you.

Abrams