What 'a Star Wars Story' / anthology / spinoff film would you like to see? — Page 13

Anakin Starkiller said:

And recognizes that he literally participated in making TFA. you can say his contributions weren’t meaningful but he was there.

He wasn’t though as I quoted above and again here through Bob Iger:

"Early on, Kathy brought J.J. and Michael Arndt up to Northern California to meet with George at his ranch and talk about their ideas for the film. George immediately got upset as they began to describe the plot and it dawned on him that we weren’t using one of the stories he submitted during the negotiations.

The truth was, Kathy, J.J., Alan, and I had discussed the direction in which the saga should go, and we all agreed that it wasn’t what George had outlined."

I believe George and Mark Hamill over a corporation whose only objective was and is to make something for the fans and to please them. Same with picking the narrative they want people to believe. Then they get upset when George, Marcia Lucas, Howard Kazanjian, and some fans are disappointed because there’s nothing new or they don’t try to understand the rules of Star Wars.

BedeHistory731 said:

Stardust1138 said:

I believe George and Mark Hamill over a corporation whose only objective was and is to make something for the fans and to please them.

What’s wrong with that?

You end up getting rehashes and member berries over new interpretations and twists on ideas that expand the possibilities of what a Star Wars story can be. I prefer an approach where Star Wars isn’t limited to evoking the same thrills or look of what came before. George’s six films and The Clone Wars were always different but always respected and expanded on what came before in a meaningful way without the need to just change things because a fan didn’t like it that way or if it didn’t make sense for the story he wanted to tell. Story always came first. He always had a reason for returning to ideas like going back to Tatooine or Anakin and Luke experiencing a similar journey but it was always different at the same time. I want to expand my outlook and not to be confined to a box of seeing things I’ve already seen before but were quite frankly done better by the original creator and creators alike. You should always respect the story you’re telling and never run away from it as it ends up creating problems in the long run.

BedeHistory731 said:

I wish I had the capacity to write walls of texts to defend my favorite “auteur.”

Pauline Kael was right and film history has only proved her points.

I’m a firm believer in the auteur theory as you have to look no further than George Lucas himself or the likes of Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Francis Ford Coppola, Mike Leigh, Hayao Miyazaki, Agnès Varda, Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger, and countless others to see that a singular or coupled vision being accurately portrayed on the screen is so much more powerful than that of one made in committees. That’s not to say the filmmaker doesn’t have help in crafting their vision but when you invite outside influence you end up with a story that lacks direction or has mixed messages as it has no centre or heartbeat to sustain itself upon rewatch value or the long term before another product is delivered. You don’t get anything from watching the same thing over and over. Re: Marvel films. It’s delightful I suppose but cinema has so much potential than just to please you and to give you exactly what you want. The story may not be what you wanted but understanding why the auteur made the choices they did is such an adventure in of itself. It’s the reason a film like The Phantom Menace stands on its own. It may not be the film most fans wanted but it has so much rewatch value as there’s always something new to discover within it. Where is this in committee filmmaking? What’s going on underneath the surface? I don’t think you get that from seeing X-Wings and TIE Fighters again and again. It’s like junk food. It can be so good but it’s more pleasure than delight that sustains you. Besides the dictionary has over 170,000 words. You may as well use it with moral responsibility or at least with well intentions.

Pauline Kael is right on some things and other things I find, no. The only reason she’s being proven “correct” with this is Hollywood studios are increasingly risk adverse. They’re not experimental or giving opportunities to the auteur to make the films they want to see. Instead they’re favouring an approach where the filmmaker is taken out of the picture and replaced by someone who will do as they please with what the marketing team thinks will sell and deliver a profit.

BedeHistory731 said:

I despise auteur theory and kind of worship culture it creates, which gives us such delights as “the Polanski letter” and Joss Whedon’s career/writing style. Before you say I just enjoy “popcorn movies” or “seeing the same things again,” I’m not keen on “movies by committee” either (i.e., I’ve never seen an MCU movie and intend to keep it that way).

My thoughts on the auteur theory can best be summed up by this video - Tommy Wiseau: The Last Auteur - Brows Held High. It’s a good summation of a bunch of Kael’s points, using Wiseau’s The Room as a thought experiment on auteurism.

I’ll have to give it a look. Thanks for sharing the video. I’ve only seen one MCU film and I have no desire to watch any others. So it’s good we can find common ground on Marvel films. I mean there’s always exceptions to every rule of where the auteur theory doesn’t always fit like 10 Things I Hate About You. It’s a wonderful little film that took the writers and hired director being in sync to create but it works as they each understood the role assigned. It also seems Disney let them do what they wanted on the film. However more often than not it’s when a singular or coupled vision is the beating heart of a production you get the most profound and moving stories. Art is a subjective concept and it would be a shame if we all liked the same things but visual literacy and the like is very important to functioning as a tolerant society.

Here’s a handful of videos for you on the subject:

https://youtu.be/O39niAzuapc

https://youtu.be/I90ZluYvHic

https://youtu.be/GwDXlA_6usI

https://youtu.be/aDBmH9ntEOA

JadedSkywalker said:

maybe they could do history of the Jedi Bendu and the Bogan who became the Sith. and the first war between the Jedi and the Sith.

That would be good to finally see. Yes please!

It is not my idea, but one that I though could work. Maybe for a Disney+ short film:

Empire Academy

"The film would take us on the journey of becoming an Imperial Stormtrooper, from cadet to graduation. As close as we can get to a Disney version of Full Metal Jacket in space. For the most part, Stormtroopers are one of the best running jokes in Star Wars. Their infamous inaccuracy is the source of many jokes and memes on the internet. We think it’s about time for Stormtroopers to be respected for the highly trained soldiers that they are.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney gave us a Stormtrooper we could care about, they humanized the role, gave us a face, that had a story, and a person struggling with inner turmoil. We think it would be a great idea to continue this trend, and watch a soldier go from cadet to trooper and to give more legitimacy to the army of the most powerful military force in the galaxy."
 

A character study of what it like to be stormtrooper. The realization and uncomfortable facts of being one, the inner conflict, the scorn of friends and family, and doing things you do not actually want to do or agree with.

Or something different to that and more along the lines of a modern updated version of Troops!

Emre1601 said:

It is not my idea, but one that I though could work. Maybe for a Disney+ short film:

Empire Academy

"The film would take us on the journey of becoming an Imperial Stormtrooper, from cadet to graduation. As close as we can get to a Disney version of Full Metal Jacket in space. For the most part, Stormtroopers are one of the best running jokes in Star Wars. Their infamous inaccuracy is the source of many jokes and memes on the internet. We think it’s about time for Stormtroopers to be respected for the highly trained soldiers that they are.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney gave us a Stormtrooper we could care about, they humanized the role, gave us a face, that had a story, and a person struggling with inner turmoil. We think it would be a great idea to continue this trend, and watch a soldier go from cadet to trooper and to give more legitimacy to the army of the most powerful military force in the galaxy."
 

A character study of what it like to be stormtrooper. The realization and uncomfortable facts of being one, the inner conflict, the scorn of friends and family, and doing things you do not actually want to do or agree with.

Or something different to that and more along the lines of a modern updated version of Troops!

I’m all for this idea. I read an EU short story recently, one that was part of the “Tales” anthology series, where the protagonist was the stormtrooper who yelled “Look, sir! Droids!” The story went through his whole military career and how he grew more and more disillusioned with the Empire over time before he finally snapped and went rogue. A story like that could definitely work as a template for an anthology movie.

thebluefrog said:

I’m afraid you missed the joke, friend.

There is nothing about your original message that suggests it’s sarcasm in any way. You wouldn’t have been the first person I’ve seen expressing interest in learning more about Holdo’s backstory and relationship with Leia. I personally don’t like the character either, but I can at least recognise that saying “no one” wants to see her again is just being obtuse.

Emre1601 said:

It is not my idea, but one that I though could work. Maybe for a Disney+ short film:

Empire Academy

"The film would take us on the journey of becoming an Imperial Stormtrooper, from cadet to graduation. As close as we can get to a Disney version of Full Metal Jacket in space. For the most part, Stormtroopers are one of the best running jokes in Star Wars. Their infamous inaccuracy is the source of many jokes and memes on the internet. We think it’s about time for Stormtroopers to be respected for the highly trained soldiers that they are.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney gave us a Stormtrooper we could care about, they humanized the role, gave us a face, that had a story, and a person struggling with inner turmoil. We think it would be a great idea to continue this trend, and watch a soldier go from cadet to trooper and to give more legitimacy to the army of the most powerful military force in the galaxy."
 

A character study of what it like to be stormtrooper. The realization and uncomfortable facts of being one, the inner conflict, the scorn of friends and family, and doing things you do not actually want to do or agree with.

Or something different to that and more along the lines of a modern updated version of Troops!

I’m the same as Servii, this sounds like a good idea for a film. I’d happily look forward to watching it.

Even a follow-on film told from a Rebel soldier point of view. Idealization through to the realization and horror. Or that regular everyday people may not see you as being the hero you think you, are or are trying to be, or even don’t agree with the Rebellion.
 

More “Troops” too please!

Anakin Starkiller said:

I agree with Jedi_Bendu, thebluefrog is just being obtuse. I for one would love to see more spinoffs based on the Sequels. I’m honestly tired of everything revolving around the Originals.

I’d like more anthology series like Visions, whether animated or live action, and set in new eras that haven’t been explored or referenced previously.

I am looking forward to some of the new content coming soon, but like yourself, do wish to see more new eras and worlds. Sequel spin-offs would be interesting to build-upon. Much like CW, TCW and Rebels attempted to build or expand on the shortcomings of the Prequels.

As said previously, Star Wars is such an amazing sandbox, the stories we could come up with are so vast, and from so many artists with differing viewpoints, and contrasting styles.

Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina

In the EU, Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina was a series of short stories about the various going on in Tatooine’s Mos Eisley bar and all of the shady characters it attracts.

Make this an anthology film with a Pulp Fiction style, featuring several interlocking stories centered around the Cantina about various smugglers, low level criminals, people simply passing through, and everyday people trying to keep a low profile and looking to avoid any Imperial entanglements.
 

“Tales From Takodana Castle” could work just as well if wanting to do a Sequel era story.

Or do both! But I’m not sure a “Tales From Dex’s Diner” would work.