I keep hearing "EU names" repeated over and over.
Let's not forget that part of the deal with Disney is that Lucas wrote the story outline for the next three episodes. That would include, I would imagine, naming all of the important characters as well.
That one of the character's names is a recycling from Droids is a telltale sign that this is George that we're dealing with. He collaborated heavily with the original Droids series producers back in the day and as a result a number of things from that series ended up being recycled into the Prequels.
The Boonta Eve race being a big one but there was also:
Among other things.
So they're not "EU names" if they're coming straight from the mouth of the creator.
Whether they're good names or not is an entirely different matter however.
Just to echo SilverWook's thoughts here, from an *nervous cough* older fan. This one-sheet totally created my emotional connection to the film.
To this day, the original one-sheet is still how I feel about the film. I'm sorry I don't have a better way to describe it.
What it looks like on screen is secondary. The one-sheet captures the dark and distant world far far away. The original trailer does the same.
The one-sheet and trailer are the only two things that can still transport me back to 1977.
(CNN) -- "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams has come up with a nostalgic way to reveal the names of the movie's characters.
We've known for months that "The Force Awakens" features fresh faces like John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac. We even got to see them in action in the movie's first trailer, which was released the day after Thanksgiving.
But the lingering mystery was who exactly those actors are playing. Now, thanks to some clever retro-style trading cards, we know the names of their characters.
“First feel fear, then get angry. Then go with your life into the fight.” - Bill Mollison
The cards of Finn, Rey and Poe almost look they could have been from the late 70s/early 80s.... particulary Finn and Rey.
Interesting how they gave Poe a last name, but not Finn or Rey. I'm wondering if revealing their last names would be.... well, too revealing at this point. Or maybe Poe Dameron is his first name?
^^ Surely this is bullsh*t?
VIZ TOP TIPS! - PARENTS. Impress your children by showing them a floppy disk and telling them it’s a 3D model of a save icon.
Yes we know
Also on the next page (the one right this page), you can see many have already commented.
Kylo Ren doesn't sound intimidating.. at all.
“That said, there is nothing wrong with mocking prequel lovers and belittling their bad taste.” - Alderaan, 2017
MGGA (Make GOUT Great Again):
http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Return-of-the-GOUT-Preservation-and-Restoration/id/55707
So the ball droid (BB-8) isn't CG, but a real prop , as confirmed by Mark Hamill. In bet the whiners on the net that were saying the ball droid was "bad Cg" are going to be a little butthurt about this one ;)
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/mark-hamill-on-playing-with-the-star-wars-the-105015597302.html
adywan said:
So the ball droid (BB-8) isn't CG, but a real prop , as confirmed by Mark Hamill. In bet the whiners on the net that were saying the ball droid was "bad Cg" are going to be a little butthurt about this one ;)
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/mark-hamill-on-playing-with-the-star-wars-the-105015597302.html
This is the best thing I've heard about this movie since the trailer. I was wondering how they'd gotten the antenna to bounce around so realistically!
You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)
adywan said:
So the ball droid (BB-8) isn't CG, but a real prop , as confirmed by Mark Hamill. In bet the whiners on the net that were saying the ball droid was "bad Cg" are going to be a little butthurt about this one ;)
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/mark-hamill-on-playing-with-the-star-wars-the-105015597302.html
Not only that but the people who were suggesting that a droid that was a ball with a head on top, wasn't physically possible, are gonna be surprised when they see that JJ actually had them build it.
Gods bless Mark Hamill, he is such an awesome guy...
Mark Hamill said:
The great thrill for me was watching the video of fans watching the trailer. Did you see that? Oh my god! I forget how happy this stuff makes a certain segment of our population. I mean, I really was moved to see these people that happy. It was wonderful.
This bit has made all my dreams come true...
Mark Hamill said:
I rightly assumed that it wouldn’t be our story, because we had a beginning, a middle, and an end. This must be our offspring and the current generation, with us there lending the kind of support that Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness did in the original.
...this new film is gonna be awesome. It's a done deal!
VIZ TOP TIPS! - PARENTS. Impress your children by showing them a floppy disk and telling them it’s a 3D model of a save icon.
JawsTDS said:
Kylo Ren doesn't sound intimidating.. at all.
Roy Batty...
Baronlando said:
Like the vintage trading cards as a way to reveal the names. Every time they pander to my old ass with nostalgia it completely works, I'm such an easy mark. (And gives hope to getting the originals out).
It made me feel the same way. I can't help but wonder if this was JJ's idea or if it was simply thought up by someone at Lucasfilm/Disney. Either way, it had to be ok'd by corporate before making its way to EW.
Man, I really hope they've been secretly restoring the OOT and are just keeping an extra-tight lid on it.
adywan said:
So the ball droid (BB-8) isn't CG, but a real prop , as confirmed by Mark Hamill. In bet the whiners on the net that were saying the ball droid was "bad Cg" are going to be a little butthurt about this one ;)
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/mark-hamill-on-playing-with-the-star-wars-the-105015597302.html
Perhaps we have all lowered our expectations a tad as to how these things are done. ;)
Where were you in '77?
JawsTDS said:
Kylo Ren doesn't sound intimidating.. at all.
Ah, but maybe therein lies the rub? Perhaps it's not intimidating because it's not meant to be intimidating, and it's not meant to be intimidating because
*pause for dramatic effect*
he isn't actually a villain after all?
Yes, perhaps that's the answer. All the dark moodiness of his reveal in the teaser is all just misdirection -- a red herring, if you will. He's really a protagonist, a hero (or, at the very least, an anti-hero). The big bad is really someone else, someone we'll least suspect.
Well, obviously I'm just being melodramatically silly, here. The chances that what I just hypothesized will actually turn out to be the case are less than 40%. Still, were it to be true, it'd help rekindle my enthusiasm for the ST; it'd even make that stupid lightsaber almost tolerable.
The droid being revealed to be a real live prop doesn't surprise me. It certainly did not look like bad CGI to me. I was more like "that's amazing CGI". I think I assumed it was CG since I didn't think they'd be able to pull off the design for real.
That said I still severely dislike the CG falcon, but I'm certain it's just poor CGI as they only finished shooting less than 2 months ago!
Also, is it me or do the name cards have slightly different color grading than the trailer?
emanswfan said:
The droid being revealed to be a real live prop doesn't surprise me. It certainly did not look like bad CGI to me. I was more like "that's amazing CGI". I think I assumed it was CG since I didn't think they'd be able to pull off the design for real.
That said I still severely dislike the CG falcon, but I'm certain it's just poor CGI as they only finished shooting less than 2 months ago!
Also, is it me or do the name cards have slightly different color grading than the trailer?
Now I'm wondering if the X-wings were real miniatures with CG water effects added to them.
You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)
For that matter, has it been said that the Falcon is actually CG? For all we know, they could have shot it practically then added motion blur and contrails later. Point is, after Gravity, I realize that I'm not a good judge of CGI anymore.
You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)
Digitally composited effects look CG to me. They just look... I dunno, off? Anyway, that leaves me in no position to judge whether something's a model or actually CGI.
emanswfan said:
Also, is it me or do the name cards have slightly different color grading than the trailer?
They kind of look like slightly degraded film prints to me -- you know, with slightly higher red levels than normal.
I'm actually surprised so many people thought the ball droid was CG.
My immediate interpretation of that shot when I first saw it was that JJ was declaring "Look see, I told you, practical effects!"
The way it jittered across the terrain was a dead giveaway to me. A CG droid would have rolled a lot more smoothly.
I imagine it was accomplished in the same way they did the Tire in Rubber. Where they just digitally erased the wires/rig that the prop was guided by.
And no, all the ship shots were definitely all digital.
Edit:
Actually, based on this quote from Mark Hamill:
Mark Hamill said:
They never cease to amaze me with what they’re able to come up with, you know? I said, “How are you ever gonna top R2-D2, the most adorable droid in movie history?” And then they have this new one. I can’t even tell you his name, but you saw it in the trailer. And when they were demonstrating how they did this thing, live on set — because it’s not CGI, that’s a live prop — I was just amazed. They let me play around with it. [Laughs] I was running it all around at the creature shop up in Pinewood. I’m telling you, it’s an absolute delight. And not having thought that I’d ever go back there, to go back into that world, is just – I get the chills. It’s just so much fun.
It sounds like the ball body is actually RC controlled.
I'm betting this little droid will inspire someone at NASA. :)
Where were you in '77?
so, mark confirmed that there is a practical ball droid - but is it practical in that shot in the teaser? Kind of like how they have a 'hero' version of props but then make a whole bunch of replicas for different action sequences and shots.
its funny, when i first heard confirmation that there is at least 1 practical model made of the droid, it reminded me of when i first heard that kenny baker was only in the very last scene in AOTC :(
I told myself I wasn't going to go into this thread for fear of spoilers but you guys refuse to post in the other one and I need to talk about this movie so here goes.
I had also told myself I wasn't going to watch the teaser but I really couldn't help myself. Besides, I would have seen the images from it online anyway.
My thoughts on the trailer: it's great, I'm excited. I didn't get me super jacked the first time I saw it, but that's because the way it's edited, with all the cuts to black, really kills the momentum of it all. Also the voice over thing has been done to death.
But I'm seriously loving the stuff I'm seeing. Boyega a stormtrooper in the desert? Very cool. Ball droid? Strange, but cool (I assumed even before the names were revealed that he must be a semi-prominent character. Also I've always thought it was practical, rather obvious). Ridley on a speeder? Very cool. Stormtroopers? Awesome. Oscar Isaac an X-Wing pilot flying over a lake? Super awesome, my favorite part. Strange hooded guy in the woods with an unstable sword saber? Very interesting. Millennium Falcon? Obviously amazing.
I'm surprised so many people are saying this is typical Abrams and that it's going to look like JJ's Trek. These shots are actually for the most part atypical of him and quite reminiscent of Star Wars. The only outliers is the telephoto shots of the stormtroopers (and the editing there too, but I think that's just for the trailer - by the way a note on that scene, the coloring of it is obviously because of the lighting, no digital teal shift there, and the shaky cam is because of the shakiness of the vehicle they're in), and the Falcon follow, which is great and not totally out of place for Star Wars so I'll give it a pass.
It's hard to believe these are shots from Episode VII because it's still so hard to believe there even isn Episode VII. But there is, and I can't wait.
^ Great post!
Found an article about the Millennium Falcon shot in the trailer.
" That shot is next-level motion-controlled photography, a cinematic technique originally developed to make the original Star Wars’s space battles more dynamic."
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/lightning-round-star-wars-the-force-awakens-trailer/