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Kathleen Kennedy showing off her chops? Persuading JJ to do VII...

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http://www.blastr.com/2013-1-30/heres-how-kathleen-kennedy-convinced-abrams-do-star-wars-vii

All the way up until he officially signed on, J.J. Abrams kept saying he had no plans to direct Star Wars Episode VII. Turns out he was telling the truth—at least until Lucasfilm head honcho Kathleen Kennedy made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

After Disney bought Lucasfilm and ramped up production on new Star Wars projects, Kennedy knew she wanted to hit a grand slam with the director. Abrams has his hand on just about every cool thing out there these days, and he’s already proven he can revitalize a classic brand with his new run of Star Trek films. So he was a shoo-in. The only problem? He really, truly, had no intention of doing it.

Kennedy reached out to Abrams’ people, who told her he was far too busy shepherding Paramount’s new Star Trek film series. Undeterred, she pushed for a meeting with the man himself, and opened with a simple plea: “Please do Star Wars.”

Kennedy told The Hollywood Reporter that Abrams was impressed with the decision to hire Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) to write the script, and geeked out at the involvement of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi writer Lawrence Kasdan as a consultant.

The duo spent three hours in a secret meeting on Dec. 19, and though Abrams was intrigued, he still had some concerns about his other obligations and the amount of time involved with a project this size. Disney is desperate to hit a 2015 release date, meaning Abrams will have to get rolling immediately.

So Kennedy kept on the full court press:

“J.J. was just on the ceiling when I walked out the door … We spent a lot of time talking about how meaningful Star Wars is and the depth of the mythology that George has created and how we carry that into the next chapter."

As we all know, it worked, and Kennedy’s efforts netted her Hollywood’s biggest name. Are you glad Kennedy went to all this trouble, or would you have liked to see someone else in the director’s chair?

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Jetrell Fo said:

Are you glad Kennedy went to all this trouble,

No, not yet anyway.

Jetrell Fo said:

or would you have liked to see someone else in the director’s chair? 

Not exactly but forcing someone into the Director chair just because he's done well on other projects isn't a guaranteed good movie. If it turns out to be a good movie I'll be glad. If it turns out to be bad I wouldn't be surprised. It seems like they became blind sighted to other potential directors and put all their eggs in JJ's basket before he even had a basket. I mean what if after the long meeting he did say "no"? That meeting would've been a complete waste of time. Whatever, whole thing seems odd to me. It conjures up an image of the Lucasfilm people on their knees begging JJ Abrams to direct the movie while he sits on a Star Trek style throne.

In other terms Abrams is like this:
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/4280/bzxwpal.jpg

Lucasfilm is like this:
http://i.imgur.com/W5b0ivo.gif
http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/7171/zp6ga9h.jpg


http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7405/cooly.gif

http://twister111.tumblr.com
Previous Signature preservation link

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If he is Q he already knows the best possible way of doing it and just has to snap his fingers.

Shucks with Q at the helm this film should have a 1986 release date.

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The title of the thread was supposed to read a bit sarcastic.  I guess I didn't bring it well enough .....

LOL

 

I didn't write the article I just shared the link and the text content.
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Irvin Kershner turned down directing Empire Strikes Back. Lucas had to twist his arm to get him to do it; they had to have a second meeting where Lucas basically begged him to make the film. It turned out...pretty good, to put it lightly. To make things worse, the film he did right before Empire, Eyes of Laura Mars, sucked. Even Kershner apologized for it. And the rest of his films up until then were fairly obscure. I've seen "Hoodlum Priest," but have you? If the internet was around in 1978 we'd all be crucifying him.

A lot of people are looking for things to nail Abrams on but honestly none of us has any idea how well he will work out. I give him the benefit of the doubt until I see the movie, as he is not a bad director by any means.

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Well said, zombie84. :)

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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SilverWook said:

Well said, zombie84. :)

I agree. Definitely well said, zombie84.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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I will try and not be too pessimistic and hope she does a good job, but she was involved in that Crystal Skull movie.

I still would like to find out why Ford and Spielberg went along with the Aliens thing other than because of some sort of friendship they feel to Lucas, or owing him in some way for their careers.

I too like to remember the magic Kersh brought into the mix on Empire but i also recall those post empire films Robocop II and Never Say Never Again.

Absolute drek.

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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the problem is, there is no story. who cares by this point?

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skyjedi2005 said:

I too like to remember the magic Kersh brought into the mix on Empire but i also recall those post empire films Robocop II and Never Say Never Again.

Absolute drek.

Whats wrong with them?

The Bond movie was better than the 'Official' Octopussey

J

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The awful (even for it's day) CGI aside, the only thing spoiling Robocop 2 is Robocop 1 did most of what it does already (though often not as well). Both are over-rated Judge Dredd/Deathlok rip offs.

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zombie84 said:

Irvin Kershner turned down directing Empire Strikes Back. Lucas had to twist his arm to get him to do it; they had to have a second meeting where Lucas basically begged him to make the film. It turned out...pretty good, to put it lightly. To make things worse, the film he did right before Empire, Eyes of Laura Mars, sucked. Even Kershner apologized for it. And the rest of his films up until then were fairly obscure. I've seen "Hoodlum Priest," but have you? If the internet was around in 1978 we'd all be crucifying him.

A lot of people are looking for things to nail Abrams on but honestly none of us has any idea how well he will work out. I give him the benefit of the doubt until I see the movie, as he is not a bad director by any means.

I think it's quite amusing that after all these years, people are still waiting for that new "The Empire Strikes Back" but it's never going to happen, without lens flares or not ( "The Phantom Menace" had quite a good portion of artificial lens flares IIRC, so JJ will fit nicely)

To draw parallels with how things went down when the legendary sequel was made in the past to how things are proceeding now is quite pointless. The differences are quite big, not in the MO and not what you Zombie tried to say, the times and in what climate this new film is made in, is a very different scenario from Empire 30 years ago.

Is this a movie, that really needs to be made? Is this a story, that really needs to be told? Why are these new movies made? Is there someone with the passion behind this? Dollars of course!! Of course it's dollars, back when Empire was made it was all about money as well and more importantly the building of a new movie facility and planned franchise, it just happened to be a genuine interest on all fronts to make a great follow-up to one of the biggest surprise hits in movie history behind it. The last gasps of the golden 70's US independent era behind this kind of a blockbuster, it will never happen again. 

Will be interesting to see how they are marketing these new movies, I recall Episode I was promoted basicallly as a sequel to The Empire Strikes Back from all the trailers I saw, which means 10 to 30 year olds are the primary demographic, it ultimately proved to be aimed at 3 to 10 year olds.

I know that I sound bitter, but it's because I am bitter, Star Wars have been reduced to a fuzzy old little DVNR'ed LD transfer, that's all we have left today of this little legendary film. THANK YOU LUCASFILM!!! :)

We want you to be aware that we have no plans—now or in the future—to restore the earlier versions. 

Sincerely, Lynne Hale publicity@lucasfilm.com

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msycamore said:

zombie84 said:

Irvin Kershner turned down directing Empire Strikes Back. Lucas had to twist his arm to get him to do it; they had to have a second meeting where Lucas basically begged him to make the film. It turned out...pretty good, to put it lightly. To make things worse, the film he did right before Empire, Eyes of Laura Mars, sucked. Even Kershner apologized for it. And the rest of his films up until then were fairly obscure. I've seen "Hoodlum Priest," but have you? If the internet was around in 1978 we'd all be crucifying him.

A lot of people are looking for things to nail Abrams on but honestly none of us has any idea how well he will work out. I give him the benefit of the doubt until I see the movie, as he is not a bad director by any means.

I think it's quite amusing that after all these years, people are still waiting for that new "The Empire Strikes Back" but it's never going to happen, without lens flares or not ( "The Phantom Menace" had quite a good portion of artificial lens flares IIRC, so JJ will fit nicely)

To draw parallels with how things went down when the legendary sequel was made in the past to how things are proceeding now is quite pointless. The differences are quite big, not in the MO and not what you Zombie tried to say, the times and in what climate this new film is made in, is a very different scenario from Empire 30 years ago.

Is this a movie, that really needs to be made? Is this a story, that really needs to be told? Why are these new movies made? Is there someone with the passion behind this? Dollars of course!! Of course it's dollars, back when Empire was made it was all about money as well and more importantly the building of a new movie facility and planned franchise, it just happened to be a genuine interest on all fronts to make a great follow-up to one of the biggest surprise hits in movie history behind it. The last gasps of the golden 70's US independent era behind this kind of a blockbuster, it will never happen again. 

I know that I sound bitter, but it's because I am bitter, Star Wars have been reduced to a fuzzy old little DVNR'ed LD transfer, that's all we have left today of this little legendary film. THANK YOU LUCASFILM!!! :)

Never say never. After all, there are more projects now than ever before to bring the original Star Wars back to life, and I think that many of the people that will work on the new movies were probably inspired by the originals. It's not their fault that Lucas drove the prequels into the ground.

At the end of the day, movies will be made and remade, and the great ones will be remembered. With so many people now contributing to the brand of Star Wars, a lot of dross will be added, true, but it's up to you to accept it or not. There was a quote from the end of Myst 3 Exile that I think is quite pertinent.

http://youtu.be/JAkfbqVszXk?t=1m34s

"I know now that we can't erase the past. Nor can we rewrite it, hoping to lessen our pain. The best we can hope for is to continue to learn. Take from the past only that which is good, and move on. Perhaps in the process, we will build a brighter future."

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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NeverarGreat said:

msycamore said:

zombie84 said:

Irvin Kershner turned down directing Empire Strikes Back. Lucas had to twist his arm to get him to do it; they had to have a second meeting where Lucas basically begged him to make the film. It turned out...pretty good, to put it lightly. To make things worse, the film he did right before Empire, Eyes of Laura Mars, sucked. Even Kershner apologized for it. And the rest of his films up until then were fairly obscure. I've seen "Hoodlum Priest," but have you? If the internet was around in 1978 we'd all be crucifying him.

A lot of people are looking for things to nail Abrams on but honestly none of us has any idea how well he will work out. I give him the benefit of the doubt until I see the movie, as he is not a bad director by any means.

I think it's quite amusing that after all these years, people are still waiting for that new "The Empire Strikes Back" but it's never going to happen, without lens flares or not ( "The Phantom Menace" had quite a good portion of artificial lens flares IIRC, so JJ will fit nicely)

To draw parallels with how things went down when the legendary sequel was made in the past to how things are proceeding now is quite pointless. The differences are quite big, not in the MO and not what you Zombie tried to say, the times and in what climate this new film is made in, is a very different scenario from Empire 30 years ago.

Is this a movie, that really needs to be made? Is this a story, that really needs to be told? Why are these new movies made? Is there someone with the passion behind this? Dollars of course!! Of course it's dollars, back when Empire was made it was all about money as well and more importantly the building of a new movie facility and planned franchise, it just happened to be a genuine interest on all fronts to make a great follow-up to one of the biggest surprise hits in movie history behind it. The last gasps of the golden 70's US independent era behind this kind of a blockbuster, it will never happen again. 

I know that I sound bitter, but it's because I am bitter, Star Wars have been reduced to a fuzzy old little DVNR'ed LD transfer, that's all we have left today of this little legendary film. THANK YOU LUCASFILM!!! :)

Never say never. After all, there are more projects now than ever before to bring the original Star Wars back to life, and I think that many of the people that will work on the new movies were probably inspired by the originals. It's not their fault that Lucas drove the prequels into the ground.

At the end of the day, movies will be made and remade, and the great ones will be remembered. With so many people now contributing to the brand of Star Wars, a lot of dross will be added, true, but it's up to you to accept it or not. There was a quote from the end of Myst 3 Exile that I think is quite pertinent.

http://youtu.be/JAkfbqVszXk?t=1m34s

"I know now that we can't erase the past. Nor can we rewrite it, hoping to lessen our pain. The best we can hope for is to continue to learn. Take from the past only that which is good, and move on. Perhaps in the process, we will build a brighter future."

 

Really good post directly above. 

 

I had given up on Star Wars - fatigued by the prequels and tinkering with our beloved GOUT.

 

But now I feel there's life; I'm no longer looking back lamenting what was lost, or changed - now there's a literal new hope. 

 

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Sure, new stuff can just be avoided if it's not your thing. But my bitterness stems from seeing what I actually do love with a passion (the original films) being abused time and time again. It has been fist-fucked in the ass, kicked in the nuts, laughed at and it keeps being kicked when it's down. Star Wars is IMO a freak show nowadays where it has been treated as software for the last fifteen years.

When you cannot walk into a video store and buy a copy of these important titles, it is very hard for me to get excited by imitators. There's only one original which everything is riding the coattails of, and it's still treated as a bastard where cheap pornos have better video releases. Lucasfilm is a company that for more than ten years have actively opposed modern film history by suppressing these classics that built the company.

 Lynne Hale (Lucasfilm spokeswoman) in 2006:

"We want you to be aware that we have no plans—now or in the future—to restore the earlier versions."

I presume that statement still stands as where the company stands on the issue today. And as long as it does, I don't give a damn about a new "SW-film" being released every year or so, new spin-offs and series etc. I'm not that kind of a SW-fan that swallow everything new they toss at me, I guess you could say I'm not a "Star Wars-fan" at all in some twisted way (as my fandom mostly contain two classic films made in the 70's) and nor do I think they have us old fans in mind when they're producing this new stuff either...

We want you to be aware that we have no plans—now or in the future—to restore the earlier versions. 

Sincerely, Lynne Hale publicity@lucasfilm.com