The Future Legacy of Star Wars Films

Are most big movies now following this formula? I am concerned that Star Wars 7 - however well-written, acted, directed - will be bottled up in such a manner and feel uninspired, however "really good" it may be. Some of Disney's and other companies' recent efforts heighten this concern.

Would or could a new Star Wars movie change cinema the way it is said to have done in '77? Or is cinema no longer susceptible to such alterations of course?

I'm not wanting a crazy avant-garde Star Wars, but could it show enough heart to stand out as something more than 'another (really good) Star Wars movie'?

The OT itself is following a pattern set by old westerns and samurai movies.

It's all in how you use the formula.

That article lacks any kind of historical insight or dramaturgical understanding. Storytelling *is* 'formulaic', and always has been.

Heilemann said:

That article lacks any kind of historical insight or dramaturgical understanding. Storytelling *is* 'formulaic', and always has been.

You have a point. And I'm skeptical of the 'here are two examples from movie X so obv the entire movie followed a strict formula.' Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I mean, we'd expect a couple of similarities with any given story-telling model.

But I am still concerned about a perfectly good script being handed up to the executives who fancy themselves experts because they studied a certain easy-to-digest formula (like the one at the link) and decide to impose that model to constrain the story within that single orthodoxy in order to 'make it better.'

Whether Moliere, Shakespeare, Spielberg, or Abrams...there are obvious good ways of telling a story that will be followed. But I think there is a danger (perhaps proven by recent movies) of adhering to certain models too closely.

Do you think that is a problem with contemporary cinema or are movies as good/bad as they've always been? I tend to agree with DuracellEnergizer - even beyond movies, I don't know if there is as much opportunity for people to breach existing fields.

At the end of the day, the more expensive the movie, the bigger the risk. We can complain about wanting more inventive movies, or different experiences all we want. But flip it around and look at movies like products, it only makes sense for the studios to do their utmost to ensure their investments. In most other industries, we applaud that. That's what business is. And blockbusters are business, not art.

That said, we all want to be surprised and delighted when we watch a film; but the only thing that matters in the overall scheme of things is the bottom line. When that falters, change will come. See also Old Hollywood.