Bits & Bobs - 7th Edition

Bits & Bobs collects some of the cool things around the interwebs that I think are noteworthy and worth your time but don't necessarily fill up a full blog post or news item. On with the show...

A LONG TIME AGO, IN A MOVIE THEATER FAR, FAR AWAY...

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StarWars.com announced on Monday morning that a new 88-second trailer for the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released in 30 select theaters on the Friday following Thanksgiving. The 88-second teaser trailer will be the first (official) look at the production but has a lot of fans in an uproar that it's such a limited and short-timed release. After weeks of hearing rumors that the teaser trailer would be revealed with something "much bigger than being attached to the new Hobbit film," the confusing marketing and messaging has a lot of Star Wars fans scratching their heads wondering if they'll be able to see the trailer online officially and sadly the overwhelming consensus is that many will most likely be viewing the teaser for the first time as some shaky hand-held iPhone video. Not exactly the ideal viewing conditions for the first live-action Star Wars footage in almost ten years. We'll see what happens later in the week and if the marketing message becomes clearer. Always in motion, the future is (apparently).

HOLD ON, LET ME TAKE A SELFIE

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While it wasn't a big surprise, when ABC canceled the much maligned but incredibly misunderstood show Selfie, I'll go ahead and admit it: I was a little bummed. On the surface level, the Karen Gillan and John Cho starring show appeared to be a vapid reflection of Kim Kardashian culture incarnate. I was apprehensive about watching it at first. But sharp writing and a comment on the socially networked culture was to be had and the show actually really grew on me. That and David Harewood's Seinfeldesque boss character really tickled me. The good news is that show runner Emily Kapnek has "unofficially" Tweeted that the remaining episodes of the show will eventually make it to Hulu, where hopefully it will find an audience that will give it a chance.

HE WEARS THE PAN...

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Joe Wright, the man behind Atonement, The Soloist, and Hanna has been hard at work on a retelling of the Peter Pan legend simply titled, Pan. The trailer for the film was released amidst the fully of trailers this Thanksgiving week and it's an interesting take on the story. Shades of Spielberg's Hook in there, a little bit of Guillermo del Toro feeling storytelling, and a whole lot of Hugh Jackman in heavy make-up playing Blackbeard. Check out the trailer through YouTube here and let us know what you think in the comments. Have reboots gone too far? Is this a good approach to retelling a classic story? Let us know how you're feeling (even if the answer is "hungry for massive amounts of turkey tomorrow").

Itchy Wool and Broken Wings

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"Making sequels ain't like dusting crops, kid." Or at least, I think that's how the line went?

Chances are, if you've touched the internet or viewed television at any point over the last couple weeks, you've heard that Harrison Ford broke his leg the second week of June while filming on the latest Star Wars sequel at the Pinewood Studios. This morning, "news" is out there that Ford is up and walking again using "a prosthetic limb" (thanks Daily Mail) - I put both in quotes because the concept of news and the use of such a strange term as prosthetic limb in the headline makes it as attention grabbing as possible, I'm sure.

A while ago, I had written an open letter to my heroes after a viewing of Spielberg's War Horse (unfortunately now that the site has migrated the old blog has been taken offline otherwise I could link back to the past). In short, the letter suggested that the likes of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who were responsible for so much of my childhood, had gotten too comfortable in their more recent days. Having people around them that never say no and never being challenged by anything had made them complacent and the quality of their films was mirroring that state.

Take a look at a film like Jaws, which is so incredibly effective because the challenges of the mechanical shark forced Spielberg to get creative with how he was playing with the audience. Fear in the unseen. Now, a couple weeks of VFX to the cheapest bitter and you can have all the Bruce you can handle in a film like Jaws.

This is the long way of going about saying it, but Ford breaking his ankle (though you never wish ill of people that they break their legs requiring surgery) might be a good sign of things to come. It's a challenge for the creative team that they have to work around and, to use the cliche, forces them to think outside the box to figure out a workaround. Bluntly, it forces the Above the Liners on the call sheet to move outside their comfort zone and not rely on the easy way out.

Films like Wizard of Oz, the first X-Men film, and countless others have had to deal with major adversity (let's be honest every film has to deal with some sort of adversity which is the main reason a go-to question in EPKs is "what was the biggest challenge of _____"). And for some reason, even though it's at the expense of poor Harrison Ford's leg, I see this as yet another positive toward the film we'll be seeing next December.

Star Wars VII Begins Filming

The Official Bad Robot Twitter snuck a photo out last night to signify that filming on the still untitled Star Wars Episode VII is underway at the Pinewood Studios in London. I'm curious though as to why filming began on a Friday, wondering if it's wardrobe and make-up tests rather than actual principal photography? That's just my speculation but still interesting that their production week would start Friday.

Anxiously awaiting more gems to keep the buzz going, can't wait for more to start and trickle out from filming! 

CORRECTION: Looks like the excitement got the better of me. The Star Wars VII main unit is actually underway in Abu Dahbi (Nermal has yet to be spotted), while Pinewood Studios London either awaits the unit to travel there or is currently filming with a second unit.

Star Wars: This Will Be a Day Long Remembered

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Get ready to return to the galaxy far, far away with the new cast of Star Wars VII (Courtesy StarWars.com)

In a surprising move (many were expecting the announcement to come in with the hyper-punny May the 4th faux-celebration), Lucasfilm has announced the cast of the new Star Wars sequel, still as of yet untitled.

Original stars Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) will be reprising their roles from the original trilogy. 

New to the series are actors are John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Mr. Selfridge), Adam Driver (Girls), Oscar Issac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter)... oh yeah, and freaking Max von Sydow (you know, of many films but let's be honest you know and love him as the voice of Vigo the Carpathian, right?). The new cast's roles are as of yet announced.

The film opens on December 18, 2015 and begins filming in the next few weeks.

UPDATE: Slashfilm has a fantastic breakdown of all the new actors, descriptions of their personalities and how they might coincide with characters on-screen and more. Check it out, it's a great read.