Jurassic Park 4, Rumours And Release Dates

Tag: Kathleen Kennedy

J.J. Abrams directs Star Wars Episode VII

May. 19 Movies, News no comments

A whole lot has gone down since late last year, primarily George Lucas selling Lucasfilm which includes but not limited to the rights to Indiana Jones and of course Star Wars to the Disney Empire who paid an incredible $4.05 billion dollars. Immediately Disney announced the making of the long speculated and continually denied Episode VII which if everything goes well will be released in 2015 with J.J. Abrams directing.

Soon after the rumor mill cranked up and has been churning ever since. J.J. Abrams was asked to direct and he respectfully declined only to come back early this year and accept the task while making history as a director who will soon have both Star Trek and Star Wars movies in his already impressive resume. If years ago someone would have told me that the same guy would one day direct Star Trek and Star Wars movies I would still be chuckling to this day as I’m sure many of you would as well.

Anyway in a recent interview, Playboy asked Abrams some questions fans have been a little more than curious about. First was why he had turned down the offer to direct Episode VII in which he talked about how different the two universes are and how his loyalty was to Star Trek in which he was finishing up. “It was like being on the most beautiful beach in the world and someone saying, “There’s this amazing mountain over here. Come take a look.” I couldn’t balance the two , so I passed on Star Wars.”

Everyone that is curious whether doing Star Wars will keep him away from doing another Trek, you can relax because I don’t think it will have any bearing at all on that. J.J. says it’s a possibility and like anything it begins with the story.

As far as Abrams finally taking on the job to direct Episode VII, I think we have Kathleen Kennedy and J.J.’s wife Katie to thank for that. Kennedy who is now the overseer of Lucasfilm, called Abrams, whom she has known for years, and during the conversation the realization of how great this could be slowly came to him. Finally it was his wife Katie that seemed to give him that final push and the rest will be history in the making.

J.J. Abrams also states that he will be looking to the original creator of the Star Wars universe for advice and guidance through the filmmaking process as Lucas will be staying on as a creative consultant. He says that this will be advantageous in making this film. This is an edge he didn’t have going into Star Trek because he of course did not have Gene Roddenberry to turn to when making what I consider to be two great Trek films. Needless to say, I can hardly wait to see how Episode VII turns out as I am a huge Star Wars fan and have been waiting for another great one since The Empire Strikes Back as I’m sure many other fans feel the same way.

I mentioned earlier in this article the many rumors flying around. Of course we can’t put stock into any of these until we get confirmation from a reliable source. Among these rumors of course are the returning cast members from the original trilogy and as far as I know nothing is totally confirmed yet. I can tell you that it won’t surprise me if Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill make an appearance and not too long ago I would have said impossible to the chance of Harrison Ford being in this next installment, but seeing a couple of his recent interviews on how he skated around the subject instead of shooting it down like he has so many times in the past, I can say that this too is a good possibility, but I’ve been wrong before and I’m sure I will be again. As far as John Williams coming back to do the score, this is not yet confirmed but I feel it’s almost a given because it just wouldn’t be Star Wars without him conducting.

We have plenty of time to speculate between now and 2015. Until that time when we are all gathered in the theatre once more to see the next of what is said to be many installments of the now iconic saga, I have finally to say May The Force Be With You and more importantly may The Force Be With J.J. Abrams.

Tags: 2015, Carrie Fisher, directing, episode VII, Harrison Ford, J.J. Abrams, John Williams, Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm, Mark Hamill, movie, Sequel, Star Wars

The Future of Star Wars is… Disney?

Oct. 30 Movies, News 3 comments

There has been some truly stunning news coming from the world of movies in our lifetimes, but probably none that is as sweeping as the news that broke today.

Disney has acquired LucasFilm Ltd for the sum of $4.05 billion.

I’m going to let that sink in for just a minute.

But the news doesn’t stop there. They have also issued a press release stating that there will be a new Star Wars film hitting theaters in 2015.

That’s right. You heard me.

Star Wars VII is going to be hitting theaters in 2015.

George Lucas has talked for a long time about retiring from big budget film making, stating repeatedly that his World War II film about the Tuskegee Airmen was going to be his last major motion picture, but the move to sell the company to Disney is still surprising to me.

George Lucas issued a statement on the sale and the reasons why, as well as hinting as possible futures for his film franchise that has developed into a cultural touchstone for people all across the world.

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said Lucas, chairman and CEO of LucasFilm, in a statement. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with LucasFilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give LucasFilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

Kathleen Kennedy will take over for Lucas as President of LucasFilm Ltd and will serve as Executive Producer on the new film, though Lucas is still being tapped as a “creative consultant.” Only time will tell what this means, but speaking personally, I am both excited and more than a little bit apprehensive. Where they will take the story beyond Return of the Jedi remains to be seen, but there is a lot of material out there in the form of books, comics, and video games that has existed for nearly as long as the franchise itself that could suddenly become invalidated by the release of this movie and what it holds. Though this is nothing new to long time Star Wars fans, it does add a new wrinkle in which things long held to be true could be suddenly changed.

This acquisition also draws nervous eyes to the popular Cartoon Network animated series Star Wars The Clone Wars, owned by Turner Broadcasting and just entering its fifth season chronicling the events between Episodes II and III. It also calls into question the future of the remaining 3-D re-releases of the saga, as 20th Century Fox, the distributor for all of the films, will now be cut out of future business and releases.

This sale comes hot off the heels of Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009 and Pixar in 2006. Those partnerships have done nothing but great things for the franchise, but only time will tell if the same story will be told with the future of the Star Wars name. This is going to be a developing story to watch very closely, fellow nerds. Keep your eyes glued to Word of the Nerd for all of the latest developments. This is an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan, that’s for sure.

Go. Scour the internet. I want to hear the rumors. And remember – The Force will be with you. Always.

Source: Disney to Buy Lucasfilm for $4.05 Billion; New ‘Star Wars’ Movie in the Works - The Hollywood Reporter

Tags: Ben Erickson, Disney, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm, Movies, Star Wars

Jurassic Park 4, Rumours And Release Dates

Jul. 29 Movies, News no comments

Since 2002 rumours of the fourth dino instalment have been flying. From genetically spliced solders/dinosaurs, to dinosaurs with guns all the way back to a straight forward follow up, so let’s see what we know now and see what we think about the now confirmed Jurassic Park 4.

Writers – I think it is pretty obvious that Steven Spielberg will have his mitts all over this as far as the story is concerned, but, as for other writers, we have had a long list of names to choose from since JP4 rumours began. For a long time it seemed that the main man on writing duties would be Mark Protosevich, of I Am Legend and Thor. However, in June 2012, Rise of the Planet of the Apes duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver were confirmed to be taking over script writing duties, though their plans for the movie and story are not yet known.

Director – Spielberg has revealed that he will not be directing, opting to instead to produce the movie along with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. Although not confirmed, it looks like Joe Johnson, Jumanji, Captain America and Jurassic Park 3, will be the captain of this latest dinosaur ship.

Cast – ? Rumours of rolls for David Boreanaz and Keria Knightley, very interesting, but nothing confirmed.

Plot – Ok, so, there is still nothing set in stone. Frank Marshall has said in interviews that the Dinosaurs with guns rumours are not true, but so far anything else goes. One idea says that some of the dinosaurs brought back to life by the InGen scientists were carrying a prehistoric disease that now threatens to wipe out humanity, and no one has poo-pooed this yet. Sounds good to me but surly there wouldn’t be many people eaten, which is the main draw of the Jurassic Park movies.

Title – The title, ‘Jurassic Park 4: Extinction’ has been thrown around a lot and that would make sense if the plot is as stated above. But, as with everything else connected with this movie at the minute, no one knows!

Spoil it with CGI? – The reason JP dinosaurs look better than all of the others is the fact that the use of animatronics heavily outweighed the use of CGI, but with the trend in movies changing more towards computer generated monsters, will JP4 just be a big green screen fest? According to Frank Marshall, it’s a big fat no, check it:-

That’s what’s gonna be great about it, technology’s taken a leap now that we can really do some great things.

Speaking to Collider in regards to modern animatronics and how the actual presents of the dinosaurs really helps the actors.

Release dates? – The word is that the Jurassic Park people are aiming for a Summer 2014 release, stating that the movie is a ‘Popcorn Blockbuster’ and a sequel to the third movie rather than a remake or spinoff. But, as for rumours of JP4 being the start of another trilogy then I guess only time, and box office takings, will tell.

Finally – I am not sure if I am looking forward to this movie or not. The first Jurassic Park was amazing and I don’t mind telling you that it scared the crap out of me. Even the second movie was pretty good. However the third was pants, and with most of the same people involved with this intended fourth instalment I don’t hold out much hope. I also wasn’t a massive fan of Rise of the Planet of the Apes so it’s not looking good from my perspective. But, as franchises go, I love this one, I also love dinosaurs and people getting eaten, so will definitely be the first inline to see what they do with this movie.