Tag: Kathleen Kennedy

J.J. Abrams Returns To ‘Star Wars’ To Write & Direct Episode IX!!

by The_acz

Star Wars has been in a big mess lately.

While Episode VII re-ignited the long dormant franchise after the prequel plague, it seems like every week now there’s some sort of drama going on behind the scenes. From Rogue One’s extensive reshoots, the untimely death of Carrie Fisher, the firing of Phil Lord/Chris Miller from the Han Solo standalone film, and Colin Trevorrow’s removal from Episode IX, the beloved series has had more downs than ups recently. However, it seems like they’re finally coming up from the water to breathe easy for once.

Just announced, J.J Abrams will officially be returning to the writer and directors chair for the 2019 film. Some might be a bit hesitant as many heavily criticize Abrams for simply remaking A New Hope, but personally, The Force Awakens had better characters, even with a somewhat recycled story (Which is still a good story.) Even though this is good news, Kathleen Kennedy and the crew aren’t completely out of the woods; The Last Jedi has a good amount of people nervous about it, and the Han Solo film is still a never-ending dumpster fire. What do you think? Was this a good or bad move? Tell us in the comments below!

 

D23 2015: Your First Look at ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’

by Eric Francisco

D23 has become a necessary weekend con to pay attention to. We’ve heard about the clip of Captain America: Civil War that we’ll try to get to you guys, somehow, as fast as we can, but what we have now is just as awesome: The first look at the cast of Rogue One! And yes, Donnie Yen has joined a galaxy far, far away.

rogue-one-cast-photo-d23-1024x682

Man, is it gritty! We’ve all wanted a darker Star Wars, this is literally dark. There’s hardly any blues or yellows!

Oh man, Donnie Yen. I actually had confirmation several weeks ago that he would be in Star Wars, but I had to sit on it for various reasons. It really sucked I couldn’t tell you guys sooner, but you would have found out yourselves if you knew where to look. It wasn’t exactly a heavily-guarded secret.

Besides Donnie Yen The Living God, Rogue One has got a hell of a cast. From left to right in the above photot: Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jiang Wen, Donnie Yen. Not pictured but will be in the film are Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk (yes, THAT Alan Tudyk!), Forest Whitaker (yes, THAT Forest Whitaker!), and Mads Mikkelsen (yes, THAT Mads Mikkelsen — Jesus Rogue One isn’t messing around).

Has the title changed? I was under the impression and had long written it and seen it written as Star Wars: Rogue One, but it seems the title is officially Rogue One with A Star Wars Story as a tagline. I’m also seeing Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One in certain places. Minor details, all that matters is that you know Rogue One and that this is goddamn Star Wars so anything works.

Rogue One is a prequel-ish of sorts, taking place before A New Hope. Directed by Gareth Edwards of 2014’s Godzilla, the movie “will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar” says Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy in the press release.

From StarWars.com:

“It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essentialStar Wars feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for ‘Rogue One.’”

I can’t fanboy enough over Donnie Yen in Star Wars. Felicity Jones and Alan Tudyk are just the cherries on top. Excuse me, I have some Ip Man to watch on loop between now and December 16, 2016. I might even skip The Force Awakens! (Haha, no.)

Producer Kathleen Kennedy Leaves ‘Jurassic Park IV’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Sad news for the folks over at Isla Nublar.

 

Producer Frank Marshall revealed today via twitter that his counterpart and franchise producer Kathleen Kennedy will not be a part of Jurassic Park IV. Kennedy recently stepped in as president of LucasFilm, and will instead act on as Executive Producer on the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII.

 

 

Jurassic Park IV still has no cast or director, but is scheduled to release on June 14th, 2014.

 

Any thoughts on this news?

 

Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy on the set of 'Jurassic Park'
Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy on the set of ‘Jurassic Park’

 

Source: Deadline

George Lucas Is Retiring From Commercial Filmmaking (Again?)

by Jonathan

According to this article at JoBlo, George Lucas is retiring from commercial filmmaking. We heard some of these sentiments around the time Red Tails was released, and then it was recently announced that longtime friend Kathleen Kennedy was taking over operation of Lucasfilm. Now this seems to confirm it.

As the article quotes, “I’m moving away from the company, I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres.”

You mean the prequels WEREN’T experimental films!?! So, let’s ask it: Is this the end of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones cinematic universes? And are you interested in seeing some of George’s “hobby movies”?