Disney execs in a panic over upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film

It is a Page Six article.

I guess it can be taken with a grain of salt.

However, they were the ones who broke the story that Alden Ehrenreich had landed the coveted part to play young Han Solo in the second spinoff film.

http://pagesix.com/2016/05/30/disney-execs-in-a-panic-over-upcoming-star-wars-film/

EDIT: Decided to post it all.

If true, don't surprise me none.

Am I mistaken in thinking that the original Star Wars didn't test well either? I seem to recall reading that somewhere. Additionally, there's the story of Lucas showing an early cut to his director friends and everyone coming away from it not quite sure what to think.

I'm sure audience tests are a necessary evil but hopefully they realize the results are not always indicative of the quality of the film.

Isn’t testing well with whom, exactly?

If they were already showing a rough cut to anybody outside of the studio, we'd be hearing all about it, regardless of non-disclosure agreements.

Part of me isn't surprised, if true. Edwards is not a great director and I'm sure there's a feeling of "been there done that" with the story.

That said, I'm sure it's salvageable and will end up turning out to be OK. Kennedy won't let this film hurt the good will built up from TFA. They'll bring in a ghost director if they need to.

Assuming this is all true, I hope they learn their lesson about putting too much faith in overhyped mediocre filmmakers. Whitta wasn't a strong choice, neither was Edwards and I can already see problems with Episode IX because of how shit Trevorrow is.

Nearly every movie made has reshoots to complete...this is nothing new.

Hell, even GL stated on the TPM commentary that the scene where Anakin enters the Pod Race garage on an Eopie, some shots were literally a year apart due to scheduled reshooting.

Click bait..."move along, move along"!

Strange how Bob Iger raved about what he'd seen of Rogue One to Disney stockholders back in March. I guess a lot can change in 2 months? I guess Disney execs aren't earning that $4 billion back fast enough?

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/03/star-wars-rogue-one-sneak-peek-at-disney-shareholders-meeting-said-to-evoke-a-new-hope/

http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-rogue-one-previewed/

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Good-News-Disney-Star-Wars-Rogue-One-Great-According-Disney-CEO-111707.html

Is Page Six credible?

I expect a lot of happy words for Rogue One at Celebration. Hopefully, these words will be backed-up by new footage and information about specifics on the film.


From waht I rememeber, it tested very well. One Fox executive got emotional at his first screening. He was very proud to be associated with the movie.

I think the criticism from Lucas' buddies was in relation to the bourgeoisie nature of the movie. As Lucas has admitted: on one level, it's about as edgy as an average Disney film.


Is Disney using "overhyped mediocre filmmakers" because they're easier to control and manipulating their final cut is less of a big to-do? Could be.

This reminds me of the time that every other movie that's ever been produced had to go back for reshoots

This movie may look like a turd to me, but reshoots and re-editing are standard fare for big studio productions. Some people are alarmists.

Don't forget the story that they brought in Oscar winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects/X2:X-Men United) to do a script polish.

That dude is a talent, but I guess it shows that there were already some issues.

Could Disney be upset because its too dark in tone? Isn't that want fans want?

I had little interest in the side films except the rumored Boba film.

But I really liked the teaser for Rogue One. I'm pretty excited for it now.

It could end up having even more Vader than we've expected.

That's never a bad thing.

The story is showing up on other fan sites.

Rumor: Disney Executives Unhappy With 'Rogue One', Four Weeks of Reshoots Upcoming.
http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2016/05/rumor-disney-executives-unhappy-with.html

Donnie Yen Preparing For 'Rogue One' Reshoots.
http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2016/05/donnie-yen-preparing-for-rogue-one.html

Vulture.com reported this:

"Page Six" is just a New York Post tabloid column. It's about as credible a source as my farts.

So they did actually break the young Han Solo casting news, but like 5 seconds before Entertainment Weekly did.

I can't decide whether execs not being enthralled with an early screening means it's good or it's bad... I thought TFA was utter pants so perhaps exec anxiety is a positive thing... for me anyway...

Hazaah! My contention about Edwards' approach and the trailer exactly (see teaser trailer thread). They read my mind.

Keep your drab, angsty, overly serious bullshit out of Star Wars, Edwards!

The Empire Strikes Back was rather 'angsty' and 'serious'... and I thought it was kind of good.

Would ESB (my least favorite episode, believe it or not) enjoy the reputation it has if it'd been the first or only Star Wars episode released? I don't think so. ANH was the real clincher and ESB is only as delicious as it is through its dramatic contrast and build-off of what ANH was.

I will continuously balk at the idea of a Star Wars film that only male-y adult males enjoy.

I think it would be a mistake to believe that more 'serious' material (or 'darker' tone) can't appeal to both younger and older audiences alike. Besides, the point is that this isn't the only Star Wars film. If something like The Force Awakens is deliberately made to appeal to the widest audience possible, then the anthology films should be allowed to be tonally different. If they try and homogenise everything to fit that TFA template, then I'd be surprised if the current SW can last beyond IX.

I agree with your first point. But I see too many filmmakers today making serious and darker films that only appeal to 20-something neckbeards (Edwards' Godzilla is a prime example). As someone who knows quite a few young filmmakers, you get to know the type of creatives that are more interested in doing something cool for their in-crowd brethren than doing something exciting, fun and fresh that has universal appeal and aims for that "extraordinary" suggested in the article. Honestly and rather cruelly, I think it comes down to a basic social and psychological underdevelopment within the filmmaker.

And I think there's plenty of latitude in what the Original Saga has established. Look at how long Clone Wars and Rebels have stuck around and I think those successful and popular efforts have totally maintained the style and feel of the Star Wars cinematic canon. So I don't think we should worry about any homogenization. There's a lot to play with.

I find it deeply and perversely ironic that in 2016, a massive corporation must tell a filmmaker how to make a successful Star Wars film.

Lucas must be laughing his ass off somewhere.

I worry about the homogenisation of Star Wars because I thought that's exactly what The Force Awakens was. Plastic soul. But that's just my opinion of it. As far as the plethora of filmmakers making movies for 20 something nerds... again, I'd agree, but I don't think it's an either or thing (or at least it shouldn't be)... The best way to get the best film (IMO) is just to select a talented filmmaker, and let them tell the story they want to tell, in a style (broadly speaking) of their choice. Obviously we may not agree on whom the best filmmakers are, but that's another topic...

Execs rarely know what's for the best cinematically, artistically, creatively... Their opinions should count for little, but unfortunately we are now in a position where market is king.

I think most of us have expected that the greatest potential for the first Disney-LFL Star Wars film fumble would be with these spinoffs. I still like what I've seen so far.

I really don't think the prequels were masterworks. I like Rebels and The Clone Wars better, but sometimes I roll my eyes when Filoni (presumably) inserts verbatim quotes from the Saga films to make it "rhyme....like poetry." All of these movies have things wrong with them. My personal favorite is Jedi, and it has a ton of flaws, probably on the level of TPM (which isn't the worst prequel, IMO). However, I recognize that Empire is the best-written. Its plot is so character-driven: everyone has a reason for doing things other than "because the plot demands it," as seems to frequently happen in the other movies. Didn't George complain, after he viewed the final cut, that Empire was "too good"?

I just don't think Rogue One will be the worst Star Wars has had to offer, but we'll see. They could fumble. I hope the movie ends with a heated battle whose conclusion is the first victory the Rebels had over the Empire, as referenced in ANH's opening crawl. Should it end any other way?

Disney does deserve some credit. Rogue One LEGO sets leaked all over the place yesterday. Nice countermeasures to the "the movie's in trouble" reports from Tuesday.

I certainly think the Star Wars films have their flaws (I'm talking Lucas')... but there's a cohesive narrative, emotional creativity and technological progression (for the most part) that sets them apart from their peers. I didn't think TFA had that, although it was an accessible, 'fun' film. The concern here is, IMO, that SW starts to occupy the space of 'just another dumb action movie'. But that's only my view of course, as I know many liked TFA.

Form Making Star Wars:

---

Here are the common themes in what people behind the scenes are saying:

• Some crew initially heard J.J. Abrams was supervising the reshoots.
• Gareth Edwards is doing the reshoots himself but with a partner, Christopher McQuarrie.
• Christopher McQuarrie, the final writer on Rogue One will be working extensively with Edwards onset to make sure they’re on the “same page” with the most recent draft of the film.
• Christopher McQuarrie’s draft of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was considered superior to the film they shot previously.
• It was not Edwards’ fault as McQuarrie’s draft wasn’t completed when much of the film was shot and revisions kept coming in that made the film feel uneven.
• 32 sets have been recreated for the reshoot.
• The crew expects they are reshooting 40% of the film.
• They are working 6 days a week for 8 weeks.

---

40% = Holly shit. If Disney is pushing for reshoots, because the film isn't up to par; good for them. If they're reshooting, because they think a more general audience friendly film will make another billion dollars; they're out of their collective brains. You're probably not going to make a billion on each Star Wars film, Disnsey. Please come terms with this concept sooner rather than later.

Really cant imagine Doing 40% reshoots in 8 weeks when they needed 6 months for shooting the whole thing. More like: there will be pick ups and additions for like 40% of the movie.

True.

My take on it is that where going to see over-the-top violent Rebel-slaughtering Vader in God mode for the 3rd act. This, tonally, may be an issue for Disney execs if it's true?

Either way I'm not worried. Rogue One will never be as financially successful as a saga film, but I think this will be a superior film to TFA.

40%? That seems excessive. I can't say I'm surprised though. I think TFA's box office was the nail in the coffin for any SW film that seemed a little dark, less accessible and 'indie'.

Exactly, this is another reason why George Lucas is great. I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone here of all the dark moments in the saga, so I'll ironically use an Ewok movie instead. (Ironic becuase critics of Return Of The Jedi often claim that George Lucas only changed his original idea of using Kashyyyk and Wookiees to Endor moon and Ewoks to make Jedi more child-friendy and sell more toys. I disagree and believe George when he said he just wanted a more surprising and technologically inferior alien race to fight the Empire rather than Wookiees which we already knew were good warriors and had decent technology. Plus it's a repeat of the "size matters not" thing.)

Ask anyone about the Ewok movies who hasn't seen or can't remember them properly and they'll probably say something like "Oh yeah, they were those Star Wars spin-offs that were all light and fun for little kiddies, right?". Well do you remember the start of Ewoks: The Battle For Endor? The little human girl Cindel is orphaned in the first 10 minutes of the movie when her parents and brother (first use of the name Mace in a Star Wars movie!), along with many Ewoks, are mercilessly slaughtered by the villains! That's pretty dark for a "little kiddies' movie"! Especially since we got to know the family, although mostly Mace & Cindel, in Caravan Of Courage and the plot of that movie was about rescuing the parents so you'd never think they'd be killed in the sequel let alone at the start, which makes it even more shocking.





40% of 6 months is 9 weeks 4 days, so not much more than 8 weeks.

Measured clarification from McQuarrie:

---

If there are any reshoots on Rogue One, I’m not supervising them. For any outlet to say so is not only wrong, it’s irresponsible. Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker who deserves the benefit of the doubt. Making a film – let alone a Star Wars chapter – is hard enough without the internet trying to deliberately downgrade one’s years of hard work. Who does that even serve? Let him make his movie in peace.

---

Some better news.

Report: What's Going on With the 'Rogue One' Reshoots?

http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2016/06/report-whats-going-on-with-rogue-one.html

I'll past it here as well.

Rogue One special guests? James Earl Jones? Temuera Morrison? Jimmy Smits? Anthony Daniels? Alden Ehrenreich? Peter Mayhew? Ray Park? Some dude in a Cad Bane costume?

I personally would welcome a darker standoff. I don't want it to have the same feel as the main nine films. It should be an opportunity to do something different within the Star Wars universe.

I'm not sure what to make of the initial panicky reports or the ensuing clarifications. Obviously pickups are normal, but 40% reshoot is not at all, and this is the second panicky report we've gotten about the film. I thought the teaser looked great, so I hope they don't make this more kid friendly. Mainly, I worry about any report suggesting that changes are being made to accommodate an exec's probably asinine feedback.

The 40% reshoot report is complete horse shit.

If they are doing that then no way do we get a December 2016 release.

It depends on what the reshoots consist of. If they are using existing sets, if they are not huge effects sequences involved, then sure... 30%-40% of reshoots is possible in that time.

In what universe is 40% of a Star Wars not heavy CGI..??

Reshoots havent even begun and the movie is only 6 months away so like I said its all BS.

40%? Take a look at this one: 'ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY' Is Reshooting Nearly Half Of The Movie.

And then take a look at this one: http://www.starwars.com/video/pickups-and-reshoots

In a universe where they are not nesersarily re-shooting the major action sequences. In terms of production time, I think there's a world of difference between scenes that are primarily driven by dialogue and scenes/set pieces that are driven by visual effects/action. I'm not saying that the 40% figure is legit, but that I could easily imagine that 30-40% of additional footage could be shot in a reasonably short time if it was using existing sets and was primarily dialogue driven scenes (there's plenty of them in Star Wars) etc. etc.

There is no way this movie ISN'T coming out in December. It would be far too costly to Disney and its licensing partners for it not to. The PR fallout from delaying the movie would be a killer, especially so early in its ownership of the franchise.

They could also mean "40% more action" or something like that. Perhaps the first rough cut was light on the shoot outs, chases, 'splosions and stuff.

Not a good day.

Star Wars: Rogue One In Worse Trouble Than Thought

http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/content/star-wars-rogue-one-worse-trouble-thought

Meanwhile:
https://stormtrooperlarry.com/2016/06/1 ... ve-scenes/

This gives the impression that Disney execs were clueless as to what movie Edwards was even making. They never read the script? They realised after the movie was shot that they weren't "happy with that direction"..

Latino Review are usually on point so maybe there is something there, but I just can't believe you can simply reshoot 40-50% of a movie so close to release and still stick to the original release date.

Agreed, SI.

Shouldn't the script pretty much show them what they are getting?

Personally, I liked Edwards' Godzilla and I am sad that he won't be directing the second film.

The point being that they had to know the kind of director they were getting when they hired him. It doesn't make much sense.

The only thing I can think of is that Disney wants to use the same "The Force Awakens formula" for all these films as it relates to amount of humor and overall tone.

Probably some groupthink going on. No critical advisor. Happens everywhere.

I'm not sure of the exact timings re. when pre production and shooting commenced on R1, but I'd imagine the financial success of The Force Awakens coloured some studio exec expectations about the formula for 'success', and how that should be applied to R1. After The Force Awakens financial success, I'd imagine there would be quite a bit of pressure exerted by the studio to match (in some part) that formula. So it's no surprise to me that they'd be wanting to change things this deep into production.