Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Oh, I dunno, I think there's some 15+ year later revisionism going on, there. I guess you never know.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII There's a cast. They just haven't publicly announced it yet, that's all. A brand new Star Wars movie isn't going to start shooting within a month's time without the cast being assembled and ready to call to the sets when needed.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII ^^^ One of JJ's lost buddies, Dominic Monohan says this; Yoda says to pick unknowns
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII That's not the way Hollywood works, they wouldn't be able to hide something like that.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII You'd be surprised how well Hollywood can keep secrets when they really want to. The cast members could be under contract not to talk about anything.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Given Harrison Ford's standoffish attitude about discussing Episode VII when questioned by talk shows hosts and interviewers (admittedly it's been carried to comic extremes at least once for the purpose of performing a funny bit on a show) I'd say that any of the potential actors have had their lips contractually sealed shut by Lucasfilm and Disney. Hollywood can't keep a lid on everything but they can still keep the most important things quiet if they try hard enough.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII The have an actual sarlacc at the studio ready to be fed actors who go rogue, and CGI puppet replacements are standing by. They won't talk.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII I don't disagree but then you get a Hayden Christiansen and Jake Lloyd. Of course, we don't know how much of that is directing.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII You don't do that with Star Wars, but Uwe Boll does that all the time. That's how you get Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds, Leelee Sobieski and Matthew Lilliard together in a godawful period fantasy adventure playing roles they're completely wrong for.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Filming it in Britain probably helps too where they are out of Hollywood and where I'd imagine it's difficult to keep a secret.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Yes we do know. It's just some people not wanting to acknowledge that Lucas isn't some evil overlord out to make the fans' lives miserable. It was the editors who made the decision. The same ones who then turned Jacen into a Sithlord. They are the same people who haven't had an original idea since the end of NJO.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII The first question from this clip addresses the casting of episode 7 and Disney's secrecy. This was from the other day! [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7C-qnXbTOY[/yt] Campea says that he believes the cast has been set for a very long time. He thinks they have something big in mind.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Yeah, I don't think anyone with half a brain thought for a second that a film of this magnitude would get 4 weeks from production without the main cast locked in. Remember, for better or worse this is a J.J. Abrams joint and that cat prides himself as being the master of the movie marketing mystery box. Expect some cryptic teasers and probably some ARG activity in the very near future.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Spare me - I hardly think Lucas was evil, even if he was the one who made the decision. (I imagine it was below his paygrade) Back then the story was that Lucas made that decision - I don't know what happened and probably nobody who would say so does. Anakin had been in a place to take the heroic role - using Jacen instead definitely came out of nowhere back then. It seemed like it was shoe-horned in. Maybe it was editorial, but they had watch over the story up to that point so it's not like they would've been surprised at Anakin's role.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII Except, based on how he acquitted himself with STID, he's more of a snickering schoolboy trying to mess with the loser kid by telling him he knows which girl has a crush on him, only to amuse himself on the loser's reactions and attempts to tell him who it is when it comes to being secretive. That's basically what staying quiet about Cumberbatch's role amounted to. Of course, Abrams is now trying to pass the puck and blame Paramount for that fiasco. Indeed, I believe it was Samuel L Jackson who defended Jake Lloyd by saying "he was only a kid working with a director who doesn't know how to work with actors. What kind of a performance were you expecting?" Still, I'm not sure I agree with this mentality of only going with unknowns. Oh sure, I agree everyone deserves a chance and we could very well end up discovering a future Hollywood A-Lister in this movie. But the logic of "that's what they did in 77 and that's what we'll do now" just reeks of an attempt to make lightning strike twice.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII I prefer unknowns myself. It gives starving actors a chance to prove themselves in a tough industry, it allows viewers to see the character rather than the actor, and it keeps the budget way down allowing for more risk and creativity in the film. Or, you know, more explosions. That's good too.
Re: New Casting and Story Rumors re: EPISODE VII All of the actors in Star Wars were unknowns except for Alec Guinness.