I didn't know that. He must have some talent/be good for something given he's apprently still gonna be on the team for Bond 24. Maybe he makes a really good cup of tea? Or maybe he's good with plot and bad with dialogue?
Who should be the Director for Star Wars Episode 7?
- Thread starter The First Joel
- Start date
I didn't know that. He must have some talent/be good for something given he's apprently still gonna be on the team for Bond 24. Maybe he makes a really good cup of tea? Or maybe he's good with plot and bad with dialogue?
^
Well the guy did - as observed - co-write the screenplay to Skyfall, so I kind of assume the positive reception that film has got is what he's making his case with. Yeah, Nemesis sucked, and maybe he wrote bad dialogue in Gladiator, but he's not fishing for the job of Gladiator II or the next Star Trek movie.
Interesting rumour. As I said upthread, my only concerns about Bird are how well can he transition to live action filmmaking. Ghost Protcol is okay, but it's not exactly the brilliance of Incredibles or Ratatouille.
On the other hand given the huge amounts of CGI your average Star Wars film uses he's halfway there already (although there's some interesting articles on how Stanton's work at Pixar did not prepare him for the transition to a live action schedule, so there's that.)
As for Lindelof don't know him beyond Prometheus, which I did generally like. The only big issues about that film was its somewhat convuluted handling of its central mysteries, and since a Star Wars trilogy is unlikely to build itself on Big Mysteries like that (one assumes), that may not be a problem.
Well the guy did - as observed - co-write the screenplay to Skyfall, so I kind of assume the positive reception that film has got is what he's making his case with. Yeah, Nemesis sucked, and maybe he wrote bad dialogue in Gladiator, but he's not fishing for the job of Gladiator II or the next Star Trek movie.
Interesting rumour. As I said upthread, my only concerns about Bird are how well can he transition to live action filmmaking. Ghost Protcol is okay, but it's not exactly the brilliance of Incredibles or Ratatouille.
On the other hand given the huge amounts of CGI your average Star Wars film uses he's halfway there already (although there's some interesting articles on how Stanton's work at Pixar did not prepare him for the transition to a live action schedule, so there's that.)
As for Lindelof don't know him beyond Prometheus, which I did generally like. The only big issues about that film was its somewhat convuluted handling of its central mysteries, and since a Star Wars trilogy is unlikely to build itself on Big Mysteries like that (one assumes), that may not be a problem.
Did you really think that the behaviour of the characters made complete sense and that they behaved like people with distinct personalities the whole time? You thought the plot contrivances were within the bounds of suspension of disbelief? And I'm not talking aliens or black goo or anything...I'm talking things like being a premiere scientist and getting onto a spaceship and going into hibernation and travelling light years away because...well, we'll tell you when we get there.
Oh God, don't let this turn into a Prometheus thread. It's a terribly written shitfest that makes Star Wars Prequels seem like three premium pieces of cinema. That's all from me.
Kudos to the original poster for coming up with a good shortlist. Took me a while deciding on my final 4 (and I'm still not sure about it!).
I voted for Brad Bird first off and without hesitation. Great sense of spectacle and humour and is good with character dynamics. I would totally squeal like a girl if he was to do it.
I also voted for Neil Blomkamp solely on the strength of the amazing District 9. Like Lucas, I think he'd have no problem coming from doing a more gritty and adult-orientated sci-fi movie (like THX-1138) into a poplulist crowd-pleaser. And Sharlto Copley as a scuzzy alien lowlife? Yes please.
Duncan Jones with the keys and budget for something like Star Wars? Hell yes. As long as he doesn't cast his dad in it.
Final vote, possibly a little too subjective, having seen Skyfall a few days ago, was for Sam Mendes. It would be something new for him. But he proudly boasts that there is no such adjective as 'Mendesian' and I think he'd have no difficulty in tailoring his style for something like a SW movie.
Others I'd like to see would include Spielberg (who I've been hoping would make a SW movie since I first read in 1985 or so that he was going to make one) and Joe Johnson, who largely replicated the fun of Raiders with Captain America and who I think could do something similar with a SW movie (but replicating SW, rather than ROTLA). Kenneth Branagh might also do something interesting with it.
I'd have no problem with either Joss Whedon or JJ Abrams making a SW movie - but I'm quite happy with them to remain at the helms of The Avengers and Star Trek franchises respectively.
I voted for Brad Bird first off and without hesitation. Great sense of spectacle and humour and is good with character dynamics. I would totally squeal like a girl if he was to do it.
I also voted for Neil Blomkamp solely on the strength of the amazing District 9. Like Lucas, I think he'd have no problem coming from doing a more gritty and adult-orientated sci-fi movie (like THX-1138) into a poplulist crowd-pleaser. And Sharlto Copley as a scuzzy alien lowlife? Yes please.
Duncan Jones with the keys and budget for something like Star Wars? Hell yes. As long as he doesn't cast his dad in it.
Final vote, possibly a little too subjective, having seen Skyfall a few days ago, was for Sam Mendes. It would be something new for him. But he proudly boasts that there is no such adjective as 'Mendesian' and I think he'd have no difficulty in tailoring his style for something like a SW movie.
Others I'd like to see would include Spielberg (who I've been hoping would make a SW movie since I first read in 1985 or so that he was going to make one) and Joe Johnson, who largely replicated the fun of Raiders with Captain America and who I think could do something similar with a SW movie (but replicating SW, rather than ROTLA). Kenneth Branagh might also do something interesting with it.
I'd have no problem with either Joss Whedon or JJ Abrams making a SW movie - but I'm quite happy with them to remain at the helms of The Avengers and Star Trek franchises respectively.
^
Oh man Sharlto Copley would be amazing as... I don't know, anything. A stuffy bearaucrat. A cowardly low-rate criminal that provides actually funny comic relief. I don't care. Just cast him.
But cheap shots about Frank Darabont aside: Yeah, the characters in Prometheus behaved like people with distinct personalities. You don't get the impression that Noomi Rapace's character is interchangeable with Charlize Theron's. Some scientists are in it for the money, others the science, and Idris Elba as the ship's captain really isn't engaged in that side of it at all.
Prometheus is not a great film, and neither Lindelof nor Bird are my first choices for heading up Star Wars. But they're definitely people I can live with.
Oh man Sharlto Copley would be amazing as... I don't know, anything. A stuffy bearaucrat. A cowardly low-rate criminal that provides actually funny comic relief. I don't care. Just cast him.
No, I thought the writing was awful, his character material meandering, inconstant and incoherent, his reveals mundane, his sense of pacing downright abysmal and I don't see why anyone would want the guy responsible for the first season of Walking Dead in charge of Star Wars films.
But cheap shots about Frank Darabont aside: Yeah, the characters in Prometheus behaved like people with distinct personalities. You don't get the impression that Noomi Rapace's character is interchangeable with Charlize Theron's. Some scientists are in it for the money, others the science, and Idris Elba as the ship's captain really isn't engaged in that side of it at all.
Well yes, actually. To be precise it's a level of disbelief you expect with a Star Wars movie, like the real identity of the right hand man of the Galactic Empire being so little known that the statement of it comes as a shock to his son.
Prometheus is not a great film, and neither Lindelof nor Bird are my first choices for heading up Star Wars. But they're definitely people I can live with.
You've kind of lost me with comparing the suspension of disbelief involved in the objective reality that they attempted to create in Prometheus...a film which is supposed to be science fiction and based on humans from Earth in our future, a film that within itself tries to set itself up as realistic as possible within its conceits...versus a fantasy film that has wizards and magic.
But to each their own...we disagree often, and that's cool.
But to each their own...we disagree often, and that's cool.
Both Giacchino and Shore are possibles, as is James Horner, John Barry and Bruce Broughton (assuming the latter two are still in good health.)
Not that Williams is still out of the question, of course.
But there is romantic and there is reminiscent of Williams and the two aren't quite the same.
I don't know enough of Rachel Portman and Clive Mansell but they might be good choices?
Composer: Blake Neely or James Newton Howard
Director: Roxann Dawson or (new suggestion) Anthony Hemmingway (lots of good TV, plus "Red Tails")...
OR KEVIN SMITH.
Director: Roxann Dawson or (new suggestion) Anthony Hemmingway (lots of good TV, plus "Red Tails")...
OR KEVIN SMITH.
I love Clint Mansell, but his scores are generally pretty minimalistic. He did nicely evocative stuff for Moon, and something only marginally more thunderous for the space opera vidoegame franchise Mass Effect.
I don't see this fitting Star Wars in the way Shore or Giacchino could, but then again maybe the new trilogy is going to move away from the romantic bombast for all I know.
Rachel Portman is good at lush and romantic. I've never thought of her scores as bombastic, but she is heavy on recurring themes.
I was thinking Joel McNeely (Shadows of the Empire and lots of Disney work), Ron Jones (the good Star Trek: The Next Generation scores and a lot of video game work), or John Debney.
as i have the josswhedon@outlook.com email address i look forward to accidentally recieving the offer to direct the next star wars film 
i get quite a few people email me fantasy stories they've written hoping to get joss whedons attention.
i get quite a few people email me fantasy stories they've written hoping to get joss whedons attention.
Last edited:
I'm afraid John Barry died a few years ago
Shame, I loved his work, especially the sweeping music he composed for a lot of the Bond space scenes.
News to me, but still sad.
Clint, yes, Clint. Thanks for the correction. But, is it really bombast if the music is actually good? I walked out of the theater in 1978 thinking that big music that actually delivers on the volume is something wonderful.
It doesn't seem to me that Shore is always very good at fitting the music to the scene, despite his superior skill at themes and orchestration. Giacchino can do big and romantic but my sense is always that he feels less comfortable with brass, preferring strings.
Jones I'm not at all familiar with (yes, this is a Trek bbs but I could never get past the feeling that a robot wanting to die was broken, not interesting, and worse, unbelievable.)
McNeely I've not heard either. Debney I can't recall enough to decide. But the more I think about Portman, the more appealing she is. She's not brassy but her stuff is very lush indeed.
I think Frank Darabont or Sam Mendes would go for the right mix between innovation and being true to the past tone. If Disney wanted a more commercial pick Gore Verbinski would be OK.
BTW, interesting they're not even waiting until the 3D rereleases are over (unless they abandoned them?).
BTW, interesting they're not even waiting until the 3D rereleases are over (unless they abandoned them?).
Last edited:
Similar threads
