Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[Riddler The Slag]

Originally Posted by BluBrown

Don't forget there are other made up words from alien languages scattered throughout the films that come off as implied profanity as well. And let's be honest...if we could speak Wookiee there would be much more swearing. Chewbacca is cursing like a sailor in the majority of his lines!

Exactly, even R2-D2 curses in A New Hope.

C-3PO: You watch your language!!

[famman84]

Originally Posted by BluBrown

Don't forget there are other made up words from alien languages scattered throughout the films that come off as implied profanity as well. And let's be honest...if we could speak Wookiee there would be much more swearing. Chewbacca is cursing like a sailor in the majority of his lines!

Chewie and R2 - they bleep out everything he says.

[Spirit Zero]

Good points.

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-7-fo...yped/?view=all

[jayman3]

[warrian]

Originally Posted by Spirit Zero

Good points.

http://screenrant.com/star-wars-7-fo...yped/?view=all

Not bad. And bonus points for not being a slide show.

There's an equally strong counter point to all but a couple of those though too.

[kylor]

[Riddler The Slag]

Mark Hamill talks about the secrecy of Episode VII.

Mark Hamill on Star Wars - "I'm good about keeping Secrets" - YouTube

[Walts Ghost]

‘Star Wars’ Aims Its Mighty Force Toward a Box Office Smash

Most movies would be lucky to open to $50 million. Four weeks before its debut, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has more than that in the bank.

The record-breaking advance ticket sales, confirmed by several people with knowledge of the numbers, are just one sign that Walt Disney Co.’s new movie set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away could become the highest-grossing release of all time.

On Fandango, “The Force Awakens” has already sold more tickets than any other movie before its release, the Comcast Corp. unit said. IMAX Corp., whose digital and large-format screens account for about one-third of sales for the new “Star Wars” film, has doubled its prior pre-sales record of about $9 million, a spokesman said.

By the time “The Force Awakens” opens in the U.S. on Dec. 17, those records won’t just be broken, but will be distant specks in the rearview mirror.

To accommodate demand, a number of theaters are staying open round the clock during the movie’s first week and adding screenings at offbeat hours such as 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Many in Hollywood are predicting “The Force Awakens” will handily beat the $209 million opening weekend record set by “Jurassic World” in June. Even if the opening falls short of the record, the fact that most people have time off of work and school for the holidays during the two weeks after could put the record set for “Avatar,” $761 million total gross in the U.S. and Canada, at risk.

Whether “The Force Awakens” also breaks “Avatar’s” record of $2.79 billion in global box office will depend on whether it catches fire in countries like China and Russia, where “Star Wars” isn't the long-established cultural phenomenon it is in the West.

That is the kind of worry Disney dreamed of having in 2011 when it paid $4 billion to acquire “Star Wars” producer Lucasfilm LLC and hatched a plan including new TV shows, videogames and toys that reaches its apex with “The Force Awakens.”

But as the movie has grown from a likely hit to a record-smashing behometh, competitors are left wondering whether there will be any room in its wake.

Previously, major hits that opened close to Christmas like “The Hobbit” trilogy and “Avatar” have played alongside other box-office successes. But there is a growing fear in Hollywood that the first “Star Wars” movie in a decade—and one that returns stars including Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher to roles they haven’t played since 1983—isn’t comparable to any film that has come before.

It is expected to attract hard-core fans who will go to multiple screenings and casual moviegoers who rarely go to the multiplex, along with senior citizens who remember seeing the original in 1977 and their grandchildren who first glimpsed Darth Vader on YouTube.

“‘The Force Awakens’ presents an unprecedented moviegoing situation,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Rentrak. “The question is whether the tide it brings to theaters this December will raise all ships or become a black hole where all other movies disappear.”

Among the movies sure to be affected are director Ron Howard’s “Moby Dick”-inspired “In the Heart of the Sea,” which opens the prior weekend, the Tina Fey comedy “Sisters” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” which also open the weekend of Dec. 18, and a quintet of Christmas debuts including Will Smith drama “Concussion” and biopic “Joy,” starring Jennifer Lawrence as the inventor of the Miracle Mop.

“A lot of these films won’t get as wide a release as they’re seeking,” said a film buyer who works with independent theaters.

Rory Bruer, president of distribution for “Concussion” studio Sony Pictures Entertainment, said he isn’t worried about securing enough screens. “The exhibition community is not short-sighted and they love the idea of having diverse offerings,” he said. A spokesman for “Joy” and “Alvin” studio 20th Century Fox said, “We think there is plenty of room and appetite for alternative choices in the most concentrated movie-going time of the year.”

Despite the evidence it has the must-see movie of a generation on its hands, Disney is taking extra steps to ensure it dominates the holiday box office.

The studio is requiring that multiplexes that play “The Force Awakens” on its opening weekend must show the film in their biggest auditorium and play it there for at least four weeks. On any other screen showing “Star Wars” its first weekend, theaters must play it for at least three weeks, covering the entire period through New Year’s Day—typically the most lucrative time of the year at the box office.

Experienced movie executives say Disney’s terms are unusual but not unprecedented. The last time some could remember similar demands were for the previous “Star Wars” movie, 2005’s prequel “Revenge of the Sith,” which was produced by then-independent Lucasfilm and released by Twentieth Century Fox, which until mid-2013 was part of The Wall Street Journal’s parent company News Corp.
Typically, studios expect that their movies play the same number of screens for at least two weeks, though there is flexibility for a picture that flops.

Multiplexes with many screens will likely have enough room over the holidays. But smaller theaters will face tough choices, said Adrian Mijares Elizondo, the chief executive of U.S. operations for Cinépolis, a major Mexican exhibitor with 11 locations north of the border.

It’s easy to play “Star Wars” on six screens when a theater has 15 auditoriums, he said, but it’s trickier to know what proportion should show it when there are only six total.

Though no other movies are expected to come close to the box-office power of “Star Wars,” cinemas still want to provide options for people not interested in what Chewbacca has been up to since “Return of the Jedi,” or who have already found out the answer. In addition, they must worry about long-term relationships with other studios besides Disney.

Mr. Elizondo said he’s prepared to show “Star Wars” on fewer screens in its opening week—and risk losing some revenue—if it means he is freer to show more new titles in the weeks following.

Wall Street Journal

[Lipcsey]

I think the trailer is very fitting and gave me a chill. Does anyone else feel that trailer #6 really felt like old star wars? I think the "hell no" line felt very genuine, the acting looks top notch. Also, I definitely think he said "hell" which has been said in other movies, like others have pointed out.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Ok so it is not CGI. Now what is your opinion?

Don't understand people who have a blanket hate for everything CGI and cannot even tell CGI vs. practical effects.

CGI is like plastic surgery. You only notice the bad ones. When it's good, you can't even tell it's there.

Almost every film today has CGI in it - even romantic comedies and the like. But they never complain about those because they don't expect CGI in those films, so they don't "see it". They expect CGI in comic book and fantasy films, so they "see" it and then claim it's terrible because that's the current meme.

All these people complaining about CGI should go back and look at films that used matte paintings. Creating such mattes was certainly an art form, but they were almost always completely unrealistic.

Most CGI today is actually quite spectacular. Nothing wrong with building practical effects as well, but this negative obsession with CGI is quite ridiculous.

[kylor]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

CGI is like plastic surgery. You only notice the bad ones. When it's good, you can't even tell it's there.

Almost every film today has CGI in it - even romantic comedies and the like. But they never complain about those because they don't expect CGI in those films, so they don't "see it". They expect CGI in comic book and fantasy films, so they "see" it and then claim it's terrible because that's the current meme.

All these people complaining about CGI should go back and look at films that used matte paintings. Creating such mattes was certainly an art form, but they were almost always completely unrealistic.

Most CGI today is actually quite spectacular. Nothing wrong with building practical effects as well, but this negative obsession with CGI is quite ridiculous.

No CGI here

TIE Fighter - short film - YouTube

Gotta love this, it's incredible.

[Col. Zombie]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

They expect CGI in comic book and fantasy films, so they "see" it and then claim it's terrible because that's the current meme.

Oooorrrr... they notice it and instantly "see" it because it "is" terrible, it clearly sucks, and we all wish it had been rendered better.

It's called the "uncanny valley" and it is a natural human response. Look it up. Educate yourself.

[Show spoiler]

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by Col. Zombie

Oooorrrr... they notice it and instantly "see" it because it "is" terrible, it clearly sucks, and we all wish it had been rendered better.

It's called the "uncanny valley" and it is a natural human response. Look it up. Educate yourself.

[Show spoiler]

Is this post supposed to be an argument against CGI? Because aside from Jabba, your examples prove otherwise. There are some mediocre shots in Man of Steel though.

[Col. Zombie]

Originally Posted by Mandalorian

Is this post supposed to be an argument against CGI? Because aside from Jabba, your examples prove otherwise. There are some mediocre shots in Man of Steel though.

I guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder (or bad eyesight of the beholder) because those stills (and more importantly the motion picture of the actual scenes themselves) clearly suck in terms of CGI rendering.

[pksmith74]

Originally Posted by Blu Warrior

Looks like some kind of plasma deflector similar to Grevious' guards.

Definitely this, it's an upgraded version of the Phrik Electrostaff wielded by Grievous' Magna Guards in the prequel films and Clone Wars series.

From the Wiki:

Grievous’ bodyguards notably wielded several models of high-quality phrik alloy electrostaffs, blunt energy weapons which emitted a visible electromagnetic pulse on each end. The lightsaber-resistant nature of phrik allowed the MagnaGuards to effectively deflect and attack a Jedi’s lightsaber. This, coupled with the specialized combat mechanics of the droids, made them a dangerous enemy, even to those skilled in the Force. Despite their specialization in electrostaffs, the on-board combat systems of the MagnaGuard, coupled with human like hands allowed them to be trained to operate a vast array of available weapons in addition to much more specialized armaments.

There were also Cortosis Weave melee weapons that were lightsaber resistant, but I think these only featured in the EU and are no longer considered canon.

From the Wiki:

Cortosis ore was a very rare, brittle, fibrous material whose conductive properties caused lightsabers to temporarily short out upon contact. This effect made cortosis a useful material for anti-lightsaber melee weapons, though with repeated strikes, a lightsaber could still cut through it. Cortosis, due to its energy resistant properties, was also resistant to blaster fire.

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by Col. Zombie

I guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder (or bad eyesight of the beholder) because those stills (and more importantly the motion picture of the actual scenes themselves) clearly suck in terms of CGI rendering.

The CGI for Hulk in The Avengers and the apes in Dawn of the Planet of Apes doesn't clearly suck. That's hyperbolic b.s. from someone who doesn't like CGI and just wants to remind everyone.

[Col. Zombie]

Originally Posted by Mandalorian

The CGI for Hulk and in Dawn of the Planet of Apes doesn't clearly suck. That's hyperbolic b.s. from someone who doesn't like CGI and just wants to remind everyone.

Oh I love CGI and really appreciate when they take the time to render it correctly. Just because you're self deluded

[Show spoiler]

, telling yourself it's really good, when it clearly isn't, is no reason to go around falsely accusing others of not liking CGI.

[Samus Aran]

Better than CGI.

Airplane! Rex Kramer Car Scene - YouTube

[Dispatch Ninja]

Hold on, there's people that thought the cgi in dawn of the planet of the apes sucked? That's pretty surprising.

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by famman84

I realize that I am going to be in the VAST minority here (heck, I may be the only one), but I found that "hell no" response from Finn in that TV spot to be a little bit off-putting. It just seemed out of place in a Star Wars movie. I think in all 6 of the other movies, there is maybe 1-2 "damns," and no other "profanity" of any kind. So it seems tonally off to start including it in the Star Wars movies now. I know JJ has said over and over that they were going to try and match the tone and feel of the original trilogy. To me, that line seemed out of place.

I'm sure I will see lots of comments.

The original, you say?

Uncle Owen: Well, he'd better have those units in the South Ridge repaired by midday, or there'll be hell to pay.