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[Frozenprince]

Disney will open up their wallets to get it right. You don't go taking a loss on Star Wars.

It'll make money regardless, the "loss" is just allowing the version Lord and Miller made to go up there but try and edit it to where it's more what you want.

You don't piss away money just to have Ron Howards name on it so you can distance yourself from the previous version.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

This is a movie that needs a "Making of" book.

After they torpedoed Rinzler's Making of TFA book I fear that we will never get another Making of... SW book again.

Which is a damn shame. Rinzler's books should be required reading for any SW fan.

 

[WadiumArcadium]

After they torpedoed Rinzler's Making of TFA book I fear that we will never get another Making of... SW book again.

Which is a damn shame. Rinzler's books should be required reading for any SW fan.

Rogue One is supposed to be getting one in October but it's not from Rinzler. I doubt it'll be anywhere near as detailed either.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

It sounded like Lord and Miller were trying to apply the Marvel formula into a Han Solo movie but leaving out the character.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

I have faith in Ron Howard

I hope he adds narrative quips over funny moments.

Han: "Chewie I shot first"
Narrator: He didnt.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

It sounded like Lord and Miller were trying to apply the Marvel formula into a Han Solo movie but leaving out the character.

Can we not start downplaying the comedic genius of Lord and Miller like this?

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs approaches some
Chuck Jones-level hilarity.

 

[Guy.brush]

Will be interesting to see if they go for "Alden Ehrenreich with a wig in front of greenscreen" reshoots or they really want to redo setpieces with the whole cast.

 

[kevin1025]

I mean, I like conversation. It's just that this thing specifically is so tired to me and I fundamentally disagree with everything about it. I don't mind people thinking whatever, but when it becomes part of the debate-- it's just kind of a stopping point for me because it's the sudden realization that you're arguing from completely opposite sides so it may just be a waste of time for all parties involved.

That's true. I guess I've gotten to the point where it's such a tired comment that I just shrug it off, haha.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

On a related note, where do you weigh in on the quality of what Lord and Miller shot?

We have a Making Star Wars rumor that claims they were making Star Wars Ace Ventura, yet there is a Mike Sampson tweet mentioning everyone he talked to loving their take on the material.

I'm curious where you think the truth lies between those two rumors...

I believe the Ace Ventura namedrop came from SWNN, didn't it?

I mean, if I had to guess based on all the versions of roughly the same story coming out:

Kasdan(s) wrote a funny adventure movie (Think Silverado - not a flat-out comedy, but definitely not a straight-ahead western, either)

Lord & Miller got their cast together, and started shooting.

The cast chemistry that sprang out of the improvisational nature of their filmmaking led to a movie that was way more a comedy than any sort of adventure.

The movie probably would have worked just fine as a stand-alone movie, and would have probably been a great version of Kasdan's screenplay - but not really all that FAITHFUL a version, either.

The biggest problem is likely as Ehrenreich must have put it (whether or not he namedropped Ace Ventura) - at some point you have to reconcile the people in this movie with the people from 1977 and 1980.

And I'm betting as time went on and an assembly came together, the confidence in that happening got smaller, and smaller.

Lord & Miller probably made a really funny, stylistically brand-new-to-Star-Wars flat-out comedy that, according to its own internal logic and characterization, fits together just fine. The problem is that it's not what Kasdan wanted in terms of tone, and it's not all that compatible with the Han & Lando we know from the rest of the series. And so they got asked to line the two ideas up a little closer, and they were like "No, just trust us, it'll be fine in the edit" and now here we are.

After they torpedoed Rinzler's Making of TFA book I fear that we will never get another Making of... SW book again.

Which is a damn shame. Rinzler's books should be required reading for any SW fan.

Rinzler just started a blog series about his time at Lucasfilm yesterday, starting inside the building when Lucas made the sale, October 30, 2012.

So I guess he's hoping to update that every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

 

[-griffy-]

At least the Star Wars and Netflix Twitter's seem to be in good spirits:

 

[Frozenprince]

I mean, lets be real, there is GOING to be a comedy set in this universe as a mainline release at some point. It's gonna happen, there's money in that genre.

cut.

So it's Kasdan wanting Raiders compared to Lord and Miller wanting Last Crusade then?

 

[Cross-Section]

I mean, lets be real, there is GOING to be a comedy set in this universe as a mainline release at some point. It's gonna happen, there's money in that genre.

Yeah, I don't think that a comedy is totally out of the question for Lucasfilm, it's just that a movie involving an established, beloved character's origin story was perhaps not the greatest of settings to make one.

 

[Farmboy]

Yeah, Ant-Man seems the closest (recent) analogue here. It's also a reason to hold out some hope: personally, I know I was pleasantly surprised by how well that turned out after all the production turmoil.

Still, many people - especially those who liked Edgar Wright's other films - will always wonder what his version would have looked like... and quietly believe it would have been superior, or at least more singular. That's bound to happen here as well.

I'll add that Howard has always come across to me as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. And that Inferno was an incoherent mess.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

I heard a rumour that Kasdan was basically trying to make The Big Chill version of Star Wars and that the entire thing was originally set in the Cantina on Tatooine during a sandstorm. With an older, navel-gazing Han talking about his adventures when he was younger.

Lord and Miller apparently wanted to lose that framework and take the thing out into space and that was that.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

So it's Kasdan wanting Raiders compared to Lord and Miller wanting Last Crusade then?

Betting it's more like Kasdan wanting Return of the Jedi and Lord & Miller making Galaxy Quest.

 

[Frozenprince]

Yeah, I don't think that a comedy is totally out of the question for Lucasfilm, it's just that a movie involving an established character's origin story was perhaps not the greatest of settings to make one.

I don't see why not, Han is likely where it's going to be centered on when they do make it, him or Lando.

Nobody wants a live action droids movie.

 

[Cross-Section]

I don't see why not, Han is likely where it's going to be centered on when they do make it, him or Lando.

Nobody wants a live action droids movie.

Emphasis on "origin story". Nothing wrong with doing a comedy involving Han, it's just the prospect of a younger version of Han doing something on the level of the "my name is Jefe" scene from 22 Jump that risks undermining the character as presented in TFA, RotJ, etc.

And I realize this mode of thought sounds super fucking lame but I'm guessing this is where the Lucasfilm people are coming from.

 

[Pixels]

I have faith in Ron Howard

I hope he adds narrative quips over funny moments.

Han: "Chewie I shot first"
Narrator: He didnt.

Bahahahahaha

 

[sphagnum]

I don't see why not, Han is likely where it's going to be centered on when they do make it, him or Lando.

Nobody wants a live action droids movie.

Except David Fincher.

 

[Cross-Section]

Except David Fincher.

Oh man, that's the "there's a meteor hitting the Earth in 10 years, there's nothing we can do to stop it, but instead of rioting, humanity's going to do some soul-searching" Star Wars movie of my dreams.

 

[Toothless]

A bigger downgrade than Ant-Man. Joe Johnston would make me feel more comfortable. How the fuck can Ron Howard even be compatible with what Lord/Miller have shot already? They're as far apart as directors can be. The only good thing that could come out of this is a Baby Driver for Lord/Miller (original low-budget crowdpleaser after getting fired from a big project).

 

[Lokimaru]

I will never forgive him for not working on the prequels.

 

[brandonh83]

A bigger downgrade than Ant-Man. Joe Johnston would make me feel more comfortable. How the fuck can Ron Howard even be compatible with what Lord/Miller have shot already? They're as far apart as directors can be.

Yeaaahhhhh it's not that simple.

They're reshaping the film and doing reshoots. You can take previously done work and alter it quite easily. The miracles of editing and filmmaking in general. How the score is used. There are so many factors. It's nowhere near as easy as just saying well this is stupid because they're different! Howard can take what they did and work with it.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Howard is a way closer fit, tonally, to Lord & Miller than Johnston is.

 

[Zyae]

seriously

The movie would have been amazing with Lord and Miller, but now, it'll just be "eh, I guess it was alright", and will promptly be forgotten.

But it's Star Wars and Disney, so it'll still make a fuckton of money I guess, vindicating Disney's decision to fire two of the best directors in Hollywood right now.

Nice crystal ball

 

[What did he mean by this?]

What are some of the most prolific director firings? And how did those impact careeers

 

[trejo]

Ron Howard is ok, I guess? I mean, I couldn't think of a more boring choice if I tried but yeah sure, why not.

 

[superdeluxe]

I mean if anyone has the credibility to save this, it would be Howard.

 

[daffy]

Ron Howard is ok, I guess? I mean, I couldn't think of a more boring choice if I tried but yeah sure, why not.

I mean, that's what you usually do when the wild card fails. Play it safe.

 

[Frozenprince]

I mean Howard can do light hearted and I'm assuming that's the direction they wanna go.

Ultimately tho Bobby is right, they should have just done the Dong Lover Lando movie.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

What are some of the most prolific director firings? And how did those impact careeers

The last time anything kinda similar (but under waaaaayyy different motivation) happened was Richard Lester replacing Richard Donner on Superman II.

Lester got to do Superman III and didn't really do much after that
Donner did alright (Goonies, Lethal Weapon series, Maverick)

 

[jelly]

It's still kind of odd how you can use so many scenes then splice it together with a new directors work. Doesn't that suggest their work wasn't that bad and surely you can't veer off the script that much either way. This needs a tell all.

 

[Frozenprince]

The last time anything kinda similar (but under waaaaayyy different motivation) happened was Richard Lester replacing Richard Donner on Superman II.

Lester got to do Superman III and didn't really do much after that
Donner did alright (Goonies, Lethal Weapon series, Maverick)

Speaking of comedies from a "serious" franchise.

 

[Toothless]

Howard is a way closer fit, tonally, to Lord & Miller than Johnston is.

First Avenger and even Jumani has hints of the zaniness Lord/Miller bring to all their projects. I haven't seen a single Howard film that believes in that type of stuff besides maybe the Grinch? And all the zaniness there is so cringe-worthy

 

[John Dunbar]

disney should have fired whoever directed rogue one because they clearly had no idea what they were doing, but hiring ron howard at this point does not fill one with confidence. howard can direct a good movie if it's something he seems to care about, but such a last minute gig means he has da vinci code money on the mind.

making a han solo movie in the first place is a terrible idea anyway, but it's money in the bank so what can you do.

 

[nomis]

Rush wasn't boring, therefore I don't think this is a boring choice

I'm still intrigued, especially if the script was good and L&M just decided to veer off on a tangent with improv

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Even if they did, people would still go with their own fantastical narratives

Ha. I walked right into that one, didn't I?

I suppose I deserve it.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Rinzler just started a blog series about his time at Lucasfilm yesterday, starting inside the building when Lucas made the sale, October 30, 2012.



So I guess he's hoping to update that every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Ooh, thanks for the link!

So it's Kasdan wanting Raiders compared to Lord and Miller wanting Last Crusade then?

Last Crusade is a good example. It's undeniably funny but I hate how they had to turn Marcus and Brody into buffoons in the process.

A bigger downgrade than Ant-Man. Joe Johnston would make me feel more comfortable. How the fuck can Ron Howard even be compatible with what Lord/Miller have shot already? They're as far apart as directors can be. The only good thing that could come out of this is a Baby Driver for Lord/Miller (original low-budget crowdpleaser after getting fired from a big project).

Howard has a lot of diversity. He's done R-rated comedy (Night Shift), comedy/drama (Parenthood), Spielberg-ian fantasy (Cocoon), thrillers (Backdraft, Ransom), more conventional fantasy (Willow) , historical epics (Far and Away) and pretty much everything else under the sun.

He's honestly the perfect choice if you are looking to bring in someone that can adapt to 4 months of footage that is already in the can.

howard can direct a good movie if it's something he seems to care about, but such a last minute gig means he has da vince code money on the mind

I'm sure that he's being well compenstated but I don't think he is doing this for the paycheck. Dude is loaded to the gills. He co-runs Imagine Entertainment with Brian Grazer.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

First Avenger and even Jumani has hints of the zaniness Lord/Miller bring to all their projects. I haven't seen a single Howard film that believes in that type of stuff besides maybe the Grinch? And all the zaniness there is so cringe-worthy

"Zany!"

Ron Howard was for about 10 years mainly a comedy guy. His first movie was Michael Keaton's debut, about a pair of guys at a morgue who run a brothel out of it. He followed that up with a movie about Tom Hanks fucking a fish.

He also helped (not just narrating) Hurwitz on Arrested Development.

Howard has a lot of diversity. He's done R-rated comedy (Night Shift), comedy/drama (Parenthood), Spielberg-ian fantasy (Cocoon), thrillers (Backdraft, Ransom), more conventional fantasy (Willow) , historical epics (Far and Away) and pretty much everything else under the sun.

He's honestly the perfect choice if you are looking to bring in someone that can adapt to 4 months of footage that is already in the can.

This is a great way to put it, yeah.

 

[MHWilliams]

And now here's SWNN (leak site ala Making Star Wars) saying that Alden Ehrenreich was also sounding the alarm bells over how Lord & Miller were having him play the character:


Now obviously take with a grain of salt due to the source, but holy shit if the bolded is in any way accurate.

If true, that's the lead actor, producer, and screenwriter against them.

At what point do we go, "Maybe Lord and Miller didn't have the right idea for Han Solo?"

 

[brandonh83]

At what point do we go, "Maybe Lord and Miller didn't have the right idea for Han Solo?"

But that can't be true because at least they were doing something different!

 

[Frozenprince]

I think it's both, personally.

Lord and Miller probably had a vision that didn't mesh with Kasdan's dream script and Kasdan and Kennedy didn't mesh with them in allowing them more freedom to improvise.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

Betting it's more like Kasdan wanting Return of the Jedi and Lord & Miller making Galaxy Quest.

The weird thing about all of this is that there seems to be an obvious answer to the whole "how do we make a comedy that reconciles with the characters people already know" - make it a frame story where Han is embellishing.

Hell, maybe that's what Lord and Miller were banking on in the edit.

 

[Frozenprince]

The weird thing about all of this is that there seems to be an obvious answer to the whole "how do we make a comedy that reconciles with the characters people already know" - make it a frame story where Han is embellishing.

Hell, maybe that's what Lord and Miller were banking on in the edit.

...

Shit that sounds awesome.

 

[CloudyTuba]

The weird thing about all of this is that there seems to be an obvious answer to the whole "how do we make a comedy that reconciles with the characters people already know" - make it a frame story where Han is embellishing.

Hell, maybe that's what Lord and Miller were banking on in the edit.

That would be hilarious and I think in-character.

 

[Toothless]

Howard has a lot of diversity. He's done R-rated comedy (Night Shift), comedy/drama (Parenthood), Spielberg-ian fantasy (Cocoon), thrillers (Backdraft, Ransom), more conventional fantasy (Willow) , historical epics (Far and Away) and pretty much everything else under the sun.

He's honestly the perfect choice if you are looking to bring in someone that can adapt to 4 months of footage that is already in the can.

Suppose that's true. Just really don't think this is a good idea anyway because I don't think he's ever done anything as hyperkinetic as what Lord/Miller typically put out.

"Zany!"

Ron Howard was for about 10 years mainly a comedy guy. His first movie was Michael Keaton's debut, about a pair of guys at a morgue who run a brothel out of it. He followed that up with a movie about Tom Hanks fucking a fish.

He also helped (not just narrating) Hurwitz on Arrested Development.

Yeah, but that was so long ago. I'm always of the opinion that for extremely prolific directors like Howard, you judge them by the last ten years only. Sure, you got Rush and Frost/Nixon in there, but literally everything else is mediocre and none of it has a hint of a true good comedy in there. Although I'll admit I was unaware on his Arrested Development involvement, but I'm still not optimistic at all on this film, although my dream replacement director was never even in the running lol.

(And sorry for the zany word choice lol, I legitimately was at a loss for words on how to best describe Lord/Miller's typical tone.)

 

[sphagnum]

The weird thing about all of this is that there seems to be an obvious answer to the whole "how do we make a comedy that reconciles with the characters people already know" - make it a frame story where Han is embellishing.

Hell, maybe that's what Lord and Miller were banking on in the edit.

Do we really want Harrison Ford phoning it in?

 

[Frozenprince]

Do we really want Harrison Ford phoning it in?

Nah you don't need to bring Ford in to do it.

Or you can even have it be Lando embellishing things if you want, Billy Dee or Dong can to it.

 

[MHWilliams]

The weird thing about all of this is that there seems to be an obvious answer to the whole "how do we make a comedy that reconciles with the characters people already know" - make it a frame story where Han is embellishing.

Hell, maybe that's what Lord and Miller were banking on in the edit.

Harrison Ford is likely never walking back to that role. Not without RDJ truckloads of money.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

Do we really want Harrison Ford phoning it in?

Harrison Ford is likely never walking back to that role. Not without RDJ truckloads of money.

I honestly wasn't even thinking about getting him back - more thinking of like, a Keyser Soze type thing where Han is under duress and makes up a bullshit story to stall for time or something. You're totally right that Ford would likely do a bad job or not even want to be there.

That being said... on some level, wouldn't it also be kind of funny to have him show up to say a sarcastic version of "it's true - all of it" just to collect a fat paycheck?