Category Archives: Episode VII

Star Wars Teaser Trailer Confirmed for Select Theaters This Friday

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Earlier today, Bad Robot tweeted a note by J.J. Abrams that confirms that the first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with debut this Friday, November 28 in select theaters and that it will be 88 seconds long:

In case that image isn’t loading for you, the note says

A tiny* peak at what we’re working on–this Friday in select theaters. Hope you enjoy, and have a most excellent Thanksgiving!

Best,

JJ

*88 seconds

Regal Entertainment has posted a picture of Mon Mothma and a note to check their website soon for information about which of their theaters will be involved in the teaser debut, implying that at least some of the select theaters will be theirs.

As of yet, no theaters have been officially confirmed for the debut.

UPDATE: AMC had joined Regal in confirming that some of their theaters will be involved in the debut:

The specific theater locations that will show the teaser remain unconfirmed.

UPDATE THE SECOND: Cinemark has joined the league of theaters debuting the teaser, posting this tweet in confirmation:

Again, still no word on specific theater locations.

UPDATE THE THIRD: The official site has confirmed the theater locations that will show the teaser on Friday, as well as confirming that the teaser will be in theaters worldwide after this weekend. There are thirty locations total, 28 of which are in the US and two of which are in Canada. Check out the complete list here.

Episode VII has a Title: The Force Awakens

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The Episode VII title has been revealed — via a Twitter post, of all things.

Edit: And now on StarWars.com

Around noon EST, the Star Wars twitter announced that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has completed official photography.

This seems very early to have a title, but I’m not complaining. If we could get some more official news (like characters and pictures in costume), I would also not complain.

I suspect there will be lots of complaining about the title, because that’s what Star Wars fans do. And it also fuels rampant speculation about the nature of the film…color me intrigued.

Episode VII News Update

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So, our Intrepid Leaders are on their honeymoon, which means the B-team is subbing in this week (we’re sorry).   Here’s what we’ve got:

J.J. posted another video for UNICEF’s Force for Change, and this time, he’s showing off an X-wing in the video.  Take a look at Mashable.com.  Personally, I’m thrilled at yet another look at practical effect props showing up here, and I’m looking forward to a comparison of this X-wing to those from the original trilogy.

Meanwhile, Badass Digest claims to have plot details for Episode VII.  I don’t think I need to note how very, very, very unconfirmed that is, but if you’re wanting to stay unspoiled, you might want to avoid, just in case.  (TOTALLY UNCONFIRMED, BY THE WAY.  And some of it doesn’t make ANY sense.  Like, at all.)

That’s the news for this morning.  Naturally, since The Intrepid Leaders are on a boat, Bria and I are expecting some sort of exciting news to drop at some point this week.  (You might remember that Brian and Nanci were on a cruise when Episode VII was announced.)  We will be exacting revenge for this later.

Episode VII filming in IMAX, will be post-converted to 3D

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First bit of news: As the above tweet from Bad Robot shows, Episode VII is filming with IMAX cameras as we speak.

Second bit of news: Episode VII will be released in theaters with a post-conversion 3D option.

It’s perhaps not too surprising that Disney and Lucasfilm want to have a 3D version of Episode VII in theaters, but it will no doubt disappoint many that this will be done in post. Films in 3D that aren’t shot natively with specialized stereoscopic cameras tend to be odd looking. Characters and objects in the foreground look oddly flat in front of the background.

Lucasfilm does have some internal experience with the post-conversion process, having re-released Episode I as a 3D film a few years ago to mixed reception. The film did look a fair amount better than most hastily thrown together conversions, but there were still a number of moments where the characters appeared jarringly flat. We’ll see how this conversion turns out.

Crystal Clarke and Pip Anderson cast for Episode VII

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And from out of left field, another casting development for Episode VII. Announced on the official site, joining the fold are Pip Anderson and Crystal Clarke.

Having hunted high and low for young and undiscovered talent, the filmmakers are delighted to announce that two actors from the open call call have been cast.

Crystal Clarke is an American actress studying in Glasgow, UK, who has both stage and screen acting experience and is soon to be seen in her first feature, The Moon and the Sun (to be released in 2015). British actor Pip Andersen is a skilled practitioner of parkour, a discipline that involves propelling oneself through any given environment with incredible grace and agility. Pip recently demonstrated this remarkable skill in a Spider-Man ad for Sony.

“The Star Wars universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition. We are delighted that so many travelled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film,” said producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

Clarke and Anderson were pulled from the extensive multi-city and online talent search that contained over 37,000 attendees and 30,000 online applicants.

While there’s no indication on what the extent of the roles are, it is good to see the production crew going out of their way to cast another woman of color to appear in the film. While there is still room for improvement, slowly but surely the diversity ratio is improving in the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Episode VII Ups the Diversity: Christie and Nyong’o Join Cast

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lupita-nyongo-gwendoline-christie

Now this is how you address concerns about diversity.

Lucasfilm announced just moments ago on the official site that Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie and Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o will be joining the cast of Episode VII.

Lupita Nyong’o joins the recently announced cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. This year, her breakthrough performance in 12 Years a Slave earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Gwendoline Christie, currently starring in the hit television series Game of Thrones as Brienne of Tarth, has also been cast in the production. She can next be seen in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

“I could not be more excited about Lupita and Gwendoline joining the cast of Episode VII,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.”

Yes, be excited. Be very excited. This is fantastic news.

J.J. Abrams says hello from Abu Dabi and you can win a chance to appear in Episode VII

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First off, it’s official: Episode VII is filming in Abu Dabi. See for yourself in the video above. Second, you can win a chance to appear in Episode VII by supporting UNICEF through the new Force for Change program.

Star Wars: Force for Change is a brand new charitable initiative from Disney and Lucasfilm in collaboration with Bad Robot dedicated to finding creative solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. The first Star Wars: Force for Change campaign will raise funds and awareness for UNICEF’s Innovation Labs and its innovative projects benefiting children in need.

For your chance to appear in Episode VII and visit the London studios, click the link above and enter the contest.