George Lucas

The Force Awakens New Trailer Review and Thoughts

/ Ajmorse / 2 Comments

I watched this new Force Awakens trailer with Mike (the other half) last night, and I had some reservations.

He thinks that I’m just irritated because now I have more questions than answers, (which is probably true,) but also, something about this new trailer troubles me. So, thought I’d write-up a quick blog post to puzzle it out.

I was disappointed when I learned a few years ago that Lucas had sold his masterpiece to Disney, because, well, Disney likes to ruin things. Like important things. By adding their own interpretation to the field. (Any fans of Boy Meets World see their Girl Meets World version? Yuck.)

But when I heard that J. J. Abrams was at the helm of the project, and all of the resources and money that Disney has, I thought okay…this movie might have a chance.

Then I saw this trailer and all of those doubts started to creep in again.

In this new trailer we finally see what we can assume are the main characters of the film : a former Storm Trooper, and a young brown-haired girl, Rey, living on what looks like Tatooine. I thought it was possibly Leia’s and Han’s daughter, but, according to this new trailer, it doesn’t really seem that way.

To be honest, I’m going to be very annoyed (I’m already annoyed) if this young woman is not in any way related to the Skywalkers. Because…I mean, come on, its STAR WARS; a lot of the main plot is centered around one big romance that ends tragically between Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala.

Of course, I could be reading into something that is meant to be vague on purpose – it is J.J. Abrams after all.

Anyway, the tone I got from the new trailer – so melancholy. There’s a lot of reminiscing going on (from what we’ve seen) but I hope that the film doesn’t get bogged down on what Star Wars was, and to focus on what it still is…to continue mastering a great story.

That being said, there’s got to be a balance, too. It needs to have some of that old Star Wars feel, (from the three great originals,) but also be fresh and exciting for this cinematic age. And although we love Star Wars, we hope that J.J Abrams also remembers that we love the universe of Star Wars, too, so we hope that it still feels like it’s in that galaxy far, far, away…with all the action scenes, explosions, droids, unexpectedly adorable aliens, and quotable lines, (minus the corniness)…

But, I don’t think that’s asking too much…right? 😉

Anyway, do you guys have any thoughts on the new movie? Are there things you are definitely looking forward to?

I’ve decided that I didn’t hate the new trailer, but it definitely did make me irritated because it managed to answer NONE of my questions. Hmm. Just like LOST all over again. Oh, J. J. Abrams.

Hope everyone has a great night!

 

Iconic Characters in Movies and TV

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment

Just finished watching Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and I guess I am struck tonight by how inspiring great movie characters are and the writing behind them.

When you see the silhouette of Indiana Jones on the big screen, one doesn’t always see the great writing that went into such a script, but its been something that I’ve been thinking about lately. How great movie/TV characters stay with you and are a great inspiration for me, especially as a writer.

Everything about the characterization of Indiana Jones is well thought out, so cleverly or accidentally crafted; right down to the name of course. I did not know that Indiana was the name of George Lucas’ dog at the time! Hah!

But I was just telling my mother earlier today: “Look at a great character like Sawyer from Lost.”

Mom: “Yeah, what about him?”

Me: “Everything about the character is Sawyer, even the name. You can say the name Sawyer and you automatically know who or what that person is and (in Sawyer’s case) what clever lines he might have.”

Mom: “Okay…”

But my line of thinking is this: Who wouldn’t want to create a character as great as Sawyer, or Indiana Jones or Han Solo? To write something that has become legendary and I guess that’s the ultimate success, isn’t it? When the character becomes more than what’s on the page. It just simply IS.

(Here’s hoping that the new show Revolution has a similar feel, yeah? Even some of the lines we see in the trailer look good. But ah, I digress…)

When a character, or when a character’s lines or scenes or actions get inside you and make you laugh, cry or feel something – that is the ultimate success, too. Who wouldn’t want to create a character that quite literally flies off the page and reaches others? Because I know I definitely would!

The excitement of it…every little detail; to a head nod, to a muscle twitch in someone’s left hand…to their rumpled clothes. The perfect details. The perfect character. Ah… now who wouldn’t call that poetry?