The Road to Episode Infinity: May 2014

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Puppets and Episode VII

When J.J. Abrams launched his charitable fundraising event from the set of Episode VII this week, he managed to send a strong message to Star Wars fans. That message was "Puppets". Halfway through his spiel- a puppet, who I am going to call "Ostrich Merchant", waddled through the market scene and turned to grunt at J.J.

J.J.'s message (besides the one about his charity) is obvious. Episode VII won't just feature a few actors in a green screen room talking to thin air. Episode VII will include real models of starships, on-location shooting, extensive background characters, and yes, even some puppets.

It is an odd feeling that "Ostrich Merchant" gives off. Part of you wants to jump for joy at the return to "Star Wars" roots. Some of the coolest "Star Wars" characters were puppets, after all. Another part of you might feel a little skeptical. It's 2014, after all. When was the last time we saw puppets in a big blockbuster action movie?

Before answering that question, I want to talk about how successful the original trilogy was with its puppet usage. First of all, 1980 Yoda is far more impressive than 2005 Yoda. He has more heart, more soul, he feels more real. He's weird and proud of it. CGI Yoda is kind of a parody of the original character. He's a little too cutsie. Yoda isn't suppose to be cute. He's an old hairy, crusty, wise mentor with some of the most beautiful lines that cinema has ever given us.

But beyond Yoda we still have some great puppets. Jabba the Hutt needed 6 puppeteers to operate. He looks way more menacing in the original than his "Phantom Menace" doppelganger does. Taun Taun's feel real to me. The Rancor is scary. Even Admiral "It's a Trap" Ackbar is a freaking puppet.

The only puppet in the original trilogy that didn't feel quite real was Salacious Crumb, Jabba's little pet lizard monkey. Crumb is a popular Star Wars character but a little on the annoying side- Definitely a character who is there for the comic relief and not much else. Though he does look pretty scary, I'll give him that.

But could all of these characters have worked as CGI? My short answer is "NO!" Just look what happened to Yoda or Jabba when Lucas put them through the animation treatment. Look at what happened to Sy Snootles for force sake! There are many who argue that the problem with CGI is that it frees the directors to do whatever they think might be cool or funny. Directors are suddenly able to say "Let's have Yoda do a double-force jump in the air!" or "What if Sy Snootles pressed her lips right out against the camera?"

But if I had to give a longer detailed answer about CGI vs. Puppets. Things get a little more complicated. First of all, we know GCI can work. Gollum is proof of this. Actually "Lord of the Rings" does a great job of mixing practical effects with animated effects. The Orcs, for example, are costumed characters. No film-goer would dare say that a CGI orc would have been better than the costumed orcs. But, alas, the orcs weren't puppets. So, I ask again, can puppets really work in modern cinema?

Animatronics technology was used for the Rancor

To find a current filmmaker who still uses puppets, we have to dig a little deeper - as deep as Guillermo del Toro. Guillermo still uses puppetry and animatronic robots in all his projects. Creatures in "Pan's Labyrinth", the "Hellboy" films and even "Pacific Rim" are essentially puppets. The only difference is that del Toro blends the puppetry with some CGI. There's no fake-feel to anything del Toro does. Pan's Labyrinth is pure movie-magic. All movies should feel magical, and CGI rarely aids this process. Bad CGI (like bad puppetry) looks cheap and feels wrong.

An Early Design for Taun Tauns

Abrams seems to have a pro-practical-effects philosophy coming into this film. Fans are starting to feel that and they are jumping on board. Abrams has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, perhaps more pressure than Lucas was under when releasing the prequels. I think some strategically placed-puppets will give the viewers some nice nostalgia whilst giving the Star Wars universe a true 80s movie-magic feeling. This is something big budget films have been missing for, oh, I'd say about 30-years.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Casting the Expanded Universe

Happy Revenge of the Sixth Everyone! We are now 1.5 years away from Episode VII and we no hardly anything about the film. In a way that makes Episode VII more exciting than any of the prequel films because anything could happen! With this in mind, Episode VII may be the most anticipated film in history.

There are some things we do know, however. First and foremost is that The Expanded Universe is out. We are paving over the old canon and establishing a new path. Most people are very, very happy with this fact. However, there are fans out there who want to see their favorite EU characters on film. We don't know for sure how much the writers of Episode VII will draw from the EU. Could characters such as Mara Jade or the Solo Twins pop up in the prequels? Only time will tell.

So I went ahead and cast the Expanded Universe. I focussed on the characters that pop up the most in the novels. I would have loved to spend time casting Grand Moff Thrawn and Prince Xizor, but they were in very few books and I wanted to stick mostly to the family of the Solo's and Skywalker's. Let's get started.

Julianne Moore as Mara Jade

Mara Jade Skywalker: First introduced by Timothy Zahn in the early 90s, Mara has been an essential part of post-ROTJ Star Wars material. Apprentice to Palpatine, Rival to Lord Vader, and Wife to Luke Skywalker- there is not a woman in the galaxy that enemies fear more. Also, she's a redhead. If Episode VII were based on the EU, we would need a middle aged Mara to fall for an aging Luke Skywalker. A tough, middle-aged, sexy redhead isn't easy to find in hollywood, but Julianne Moore might be good for this role. Personally, I haven't seen Moore in any films recently, but she's a veteran actor who has been in plenty of action flicks. I have no doubt that she could stand toe-to-toe with Luke Skywalker.

Liam James as Ben Skywalker

And while we're at it, let's find a Ben Skywalker. Luke and Mara's son, Ben, has been only recently introduced into the Star Wars series, and many fans may be unfamiliar with the character. Still, he is an important character. Ben would be in his early teens in Episode VII. There aren't a whole lot of teenage male actors stealing the screens these days, but Liam James was recently nominated for several awards for his break-out role in "The Way Way Back". It's a great film and he more than proved his acting ability.

Jennifer Lawrence as Jaina Solo

I couldn't resist casting the Solo Twins in these films. They are some of my favorite characters in the Expanded Universe. I practically grew up with them. There characters are fleshed out in the Young Jedi Knight Series, the evolve in the New Jedi Order, and finally comes full circle in the Legacy of the Force series. The two have probably been featured in over one hundred Star Wars novels and fans love them.

When I thought of Jennifer Lawrence for the role of Jaina Solo, I got really excited. The girl has already played Katniss Everdeen and Mystique. There is no question in my mind that Lawrence could pull off a perfect Jaina. Can you imagine her swinging a lightsaber or inside of an X-Wing cockpit?

Danielle Radcliffe as Jacen Solo

My choice for Jacen is a little more controversial. Jacen has to be likable and has to have a dark side to him. I picked Danielle Radcliffe. It's hard to imagine Jacen and Harry Potter having much in common, but Radcliffe is actually quite handsome without those Potter glasses and you can almost see that Solo charm behind his eyes.

Rose Leslie as Tenel Ka Djo

Finally, I will not feel complete without casting the role of Tenel Ka Djo. Tenel Ka is Jacen's lover and mother to Han and Leia's only grandchild. Her father is a Hapen Prince and her mother is a witch of Dathomir, which makes her... the toughest princess in the whole galaxy. Ka is probably the closest thing Star Wars has to Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons. She loses an arm in her childhood and decided against a prosthetic. Like many of the wonderful female character of the Expanded Universe she is one tough chica. I chose Rose Leslie who plays Ygritte, (Jon Snow's wildling girlfriend from Game of Thrones.) She's pretty much perfect for the part in every way, so end-of-story.

I know that so many fans love these characters and I really hope that some of them will pop up in Episode VII or future episodes. It's hard to imagine that we could lose these characters forever from Star Wars canon. So here's to hoping! Happy Star Wars week everyone and remember (like Earth Day) that you can celebrate Star Wars everyday.

May the 4th Specials

Monday, May 5, 2014

Recasting Star Wars Original Trilogy

Happy Cinco de Mayo Star Wars Fans! I am continuing my Star Wars recasting today by imagining a world where Episodes I – III came out in the 70s and 80s and Episodes IV – VI came out at the turn of the century. Today we tackle 1999’s version of A New Hope, 2002’s version of Empire Strikes Back and 2005’s version of Return of the Jedi.

So obviously we need to do a bit of recasting for our heroes. I’m going to keep Mel Gibson as Obi-Wan Kenobi for continuities' sake. Like yesterday, I am not recasting droids or masks or Palpatine. Therefore, I just need to cast the big three (Luke, Leia, Han) and Lando and maybe one more.

I’m going to say, upfront, that none of this was easy. People have a strong image of Mark, Carrie, and Harrison in their heads as these characters, so as the actors change, the characters will inevitably change.

Let’s star with Luke, shall we? I’m going to be a little controversial here. Mark Hamill plays a fine Luke Skywalker, but Uncle George could have probably made a better casting decision. Case and point- Mark Hamill has done nothing of consequence since Star Wars. Luke is a hero, but an unconventional one. He is sort of a whiney (like Hayden Christianson)- He wants to go to the Toshe station to pick up some power converters- a little annoying to say the least. So for 90s Luke I have chosen someone a little bulkier, a hero you can really stand behind, someone more… likable.

I’m not going to lie, A Knights Tale is a guilty pleasure of mine and Mr. Heath Ledger is amazing. He has the blonde, flowing Skywalker hair. He probably would have been a great Anakin. So for 90s Luke, I’m picking Ledger. Ledger was an amazing actor that was taken from the world too soon and I want him as my Luke. I defy you to find a 90s teen that would do a better job.

Next up! Princess Leia. Now, I’m not going to say anything negative about Carrie Fisher. She isn’t known for anything other than Star Wars, but she was the perfect Princess Leia. She is a great tough-girl role model for little girls everywhere. But by 1999 she was too old and pudgy for the role. So we need to recast her.

Keri Russell is my choice for Princess Leia Organa. She starred in J.J. Abram’s “Felicity” and this summer’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. Keri Russell is a badass (a very attractive badass) and would play a perfect intergalactic princess.

Which brings us to Han Solo. I’m not going to lie- Harrison Ford is Han Solo and vice versa. Han or Indiana Jones would not be the same without Ford. But many people said that James Bond would never be the same without Sean Connery, so I guess we have to be a little open minded with this one. I think the closest thing we could get to a Harrison Ford imitation might be Josh Holloway (Sawyer from Lost) or Matthew McConaughey. Both would have been too young to play Captain Solo in 1999. But instead of trying to imitate Ford, I want to reimagine Solo’s character.

I’m gonna go with Sean Bean for the part of Han Solo. You may remember him as Boromir in LOTR or Edard Stark in GOT. Bean doesn’t much resemble Han Solo, but in my alternate universe Han Solo could have resembled Sean Bean. Let’s admit it, Han was a little too clean shaven for a smuggler / pirate who hangs out with a wookiee all day. Sean Bean’s a little scruffier, a little grimier, and a little edgier than Ford. It takes a little bit of creativity to reimagine Bean as Captain Solo, but I’m almost positive he could have pulled it off.

Lando Calrissian is one charming dude. If Star Wars were made today, I’d nominate Will Smith for the part. But since my Empire Strikes back releases in 2001, Will Smith is way too young for the role. I’m going with Wesley Snipes. The Blade films were very popular at the turn of the century and Snipes had just enough charm to pull off Calrissian.

Well that’s the Big 4, but there is still one more important character that I can’t help but recast. Grand Moff Tarkin was a huge part of the first Star Wars film. Peter Cushing was a legendary British actor and his character stood toe-to-toe with Vader. It was obvious that he, not Vader, was in charge. So we need an equally legendary actor for our 1999 version of Grand Moff Tarkin. I don’t know about you, but this one seems obvious to me. Ian McKellen is a brilliant Magneto and Gandalf. It makes me sad inside to know that I will never see Mr. McKellen’s version of Tarkin. I know that it would have been epic.

Tomorrow is Revenge of the Sixth, the final day of my Star Wars celebrations in which I will be recasting the Expanded Universe. Interested in my picks for Mara Jade, Jaina & Jacen Solo or Ben Skywalker? Check back tomorrow!

May the 4th Specials

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Recasting a Trilogy

Hey everyone and "May The Forth Be With You". Last May the 4th I took a crack at rewriting the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. This year I wanted to reimagine Star Wars in a different way. This year I thought it would be fun to imagine a world where George Lucas released the Star Wars films in order, starting with Episode I in 1977 and ending with Episode VI in 2005. Specifically I will focus on casting. So while Abrahams continues to cast episodes VII onward, I will recast the first two trilogies, starting with Episodes I – III.

First some ground rules. I won’t recast droids, puppets, or costumes. Therefore Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Peter Mayhew, James Earl Jones, Warwick Davis and everyone else is safe from recasting. Also I won’t recast Palpatine- there is no reason to.

Next rule: I’m dumping the CGI characters. They only exist in the prequel trilogy and Lucas would not have had the luxury of the technology needed to create a terrible being such as Jar Jar in the 70s. Therefore, I will only recast human characters, and the actors I choose need to be people who were actually acting at the time.

Let’s start with Young Anakin, shall we? I looked for a child actor who was on screens in the late 70s and who would be about nine in 1977. I needed a blonde kid who resembled Jake Lloyd, but who would have a bit more of an edge to him. Low and behold I stumbled across Jason Bateman. Bateman started acting when he was about 12. He played an orphan-boy on "Little House on the Prairie" who was adopted by the Ingles family. It’s not a stretch to think he could have been cast as young Anakin only a few years earlier. Bateman as an adult usually plays serious characters. Though I have not seen him as a child actor, I can extrapolate that he would have been easier to internalize than Jake Lloyd (Who I want to pulverize with a wooden baseball bat every time I see him act)

Casting Anakin was pretty easy. Padme proved a little more difficult, yet I did find a child star who could be right for the part. Ms. Jodie Foster was a very famous teen actor who would have been 14 or 15 during the filming of the 1977 version of Phantom Menace. She’s not exactly like Natalie Portman, but she’s stronger, edgier- more like Carrie Fisher than Portman. Hell, in 1976 she played a child prostitute in "Taxi Driver" and was nominated for an Oscar. Foster would only need to dump that southern drawl, then would be more than fit to play the queen of Naboo.

I have to say that casting the Jedi was way easier than casting the kids. Replacing Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn might sound tough at first, until you remember the man who was born to play a Jedi but never got the chance. Mr. Sean Connery himself. Connery proved his ability in working with Lucas during the third Indiana Jones Film and he proved his swordplay during the film highlander. The character of Qui-Gon would be a walk in the park for a younger, fitter Connery.

Casting Obi-Wan Kenobi was tougher, but let’s not forget about the rising Australian star of the late 70s, Mr. Mel Gibson. How could The Road Warrior not be the perfect choice to play a young eager padawan who would grow into a great Jedi Knight? Can you imagine Connery and Gibson trading lines?

Already the prequel trilogy is looking much stronger, but now we have to make the most important casting decision of the trilogy. Is there someone who could play Anakin Skywalker who would be as loved as Hayden Christianson is hated? Who could be evil and likable at the same time? I have to admit the task was daunting. Was there really a rising 70s teen star who everyone loved, yet could play a really dark character. Well, I have one word for you: Bacon.

Kevin Bacon’s first role was in Animal House in 1978, so it’s no stretch that he could have played Ankin Skywalker in 1980’s version of Attack of the Clones.

I will admit that there wasn't too much on the line when recasting the prequel trilogy. It’s not that the original actors were bad, it’s just that the script wasn’t very good. Tomorrow, I have a much more daunting task. Tomorrow on Cinco de Mayo I will recast Episodes IV – VI, imagining a world where the original trilogy was released after the prequels, with A New Hope coming out in 1999. Who will play Luke? Who will play Leia? Who will play Han? Who will play Lando? Check back in in 24 hours.

May the 4th Specials