Category: Entertainment

From Yahoo! Movies, article by Matt McDaniel

Luke. Leia. Han. Chewie. Artoo. Threepio. All present and accounted for as StarWars.com unveiled the official cast of “Star War: Episode VII” Tuesday.

Here’s the full release:

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, “We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

While original stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford had dropped hints that they would be reprising their roles for the new chapter, which takes place around 35 years after “Return of the Jedi,” nothing was confirmed until today. As expected, the trio will be joined by longtime castmates Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO, the only actor to appear in all six episodes to date).

New additions include Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, who recently appeared together in the Coen brothers’ 2013 folk music drama “Inside Llewyn Davis.” Also onboard: Andy Serkis (best known as Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy), Domhnall Gleeson (“About Time”) and the legendary Max von Sydow (“The Exorcist”). Fresh faces John Boyega (“Attack the Block”) and Daisy Ridley (who has appeared in just a handful of BBC dramas) round out the cast.

Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn confirmed last week that second unit filming has already been underway in remote locations like Abu Dhabi, but the principal cast will not start working in the UK until next month. That leaves them just 17 months for both production and post-production, which is ambitious considering the enormous scale of the project.

May the Force be with Abrams and his very talented cast.

* my request of JJ * Lay off the lens-flare. Please.

Deadwood’s original run on HBO was March 21, 2004 to August 27, 2006.

I haven’t posted much these past few years. Mostly because I’m the only person that reads this and it’s basically so I can record trivial stuff for future reminiscing. But it defeats the purpose when I post nothing for months at a time. I’ll need to work on that. I work on my own so I don’t have regular contact with other people and that makes for a dull existence. Hence nothing much to post. Blessing or a curse, it is what it is.

After only three years of weighing the pros and cons, I decided to built the 1/350 scale Enterprise 1701-A from Polar Lights and picked up the box the day before yesterday. I’ll light the kit but still haven’t decided who gets my dollar (or a few hundred of them). If all goes well (as it should), it’ll be three feet of starship goodness. That is if the dollar doesn’t collapse and the crash hits (as I also expect to happen any day now).

These three names just made this real for me; Lawrence Kasdan (writer), Ben Burtt (sound designer), and John Williams (score composer).

press release from star wars.com, October 24, 2013

As Episode VII continues pre-production, Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams have assumed screenwriting duties for the film. Kasdan, who has been serving as a consultant on the film, is a veteran of several classic Lucasfilm productions, writing the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark and serving as co-screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Acclaimed director and screenwriter Abrams’ credits include Super 8, Mission: Impossible III, Fringe, and Lost.

“I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script,” states Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. “There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production.”

Location scouting, production design, casting, and costume design are already underway on Episode VII. A team of gifted artists are working to bring the latest installment of the Star Wars saga, including director of photography Dan Mindel (Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness), production designers Rick Carter (Lincoln, Avatar, Forrest Gump) and Darren Gilford (Oblivion, TRON: Legacy), costume designer Michael Kaplan (Star Trek Into Darkness, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Fight Club),special effects supervisor Chris Corbould (Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception), sound designer Ben Burtt (Lincoln, Wall-E, Star Wars: Episodes I-VI), re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom (Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Toy Story, Mission: Impossible -Ghost Protocol), supervising sound editor Matthew Wood (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Master, There Will Be Blood) of Skywalker Sound, and visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett (Star Trek Into Darkness, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith) of Industrial Light & Magic. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, with Tommy Harper (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Jack Ryan, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds) serving as executive producers. John Williams is returning to score Star Wars: Episode VII.

Shooting is scheduled to begin Spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios for an expected 2015 release.

Disney set to purchase Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and includes a tentative release date of 2015 for Star Wars Episode VII. Bring back Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, etc!