Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens

[BaneTheBrawler]

still would have had whinakin

[kuronosan]

Why didn't they leave that in there? There was more tension in that scene than the entire trilogy.

[6souls]

Enjoy your mary sue

Leak causes confirmation

Open auditions are being planned for two lead roles in the next Star Wars film, the BBC has learned.

The casting sessions for Star Wars: Episode VII will start later this week at locations around the UK and Ireland, including London, Dublin and Glasgow.

According to a casting notice the film-makers are looking to fill two roles.

They are a "street smart and strong" orphaned girl in her late teens and a "smart capable" man in his late teens or early 20s.

The open auditions for a "major Hollywood Movie" were first published on the twitter account @UKopencall, which announced a "nationwide search for lead roles for a Disney movie".

Disney bought Lucasfilm, the production company behind the Star Wars series, in October 2012.

In the US open auditions also begin this week according to an online notice. Casting directors will be visiting cities including Nashville and Chicago as well as accepting online applications.

Lucasfilm declined to comment to the BBC but it is likely the characters have been given non sci-fi names and descriptions in the announcement in an effort to disguise the auditions are for Star Wars: Episode VII.

The broad nature of the characters is almost the same as in descriptions leaked online earlier in the year when the overall casting process began.

While it is unprecedented for lead parts in a franchise of this size to hold open auditions in this way, Star Wars has in the past given major roles to little known actors and actresses through the traditional casting process, dating back to the original trilogy when the then unknown Mark Hamill won the role of Luke Skywalker.

Other movies have successfully cast secondary actors and actresses through open auditions in the past most notably some of the later Harry Potter films.

And actress Dakota Blue Richards won the lead role of Lyra in The Golden Compass, the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights, through open casting.

Director JJ Abrams, who is also co-scripting the movie, will not be attending the open auditions which begin in Bristol on 9 November. Instead those at the auditions, who must be over the age of 16 for the female role, and over 18 for the male role, will briefly meet members of the casting team of the film.

Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to begin shooting at Pinewood Studios in spring 2014, for an expected 2015 release.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24828750
http://twitter.com/UKopencall

NA Open Casting Schedule

• November 7, 2013
  Ramada – Minneapolis Airport Mall
  2300 E. American Blvd.
  Bloomington, MN 55425
  3pm - 8pm
  
• November 10, 2013
  Sheraton – St. Louis City Center Hotel
  400 S. 14th St.
  St. Louis, MO 63103
  12pm - 5pm
  
• November 14, 2013
  Park West Theatre
  322 W. Armitage Ave.
  Chicago, IL 60614
  3pm - 8pm
  
• November 17, 2013
  Somerset Inn
  2601 W. Big Beaver Rd.
  Troy, MI 48084
  12pm - 5pm
  
• November 22, 2013
  Hilton – Austin
  500 E. 4th St.
  Austin, TX 78701
  3pm - 8pm
  
• November 24, 2013
  Sheraton – Nashville Downtown
  623 Union St.
  Nashville, TN 37219
  12pm - 5pm

http://www.opencastingcall2013.com/

You can either attend one of those or submit a video to the site above.

[Ratatapa]

Release date December 18 2015

[6souls]

[Anoat]

Glad to see Han got the satellite dish reattached, can't be cruising around the galaxy without NFL Sunday Ticket.

[Kyreth]

Fan-made, alas.

But damn cool, ain't it?

[BaneTheBrawler]

the dish always amused me, because in the books its a sensor jammer package thats so powerful it actually jams his own sensors too. so he almost never uses it, which is why whenever it gets blown apart he just kinda goes "eh"

[Hirronimus]

I want to know what ta fuck is up with December release date? Star Wars was always a summer movie. COME ON!

[Pringles]

I want to know what ta fuck is up with December release date? Star Wars was always a summer movie. COME ON!

My guess would be Disney doesn't want it to possibly impede on any possible revenue from one of it's Marvel films that would be coming out around that time. With Avenger's 2 in theaters in May, I'm sure Disney will want to milk box office tickets for all they can over May-July and if Star Wars comes out around then, it may prevent people from going back to see the Avengers multiple times.

[Qeomash]

Also hyping for holiday toy sales. "Moichendising! Where da real money from da movie is made!"

[BaneTheBrawler]

still waiting on Spaceballs III: The Search for Spaceballs II

[6souls]

R2-D2 Confirmed

The first behind-the-scenes photo from Star Wars: Episode VII hit Twitter last Thursday, featuring director J.J. Abrams, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and a certain blue and white astromech droid — who StarWars.com can now confirm will indeed be in the film. But who are the two men standing behind Artoo, looking very protective of the “overweight glob of grease”?

Meet Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples, Star Wars fans and members of the worldwide R2-D2 Builders Club. They create fully functioning, film-accurate astromech droids like the R2-D2 seen in the photo, and they’re officially part of the Creature Effects team for Star Wars: Episode VII. They didn’t apply for their jobs, but still had what is probably the best reference one could hope for.

“It all started when Kathleen Kennedy toured the R2-D2 Builders area at Celebration Europe this past summer in Germany,” says Steeples, who finished his first R2-D2 in 2007, after 10 years of collecting parts and researching. “She posed for pictures with us, looked at all the droids we’d built and was very complimentary. I mentioned that the R2-D2 Builders in the UK were available if required, as a semi-joke. When I was contacted to work on the film by [executive producer] Jason McGatlin, it was on her recommendation.”

Steeples, from Berkshire, England, and Towersey, from Middlesex, England, are working full-time on Star Wars: Episode VII at Pinewood Studios (where the Twitter photo was taken), focusing solely on astromech-building — for now. Keeping an astromech droid in working condition throughout the production of a film is a challenge, as it’s filled with gears, lights, and electronics; Steeples and Towersey were chosen because of their expertise and experience, both having worked on Star Wars­-themed commercials for the UK appliances megastore Curry’s. “We know the pressures of filming, prepping, and being able to assure reliability throughout the shoot,” says Towersey, who built the droid seen in the tweet. “We have a good knowledge of Artoo, with a large stock of parts for reference and drawings, plus we know what is involved throughout the whole building process, as well as potential problems we need to avoid.” Despite their impressive understanding of how to construct an astromech droid and keep it functioning, Steeples and Towersey still have a goal for Star Wars: Episode VII: to build a better R2-D2.

“What we do need to do is improve on the mechanics,” says Towersey. “We’re currently in a research and design phase where we’re looking at drive options for reliability on all possible terrains, whether it be a one-motor-does-all, or a system which is easily adjusted depending on terrain. We have a few mocked up ideas which we hope to road test very soon.” And while they’re now on the inside of Star Wars moviemaking, the two remain fans at heart.

“It’s fascinating to see the whole process of filmmaking as Star Wars: Episode VII grows around us,” says Towersey. “I feel very privileged to be in the working environment I’m in at the moment. It’s something I will never take for granted.”

“It’s a dream come true,” adds Steeples, “and I hope I can live up to the expectations of the thousands of R2-D2 Builders around the world, let alone the millions of Star Wars fans.”

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/201...-hes-fan-made/

[Greedouw]

Which means 3PO too

[Rulke]

Sigh...

[SephYuyX]

Sigh...

Na bro, R2D2 and 3PO are staples of SW.

[Krandor]

R2 can be around without 3PO (R2 shows up on is own in Legacy), but in the time frame they're doing this in they'll still be joined at the hip.

[BaneTheBrawler]

dunno, according to some of the less-canon material out there, at some point threepio gets destroyed and his head winds up in a random cave on tattoine, while r2d2 continues serving the skywalker line for pretty much ever.

'course, it happens long after the current characters and their kids are dead, but you never know. they're going to fuck with shit, maybe they'll bump it up (not likely).

[Rulke]

Na bro, R2D2 and 3PO are staples of SW.

Eh, I disagree to a point. By giving them origin stories in EP 1, Lucas basically said "they are staples now trololololo". I really enjoyed the pair in EP4-6 but it felt tired, forced and worn to me in EP1-3.

[Jakson]

Because my googlefu is googlefailing...What are the positions of the soldiers you see in ANH firing the Death Star's laser at Alderaan? In http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efFl_EDXCW0 I can see only two different soldiers - these two.