J.J. ABRAMS AT FULL FORCE
Director handed the Star Wars universe made sure he had a good story to tell
J. J. Abrams has endured a few regrets during his 25-year career, but turning down the Star Wars offer would not be one of them.
Abrams did hesitate when first asked to take the helm of the Star Wars juggernaut when he was close to finishing his first Star Trek sequel.
But he eventually came to his fantasy senses and agreed to take on another kind of impossible space mission.
With co-writing assistance from Lawrence Kasdan, who had helped shape the dialogue on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Abrams powered forward with the difficult undertaking.
So far, the pieces seem to be falling into place as the much-anticipated release of the epic nears.
“To see the film come together is truly remarkable,” Abrams said at a special Anaheim, California, preview in August.
What the co-writer and director doesn’t provide are story details, but we do know this: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi concluded.
Back are Princess (now General) Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). So is Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, who has a pivotal co-starring role.
New and essential to the Abrams Star Wars are some up-and-comers as The Galactic Empire transitions into the First Order after its defeat.
Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is an important X-wing pilot flying for the Resistance. Desert scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) and AWL stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) figure into the mix, too. So does mini-alien Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong ’o).
On the dark side there is the crossguard-lightsabre-wielding Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a devious General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) and mysterious Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie).
Meanwhile, R2-D2 and C-3PO return, joining the newbie BB-8 on the droid front.
Recurring, as well, is the spaceweapons showdown between good and evil.
Surprisingly, Abrams didn’t feel as if he was in full Star Wars mode until he sat down with Oscar-winning composer John Williams, who has written the iconic symphonies for the series.
“I went over to John Williams’ house one day and he played songs on the piano.” Abrams said. “It was just like hearing music from the (Star Wars) gods.”
Still, Ford insists The Force Awakens story matters more than rousing music and state-of-the-art eye candy.
Of course, there was a time when Ford fans thought he would do another Indiana Jones picture before returning to Han Solo in the Star Wars saga.
That changed with the George Lucas sale of the franchise to Disney, which turned to filmmaker Abrams to recharge the multibilliondollar franchise.
For all the special effects-refinements and computer-generated transformations in the 21st century, Ford says the plot and the performances should come first.
“When we were making (the first) Star Wars, they were making starships out of model ships and putting them on a stick and flying them past the camera — and it worked,” said Ford, just before The Force Awakens filming began.
“It worked and it was fine. It had a little music and you believed that the big spaceship was coming over your head.”
In other words, fancy digital upgrades should be complementary.
“The capacity to create effects in a computer has made the job both easier, and also with a few more key strokes, liable to create such a busy canvas the eye doesn’t know where to go,” Ford said.
“You’re wowed by the kinetics and the visualization, but you lose touch with human character in those situations. So you have to be careful that the visual effects don’t overpower.”
Isaac, who plays X-wing pilot Cameron, assures loyalists that Abrams makes sure the actors are the driving forces in the latest Star Wars movie chapter.
“I needed to have the same basic approach I always have,” Isaac said earlier this year.
“Between action and cut, I had to be a believable person and inhabit the space of the character.”
(In) Star Wars, they were making starships out of model ships and putting them on a stick and flying them past the camera — and it worked.