Solo: A Star Wars story collector thread

[JasonEvans]

Until we start seeing it and have a spoiler thread, let this be the place for all things related to the upcoming Ron Howard flick.

I'll start with this article from GQ that predicts this film is going to be a total disaster.

Listen, I had hopes for Solo, even if it can't help being the ugly middle child of the new Star Wars franchise. But at this point, the movie has seemed completely doomed for a while now. Consistently good filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller were removed from the project and replaced with occasionally good filmmaker Ron Howard. Add to that the fact we've yet to see a minute of footage with just four months until this movie's release. (That's right—this baby is supposed to come out in May!)

I can't wait to see how bad Alden Ehrenreich is in this flick.

Disney is bracing themselves for the Han Solo movie to bomb. They were worried about it before all The Last Jedi controversy, but now they’re essentially writing Solo off. The lead actor, Alden Ehrenreich, can’t act, and they had a dialogue coach on hand for all of his scenes. On top of that, the script is unworkable. It’s going to be a car crash.

-Jason "I remember watching Alden Ehrenreich play an actor who can't act in Hail, Ceasar and wondering if he was supposed to be that bad or the performance just came naturally to him... he was godawful in Beautiful Creatures" Evans

[fuse]

Internet Hills I am willing to die on....

Hail, Caesar is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.
Beautiful Creatures was a horrible adapation of a book series I irrationally loved/guilty pleasure.

Disney going into Star Wars past is a far worse idea than blazing new trails in the Star Wars universe.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I am far more excited to see the 90 minute finale of this



than I am excited to see Solo. (McDiarmid is voicing Palpatine as the series draws to a close.)

[BD80]

Will it be top-5 this summer?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Will it be top-5 this summer?

I am going to be very tempted to leave it off, has lots of competition this year. With all the stories about what a mess the production has been, plus knowing that he never succumbs to any life threatening crises, plus so close on the heels of TLJ (not as much of a year long urging for a new SW movie) I predict enough of the movie going public will stay far, far away that it misses out.

[Lord Ash]

Rebels is INCREDIBLY good. Sure, it has terrible moments, yes it is Disney, and yes some bits are cringeworthy, but overall it has done a great job filling in a lot of what Star Wars fanboys wanted... Thrawn in charge of the TIE Defender program?! Yes please!

[gus]

I can't wait to see how bad Alden Ehrenreich is in this flick.

Holy cow, don't read the comments.

[CameronBornAndBred]

The article that Jason linked was published at Christmas, and referenced a trailer coming out "this week". That obviously never happened. You know a movie's bad when they can't find 2 minutes of good material to stitch together.
Supposedly, though, a trailer IS coming out this week, so we'll get a little taste of badness.

OpusReview.gif

[94duke]

More reshoots?

this can't be good. (article dated Jan 11)

http://www.screengeek.net/2018/01/11...more-reshoots/

[wilson]

I'm super bummed about this. The Solo backstory is among the most compelling side-tales in the SW universe to me. I have long loved the character and am sad to hear that they're apparently making a hash of his standalone feature.
They just better not mess up Calrissian: A Star Wars story.

[BD80]

I'm super bummed about this. The Solo backstory is among the most compelling side-tales in the SW universe to me. I have long loved the character and am sad to hear that they're apparently making a hash of his standalone feature. ...

I hear it is so bad that they are adding a bunch of CGI and retitling it: "Jar Jar: A Star Wars Story"

[fuse]

I'm super bummed about this. The Solo backstory is among the most compelling side-tales in the SW universe to me. I have long loved the character and am sad to hear that they're apparently making a hash of his standalone feature.
They just better not mess up Calrissian: A Star Wars story.

Disney is counting on your nostalgia.

While I enjoy Han Solo, what I really enjoyed was Harrison Ford portraying Han Solo.

The whole premise of young Han Solo and living up to a legend ought to have scared most actors away.

I can agree the idea of learning more about Solo is compelling. A new actor in the role is a kiss of death.

[Lord Ash]

I'm super bummed about this. The Solo backstory is among the most compelling side-tales in the SW universe to me. I have long loved the character and am sad to hear that they're apparently making a hash of his standalone feature.
They just better not mess up Calrissian: A Star Wars story.

Agreed. SUCH potential. Who wouldn't like a Han/Lando buddy movie with a bit of Chewie thrown in?

[bjornolf]

This whole thread makes me sad. They should have done it as a cartoon after Rebels ended, IMHO. I liked both Clone Wars and Rebels.

[mkirsh]

This whole thread makes me sad. They should have done it as a cartoon after Rebels ended, IMHO. I liked both Clone Wars and Rebels.

There is still time! Maybe Disney can animate in the Han Solo parts and have Harrison Ford do the voice work - problem solved! It works for Son of Zorn on tv, and Rodger Rabbit was a hit, right?

[A-Tex Devil]

There is still time! Maybe Disney can animate in the Han Solo parts and have Harrison Ford do the voice work - problem solved! It works for Son of Zorn on tv, and Rodger Rabbit was a hit, right?

Would if it were so simple.

[BD80]

... Rodger Rabbit was a hit, right?

Only because of Jessica Rabbit ...

(cue wolf whistle clip)

[Wander]

Are we sure we're not panicking too early? Didn't Rogue one go through a ton of reshoots and have a bad vibe months before it came out?

[JasonEvans]

Are we sure we're not panicking too early? Didn't Rogue one go through a ton of reshoots and have a bad vibe months before it came out?

Yeah, sorta, but nothing like what we are hearing on Solo. Also, it is worth noting that we got our first teaser trailer for Rogue One in April of 2016, 8 months before the film hit theaters. We are now 4 months from Solo and not a frame has been shown (though the production has been delayed by changing directors and tons of reshoots). The buzz is bad enough at this point that Disney may actually be afraid to release anything that is less than perfect because they know it will be picked over so much.

I actually think the massive reshoots are a good thing as it shows Disney is willing to sink more and more money into this film in an effort to make it worthwhile. They aren't just giving up and pushing out shoddy product. Also, Ron Howard's catalog doesn't contain many truly wretched films. He is paint by numbers simple some of the time, but his movies are largely watchable (Inferno or Heart of the Sea are probably his worst flicks and they aren't that awful). If the story is solid and the direction isn't confusing, then I can live with young Solo being a terrible actor. I think it is a very good sign that Lawrence and Jon Kasdan's screenplay has not been rewritten over and over again (they remain the only credited screenwriters).

-Jason "please be watchable..." Evans

[OldPhiKap]

I actually think the massive reshoots are a good thing as it shows Disney is willing to sink more and more money into this film in an effort to make it worthwhile. They aren't just giving up and pushing out shoddy product. Also, Ron Howard's catalog doesn't contain many truly wretched films. He is paint by numbers simple some of the time, but his movies are largely watchable (Inferno or Heart of the Sea are probably his worst flicks and they aren't that awful). If the story is solid and the direction isn't confusing, then I can live with young Solo being a terrible actor. I think it is a very good sign that Lawrence and Jon Kasdan's screenplay has not been rewritten over and over again (they remain the only credited screenwriters).

That's my hope too. (not a new hope though). Ron Howard knows how to tell a story. If he thinks there are holes that need to be filled or shaped due to a bad script or scenes that just don't work, I think all it can do is improve the end product.

And if it is a screaming pile of stink, I don't think it all can be laid at Opie's feet. It may well be that he is simply polishing the turd the best one can do. But as others have noted, the idea of the film -- telling the back-story of a character we already know survives, and whose original actor made the character an icon for 40 years -- it is a tough sled. This isn't like changing Bonds which by now is routine (although the early attempt to do so with George Lazenby was a spectacular disaster.)