Untitled Han Solo Film

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OscarGuy
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Re: Untitled Han Solo Film

Post by OscarGuy »

Considering I never heard anything positive that came out of the Jurassic World shoot, I suspect it's another case of somebody got too big for their britches for Disney to control.
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Re: Untitled Han Solo Film

Post by The Original BJ »

And Colin Trevorrow was just fired/mutually parted ways/whatever they're calling it from Star Wars Episode IX.
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Re: Untitled Han Solo Film

Post by Sabin »

dws1982 wrote
I'm a little bit surprised that Howard, a guy who seemed to have a real respect for his fellow filmmakers, took this on, but I guess when you've had several flops in a row like he has, a guaranteed hit is hard to turn away from.
Ron Howard would be first in line for a gig like this a couple of decades ago. When people spoke in all seriousness of Steven Spielberg taking on the Harry Potter series (instead it went to Chris Columbus), or James Cameron taking on the Spider-Man series (instead it went to Sam Raimi), or...oh look! Ron Howard for The Da Vinci Code series.

Doesn't bother me a bit. Increasingly it seems as though the sole job of the directors on these kinds of films is to arrange the performances. Ron Howard can absolutely do that and he has a ton of experience with visual effects. The notion of Ron Howard directing a Star Wars film would have exhausted me years ago. Now, it's refreshing.
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Re: Untitled Han Solo Film

Post by dws1982 »

Really, a hired gun like Howard is probably the type of director they should be getting for these films from the outset. Someone who can be competent and efficient, but who won't cause them headaches by trying to jump too far out of the box. Will be interesting to see how the DGA handles this in terms of credits. The most recent case of a director stepping in for another is Joss Whedon stepping in for Zack Snyder on Justice League, but that's a different situation for several reasons: First, Whedon is mostly just stepping in to oversee post-production, and second, Snyder wasn't fired, he stepped away voluntarily to spend time with his family after his daughter died.

I'm a little bit surprised that Howard, a guy who seemed to have a real respect for his fellow filmmakers, took this on, but I guess when you've had several flops in a row like he has, a guaranteed hit is hard to turn away from.

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Ron Howard Steps In to Direct Han Solo Movie

Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were let go from the project after creative differences over style and tone came to a head.

Ron Howard has been named as the new director of Lucasfilm and Disney’s untitled Han Solo movie, sources tell to The Hollywood Reporter exclusively. The official announcement is expected Thursday morning.

The move comes two days after directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were let go from the movie they had spent over four-and-a-half months directing. Creative differences over style and tone came to a head between the duo and Lawrence Kasdan, with the studio backing the veteran screenwriter.

The firing sent shockwaves around Hollywood and beyond as the movie was about three-quarters through principal photography and the replacement of a director at that stage is near-unprecedented.

Howard, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter, will meet with the actors — Alden Ehrenreich is playing the iconic smuggler, Donald Glover is playing Lando Calrissian, with Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newton also on the roll call — to soothe a rattled set and will pore over a rough edit to see what the project has and still needs.

The movie was scheduled to shoot for three-and-a-half more weeks, with five weeks of reshoots built into the schedule — the latter a standard procedure on large franchise productions.

Howard, who won an Oscar for directing 2002’s A Beautiful Mind, comes to the Han Solo film with several connections to George Lucas and the worlds of Lucasfilm. He appeared in Lucas' 1973 breakout film American Graffiti, and implemented Lucas’ 1988 pet fantasy project Willow as helmer. Howard also revealed on a podcast in 2015 that Lucas had approached him to direct 1999’s Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace.

Howard is considered to be a safe choice to complete the task, someone who will more than ably finish the movie while being a calming presence on set.

Howard’s recent movies include Inferno and In the Heart of the Sea, costly ventures that have underperformed at the box office.

He is repped by CAA.
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Re: Untitled Han Solo Film

Post by anonymous1980 »

Another example would be Richard Donner getting removed from Superman II and replaced with Richard Lester. He shot enough material that they were actually able to make a Donner Cut of the film available on DVD/Blu-ray which restores much of the footage he shot, and only the bare minimum of the Richard Lester material in order for it to be cohesive. I haven't seen it so I can't tell which one is better. Gene Hackman apparently never went back for reshoots, so all of Gene Hackman's scenes in Superman II is Donner footage.
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Re: Untitled Han Solo Film

Post by Precious Doll »

This sort of things has gone on before but as you say dws nothing of which would gain the media attention that this is doing.

One that comes to mind is Exorcist: The Beginning. This is from the trivia page of imdb:

"Morgan Creek Productions fired Paul Schrader after he had submitted a completed movie, saying that he had given them "footage without any of the bloody violence the backers had wanted". He had already made it clear in interviews that he was making more of a psychological drama than an all-out gore-fest. He was fired and Renny Harlin was hired to re-shoot the movie. Almost 90% of the movie was re-shot and at least two characters have been dropped from Paul Schrader's version of the movie. Following the lackluster reception to Harlin's version, though, Schrader's version was finally released as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)."

Having seen both versions the better by far in the Paul Schrader one.
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Untitled Han Solo Film

Post by dws1982 »

So this isn't good.

It's one thing for a movie to lose its director in pre-production or even in the very early stages of production, but this had been filming for about four months and only had about a month of principal photography left (although some reshoots were already planned). Reportedly Kathleen Kennedy was unhappy with the action sequences and the acting (particularly Alden Ehrenreich and Emilia Clarke), but still, firing the directors this far in is huge. Especially since Kennedy, who has been in the Hollywood game for decades, knows that this is the type of move that's going to make big headlines. I don't know if I've ever known a movie to get 90% shot and then replace the director due to "creative differences".

Reportedly Ron Howard is the top contender to step in and take over.
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'Star Wars': Han Solo Film Loses Directors

“Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project," said a statement from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are no longer directing the Han Solo Star Wars spinoff.

"Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon," Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, said Tuesday in a statement.

"Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project," a statement from Lord and Miller read. "We normally aren’t fans of the phrase 'creative differences' but for once this cliché is true. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew."

Lord and Miller, helmers of The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street and its sequel 22 Jump Street, signed on to direct the Star Wars stand-alone in July 2015. The film features Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, while Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover also star.

Was the Han Solo Movie a Good Idea for a 'Star Wars' Spinoff?
The pic has been shooting in London since February. Sources say there are several weeks left on the shoot (who will be helming those is currently under wraps), with reshoots scheduled for later this summer.

The release date of May 25, 2018, remains unchanged.

This isn't the first Star Wars film to face a director issue. On Rogue One, which was helmed by Gareth Edwards, Tony Gilroy was brought in to rewrite and help oversee extensive reshoots.

The issue of "creative differences" has been the cause of several director exits over the past couple years on studio tentpoles. Tim Miller left Fox's sequel Deadpool 2; Rick Famuyiwa left Warner Bros. and DC's The Flash; and Michelle MacLaren left Wonder Woman (which was then directed by Patty Jenkins, who had previously exited Thor 2).
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