And in other news, California is running out of water. Yeah but let’s play the game shall we? Were they worried about their opening box office numbers or was the Star Wars team looking for maximum fluffer action? Either way, I don’t think anyone is going to complain about this (except for old grouches like me). I want to see the trailer but not The Avengers so I guess I’ll have to wait.
I grew up in the era of Star Wars. I was there and an active participant of how movies were about to change. The funny thing was, as a child of the 1970s I grew up under the umbrella of feminism so you had characters like Princess Leia in Star Wars who was the toughest character in the movie (until the later versions). Smart, capable, not just boner fodder. Then there was Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark, same thing. I did not know as a kid waiting in line to see Star Wars over ten times in the theater, committing every line to memory (I challenge anyone to a Star Wars quote-off. I will win because I am part of a rebel alliance and a traitor) that this whole system would eventually lead to the decline of women in film. I never thought it would go in that direction because back then women were actually thought of as people.
As a Star Wars fan (only what was the first Star Wars to me and the second, Empire Strikes Back) I will see the new one because that first movie really is part of my DNA. And here’s hoping filmmakers today who are cheap knock-offs of George Lucas will remember why those movies were great – it wasn’t about the visual effects.
I suspect JJ Abrams’ Star Wars will be like JJ Abrams’ Star Trek – satisfying enough to meet expectations, breezy, funny but not groundbreaking the way the original was. No one can really afford to be groundbreaking anymore as the fix is in – so that it will make shitloads of money worldwide.