Star Wars Episode VII Cast Announced

An ensemble of Star Wars characters.
An ensemble of Star Wars characters.

Image via: newsmoves.com

We’ve been waiting for so long – it really does feel like forever. But now, after internet speculation a-plenty, Lucasfilm has blessed us with the gift to beat all gifts. Ladies and gentlemen, the cast list of J.J. AbramsStar Wars: Episode VII.

Here’s the full statement:

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.
Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford,Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

A photo of the cast for Star Wars: Episode VII

Image via: insidethemagic.net

Here’s a statement from J.J. Abrams himself – 

“We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

So what do you think? Some expected names here (thank you, gods of Star Wars), but also some surprises. Andy Serkis? Oh yes please. This announcement has left this Star Wars nut very happy, but what do you guys think? Hit up the comments below!

The long walk to the big screen

A blue character from Avatar

As it was reported by Peter Jackson last week, the next Hobbit movie has been renamed to ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ we decided to look back at some other films whose development has been ‘difficult’ to say the least.

1. Alien vs Predator

The movie poster for Alien vs Predator featuring two monsters on a white background.

Image via ExplosionsAreRad.wordpress.com

Released in 2004 after more than a decade of different scripts, changes to the cast, false starts, orphaned tie-ins, several series of video games and even promotions of the movie.

2. Dallas Buyers Club

Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey sitting on a bench in a still from the film Dallas Buyers Club.

Image via slate.com

The screenplay for the oscar winning film was written 1992 by Craig Borten. It took 10 different versions of the script to finally persuade a production company to pick it up. It was then unable to secure financial backing, going through three different directors before Jean-Marc Vallée signed up and eventually released it in 2013.

3. Frozen

Elsa a princess from the movie 'frozen' creates ice and poses in front of a blue background.

Image via Disney.com

Originally planned to be a biography film of the author Hans Christian Anderson (Yawn!!) before it was green lit by Disney to become an adaptation of the ‘Snow Queen’. The film then went into development hell twice, the second time in 2010 due to the difficulty of making the story of the Snow Queen work. It wasn’t until Disney bought in Jennifer Lee, writer of Wreck-It Ralph, as co-director, who decided to make the Snow Queen character of Elsa into one of the film’s protagonists. 

4. Gangs Of New York

A gang, lead by actor Daniel Day Lewis in the movie 'Gangs of New York'

Image via IMDB

Martin Scorsese first started trying to get Gangs of New York made in 1978. He finally did so in 2002.

5. The Hobbit Trilogy

Bilbo the Hobbit walking out of his front door as sun streams in to his house.

Image via Business Insider

The Hobbit went through development hell, before finally being green lit.The film then suffered additional problems involving creative control and the studio’s refusal to allow filming to take place in New Zealand, where the preceding film series The Lord of the Rings had been shot. This was a deal-breaker for director Guillermo del Toro, who left the project. Peter Jackson retook control of the project and split it into three films, the first of which was released in December 2012.

6. Inglorious Basterds

Christoph Waltz playing Colonel Landa in the film Inglorious Basterds

Image via Wikipedia

Quentin Tarantino announced his plans to shoot a World War II movie titled Inglourious Basterds shortly after the 1997 release of Jackie Brown. As of 2007, he was still working on the script. The film began shooting in late 2008 and was released in August 2009. Inglourious Basterds was Tarantino’s most commercially successful film until his spaghetti western homage Django Unchained was released three years later.

7. Iron Man

Iron Man holding out his arm towards the camera.

Image via Marvel

The film had been in development since 1990 at Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema, until the rights were reacquired by Marvel Studios in 2006. The project was Marvel’s first self-financed film, being distributed by Paramount Pictures. The script was originally written by multiple writers and the film and attached to direct were several directors, including Joss Whedon, Quentin Tarantino and Nick Cassavetes. Originally, actor Tom Cruise was in talks to play the role of Tony Stark, before the role went to Robert Downey Jr. after Jon Favreau was finally hired as director.

8. Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

The words 'Star Wars' with a gold outline on a black background

Image via screenrant.com

The Star Wars sequel trilogy remained in development hell beginning in 1983 since the concept was born in 1975. Even though the prequel trilogy was created with the films released in 1999, 2002 and 2005, the sequel trilogy was changed and denied for several years. The trilogy was brought back in 2012 after Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm, starting with Star Wars Episode VII, which is scheduled for a 2015 release.

9. Avatar

A blue character from Avatar

Image via hollywood reporter.com

James Cameron has previously stated that his idea for the story of Avatar was ready before he even began filming Titanic in 1996 but that the technology needed to make the film simply didn’t exist. Production company Fox eventually backed out of the film in 2006 due to budgetary reasons, it wasn’t until Ingenious Media offered to back more than half of the $237 million needed for the film that Fox returned to the project which went on to become the highest grossing film of all time.

10. The Lord Of The Rings

Peter Jackson holding an Oscar statuette at the Academy Awards

Image via nj.com

There is something about either Peter Jackson or J.R.R Tolkien and movies that simply does not work. Throughout all six of the films that Jackson has been responsible for bringing to the big screen there have been major problems throughout the entire production. The rights to a live action adaptation of The Lord of the Rings were sold to United Artists shortly before J.R.R Tolkien’s death in 1973; it wasn’t until 1994 that Peter Jackson was given approval to begin shooting. The first film was not released until 2001.

Events, offers and releases 28/04/14

Image shows lead character, Belle in the upcoming movie of the same name. The character is wearing an upper class corset in a mansion.
Image shows lead character, Belle in the upcoming movie of the same name. The character is wearing an upper class corset in a mansion.

Image via; YouTube.com

This week sees the release of horror, comedy and action films so there’ll more than likely be something to whet your appetite.

Directed by Amma Asante, Belle involves the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral. Whilst privileged, the colour of her skin holds her back in high society. Belle falls and her lover fight for change to end slavery in England. This film is set to enlighten you when it releases in the theaters May 2nd.

Horror movie Mr. Jones however, looks set to make you rather frightened on May 2nd. A cabin in the woods type story, Mr. Jones involves Scott (Jon Foster) and Penny (Sarah Jones) moving to a remote cabin to escape the pressures of the world, yet their mysterious neighbour, Mr. Jones may not grant them peace. This may not be fair the feint of heart.

Showcase Insider card holders this week get a free size upgrade for any Tango Ice Blast flavour, the perfect companion for a scary film.

 

Giving birth to a Predator

Like many other 1980’s classics, Predator is loaded with fun trivia that we at Inside Film can’t get enough of.

For instance, did you know that for the first two weeks of shooting, a completely different costume design was used for the monster, with none other than martial arts god Jean-Claude Van Damme inside the suit? The design later had to be changed for health and safety reasons, as its “fly like” head would wobble around uncontrollably, causing mayhem wherever it went. Van Damme was then relieved of his role for unconfirmed reasons, although the fighting guru was renowned for diva-like antics.

Funny, right? It gets better. An on set bodyguard had to be employed to protect the cast from fellow actor Sonny Landham. Landham’s on-screen character (Billy) exhibited strong physical features, a deep, booming voice and a rather badass, Native American appearance. Probably not the kind of guy you would want to upset. Unfortunately, Landham displayed very similar traits off-screen, leading to the insurance company behind the production to demand protection for the rest of the cast due to his “volatile nature”.

image via creafive.wordpress.com

image via creafive.wordpress.com

Yet, perhaps the most intriguing piece of trivia regarding Predator is how the original screenplay ever came into existence.

To understand what I mean, we must first go back to November 1985, a few days after the release Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky IV, the most successful entry in the Rocky franchise. At that time, the intense Stallone/Schwarzenegger rivalry was in full swing. Prior to cash cow that was the Planet Hollywood era, many were fully convinced that there was a real bitterness between Arnie and Sly.

After the box-office success of Rocky IV, many joked that due to the superhuman abilities of Stallone’s most recent opponent, Ivan Drago, the only real challenger left to Rocky would have to be of extra-terrestrial decent, or Rambo, but that would just be illogical.

Not everybody saw the funny side, however. In fact, screenwriters Jim and John Thomas took it very seriously, provoking them to produce a full script using the joke as inspiration. And thus, Predator was born, or Hunter, as it was originally called. After collaborating on Commando, Schwarzenegger and producer Joel Silver were called in to transform the science-fiction pulp storyline into the big budget, action classic we know today.

Jim Thomas later explained that ““The original conceit was ‘What would it be like if human beings were hunted by dilettante hunters the way humans hunt big game in Africa?’ ”

Sometimes these questions need to be answered. Without doing so, the action/sci-fi epic that is Predator would never have existed, whilst Rocky V would still have been released, and that is a world nobody deserves to live in.

Events, offers and releases 21/04/14

Johnny Depp holding a microphone in a still from the film, 'Transcendence'.

Releases

This weeks new film releases are a bit thin on the ground, but there are two films that might give you a fun night out after a long week at work.

Leslie Mann, Nicki Minaj, Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton in a still from the file 'The Other Woman'

Image via filmblerg.com

The Other Woman – This rom-com stars Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, and Kate Upton a group of woman who realise that they are all being played by the same guy. They then decide to team up to get revenge on the three-timing husband/lover, Phil, played by Taylor Kinney.

Expect a light-hearted, female empowerment comedy with plenty of laughs. Perfect for night out with the girls.

Johnny Depp holding a microphone in a still from the film, 'Transcendence'.

Image via movpins.com

Transcendence – Imagine if you could relocate your consciousness into a computer so that you could live forever as a machine, creepy right? Well that’s what you’ll see Johnny Depp go through in this science-fiction drama starring Rebecca Hall and Morgan Freeman. Produced by Christopher Nolan, this film is sure to have all the cinematic spectacle you love from the Dark Knight Trilogy.

Offers

We all know going to the cinema can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be, if you know where to go and when to go, you can have a great night out for only £10.

OdeonOrange Wednesdays, if you’re on the EE network, simply text FILM to 241 for your buy one get one free voucher code each and every Wednesday.

CineworldTake 2 offer, if you have missed out on some of the years biggest releases at the cinema, Cineworld, every month, re-release film at a discounted rate of £10 for two tickets plus popcorn.