Yep, Disney fan makes me a Star Wars fan...actually I was that years before Disney bought LucasFilm. After enjoying some of the other Disney and Marvel Art of books, I had to add The Art of Star Wars The Force Awakens to my Between Books collection.
The Art of Star Wars The Force Awakensby Phil Szostak guides readers through the development of Star Wars The Force Awakens. The book is a visual guide to the creation of the film from pre-production, into filming and finally post-production. Readers will discover a very different story as early versions of the film focused on Kira and Sam, not Rey and Finn, with Jedi Killer in the place of Kylo Ren. While Szostak provides text that describes the formation of the film it is really the pictures that highlight the story of film production. Readers can spend hours exploring the pictures, contemplating the ideas that did and did not become part of the finalized film.
The Art of Star Wars The Force Awakens is truly an enjoyable and fun read. I read it twice. One read was with the Between Kid, as we mostly focused on the pictures and discussed images and ideas that moved forward. For my second read, I slowed down reading the text which really discussed how ideas evolved. Readers come to understand how loose the production of a film can be. LucasFilm unleashed a team of visual artists to create concepts, many of them strikingly beautiful but unused. And these images helped to progress the story, not just Disney's and J.J. Abrams revisions to the original George Lucas script. Many of the visuals are literally what if ideas, ones that would be fantastic to see in the future. It also becomes clear how Ralph McQuarrie, the original Star Wars visual designer inspired a new generation of artists in both how they dreamed and how they copied much of his own work.
Star Wars fans need to read The Art of Star Wars The Force Awakens. It is a fantastic look into film making and the creation of 2015's biggest film. It is personally a must have for Disney/Star Wars fans who want to know more about how the new Star Wars films are created.
This morning I saw two pieces of very Disney news. First, Disney Parks are offering exclusive limited Disney Parks T-Shirts for Star Wars Rebels.
Star Wars Rebels does not have a tie into the parks yet. And typically the exclusive tees are tied into classic attractions or park anniversaries. So I was a little shocked to see a T-Shirt tied into an animated television property that has not even seen the light of day!
The other news was the release of the Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars poster through Hero Complex. And I did love waking up to the reminder that this summer I get this treat. I really enjoyed Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel and all of the included Easter Eggs, so this really is something I am looking forward to.
Maybe as this tweet from J.J. Abrams shows, they are too busy to buy a shirt or get pumped for two creative youngsters!
I guess this tweet and the fact that filming has officially started is a third of a pile of Star Wars' news!
When I was growing up I watched my fair share of both Star Wars and Star Trek. Unfortunately, as time passed I met a girl, got a job, went to school, moved around, had some kids, bought a mini-van and watched less TV. When I returned from media silence, two loves ran to the top. One was Disney (of course) and the other was Star Wars. A lot of this had to do with being a father, since I could share these fandoms with my kids. I honestly have only watched one Trek movie in the last decade, and it was not that good.
In 2009 with director J.J. Abrams reboot/restart/continuation of the Trek saga with Star Trek, many of my friends were excited.
Me, not so much!
I did drag myself into a third run discount theater to see the film with a scratchy print and bad sound. The Between Tween who went with me loved it! I then destroyed the movie’s plot in front of the youngster, which may or may not have resulted in crying. I then promised to let the Tween watch something Star Wars to cleanse the mind. And then I thought this journey was over.
With the coming of the blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness, I have largely felt left out of the excitement again. However, things are different this time around. I decided I wanted the film to do well, purely because it would help build the audience for Star Wars: Episode VII since they share a director. Despite my new found hope in the darkness, I was still not sure when I would personally see it. But when the Between Wife made a comment about wanting to see the 2009 film, which I believe was solely based on those blue blue eyes of Chris Pine, I acted.
2009’s Star Trek tells the story of how the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise were brought together when facing an intergalactic emergency that threatens entire worlds. Federation recruit James T. Kirk is pulled into a battle against a disgruntled Romulan miner from the future named Nero. Our villain blames Ambassador Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy himself, for the death of his world. Nero chases Spock across time where they overlap with the younger version of Spock played by Zachary Quinto. The story shows us relationships growing amongst the core Trek characters while creating a new timeline in the Star Trek universe. And as the Between Tween pointed out in the first scene, Star Trek is Mousey:
Parental Units: As the movie opened the Between Tween yelled out, “Hey, it’s Thor!” I laughed and said not that can’t be. That guy is too well shaven and has short hair. Then I turned my head askew and said, “Hey, it’s Thor!” Chris Hemsworth does in fact play George Kirk, the first officer of the U.S.S. Kelvin, the father of Captain James T. Kirk, and hero. As the scene progressed George Kirk’s wife Winona was also introduced. And I yelled out, “Hey, it’s Emma!” Yes, Mrs. Kirk was played by Jennifer Morrison from Once Upon a Time. Kirk definitely has some Mousey parents.
Prince Charming: Speaking of the Kirk family. Chris Pine who plays James T. Kirk got his film debut in a Disney movie. He played villain/love interest Nicholas Devereaux in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
Spock’s Mom: So as long as Winona Ryder’s career has been, clearly she has been in many Disney movies. This must be true since she is in so many Tim Burton movies. So yeah, she must have cashed many checks from the Mouse. But shockingly, no! She did voice Elsa Van Helsing in Frankenweenie. But most of her other Burton films including Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands are not Disney films.
Guardian: Zoe Saldana plays Uhura, the language specialist on the Enterprise and Spock’s love interest (I know shocking). Saldana has been cast as Gamora, the most dangerous woman in the galaxy, in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Honestly, I am holding out opinions on this future Marvel film until I find out who will voice Rocket Raccoon. Saldana played another tough women as Anamaria in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003. Anamaria is a pirate through and through as a member of Captain Jack Sparrow’s crew.
Star Wars, Nothing But Star Wars: Since I was just looking to bash Star Trek originally, I did not notice that director J.J. Abrams crafted images that seem like homages to Disney’s newest franchise. These include the fact that Vulcan and Alderaan are both destroyed and have refugee communities. Kirk meets old Spock and Mr. Scott on an ice world with ferocious creatures, Luke almost lost his life to a ferocious creature on Hoth. And on that world when one ferocious creature is chasing Kirk it is stopped by a bigger one, or as Qui-Gon Jinn would remind us there is always a bigger fish. And seriously is Mr. Scott’s engineering partner is an Ugnaught, they are both short , handy and not so pretty. Yeah, those are just a few I noticed, but clearly Star Wars influenced this world!
Star Trek is a super mousey movie, even if I did not want to admit it. We did not even include Michael Giacchino who wrote the score; his Space Mountain theme is still my favorite. And I am willing to say it should not carry the horrible title I gave it years ago. But this time I turned off my mind, went with the flow, enjoyed the adventure, laughed with the Between Kids and most of all…..looked forward to Episode VII.
Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a Mousey Movie…there I said it. Was it produced by a Disney studio? Nope! Is it based on Disney park or story material? Nope! Were the other three installments mousey? Not really! Not every Mousey Movie gets produced by the House of Mouse my friends. Regardless of its origins, this Tom Cruise led Paramount Pictures blockbuster has plenty for Disney fans to enjoy:
·Brad Bird: It all starts with director Brad Bird. Bird is a well established animator and director of animated films. He both wrote and directed Pixar’s The Incrediblesand Ratatouille. And Ghost Protocol has a fast paced action packed feel that would be very familiar to fans of The Incredibles. He is clearly someone that Disney fans know and appreciate. Ghost Protocol is his first live action picture and it’s a success. Bird identifies with his animation and Pixar past as can be seen in his twitter name @BradBirdA113. A113 is a classroom at CalArts where many Pixar staff were schooled. A113 can be found in every Pixar movie as an easter egg. Bird has also used A113 in non-Disney projects including this one. A113 is used as both a code name and most strikingly on a prop that dominates the movie screen. With Bird’s fingerprints this movie has a mousey feel.
·Jeremy Renner: Marvel is slowly but surely becoming more and more mousey as this relatively new addition gains prominence with Disney fans. Renner plays William Brandt an analyst that gets added to Ethan Hunt’s (Cruise) Impossible Mission Force (IMF) Team. Renner also plays Hawkeye in the Marvel movies leading up to The Avengers. And we have already seen Renner as Hawkeye in Thor, giving us two of the best minutes of that superhero film. And I’m not even a Hawkeye guy.
·Michael Giacchino: Mr. Giacchino is there nothing you can’t score? Giacchino also scored Mission: Impossible III. But for us Disney fans he is the current go to musical guy with The Incredibles, Sky High, Ratatouille, Up, Cars 2 and the future John Carter all within his credits. That impressive list does not even include his ABC television productions. And we cannot overlook the Disneyland version of Space Mountain’s score which may be my all-time favorite of his work.
·J.J. Abrams: I have never watched Lostor Alias but these Abrams’ productions have been hits for ABC. Abrams directed Mission: Impossible IIIand was a co-producer on this offering. Between Brad Bird and Abrams, this staff was very familiar with Giacchino who has frequently collaborated with them. Between these three creative forces Ghost Protocol really is a mousey party.
·Laminar Fountains: What is it with me and jumping water? In one scene the IMF attends a party at the home of an Indian telecommunications giant. What does this rich gentleman decorate with….laminar fountains of course! It just proves, you can bring a piece of Epcot home with you for the right price. Or at least build a piece of Epcot. I wonder what the Between family would think if we added this water feature to the living room!
·BMW i8: I’m not a car guy, in fact some of you may be laughing thinking about me as a car guy. I’m not a Tron guy, and now more of you are laughing. But the BMW i8, a hybrid concept car, needs to be taken out of Ghost Protocol and dropped into the Tronfranchise.
BMW i8
As Ethan Hunt drives through the streets of Mumbai in this set of wheels I kept looking for it to be trailed by a light wall. There needs to be a law that you can only drive the i8 driving a glowing jumpsuit.
It’s true, not every Mousey Movie comes from the House of Mouse. Out here in Between Disney we have look everywhere to find our connections back to Disney. And with a movie like Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol that can be pretty easy to do.
