Solid Snake

Yeah. That was a foolish comment for him to make.

I'm not a SW franchise fan but I do love the original first 2 films. The 3rd one I barely remember aside from how I loved the Ewoks as a kid and hated them as an adult. That one always bpted me though aside from the action. The prequels are crap. An the 3rd one has some unintentional humor in how it does things via the script, direction, and even the actors trying to act it out.

I was a nerd before SW came into my life. And I think SW as a whole is ok.

Saying all that, SW is like any property. If you love it obsessively and you fall with it, crap or not. If you just dig what you saw that's cool too. And etc.

SW is a neat property that I admire. With everything happening right now I'm very interested in how it's handled and then received.

Based on the directors involved, I find it exciting even.

fumanstan

I didn't think it needed to be explained either, wasn't hard to see DaveyJoe's point to me

Solid Snake

This is the internet, motherfucker. You never fucking know wtf people will say next.

Except maybe me. There's always a fuck around the corner with me.

TGM

you conveniently forget that Ford 1. Hates the character and 2. wanted him dead as far back as 1980.

Shannon Nutt

I don't think Ford would have come back just to kill him off. It's more likely they gave him something interesting to do with the character for the first time. That, and a bag full of money.

taffer

You conveniently forget that Ford is neither director nor writer. Actors don't decide what is actually going to happen in the movie.


But if you are a fan of something, why isn't that just a hobby? Who decides what is nerd or not? If you like Star Wars and want to get into the EU, then why does that make you a nerd? Why isn't it just a hobby like any other hobby? People that collect DVD/BDs and have thousands or them, does that make them nerds? People that have thousands of books, are they nerds? People that know all kinds of sports statistics, are they nerds? What makes one obsessive hobby any different from another obsessive hobby? That's what I was getting at...

Obi-Wanma

No, but an actor of Harrison Ford's stature can say something like, "The only way I'll do this movie is if you a) Kill off the character, b)Get underway on a new Indiana Jones Movie, and c) Back up a Brinks truck."

And then the studio can accept that offer or move in another direction.

taffer

Giving an ultimatum isn't a particularly good negotiation tactic. It will more than likely backfire in your face.

Do we even know for sure Ford still hates Han Solo? That was 30+ years ago. People's opinions can change, you know. Sure when he was young he didn't want to get typecast, but now when he is older he probably doesn't care anymore.

Obi-Wanma

Depends who you are. Ford gives terms they can take them or leave them. He can pretty much do anything he wants in movies at this point. He's not gonna do Star Wars unless they make it very attractive for him to do so.

The guy's 70 some years old and there's pretty much nothing Disney can do to him if he doesn't want to do the movie.

fumanstan

I think all of this is missing what I imagine the original point was in that fan reaction over an event in the EU, which is limited to a particular audience with whatever label you want to put on them, probably isn't going to have much influence over decisions for the franchise as a whole, which has a far broader appeal.

taffer

Yes, I know, which is why I say giving ultimatums is a bad idea since it usually backfires in your face. It would be nice to have Ford, Fisher, and Hamill all three of them back, but it certainly is not necessary. If Ford tried to give Disney an ultimatum, it would be very simple just to write him out of it. Say that Han died sometime between Episodes VI and VII and leave it at that. It's not absolutely necessary for Han to actually appear in the movie, so any ultimatum is likely going to backfire. Remember that Disney didn't like working with Ed Norton, so he was let go from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Mike86

Han Solo isn't some minor character though and unless the filmmakers were really backed into a corner I doubt they'd choose to have him killed off-screen especially given that Ford is still alive and healthy enough to do films at this point. Plus Harrison Ford is a big name he can command negotiating power and most filmmakers will give into him because they know his name is still a draw.

Obi-Wanma

Ed Norton also wasn't a draw. Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man is a draw and Marvel/Disney backed up the Brinks truck to keep him around.

When you tell people that Harrison Ford is coming back to play Han Solo, that's a huge draw. Ford knows this, and Disney knows this, and those are the kind of terms that I don't think would be out of the realm of possibility for negotiation.

RocShemp

What if I like Doctor Who instead?

taffer

DaveyJoe

Because the term "nerd" exists to describe things that are nerdy. Those are typically things that are not deemed cool or even acceptable by mainstream society, even if the subject matter is similar. For playing fantasy games, World of Warcraft is probably not considered as nerdy as playing Dungeons and Dragons. Watching Lord of the Rings is awesome, but reading the Silmarillion? Nerdy. Personally I think fantasy football is incredibly nerdy, but many people would disagree because football is such a huge part of our culture.

I think you're just getting hung up on the word nerd, because you've obviously read the EU, I didn't mean it as any type of insult. I'm nerdy about A Song of Ice and Fire and classic samurai films, we're all nerdy about something. My point was that Disney is not catering to people who read the EU, just like when Warner Bros made The Last Samurai, I didn't think they'd be catering to a fan of Sword of Doom like me.

devilshalo

mcnabb

The fact that he broke his leg during the shoot and was back faster then anyone predicted tells me he cares about the role again. I still believe that the reason Ford liked Indy over Han Solo simply was that Indy was the star of the show, where Solo played second fiddle to Luke in the Star Wars movies. In a sense, it was a pure ego thing when it came to the 2 characters.

Now if you read the quotes from JJ Abrams and other rumors, Episode 7 places Han Solo as a main character in this movie, as most of it seems to center around him looking for Luke. Even if you look at the original picture of the new cast, he is right next to JJ Abrams. You have to remember he and Abrams go all the way back to Regarding Henry, where Abrams was a writer, so they supposedly have a good friendship.

I was thinking of how Ford should play Han Solo, and I wonder if he can portray him like a John Wayne/Clint Eastwood/Gary Cooper type character in the old westerns. Still cool, still deadly, but past his prime.

Oliver Clothesoff

I've said it before, but I want this movie to have that feel of a movie like Unforgiven. Hell, they could remake that movie with this cast and set in space and it would be an awesome Ep VII.

rocket1312

I never got the sense that Ford hated the character of Han Solo per se (despite some of the things he's said publicly in recent years). I mean, is the character really that different from Indiana Jones? I always got the sense that Ford's displeasure had to do with a couple of things:

1. He was just plain sick of the Star Wars "circus." As popular as Indiana Jones was, it wasn't even a fraction of the cultural phenomenon that was Star Wars. He's a pretty low key, private guy so I can imagine he got pretty tired of dealing with the fans/media. To this day he pretty much refuses to talk about it at any length.

2. By the time Jedi rolled around, Ford was a massive superstar (not really the case when he made the first two) who probably could have landed any roll he wanted. Instead, he was obligated to do this sequel which was a significant step down in quality. It's well documented that he worked closely with Irvin Kershner on the set of Empire and had a strong influence on the direction of his character. It's also well documented that Lucas wasn't a fan of this dynamic. However, he couldn't really do anything about it because he was too busy running his business. Fast forward three years and Lucas was back to being hands on again with Jedi. It was obvious Ford didn't like the direction of the story and was just going through the motions and begging to be killed off so that a.) he would have something interesting to do and b.) he wouldn't have to be involved in any further sequels. His boredom absolutely permeates the screen. The crappiness of the prequels probably just reinforced the fact that he didn't want to get sucked back into this franchise again.

I don't think it was ever the character itself that he had a problem with, but rather everything else that went along with it. If the character is well written and he's given something interesting to do, I don't see why he wouldn't be willing to be Han Solo again. Especially at this point in his career when it probably wouldn't be preventing him from doing other stuff.

Oh and to Taffer, liking Star Wars doesn't make you a nerd. That's just a stupid thing to say. Lots of people like Star Wars. At one time or another it was probably the most popular movie in the world. Everybody liked it. My mom likes Star Wars and she is most definitely not a nerd. In fact I don't think she's even seen the prequels.

mcnabb

Exactly. The Original Star Wars still resonates with the masses, and it wasn't a nerdy thing back then. Once people started dressing up in front of the movie theater, and the fanbase became a caricature (Like the Conan OBrien skit interviewing people outside of the premiere of Episode II), then it became a nerdy thing. Everyone I know loves the Original Star Wars, most like Empire, some Jedi, and nobody I know likes the Prequels

Rob V

If Ford didn't like the Solo character or wanted him killed off in the OT, he would have never agreed to be in EP VII... plain and simple. I think a 30 year layoff of a character and the franchise possibly being restored by somebody with credibility and fresh ideas probably has a lot to do with Ford not only appearing in VII but most likely in VIII and IX. I, for one, do not think any of the Big 4 OT characters will be killed off.

Solid Snake

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Sean O'Hara

That video would be a lot cooler in reverse, so you don't know what you're looking at until the end.

Preterite

NuWho is crazy popular. But man, being an American Doctor Who fan back in the day was rough.

We had to run home after school every day to avoid gangs of Trek and Wars fans, who delighted in picking on someone even lower in the social hierarchy then they. I am still haunted by the horrible day I was caught - the air filled with asthmatic wheezing as endomorphic shapes gathered around me, blotting out the sun. The pudgy legs kicking, the stringy arms flailing. The singsong taunts of, "No Budget! No Budget!". The jeers of, "Your protagonist doesn't even carry a gun!". Brutal stuff.

I've often tried to bring up the idea of a support group for American fans on the various Who forums. The initial response is usually good, but the threads ultimately devolve into arguments over UNIT timeline dating and rants against Moffat, just like every other Doctor Who thread.