Movies: Solo: A Star Wars Story, 25 May 2018 Release (Early reviews are in)

[johnjm22]

And we can't expect either of those things.

It's not hard to make a movie look good in trailers. All of Disney's SW movies have had great trailers. Disney knows what they're doing when it comes to marketing.

Also, all these films have been mediocre to bad, yet critics have raved about them. I don't see why the trend wouldn't continue. Disney seems to be able to influence them some how.

 

[tacogeoff]

Also, in my own opinion all these films have been mediocre to bad, yet critics have raved about them. I don't see why the trend wouldn't continue. Disney seems to be able to influence them some how.

fixed that for you.

 

[Osprey]

I would believe that Howard would reshoot most of the film, but I can’t believe that the budget would double as a result. Don’t see how Disney could agree to that.

Well, Howard is likely getting paid his usual full-film sum and the actors need to be paid nearly double. I heard on the news just today that Mark Wahlberg (I think that it was) just got an extra $1.5M for re-shoots on a movie so that Kevin Spacey could be replaced in it. That kind of proves that actors don't do re-shoots for free. Then, the film is due in May, so they probably had half of the CGI for the film done when Howard took over, and who knows how much of that had to be thrown away.

I can conceivably see all of that adding up to $100M. If the original budget was closer to "only" $150M, that's not far off from "nearly double" and I can see Disney authorizing up to a little north of $250M. Burning an extra $100M of the billion or so that they've made in profit on the last three films is worth it when you consider that a flop would likely cost them many times that in profit on future movies.

 

[The Nemesis]

The Wahlberg thing was a contractual stipluation he had about having the right to choose what actors he worked with (or rather to reject casting choices he didn't like). He didn't get $1.5m for reshoots, he got $1.5m in order to accept Christopher Plummer as Spacey's replacement. Whether that's because he has some sort of beef with Plummer or he just saw an opportunity to snag a few extra mil out of the replacing of Spacey isn't known for sure.

 

[discostu]

Getting cost estimates for the reshoots have to be taken with a grain of salt. There's a lot of moving pieces. But, fair to say that it's not cheap to refilm 80% of a movie.

Ron Howard as the replacement likely produces a safe movie though. It may push the costs up, but if the goal is a risk adverse movie that doesn't negatively impact the brand, it makes sense to invest the money required.

I think I would rather watch the Lord/Miller experiment personally.

 

[MadDevil]

I don't think you experiment with one of the most beloved Star Wars characters though. Which is why I never really understood why they hired Lord and Miller to do a Han Solo movie to begin with.

 

[Bjorn Le]

Well, Howard is likely getting paid his usual full-film sum and the actors need to be paid nearly double. I heard on the news just today that Mark Wahlberg (I think that it was) just got an extra $1.5M for re-shoots on a movie so that Kevin Spacey could be replaced in it. That kind of proves that actors don't do re-shoots for free. Then, the film is due in May, so they probably had half of the CGI for the film done when Howard took over, and who knows how much of that had to be thrown away.

I can conceivably see all of that adding up to $100M. If the original budget was closer to "only" $150M, that's not far off from "nearly double" and I can see Disney authorizing up to a little north of $250M. Burning an extra $100M of the billion or so that they've made in profit on the last three films is worth it when you consider that a flop would likely cost them many times that in profit on future movies.

It still a risky premise if you were so unhappy with the product that you let the new director reshoot 80% of the movie. I'd think at that point you'd want to control costs as much as possible while ensuring quality. I would be surprised if the reshoots added more than $50-75 mil to the cost. Ron Howard will be getting a big chunk of that (or he may have signed for a % of the total revenue), but I don't imagine any of the actors are getting significantly more (none are huge stars, and the few A-listers on the cast are either best known for their TV work or minor film stars like Woody Harrelson).

I think I would rather watch the Lord/Miller experiment personally.

They thought they were hired to shoot a comedy. It means they completely misunderstood the character of Han Solo, and they completely disregarded what LucasFilm and Kasdan wanted. It could have been an utter disaster. Not that I think the Disney-fied product is going to be much more interesting.

 

[Osprey]

The Wahlberg thing was a contractual stipluation he had about having the right to choose what actors he worked with (or rather to reject casting choices he didn't like). He didn't get $1.5m for reshoots, he got $1.5m in order to accept Christopher Plummer as Spacey's replacement. Whether that's because he has some sort of beef with Plummer or he just saw an opportunity to snag a few extra mil out of the replacing of Spacey isn't known for sure.

Ah, OK. I didn't hear about some of those details. Thanks for the correction.

They thought they were hired to shoot a comedy. It means they completely misunderstood the character of Han Solo, and they completely disregarded what LucasFilm and Kasdan wanted. It could have been an utter disaster. Not that I think the Disney-fied product is going to be much more interesting.

I agree. I think that Disney wanted a Solo trilogy because of the popularity of Guardians of the Galaxy (which, itself, appears to model its main character on Han Solo), and Lord and Miller picked up on that and tried to give them a GotG-like movie. I'm glad that they were sacked, but I kind of can't blame them for thinking that they were hired to shoot a comedy. I blame Disney for having the wrong reasons for making the film and then communicating the wrong direction to the directors. I suspect that it was more about Disney and Lucasfilm being on different pages than Lord and Miller being on a different page than their bosses.

 

[MadDevil]

Supposedly Lord and Miller weren't sticking to the script that was written by Kasdan, so I'm not sure who to believe. It's just odd that they shot so much of the movie before it became such an issue that they had to fire them. You'd think issues like that would have come up earlier in the process and there would have been discussions between Lucasfilm and them about where they were taking it. Unless they just blatantly ignored the higher ups and decided to do their own thing anyway.

 

[Baby Punisher]

I would believe that Howard would reshoot most of the film, but I can’t believe that the budget would double as a result. Don’t see how Disney could agree to that.

They have to protect the reputation of the franchise.

 

[Bjorn Le]

I agree. I think that Disney wanted a Solo trilogy because of the popularity of Guardians of the Galaxy (which, itself, appears to model its main character on Han Solo), and Lord and Miller picked up on that and tried to give them a GotG-like movie. I'm glad that they were sacked, but I kind of can't blame them for thinking that they were hired to shoot a comedy. I blame Disney for having the
wrong reasons for making the film and then communicating the wrong direction to the directors. I suspect that it was more about Disney and Lucasfilm being on different pages than Lord and Miller being on a different page than their bosses.

Yeah, I just think it’s common sense Disney wouldn’t want a Star Wars movie positioned as a comedy. GotG could have been named as an inspiration without directly making the same movie. I blame both Disney, for hiring directors who won’t listen, and Lord and Miller. It could end up being a $500 mil mistake depending on how much they put into marketing.

They have to protect the reputation of the franchise.

They shouldn’t have made a Han Solo origin movie in that case.

 

[johnjm22]

There's some reports that the trailer that was supposed to come out today has been delayed. Not confirmed though.

I hope that's not true because I'm eager to see it.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

There's some reports that the trailer that was supposed to come out today has been delayed. Not confirmed though.

I hope that's not true because I'm eager to see it.

Why on earth would they delay it?

 

[Osprey]

Why on earth would they delay it?

It could be as simple as the date at the end. There may be internal debate about postposting the release date and it would add yet another embarrassing thing to the production to release a trailer with "May 2018" on it and then postpone the film.

 

[Pilky01]

Literally nobody wants this thing. Not the old school fans who worship Han Solo, not the new school fans who enjoy 'subversive' Star Wars......I feel bad for Donald Glover.

 

[MadDevil]

I don't know why they didn't just push it back to December when they brought Howard on to direct.

 

[johnjm22]

Official Synopsis for Solo: A Star Wars Story Revealed | StarWars.com

Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a seres of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story’ releases in U.S. theaters on May 25, 2018.

Disney put out this official synopsis today.

Sounds cool. I guess.

I like the idea of exploring the galaxy's criminal underworld. Shady characters, sleazy bars, war lords and such. Sounds like fun.

 

[MadDevil]

We better get a scene where Han shoots first.

 

[Papa Francouz]

I wonder what a younger Jabba the Hutt is going to look like.

 

[CaptainCrunch67]

I wonder what a younger Jabba the Hutt is going to look like.

Dude on the right

 

[Osprey]

We better get a scene where Han shoots first.

It'd be funny if Han were to say at some point, "Shoot first, answer questions later" (or a variation). Some people would get it right away, but many might not realize until much later on, "Wait, was that poking fun at the Special Edition?," and have a good laugh. That'd be a subtle, clever way of injecting humor, better than the too-obvious and trying-too-hard variety that there's been too much of, IMO.

 

[johnjm22]

It'd be funny if Han were to say at some point, "Shoot first, answer questions later" (or a variation).

I don't like that type of joke in SW. I don't want these movies to be self-aware or meta.

I agree they could use some more clever/dry humor as opposed to the nostalgic dependent, slapstick, or lame off-tone joke attempts we've seen in Disney SW films so far.

 

[Osprey]

I don't like that type of joke in SW. I don't want these movies to be self-aware or meta.

I agree they could use some more clever/dry humor as opposed to the nostalgic dependent, slapstick, or lame off-tone joke attempts we've seen in Disney SW films so far.

I think that it depends on the delivery. With what the folks behind Star Wars think is a sense of humor, I agree; they would ruin it by making it too obviously self aware. This guy that they got to play Han, who can't act, would botch it. I think that Harrison Ford could pull the line off and it would feel like Star Wars. Often, the difference between a lame joke and a great one is just the delivery.

 

[discostu]

A "Hans shot first" joke wouldn't be a subtle joke, it would be an inside joke. Not a particularly clever one either.

 

[MadDevil]

I don't see Howard or Kasdan actually taking a jab at Lucas with that kind of line anyway. Lord and Miller might have if the rumors of them going too comedic are true.

I'm kind of excited at seeing younger Han interact with younger Lando, meet Chewie, get the Falcon, maybe a little Kessel run, etc. But I'm also rather nervous Ehrenreich won't be able to pull off a younger Han. Even if the story is good, if he doesn't feel like Han Solo, it's not really going to matter.