{"id":68435,"date":"2015-12-17T11:34:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T17:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=68435"},"modified":"2015-12-17T11:34:04","modified_gmt":"2015-12-17T17:34:04","slug":"why-the-force-awakens-feels-like-a-new-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/why-the-force-awakens-feels-like-a-new-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ‘The Force Awakens’ Feels Like ‘A New Hope’"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Disney prepares to release quite possibly the biggest film of all time, let’s take a look at why and how\u00a0The Force Awakens\u00a0<\/em>feels like\u00a0A New Hope<\/em>.<\/h2>\n

Top image via\u00a0Nerdist.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When word came down that George Lucas<\/a> had sold Lucasfilm<\/a> to Walt Disney<\/a> in an\u00a0amazing $4 Billion deal<\/a>, nerds around the world rejoiced, as many believed Disney would give Star Wars<\/a><\/em> the Marvel<\/a> treatment. This belief was fully realized within moments of the official word<\/a> from Disney CEO Bob Iger<\/a>. From that point on, fans of the saga hoped that the franchise would get back to its roots and away from the digital spectacle<\/strong> that was the prequel trilogy.<\/p>\n

Many believed and hoped that legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg<\/a> would helm the relaunch of the franchise, but that was quickly shot down by Spielberg himself<\/a>. However, Spielberg did have someone in mind to take the director’s chair, though Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy<\/a> didn’t think this director would want to revitalize another franchise. It took some coaxing from Spielberg and Kennedy, but J.J. Abrams<\/a> jumped on board, and along with him came the classic characters from the original trilogy.<\/p>\n

\"StarJ.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and Lawrence Kasdan with the cast of Star Wars: The Force Awakens via Star Wars<\/em><\/p>\n

Abrams knew that authenticity was paramount<\/strong>, and to ensure that The Force Awakens<\/i><\/a>\u00a0would satisfy\u00a0fans around the world, he worked tirelessly to craft the new film with the original film in mind. Let’s take a look at exactly how Abrams crafted\u00a0The Force Awakens\u00a0<\/em>using\u00a0A New Hope<\/a>, The Empire Strikes Back<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Return of the Jedi<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>as his benchmarks.<\/p>\n

Pre-Production Begins<\/h3>\n

\"TheDirector JJ Abrams and Writer Lawrence Kasdan on set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens via Star Wars\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Crafting the Story<\/h4>\n

One of the factors that pushed Abrams to finally join as director of the newest Star Wars<\/em> film\u00a0was\u00a0Kathleen Kennedy’s ability to hire legendary screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan<\/a>, who penned\u00a0The Empire Strikes Back<\/em> as well as\u00a0Raiders of the Lost Ark.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the next full year, Abrams and Kasdan worked diligently to craft a story rooted\u00a0in\u00a0the original trilogy that could also lay the groundwork\u00a0for future films.<\/strong> This process was incredibly difficult, but as Abrams recently said to AOL Build<\/a>,\u00a0their first goal was to create the main characters, create their motivation, figure out why the audience would care, and then develop the conflict.<\/p>\n

However, in order to appeal to a broad audience, the writing duo knew they needed to emulate one major success of the original trilogy \u2014 the youthful main characters.<\/p>\n

Casting Youthful Heroes<\/h4>\n

When Star Wars: A New Hope<\/em> debuted in 1977, the cast of main characters was populated by young and largely unknown actors. Another aspect of these characters is that each one was flawed and not perfect, thus emulating the real struggles of the youth watching the film. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke Skywalker was a young teenager who dreamed of big things, but felt stuck in a small town seemingly going nowhere. This resonated deeply with many viewers.<\/p>\n

It was brilliant not having to cast someone from the same old list of names. You don\u2019t want somebody who was \u2018that guy from some other franchise.\u2019 You want them to entirely belong to this world. – Casting Director Nina Gold via Independent<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"TheDaisy Ridley and John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens via Star Wars<\/em><\/p>\n

With this in mind, Abrams and casting director Nina Gold<\/a>\u00a0began looking for largely unknown actors to play the main characters. The result is a mixture of actors that, in the end, mirror the cast of the original trilogy \u2014 a strong female lead accompanied by\u00a0two male leads, one of which is confident while the other is unsure of himself. <\/strong><\/p>\n

But the thing that worked the best for the cast of the original trilogy is that they were largely unknown, which allowed the characters to belong almost entirely to the Star Wars<\/em> Universe. For Abrams, it’s about sparking the imagination of today’s youth today, showing them they’re capable of anything, as he said to Good Morning America<\/a> recently.<\/p>\n

I’m looking forward to kids seeing this movie and to seeing themselves in it, and seeing that they’re capable of doing what they could never imagine was possible. – JJ Abrams<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Designing a New World Based on the Old One<\/h4>\n

In keeping with the creative decision to use the original trilogy as the foundation and model for the new film, Abrams and his pre-vis team began developing the design and concept of the film. To help them achieve\u00a0this, Abrams and his team employed many of the unused concept designs from original Star Wars<\/em> concept artist Ralph McQuarrie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TheConcept art from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed via Industrial Light & Magic.<\/em><\/p>\n

As is evident in these pieces of concept art (and from what we’ve seen in the trailers for the film), the film nails the gritty aesthetic of the original trilogy<\/strong>. Everything feels old, worn, and past its warranty date.<\/p>\n

\"TheConcept art from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed via Industrial Light & Magic<\/em><\/p>\n

Framing a Galaxy Far, Far Away<\/h3>\n

Next up, let’s take a look at the gear Abrams used to capture\u00a0The Force Awakens. <\/em>As was the case with the pre-production process<\/strong>, the director and his crew looked back to the original trilogy for inspiration here as well.<\/p>\n

If you’re a fan of J.J. Abrams,\u00a0then you’ll know he’s a huge advocate for film. While the vast majority of the film was shot using 35mm film stock, there were a few sections filmed in IMAX<\/a>, as well as some composite shots done using both a RED EPIC<\/a>\u00a0and ARRI ALEXA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But again, the majority of the film as shot using the classic Panavision 35mm camera<\/a>, which is the same brand of camera and film stock that was used on the original trilogy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"TheDirector JJ Abrams and actress Daisy Ridley on set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens via Collider<\/em><\/p>\n

Finding the Right Locations<\/h4>\n

Remember the saying “location, location, location?” Well, it applies greatly to film production. Luckily for Abrams, he had one of the very best location managers in the biz\u00a0in Martin Joy<\/a>, who oversaw\u00a0the locations for Batman Begins<\/a><\/em>, Skyfall<\/a>,<\/em> and War Horse<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Joy and his team scoured the earth<\/strong> looking for the right locations for specific scenes, eventually visiting Abu Dhabi, Berkshire, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Skellig Michael, and more.<\/p>\n

\"TheJohn Boyega on location in Abu Dhabi for The Force Awakens via Star Wars<\/em><\/p>\n

Even more interesting than the actual physical locations for the film are the narrative locations<\/strong>. As Empire Magazine released back in late November<\/a>,\u00a0the planets we’ll see in the film are Jakku, Takodana, D’Qar and Hosnian Prime. We see three of these planets in the trailers for the film as one is a desert planet, one is lush with thick forests, while another is a frozen tundra.<\/p>\n

\"TheSkellig Michael located off the coast of Ireland via Star Wars Net<\/em><\/p>\n

What makes these locations so interesting is that they again mirror the original trilogy. In\u00a0A New Hope\u00a0<\/em>we found ourselves on the desert planet of Tatooine, then\u00a0<\/i>in\u00a0The Empire Strikes Back<\/em> we started things off on the ice planet of Hoth. Finally, in\u00a0Return of the Jedi,\u00a0<\/em>we visited the Ewoks on the forest moon of Endor. This is just another glaring example of Abrams using the original trilogy as a foundation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Building a Tactile World<\/h4>\n

With the right camera equipment in hand and the perfect locations scouted, all that was left to do for the crew of\u00a0The Force Awakens\u00a0<\/em>was to bring those environments to life \u2014 but in a tactile way.<\/strong> As with every part of the process, Abrams once again tapped into the success of the original trilogy and, with a large team of skilled craftsmen, began actually building the worlds of the film.<\/p>\n

For Abrams, this was one of the most important pieces of the process and what made the originals so special… the fact that the worlds felt real and that they actually existed.<\/p>\n

\"TheBB-8 and J.J. Abrams via Star Wars<\/em><\/p>\n

While practical effects and sets aren’t used as much anymore due to the advancements in computer graphic technology<\/strong>, there’s just no way a CGI model can beat a well-crafted practical set. In fact,\u00a0production designer Darren Gilford, who worked on Oblivion<\/em> and Tron: Legacy,<\/em> told IndieWire<\/a> that Abrams directed them to craft the sets based off of the original designs.<\/p>\n

J.J.’s mandate from day one was authenticity and being as true to the original trilogy as\u00a0possible. And he felt the prequels were flawed by the fact that they had every [CG] tool known\u00a0to mankind and used everything at their disposal. I use the metaphor of disco when the\u00a0synthesizer came about and everyone was using it in any way possible. And I think J.J. wanted\u00a0to reconnect with how the original films were made.<\/span>\u00a0– Darren Gilford via IndieWire<\/p><\/blockquote>\n