First Production Teaser for Star Wars: Episode VIII

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Episode VIII!" With those glorious words by director Rian Johnson, we've officially opened the floodgates to speculation on the next chapter of the Star Wars saga. When we last left them, Luke Skywalker and Rey were just about to introduce themselves to introduce each other. It looks like Episode VIII will pick up exactly from there. Besides these teaser announcement on the start of production for the next film, we also have a confirmation on the returning cast and new additions on the next film.

Actors Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie and Andy Serkis will all return to reprise their roles. Meanwhile Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran will join the cast for ongoing adventures. If you haven't seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens yet, then surely you've seen some names missing from this list. Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking. Now, go watch the movie.

Filming commenced on the production today and the untitled next chapter will release seven months from its previous release date on December 15, 2015. So, let's start wondering who these new characters are? Friends or foes?

New Photos: Vanity Fair Covers Star Wars: The Force Awakens

In some parts of the world it is still May the Fourth and with a new Star Wars film landing in theaters this Christmas, Vanity Fair displayed the first look of several new characters in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Photographed by the legendary Annie Leibovitz, Star Wars next-gen features Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong'o in their upcoming June issue.

 Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) leads snowtroopers to their secret base. (Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair)

Lupita Ngong'o plays a CGI character, pirate Maz Katana. (Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair)

 Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and his X-wing fighter. (Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair)

Director JJ Abrams with Rey (Daisy Ridley) on the desert planet Jakku.

Also featured on the cover along with Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are old friends Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).

Head on over to Vanity Fair to find out more production details and behind the scenes photos from the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Happy Star Wars Day!

New Trailer: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

This Christmas... just seeing those words onscreen made it actually real that by the end of this year, we'll have a brand new Star Wars film featuring some beloved characters and some which we have privately and publicly speculated quite a bit.

The newest trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released with much fanfare. The event was hyped online at the Star Wars Celebration panel where producer Kathleen Kennedy, director JJ Abrams and most of the cast (Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels and minus ailing cast member Harrison Ford) assembled to introduce to the world, the next chapter in the Star Wars saga.

The new trailer really feels like the next generation is taking over and as Abrams himself clarified at the trailer launch, this latest film will be the story of the three leads, Poe Dameron, Rey and Finn having new adventures.  Then Luke Skywalker himself talks about the Force being strong in his family and possibly referring to his offspring having it too! And the last shot where old buds Chewbacca and Han Solo make an appearance, declaring that 'they're home'. I think I would have pretty much lost it if I had been at that panel. Talk about having all the feels! The countdown to Christmas starts now. May the Force be with you!

Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens Trailer

It's not coming out until after a year from now but the first teaser from the ongoing saga of the Star Wars has made its presence felt. And how! I was excited in anticipation all day knowing it was coming tonight (early US morning) and now it's finally here, well, I've got to say, I'm not on the fence anymore on whether we needed another Star Wars movie.  These are the original sci-fi heroes and heroines of our childhood, and now we'll have new heroes and heroes to meet.

The first face we see (literally) is John Boyega (Attack the Block) in Stormtrooper outfit after a voice intones "There's been an awakening. Have you felt it?" What's that about? Well, no time to process info because the next shots come at us fast and furious: there's a cute little robot, Stormtroopers, the new 'Leia' maybe with Daisy Ridley playing an unknown character escaping from someone, Oscar Isaac as a pilot, the Sith with a completely badass lightsaber and the shot we've all been waiting for, the return of the beloved Millennium Falcon set to that familiar John Williams composed theme for Star Wars.  And then the title, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and a long wait... December 2015.

No appearances as yet from other key actors like Domhnall Gleeson, Adam Driver, Lupita N'yongo or Max Von Sydow who are also cast in The Force Awakens. Oh, and apparently some older actors named Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are also part of this film.  I wonder how Luke, Han and Leia fit into this new universe. We have to lots to guess before the next trailer hits.

So folks are you officially excited that a new Star Wars universe film will greet us next Christmas? Thoughts?

My Top 5 Mel Brooks Movies

Yesterday, the American Film Institute (AFI) bestowed legendary filmmaker Mel Brooks, a true comic genius, with their highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement award. I adore his films and they never fail to cheer me up.  Brooks is one of only 11 people in the world who can claim the ownership of the prestigious EGOT (winner of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) awards which is oh, so coveted by many, many people including 30 Rock’s Tracy Jordan.   It’s always a treat watching Brooks give interviews because nobody and I mean nobody tells a story quite like him.  Take a look:

This got me thinking about some of my favorite Mel Brooks films.  Here they are (in no particular order):

Young Frankenstein (1974): If you’ve never seen this film, then you’re doing yourself a great disservice. Gene Wilder plays the grandson of Frankenstein (“It’s Frankensteen”) who returns to the homestead with assistants Igor (Marty Feldman) and Inga (Teri Garr) and eventually recreates the legendary monster (Peter Boyle).  A black and white satirical homage to the monster flicks of the 1930s, the film also features great supporting performances from Cloris Leachman (her character, Frau Blucher is a highlight), Madeline Kahn and Gene Hackman (if you can recognize him).  The film has so many indelible moments, Wilder and Boyle performing their unforgettable song and dance routine on stage to Frankenstein questioning Igor about which brain they used to my favorite scene featuring a revolving secret door. It has me in stitches every time.

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Spaceballs (1987): “May the Schwartz be with you.” If you know what these words mean, then congratulations, you are a Mel Brooks fan! This parody of Star Wars features memorable characters like Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), Barf (John Candy), Han Solo stand-in Lone Starr (Bill Pullman)and Pizza the Hutt, spaceships that go at ‘ludicrous speed’ and Mel Brooks himself in a double role as President Skroob and Yogurt (the gold-dusted version of Yoda).  It’s all silly fun but Rick Moranis’ Dark Helmet stands out for me from the scenes of him playing with his action figures or when he's trying to watch the film to figure out what’s going to happen next and always fidgeting with his humongous helmet.   

 

History Of The World Part 1(1981): Folks, here’s a spoiler alert for you. There is no Part 2.  However, that is no deterrent for you not enjoying this cracker of a film which takes us through the Stone Age, the Roman Empire to the Spanish Inquisition (which comes with its own musical number) and the French Revolution.  We are shown glimpses of other important events, for instance, there were initially 15 commandants until Moses broke the other tablet.  The film contains many hilarious exchanges and dialogues like my personal favorites, ‘It’s good to be the king,’ ‘Oh, you are nuts. N-V-T-S, nuts!,’ and ‘Say when,’ ‘8:30’.  History of the World Part 1 has all of Brooks’ regular collaborators like Kahn, Leachman, Dom DeLuise and even actors like Gregory Hines in a prominent role and Orson Welles narrating the film.

Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993): This spoof of previous Robin Hood features served as an introduction to Mel Brooks for me when I was in school and prodded me to go back and look up his filmography.  There was a time when my friends and I knew all the dialogues to this and I’m sure if I say something like, ‘I have a MOLE?’, they’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.  Robin Hood, played by Cary Elwes, ‘can speak with an English accent’ and the Merry Men are also rappers in tights (hence the title).  You can spy a young Dave Chappelle as Ahchoo and some hysterical turns by Roger Rees as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Tracey Ullman as Latrine whose scenes together made me laugh so hard I cried.  

      The Producers (1968) and The Producers (2005): In any incarnation, this story is still comedic gold.  A Broadway producer (Zero Mostel) and his accountant (Gene Wilder) make the worst show in the history of the world, a musical on Hitler called Springtime for Hitler, knowing full well it will fail spectacularly and then take all the money to the bank.  But how then do little old ladies, a Swedish secretary named Ulla and a German playwright obsessed with his pet pigeons have to do with the film? You’ll have to see it to believe it.  Younger audiences of course know of The Producers because of the very successful production on Broadway with Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom which was later turned back into a movie.  Brace yourselves as you’re in for a crazy, funny and diabolical ride of a movie in which anything goes.

HONORABLE MENTION: 

To Be Or Not To Be (1983): I don’t know why, but I adore this color remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 classic To Be or Not to Be.  Mel Brooks plays Federick Bronski, Polish actor who along with his wife, Anna Bronski (the sublime Anne Bancroft, also Brooks’ wife in real life) perform their revue show during World War II until the Nazis descend on Warsaw and they have to ‘act’ their way out of a tough situation.  Bronski fancies himself quite the actor and includes Hamlet’s famous soliloquy with the famous line, ‘To be or not to be…’ which receives an unwelcome interruption by Tim Matheson each time he tries to perform. This was one of the few times that Brooks and Bancroft acted together onscreen.  Veteran actor Charles Durning even received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role as Colonel Erhardt.