If you were hoping for some behind-the-scenes drama onStar Wars: The Force Awakens(outside of one of the lead actors getting his leg smashed by a door), you’re out of luck. There won’t be any battle between directorJ.J. Abramsand Disney because he has confirmed that he has final cut on the movie.
Speaking with Apple DesignerJony Ivein a talk moderated by producerBrian Grazerfor Vanity Fair [via The Playlist], the director revealed that Disney has been a strong collaborator on the movie, and admits that while his contract does give him final cut, he acknowledged “when you do a Disney project, there’s a clause in there that you kind of go, ‘Well, if I were a lawyer I could probably drive a truck through it….'"
Naturally, the studio is always going to hold more power than the director, especially in a case like this where there are billions of dollars on the line, but Abrams says that it was a fruitful partnership:
“I cannot say enough about how Bog Iger andAlan Hornhave understood this thing that is now part of the Disney company," Abrams added. “And they’re not trying to Disney-fy it, they’re not doing anything other than, I think, an incredibly smart thing, which is letting Kathleen Kennedy — who is a remarkable person and producer — run and leadLucasfilmto a place where I think it wants to go.”
Presumably, the directors for the other upcomingStar Warsfilms have similar contracts to Abrams, but it will be interesting to see what “creative control” truly means in the case of the newStar Warsmovies. These directors are playing in a sandbox created by George Lucas, but judging from the trailer alone,Force Awakensvisually looks much better than the prequels. But how different will Gareth Edwards’Rogue Onelook fromForce Awakens, and how different will these movies look from Rian Johnson’sEpisode VIII, and so forth? How much does final cut really matter on aStar Warsmovie? There are so many questions with this film that have nothing to do with the plot.
Star Wars: The Force Awakensopens December 18th.
For more onStar Wars: The Force Awakens, be sure to check out some of our recent coverage, provided at the links below:
