Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII)

Covert Rain

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it was my impression that Luke was narrating the trailer...they showed him there, with the robotic hand, kneeling in the sand.....just didn't show his face....

I am tickled the original cast got on board with this...... Carrie Fisher is the one that surprises me the most...

Hamill really hasn't had much of a career.......... Harrison Ford has been buddies with George Lucas from way back...college I think......Lucas cast Ford in the starring role in "American Graffiti" .... then tugged him again for Indiana Jones after Star Wars...... Ford and Lucas are tied together pretty well....no reason to think he would not be willing to do this for a friend.

Carrie was pretty bitter about some things after the first trilogy ended if I recall...and she never did work much after that either.

But they got them all back, on board, and excited to do this....that has me excited as well.

Not entirely accurate. He has not had much of an in front of the camera acting career. However, he has had a very lucrative voice acting career.
 
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Cheesebeef

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it was my impression that Luke was narrating the trailer...they showed him there, with the robotic hand, kneeling in the sand.....just didn't show his face....

I am tickled the original cast got on board with this...... Carrie Fisher is the one that surprises me the most...

Hamill really hasn't had much of a career.......... Harrison Ford has been buddies with George Lucas from way back...college I think......Lucas cast Ford in the starring role in "American Graffiti" .... then tugged him again for Indiana Jones after Star Wars...... Ford and Lucas are tied together pretty well....no reason to think he would not be willing to do this for a friend.

Lucas has no pretty much zero involvement in these movies after he sold the rights to Disney.
 
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Brian in Mesa

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New Star Wars droid ISN'T a CGI: BB-8's ball body can move in any direction - but how does it work?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...CGI-BB-8-s-ball-body-direction-does-work.html

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It may look like CGI in the trailer, but the droid that will join R2-D2 in the forthcoming Star Wars film - The Force Awakens - is very much real.

The robot, named BB-8, took to the stage at Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim, California, where it literally ran rings around the retro droid on its spherical body.

JJ Abrams, the film’s director, confirmed that a real robot was used during filming, but did not reveal how it works.
 

Covert Rain

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New Star Wars droid ISN'T a CGI: BB-8's ball body can move in any direction - but how does it work?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...CGI-BB-8-s-ball-body-direction-does-work.html

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It may look like CGI in the trailer, but the droid that will join R2-D2 in the forthcoming Star Wars film - The Force Awakens - is very much real.

The robot, named BB-8, took to the stage at Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim, California, where it literally ran rings around the retro droid on its spherical body.

JJ Abrams, the film’s director, confirmed that a real robot was used during filming, but did not reveal how it works.

My guess is it's much more simplistic than it looks. I mean it's probably not cost effective to development a magnetic head above a spherical body.

I noticed that you occasionally see the head bop above the body. I bet it's literally on a rod and that there is a channel for the sphere to rotate around the rod.

Notice how you don't see it spinning in circles in the trailer. You only seeing it going from right to left. I bet if there are any shots of BB8 making complicated moves it will be CGI. They didn't say that the character has no CGI shots only that in that scene it's not CGI.

Even in the prequels they went back and froth between practical robots and CGI.
 

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Cool robot.

...and if you guys like videogames, the new Battlefront looks AMAZING.

Like the Battlefield FPS series, but slightly different, and set in Star Wars universe/weapons/vehicles.

There is also going to be some free extra content, the Battle of Jakku. Which is supposedly the real end fight for the Empire approximately one year after the Battle of Endor. I guess it's also supposed to be a bit of a bridge to the new films, where I guess Jakku is where some of the new movie takes place on/around/about.

Here's a trailer.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
 
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Zeno

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Here is a link to the video of BB8 at Celebration, I am curious to hear how they do it when they finally reveal their secrets.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
 
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Covert Rain

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Oh wow. I guess BB8 does use some sort of magnetic system. That was cool. I had not seen that footage yet. I guess when you have a Disney budget anything is possible.

Pretty damn cool!
 

Zeno

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Not sure if this is a legit release but I saw this on Facebook...
 

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BillsCarnage

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Oh wow. I guess BB8 does use some sort of magnetic system. That was cool. I had not seen that footage yet. I guess when you have a Disney budget anything is possible.

Pretty damn cool!
Yeah, the image Zeno showed is the basic functionality. There is an r/c toy ball in the the original article was was the basis for the original idea. The ball worked the same way, but didn't have BB's head. That's where the magnets come in.

Not sure if this is a legit release but I saw this on Facebook...
The balast is the key to the whole thing. It keeps the innards centered while the body rotates on the bearings. Similar concept to tilting a glass of water and the water stays level, but the glass can tilt.
 
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Covert Rain

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LMAO. That's awesome. Next generation of fans!
 

Cheesebeef

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as awesome as this trailer was on my computer, it gave me absolute chills for two minutes watching it in the theater before the Avengers. There was uproarious applause at the end of the trailer, which is much more then I can say for the Avengers.
 

Covert Rain

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as awesome as this trailer was on my computer, it gave me absolute chills for two minutes watching it in the theater before the Avengers. There was uproarious applause at the end of the trailer, which is much more then I can say for the Avengers.

They never showed it during my viewing of the Avengers. We were robbed!
 

Cheesebeef

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They never showed it during my viewing of the Avengers. We were robbed!

it was sick... especially on a screen the size of the one in the dome.

that opening image alone of the beached Destroyer sent shivers down my spine.
 
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Brian in Mesa

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Star Wars Cover: J.J. Abrams Reveals His Idea to Kill Jar Jar Binks

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/star-wars-the-force-awakens-vanity-fair-cover#1

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In addition to the blend of old and new characters on the cover, Annie Leibovitz traveled to the film’s set and photographed never-before-seen images of characters played by Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, and Lupita Nyong’o. The Oscar-winning actress is covered in C.G.I. tracking dots, revealing that even her most die-hard fans may not recognize her playing a purely animated character in the film.
 
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