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Rian Johnson talks pressure of making a Star Wars movie

September 19th, 2014 by Marc Comments

The man helming Star Wars Episode VIII – not the next one, the one after – is Looper director Rian Johnson and, let’s be honest, it must be a very daunting task…

But, he’s been talking to Terry Gilliam on the TalkHouse Podcastabout the gig and it seems that it’s already in motion: “I’m just starting into it, but so far it’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing. It’s just joyous. The first movies I was making in my head were part of this world, so part of it is a direct connection – it’s almost like an automatic jacking-in into childhood in a weird way.

“I’m figuring it out as I go. I’m dancing on top of the avalanche a little bit. But it’s a challenge of remembering what inspires you about the original films, but I think you can probably go to the wrong place by feeling too responsible to it. You have to keep your head loose enough to tell a story you actually care about.”

Regarding the support system in palce at Disney/Lucasfilm, he said: “Kathleen [Kennedy] and her whole creative team have been so insistent on all the filmmakers they’ve been hiring for these new movies: ‘We want you to take it and turn it into something that you really care about.’ And we’ll see how the process plays out, but so far, that’s a big part of the reason I’m [doing the film]. Because that just seems like their attitude towards it. It’s really exciting actually.”

We’re excited for Johnson’s movie… but we’ll worry about Abrams’ movie first…

Source: Darkhorizons

Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….