Writer/director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) recently spoke to Empire about his work on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The upcoming sequel to Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now deep in post-production as Johnson fine tunes the the film. Many things are covered in the interview, but one of the bigger standouts is Johnson’s statement about the three outside films that have most influenced his take on the Star Wars universe…
‘Twelve O’Clock High’ was a big touchstone, for the feel and look of the aerial combat as well as the dynamic between the pilots. ‘Three Outlaw Samurai’ for the feel of the sword-fighting, and the general sense of pulpy fun. And ‘To Catch A Thief‘ was a great film to rewatch, for the romantic scale and grandeur.”
A WW2 fighter pilot movie, a samurai film, and a Hitchcock suspense flick. George Lucas would be proud, especially since all three movies are fantastic slices of cinema in their own right. You should honestly consider them (awesome) homework to do before The Last Jedi arrives, as all three are well worth your time if you love movies. Johnson also spoke to the outlet about the nature of going from making smaller films like The Brothers Bloom to tackling a huge blockbuster…
“I guess the biggest surprise was the intimacy of the process. It’s huge, sure, and it’s filled with pressures great and small. But at the end of the day, it boils down to the same things as the smaller films we’ve made: telling a story we care about with a camera and some actors. And a Wookiee.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in theaters on December 15th, 2017. The eighth episode of the core Star Wars saga, it is written and directed by Rian Johnson. The seuel sees the return of stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Joonas Suotamo, Simon Pegg, and Billie Lourd. They are joined by newcomers Benecio Del Toro, Laura Dern, Noah Segan, and Kelly Marie Tran.
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