Steven Spielberg has always loved the Star Wars franchise; Although it is not signed. What’s more, in 1983 George Lucas even considered giving him the reins to produce Return of the Jedi, which would have been impossible in any case for contractual reasons (which ones? Here’s the explanation).
Anyway, Spielberg used his influence significantly with JJ Abrams on his film The Force Awakens. The audio commentary for the special edition of the film on Blu-Ray reveals that Spielberg suggested changes to two scenes to give them a little more punch.
The first concerns a scene that takes place relatively early in the film when a TIE-Fighter is literally swallowed by sand. “If the absorption effect is CGI” JJ Abrams explains, “His real explosion while swallowing is a Steven Spielberg proposal”. Sand was added to enhance the pyrotechnic effect.
The sequence can be seen in the clip below from Behind the Scenes of Creation, from 01”40:
Spielberg’s second intervention in the film concerns a scene not far from the end; A change that occurred during the editing phase of the scene where Rey and Kylo Ren fight with the Latins. “When I showed Steve a rough cut of that scene, he suggested, ‘What if the trees around them fell during the fight?’
I replied, “That’s a great idea, but you’ve already set the scene.” Then I asked the visual effects supervisor, Roger Gayet, if there was a way to add fallen trees to the scene. He replied, “If you want to subscribe, yes.” That’s what we did.”
The result is actually quite nice.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
