Films
Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s Mark Hamill reveals major clash with Rian Johnson over Luke Skywalker
Mark Hamill didn’t really like Luke Skywalker’s attitude (Picture:John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Im..
As if Star Wars: The Last Jedi wasn’t difficult enough for Mark Hamill with the loss of Carrie Fisher, he also had ‘fundamental differences’ with its director Rian Johnson.
The 66-year-old actor has been starring as Luke Skywalker for 40 years, and has revealed he was unhappy with the direction the director took his character in during the recently released eighth instalment of the sci-fi franchise as Luke seemingly ‘gives up’, something which Mark doesn’t believe a Jedi would ever do.
Speaking candidly about his role in the new movie, Mark said: ‘I said to Rian, “Jedis don’t give up.” I mean, even if he had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup. But if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong. So, right there we had a fundamental difference, but it’s not my story anymore.
‘It’s somebody else’s story – and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. That’s the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I’m sorry.’
Mark went on to state that 73-year-old franchise creator George Lucas – who sold the franchise to Disney along with production company Lucasfilm in 2012 – would have handled Luke’s story in a different way, and said he no longer feels like the role is ‘his Luke Skywalker’ any more.
‘Well, in this version, see I’m talking about the George Lucas Star Wars. This is the next generation of Star Wars, so I almost had to think of Luke as another character,’ he said.
‘Maybe he’s Jake Skywalker. He’s not my Luke Skywalker, but I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.’
The star ‘still hasn’t accepted’ the changes Rian, 44, made to Luke’s character, but insists he still believes the director was the ‘exact man’ the franchise needed to helm the project.
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In an interview uploaded to YouTube by user Jar Jar Abrams, Mark said: ‘But listen, I still haven’t accepted it completely. But it’s only a movie. I hope people like it. I hope they don’t get upset, and I came to really believe that Rian was the exact man that they need for this job.’
MORE: Star Wars’ Yoda is Hawaiian, according to linguistics professor
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Films
‘Antebellum’ has a ‘Get Out’ vibe, but doesn’t live up to its twist
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definite..
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definitely shouldn’t be spoiled even a little. Once that revelation is absorbed, however, the movie becomes less distinctive and inspired, reflecting an attempt to tap into the zeitgeist that made “Get Out” a breakthrough, without the same ability to pay off the premise.
Originally destined for a theatrical run, the movie hits digital platforms trumpeting a “Get Out” pedigree in its marketing campaign, since there’s an overlap among the producing teams.
More directly, the film marks the directing debut of Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz, who have championed social-justice issues through their advertising work. The opening script features a quote from author William Faulkner, whose intent will eventually become clearer: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
If that sounds like a timely means of drawing a line from the horrors of slavery to the racism of today, you’ve come to the right place.
The story begins on a plantation, where the brutal overseers carry out grisly punishments against those tilling the fields. A few have just tried to escape, led by Veronica (Janelle Monae), and they pay a heavy price for their resistance, which does nothing to curb her defiance.
Also written by Bush + Renz, the script take too long before revealing what makes “Antebellum” different, but the middle portion — a “The Twilight Zone”-like phase when it’s hard to be sure exactly what’s going on — is actually the film’s strongest. (Even the trailer arguably gives away too much, so the less one knows, the better.)
The final stretch, by contrast, veers into more familiar thriller territory, and feels especially rushed toward the end, leaving behind a host of nagging, unanswered questions. That provides food for thought, but it’s also what separates the movie from something like “Get Out,” which deftly fleshed out its horror underpinnings.
Although the filmmakers (in a taped message) expressed disappointment that the movie wasn’t making its debut in theaters, in a strange way, the on-demand format somewhat works in its favor. In the press notes, Bush says the goal was “to force the audience to look at the real-life horror of racism through the lens of film horror. We’re landing in the middle of the very conversations that we hoped ‘Antebellum’ would spur.”
“Antebellum” should add to that discussion, so mission accomplished on that level. Monae is also quite good in her first leading film role (she did previously star in the series “Homecoming’s” second season), but otherwise, most of the characters remain underdeveloped.
