Following on from the shock news last week that Disney and Lucasfilm had fired Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the Han Solo spin-off movie, a new article from The Hollywood Reporter delves deeper into the situation.
Among other things – including already firing one editor – THR reveal that Lucasfilm weren’t entirely happy with the performance of Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, and brought in acting coach to help him, Lord and Miller. The article says that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy hoped this would help the production get back on track, but it didn’t.
As with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Kennedy wanted to bring in another director to oversee the production, and asked screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan to step in. When Lord and Miller were not prepared for Kasdan to “shadow direct”, Kennedy pulled the trigger and fired them.
According to THR, when the crew were told Lord and Miller were off the project and Ron Howard was stepping in, they “broke into applause.”
Sources have told the outlet that, on one occasion in mid-June, Lord and Miller didn’t start shooting until 1pm. And while Kennedy was expecting 12-15 set-ups (variations on camera placement) they had only used three. And, according to those sources, they didn’t offer up a lot of options in editing.
“As soon as shooting got underway, insiders say, it started to become clear that Kennedy’s stated intention of hiring directors who would put their own spin on Star Wars movies had led to a mismatch,” the report says. “Some insiders say that while the talent of Lord and Miller is undeniable, nothing in their background prepared them for a movie of this size and scope. These sources say they relied too heavily on the improvisational style that served them so well in live-action comedy and animation but does not work on a set with hundreds of crew members waiting for direction.”
Some industry insiders are now concerned over the future of the Star Wars franchise, noting that Josh Trank was fired from his spin-off, Gareth Edwards had all his control taken away and J.J. Abrams had to fight tooth-and-nail to push back on the “unrealistic start date” on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, one insider argues that Rian Johnson had no issues on Star Wars: The Last Jedi and had no interference from Lucasfilm.
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Han Solo stars Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) as the famous smuggler, Donald Glover (Atlanta) as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Beckett (Solo’s mentor), Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Thandie Newton (Westworld), Ian Kenny (Sing Street) and Michael K. Williams (The Night Of) in as-yet-unrevealed roles. It is set for release on May 25th 2018.
Originally published June 26, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
