Ram Bergman Discusses Rian Johnson's Star Wars Trilogy

By: Benjamin Hart

Even before Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit theaters last December it was announced that the film's writer & director Rian Johnson would be continuing to work within the franchise on his own standalone Star Wars trilogy. Joining him will be Johnson's longtime partner, producer Ram Bergman, who also worked on The Last Jedi. Bergman, who is a native of Israel, was recently interviewed by the Israeli website From The Grapevine and spoke about his career so far, his history with Star Wars, and briefly touched on his and Johnson's upcoming trilogy.

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Preview of Behind the Scenes Featurette About Porgs Released

By: Dominic Jones

A new preview of the behind the scenes featurette about the Porgs in Star Wars: The Last Jedi which will be included on the Target exclusive blu-ray of the film has been released online by Entertainment Tonight.  The video features director Rian Johnson, producer Ram Bergman, creature designer Neal Scanlan, and artist Jake Lunt Davies, as well as Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill, talking about the inspiration for the Porgs and what went into designing and creating them.  Check it out below,

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'The Last Jedi' Sweeps The Empire Awards With Five Wins

By: Benjamin Hart

Sunday was a big day for Star Wars: The Last Jedi as the film took home a total of five awards from the Rakuten TV Empire Awards, which is hosted annually by Empire Magazine. The ceremony was held in London's Roundhouse theater and key members of The Last Jedi cast & crew were on hand to accept the awards.

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Extended Preview Of 'The Director and The Jedi' Released

By: Dominic Jones

An eleven-minute preview from the "making of" documentary about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, titled The Director and the Jedi, has been released online by IMDb.  The preview begins with The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson giving a speech at the film's wrap party in London, before transitioning to some early rehearsal sessions with the films stars Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill, and then concludes with Johnson arriving at Skellig Michael in Ireland to shoot the first scenes for the movie.  You can check out the preview below,

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Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman Briefly Discuss Their New 'Star Wars' Trilogy

Image via: MintInBox.net

By: Dominic Jones

Now that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally in theaters, the film's director and producer are setting their sights on their next big project: creating an all new Star Wars trilogy of films set outside the confines of the Skywalker saga.  Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman discussed the new trilogy, which was announced back in November, briefly during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, giving a brief update on where they are in the process (in a word: early).

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Rian Johnson Talks About The Return of an Old Friend Long Gone in 'The Last Jedi'

By: Dominic Jones

SPOILER ALERT!

While Star Wars: The Last Jedi spent most of its runtime focusing on the characters who will be taking the story in the future, it also took some time out to bring back an old favourite.  During the film, the Jedi master Yoda appears to Luke Skywalker as a Force ghost during one of Luke's moments of weakness to pass on some much needed wisdom.  Writer/director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman took part in a live Q&A with Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican where they spoke about why they chose to bring back Yoda and the secrecy surrounding the Jedi master's return.

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Video: Rian Johnson and Ram Bergam 'The Last Jedi' Paris Press Conference

By: Dominic Jones

Last week Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman were in Paris, France to promote the film's upcoming release next month.  The two took part in a press conference where they fielded questions about the film from the French entertainment journalists.  Among those in attendance were Planète Star Wars, who just released a fantastic video of highlights from the event.  Among the topics addressed are the late Carrie Fisher, the film's run time, and what the first day on set was like.  Check it out below,

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BREAKING: Rian Johnson To Kick Off New Standalone Star Wars Trilogy

By: Benjamin Hart

Whoa! Lucasfilm just dropped some huge news regarding several future Star Wars films!

According to StarWars.com, Rian Johnson, who wrote and directed this year's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is returning to that galaxy far, far away to launch a brand new standalone Star Wars film trilogy. This new trio of films will be completely separate from the numbered films of the Skywalker Saga and, as StarWars.com explains, "will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored."

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BREAKING: Star Wars Episode VIII to be Released May 26, 2017, Rian Johnson Confirmed as Director

By: Dominic Jones

More big news coming out of the Disney Shareholders conference.  CEO Bob Iger confirmed that Star Wars Episode VIII will in fact be directed by Rian Johnson (Looper).  But more excitingly, Star Wars movies will be returning to a May release date for Episode VIII!  Episode VIII will hit theaters on May 26th, 2017, one day after the 40 year anniversary of Star Wars.

According to StarWars.com,

Iger confirmed that Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. The film, which continues the saga after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is set for release on May 26, 2017 — forty years and a day after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Johnson is widely considered one of cinema’s most gifted young filmmakers, having directed the modern sci-fi classic, Looper, as well as Brick and The Brothers Bloom. He was also behind the camera for three episodes of the critically-acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad, including “Ozymandias,” which series creator Vince Gilligan named as the best installment of the show. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, producer of Looper, Don Jon, Brick, and The Brothers Bloom, are on board to produce.

Also revealed at the conference, Star Wars: Rogue One starring Felicity Jones.

Source: StarWars.com

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Rumor: Rian Johnson To Write/Direct Episodes VIII & IX

By: Benjamin Hart

We may have some big news for the next two films in the upcoming Sequel Trilogy! Deadline, The Wrap and Variety are all reporting that Rian Johnson will write and direct Episodes VIII and IX. Johnson is best know for directing Looper(2012) and The Brothers Bloom(2008), among others. He also directed three episodes of the very popular Breaking Bad TV series.

Deadline was the first to reveal this information, stating that Lucasfilm is currently making a deal with Johnson to write and direct both films, and he will be joined Ram Bergman as producer. The Wrap fired back saying that, yes, Johnson will be writing and directing Episode VIII, but he will only be writing the story treatment for Episode IX and not directing. Variety agreed with The Wrap, also reporting that he will only be directing Episode VIII. Lucasfilm has yet to release any statements confirming or denying this news, but Rian Johnson himself posted an interesting video to his Twitter. It features a quote from the 1983 film The Right Stuff, which is "Dear Lord, please don't let me f*** up." Could that be a hint to Rian's reaction to this news? Time will tell. Also, Jedi News points to another incident on Twitter a month ago that also hints that this news is true.

Remember, even though this comes news comes from several reliable sources, it is in no way official until Lucasfilm confirms it. Take it with a grain of salt for the time being.

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