Post by Ztrl on May 1, 2007 9:12:19 GMT -5
Limited details released.
by Paul Davidson
April 30, 2007 - The Star Wars live-action television series promised by George Lucas was announced back in early 2005, about two years ago. At its initial announcement, producer Rick McCallum suggested the show could reach viewers by early 2007. Since then, however, very few progress updates have been forthcoming from Lucasfilm. Most of the movie-cum-TV-studio's press releases these days concern Star Wars fan conventions and merchandise updates rather than TV or film production. Those readers who haven't forgotten about the series might think it should be nearing some kind of air date soon — or at least the production stage.
Not so, unfortunately. In a recent interview with Dutch Star Wars portal ToscheStation.nl, Rick McCallum painted a disappointing picture of the show's current status. When asked about casting for the series, he replied, "I can't tell you anything about actors because we're not there yet. This is a long process to get it right. First of all: where are we going to shoot? Then: who's going to write? And finally: who's going to direct? George has been working for the last seven, eight months on the story arc line of where the series goes."
Rick McCallum
While science fiction is a demanding medium, other contemporary and recent TV shows have demonstrated just how quickly a new series can be launched. Star Trek: The Next Generation was conceived in 1986 and premiered in time for the 1987 broadcast season. The new Battlestar Galactica went from a hit TV movie in 2003 to a full-fledged television series in 2004 despite complicated story arcs that had to be planned from the start. Babylon 5, which was similar in scope and length to the proposed Star Wars series, was a little slower out the gate — with planning getting underway in 1991 and the pilot episode airing in 1993. Still, compare the resources at Lucas's disposal to those of B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.
What kind of time-frame can we expect, then, for the Star Wars TV series? McCallum is currently hoping to shoot the first episode by the end of 2008, allowing the show to make it to broadcast in 2009.
McCallum also reiterated that Lucas was planning the series to be over 100 hours in length, and that the entire character ensemble would be new to audiences.
by Paul Davidson
April 30, 2007 - The Star Wars live-action television series promised by George Lucas was announced back in early 2005, about two years ago. At its initial announcement, producer Rick McCallum suggested the show could reach viewers by early 2007. Since then, however, very few progress updates have been forthcoming from Lucasfilm. Most of the movie-cum-TV-studio's press releases these days concern Star Wars fan conventions and merchandise updates rather than TV or film production. Those readers who haven't forgotten about the series might think it should be nearing some kind of air date soon — or at least the production stage.
Not so, unfortunately. In a recent interview with Dutch Star Wars portal ToscheStation.nl, Rick McCallum painted a disappointing picture of the show's current status. When asked about casting for the series, he replied, "I can't tell you anything about actors because we're not there yet. This is a long process to get it right. First of all: where are we going to shoot? Then: who's going to write? And finally: who's going to direct? George has been working for the last seven, eight months on the story arc line of where the series goes."
Rick McCallum
While science fiction is a demanding medium, other contemporary and recent TV shows have demonstrated just how quickly a new series can be launched. Star Trek: The Next Generation was conceived in 1986 and premiered in time for the 1987 broadcast season. The new Battlestar Galactica went from a hit TV movie in 2003 to a full-fledged television series in 2004 despite complicated story arcs that had to be planned from the start. Babylon 5, which was similar in scope and length to the proposed Star Wars series, was a little slower out the gate — with planning getting underway in 1991 and the pilot episode airing in 1993. Still, compare the resources at Lucas's disposal to those of B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.
What kind of time-frame can we expect, then, for the Star Wars TV series? McCallum is currently hoping to shoot the first episode by the end of 2008, allowing the show to make it to broadcast in 2009.
McCallum also reiterated that Lucas was planning the series to be over 100 hours in length, and that the entire character ensemble would be new to audiences.
