The Creator’s Gareth Edwards flatly refuses to ever say anything bad about making Rogue One
Edwards figures that nobody would have much sympathy anyway for someone who complains about making a Star Wars movie
Aux News rogue one
It’s accepted Hollywood canon at this point that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was almost entirely reconstructed in the editing bay and with a ton of reshoots, with Disney bringing in writer Tony Gilroy to punch-up director Gareth Edwards’ film into the version we know (and love!) today. There’s proof of this all over the place, whether it’s footage in the trailers that doesn’t appear in the final film, behind-the-scenes shots that imply a different fate for certain characters, or the fact that it was Gilroy who was brought in to make Disney+’s excellent Andor prequel series. But whatever happened, Edwards has no interest in sharing any details. He’s been a good soldier this whole time (a fact lampshaded by his little cameo as a soldier in Star Wars: The Last Jedi), and even now, years later, Edwards refuses to say anything negative about working with Disney.
In an appearance on KCRW’s The Business (via The Hollywood Reporter), Edwards said there has been “so much inaccuracy” online about the making of Rogue One, insisting that there was no on-set drama and that, while Gilroy came in and “did a lot of great work,” everyone on the film “worked together until the last minute of that movie.” He said the memorable sequence with Darth Vader in the hallway was the last thing they filmed in the reshoots, and, he noted, “I did all of that stuff.”
Edwards also pointed out that, no matter what happened, he got to make a Star Wars movie and that’s good enough for him. “Someone who gets that opportunity to make a Star Wars film and then starts complaining about it,” he argued, “I don’t think many people have that much empathy for that kind of person. I so don’t want to be them.” He said he’s proud of Rogue One and that it was “a dream come true.” He also, curiously, compared it to a “‘What goes into Fight Club stays in Fight Club’ kind of thing,” which is not quite accurate, but the point is that he wants to “sound grateful for what happened and not talk negatively about anything.”
It seems like he’s very aware that they ended up with a good movie, however it happened, and by having a positive attitude about it he gets to reap the benefits of having his name on it. Related: Edwards’ The Creator, distributed by the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, is in theaters now.
40 Comments
Man acts with professionalism, just to be a bit different
Professionalism isn’t good for clicks. Is he trying to kill the modern internet “journalism” ecosystem?If so, good.
Yeah, it seems a relatively non-story kind of story. Man who directed successful film for massive company who is now distributing his new film doesn’t say anything bad about either the earlier film or the company.
Sounds like a NYTimes Pitchbot story: “Nothing awful happened in the world yesterday. Here’s why that’s bad news for the middle class”
Extra! Extra! Neither Man Nor Dog Bites the Other!
Be careful not to choke on your gratitude, director.
OK, I’m trying to figure out whose names are on that t-shirt he’s wearing in the header image. The last one certainly seems to be (Gedde) Watanabe, and I can reasonably guess “Washington”, “Boyles”, maybe “Simpson” and “Linney”, but I feel like I’m missing some connection that would help me nail down who the others are for certain.
It’s the stars of his film (The Creator). Washington, Janney, Watanabe etc.
Thanks. I had tried Googling “gedde watanabe janney” and seemed to be coming up with the same results as when I tried “gedde watanabe linney”: mostly pages just about Gedde Watanabe, with most of those being about 16 Candles. Maybe if I had guessed Janney’s name first, I would’ve seen The Creator pop up before giving up on the endless scrolling…
Cast of the Creator
Cast of The Creator, most overrated film of 2023.
It’s a simply good sense to not bite the hand that feeds. Of course he’s going to take this position, especially about a film that turned out well and was well received at the end of the day.The trailer shots are not necessarily an indication of reshoots. Pretty sure even at the time of release they said some of those shots were done just because they looked cool for a trailer.But fair play to the man for not begrudging anything, at least publicly, and Andor has been great so far, so sticking with Gilroy’s stewardship seemed to work out too!
Exactly. There is zero to be gained from dissing the production. The film WAS very well received in the end. If he says “They totally changed my vision and I am upset” most of the response would likely be “Well I loved the film, so it sounds like a good thing they did not listen to you.” And to be fair, it does not sound like he actually was all that upset about it in the long run. That said, the Creator is fine. It is not actually “groundbreaking” like some promotions have tried to paint it, but it is fine. If The Creator was incredible and Rogue One were considered a mess, there might be a story here. But that is NOT the case. The Creator is currently getting killed by Paw Patrol.
Foolish marketing people. They should have been promoting the Pawator or Creatpatrol meme to get people to see them both.
“Pawator” sounds like what they’d call some kinda paw patrol/Predator hybrid and now I want to see Paw Patrol vs Predator.
Whoever wins we lose.
‘The Creator is currently getting killed by Paw Patrol.’ I know it’s a kids movie and established IP, but damn…
It is not actually “groundbreaking” like some promotions have tried to paint it..Promotions gonna promote!
Strange game…the only winning movie is to not direct a Star War.
I’d say not to even announce you’re going to. I can think of at least five directors who had star wars project announced that never even shot a single frame. it’s crazy.
Hey, it worked out for renowned director and household name Richard Marquand.
I know that there were reshoots, and it all ended up for the better.
Rogue One expanded the storytelling scope of Star Wars.
If only someone would rewrite the rubbish you come up with. Then people would think you’re less of a cunt.
He’s spent the last few years lowering the bar so much that we won’t even notice when they replace him with Sam Chatbotsanti.
Politeness and professionalism sure, but I would also imagine it is not a good press strategy when trying to sell tickets to your new epic sci-fi blockbuster to say “I fucked up the last one so badly they had to bring in someone else to fix it.”
“Rogue One” simply the best Star Wars film of them all.
Odd that this would be an issue for the man who made arguably the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back.
Showing some commonsense and keeping your mouth shut when it can ONLY work in your favor…wotta concept. It must be due to Donald the Criminal and his constant mouthing off as he keeps getting away with playing the victim card, we’re amazed when someone acts as an adult should. How far we’ve sunk.
I always felt a little bad that he seemed to get thrown under the bus by Gilroy and company. Gilroy certainly made a number of positive contributions at a minimum, but Edwards certainly deserves at least some of the credit for the final project.While I think Andor is outstanding, the best SW of the modern era by a longshot, I’m glad Edwards is finally rebounding with a film that seems to be getting great reviews.
“Had a pleasant experience working with Disney making the film” and “the movie got heavily reworked in editing without him” aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
Hey AVC, don’t start noth’n, won’t be noth’n.
He’s a director known for making flashy but junky movies and this, his best regarded movie, is the one herded through the gate by the guy who also made the best regarded Star Wars TV show. He’s seemingly a talented enough stylist but not a fully matured filmmaker. All of the praise for “The Creator” is about how it’s a $80 million dollar movie that looks like a $200 million dollar movie but considering how $200 million dollar movies have all looked like $80 million dollar movies since the advent of CGI that’s not saying much. What is worth noting is that Edwards used cameras and lighting gear that allowed him to work quickly with a small crew for a fraction of the movie’s budget (most of the money went into post-production ). That’s hugely important for the future of filmmaking, especially smaller and independent productions.
Disney bringing in writer Tony Gilroy to punch-up director Gareth Edwards’ film into the version we know (and love!) Eh…
i don’t understand why we look at movies like they are any different from video games or other majorily funded works in that at the end of the day, its not the director or writers that complete creative control of the project or the story, its always going to be what the corporation that makes it wants it to be, to be as much people pleasing and fun for all ages. This lunacey that you will get a movie based directly off the books is just beyond stupid at this point. How many adaptations of anything have been 100% accurate? every director and actor knows this going into anything that is why you never hear of any complaining about it being chopped up on the editing floor and they don’t want to lose the chance to direct again.
I was on the fence about Edwards for a long time on account of not liking Monsters at all, but I’ve since come around to my grievances mostly resting on the incompetent shoulders of Indi flukegill fixture Scoot McNairy and his emotionless girlfriend. Everything Edwards has made with good actors has been way better.
Well congrats on a completely content-free article, I guess.
Well that’s an interesting way to wring a story out of nothing… make the nothing the story
In today’s news, a man doesn’t say something.
Too bad Tony Gilroy wasn’t asked to fix all the problems with “The Creator”.
I found Rogue One dissatisfying. I get what he was trying to do by broadening the subject matter and making things “serious,” but at the end it was still a bunch of sentimental tripe. Slo mo shots of rebels running into battle, a ridiculously tall array of removable hard drives that should have each been labeled “Macguffin,” and a CGI tarkin that was creepy. The same kind of sentimentality, for me, ruined The Creator. It had such potential to be a sci fi masterpiece, and instead was as much of an emotional mess as his Godzilla.Monsters is his best film.