Written by: Michael Hickerson (SoSF Staff Journalist)
Beyond the big summer blockbusters, one of the movies I was most looking forward to later this year was “Fanboys.” The film, which is to be a comedy homage about four friends taking their dying friend to steal a print of “The Phantom Menance” from the Skywalker Ranch was slated to open in August 2007. Then the word came that the film was being delayed until January 18 next year.
So, why the delay for the movie?
At the recent “Star Wars” celebration weekend, director Kyle Newman said the film has been delayed to film some new scenes and do some more editing.
“There’s a dream sequence that we’re going to put in, which is new,” Newman said. “And I’m rethinking the first, like, three minutes of the movie … so it’s not all set in the one location. It’s kind of, the information we’re getting at the outset is spread over a couple of scenes. … It’s a little less exposition, a little more comedic. … It’s the Halloween party that we might be changing some parts of. … Opening it up just a little more.”
“Fanboys” stars Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Kristen Bell.
“We don’t get the actors back until September,” Newman said. “We were trying to get it done in April. And then we lost Jay Baruchel, … [who’s] doing “Tropic Thunder.” And Kristin’s doing a movie [“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”] that Judd Apatow’s producing in Hawaii. Sam’s in the middle of writing a screenplay for Ben Stiller’s company. Chris Marquette is off in Eastern Europe, starring in a big movie [“Infestation”]. And it’s just, everyone’s schedules, to get them back together, it’s been difficult. So we missed our window in April, and now we can’t get them until September.”
The cast and crew unveiled a lot of never-before-seen footage of the film at the Celebration IV convention, which received a warm reception from “Star Wars” fans on Friday and Saturday.
Newman was philosophical about the winter opening date. “It’s obviously less competitive, I think, than August,” he said. “But I would have loved, … personally, as a fan, for the movie to be out in … sometime close to right now. I mean, now is like, it’s the 30th anniversary of “Star Wars”, and this is like … my gift back to the fans, all of ours. We love “Star Wars” I would have loved for it be there, but if it makes sense for their business model to release it in January, then I have to put faith in what they do, and go with it.”
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